"Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it is faced."
James A. Baldwin
We must be conscious of the importance that the English language has at this moment and, that our work is to find the way to instruct it, so that the students can use it in real situations. At this moment, foreign influences such as, companies, and communication methods in where English plays a fundamental role surrounding us. After having seen the used methods in the instruction of this language, we arrive to the questions, which is the best method? Which fulfills or satisfies the students’ necessities?
The teacher’s role with the students.
The teacher must be a guide, supervisor, leader, a friend and also an excellent observer who can distinguish, the advance of the adolescents, to detect who learns faster and who does not, and with which method they respond better. When using diverse activities we can help learning to become really significant for them, leaving monotony to a side. Many teachers continue planning the classes with the same activities in the same way. Being continuously applying new educative proposals is how we can attract our students towards this subject that is seen by them as something difficult to learn.
What students expect from an English class.
With respect to all the observations made and to the opportunities that I had to participate within a classroom, I have been able to identify and to value the performance of the adolescents in this subject. Something that came to my mind was the fact that the apprentices are more worried to have their notes in order, to participate and to memorize the dialogues proposed by the teachers or to increase their scores, than to the learning of this useful language. When applying interviews, I could notice that the learners hope that the subject will not be instructed the same way every day, but something different for them, they argued that the teacher, when directing the class in a monotonous way causes that they totally lose the interest towards this language.
A radical change is what they wish for their own benefit. It is necessary to remember that all the activities or the subjects that are distributed cannot be destined for all the groups, and I could verify it at the time of exposing the same subject in two groups using the same exercises. The result was not the same, is necessary to make conscience about the diversity of groups that work in different way. In the secondary, which I did in my service social and practice, I helped in three groups of third "A" "B" and "C". The first group emphasized by its written participation and they were not distinguished being a very communicative group, presenting its dialogues with certain shyness. On the other hand the second group they were a little "difficult” because they did not like to work, but they had to be interested in the activity otherwise thy just fulfill the aspects of evaluation. At last the third group was very participative and generally they found their own interest to the propose activities no matter how showy or flashing they could be.
A class plan as an indispensable instrument to give a lesson
We have been witnesses of the lack of a correct planning in classes given by high school teachers that feel comfortable due to the possession of a total dominion of the topics that they have acquired through the time and the experiences lived in a classroom, putting a little effort in to create or innovate the next sessions. This is a problematic and most of the time produces the apathy of the adolescents decreasing the interest towards this subject. I have the opportunity to read a variety of class plans designed by teachers of this subject, and I could notice that is only the development of the texts book (exercises). In these are contained a semi controlled description about the things they have designated for each season, as an example I present a class plan used in different groups of third grade:
Topic and objectives The use of interrogative words (will, won’t) Skills to develop Reading, listening, speaking and writing
Warm up and feed back Emphasize that the auxiliary (will) always goes before the verb
Introduction and presentation When will you go to La Fe disco? Next Saturday will your sister go with you? No she won’t she will go to Victoria City
Practice Students will answer exercises 1 and 2 of page 42 (interrogative words, will and won’t)
Application By planning future actions students will be capable to use the acquire knowledge or information.
Group organization In pairs
Didactic resources Check mate book, dictionary, markers, bond paper Evaluation By oral participation, the exercise will be checked
whether they are correct or they don’t
When observing this unqualified class plan, we can see that there is nothing extraordinary or motivating also for the students who have manifested that they are tired of solving exercises from the books. Analyzing this design deeply, we found in the section of skills to develop it is pretended to cover the four abilities. This is something that I disagreed, and the reason of my posture because of the scarce exercises that involved teenagers in a way they can assimilated on their own rhythm and not with systematic work which just develop writing skills, because the oral participation is almost null their innervations seemed to be limited in to give answer at the exercises solved in class. When we start with a warm up, this must absolute attract pupils to the lesson about to be given, besides it must involved physically also. This kind of activity helps us as teachers to “break the ice” with teenagers,
moreover we prepare them to the next activity, which would be active and functional. In this step, we do not set useless explanations because in the practice we can perfectly take out those doubts and to clear details just as is shown in this plan “emphasize that the auxiliary Will always goes before the verb”.
The introduction and presentation that is expressed in here it would be settled as a warm up, flashing questions with the auxiliary will are shown which activate students in a high level to start working with the teacher. In this step is contained all the activities and the materials in which we want to teach the lesson so as the resources that will be employed.
Once, we get to practice we must not limit our students to solve written exercises to later respond them in oral form. There are three types of practice that might help in the development of sort specific skills. One of them is the “controlled practice”. In this one the teacher asks students to repeat after he does, as an example. The second one is the semi-controlled practice in where the preceptor guides students in the way they can express themselves better.
In the free practice adolescents, once, they have comprehended the topic they will be participating with out fear and using less the help of him. The evaluation that is marked in this designed, in mentions that it will be realized taking into account whether the answers of the pupils are correct or not. In this process of evaluation the teacher would not be based on correct answers because in this one a lot of factors impede students from a good development such as nervousness, shyness, panic might provoke an inefficient development an this does not prove that they have not understood the lesson.
Proposing a Class Plan.
We have to take in to consideration two aspects before we develop this class plan: the material and the resources. Most of the time we have believed that the creation of this instruments is necessary to later recollect everything that will help and support during the class. According with my own experiences I have observed, that is less complicated to give an exposition when we posses all the supporting tools in our hands, planning becomes easy when you have all the items instead of working imaginarily. There are important aspects inside this instrument, which are: warm up, presentation, practice, application, and consolidation in where. Each ones cover certain information of work that must be specified at the moment of its elaboration. In the warm up teachers must activate the apprentices with
dynamic, physical and mental exercises so this way they capture their attention and interest that will be ascending during the class, and this one will depend on the teacher side. It is quite common to use the mimic and the total physical response. I emphasize that everything is not just work; we can combine it with joy and fun. In the presentation all the material is shown so the vocabulary ad the resources that will be used. Teaches does a little feed back of the vocabulary already seen in past lectures. The realia helps a lot of the students to familiarize and to connect them to the topic.
Everything we can smell, touch, see, fell is quickly and easy to assimilate by the brain.
When beginning the practice, the instructors guide the students in a sort rhythm they can follow because maybe is a new lesson is given when they have practiced enough; we exhort them to participate, taking in to consideration that they are not going to do it right the first time, we pay attention also to the difficulties they might have, we stop the class to explain again to clarify any doubt. To prove the student’s comprehension we ask for his participation, but in this occasion we let him alone, we have named this step “free practice”.
The next procedure is application in where pupils have to demonstrate if the objective has been reached or not. Exercises must be focused to real life situations. The intention of these trainings is to help students to imagine that they are interacting as foreign people. In this way students feel more comfortable at the moment of acting in some events of this kind.
The fact that we need to consolidate it represent to us to do a detailed observation and check if a problem or a misunderstood aspect are presented. Now we can balance how many percent of them understood and if they did not, exemplify it one more time taking out possible doubts. At the end of this plan we do an evaluation, we take in to account everything that can be produce by teenagers no matter if it is correct or not. We do not base this process on limited exercises but in the efforts, interest, and disposition to learn this language.
Classes developed on the basis of the different methodologies.
In a present perfect class, the teacher distributed leaves to them using this time, first thing requested was that they underline all the cognates so that they could give him sense to the reading later I suggested them to identify all the verbs that were appearing.
Once they finished they began to underline the unknown words for them, so later they
investigated them in the dictionary when finishing it I wrote examples of preposition and frequency adverbs, and proposed that they marked them with different color, not to be confused in the reading, after finishing the exercise, the teacher requested them to transcribe it in their notebooks all the colored aspects by sections. In a part of their notebooks they had to write all the verbs and to accommodate them by the different times (present, past and future) in another one they wrote all the preposition and all the frequency adverbs at last they would give answer to questions regarding the subject. In this class the use of the English language was not necessary, students did not read aloud and practice pronunciation.
All were grammar exercises and as a result of this the students will have a meaning of the reading since all the grammar items and with the cognates automatically students had understood what the writing was exposing. When finishing the class I approached to some students with the intention to know if they had understood the lesson, which they responded that they were not very sure about the meaning. This type of activities obstruct the learning so when they try to translate, loses the sense, stopped in a word losing the whole story, however an interpretation would be better.
Based of the direct method. This time I had the opportunity to expose a class and I did not doubt in give it in the English language, I also wanted to know the response students towards this method. The subject was a description of Tampico using the present perfect.
When I entered greeted the boys, and immediately I spoke in the English language what it cause a disagreement on the part of them since was something new, and were not accustomed, I requested them to take magical papers to begin the corresponding reading, I did not obtain satisfactory answer reason why I had to repeat the instruction once again but in this occasion it uses my hands and I showed the leaves to them in which we would work, immediately somebody I attract the idea and quickly the voice was run of which it had said.
I began to read in a clear way and with very good pronunciation paragraph by paragraph, at the end I asked if they had understood and they responded - It is about Tampico teacher. It was obvious that they had idea since title was the name of this city, so I returned to read but this time I used the mimic to give life to this important reading. When seeing my corporal movements, my gestures, could take in a little more than the first read.
Later I requested to them that they read and that as advice I suggested them they respected
the orthographical signs so that one took control of order and all followed a same rate. I must confess that the first time I leave much to be desired, although does not leave them continued with the lesson was a total disorder chooses to divide the group in two parts, of a side they would be in favor the young ladies and by another one the men.
The dynamic was very simple I organized a mini competition as far as the reading.
What they had to read with the as best as possible respecting the orthographic signs, the result was better that the previous one although they are not accustomed to read in group he was something very amused for them to others of which the reading in group form practices.
Use of this time formulates questions doing, to continue practicing and although the answers they were favorable were not responding suitably a simple one "if" and "" they were not the possible answers on the part of them.
Try to lead them towards the most correct answers and I exposed an example: Teacher - have you to ever visit the metropolitan Park? Students - yes! Teacher - yes, but completes the statement! Students - Masterful yes I have. - it is correct but, what else! Students - yes I have visited the metropolitan Park. This small exercise allows them to interact and to make use of this language and also them aid answer of, of correct way the questions that in their majority are used in the examinations written. Like using the method of total physical response. This method allows the student to relax before beginning the class, the type of dynamic that I apply, are on the basis of actions that with the help of corporal movements we can lead the students to that they execute them without having to request them in the language mother, and on the other hand they help to develop them of mere gradual a its auditory ability.
The use of material on real scale or allows the adolescent to associate the meaning of the expressions of the language ingles without the use of the small translation and that is very similar to when we learned to develop our maternal language when. Something of extreme importance is that al to apply this type of activities, must be continuous and constant it stops that the students do not desmotivante and half remains in a del way, with which could be the propitious factor for an adapted development of this auditory ability. And n the classes exposed during my practices educational, I proposed several activities using this fabulous method, stops that the young people of secondary could create their own concepts adapting
them in their dialogues so that these were more showy and more credible.
Eclectic method. The use of a this propitious diversity of activities, because it is not based on a single method but on a set of several for the facilitations of this language, the best method is not concentrated in only one, and when using it allows to us like teachers to offer attractive and educative classes for the students, and so will be causing the constant activity of the students. When gliding the classes we can be identifying in which moments of the class we can be applying the different methods and that type of activities can be adapting to obtain an ideal class for the pupils. The teacher who leads this methodology must consider the different styles from learning of the students, his interests and necessities as well as to activate them of different attractive and dynamic ways, to be positive, to correct with discretion appreciating the effort of the students.
The professor must foment the language inside and outside the classroom. To make investigations diverse to optimize our educational performance, has knows to recognize that we are not an inexhaustible source of knowledge if not anybody that always this ready to learn new things day after day. The eclectic method is the use of diverse currents methodologies and was without a doubt some the one that I predominate; although the used methods were not many were combined such as the direct, audio linguistic method and the total physical response.
The form of pick up of the language on the part of the students depends on you mature it and the attention that this needs, since these are seen in the necessity to dominate it by the great demand at the present time, due to this to establish communication with the others, to which it opens the doors of his future as well.
The constant practice increases the learning.
Once I have exposed the classes based on different methodologies most used by teachers, I concluded that one of the main factors in this process of acquisition is “practice”,
Once I have exposed the classes based on different methodologies most used by teachers, I concluded that one of the main factors in this process of acquisition is “practice”,