SCHOOL INTERNSHIP EXPERIENCE IN CATALUNYA SCHOOL

Carla Tardà Victori

1. THE SCHOOL

Name of the school: Catalunya (Navarcles)

Public school

Big school (507 students) with 2 or 3 classrooms per grade.

EFL Teaching- Students start learning English in P3- 5th and 6th grade Oral classes (1h a week)- Textbook and worksheets

Monday Tuesday Wednesday Tuesday Friday

9-10 Reinforc. Reinforc. P4-A Reinforc. Reinforc.

Oral 5B Oral 5AOral 6BOral 5A10-11 P4-B

11.30-12.30 6B 6A P4-C 5A 5B

15-15.30 5A 5B 6B Reinforc. 6A

15.3-16.30 Reinforc. 5A 6A 5B 6B

2. EVERYDAY LIFE IN MY SCHOOL

2. EVERYDAY LIFE IN MY SCHOOL

What I like…

- Being the teacher.- Oral English classes (5th and 6th graders)- Helping the students and engage them in their

learning.- Being able to see 2 different realities: upper cycle of

primary education and infant school.

What I don’t like…- Being just the observer.

What I discovered… - I prefer teaching in upper cycle.

3. THE PLANNING OF MY TEACHING UNIT

First Draft

OutputRecommend a

Route in Navarcles

Second draft

OutputTreasure hunt

Final version

OutputOral

presentation about pirates.

-Lots of changes during the process.-Great effort to achieve a good product.

CHANGES

Who influenced my decisions?

- School English teacher-Tutor from university and

classmates-My own view, student’s

interests….

Learning - Planning is not a linear process. - Project-based language learning.

FIRST DRAFT SECOND DRAFT FINAL VERSION

Final output Recommend a route in Navarcles

Plan and play treasure hunt

Oral presentation about pirates (jigsaw puzzle).

Pre-tasks Textbook & games (directions)

Activities and games to work on directions.

-Preparation for the game -Treasure hunt-Preparation for the Oral pres.

Weaknesses

Strengths

•Only language-oriented.•The activities don’t lead up to the final output.•The final product is not relevant.

•Too many “games”. They didn’t lead up to the final output.•Treasure hunt should be the methodology, not the final output.

•It is still very focused on the Treasure Hunt.

•More content-oriented.• Big Jigsaw activity.

4. IMPLEMENTATION OF MY TEACHING UNIT

Changes

Timing 11 sessions per class instead of 9.

Material Glossary & individual test.

Methodology Final Quiz in groups.

Assessment I added individual marks.

Eureka moments

Oral presentation

Well-prepared + use of expressions

All the groups made great ppts.

Motivation, interest in the topic.

-What’s the meaning of…?-Why did pirates…?

Two groups dressed up & one student imitated pirates’ voice.

Treasure hunt

Some prizes were really original (songs & drawings).

Students were highly motivated (some of them finished the game during the playground).

Moments worth discussing

1) Difficulties in the explanation of the planning.

What strategies should I use when explaining a complex activity in the target language?

2) Questions on how to assess

ReasonsThe planning was too complex.Too much info at the beginning

The first photocopy was not easy.

•Reasons Some people in the groups didn’t work..• Solution Addition of individual marks

When assessing the treasure hunt, should I include individual marks to ensure everyone is on task? Or is it better to assign each person a role in the group?

4) Too many outdoor activities (Treasure hunt)

Difficult to manage.

3) Oral presentation

-How can we help them prepare an Oral presentation in the target language?

Problems observed Memorization &low comprehension (in some cases).

How would you manage all the groups walking around the school playing treasure hunt? What strategy would you use?

5.MODIFICATIONS OF MY TEACHING UNIT

Simplifying the planning of my Teaching unit.

Treasure hunt Less sessions / Oral presentation More sessions.

Treasure hunt- Strategies for promoting interdependence Assigning roles,

dividing up the labor, include rewards for the group…(Source: Johnson, Johnson, and Smith, 1991)

- Provide mechanisms for groups to work with uncooperative members.

Walvoord (1986) recommends anonymous assessment.

Knowing that peers are relying on you is a powerful motivator for group work (Kohn, 1986)

WHO AM I NOW AS A TEACHER?

I am much more confident than I was before. I feel …enthusiastic about trying new ideas, new projects… …committed to students and their learning

I am eager to try new things and learn from my experiences.

WHAT HAVE I LEARNED?

When planning a TS, content is the starting point. It determines the language items that will be studied.

Planning is not a linear process. When planning, we need to think of the Final Output and

go backwards.

THANKS FOR YOUR ATTENTION!

BLOGREFLECTIONS ON MY TEACHING PRACTICE

http://reflectionsonenglishteaching.blogspot.com.es/?zx=f17a26d4c59a8e

REFERENCES

http://tfsc.uark.edu/193.php

Tools for Teaching by Barbara Gross Davis;Jossey-Bass Publishers: San Francisco, 1993.