My name is María Cecilia Nievas. I am from
Comodoro Rivadavia and I am 26 years old.
When I finished high school, I wanted to study something related to English because I love languages in general and English in particular - I have studied several languages: French, Polish, Basque and German. At that moment, the only available English degree in my town was the teaching training course. I had already decided to start my degree in computer science so it was impossible to begin the teaching training course then.
In
2010, after graduating as a programmer analyst, I started working as an
administrative assistant in a salesian high school.
In
November that same year, a teacher from the school became ill and I was asked
to take her place for the rest of the year as they knew I had studied English.
At first, I was really scared and nervous, but in time I fell in love with the
students and with teaching. During the holidays, I decided to find a place to
study and after lots of research, I chose Lenguas Vivas to start the degree.
My Teaching Philosophy, Responsibilities and Approach
There are several aspects I took into account when planning my lesson.
The aim of the language lesson is to explore the world through English, expanding the students’ knowledge of culture, sciences, nature, values, and so on.
I believe teachers need to spend some time getting to know their students, their English level, preferences and needs. Furthermore, each student brings his/her own learning style and background to the classroom, as we do as teachers as well.
When designing a class, I try to include variety of activities to cover the different ways students approach knowledge, and to set opportunities for each student.
I try to make sure to establish a strong bond with my students in order to lower their emotional filter, to be able to build the knowledge from that basis. This also helps to foster a comfortable atmosphere, set positive relationships among students, and encourage collaborative work and debate. In addition, each group is formed of a lot of different students. As teacher we should consider those differences and take advantage of diversity.
During my practicum period, I particularly learnt about the importance of setting an appropriate context to facilitate the learning process.
When planning a lesson, teachers should pay special attention when choosing materials, whether adapting authentic material or developing material according to their students' English level and needs.
During the practicum I included different kind of sources: pictures, stories, photographs, printouts and homemade material, videos, songs, choreographies, and so on. Everything in order to foster motivation, engage students and deliver memorable lessons.
In addition to the English contents, we should always include values, foster autonomy, and develop students' confidence.
Furthermore, in our lesson plans we should consider not only the four macro skills, but higher-thinking skills through varied activities.
Finally, I learnt during this last year to reflect on my lessons -sometimes through the videos and sometimes through my memory- and take down notes about some issues to consider during the next lesson, such as timing, activities that work best with a specific group and how to overcome some difficulties.
Through the 11 lessons that I planned for this practicum period I included CLIL, PPP and TBL approaches, merging them with the communicative approach.
I believe teachers need to spend some time getting to know their students, their English level, preferences and needs. Furthermore, each student brings his/her own learning style and background to the classroom, as we do as teachers as well.
When designing a class, I try to include variety of activities to cover the different ways students approach knowledge, and to set opportunities for each student.
I try to make sure to establish a strong bond with my students in order to lower their emotional filter, to be able to build the knowledge from that basis. This also helps to foster a comfortable atmosphere, set positive relationships among students, and encourage collaborative work and debate. In addition, each group is formed of a lot of different students. As teacher we should consider those differences and take advantage of diversity.
During my practicum period, I particularly learnt about the importance of setting an appropriate context to facilitate the learning process.
When planning a lesson, teachers should pay special attention when choosing materials, whether adapting authentic material or developing material according to their students' English level and needs.
During the practicum I included different kind of sources: pictures, stories, photographs, printouts and homemade material, videos, songs, choreographies, and so on. Everything in order to foster motivation, engage students and deliver memorable lessons.
In addition to the English contents, we should always include values, foster autonomy, and develop students' confidence.
Furthermore, in our lesson plans we should consider not only the four macro skills, but higher-thinking skills through varied activities.
Finally, I learnt during this last year to reflect on my lessons -sometimes through the videos and sometimes through my memory- and take down notes about some issues to consider during the next lesson, such as timing, activities that work best with a specific group and how to overcome some difficulties.
Through the 11 lessons that I planned for this practicum period I included CLIL, PPP and TBL approaches, merging them with the communicative approach.
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