Week 4

Last week was hectic, I felt that I was behind schedule and that I wasn’t going to be able to do everything on time; too much to read and too much to do. Everything was very interesting and helpful. I’m enjoying all the articles we have to read, they address very important issues. For example, the fact that vocabulary is extremely helpful in understanding written texts. The course is making me reflect on my classes a lot, and I think I should be more careful when I choose a reading book; the key is to encourage students to read for pleasure, so it doesn’t matter the topic they are reading about, what matters is the level of input they receive to not to feel discouraged.

We had to write a technology enhanced lesson plan, something that took me long time because there are thousands of websites to visit and different technologies that can be applied to the lessons; I chose Scribble maps, an amazing tool that allows you to write things on google maps. I think I should visit more webpages to get wind of some more tools to be used in class.

Then we were asked to find problems in our lessons, oh there are so many! I thought at first. However, on second thoughts, I am very lucky, because my students are adults and motivated. They have decided to study English, so it is lucky to have students like them. The other side of the coin is that students are very demanding; they want the lessons to pay off, so they feel very bad when they don’t achieve their own goals. In speaking, those goals are harder to get. So it is a daily fight, to get them to speak fluently and correctly.

I feel I am learning and reflecting a lot. So that’s a good sign!