UNIVERSIDAD CATÓLICA DE EL SALVADOR

Subject: Teaching Practicum II

Teacher: Ovidio Torres

Practitioner: Velkis Rosales

Level: English Access

Tutor: Pedro Sandoval

SECOND REACTION PAPER
(Second Period)

Describe I consider my second teaching practice was one of the most successful for me since I was very sure about what I was doing; moreover, I could keep the control of the class and the students participated a lot. I did not teach grammar, but I had to develop the controlled, semi-control and free practice.  On the other hand, I did not manage the time for each activity since I spent almost all the time in the controlled practice which was about fill in the blanks because I could notice that students had not understood the grammar explanation and I had to explain them again the way to use the past continuous. The seating arrangement was in a semi-circle. The teacher sat down outside of the classroom in order to observe every detail of the class.
(Analyze)		Plan Action
Interpret	Generalize
I started the class very late because the teacher rang the bell at 3:11pm. So, I started writing the date, objective and the agenda on the board. Then, I explained the objective and the agenda of that day. Consequently, I developed a short warm-up which was about past continuous. What they had to do is to tell the other classmates one sentence using past continuous and the other ones had to write it on the board. Consequently, I developed the controlled practice which was about fill in the blanks. The exercise was easy for the ones who had understood the topic; however, I could notice that nobody could do it because they were confused about when using the simple past and when using the past continuous. For example, I was taking a shower when the phone rang. So, most of the students did not know the meaning of rang, that means that they did not know all the verbs in the past. Moreover, they did not if they had to use the simple past first and then the past continuous. On the other hand some students wrote “I were” instead of “I was” so, that activity took a lot of time because I had to explain them the structure of the topic. So, I think it affected my class a lot because I could not develop the semi-controlled and free practice.	The time I started the class did not help me to develop each activity. But talking about the warm-up activity, I could observe that students enjoyed it a lot because they were excited with the activity. On the other hand, they practiced the topic. I loved teaching the students grammar even though it was not my purpose, but I think it helped them to understand better the topic. On the other hand, I consider that maybe they got confused when the teacher explained them the grammar but they did not ask anything; so, it affected a lot because when I wanted to develop the controlled practice they could not do almost anything.	In future lesson, I will take into consideration to include the topics I am teaching in the warm-ups because I believe they help to wake the students up and students can practice the topic. I consider that it is important to look for some ways to teach the grammar correctly in order to make it understandable. Moreover, it is important to ask students if they have doubts or push them to ask.

UNIVERSIDAD CATÓLICA DE EL SALVADOR

Subject: Teaching Practicum II

Teacher: Ovidio Torres

Practitioner: Velkis Rosales

Level: English Access

Tutor: Pedro Sandoval

FIRST REACTION PAPER
(Second Period)

Describe My first teaching practice of the second period in English Access was really amazing and kind of difficult at the same time because the students were beginners and sometimes they did not understand what I was saying and I had to repeat and try to explain them using other words. However, the students learnt to how to use the simple future which is “Will”. What I could notice in this slice of the lesson is that the students made the biggest effort to learn the new topic, and I think it was good because in that way they will learn. In my first teaching practice I had to teach grammar, then the controlled practice, and semi-control practice. The seating arrangement was in a semi-circle. The materials I used were the board, pages, sheet of papers, and charts.
(Analyze)		Plan Action
Interpret	Generalize
First, I started explaining the objective and the agenda of that day. Consequently, I developed a short warm-up to wake the students up and have fun. After that, I started with the grammar explanation. Students were focus on what I was explaining and some of them asked questions according to the topic. Then, I started with the control practice which was about fill in the blanks. This activity was very easy for the students because they finished fast. Finally, I developed the semi-control practice which was really accurately because the activity was about discussion. Students made group of four and I gave them a sheet of paper with some questions and what they had to do was to discuss with their partners using “will” in their answers.	What I could notice is that students had a little knowledge about English and I had to use the simplest words in order to explain them the warm-up activity. I had to repeat twice. I observed that students paid attention to me. And I think it is good because in that way students will learn the topic easily. Based on what I observed, I think that the students will find the activities so easy if they understand the grammar explanation, and in this case students understand very well because they finished fast. What I loved to see in this activity is that all the students were practicing the topic and when I asked for volunteers everybody wanted to participate. It was amazing to see students’ participation at this level. They made mistakes when speaking but they tried to express their ideas.	In future lesson, I will find a way to explain the students the activities in the simplest way where they can understand what I am saying. I will take into consideration to develop an environment where students can feel free to ask questions according to the topic. In future lessons I will continue implementing an understandable grammar explanation in order to have good result in the practice part. The next time I teach this lesson, I will be really sure to include activities like this one because in that way students can share with others and practice the topic at the same time.

UNIVERSIDAD CATÓLICA DE EL SALVADOR

Subject: Teaching Practicum II

Teacher: Ovidio Torres

Practitioner: Velkis Rosales

Level: English Access

Tutor: Wilson Zepeda

THIRD REACTION PAPER
(First Period)

Describe My last teaching practice at the English Access was different but interesting. As the teacher had to change section, I had to move with him into a different place and people. However, the students always participated a lot and they liked to ask a lot too. In my last class I did not teach grammar, but I had to practice with the students what they had learnt in the grammar explanation that the teacher taught them which was about gerunds and infinitives. So, I was in charge to develop the semi-controlled activities. I include a short warm-up, and then the three semi-controlled activities. The materials I used were the board, pages, and sheet of paper. The seating arrangement was in a semi-circle and the teacher was sit down outside of the classroom watching my class and writing some recommendations.
(Analyze)		Plan Action
Interpret	Generalize
First, I presented myself to the new section, and then I explained the objective and the agenda of that day in order the students know about what was going to be develop during the class. After that, I developed a short warm-up where the students had to make two lines and write in the board as many verbs as possible using the gerund and infinitive form. Then, I started with the semi-control practice. Students have to work in their books. First, they had to read a paragraph, and then discuss with their partners some questions that were below. Consequently, I made trios and I gave a quote to each trio. They had to discuss with their partners what they believed about the quote and then share their point of view with the class. Finally, I developed the last semi-controlled practice. I gave the students a piece of paper with some questions about life. Then, I asked them to stand up and make two lines. Then, they had to discuss the question with the partner who was in front of them, and then they would change partner.	Based on what I already know, I think that explaining the objective and agenda is good because the students will know how the class will work during the whole class.  What I could notice is that some students had some problem when writing gerunds because one student wrote: runing instead of running. So, what I did after the warm-up was to explain why they had to write double consonant in some verbs in gerunds. Based on what I observed, I think that students like to give their point of view about a topic. They like to express what they think and what they believed. What I could see was that students were good at analyzing and comprehending what the quote said about life. What I loved to see in this activity is that all the students were discussing the questions.  I could see that they were working hard and everyone shared their point of view. After that they changed partner and they started doing the same.	So, in the future, I will continue doing the same because I could notice the students were interested in knowing how the class would be developed that day. In future lessons I will consider taking into consideration correcting mistakes in warm-ups activities where the students have to put into practice what they have learnt about the topic. In future lessons I will try to continue implementing activities were the students share ideas, give their point of view, and get along each other. The next time I teach this lesson, I will consider including some personal thinking or quotes where the students share what they think about that. In future lessons I will consider discussions as one of the most important activities where students practice their macro skills and fell free to express their thoughts.

UNIVERSIDAD CATÓLICA DE EL SALVADOR

Subject: Teaching Practicum II

Teacher: Ovidio Torres

Practitioner: Velkis Rosales

Level: English Access

Tutor: Wilson Zepeda

SECOND REACTION PAPER
(First Period)

Describe My second practice in the English Access was really amazing because the students learnt new verbs in the simple past and they practice them a lot. What I could notice in this slice of the lesson is that the students participated a lot and they liked to ask a lot too. I did not teach grammar, but we practiced the topic by making some activities. The seating arrangement was in groups because of the activities we made. In my second class I develop a short lesson plan where I include a warm-up, and then one semi-controlled activity and one free-activity.  The topic was about the simple past. The materials I used were the board, pages, sheet of papers, and a chart.
(Analyze)		Plan Action
Interpret	Generalize
First, I started explaining the objective and the agenda of that day. I did it because the teacher told me that it was important to do it at the beginning of the class in order the students know about what is going to be develop during the class. Consequently, I developed a short warm-up which was according to the topic. It was that the students had to say: I know the simple past of….. it’s……… But I do not know the simple past of……… So, each student had to say a verb, and the next student had to continue doing the same. Then, I started with the semi-control practice which was about finishing the story. The students had to read the story of Snow White and give it an ending according to the pictures that were at the end of the page. Finally, I developed the free practice which was really accurately because in this activity the students had to improve their knowledge about the topic. I had to choose a couple to past to the front and they had to start talking about any topic but using the simple past.	Based on what I already know, I think that it is a good idea to explain the students the agenda of the day because then they will know how the class is going to be developed.  What I could notice is that students had to think about many verbs, but they liked it and they learnt new verbs or the pronunciation of the verbs when they made mistakes. Based on what I observed, I think that the students liked to invent and they thought a lot at the same time. Students shared ideas and they were very creative. What I loved to see in this activity is that all the students wanted to participate. And they improved a lot without practicing before. It was amazing to see students’ participation at this level. They made mistakes when using the verbs in the past tense, but they learnt the correct way to use them.	So, in the future, I will continue doing the same because I could notice the students liked to know the agenda and the activities of that day. And so, they were impatient for doing the activities and knowing how it would work. I will take into consideration to develop a warm up where students can learn something new and have fun at the same time. I think it will help a lot. In future lessons I will try to continue implementing activities were the students share ideas, give their point of view, and get along each other. The next time I teach this lesson, I will be really sure to include activities like this one because in that way students can develop their capacities to talk in front the others and improve their speech at the same time.

UNIVERSIDAD CATÓLICA DE EL SALVADOR

Subject: Teaching Practicum II

Teacher: Ovidio Torres

Practitioner: Velkis Rosales

Level: English Access

Tutor: Wilson Zepeda

FIRST REACTION PAPER
(First Period)

Describe What I could notice in this slice of the lesson is that working in English Access is a new challenge for me because of the way they speak and the level of English they have. Students liked to participate in classes as well as asking many questions at the same time. The teacher sat down in a desk and he observed every detail of my class. I felt very comfortable in my first teaching practicum of this semester because of the environment in the classroom. The materials I used were the board, sheet of papers, charts, pictures and a teddy bear.
(Analyze)		Plan Action
Interpret	Generalize
I started with a short warm up giving clear and short directions. As I wanted to know the students, the warm up consisted in passing a teddy bear. They had to take the teddy bear and presented themselves. Then, I started with the Grammar explanation about Adjective + to-infinitive. The students used to ask many questions and they participate a lot. After the grammar explanation, I started with the controlled practice which was about fill in the blanks. The activity was pretty easy for the students. Including some pictures really help to develop a class. So, in my first practice I included some pictures where the students had to write some sentences bellow each picture using the infinitive form.	Based on what I already know about the warm-ups about working with a new class, it is very important to motivate them and give them the opportunity to express themselves. Based on what I observed, I think that asking questions during the grammar explanation can help the students to understand better a topic. I believe that asking a lot during the grammar explanation help at the moment to develop the practice. And in this case, as the students were focus in the grammar explanation and they asked many questions, the practice was very easy for them. I believe that make the students expressing their point of view really help because it is a way to know if they have learned the way to write sentences applying what they learned during the grammar explanation.	So, in the future, I will continue developing these kind of warm-ups for motivating the students, and also I will find new ways and techniques for not to have a routine of motivation because then they will get bored of the same. In future lessons I will look for more methods to teach the grammar explanation in an easy and funny way to keep the students focus in the explanation. The next time I teach this lesson, I will be sure to include more activities where the students can practice what they have learned in the grammar explanation. In future experiences I will also include more practice to be sure that the topic has been understandable and to have the students busy the complete class.

UNIVERSIDAD CATÓLICA DE EL SALVADOR

Subject: Teaching Practicum I

Teacher: Ovidio Torres

Practitioner: Velkis Rosales

Level: Intermediate English ll

Tutor: Walter Ernesto Alvarenga

THIRD REACTION PAPER
(Third Period)

Describe My last experience in this last period of the semester was really nice because all the students help me to develop a good class. The students paid attention to me and that really help me with my grade. Moreover, they were focused on what I was doing in the class. During the grammar explanation they were quiet and they did not ask questions. The teacher was attentive to see what I was doing as always. The seating arrangement was the common one because of the space and the small room. In my last class, I had to teach the third conditional which was a little complex. However, before starting with the grammar explanation, I made a short warm up and then a presentation introducing the new topic. The materials I used were the board, sheet of paper, charts, and the book.
(Analyze)		Plan Action
Interpret	Generalize
I started with a warm up where they had fun and put into practice what they have learn before. Since I started a new topic for them, they used to feel kind of confused at the very beginning, but when I taught the grammar explanation they had clear ideas about the different between the first, second and third conditional. I think that Intermediate level is a level where the teacher can take advantage of what they have learned in the basic level. I can say that at the moment to start with the controlled practice, it is important to get involve with them in the activity in case they have doubts.	Based on what I know about warm ups, it is important to develop one before starting classes to wake the students up. Based on what I already know about grammar explanation, I think that it will help the students to understand a topic but if you as a teacher give them clear and understandable explanation about the topic. Based on what I observed, the students of this level do not ask too much. So, what I did in this case was to start with the controlled practice where I could notice if they have understood or not. I believe that get involve with the students in the activities will help the students to feel more comfortable in classes and even ask for doubts.	In the future, I will continue developing funny warm ups at the beginning of the classes to wake the students up. So, in the future, I will take into consideration to teach the grammar explanation including more examples for the students to get better ideas about the topic. The next time I teach this lesson, I continue with my own method to teach the grammar because I could notice that they understood my explanation. In future lessons, I will implement practices in which the students can understand better the topic and transmit self-confidence to them.