Journals

Name: Klein, Natalia Soledad.
DNI: 29.251.267.
Practicum Period : Third.
Escuela Secundaria Cet 24.
Observation N° 1.
Topic: Verb To be. (positive-negative)
Date: 29th May, 2015
I arrived at the school at 7.45 a.m. because I wanted to get ready when the teacher
called me to start the class. The bell didn´t ring since it was a change of hour and the
students hadn’t had any break. They waited for the next teacher in the classroom.
I waited for the teacher in the corridor because she was in another classroom giving
classes. The teacher introduced me and told the students why I was there. The students
received me perfectly and immediately they started asking questions to me about my
name, my surname, and so on.
Firstly, I sat next to the teacher because she wanted to show me some things from
the books. Then, I sat at the back of the classroom and I could observe the whole class. I
could observe that the students spoke very little in English and the teacher needed to use
Spanish to make them understand her. The teacher formulated a plan of work on the basis
of students’ needs. The students did the activities well but they are very active and the
teacher was always asking them to sit at their chairs.
The teacher checked every activity which was done. She did it orally and the key for
the activities were written on the board. The class finished and I spoke with the teacher
about the next observation class. She told about topics and vocabulary which could
appropriate to teach during the practicum.
Comentario [R1]:
Why was this so? Did she apply any
teaching strategy?
Comentario [R2]: What do you mean
by ‘very active’? Were they engaged with
the activities proposed? Why?
Comentario [R3]: What kind of
activities were done in class? How did this
observation help you become aware of the
students’ needs?
Cecilia

DNI: 29.251.267.
Observation N° 2.
Topic: Verb To be. (positive-negative) + Jobs.
Date: 2nd June, 2015
I arrived at the school at 10,15 a.m. the lesson started at 10,30 a.m. The students
were at their break and most of them were listening to music or chatting on their cells. I
met the teacher in the teacher´s room. The bell rang and we came into the classroom. The
students were absent; they started appearing a few minutes later. It is very difficult to
make them enter immediately when the bell rings .
The class started and the teacher and I greeted the students. They were friendly but
they were moving all the time. It is difficult to make them be quiet. I sat at the back of the
classroom and I started observing the students and the whole class. The teacher started
revising the verb “to be” and the “jobs” orally with some sentences as My father is a ……
and the students should complete the sentences with the jobs. All the sentences were
written on the board and the students had to copy them.
The teacher tried to create an optimal environment to facilitate the process through
the language is learned but it was very difficult for a moments. When the class was
finishing, the teacher made sure that every activity had beenchecked. The students finished
the lesson with all their activities done and corrected.
Comentario [R4]: What do you think
about this procedure? How communicative
was it? What was its purpose? Was it
effective? Why / why not? Were students
motivated?
Comentario [R5]: Why? What did she
do? How did students react?
You should explain your observations
including further details.
Comentario [R6]: What did they learn
during the class? What did you notice
regarding teaching strategies?
Cecilia

DNI: 29.251.267.
Class N° 1.
Topic: Verb To be (positive-negative) and Jobs. (revision of topics asked by the teacher)
Date: 5th June, 2015
The class started at 8.10 in the morning. The students received me perfectly. The
teacher gave me some pieces of advice and she sat at the back of the classroom. She helped
me with the video since I had to film the first class. She was very friendly in doing it. I
prepared the class to teach new jobs and revise the verb to be (positive-negative forms). I
brought flashcards contrasting the positive and negative forms of the singular verb to be.
The students understood the idea of the activity and they paid special attention to the
pictures and the sentences. They practiced the verb to be orally making sentences with
people from Río Colorado. I tried to correct the pronunciation of the jobs. The students
tried to do their best.
Then, I tried to make them guess what the article was about through phrases and
extracts from the article. The guessing strategy worked very well and it encouraged them to
speak in English. When they read the article, they could confirm or deny their
expectations. Finally, I taught the students the negative form of the verb “to be”. It is new
for them. I wrote positive examples from the article on the board and they helped me to
write them into the negative forms. They learned the negative forms perfectly.
The only problem was that they couldn´t follow me explaining in English, I had to
use Spanish at timesduring the class in order to help them understand me. They made
sentences using people from Río Colorado as they did in the previous classes with their
teacher. During the class the students worked very well and they asked doubts about the
verb to be and the pronunciation of some jobs. I walked around the classroom, monitoring
their progress.
I had prepared three activities and the closure of the class but I could do only two
activities. Fortunately, I could check all the activities the students had done and they
finished the lesson with all the activities checkedon the board. In my following lesson plans
I will have to plan only two activities because the students took too much time to do the
activities. I will continue bringing flashcards because I could call their attention all the
time while I was explaining and they participated during the class.
Comentario [R7]: Was this done
communicatively? Were SS able to use the
language to communicate?
Comentario [R8]: The use of L1 is not
forbidden, especially in the case of
students who are not used to being
exposed to the L2. However, translation
and long explanations in L1 should not be
systematized. Did you aid comprehension
by keeping your English simple and
implementing the necessary teaching
strategies? Why couldn’t SS understand
your speaking the L2?
Comentario [R9]: Was the focus on
form only?
Comentario [R10]: What were they
doing?
Comentario [R11]: Why was this so?
Did they really need all that time? Did you
keep any time limits?
Comentario [R12]: Apart from the use
of flashcards, what other teaching
strategies can be effective with this group?
Cecilia

DNI: 29.251.267.
Practicum Period : Secondary.
Class N° 2.
Topic: Verb To be (Interrogative form)
New Jobs.
The class started at 10.30 in the morning. The bell rang and the students came to
the classroom a bit later. The teacher and I were already in the classroom waiting for them.
The students sat in a semi-circle in order to foster interaction between them. They started
speaking about the band “Metro 5” presented in the previous class. It was very difficult but
not impossible. Fortunately, I exemplified and paraphrased in order to make them speak
about the band.
Then, I invited them to come to another classroom in the presentation stage where
they could play an interactive game. The game was projected on the wall. The students
enjoyed it because it was new for them; they never used the projector in the English
classes. After that, they worked on the new jobs and an interview, I explained to them the
new structure through the use of flashcards and eliciting answers from the learners. They
worked with the interview in pairs. They did the activities well. I tried to correct their
pronunciation as much as possible.
Finally, I invited the students to imagine they have their own famous band and
answer some questions about it. Some of the students shared their answers. The rest of the
class was still in silence. To sum up, the lesson was successful because the learners could
understand the new structure and they did the activities well. Also, they felt free to speak
when they had been in silence almost the whole lesson in the previous class. It was a
progress in the lesson. I will continue encouraging them to speak through different
strategies and make them feel comfortable during the class.
Comentario [R13]: Good!
Comentario [R14]: Were they
motivated by this type of activities and
materials?
Comentario [R15]: Did you try to
encourage their participation?
Comentario [R16]: Are these the only
parameters to take into account? What
about the SS’s learning and motivation?
Comentario [R17]: Such as…?
Comentario [R18]: Good thinking!!!
Cecilia

DNI: 29.251.267.
Class N° 3.
Topic: Places in the City
The class started at 8.10 and it finished at 8.50 in the morning. The students were
already in the classroom, so I asked them to sit in a semi-circle since the class was a bit
disorganized.
In the presentation stage, the students revised the verb to be into the positive,
negative and interrogative forms and also, they practiced personal questions. They started
working in a semi-circle but then they sat in pairs to do a worksheet about an article from
Río Colorado. They worked in pairs perfectly; they seemed to be more motivated than in
groups. I tried to encourage them to speak and read the sentences aloud in order to make
them feel comfortable and free within the classroom.
Finally, I think that the learners are more confident than in the other two classes
and they spoke a bit more class by class. This is one of my objectives since when I started
the practicum the students didn´t speak in English and the explanations were in Spanish.
In my third class, I could give a part of the explanation in English and they understood me.
I used strategies such as modelling, exemplifying, showing and paraphrasing in order to be
understood by them.
Comentario [R19]: Was this done
communicatively?
Comentario [R20]: What did the task
consist in?
Comentario [R21]: Why do you think
this was so?
Comentario [R22]: Free to do what?
Comentario [R23]: Good! Did they use
the L2 to do so?
Comentario [R24]: 
What are your other objectives?
Comentario [R25]: Good for you,
Natalia!!
Cecilia

DNI: 29.251.267.
Class N° 4.
Topic: There is/There are (positive-negative)
The class started at 10.30 and it finished at 11.50 in the morning. It was a bit
difficult to order the students but finally, a few minutes later, the students sat on the
chairs. Once I could greet the students, I asked them to sit in a semi-circle as every class. It
facilitated the organization and the view of the board.
In the presentation stage the students revised and practiced the places in the city
seen in the previous class and they learned the new structure “there is/there are”. They
worked on an interview done to a neighbor of Río Colorado and they felt comfortable in
doing the activities since they were about their own city. There were some pronunciation
mistakes but they worked well. Also, they did an individual activity practicing the new
structure.
I gave a worksheet to each student. The strategies used were modelling, showing,
pointing, exemplifying. These types of strategies seemed to be useful in order to make the
students speak. When I gave them an example, they made sentences using my example and
they did it well. If I didn´t give them an example for the activity, they would feellost.
Finally, I asked them to sit in a semi-circle again to close to lesson. They worked on a
description of their favorite city and then, they shared their descriptions in front of the
class.
I think I will continue using those strategies to make the students speak and
encourage them to do the activities. The strategies function well but I should continue
working on speaking skills. Fortunately, they understood the complete explanation in
English using the strategies and they used very little Spanish during the lesson.
Comentario [R26]: Did it foster
interaction among them?
Comentario [R27]: The focus is more
often on grammar than on communication.
Could this focus be further developed to
other language areas? How?
Comentario [R28]: About?
Comentario [R29]: Sharing their
productions gives SS a sense of
achievement.
Comentario [R30]: Well done,
Natalia!!!
What have you learnt so far?
Cecilia

DNI: 29.251.267.
Period of the Practicum: Secondary.
Class N° 5.
Topic: There is/ There are (Interrogative form)
The class lasted 40 minutes and it started at 8.10 in the morning. The students were
already in their classroom since it was a change of hour and they couldn´t go out.
The teacher and I decided to film the second video that day since the students were
prepared to do that. During the three previous classes the teacher, who was observing me,
tried to film a few minutes from the class in order to make the students feel more
comfortable to do the real video in one of the following classes. The teacher suggested it
because the students became so nervous with the camera in the first class when the teacher
filmed the first video. Another problem was the language; the students were not prepared
to speak in English so I tried to encourage them to speak in English in the previous classes.
I taught them how to express in English and I made them understand me through different
strategies such as exemplifying, pointing, repetition, modelling and showing when I was
explaining a new topic in English since they were used to listening to the explanations into
Spanish.
Fortunately, the students were comfortable and friendly during the class and I
could explain the new topic in English and they could understand me well. It was very
important that they could be able to understand me explaining in English because they
made a progress in their learning. The video was filmed without stops and I tried to use all
the possible strategies in order to make myself me understood understand by them. The
teacher who was is filming stopped the video when the secretary entered into the
classroom to give some news to the students. I gave a worksheet with the description of
San Martin de los Andes and I taught the interrogative form taking into account the
description given before. The students understood it well and they could do the two
activities proposed. They asked all their doubts. I adapted one activity which was proposed
by the teacher before entering the class. I couldn´t do the closure since the bell rang
before.
To sum up, I think the strategies were effective were working well inside the
classroom. They understand me when I am speaking in English taking into account they
spoke a very little in the first class. I will continue using different strategies and using
visual aids which take the students’ attention all the time while I am explaining.
Comentario [R31]: The procedure to
record the lessons should have been one
that wouldn’t result that invasive. Ideally,
SS should not notice the lesson is being
recorded.
Comentario [R32]: You should have
recorded the lesson as it was. I am sure
that by applying the necessary teaching
strategies, they would understand your
speaking the L2
Comentario [R33]: Excellent!
Comentario [R34]: And they aid
comprehension…
Well done, Natalia!
Cecilia

DNI: 29.251.267.
Period of the Practicum: Secondary.
Class N° 6.
Topic: Places in the house.
When I arrived at 10.20 in the morning, the students were in another classroom
doing a different activity in the previous subject. The bell rang at 10.30 a.m. and they went
to the break. The teacher and I waited for them in the corridor up to the moment when the
bell rang. Then the students came to their own classroom.
I started the lesson revising the interrogative form of the structure “there is/ there
are” since I couldn´t give them their homework in the previous class. They did a role-play
using Rio Colorado, Médanos, Bahía Blanca and other cities which they had visited. Then,
they sat in a semi—circle and I presented the parts of the house through flashcards using
the colors. Immediately, I introduced the new question form “how many…”. They
understood the explanation well.
After that, they did two more activities and they did them in groups and in pairs.
There were students who prefer to work individually. The teacher told me that they were
used to doing it. They worked perfectly together and individually. They interacted among
them and asked doubts freely. There were students who asked in English and others who
asked in Spanish and when I answered in English, they continued speaking as much as
possible in English. I could control and check all the activities. There are pronunciation
mistakes but I tried to correct them and I asked them to repeat the correct pronunciation
after me .
Finally, I think that the strategies are working well and I will continue using them.
Also, the flashcards are very important since I could catch their attention during the
explanation. The students are improving a lot class after class. I am happy because I could
make them speak and understand the foreign language.
Comentario [R35]: How did they react
to this kind of activity?
Comentario [R36]: This is not clear…
Comentario [R37]: The students have
made great advancements!
Did you interrupt them as they were
speaking or did you wait until they
finished?
Comentario [R38]: Which strategies?
Comentario [R39]: It is not just a
matter of calling learners’ attention. That
strategy caters for visual learners’ needs,
and it aids comprehension.
Comentario [R40]: Make them or help
them? 
Good work, Natalia!
Cecilia

DNI: 29.251.267.
Third Period.
Escuela Cet n° 24.
Class N° 7
Topic: Furniture and Prepositions.
Date: 26th June, 2015.
The class started at 8.10 in the morning and it lasted 40 minutes. It finished at 8.50 in the
morning. The students were already in the class waiting for the teacher and me. The class was
friendly and the students were quiet and they sat in their chairs as soon as we came into the
classroom.
The lesson was based on new vocabulary related to furniture and prepositions. In the
warm-up the students revised the given structure with the introduction of the furniture with the
prepositions. They were interested in the new vocabulary and the started talking about their own
furniture. Some of the students spoke in English and others spoke in Spanish and I answered in
English trying to encourage them to speak in English and it was successful. They could make
sentences using the prepositions with the classroom furniture such as chairs, doors and windows.
The students could do all the activities and I could check all of them. I wrote all the answers on the
board in order to make them check their own activities freely. I invited the students to interact
among them and it was great since they tried to make dialogues speaking about their furniture
and houses.
The class finished fantastically. The learners were interested in the new vocabulary and
the prepositions.
Comentario [R41]: Great! This implies
they are gaining self-confidence!
Comentario [R42]: What have you
learnt so far, Natalia?
Cecilia

DNI: 29.251.267.
Third Period.
Escuela Cet n° 24.
Class N° 8
Topic: Family Members and Verb “have got” (positive/negative)
Date: 30rd June, 2015.
I arrived at the school at 10.30 in the morning. The teacher and I waited for the students inside the
classroom since they came from the break and they arrived a bit late and it was difficult to
organize them.
The lesson was about family members and the new verb “have got” in the positive and
negative; singular and plural forms. I brought them photographs of my own family and
immediately they got interested in the new topic. Some of them knew my family so they asked me
questions in Spanish and I corrected them in order to ask me into English. The lesson was based on
the listening and speaking skills. I wanted to improve their speaking skills making them role-play
and speak among them about their own families.
I continued working with the vocabulary related to family. Fortunately, they were
motivated with the song I brought to them and they listened to it carefully and they tried to do the
activities while they were listening as I asked them before starting the activity. They made some
pronunciation mistakes which I corrected immediately and the new grammar topic was acquired
perfectly. I could check all the activities.
Finally, the students could speak about their families and interact among them. It was
fantastic since it was one of my objectives from my first class because the students spoke very
little English.
Comentario [R43]: Told?
Comentario [R44]: What does this
mean? Did you continue teaching? What
did learners do?
Comentario [R45]: What effect did
this cause in them?
Comentario [R46]: Learnt? What is the
difference between learning and acquiring?
Comentario [R47]: I am glad to read
that the effort you made to encourage the
students to use the L2 communicatively
paid off.
Cecilia

DNI: 29.251.267.
Third Period.
Escuela Cet n° 24.
Class N° 9
Topic: Family Members and Verb “have got” (interrogative form)
Date: 3rd July, 2015.
It was my last class. I arrived a bit early at the school since I wanted to talk to the
headmaster. He congratulated me and he felt happy because he could give me the opportunity to
finish my career in his institution.
The class started at 8.10 in the morning and it finished at 8.50 in the morning. The
students were waiting for the teacher and me. The lesson was based on the introduction of the
interrogative form of the verb “have/has got”. I brought them a family description from a boy who
was living in London. I found it in the book called Teens 1. The students were interested in the
description and they acquired the new question structure well and they could do the role-plays
greatly. Some of the pairs of students stood at the front and did their role-plays and others were a
bit shy and they only read them from their chairs.
I could check all the activities. When the bell rang to go to the break, everyone gave me a big hug
and they told me that they will miss me in the following classes. I finished the class crying and they
gave me a beautiful picture with all their names written and lots of hearts drawn in it. It was a
fantastic experience and the students were friendly and they felt comfortable which was very
important for me
Comentario [R48]: Course of studies
(check difference in meaning with ‘career’)
Comentario [R49]: learnt
Comentario [R50]: You were able to
create a strong bond with the group,
Natalia. 
You both taught and learnt.
Congratulations on your work!
Cecilia

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