Last class (English Access course)

Yesterday, I had my last class with the English access course. First of all, I have to say that there were some inconvenients because the three classmates are not suppose to teach at the same hour; just two can do it at the same hour. I got to the room on time and I was getting prepare with everything but any teacher was there to evaluate my class. I talked with teacher Ovidio who is one of the teachers who evaluate those classes, and he told me that I had to wait to the second hour because nobody was able to evaluate the class. Later on, he contacted another teacher, so I was able to teach my class. I started a little bit late because of the situation I said.  The warm up activity was to be done in groups. Each group was given a piece of paper with sentences that students were to phantomine and the representative of each group had to guess those sentences.  It was a nice activity as I could see students having fun on trying to transmit the ideas. I gave a little review on the topic which was the use of going to (the teacher started the topic last class), so then I wento to the practice. 
I had students working on some appendixes I provided. One appendix was to complete the sentences using the verbs given in brackets. Another one was to complete sentences with the verb that best matches them. 
I had them also say sentences with patten given. This activity was great because I had the pattern written on pieces of paper and they were in some kind of envelops. I was clapping while students were passing a tape to each other, so when I stopped clapping the one who got the tape last, had to choose an envelop and say the sentence using the pattern. There were also other phrases such as "candy" or "good luck," so students who got those phrases were given a candy. The last activity I provided was about given students a piece of paper with pictures and some words they had to use to write sentences.  I was also supposed to have students read their sentences but time was not enough to do it. 

THIRD CLASS ENGLISH ACCESS COURSE

Yesterday, I had my third class with the English access course group, and it was  the most wonderful experience I had ever had. 
When planning my class, I did not know what to do because I just had to focus on the topic telling a story. I had a hardful time planning my class but the satisfaction I got at the end of the class was awesome. 

The warm-up activity was about giving students a page where they had some pictures of very famous stories, so I asked do you know the name of the story for picture "a" for example, so students were trying to say the names of those stories in English. as second, I asked them to write the names of the stories under each picture. I helped them of course. In the same page, there were some descriptions about each story, so students were to write the tittle of the book next to each statement and they did well. I have them repeat the statements and then I asked which was the story, and they provided the name correcttly.
I gave an introduction by narrating the story about Cinderella, so base on this I develop the next activity which was to have students working in groups so they could help to order the stripes I gave them in a envelop. Those stripes had the story of Cinderella on them. One group formed the story first, so then I had them read the story. 
My next activity  and the most successful one was when I pasted the names of some stories around the classroom.  I asked students to go to the story they knew. There I asked them to talk with the students who got in each story anything they knew about the story.  At last, I elicit for information of the stories, I mean, I asked each group to narrate their story. This was great. I got surprised to see on how students did this activity.  They narrated the story in a wonderful way. 
I made some mistakes of course, but the fact on having students producing the language in the last activity was the most rewarding part for me. It was not just me who got surprised  but also the teacher who was evaluating my class and a friend of mine who was recording it. 

Englis access course 2nd class

On Monday, I had my second class with these special students from the English access course. I said special because they are wonderfull on carrying out the activities. I got a little late because I had classes before and then I had to run to the rooms that are in the court, but I got there to do my job. I had planned a warm-up activity which at the last moment I did not do.. I change it and the new one worked really nice as students  were eager and enthusiactics carrying out the activity.I developed some activities by using  a song called "because you loved me" which was very useful for me as my topic was irregular verbs and it contains mane of them. While doing a fill in activity, I could notice some students were singing the song, so at the end I had them sing the song. I divided them into two groups, each of them were to sing a stanza each, and it worked nice. They really liked it. The only problem was that I took   too much time on this, and it was marked in the feedback part. The activities I developed were to have students practice in an oral and written form the irregular verbs in the simple past form, so I planned activities for them to write the verbs, and then I had them say the verbs. There was another activity in which students were to say a sentences by using the verb I provided. They actually did it but in the feedback I was suggested to do it in a different way which I consider can be more benefitial for the teacher and for the students as well.  This suggestion was to give students a verb, given them time to think and write the sentence, and at last to have them say their sentences.. 

ENGLISH ACCESS COURSE 1st CLASS

Well, we have just started the second period and by now we are working with the new groups assigned. Today, I had my first contact with the students of the English access course. To start, I have to say that I got a little late to the classroom so that I could not have everything prepared as I always do. I could not write the date and the objective on the board, and it was mentioned in the feedback I was given by teacher Ovidio. 

The warm-up activity was about to form the past form of the regular verbs I mentioned with the pieces of paper I gave students in a bag. They worked in groups and the activity worked very nice; students liked it at all. Then, I continued with another activity based on the previous exercise. Students were to write sentences with the verbs they formed previously. It was nice because from each  group all students wrote at least one sentence or two in the paper I provided. 
I carried out a conversation too. There was repetition before students practice it in pairs. Then when I asked them to practice it in pairs, they did it well. At the very beginning I though about having them practice the conversation by the onion ring way, but as the space is not that enough I had to do something else and it worked. 
Generally, the group is very nice and they work in every single activity you ask them to work. It is great because you are not pussing or let´s say forcing students to do what they are supposed to. These students do it immediately.  
There is just one thing more to say.  As they are adolescents, they sometimes use a lot of the mother tongue (Spanish), so I was asked to push them to use more English.  

My 4th class of this first period

This Tuesday the 21st, I had my last class with the Intermediate English I. As always I got there early so that I could have everything I was going to use prepared.  I started the class with a warm-up activity in which students were to work in groups. It was an activity called "hidden pictures." Students were to find some images provided in the same appendix in which they had a big picture and it was there where they had to find the hidden pictures. It was nice to see them working and trying to find the images. 
I continued with the class by explaining some grammar points regarding adverbs of manner. I was explaining each of the rules to get an adverbs from an adjective and at the same time I was asking students to help me saying examples. It was great because they were putting into practice what I was teaching. 
I gave students an appendix in which they were to complete the statements with the adverbs provided and all of them did well. 
At last, I asked students to make groups and work on the exercise I was to provide. I gave them some pieces of paper with words. What they were to do was to form logical sentences by using those papers  and applying the rules of the adverbs of manner I explained. Each group could form the sentences but one of course finished first. 
This has been a great experiences for me, and I hope it has been the same for all of you guys.... 

3 class... 2 semester

On Tuesday 14th, I had my third class with the intermediate English I. This time I was to have more students´ involvement in the class, so the tutor teacher asked me to bring more speaking activities rather than the ones that were in the lesson plan which were more for writing. 

I got on time to the classroom and got everything prepare. Well, I though I did not have enough activities to develop, but when the time to teach came, I could realize that time was not enough and I just could carry out 3 activities from the 5 I planned to do. 

I gave students a dialogue in which they were going to complete the sentences with one of the options provided. This was a nice activity because whenever students had doubts, they asked for clarification and I could do it. I could clarified doubts. This same dialogue was useful for the next activity which was to have students practice the conversation with different classmates. To do this, I used the common activity called "the onion ring." I could notice that students liked the activity as well because when they were practicing it, they were excited. 

Let me tell you that in this group there is a student who uses  crutches, so whenever a teacher wants to involve him in the activities that require move around that students is like not taken into account, so what I did was to take a students from the " onion ring activity" to go and practice the conversation with him; then, I sent another student to practice with him and so on.

second class with intermediate English I

Yesterday, I had my second class with the intermediate group. The class went well as I got the same grade as the previous class. 

This time, I was kind of nervous because it was supposed that the teacher in charge of the group was not going to be on time, and I was supposed to start the class without her, but fortunately, she got on time. I was kind of nervous because it was almost time to start the class, and students were not in the classroom but they were outside. I did not imagine myself calling them to get inside that´s why I was not comfortable knowing that the teacher was not going to be there when the class was to start. 

I developed my activities as normal as always. I think students liked them because they were happy when carrying out them.  

I introduced the new lesson plan teachers have, but I gotta say that I made some changes in the activities I was to carry out. I think they worked really well because in the feedback session I was congratulated again because of my performance.
I explained some grammar points regarding the use of so and such which students understood very well because when the time to practice the theory came, they did it well.