unit 1 Then and now

Reflective practice is a good strategy which lets us to analyze our daily role. It is useful to identify strengths and weaknesses in the academic labor in order to improve it. Sometimes we forget to think about our labor so, it becomes harder. On the other hand, this unit has been enriching because it offers strategies which can be applied in class, in different levels. Besides, this unit offers a variety of activities focused on communicative skills (listening, writing, reading and speaking). On the contrary, the hardest thing in this unit has been the use of the platform in a cooperative group since we depend on other people to complete the activities. Despite this fact, I have done my best to develop the whole unit. Nevertheless, I am very interested in learning strategies, improving my communicative skills and focusing on teaching English methodology. And of course, I am going to apply as many strategies I can in my school. Methodology Activity: Zoo animals matching task Instructions Work by pairs Look at the pictures and identify the animals you really know in English. Number the animals from 1 to 21 Look at the words that are in the box Write the corresponding number of the animal in front of the appropriate word Identify what animal is not in the list of terms We could check that my students understood my instructions asking them what they have to do. Then, a person in the class matched the first animal and explained to the group what he did. Giving correct instructions and checking for them are important in order to carry out activities in the best way. Pronunciation For me Pronunciation is related to listening so if we prepare listening activities we give our students the opportunity to be in touch with the language. I have found some pronunciation problems in my classes: Shyness: due to different personalities Cluster consonants: because they don’t exist in our language Contractions: some of them are hard to pronounce Phonetics sounds: they read words as in Spanish. Letter by letter. For instance READ is said /read/ They want to write everything but not read it aloud. Lack of pronunciation exercises About my classes, some strategies I do: Dictations Memorizing songs using karaoke: you can download the free software using this link: http://downloads.phpnuke.org/es/download-item-view-g-b-g-n-m/KaraFun.htm you can also download songs in KFN, KAR, CDG, KOK, LRC file letting students speak while I take notes of their mistakes then, I show the error to the students. correcting at the same time of speaking and repeating it (it depends of the activity) In some occasions I ask my students to correct their partners’ mistakes Making students read aloud. recording new vocabulary Most of the new vocabulary I have learned recently is taken from different songs. When I don’t know the new Word I look for its meaning in the dictionary. On internet I use http://www.spanishdict.com link which offers different meanings and the correct pronunciation. After that, I write the word on a piece of paper which is on my night table and I check these words at night. On the other hand, I try to use the word in my students’ exercises in order to remind me the vocabulary. I have also downloaded a dictionary for my mobile phone and as I know how much my students love technology, I have recommended them to do the same because they all have mobiles at school. You go to http://www.argim.net/ link, select downloads and then select your mobile model and the application you want to download for it. This should be downloaded in your computer and copied into the phone. That’s all. It has been useful because we give a different use to my students’ mobiles and has been a tool for English class too. my the students have different techniques to memorize the new vocabulary. For instance, some of them write the pronunciation, others write it on a special page but the most common it’s to write the word with its meaning in Spanish. the most important thing is that they have understood that when it is no possible to recognize a word just using context it´s compulsory to check its meaning. my life Last vacations, In January, my parents, one of my sister, my aunt, my pretty nieces and me traveled to San Andres. It was a fantastic trip because it was the first time my parents traveled by plane and went to the sea.They enjoyed every single moment and of course, I was happy too. we could swim, go around the city see aquatic animals and buy some souveniers because there are many cheaper things for example: alcoholic drinks, blankets and sheets. It is an amazing place to relax because of its friendly people and the weather. IMPORTANT YEARS IN MY LIFE My name is Constanza Castro and I want to share with you some special moments in my life. First of all, I have to say that I have always been a good student due to this, in 1989 my school selected a group of good students who traveled to Medellin and I was one of them. Everything was free and it was the first time I traveled alone by plane. It was terrific! In 1997, I started my studies at Distrital University. As soon as I finished high school I entered to the university. Four years later, I started to work in an institute; it was a good experience because I learnt more as a teacher than as a university student. In 2001, I got my degree as a modern language teacher and my parents were very proud of my achievements. After working as a supplying teacher for a long time, in 2006, I entered to district education and it gave me an economical stability that let me save money. In 2010, I could buy my own house and a year later, I moved to my new home. Nowadays, I live with my pretty bitch there but i still miss my parents and sisters. Last year, I went to Tota Lake with my boyfriend; it was a wonderful time there because of the beauty and the peace of the landscape, and the "company" of course. Unfortunately, we broke up four months ago. this has been a hard moment but I should face it and God is helping me now. That’s all!