Universidad de playa ancha

Facultad de humanidades
Early english teaching practice

Observation stage

Name of the student teacher: Juan José Jara Almuna

Name of the school: San Vicente de Paul

Number of students: 25.

Date: Monday 11th 2009. Class: Second year of high school.

Task nº 1: The school

Refer to the general background of the school in a clear and brief way.

Physical location: Address: Sierra nº 68, Playa Ancha Avenue. Valparaiso.

Organization: There are the parents and students administration that is in charge
of collecting money for activities and in charge of analysising different situations,
which are based on the students needs, new teaching or administrative
requirements, payment of school debts, etc.

Student population: 500 students aprox.

School rules:

• To be cleaned and presentable, hence; the uniform should be held

impeccable.

• Always arrive on time. Lateness should be explained through certificates or

any other documentation.

• Respect for each other. Lack of respect is sanctioned depending on the

grade of it.

• To always make rows in the backyard before starting classes.

• No students get out of the classroom without the teacher’s permission, save
this is an emergency.

• Parents should always try to attend parents meeting when these are
required.

Task nº 2: The classroom

Comment about:

The atmosphere of the room: Excellent. The students do not seem to have any
sort of conflict within the space given. The social interactions are well developed in
this area.

The levels of engagement in the room: Good. Students do not seem to

experience either discomfort or to be in want of a room change.

Students seating: Well placed seats, even though the space in the classroom is
small.
Space: Mid-sized room with enough space to give a class without further
problems. Activities at which the students should perform acting shows and team-
group debates are hard to carry out.

Whiteboard location: In front of the seating places. In the classroom, everyone

can see what it is being written on the whiteboard, including the ones that are sat
on the rear.

Classroom equipment: Enough. 1 whiteboard, 25 seats, 26 tables (including the

teacher’s one) 30 lockers; one each and 1 shelf to keep the teacher’s material in.

Task nº 3: The teacher.

Describe the following.

Classroom routine: The teacher gets to the classroom with the students at the
same time. Next, they greet the students and ask them to sit down in silence.
Then, she starts checking the class list while the students get their material out.
Finally, once, she confirmed those who do not attend the class, begin the day’s
lesson as usual.
She always set out exercises at the beginning of the class with the aim of remind
the students of the previous session.

Motivational activities performed: Actually, There is no “planned motivational

speech”. It turns up when it is necessary and suitable for the situation.

Learning activities conducted: hand out photocopies, get back assignments to

the students, and speak about what they are working on. She follows up the
regular method.

Material resources used: The teacher uses photocopies, activities from the book.
The radio is also an alternative available but this material is not frequently
employed in listening activities.
Stages of the lesson: The first stage lasts 5 minutes and is basically when the
teacher greet the students and ask about what they remember about the previous
lesson.
Once, the students have sat down and ordered themselves, catching what is being
commented on, the teacher starts explaining the unit she is going to review or
teach (in case she is introducing a new matter). For instance, this stage lasts 30
minutes. Motivational speech and activities are included in this time.
Finally, 5 minutes are left to check out the hands-out and correct possible mistakes
the students have made in the process.

Lesson stages vary depending on the activity being carried out. For example,
Wednesdays are kept just to English-speaking practice. As students need to
prepare their material for this sort of exercises, the teacher gives them
approximately 20 minutes for them to work on their own.

Task 4ª

In this observation task, focus on the things that help to create conditions for
Effective learning and on the aspects that play a part in preventing learning

How motivated are the learners? Why?

Most students are self-motivated, allow dialogue and criticism, always hand in the
assignments they are given and show proper knowledge for their level. If they have
problems of understanding, they let the teacher know. In addition, the students like
to be kept informed and take part in class discussion, which make teaching more
accurate. They work well in this environment.

Are they taking part in their own learning? How?

Yes, they are. They are conscious of what learning something means and how
important it actually is, so they try to meet this goal by doing the exercises given by
the teacher and checking out the information when they do not know the answer. If
they still do not the answer, they try to imply it from either the text or the source
they are getting the information. The teacher plays a fundamental role in guiding
the learners toward this attitude. Finally, the pupils compare results with the
correction written on the whiteboard and attempt to produce similar examples next
time.

Are they expecting the teacher do the work for them?

No, they are not. They are aware that they should do their own assignments in
order to learn. However; they expect the teacher to set out the steeps to carry out
the task given, both by writing examples on the whiteboard and by providing
thorough explanations before they start.

Do they like to participate in work group? If so, how do they behave?

Most students do not present problems to work in group. However; there several
students who prefer to do exercises on their own.
Their behavior is good. They are respectful with each other and always hold an
appropriate environment for work.

What kind of learning activities do the students like the most? What do they
like the least?

The students like to do activities, in which they should write stories, hence imagine
different situations, describe locations and places that they have visited and talk
about their life styles. They prefer grammar and composition rather than any other
activity.