Teachers | englishcourse

Teachers' training based on experience

Formación de maestros basada en la experiencia

VIDEO: "I'm a Teacher: An Educator's Anthem"

Most of us, if not all, have experienced multiple problems during the first days in Teaching. But we have also gained experience and have improved in most of the areas of our fields One day, one realizes that working hard is the key to become oneself an innovator, and so go as far as one wants. (Ruben)

Los maestros vivimos experiencias difíciles entorno a las primeras clases. Es importante sobreponerse a estas situaciones. El estudio y el trabajo arduo son parte esencial de nosotros en busca de ser mejores.

Página conectada con CHILDREN y VOCABULARY

CLASSROOM SURVIVAL INSTRUCTION.

Source: NEW MANAGMENT https://newmanagement.com/tips/classroom_signs.html

Help yourself as a teacher by making your students to learn these instructions. This works better with CHILDREN.

InstructionsRuben

00:00 / 00:46

The teacher is 100% research, 1% intelligence, 50% materials, and 99% hardwork!

El maestro debe ser 100% investigación, 1% inteligencia, 50% materiales, y 99% trabajo duro.

September, 2018

APPROXIMATION OF THE LANGUAGES

We need to establish the appropiate forms to teach the English language. These forms are generated by the interaction with your students. Applying ceritan DIAGNOSTIC TESTS may help to understand the background of your students. Now that you have diagnosed your students, try to look for those instruments, materials, or plans to generate knowledge in them.

I recently surf the internet trying to create a language corpus that could help the comprehension of English by my students. This investigation made me think of the many words that have been taken as loans by the English language, and that could be the starting point for an specific and fundamental plan to aboard the language creating a consciousness in most of the students by telling them that for example some of the English words are more easily captured by our brains than others. In my book, certain types of morphology in the words are really approximations to the words that we have been part of our everyday readings or speechsin our mother tongue. As an example, I would write the following sentence; "My father is intelligent" which is a transformation of the sentence "Mi padre es inteligente".

Based on the former analogy, I reached the conclusion that Mexicans or Spanish speakers are abler to learn and understand English language than Chinese or Arabic speakers. How come? Well, the answer is easy; because of the approxiamtion in MORPHOLOGY AND PHONOLOGY between the 2 languages. ;)

September: HOMEWORK

Recently, I could observe that for quick processes of TEACHING, HOMEWORK should be taken as the MAIN instrument of PRODUCTION in the ENGLISH CLASS. It was fantastic for me to OBSERVE how students improve their PERFORMANCE through this connection. Additionally, I could have a better control of what was asked n every single task. So, my suggestion would be; "Establish part of your GOALS according to the homework you will give to your students". It really works!

PASIÓN POR LO QUE HACES / PASSION FOR WHAT YOU DO

La enseñanza del inglés requiere de mucha reflexión y análisis de los fenómenos lingüísticos, sociales, culturales, así como del conocimiento y dominio de estrategias que faciliten la adquisición de la lengua inglesa en los aprendientes. Independientemente de la disciplina de los alumnos en el aula, el maestro debería pegarse al uso de la lengua en el aula, pensando que la lengua es el motor más importante para captar la atención del mismo aprendiente.

Creo que tod@ maestr@ debe vivir experimentando los aspectos duros y abstractos hasta facilitar su comprensión para después exponerlos de manera más fácil. Es decir, el dominio casi absoluto de la lengua podría, seguramente, potencializar los aspectos didácticos y pedagógicos que sustentan la clase.

To teach English is to have passion for the study of all what is part of the English language. For example; the linguistic, social, and cultural aspects, as well as the knowledge about didactics and pedagogy. From my experience, English teacher should believe in their potential to use the language in the classroom. Independently of the discipline in the classroom, the use of language should be the phenomenon nedded to light up every single processe in the classroom.

DEMO LESSON

For me, a demo class should be prepared very good so that you can impress your observers. Although you will prepare it in order to avoid any difficulty during the teaching session, some drawbacks coming from your students may appear. Then, I think that it would be a good experience if the class presents apparently uncontrolled situations. Your ability to solve these situations will require your experience.

As an English teacher, I have given "demo classes" many times for different language schools in Mexico. Unfortunately, people who ask you to give a demo class hardly ever, if never, are trained to tell you what they want to observe in your class. From my point of view, this tipe of event is not taken seriously. They see this class a mere procedure for being hired. They never take with them an observation sheet or a formal format where you can see which aspects of your presentation they are evaluating.

I can see that people in charge for this demo class lack of training because they seldom tell you the specifications that the class should cover. In my opinion, they should tell you how many students are going to be in class and what kind of students they are going to be. On the other hand, they should also tell you what aspects of pronunication, vocabulary, grammar, speaking, etc., are going to be evalauted.

According to the page; Learning Spy (click here), every observer should question the candidate with relevant questions about his or her presentation. I think this is important because candidates will realize that they are now in a position in which they are reflecting on the number of situations that occur or could've occured during the class. Again, you have the opportunity to show how much experience you have.

Were there any surprises?
How might you have done that differently?
Can you explain what was happening when..?
Were you aware of..?
What do you think the impact of x might be?

Clase muestraRuben

00:00 / 02:18

CLASE MUESTRA

Basado en mi experiencia, una clase muestra debería prepararse muy bien para impresionar a los observadores o contratistas. Sin embargo, la clase debería también incluir soluciones premeditadas para chispazos de situaciones que aparentemente son de descontrol para el maestro. Es decir, se debe pensar en la hipotética situación de que se presentara algún algún tipo de alumno que interrumpe, que no ha comprendido las indicaciones, que no pone atención, que fastidia, etc. Todo esto con el fin de medir tu experiencia y audacia.

Estoy un poco desconcertado respecto a las clases muestra que le solicitan a un docente de inglés quien esta buscando una oportunidad laboral en equis centro de trabajo. Me he dado cuenta que las escuelas solicitan este trámite más por costumbre y curiosidad que por verlo en un plano profesional y ético. Puedo ver que la mayoría de los que nos observan, en este tipo de sesión, no saben exactamente que observar, pues casi nunca llevan un lista de cotejo o de observación. De hecho nunca te dicen que es lo que van a observar de tu clase. Me ha tocado presentarme a entrevistas de trabajo en las que siempre me dicen "nos gustaría que nos regalara una clase muestra". Casi nunca de los nunca te dicen para que nivel de inglés, y casi siempre te mienten sobre el número de alumnos que tendrás y si estos serán reales o no. Por supuesto, difícilmente te dan retroalimentación o críticas sólidas basadas en un verdadero análisis. Ante esto, yo me pregunto ¿para qué sirven las clases muestra?

Lo anterior me ha servido para entender que casi nadie se ha metido en la cabeza que una clase muestra debería ser cosa seria, en especial si se piensa en fortalecer la escuela o empresa. Ha sido debido a lo anterior que he querido crear mis propias estrategias al dar una clase muestra. El analizar esta situación me ha llevado a cuestionarme sobre lo que yo pediría observar en una clase muestra, en especial si la escuela fuera mi propio negocio.

Learning styles

They are important for the success of teaching. 4 Types of learning;

Concrete learners: They learn by games, pictures, films, and video, talking in pairs, etc.

Analytical learners: they liked studying grammar, English books, alone. They also like reading newspapers, finding their own mistakes, and having problems to work on.

Communicative learners: They learn by observing and listening to native speakers, talking to friends in English, watching TV in English, using English in shops, etc.

Authority-oriented learners: They like the teacher to explain everything, writing everything in a notebook, having their own textbook, learning to read, studying grammar and learning English words by seeing them

October 10, 2017

Physilogical and psycological aspects in the teaching and learning process. Show interest in your students

For decades, I was hardly ever concentrated on my studies because of my health problems. Despite some teachers realized thatI had a poor health, they never changed their way of teaching.

I think that teachers normally come to the classroom and start the class without considering aspects such as the students physical condition or health. Teachers may know a liitle more about his or her students if they really pay attention to their answers to these questions; Did you sleep well? have you had breakfast or luch yet? how do you feel today? or are you ready to learn?

As a student, I have felt certain discomfort in the spaces were a class is given. The same could happen the day of the test. Teachers in Mexico hardly ever take into account the classroom conditions. Some conditions may affect the student concentration. For example; if the room is too small for the number of students, if it is well ventilated, if the light is so good, if the materials you provide are clear after being photocopied, etc.

My recommendations after having been a sickly student who normally got low grades:

Make sure everybody is well. If not, try to adequate the class according to that situation.

Detect if none of your students has a sight or other physical handicapt hat may affect their attention

Once you've detected unhealthy students, prepare a backup plan for your class

Approach your students, but especially those who need your help more because most of the time unhealthy students are timid

Make sure your students are learning. You may prepare some tests or assessment measures so that you can track them

If you can, try to learn something about their physical condition or problems. I think this helps to understand their situation. In Mexico, some students don't have medical insuraces or money to pay a doctor.

Try to identify and understand if some of your students work or are affected by certain situations in their families

September, 2017

Think about all the ways to can motivate your students.

I have thought that motivation is provoked by prepared and no-prepared elements that a teacher shares in the classroom. Personally, I understand that my students are motivated when the activities or information I share impact on the students. Students are motivated:

If in a demo class, the students feel increase their self-confidence

If what the teacher promises is granted

If the teacher helps students to develop their learning strategies

If the teacher are always close to the students and solve their doubts

If the teacher present powerful didactic materials in order to make the topic more interesting

If they are able to understand what they read

If what they hear is comprehensible

If they are able to say more sentences after the one the teacher has explained

If they realize that a new learning approach works well with them

If the teacher has nothing but praise for them

If teacher’s explanation impacts possitively on the learner

If you have a question, you have a potential HYPOTHESIS

Remember, your classroom is your own LABORATORY. The classroom allows the teacher to be a RESEARCHER

Spanish and English / Español e inglés.

All my comments are based on personal experienced . Most of what you will read comes from my experience and from the interaction with other colleagues or people of Mexico and around the world.

Las versiones y aportaciones que aquí realizo están basadas en mi experiencia y no intento influir ni dañar a terceros.

Listen to people's opinion about your work. That works! (Ruben)

Permite que otros opinen sobre lo que haces. Eso ayuda mucho.

Looking for techniques for vocabulary? Click here

Si necesitas técnicas de vocabulario dale clic aquí

Approaches to language investigation

The approaches to language investigation are importamt because they tend to provide information of the way teachers teach. It’s thanks to reflective teaching that a teacher can improve their development. These approaches may and may not be included in institutional programs but their relevance is so high that even the teacher should communicate of their existence so that they may be considered in the improvement of teachers’ staff performance.

These approaches are six;

1. Teaching Journals

2. Lesson Reports

3. Surveys and questionnaires

4. Audio and video recordings

5. Observation

6. Action Research

August 2017

Classroom Discourse. Why is it so important?

The analysis of the classroom discurse is interesting and important because through it you can detect and improve:

1. The type of register that the teacher and students use.

2. The turn-takings forms that we all use, as well as the interruptions.

3. The type of interlanguage we all are using.

4. The time and the frequency of our oral participation in class.

5. The mood we all have during the class (which provokes it?)

6. The teacher's use of language.

7. The errors or mistakes we all make when we speak.

Discurso Aúlico. ¿Por qué es tan importante?

Después de analizar la importancia del Discurso Aúlico, he determinado que este fenómeno es un importante factor de análisis que se debería hacer para mejorar la clase de inglés, en especial durante la interacción entre maestro y aprendientes.

1. El tipo de registro que cada uno usa en el aula.

2. El tipo de toma y robo de turnos al hablar.

3. El tipo de interlengua que usamos.

4. La frecuencia con la que participamos oralmente.

5. El estado de humor en el que nos encontramos (¿qué lo puede provocar?)

6. El lenguaje del docente.

7. Se puede detectar los errores que se cometen al hablar en inglés.

August 2017

I was reflecting on the question that makes a comparison between a NATIVE and NON-NATIVE ENGLISH TEACHERS. From my own analysis, I think that whoever I think is the best person for teaching English, I should pay attention on the following characteristics:

1. To know the FORMAL and INFORMAL language.

2. To know about the processes of how to ACQUIRE THE FIRST LANGUAGE.

3. To know and to be able to share LEARNING STRATEGIES to the L2 learners.

4. To know more about the PHONOLOGICAL FIELDS in both languages; the L1 and the L2.

5. To able to understand the COMPLEX phenomenon of PRONUNICATION.

He llegado a una reflexión sobre el tema de elegir a un MAESTRO NATIVO O un NO NATIVO DEL INGLÉS. Personalmente, pensaría en estas características:

1. Qué tenga conocimiento de lo FORMAL e INFORMAL de la lengua.

2. Qué tenga conocimiento de como se ADQUIERE LA L1.

3. Qué conozca y comparta ESTRATEGIAS DE APRENDIZAJE de una lengua.

4. Qué pueda reconocer las diferencias entre el SISTEMA FONOLÓGICO DE LA L1 Y DE LA L2.

5. Qué tenga conocimiento sobre la COMPLEJIDAD DE LA PRONUNCIACIÓN.

2017

If your best strategy fails, it was not the best one. Go home and improve it!

April 26

Yesterday during a test I took in a classroom, the sun ☀️ coming through the window and over my back and head affected my concentration on that test. I was very uncomfortable with this situation. I just wanted to leave the room. In my opinion, Teachers should pay attention to the conditions of the classrooms, and take into consideration the ambience factors that may affect the concentration of the students in class or during an exam

Ayer durante el examen el sol que entraba por la ventana del salón me molestó muchísimo. Esto me hacía perder la concentración sobre las ideas que quería plasmar. Llegó el momento en que lo que ansiaba era salirme de ese lugar porque me estaba quemando, literal. Ahora entiendo que la enseñanza y exámenes deben darse o aplicarse en ambientes adecuados en donde la concentración del estudiante no se pierda por factores que no son propicios al ambiente del salón de clase. ¿Será que los maestros atienden a este tipo de situaciones?? Es decir, ¿ya lo habrán experimentado?

Many of the exams just prove students' memorization/ La mayoría de los exámenes sólo ponen a prueba la memorización del alumno.
Agree or disagree?

Which expression do you normally use in class?
1. Raise your hand 🤚
2. Put your hand 🤚 up

December 9, 2016

Talking about analogy

What would happen if teachers prepared students like coaches train athletes?

Imagine that instead of feeling afraid when you have to hand in an academic assignment or to face a test, you feel strong and self-confident. You may feel fine and enthusiastic because your teacher has prepared you as well as if he or she were to be part of that final project or exam. This reflection came to my mind because I sometimes compare teaching with athletics competitions.

In athletics, coaches share everything with their groups of runners or sportsmen. They share knowledge, techniques, and strategies to win or to be close to win a competence. As you can see, there’s a lot of difference between the teaching-learning process and the training to win a competence in Athletics.

Elements that I have seen in coaches and teachers and which are those that mark a difference;

The coach was an athlete and was trained to win. Most of teachers couldn’t reach this step.

The coach shares experience, knowledge, techniques, and strategies to build champions. Teachers hardly ever think in this way.

The coach observes and guides the athlete most of the time. Teachers don’t have time to do this.

The coach observes and talks about the athletes’ techniques and together try to improve these issues in order to make them stronger or faster. Most of teachers just give information to the students.

The coach gives the athletes advice all of the time and always talk with him personally in order to make corrections on time. Most teachers don’t.

Coaches inform the athlete that they are to look for major perfomance levels. Teachers hardly ever do that.

Sometimes, the coach recommends his athletes to talk with other coaches in order to improve their perfomance. Teachers seldom do that.

Athletes feel self-confident after training along with their coaches. Teachers feel some activities are exhausting to do with their groups.

Conclusion

It would be wonderful if teachers could think like coaches do in order to prepare champions!

Diciembre 9, 2016
Hablando de la analogía
¿Qué pasaría si los maestros prepararan a los alumnos como los buenos entrenadores preparan a los atletas de alto rendimiento?
Imagina que el día de la entrega de tu TRABAJO FINAL o de tu EXAMEN es el día que tanto has estado esperando. Estás emocionado. Bueno, en el atletismo ese tipo de emoción es la que el atleta siente el día de la COMPETENCIA. La seguridad con la que te presentas al evento o examen viene de la mano de todo aquello que tu maestro te ha compartido bajo una estricta supervisión. Tanto tú como tu maestro saben que se han esforzado al 100 % para salir victoriosos en esa “competencia”.
Hay que decir que la relación maestro-alumno no es como la relación entrenador-atleta. Y esto puede deberse a varios factores que incluyen a la actitud, al dominio de conocimiento, a la capacitación, etc.
Desde mi punto de vista esta sería la lista de elementos que podrían darse como comparativas entre ambas relaciones:
El entrenador fue atleta, y lo prepararon como atleta para ganar. La mayoría de los docentes fueron estudiantes, pero no todos han alcanzado victorias contundentes.
El entrenador comparte sus conocimientos, técnicas, y estrategias para formar campeones. La mayoría de los maestros no comparten lo anterior.
El entrenador está pegado al atleta. La mayoría de los maestros no tienen el tiempo de ir hombro a hombro con los estudiantes.
El entrenador observa y comenta constantemente lo que le gustaría que su atleta mejorara en relación a su técnica. Muchos maestros no tienen elementos para dar el apoyo efectivo a las técnicas de aprendizaje de los alumnos.
El entrenador se encarga personalmente del avance o rendimiento del atleta y le corrige a tiempo. Muchos maestros sólo están interesados por el aspecto económico y no les interesa lo que los alumnos hagan o dejen de hacer después de la entrega de su trabajo final o examen.
El entrenador informa oportunamente al atleta que este ya está preparado para subir un peldaño más. Muchos maestros no.
Algunas veces, el entrenador recomienda al atleta con entrenadores de mayor nivel. El maestro casi nunca recomienda al alumno con algún otro maestro.
El atleta adquiere MUCHÍSIMA SEGURIDAD cuando entrena al lado de su entrenador. A pocos maestros les interesa participar junto con sus alumnos.
Conclusión
Sería muy interesante que la enseñanza fuera como la formación de grandes atletas. ¿Entonces por qué no formar campeones del conocimiento?

Moral duty

In my opinion, teachers should have a moral duty with current and old students by keep observing and helping them. Although this may be no necessary in all the cases, in that way, students could feel free to ask them about any difficulty while they are learning or using their English. Of course, teachers should have the time to advice students no matter they are not their current teachers. In Mexico, most of teachers seem to be in a hurry all of the time because they have other classes in other schools or because they have a family and social life which require a major part of their time.

El deber moral

Creo que los docentes deberíamos tener un deber moral con las personas a quienes les enseñamos el idioma inglés. Deberíamos contar con todos los elementos que en realidad apoyen significativamente a cada uno de los alumnos. Un seguimiento al trabajo de nuestros alumnos y ex-alumnos sería un sistema de mucho valor, aunque estoy consciente de que sería muy difícil de lograr debido a que los maestros tienen diferentes trabajos, clases, o responsabilidades familiares y sociales.

In this section, I will support my experience, as an English teacher, with literature. It is possible that some of the events I am going to narrate here have been similar to those you have experienced or to those that oher teachers you have had.

You will also find some TEACHERS' RESOURCES

En esta sección narraré pasajes de mi vida como maestro de inglés. Intentaré apoyar mi experiencia con literatura. Algunos de los pasajes que expondré podrían resultar familiares para tÍ o podrían ser casos que le hayan acontecido a otros maestros o maestras.

Mentality and your tools by Ruben Arellano

November 1, 2016

When I participated in athletics competences, I learned that excuses were not part of a serious runner. When I lost a competence I used to give stupid excuses until the day that I thought that it wasn't healthy for me and that if I wanted to be honest with myself, I should say truths and not expressions by convenience. My mentality and attitude would change positively after thinking that everything is possible only if one wants. I consider the fact that if you are not good in something, you have the opportunity to be better with some effort. Of course, all this is based on reflection and good coaching. I remember the motto that I learned many years ago and that goes "Nobody trains to come second". That was a cornerstone in the way I think now.

One of the most important passages in my life, and which helped me to value the importance of things when I work, was the time when I worked hanging drywall in the construction field. There, some workmates explained to me the essential role of having appropriate tools to develop my work. They told me that if I was able to purchase better tools to work, I would become more efficient, I would learn to solve more complicated tasks, and I would make more money because part of being a good worker is based on the tools one uses. (I started making 8 dollars per hour). It was true, if you as a worker on construction have the appropriate tools to achieve tasks, you will see that those tasks are easier to complete at the time that you become faster in delivery the work. Additionally, that means make more money too (I ended making 25 dollars per hour).

In Mexico, specially in the central area of the country, teachers are not willing to spend money on teaching tools, like those related to technology, because they excuse themselves saying things like;

1. "I am not going to spend money on something that will not help me make more money"

2. "If students do not bring the markers for the whiteboard, I will have to dictate them the lessons"

3. "Students hardly ever thank you for your efforts"

4. "I am not going to move the materials all of the time"

5. "If the school for what I work gives me the materials, I will use them. If not, I willot buy anything"

La mentalidad y tus herramientas de trabajo

Uno de los aspectos fundamentales que he adquirido durante la enseñanza ha sido el de dar todo en cada clase. Otra vez me encuentro con una mentalidad de deportista. Cuando practicas un deporte en serio, buscas siempre la manera de ganar en las competencias, ya que para eso entrenas. Aprendí a eliminar excusas cuando me tocaba perder en las competencias de atletismo. Aprendía a decir que otros son mejores que yo, pero busqué siempre la forma de mejorar en este caso mis tiempos en las siguientes competencias. Recuerdo mucho la frase que decía "nadie entrena para ser segundo". Creo que esa debe ser la actitud del docente de inglés.

Debo decir que el trabajo que desempeñe como "tablaroquero", es decir colgando tablaroca en el ramo de la construcción también abrió mi mente para pensar que en todo trabajo debes estar bien equipado, es decir debes siempre contar con las herramientas que sacarán adelante tu trabajo. Compañeros en la construcción me decían alguna vez; "Ruben, si no compras herramientas de mejor calidad y no te equipas bien, tus salarios nunca van a ser mejores (comencé con 8 dólares por hora en los estados unidos). Los trabajadores aquí valen por su facilidad para desempeñar trabajo, y esta facilidad también está basada en esas herramientas que adquieres para tu servicio." La inversión valió la pena (en algunos trabajos terminé en 25 dólares por hora).

En el campo de la enseñanza de la educación física y del inglés, me he encontrado con colegas que difícilmente harán un gasto para complementar y darle variedad a la clase. Eso no está mal, pero la verdad no entiendo bien esta situación porque cuando les pregunto si estarían dispuestos a hacer un gasto extra por alguna "herramienta" que les ayude a darle otra textura o forma a su clase, ell@s normalmente dirán que no es necesario. Entonces creo que lo que aprendí sobre equiparte bien es sólo cuestión de interés de uno mismo.

Les enlisto algunos de los comentarios de colegas:

1. "Yo no voy a gastar en algo que no me beneficia ni me da a ganar más dinero"

2. "Si los alumnos no llevan marcadores para pintarrón, yo me dedico a dictar"

3. "Los alumnos nunca agradecen nada"

4. "Yo no voy a andar cargando"

5. "Si me lo da la escuela lo traigo y lo uso, sino yo no lo voy a comprar".. (A propósito, voy a hacer la pregunta a más colegas).

Aquí es en donde recuerdo lo que un jefe de trabajo de nombre Douglas decía cuando trabajábamos en la contruccion; "Al cabo que ni es mi casa"

Teniente Coronel Mario Rubio.

Arbitro profesional y director de los arbitros de CONCACAF en los años en que fue mi coach en los cursos de capacitación de arbitraje.

The common sense in a referee of soccer and its importance in teaching English by Ruben Arellano

One of the people who inspired me to be a better soccer referee some years ago was the Colonel Mario Rubio who was my coach during the time I worked as a referee. Mario Rubio was an interenational referee by FIFA. He taught us the value of the common sense which has to be applied all of the time while we, referees, conduct a soccer game. He also taught us the importance of knowing the behaviour of every player in the soccer league for what you refereed. That's why I say that knowing your students is essential because with that knowledge teachers may be more prepared to perform better classes. And this is simply, ask others how the students behave and ask them for the students' strengths and weaknesses. At least that will give you a general vision of the "game" you will referee in the classroom.

La visión de un arbitro de fútbol en la enseñanza del inglés.

Tuve la oportunidad de aprender los aspectos del arbitraje porque tuve a un gran maestro en los cursos de capacitación. Él es el Teniente coronel Mario Rubio. Él nos enseñó a entender y a aplicar el concepto del sentido común. Esto último me ha servido mucho como docente del idioma inglés.

Como arbitro de fútbol que fui se lo importante que es también conocer a los jugadores de los equipos de la liga en la que participas. Así mismo, intento conocer las características de mis estudiantes. Todo esto con el fin de saber los tipos de saberes y estrategias de aprendizaje que ellos tienen

Types of students

Me first and then I... what happens with some Mexican teachers?

October, 2016

Are Mexican teachers of English willing to help each other when someone requires the help?

Mexican teachers hardly ever will help others. At least, this is what I have seen in most of the teachers who work in Toluca, Mexico and its surrounding. It is because they feel so proud of them and they hardly ever will show humility as to support others in order to find a solution for someone's problem or to help them to succeed in a task or project.

Some teachers, who have been my colleagues, have said that they will not do more neither for other teachers nor for students. They say that they were hired to work for a school, but they will not do anything more than the duties for which they are paid. That means that they will be closed for almost verything that means "help me partner".

Some teachers will not create materials because it means spend money and time. Others will not allow you to see the way they work because of they simply don't want.

Most of the teachers are apparently "amiable" with members of their own group, but they would not let others to be part of their group because they feel their group should not admit other people. So the excluded ones normally ended working alone. This is not that bad because sometimes is better to work alone.

Primero yo y luego yo... ¿Qué cosas no?

Octubre, 2016

¿Los maestros de inglés en México en realidad están dispuestos a compartir sus experiencias y conocimiento con sus colegas de la manera más humanitaria posible?

Desde mi punto de vista la mayoría de los maestros y maestras de inglés en el área de Toluca y sus municipios no están dispuestos a dar algo a aquel quien lo necesita. Existe hoy en día una fuerte corriente ideológica de sentirse el mejor en el campo en donde uno se desempeña. Esto implica el ser hermético o cerrado con los demás. Esta ideología eleva los egos de los profesores de inglés, que en su mayoría son mujeres. Incluso en los cursos de capacitación o de ingreso a maestrías relacionadas al área del inglés los aspirantes suelen hacer sentir sus aires de grandeza.

Ya se ha dicho que una de las características del mexicano es la de ser egoísta y la de no apoyo a otros que no pertenecen a su grupo de amistades. Por su puesto que esta situación hace mucho daño y en lugar de ayudar al trabajo en equipo, perjudica. Para muestra un botón; me ha tocado conocer a maestros y maestras que son muy hermétic@s y por eso no comparten absolutamente nada. Otros han dicho que ell@s no van a dar más de aquello por lo que fueron contratad@s. Por ejemplo, los colegas no llegarán ni antes de su hora de clase, ni se irán después de clase como para ayudar a los estudiantes en alguna cosa en la que necesiten ser apoyados. Tampoco van a compartir ideas que a ellos mismos les han servido para salir adelante. De hecho esto pasa mucho en el magisterio de México.

Nowadays we know that we teachers of languages have a wide range of possibilities in many job areas not only in our countries but in other countries.

Antes que cualquier otra cosa, piensa que un buen maestro de lenguas es un elemento importante en la sociedad y que, en nuestro caso, tenemos un gran futuro en México y en el extranjero porque además de inglés o francés también podríamos enseñar español. Así que por favor sé un gran maestro!

Characteristics needed to be a teacher (October 26, 2016)

Sometimes it's important to look at or hear other points of view over what is tought about teachers, their roles, and education. The following information was taken from one of the National Teachers' schools sites. The question there; What is it necessary to be a teacher? On the other hand, the University in Puebla, Mexico promotes a Bachelor's career in languages and ask their candidates to pay attention to some of the characteristics that they should possess or acquire.

Características que necesita un maestro

En ocasiones es importante considerar los puntos de vista de otros maestros o instituciones sobre todo lo que tiene que ver con el maestro y la educación. Por ejemplo, esta es la pregunta que se encuentra en el portal de la Benemérita Escuela Normal para Profesores (clic aquí): ¿qué es necesario para ser docente?

Tener la preparación adecuada, tanto pedagógica como académica, para diseñar procesos educativos centrados en el alumno y el aprendizaje
Tener conciencia sobre la responsabilidad que implica no sólo el enseñar contenidos curriculares, sino la trascendencia de formar ciudadanos que se espera lleguen a ser personas positivas para el país
Ser un buen comunicador es una condición indispensable para todo buen docente.
Mostrar tolerancia y tomarla como un desafío, no como un obstáculo.

PERFIL PROFESIONAL del aspirante a cursar la licenciatura en Idiomas, Enseñanza y Diversidad Cultural, posee:

Gusto por el aprendizaje de idiomas. (Candidates like learning languages)
Sensibilidad y aprecio por la cultura propia y de otros países. (Candidates like and respect their own and other cultures)
Facilidad para adaptarse a ambientes culturalmente diversos. (Candidates have the facility to be in diverse cultural enviroments)
Interés por los procesos de adquisición y aprendizaje de la lengua.
Vocación docente. (Candidates want, among other things, to be teachers)
Disposición para el trabajo en equipo. (Work in teams is essential)
Capacidad para la identificación y resolución de problemas.
Facilidad para comunicarse adecuadamente, tanto de forma oral como escrita en español.
Interés por la tecnología
Iniciativa para desarrollar proyectos (Wish to develop projects)

Interesting talk about learning strategies

Interesante plática sobre el aprendizaje

October 20th, 2016. During the FONESIALE National Congress held in the UAEMéx in the State of Mexico, some researchers of Puebla, Mexico talk about the importance of the learning process in second languages. They said that they are applying new strategies with students of the Benemérita Universidad Autónoma de Puebla. These strategies are really working well. Of course they support their assumptions after collecting and analyzing information related to their studies.

They also said that a methodology based on competences is related to what students of the university are doing in real contexts, because students are going outside to identify what the problems of the society are, and then they will try to work on them as a project to be presented in a specific subject in the university programs.

El día de hoy 20 de Octubre del 2016 se realizó el Congreso FONIESALE en la Facultad de Lenguas de la UAEMéx. Ponentes de la Benemérita Universidad de Autónoma de Puebla hablaron de asuntos muy importantes sobre el aprendizaje de lenguas y sobre como potencializar dichos aprendizajes. Mencionaron la importancia de poner atención en el autoaprendizaje desde el inicio de una carrera universitaria, ya que se ha detectado que normalmente se pone atención sólo hasta que los alumnos universitarios están apunto de egresar.

En ese mismo foro, se hablo de la importancia que tiene el que los alumnos universitarios salgan al campo de acción a identificar y a trabajar sobre fenómenos que deben ser tratados. Esta metodología está teniendo efectos muy positivos en la Benemérita Universidad. Así mismo, lo que se busca es hacer que los alumnos se metan de lleno al trabajo basado en competencias.

Every difficulty in the classroom deserves a 'why?'. The difficulty will only be solved if you analyze, reflect on, investigate, and act. Otherwise, the problem will subsist. (Ruben Arellano, 2015)

Cada una de las dificultades en el aula merece un '¿Por qué?'. La dificultad se resolverá si analizas, reflexionas, investigas, y actúas. De no ser así, el problema subsistirá (Ruben, 2016)

You only can talk about a phenomenon if you are in contact with it.

Para describir un fenómeno debes estar en contacto con él.

Think about the percentage of English that you will use in class with students who learn English as a foreign language and whose level of language is zero.

Piensa que porcentaje de inglés usarás durante una clase en la que los alumnos no saben inglés.

Always diagnosed yuor new group

I made a mistake when I started teaching a group without previously having diagnosed the group: After 1 year as an English teacher, I received a group of 20 students registered to study the first level of English at Extension del Centro de Enseñanzas de Lenguas in Santiago Tianguistenco, Mexico. The main purpose of that group was to speak English. They were not looking for International certifications. Our text book was English File by Oxford. During the classes, I would speak only English, BIG mistke, because most of my students didn't understand me. I must say that they didn't feel fine because of their not understanding me.

Some students approached me to say that they didn't understand English at all and asked me to speak some Spanish, I told them that their listening would improve with the time. That idea was a BIG mistake. At the end of the course, only 5 students came back to take the second level of English. That was one of my biggest foolish acts as a teacher.

Now, I know that some classes should include the mother tongue of the students so that they can improve what they learn and feel themselves with more self-confidence.

Every class is important. So, define the goals your group should achieve

Before starting clasess, diagnose your group

Analyze the content provided by the diagnosis

Think about the materials what you will use during the course.

Support your your materials with what you have learned from the subject called "Design of Materials" (Remember that the materials must be thought according to the goals of your program).

Be creative

Be an investigator

Are you a language teacher? / ¿Eres maestro o maestra de inglés?

Oh, look at the question in Spanish language. Spanish the word used to refer to a person who teaches has gender; femenin and masculine. This situation does not happen in English.

Primera observación; la palabra inglesa usada para referirse a un maestro o a una maestra es 'teacher', la cual no tiene género, es decir es una palabra neutra.

Do you think that having general knowledge is important for your daily teaching?

¿Consideras que el tener un conocimiento general es importante para tu práctica docente?

According to my experience, the more knowledge a teacher has, the easier his classes are because he or she will have a lot of things to talk to and to share with the students during the class. They will normally evaluate his or her teacher as a more complete or professional teacher. It is not a secret the fact that students know when a teacher is good or not. My colleagues and me always talked about the results of the teachers' evaluations that are applied to us. It is normal to make questions like; 'What was your score in the evaluation achieved by your students?' 'did you receive feedback by the coordinator or the headmaster?'

Teacher's knowledge is essential. For grabbing learners' attention a good teacher must be able to illustrate what he explains. This is possible if the teacher has knowledge not only of what he teaches, but of the world in general.

I am sure that good teachers are those who felt some passion for what they do. They get better if they are able to recognize problems in their classrooms and in their students and look for ways to solve them by investigating in books or written articles.

Does homework help in this way or not? / ¿Una tarea así ayuda o no?

Yesterday while I was traveling by bus, I heard that some students were worried about the homework her teacher gave them. They said that the task was taking them a lot of time and that they were tring to understand the pronunciation of words and expressions in the materials they had found. I think that they are a bit lost about how to reach the objectives of the task. In my opinion, their looking for materials is unfortubately a waste of time. I mean they are wasting a lot of time trying to find something that may not meet homework requirements. I never heard students talking about a rubric or specifications of the task. From my experience, the teacher should've provided the materials through which they will reach the goals of the class. Well, maybe she didn't have time to prepare them. It is clear that students are not going to learn in that way and the piece of homework is not going to be important for students. I would like to ask the following question the; When you are doing your English homework, do you think that is important for you?

Other questions that come to my mind right now; Do you learn in the English class? Why or why not? Do you think your English teacher prepare class? Why or why not? Do you learn through your English homework? Do your teacher give specifications of the task by using a rubric where you can find what is needed to be accomplished? I cannot figure out how the teacher is going to check the homework of around 50 students, which is the average number in public schools in Mexico.

Ayer mientras viajaba en el autobús escuché a unas estudiantes de la preparatoria de Ocoyoacac. México sobre una tarea de inglés que les había dejado su maestr@. Pude entender que las chicas están invirtiendo demasiadas horas tratando de encontrar un diálogo con el que puedan participar en la clase de inglés. Argumentaban que encontraron unos diálogos en los que la pronunciación no era difícil, según ellas. Mi pregunta sería; ¿Sería mejor si las características de la tarea que las chicas van a desarrollar estuvieran sujetas a una rubrica? Es decir, una serie de proposiciones que les permitiera decidir que palabras o expresiones usar y que lógicamente irían de acuerdo al trabajo llevado en clase.

Ya he comentado de la importancia que tienen los materiales que se van a usar en clase. Entonces los materiales muestran lo que los objetivos pretenden. Esto obviamente las chicas no lo saben. Pienso que el o la maestr@ debría haber seleccionado o creado los materiales para ser ejecutados por las jóvenes, en lugar de que las chicas estén perdiendo el tiempo buscando diálogos en la internet. Me parece que muchos maestros siguen dejando tareas fuera del alcance de los estudiantes. ¿Crees que esta situación se dé porque el maestro desconoce la relevancia de las tareas? ¿crees que esas chicas tengan rubrica de lo que les van a evaluar? ¿Las alumnas van a prender a través de esa tarea?

No imagino cómo la maestra o maestro va a hacerle para revisar la tarea si los alumnos llevan varios diálogos. En especial porque en México las clases son de 50 minutos y las escuelas preparatorias tienen alrededor de 50 alumnos por aula.

Class observation.... cou-cou!

Observación de la clase... aguas!

Reflexión durante la clase de Formación de Profesores de MLA con la Maestra en Educación Barbara Bangle. Octubre, 2016.

How do you feel when someone enters your classroom and tells you "I came to observe the way you teach"?

¿Cómo te sientes cuando alguien de repente entra a tu salón y te dice que te va a observar?

"No problem. Everything is under control. I have a Master's degree and I perfectly know what I need to support my work". Why do I said that? I said that in a methaphorical way. I think that most of the teachers need not only training but also ideas that help them to be better in what they do. During the Master of Applied Linguistics, I have learned that a person or career person who wants to be better needs 6 essential components in any project or task; theory, experience, what you learn, application of knowledge, feedback from colleagues and experts, and do over what didn't work the first time. Now, my question is; do we teachers have or do these things?

I say that teaching is like running in the field of athletics; if you train hard, you are more competitive. And when you participate in an international marathon where the best runners will be, you didn't panic because you know what you have after months or years of constant training.

This morning I said that an observer should be a well-trained teacher with a wide knowledgeable of methodologies and functions of the materiasl used by a teacher. He must've experienced being observed as well. As a matter of fact, a good observer should be able to show how the class should be given under the same circumstances from which a teacher is being evaluated.

Si alguien te dice que te quiere observar en el salón de clase, déjalo. No debes intimidarte. Estás lo suficientemente preparado para llevar a cabo muchas cosas que van en beneficio de la clase. Esta mañana durante la clase de Formación de Profesores pensé; "No hay problema porque tengo ya una maestría", pero lo dije en el sentido de que nos hemos estado quemando las pestañas por realizar tareas enfocadas a la educación, a la investigación, y al diseño de materiales de inglés, y es por eso que gracias a la retroalimentación y críticas de maestros y colegas nos hemos ido fortaleciendo al grado tal de que ya somos capaces de verter ideas sólidas de enseñanza en cada paso que demos en el campo laboral.

Establecí 6 componentes esenciales en cada uno de los proyectos o tareas que llevemos a cabo. Ellos son; teoría, experiencia, lo que aprendes, aplicación del conocimiento, retroalimentación de compañeros y expertos, y hacer otra vez las cosas que no funcionaron al inicio.

Un observador debe en teoría tener un amplio conocimiento de las metodologías y de las funciones que tienen los materiales que son usados en clase. De hecho un buen observador debería dar también el ejemplo de como debería darse una clase con las condiciones sobre las que está observando.

Work on your projects and on other projects - Never reject them!

When I started my career as an English teacher, I was always willing to participate and organize projects of the schools for which I worked for. I thought that if I participated, I would also gain a lot of experience. If the projects were about education, they would contribute a lot to ideas and that would be of benefit to me if I wanted to set up a school of my own someday. This idea grew up with the time.

Some of my classmates agree on the idea that they should not participate with money or time to help other's prjects. I think if they think so, they have a shoprt vision of what is possible to obtain for themselves through that fact that they gain not only experience, but those projects can be a springboard to reach other goals and to promote themselves, however they do not think so. At the end they finish not doing anything for their own projects.

Trabaja en tus proyectos y en los de otros - Nunca los rechaces.

Cuando inicié mi carrera como maestro de inglés me propuse participar en todos los proyectos a los que me invitaran. Creo que eso es actitud, y creo que esa actitud en muchas ocasiones es reconocida por algunas personas. El beneficio mayor de mostrar actitud es el que tú sacas mucho provecho de cada experiencia.

En ocasiones he tenido que invertir un poco de dinero y de tiempo tratando de mejorar las condiciones de la clase de inglés, ya que lo que me preocupa es la calidad en la enseñanza. Esta inversión, al mismo tiempo, deja mejorías en el proyecto que inicialmente se buscaba por parte de mis autoridades o escuela.

Platicando con colegas, ellos o ellas comentan que eso de aportar tiempo y dinero a un proyecto que no es tuyo no trae ningún beneficio para ello@s. Pienso que no es así, pienso que depende del enfoque e ideas que uno genere a través de esa situación. Desde mi punto de vista, un docente debe llegar a pensar que los proyectos de otros pueden ser mejorados por uno mismo, y que si pensamos que no valen la pena, de menos deberíamos arrancar otros con una intensidad parecida a la que hemos juzgado. Desafortunadamente esto difícilmente pasa y el maestro se pierde entre la contemplación y crítica de lo otro.

Make your students familiarize with vocabulary and expressions that you normally use in everyday classes. At the end, they will use them too.

Un uso constante de vocabulario y expresiones hará que tus alumnos también aprendan ese lenguaje usado en clase.

Click on the following VISUAL to acess another site abot the book 7OO CLASSROOM ACTIVITIES like the one presented below.

Improving our way as a second language teachers requires training and autonomous learning.

Planea y lleva a cabo tu propio crecimiento hasta alcanzar la profesionalización.

How to get ready to talk about something

Cómo prepararte para hablar sobre algún tema

From my experience, I have realized that full concentration is important. Learning the topic that you wish to talk about involves concentration and practise.

Aprender el tema del que quieres hablar envuelve concentración y práctica.

The more you concentrate on what you read, the more you master it. Try to talk about that topic with some different people, even with those who are not familiar with the field you are working on. This may be a good idea and at the same time this action may help you to gain confidence in uttering your ideas.

As a secondary school student, I used to have lots of problems to talk in fron of the class. I used to screwed it up. Well, I have been trying to overcome this situation. I must accept that it is not easy at all, but I am still working on it.

What I can say is that I feel better when I talk about something that I know very well.

How would you achieve the goal of this activity?

Would it work if you only talk to yourself? or Would find someone who could listen to you to talk about the topic?

Gaining experience from a complex topic

Ethnotheories

Etnoteorias

On October 13th, 2016, during the class of Pragmatics I talked about the ethnotheories. This reading was part of the book Unnatural Emotions. The 20-minute presentation was not good at all because of the same topic complexity. To be honest, this presentation was very difficult because I couldn't understand most of the author's ideas. I have never before read something about it. Although the reading was not long, 12 pages, I invested around 20 hours in 2 days in the preparation of the Power point exposition.

It is important to mention that after the presentation and after receiving feedback from classmates and teacher, some terms in the reading started to have more sense. I also wrote a mail to Catherine Lutz who fortunately answered it. She sent me some other readings that helped me understand some of her ideas.

What I want to say through this experience is that sometimes some topics are far form us because of the lack of knowledge on the area we are reading. Writing to the author is a good idea, but it could not be the solution to the complexity of the topic. Sometimes it is better to expose the topic and improve your performance after a welcome feedback. Of course, it would be better if we have improved our speech before standing in front of the public or in front of our students.

Mail above /Correo arriba.

and

topic I talked about below /tema que expuse abajo.

Antropoligsts visit faraway places in order to investigate other cultures. Culture and emotion is the relationhip that Catherine wanted to investigate.

Teaching materials are more than only materials

An important factor in teaching materials is the relation between materials-goals-cultural aspect.

Un aspecto importante del tino de los maestros de inglés podría darse en la triada materiales-objetivos-aspecto cultural.

When preparing materials to be used in a language class, think about the cultural aspect that must be implicit in them. On the other hand, do not forget that the goals of your class or topic should also be considered when creating these materials.

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Desliza tu cursor por cada uno de los siguientes sitios

Rubar tolucam

CLICK on the image of the BBC. and go to many interesting activities of the English language.

We also can talk about it!