PROFESSIONAL PRACTICE DIARY

As today I've finished my last practice session from my Professional Practice class, I would like you to share with you a little bit of my experience. Some months ago, when I learned that one of the subjects for this semester was going to be Professional Practice, I was a little bit concerned as, although I had been working for almost a year, I didn't feel that I was experienced enough to be constantly observed by someone whose particular job was criticizing my class, even though it was constructive criticism. Despite that, I felt that I needed to challenge myself and I just decided to go for it. I was lucky enough to have all my practice sessions in the place that I'm currently working, which is a little private English institution in Azcapotcalzo and, although I thought that it was going to be a bit easier as I was familiar with the place, it surprisingly was not as simple as I expected. I kinda felt that I had the responsibility of stepping up my English-teacher gam

Social media has become such an elemental part of our lives that, beyond allowing us to communicate with our beloved ones and share a little bit about us with the world, it has transformed into a tool for so many other fields that enables us to become our own bosses to run the business of a lifetime or even our own teachers to learn how to cook, play an instrument or speak a language at the click of a button. As English educators, rather than ignore this reality, it is important for us to acknowledge it, embrace it, and use it in our favor to potentialize our students' linguistic skills in the second language. For that reason, in this entry, I want to share with you some ideas on how you can use Youtuber, Twitter and other social media platform in your classroom to help your students to practice a little bit the language: 1. Youtube : Have a (private) YouTube channel exclusively for the class and assign students to upload short-films including role-plays (interviews, talk show

Music is a very important part of English classes that not only can be considered as one more teaching resource to make the sessions more dynamic but also as a motivator that both students and teachers can take advantage of in order to practice vocabulary and grammar while having a fun time. That's why in this entry, for you to don't have to stick to the same old worksheets even again, I will share with you seven popular songs easy to sing-along to teach specific grammar topics: 1. Meghan Trainor - Me too (Second conditional)  If I was you, I'd wanna be me too I'd wanna be me too I'd wanna be me too If I was you, I'd wanna be me too I'd wanna be me too I'd wanna be me too 2. Gotye - Somebody that I used to know (used to) No, you didn't have to stoop so low Have your friends collect your records and then change your number I guess that I don't need that though Now you're just somebody tha

Hello, guys. Last week, for my interculturality class, I did very insightful research about discrimination, its different ramifications, and the effects that it has in our country. From racism to homophobia, I dived into the main types of discrimination that, unfortunately, are still prevalent in Mexico, and that reflection was what eventually led me to think about our role as teachers to tackle these types of intolerant behaviors in the classroom. How can we contribute to avoid these attitudes in a country where it is so normalized to make fun of someone because they are somehow different from us ? In this entry, I will share with you four ways to raise awareness of diversity in a language classroom and foster an environment of tolerance of respect among your students:  1. Make every student feel heard: When allowing participation, let every single one of your students share their opinion with the rest of the class. Be fair and equitable. During the discussion, you could com

Hey, guys. How are you? What are you up to these days? Let me tell you a little bit about me. During this quarantine, I've faced several issues to stay focused and get my homework done as, at the moment, I'm taking online classes and that slightly complicates everything considering I'm less than one year away from my college graduation. Among essays, professional practices and a lot of readings, it's been challenging to adapt to this new learning (and also teaching) style; nevertheless, I've come to realize that organization is everything in these tough times so I decided to take this entry to share some hacks on how to navigate through this intense but intriguing online-student life without dying in the attempt: Set a schedule : Have a moment to decide what hours you are going to use to finish all your pending assignments. It is better if you wake up early in the morning as you can have more chances to divide your time more realistically and get more job don

Hey, guys. A few weeks ago I read a small article about bilingualism and, from the perspective of a language educator, I found it extremely interesting for many reasons so I wanted to share with you a small summary with the most important points regarding learning two languages at an early age. As teachers, I think it's important to know that theory establishes solid parameters of what a child or an adult can accomplish in a language classroom, especially with the youngest ones, and that is something, I reckon, that can be useful in class with our students if we really want to help them reach a proficient level. Let me tell you a little bit more about it. According to the Cambridge Dictionary, bilingualism can be defined as "the fact of being able to use two languages equally well", something that is a reality for millions of kids all around the world, particularly second-generation immigrants in English-speaking countries. This bilingualism can open many doors for