SEPTEMBER, 30th

 The first minutes of the class we have been solving some doubts about the individual tasks we have to complete, like the E-PEL and the PEPELINO, and about the task that we have to do in groups.

Also, we have started a new unit, which talks, in general, about how to teach English to very young children between three and seven years old. One of the most important things that Maribel have said and I can remember while I’m completing my class diary is that we have to focus our Engish’ classes specially in the gross motor skills’ development because they are working the fine motor skills development all the time in the rest of the classes

What I have learnt today? Today I have learnt some tools that we can use to teach the language such as rhymes, limericks, chants and songs. Because of this, we have been using our creativity and we have invented a rhyme. Our rhyme is the next one:

“One for the wake up

And two for the breakfast

Three for de playground

And four for the mess up.”

This class has been very interesting, because the contents that we have read are necessary to be a good teacher and to know how we must organize our work to teach this language to very young learners. Also, I like a lot that teachers propose us to use our skills to create activities and resources.

SEPTEMBER, 29th

 Today we have completed an adaptation of  the European portfolio for pre-primary educators (PEPELINO) In this form we can find some questions about our expectations about the professional learning and about our future profession. For example:

What, in my opinion, do my teacher educators expect of me?

I think that Maribel and Juan Antonio expect of me and the rest of my classmates that we want to learnt to know how to teach, motivation, ddication to the task that they propose to us and also to demonstrate all we will learnt during the course in the practicum and in our future works.

What professional qualities do I need to develop as a pre-primary educator?

In my opinion, the most important qualities that a very young learners' teacher must have are: patience, creativity, empathy and the most important for me is the vocation because if you don't like work with children you don't have nothing to do in this profession. If you are not motivated to be a part of the learning's procees of the student, they will notice it and they neither wil be motivated to learn.

What I have learnt today? Today I have learnt that is necessary to stop and think about what we want to do and if what we are doing satisfies us to know if we want really to be teachers (in this case) from now to the rest of our live.

For me it has been really important to complete this form because thanks to some of the  questions I could have done a reflection about my future profession that I've never done before. We have to be sure that we want to be teachers of very young learners and we have to be too motivated to be the best teachers. One of my goals when I start working like a teacher is that my students remember me like I remember my pre-primary teachers.

SEPTEMBER, 28th

 Today we have continued thinking by little groups possible activities that we can practice with very young learners using the Audiolingual method and then, each group has exposed their activity to the rest of the class. By this way we can understand better some aspects of this method like: characteristics, advantages, disadvantages and also how we can teach with it.

After the expositions of the activities by all the groups we have seen some videos which showed examples of activities which used the Audiolingual method. One example is a song which is called Hockey Cockey.

What I have learnt today? Today I have learnt that althought this method could be a bit borig for us, the adults, because of the repetition of the words, structures or sentences; it has some benefits or advantages for the students' learning. Some of these advanges are: the students learnt the correct pronunciation of the words easily, the listening an the speaking are efficiently developed, thanks to the visual aids the vocabulary is richer...

As I said yesterday, I think that is important that the teacher has proposed to us to think activities using the method because by this way we can understand better the theoric contents. About the method I think that is too positive that the students have to repeat or use the different drills in the pronunciation's learning but in the other hand, I think that is better to combine it with other methods to avoid the students' boredom.

SEPTEMBER, 27th

 Today we have finished the phonetic's review, specifically the consonants and the diphthongues, practicing also the pronunciation of each of them.

Then we have follow the learning of different methods and approaches of teaching English. Today we have learnt the Direct method and some of its characteristics and the Audiolingual method and some of the drills that can be used in the teaching of the language with this method. To practice this method, the teacher has proposed to us to organize in groups some activities using one of the drills and then we have had to practice it with the rest of our classmates.

What I have learnt today? The most important learning today for me was the new methods because it is something that we don't have talking about before having this subject.

In my opinion, today's lesson has been really interesting and enjoyable because with the phonetic's review we can correct some mistakes that we do when we pronounce some words.

FROM SEPTEMBER, 20th TO SEPTEMBER, 23rd

 I don't know yet how I'm going to develop this task, so in this first post I'm going to do a  brief summary of what we have done during this week.

On Monday and Tuesday we have had class with Juan Antonio and we have started the unit which talks about methods and approaches to teach English to very young learners. Before knowing the first method we have learnt that there's not a perfect method and is the teacher the main character to decide if a method  is effective or not. Then we have learnt some methods like : the Grammar-Translation method, the Reform Movement, Natural Methods and the Direct Method including some of their characteristics, advantages and disadvantages.

With Maribel we have seen the first unit which talks about the Common European Framework of Reference and European Language Portfolio. Some points that we have learnt with this unit are: what is the CEFR an some objectives and important concepts, what are the general and the communicative competences, what are the different levels established and finally we have talked about the European Language Portfolio.

All of the contents that we have been learning during this week are importants in the beginning of this subject and for us to star the learning of "how to teach very young learners?"

INTRODUCTION.

ABOUT ME…

My name is María García Sánchez, I’m studying the third year of the degree in Pre-Primary School. In this document I will reflect my diary work in this subject. In this diary I will do a review of ech class with both teachers. First of all, I will reflect the constents we have learnt each day and some activities that the teachers propose to us. And to finish each day I will write my opinion about the activities and contents that we learn in our lessons.

Why I’m studying this degree?

The main reason is because I like to stay and play with children since I was a little girl and also because I had an excellent teacher who was like a mother for me and the rest of my friend and we always rembember her with lots of love. Like a future teacher, I would like that  also my students remember me for my good job y the difficult task of eduaction, because we are indispensable in children’s life and formation. To have doctors, physiotherapists, administratives...we need teachers who teach this people contens and, not less important, values to be good citicens.

Because of the last point I refers in the previous paragraph I want to contribute to have a society where the people give the importance that this degree deserves and people could forget the topic that study to be a teacher it’s drawing and painting or doing pasta necklaces. We have a most important objective which is educate and give knowledge to future members of our society who will need some values and an education during the most of their lifes and we will be the first social contact appart of their families.

We have a very important responsability, which is educate PEOPLE (with their families like our workmates) and I hope I could get this goal when I finish this degree.

I wish my work and dedication could be reflect in this task.