October 18th and 19th 2014

We started the class talking about our experiences as a teacher, if we like it or not. If we have the conviction or not. Some teacher shared their thoughts including me.

Then we worked in teams and gave the instructions, the class was about some questions that we discuss, these are some anwers.

I should smoke some Electronic cigarettes

I should save the money for the future

I should drink a lot of water, practice Zumba and have sex everyday.

I should optimize my expenses until we found a new job.

I should spend the money and return the wallet with the ID cards.

I should ask to my son about the problem and then go to school and talk with the people involved.

I should watch his reactions and attitudes, maybe he have a problem and something’s going wrong, and then take him to the phycologist.

I should take an aspirin and a shower and sleep.

I should find a new job

I should go out and see my friends

I should read about the problem and find what kind of actions I can do for the environment.

Wake up early.

I should report at the bank.

I should drink liquids, rest, take “Next”.

I should meet to my new neighbors and go to the nearest park.

I should be in politics.

I should look in the newspaper a car according to my economy.

I should kill myself or kill her.

I should hire a maid.

Maybe I can publish in the newspaper or magazine in my town. In a blog in internet.

Finally the teacher gave the conclusion of the activity.

October 19th 2014

Today the teacher ask us to write 10 words be able to use in mars for a year, in a place where only speak Japanese. Then we shared the word to the class:

1.       Good

2.       Hungry

3.       Please

4.       Thanks

5.       Help

6.       Home

7.       Spaceship

8.       Music

9.       Sorry

10.   Birds

a)      Then the teacher organized teams of three or four students and shared our lists of words and choose just one, and finally we wrote down just one list on the board, and discuss the importance of every word.

b)      3 things you love: I love my Mother, my dog and listening to music.

c)       3 things you enjoy doing: I enjoy watching movies, teaching and lying down.

d)      3 things you have done so far: I have participated making a documentary film, I have finished my last career, and I have done my homework.

e)      3 things you must do within the next week: I must be working, attending to classes and planning my English classes.

f)       3 things you would like to do in the next three days: I would like to travel anywhere and have fun, I would like to exercise and I would like to take my dog to the vet.

g)      3 things you haven’t done: I haven’t done my blog, I haven’t finished my Cambridge course, I haven´t breakfast this morning.

h)      3 things you can do to be better: I can read more, I can make an effort to be a good student and I can help people.

3 y 4 Octubre

We started the class talking about what we did last class, about the videos we described. Then we saw a new video about a man who is angry with life, maybe. Apparently all bad things are happening to him, but someone make him open his eyes, and he notice that everyone have their own issues, and he needs to chill out and maybe care about people. We talked about the videos, we shared our opinions.

My thoughts about the video: We life our life without caring about other people, what we don’t know is maybe the're doing not to well, because they have their own issues, and I think that talk to them could help them to feel fine.

Topic: Approaches to speaking: problems.

The first activity about the oil pollution

1 How did you feel as a student?

We think that if the topic was interesting for us we could share all thoughts about oil pollution, but is something that we don’t see every day in our life, so we bored.

2 Why might you not have felt like taking part in the discussion?

Maybe we don’t have an ecological mind, at this point in our life so we don’t feel attracted about those topics.

3 What advice would you give to your teacher when planning future lessons of this type?

The teacher need to teach us at first, maybe, about all the bad things that could happen if we don’t do anything about this type of topics, He could talk about the importance, causes and consequences. He can use all kind of material.

How can we help the teacher organize their speaking lessons better?

1 First ask to the students about the previous knowledge of the topic in discussion, a brainstorm could be a good strategy.

2 Introduction of the topic using technological resources for example a video.

3 Ask about the students thoughts about the video.

4 Then share if their fists ideas about the topic were the same with the video, and make their own conclusions.

5 Then the teacher can ask about some activities in order to assess if the student understood and can talk about the topic. The activities can be a drawing, questionnaire or summary.

Topic and cues

·         Bring to class a topic (eg. Banning smoking)

·         Bring a cue (short newspaper articles, provocative questions)

·         Little or no explicit “teaching” of grammatical or vocabulary points.

·         Prepare further cues to move in case it starts to drag.

Structuring talk

·         Make sure all learners get a chance to participate.

·         Prevent it getting boring.

·         The more you talk, the less apace there is for learners to say something. (Let them do the talking, we need to find a balance)

Avoid the talk-talk loop

·         Repeatedly adding new comments or new questions can have the opposite effect to that intended.

Open questions

·         Where, what, who, why, how, when, rather than closed questions.

Is noise pollution a bad thing?

What do you think about noise pollution?

·         Focusing on specific issues is even more likely to encourage reactions

When they make that noise with the drill outside, how do you feel?

Debate

·         Deliberately take an opposing or contrasting viewpoint in order to spur on conversation.