Catching up

DAY 8 18 April 2011

Delivered my second lesson. It was OK; I think I was better prepared but even though I tried to plan most things and what to say I started with my usual rumbling and digressions. I intended to do some language work, managed but it was VERY peripheral. VERY, so peripheral that it was hardly noticed. I did more vocab though and some pronunciation features but very little as regards conditional sentences, grammar point of the coursebook unit.

We couldn’t get together with C to discuss her observations and feelings more but we only chatted for about ten minutes during the break between lessons.



DAY 9 19 April 2011

Observed A’s first lesson. Only 40’, I had to leave the classroom but thanks to the ipod everything’s there, well, at least what the teacher said… I don’t think I’ll be able to interview her today, I was tired, so was she, then I tried to arrange a phone interview but that didn’t work either…I don’t to be a burden

Then, later, I ended up recording a meeting with S. Out of the blue she decided to plan History lessons for her YEAR 3 Polimodal. As I was listening to her, the idea of motivation is beginning to emerge more strongly. Also, I begin to see again this idea of the teacher as a ‘resourcer’: like ‘I give you these photocopies, and you make a presentation based on this material plus others you might find and bother to find’. I’ll transcribe it and keep it stored, it might be beneficial. To some extent, S’s plan sort of advances what I have in mind for May and June but I’m not sure to what extent is intimate to the AR project as this is more of an individual endeavour to fight this lack of motivation and interest S perceives in her class. Again, she determined the topics and contents because A. She’s got worth exploiting sources (book and films) and she likes English History. I guess she’s at a loss or she confirms her low expectations about her students as the told me that she asked them what they are interested in and nobody said a thing. Does it have to do with the way she asked them? Maybe she asked them in English rather than in Spanish? I should ask her.
I couldn’t help it and opened my mouth again by suggesting a couple of things for the stu’s benefit: stu presentations on Tue, film discussion on Wed, more scaffolding for their presentation and follow-up activities for their peers. It’s a fact that we don’t think the same about our stu, I don’t have to let that affect the process of research and, above all, our friendship WAY more important than our professional relationship.