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Reality About Second Language Teaching in A Public School.: Strengths

Students at a public school in Colombia were taking English classes four hours per week, taught by one teacher with 34 students. The document summarizes observations from this classroom. It found that students' English level was lower than expected, with lack of vocabulary, literacy, and grammar. Student participation was a positive aspect, though discipline was a challenge. Institutional guidelines around mandatory peace classes and events affected English instruction time. The realities of the classroom provide lessons on better understanding students and adjusting teaching methods to their needs and the school environment.

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34 views3 pages

Reality About Second Language Teaching in A Public School.: Strengths

Students at a public school in Colombia were taking English classes four hours per week, taught by one teacher with 34 students. The document summarizes observations from this classroom. It found that students' English level was lower than expected, with lack of vocabulary, literacy, and grammar. Student participation was a positive aspect, though discipline was a challenge. Institutional guidelines around mandatory peace classes and events affected English instruction time. The realities of the classroom provide lessons on better understanding students and adjusting teaching methods to their needs and the school environment.

Uploaded by

JuanSantaR
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Reality about Second Language Teaching in a Public School.

In order to reflect about facing classrooms realities in a public school, it implies to


confront personal theoretical knowledge in order to identify weakness and strengths presented
during class implementation. Accordingly, this paper is written taking into account classes in
Instituto kennedy, which is a public school located at east of the town, with seven grade students,
in their third period of their scholar year. For this purpose, school provide them four hour per
week in section of 55 minutes. In which, three of them will be taught by a female practitioner
with thirty-four students in class. For this reason, it will describe students response, English
level and institutional guidelines observed during practicum.

Students Response

Students responses are different and variable for every class .One aspect that provided
challenges as teachers is discipline, which according to Sulich, 2004 is defined as requirements
of the people involved in education to create guidelines to be followed in class. It was clear that
last hour of class provide boredom and distraction for that reason those are the most difficult
classes; for example, Friday last hour, which is doubly complicated due to students want to go
home and did not pay attention. On the other hand, one positive aspect noticed during class was
students participation. Taking into account Cambridge Dictionary (n.d.) definition the fact that
you take part or become involved in something; during classes it is clear that even though
students did not recognize words pronunciation, they raised their hand and try to complete the
activity proposed by the teacher. According to in-service teacher, she notice that some students
that never talked in class are interested to answer, their level of fear to be wrong decrease and
those students who feel more comfortable at the moment to participate, called their partner to
collaborate.

English Level

Level of English presented by students was not the expected. According to Colombia
Ministerio de Educacin Nacional (2006), students from seven grade have are in A 2.2 level with
the capacity to understand, explain and write simple text, ideas or stories about their environment
with basic errors. In a real context, students did not remember subject previously taught,
pronunciation or grammar structures. On the other hand, instructional material provided by the
school can not be applied due to some of them are too complex for the students. Additionally,
students did not understand instructions or explanations received in English due to translation is
the most common activity during class. They demanded all the information in both languages
excusing themselves in the non-understanding to achieve it. Finally, task assignments as
classwork or homework give proofs about lack of vocabulary, illiteracy, coherence, cohesion,
grammar, and etcetera. In this cases, it is necessary to check the real level of the students to use
activities and materials that increase not only learning but also interest and engaging.

Institutional Guidelines

Public institution are directed by the Misterio de Educacional Nacional which established
certain parameters that must be taught; for example, ley 1732 la Ctedra de la Paz which is
mandatory and which seeks to generate more peaceful environments from the classrooms of
Colombia. This policies, certain events programmed in the schools curriculum and some classes
canceled decrease implementation time and intensity hourly for specific subjects. In the same
fashion, the fact that students change their classrooms, clean classrooms implies that the classes
are not fifty-five min as it was thought-out. On the other hand, one positive aspect are school
equipment which help teacher to complete the activity and have a variety of elements to get the
objective purpose. Additionally, people in charge of teaching and the equipment provide ongoing
collaboration and help. At the end, the most important thing is restructure and adjust lesson
planed in order to use and complete tasks and activities to get learning in students.

Classrooms realities observed in a public school provide reflections about positive and
challenging aspects. Indeed, although the level of English observed in students is lower;
students response give a view about participation as a positive aspect which could
help learners to improve in the areas in which they present more difficulties. On the other hand,
discipline was a challenge during lesson implementations but it was clear that when they enjoyed
and liked the subject, they want to be part of the activities. Another important issue which could
help students learning are those device with attract students attention and those policies and
extra-curricular activity can be used as a method to teach English. Then, it is important that
challenges will be used as tools to create ways for them to become strong points from a new
planning, integration of other subjects even students interests. At least, the most important thing
is adjust to the reality taking into account, students behaviors, languages use and institutions
policies.
References
Cambridge Dictionary (n.d.). Cambridge university press. Retrieved from:
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/participation
Colombia Ministerio de Educacin Nacional (2014) Ley 1732 - Ctedra de la PAZ
Colombia Ministerio de Educacin Nacional (2006) Estndares Bsicos de Competencias
en Lenguas Extranjeras: Ingles

Sulich, M. 2004. Keeping Discipline in the Classroom, English Teaching Forum, P. 33

Retrieved from: ttps://americanenglish.state.gov/files/ae/resource_files/04-42-3-g.pdf

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