lunes, 10 de diciembre de 2012

Reading



El reading es una de las partes mas fáciles entre los cinco contendios (Listening, Vocabulary, Gramar, Reading, Writing) más importantes en la lengua inglesa como lengua extranjera. Ya que dispondrémos de textos escritos. En el reading el alumno tendrá la posibilidad de volver atrás, volver a leer. Sobre todo cuando aparezca algo que el alumno no ha entendido bien. También nos ofrece la posibilidad de poder sacar palabras desconocidas por el contexto de la frase o del texto en general. No siempre es necesario de entender cada palabra, sino por entender el contexto y el sentido del texto ya se pueden entender palabras desconocidas por sí mismos.
Pero siempre hay que tener en cuenta la edad de los alumnos con los que queremos hacer un reading o introducirlo en clase. Los textos siempre deberían de ser con contenidos que ellos puedan entender y que quieran leer que les despierta el interés al leerlo. Aún más fácil es de presentarles una lectura que sea cercana a ellos, a su vida cotidiana, a sus intereses. Por eso es importante de tener en cuenta la edad de los alumnos, porque es obviamente que los intereses de los alumnos varian de edad a edad. Generalmente lo más importante es que les guste la lectura y leerla que la lectura en sí mismo.

Hay diferentes maneras de usar la lectura en clase.
Look and Say: una manera de aprender nuevas palabras o profundizar palabras ya conocidas. Para tenerlas en memoria se repiten las palabras y las frases. Normalmente eso se suele hacer con palabras que ya suenan familiar.
Language experience approach: una manera de dejar leer cada alumno a solas y poder dedicarles un rato para escucharles leer y poder ayudarles y explicarles en qué y por qué fallan en ciertas cosas mientras están leyendo. Así también se evita la vergüenza delante de los demás de poder hacer errores al leer en voz alta. A mí me parece buena idea, pero también lo veo complicado, porque es difícil de ayudar a cada alumno con un tiempo tan limitado como lo tenemos en las clases.

La propuesta de un ejercicio de reading que ya habiamos comentado al principio de nuestras clases y que también ya comenté en el blog me gustó bastante para poder mejorar y hacerles leer en clase. Incluso aquí también se puede incluir el look and say, porque podría ser un texto con palabras desconocidas que hay que explicarlas en clase. Estas palabras podrían ser las palabras por donde el lector para para que todos pronuncian la palabra juntos y en voz alta.

martes, 27 de noviembre de 2012

Suggestion Exam 4th of ESO


Today in class we did an individual suggestion for an exam for 4th of ESO. It should consist of 10 tasks and it has to follow a special orden. The order is Listening, Vocabulary, Gramar, Reading, Writing.
We had a level of difficulty from 1 to 3, 1 being the lowest level. I chose for my exam level 2. 

At the beginning for example I chose an exercise to use the Past Simple, Past Perfect and Past Continuous. The exercise consisted in a mix of all this three tenses but after consulting with Iñaki, it turned out to be to difficult. In the end I changed the exercise and I had to raise the level to 3. I would like to show you the suggestion of my exam. 


Exam 4th ESO – Level 3                                                                              Sandra Stallmann
1.       Listen to the dialogue twice and choose the correct answer. There is just one correct answer. (10p.)
1.       When took Collins wedding place?
A: four years ago            B: forty years ago            C: four month ago
2.       How many people attended approximately at Collins wedding?
A: About a hundred                      B: About two hundred                 C: just a few
3.       When happened the best part of the day?
A: at the morning of the day     B: at the dinner time     C: at the end of the day
4.       What was what Collin did?
A: He danced with his mother  B: He ran down the street in his wedding clothes
C: He got on his scooter and rode down the street in his wedding clothes
5.       With whom did Collin this?
A: With his best friend B: With Deans gran         C: With his cousin

2.       Fill in with the right form of to get. (7p.)
Getting tired of, got into, got away with, get back, get off, get up, get out of
a)      When did you _____________ from your vacations?
b)      I am _____________ watching this movie.
c)       Last week he arrived late to school every morning and he _______________ detention.
d)      We have to _____________ the bus at the next station.
e)      My Mom _______________ at 7 AM every morning.
f)       John _______________ trouble and now he is trying to _______________ it.

3.       Fill in the brackets with the correct preposition (off, for, about, at). (6p.)
a)      I will tell you __________ my problem tomorrow.
b)      The little girl fell __________ the swing (columpio).
c)       He is always spending time with his friends __________ the weekend.
d)      Teresa was waiting __________ an hour for her boyfriend.

4.       Choose 5 of the following words and use them in a sentence you create. (10p.)
Boom, hairstyle, look, fashion, peace, icon, craze, birth, denth, gadget, invention, war.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

5.       Use the correct form of the verb use to and fill in with the words in brackets. (5p.)
a)      Brian ____________ (drive) on the left side because he has lived in London for over two years.
b)      My grandmother ______________ (not use) a mobile.
c)       My parents ______________ (go) to the dancing school every Sunday evening.
d)      ___________________ (you/ go out) every weekend?
e)      My grandparents ______________ (participate) in a mass every Sunday.

6.       Choose the right form of Past Perfect or Past Simple in the following sentences. (15p.)
a)      Susie had been bored/was bored at the concert because she had already been/she was already there one year ago.
b)      My parents had gone/went on a trip for one month because they had never traveled/never traveled before.
c)       Yesterday we had played/played basketball and one of our friends hadn’t played/didn’t play because he broke/had broken his leg the day before.
d)      My grandmother didn’t recognize/hadn’t recognize my cousin because she dyed/had dyed her blond hair into black hair.
e)      My Mom checked/had checked my bags before we left/had left for holidays.

7.       Fill in with the words in brackets with the correct form of Past Continuous. (9p.)
a)      I _______________ (read) the newspaper when my sister called.
b)      While Dan ______________ (carry) the wood, he injured his hand.
c)       They ____________ (clean) while I ____________ (cook) the dinner.
d)      While Caroline _______________ (talk) to her best friend on the phone, she watched TV.
e)      My friends _____________ (have) a party when I was in the hospital.

8.       Fix the mistakes in the following sentences. (6.)
a)      My parents had an argument when I arrive home.
_______________________________________________________________________ .
b)      She was amazed. She never saw this movie.
_______________________________________________________________________ .
c)       They watched TV when the lights were going off.
_______________________________________________________________________ .

9.       Read the text and answer the following questions. (16p.)
1)      What did Alice do when she was spending time with her friends?
2)      Do you agree with Alice that parents may buy to many things for their children?
3)      Do you think it is difficult for older generations to get use to the new technologies? Explain.
4)      “I find most young people are respectful.”  What do you think about the sentence that young people doesn’t respect older generations and why do you think does this sentence exist?

10.   In relation to the text you read about Alice write a text about your generation. Take into consideration for example the following questions. With what technology you grew up? What are you doing at the weekend with your family and friends what Alice couldn’t do? What is the main difference to your and Alices generation? (16p.)



Kung Fu Panda


Kung Fu Panda is a computer- animated Movie for children’s but with its history it may not is just for childrens. Also adults can take some advices out of this movie.
The movie tells the story about the Panda Po who is working with his dad in selling Pasta. His never ending dream was to become the Dragon Warrior. Maybe a little unexpected Po is chosen to be the Dragon Warrior, without knowing any Kung Fu, and to fight against Tai Lung. Tai Lung is a tiger who has been for years in a really safe prison. Shifu is the one who teaches Po the martial arts of Kung Fu.
There is the first point we can compare with the daily class life of a teacher. Shifu has to adapt his methods of teaching to the understanding and knowing of Po. One method of teaching never works for all students we want to teach. We have to adapt to the situation in which we are or to the difference of understanding students can have. Maybe Shifus methods he used to do with his other students are not the correct one to teach Po, so he changes them that in another way of teaching Po can learn the same things like the other Warriors. Shifu needs to find something what motivates Po to do and to learn what Shifu is trying to teach him. In this way it is food what makes Po do things he never imagined about hisself and suddenly he can reach things, he couldn’t before.
Kung Fu Panda tries to tell us that we have to believe in ourselves to get what we really want. It is important to fight for what each person want. It is not about to give up when the aim isn’t reached by the first try, it is about to get up, try again and fight for what you want.  
But I want to do a question: Do we always need someone to motivate us, to not give up when we are feeling that we failed? Do we need someone like Shifu who shows us there are other ways to reach every aim, there is not just one way to get and fight for what you want? Is it better to get motivated by ourselves or is it better to have people around us to motivate us?


martes, 20 de noviembre de 2012

Teambuilding (clase: 29.10.2012)




Teambuilding es el proceso de formar grupos. No se limita a poner a los estudiantes a trabajar juntos, sino convirtiéndolos en equipos cooperativos y cuidadosos. Al principio hay que darles una series de pautas y normas para que el trabajo en grupo funcione y para evitar problemas. Cada miembro del grupo se tiene que identificar con el grupo para poder conseguir un resultado eficaz. En el grupo se tienen que ayudar entre ellos, cada miembro del grupo aporta y tiene que estar respectado por los otros miembros. Sin Igualdad y sin respeto en el grupo no hay resultados afortunados. Trabajar en grupos y juntos aportan más ideas y más posibilidades de desarollar un tema. El trabajar en grupos también es una preparación para el futuro que hoy en día siempre se trabaja en ‘teams’ para conseguir mejores resultados. 

Ejercicio para leer (clase: 22.10.2012)



Hoy en clase se nos explicaba una idea para un ejercicio de leer. A mí me llamó la atención este ejercicio porque me parecía que a los alumnos les va a parecer como un juego y que probablemente les gustará. El tema de leer en clase siempre es algo complicado, porque  los alumnos no dedican su tiempo libre a leer un libro y mejorar la pronunciación, a ampliar su vocabulario, etc.
La idea es que cada alumno tiene que leer por ejemplo  5 líneas y cuando se para el resto de la clase lee en voz alta la siguiente palabra dónde se ha parado. Así se evita el problema que el alumno se podría avergonzar delante de la clase por no saber pronunciar una palabra. Al mismo tiempo el resto de clase siempre tendrá que prestar la atención al texto leido para poder leer en voz alta la palabra dónde el lector ha parado. Así toda la clase estudia al mismo tiempo la pronunciación de una palabra que a lo mejor a muchos les parece difícil de pronunciar. Al igual se puede ampliar el vocabulario porque pueden aparecer palabras desconocidas que hace falta explicarlas en clase. Me gusta como ejercicio de leer en clase, de estudiar la pronunciación. Quizá para el profesor también puede ser un control sobre la mejora de su clase. 

Power Teaching (clase: 22.10.2012)


This topic has caught my attention because it is something easy but to me it sounds effective to bring something close to our students.

Power Teaching means that the teacher explains something in a maximum of 90 seconds. The next step would be that the students explain it to each other. In the end some volunteer has to come and try to explain it as a teacher.

This is a different strategy how to teach and how to be sure that the students understood the topic/task and to fix it in their minds. To repeat it more than once and let them explain something on their own, can may give the opportunity to remember permanently. 

Comment on Spencer Kagans Short Story

Spencer Kagan

Dos mujeres están en la orilla de un río, de corriente rápida, que se está llevando a un hombre que lucha por mantenerse a flote y acercarse a ellas. Ambas mujeres saltan al agua y rescatan al hombre. Mientras las valientes rescatadoras atienden a la víctima, la corriente lleva hacia ellas un segundo hombre, también desesperado y gritando auxilio. De nuevo, las mujeres se meten en el agua al rescate. Mientras sacan a la segunda víctima, divisan a un tercer hombre agitando los brazos. Una mujer se mete en el agua para salvar a la última víctima. Se da la vuelta y ve a la otra mujer yendo corriente arriba. "¿Por qué no me ayudas?", grita. "Estoy ayudando", responde la otra mujer. "Estoy yendo a ver quien los está tirando al agua."

In this little story of Spencer Kagan we can observe how human beings are used to deal with some situations. So we can observe that here in this present situation both women react with an instinct trying to help the person they see in danger. It may happen out of a shock situation to jump into the water to save the man because in the end they could have bring themselves into a dangerous situation. The first thing which comes up is the instinct to help.  After observing the situation and noticing that it may was not an accident, trying to find the origin of the “problem” to have the possibility to resolve it.