pedagogy reflection

From the beginning of the second year, we started with practical work. Teaching in a foreign class in a new school contributed to my fears, but I believed in my abilities and tried to draw every drop of information from pedagogy lectures in college. Earlier this year, I discovered in class that we learned how to plan a lesson and why it is vital. When I got to the second semester, I was exposed to methods to teach skills such as reading, writing, listening, and speaking in English. The lecture that was significant to me was teaching listening strategies because, as an L2 English speaker, I learned the language through hearing and was thus exposed to words and grammatically correct forms of speech. Like me, many children learn the English language while exposing themselves to hearing in and out of class.

In addition, during the year, I learned in pedagogy classes the importance of a teacher as an authority in the classroom. I must understand the material in-depth and tutor the students in an agile, effective, and efficient manner. They will have to use vocabulary, new letters, and different skills. When I understood the material best, I, as a teacher, had to plan a lesson in which I would try to combine reading, listening, writing, and speaking skills in class and set a goal that students could reach at the end of the lesson that they could not earlier. In the course, I realized that there are diverse levels of students in understanding the English language and that I need to take it seriously. For example, in the fourth grade, out of a class of twenty-six children, seven children were not at the level of the rest of their classmates, so the teacher was asked to find a solution. The solution was to give those students an English book tailored to their level to close the gap. The workbook did wonders and made me realize there is always a solution.

When I started teaching, I realized how children love that I speak English to them. Of course, not everyone is excited about it, but those kids were a challenge because I always tried to teach them to love the language first and get them to connect. In my practical work as an English teacher, I realized how important it is to combine different teaching methods and strategies. For example, some children learn and love English through hearing a story or a movie; some children love the challenge of reading and thus research the language. These examples helped me as a teacher at the beginning of her journey to understand that there is no one right way to teach English. Still, the combination of strategies is the most effective way to reach the children’s hearts and only then help and push them to learn the language.

Next year I would like to learn how to be more of a teacher. Learn how to take control of a class of unconcentrated children. Be more organized in terms of materials and methods I learned. Continue to help children learn English and love the language.