The End of TKT Course

After the TKT course I could say that it was pretty much as I expected to be, a course focused on strategies to use in order to teach English, new terms, etc., and well, even much than that since the class was not only stuck on the the book but it also was complemented with the teacher's experience and all the amount of extra material she opportunely procured to us (thanks a lot Ellen).
 And about future goals I haven’t really thought about it so far, specially because I haven’t completed the last ones, I meant that I managed to finish the course but still there is a TKT certification I have to deal with, so until I got it I could really talk about accomplishing.
So, for the moment let’s enjoy the rain.

Classroom Management

Probably one of the most difficult things in a class if not the most difficult is the classroom management. I believe that spite the fact of how much you could read about it or prepare yourself to confront any given situation, it is the experience as a teacher what really can help you to face such incidents, because every case is different and therefore it needs a different treatment that maybe you can only develop as a teacher in the classroom, dealing with all kind of students and applying different methods.
However is always useful to take a look at some of the material specially written for such theme, so if you not have access to any book, you can always consult material available in the Internet.
You can also have some feedback with more experienced professors who can help you to deal the best way with certain circumstances according to their invaluable experience.

(image from Calvin and Hobbes taken from: http://www.gocomics.com/calvinandhobbes/1992/11/27/ )

The Recommendation of the Week

It's time to review for the upcoming exams, and the best (or the funniest way to do it) is through games and interactive activities, so here is a good option:

www.ManyThings.org

A Place to Study English. This web site is for people studying English as a Second Language (ESL) or English as a Foreign Language (EFL). There are quizzes, word games, word puzzles, proverbs, slang expressions, anagrams, a random-sentence generator and other computer assisted language learning activities. Even though the primary focus is for ESL, native English speakers may also find some interesting things on this site. This site is non-commercial and has no advertising.

There are plenty of activities focused on Vocabulary, Reading, Grammar, Listening and Speaking, Pronunciation, etc. The previous image is from the "Hangman Game" and if don't know where to start, this is a good option.

(image and main text taken from: www.manythings.org)

Bloom's Taxonomy

The Bloom’s Taxonomy is a really good classification of some targets in education, such as knowledge, comprehension, application, analysis, synthesis and evaluation, these categories are helpful for teachers in order to plan theirs lessons, because following the chart it is easier to classify knowledge and how to achieve certain objectives, and for the same reason they are also important for the students.

An activity to follow the categories of the Bloom’s Taxonomy would be “Describing the function of a certain gadget” (so the gadget would be a last generation cell phone with a lot of new functions)



1.- Knowledge (the student must know the device and some of the functions of it, as well as specific terminology)

2.- Comprehension (the student must understand what he is about to explain so he could do it with his own words)

3.- Application (the student uses the information he has  gathered about the object to solve the problem of describing the device’s functions)

4.- Analysis ( we could ask the student about other gadgets with similar functions so he could analyse, classify, select, compare or identify other similar objects)

5.- Synthesis (we could ask the student if he thinks that there would be a way to improve the gadget, so he could invent, design or rearrange the device into something new)

6.- Evaluation (we could finally ask the student his position towards the gadget, if he thinks it is really necessary, yet useful the use of it or if that just another expensive piece of junk to waste our time, so the student could judge, choose, justify or even debate and argue)

The Recommendation of the Week

Before continue the reading I suggest you to click play to get into the mood...



Ah, this fanfare has on me the same effect the bell had on Pavlov's dog... woof! woof!

So, for those who love Movies (like I do) and want to practise their expertise about it and also some English skills (spelling, vocabulary) there is a highly addictive way to do it...

Which movie does the object come from? 

In there you must write correctly  the name of the movie according with a key image of a given object, and you can help yourself by counting the spaces and guessing for the letters you must fill, it is pretty much like the Hangman game  but in here nobody dies... that way. You have 3 lives and you can check your missed letters and also your score.

So, if your "Mama always said life was like a box of chocolates. You never know what you're gonna get", give it a try.

(image taken from: famousobjectsfromclassicmovies.com)
(quotation taken from: Forrest Gump)

 

Personal Learning Philosophy

About the results of the tests I found not big surprises with the previous idea I had concerning my Personal Learning Philosophy and the Multiple Intelligences, fortunately there is some intelligence in my head no matter what kind! So now, what to do with the information we have about ourselves? After celebrating the vestiges of intelligent life the next thing to do would it be to use such for good, and in this context for education matters... and for Glogging as well...

Glogster link

The Recommendation of the Week

Reading Daniela’s blog recently, I noticed something she mentioned about our last assignment in groups, we are a bunch of strangers. Well, maybe not all of us, and certainly that has changed a little since we started the course. So, if you want to know better your partners and those dark little secrets they try to hide and also practise the Wh-questions and all sort of questions, there is a way to do it: Formspring.

"Formspring helps people find out more about each other through sharing interesting & personal responses".


But What is Formspring?

Formspring encourages people to find out more about each other in a simple and fun way. It starts by directly asking people original questions in anticipation of their entertaining or revealing responses. Responses can range from straightforward to surprising and can lead to understanding something more about the people you know or find interesting. Whether you are curious to know more about a college you are applying to, the movies your friend likes, or the stories of someone you respect, on Formspring, you can have fun, share insights, and relate to one another in a new way.

You can start asking your friends all you want, they can ask you as well and every member of this website will receive daily  “The Question of the Day” from the Formspring staff so you always have something to answer.

(Text and images taken from: www.formspring.me)

As an example check out the profile from the Pixarblog: www.formspring.me/thepixarblog