Activity 3. Needs Analysis

I have a delay on my activities since I presented an initial idea to the staff of the Centro de Integración Juvenil where I will carry out my Social Service and they asked me to change it. Initially I was thinking on develop an English course for 6^th. Grade students from elementary school, and now my target are clients (secondary school level) of the Centro de Integración Juvenil and their relatives who have the necessity of improve their English language skills and consolidate basic knowledge. Clients of the place are people in a process of rehabilitation from alcohol or drug abuse. Some of them have problems to keep up with the school demands; others have dropped from school. For them, English is a difficult subject.

For the activity I applied questionnaire and the Comprehensive Strengths and needs Matrix with the following results:

The CIJ is a well organized national institution with a variety of resources available for staff and volunteers in regard to training to treat and prevent addictions. The staff members understand and follow the institution policies and collaborative work, but there is a lack of material and human resources, so they accept help from volunteers.

The participation of the family as part of the treatment is required, however the level of commitment varies.

Given the characteristics of the centre, it is difficult to have access to the clients. They have different socio economic background and learning experiences, and they are having personal troubles. The clients interested in the English course had have different level of knowledge on the subject, and because of that I decided to make a review of the basic information of general English, working it in different social practices of the language to make it meaningful, exposing students to a wide range of oral and written texts, and using English must of the time during the class. Collaborative work, communicative approach, experiential learning, action research, addressing all learning styles are part of methodology preferred for the course.

Thanks for reading.

Activity 1 Becoming an English Teacher

In my opinion, as a student of this BA, I have had the opportunity to study a variety of educational experiences, and I have received enough information to understand and apply elements related to approaches, methodology, teaching practice, language acquisition. For me it’s not a problem because it’s not necessary to memorize everything; you can consult the bibliography as needed. I might not be an expert, but I have enough elements for teaching practice.

The competences for life are a day to day challenge, an ongoing process that never stops. I’m not worried about that, I’m working on it. As a human being, I never stop learning and growing. Every new knowledge or experience leads me to grow more. When you work with other professionals you have to accept that you don’t know everything and you have to be open to different personalities and ideas. That is not an easy task. Additionally, by being part of an Institution, instructions need to be followed and no one is completely independent.

I have trouble with selecting the materials for teaching because I have not had enough contact with such materials, and they are expensive. I can design and elaborate my own materials but it’s time consuming.

I realize that my personal troubles are related to my poor English knowledge. I realize one has to work harder, but I have to work on my productive skills as well. Writing and speaking is a real challenge for me. Another thing, definitely I have to improve my research skills.

Thank you for reading.
                                                 Claudia Mendez

Welcome

Welcome to the Exploring English blog. This is my first blog and I am pleased to share this adventure with you!

On the blog I will try to record my experiences in teaching and learning in order to reflect on my personal process looking for a professional development. Your comments and suggestions are welcome.
Claudia Mendez