Last Day!

It was an enjoyable experience working with different people in this course. Learning all this material was very informative and I must say that this course had taught a lot!

Deep thoughts

To pursue a vision is hard, not just because of time matter but also because it is a determination that requires strength, persistence, and self control. Yet, life taught me that the results are priceless and applies in multiple aspects of life.    

About helping ESL students!

I like my job as an ESL teacher. I enjoy helping students with their first steps in learning a new language. I get a lot of satisfaction seeing them progress as they learn the language skills necessary for their success; I get a great sense of accomplishment. In my opinion, teaching English to non native speakers is more that preparing course plans and hammering the technical skills of grammar, reading and spelling; it's also about exploring the cultural wealth that comes with English and how it relates to students’ native culture. This means that teaching ESL can be a very challenging task. It requires special skills a teacher might not be able to acquire by just studying the subject matter in a University setting for example. To explain my point I'll give an example from my own learning experience of English

My first English class was at a high school in West Michigan. The school sponsored a program for teaching English to new immigrants. Most of the students were from Latin America and native speakers of Spanish. My teacher was an American that speaks Spanish fluently. She also lived in Mexico and other Latin countries for years. Her interaction with the student was extremely good. She was always able to relate the teaching material to their background and give a sort interesting prospective on learning the linguistics. She was able to talk about cultural subjects without being uncomfortable; she was well aware of the cultural background of her students. She even talked to them, outside of class time, in Spanish. This in my opinion made up for an exciting learning experience. Students felt engaged in the learning process. They also respected the fact that their teacher made the effort to learn their language as they are making the effort to learn hers.

My point here is that the technical aspects of teaching are vital, but the teacher's awareness and understanding of his/her student's culture and native language is important. It opens boundaries for the teacher and students to explore. It makes for a more interested and engaged audience and the result is a rewarding learning experience.

First day!

The first day was exciting as it was a bit confusing; my main concern was how to adjust with the new environment. Technology base projects required tremendous amount of time, skills, and cooperative work. Yet, when the professor clarified major points and by being part of such a wonderful group, everything turned out to be fun!!!!