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Jung-Ho Ryu Practicum 07 Final Paper Winter 2007 It goes without saying that setting goals is a powerful tool. Without setting goals, it is always almost impossible to achieve anything. However, having goals in mind helps people accomplish whatever they try to. In addition to setting goals, concrete actions must be taken in order to reach them. In this regard, I set three goals that I wanted to achieve in Practicum in the beginning of the quarter and also I came up with specific actions for each goal.

Goal One:
1. Make clear lesson plans and teach class accordingly. As a novice teacher, having a concrete plan for the class is essential. What I would like to do is make specific lesson plans and follow them. This way, I wont get lost while teaching on my own. Concrete actions that will be taken in order to accomplish goals: a. Prepare lesson plans carefully and practice my teaching accordingly It was the second week of this quarter to start taking the action completely. For the first week of my teaching, I dont think I prepared well for the class even though I got up at three in the morning to review my lesson plan and grammar points. I think it was a good start when I completed my lesson plan and sent it to my master teacher the day before. However, what was missing was practicing my

teaching accordingly before the actual class. I still clearly remember when I got panicked about 30 minutes before the class. I was debating myself whether I should tell my master teacher that I could not teach today due to my low confidence level or that I should teacher no matter what. Looking back, I am glad that I did teach that day. Otherwise, I would have lived with the awful feeling of failure. I guess it was a process of overcoming a fear of failure. Starting from my second teaching, I made some progress. I got prepared a lesson plan carefully and all the teaching materials ready for the class. Most

importantly, I practiced the lesson several times. I believe that my second lesson was a success because of the combination of good lesson plan and enough practice. Even though my hectic work schedule made me rush to the classroom in order to teach on that day, I became very confident and I was able to focus on my teaching. Since then, I usually made my lesson plans and send them to my master teacher at least the day before my actual teaching. As far as making lesson plans is concerned, I am proud of myself. I think having lesson plans ready is one of the keys for beginner teachers not to get lost.

b. Make scripts for the actual class considering transitions and time management. It was not until the second week of this quarter that I made scripts for the

actual class concerning activity to activity transitions and also time management. One of the good examples for this action comes from the week four. I spent a great deal of time to make a script. It was a continuous process of revising. When I finished the script, everything was all set. I knew how to move on to one grammar point to another and how to keep track of the class time because everything was carefully written down by meditating the actual class with the timeline in mind. For the week four teaching, I introduced the cameraman to the class and gave him a big hand as a class according to the script. And then, as I reviewed the Identifying clauses vs. Non-Identifying clauses with the story of me buying alcohol at the store based on the script as well. I thought students liked the story and they understood the core concept of the grammar point. As I taught on the week four, I didnt really realize that the time was running out. I prepared two activities for the class. One was whiteboard activity that students come up and answer the questions. The other one was a grammar exercise. However, because of the lack of time, I decided not to do the second activity and assign the second activity as homework. Even though I prepared well for the class, I found time management difficult. Now I have a second thought or an excuse. Time management is not about managing time according to the lesson plan but about

completing the lesson without rushing to the end. If that was the case, I think I managed my time well. Lets backtrack to my teaching preparation. Id been meditating on how I could teach the Identifying clauses vs. Non-Identifying clauses clearly. I guess I have to say, I slept on it! One point I found it! It was a concept of asking and showing ID when we buy alcohol. I added asking legal drinking age and my personal story when a casher asked my ID. It was like a light bulb went on. I knew it would work out well. Another idea was using the movie called Grease. There is a song titled Youre the one that I want! I thought the title went very well with the grammar point I was going to teach: the relative clauses with object relative pronouns. I hoped that listening to the song boosted the classroom energy. In retrospect, I think it helped a lot and did increase the energy level. Again, making scripts for the actual class considering transitions and time management helped me to think my lesson twice. Because of the scripts, it was possible to come up with through lesson plans and better teaching.

Goal Two:
2. Create interactive classroom environment This is based on my personal experience and belief. As far as I know,

interactive activities would help students learn effectively. What is more, interaction among teacher and students could make more student centered atmosphere. Concrete actions that will be taken in order to accomplish goals: a. Teach grammar points interactively by more group works and asking students to get involved as much as possible. For this action, I dont feel confident. Probably, the main reason is that grammar classes require somewhat more lecturing and grammar exercises unlike listening and speaking classes. I assigned pair works and group works for my teaching but in my own standard it was not enough. Mainly, I usually started the new unit which asked some sort of grammar lecturing. I clearly understand that student centered activities work well in general but it is also important to organize and explain grammar points in a form of lecturing. Even so, I should have tried harder and had more group works.

Make personalized examples for students Making personalized examples is also an issue for me. I came up with more
b.

personalized examples in order to pinpoint a grammar concept.

Speaking of

examples, I had to find more appropriate and creative examples. I am convinced that personalized examples would make class more interesting and enjoyable. One of the key examples was the difference between had better vs. should

1. At the parking lot with a gangster, there is only one spot left. Youd better move your car. Otherwise, I will kill you.
2.

Your teacher is angry because you guys didnt do homework.

You should do your homework! Otherwise, you will get a low grade. It worked out well. After that, students started using the had better example for fun. Another good example is that one time I draw a love letter with a heart seal on it and then put one of the students names. Basically, we guessed who wrote the letter and then introduced must be, (got) to be, may be and could be. I thought it was a good plan. I am a strong believer that showing personalized examples works great to help students understand any grammar points

Goal Three:
3. Borrow & use other teachers effective teaching methods. As Patricia Brenner said, it is always easier to borrow and use other teachers effective teaching methods rather than creating something out of nothing. As a beginner, I am willing to learn various teaching methods from experienced teachers. Concrete actions that will be taken in order to accomplish goals: a. While observing classes, focus on effective teaching methods and write them down and use the new method when I teach in my classroom. I wrote down many effective teaching methods while observing various

classes including the eight observations, my master teachers and two substitute teachers. While observing teacher Vs class, I noticed how she used the overhead projector. When she used it, she turned the light off so that students were able to focus on what was projected on the screen. From my own teaching the day before, I felt that students had a somewhat hard time to read my transparent copy. I knew it was related to lighting and she showed me a solution. After that, I used the technique all the time and the students used it as well when they did their presentation at the end of the quarter. One thing I learned about overhead projector was how to fix it. I learned it from a sub teacher. The story goes like this. The sub teacher wanted to use an OHP in the classroom but then it didn't work. So, I offered to go to another classroom and bring one for him. However, he said he could fix it. Before he opened up the OHP, "We cross our fingers and see what happens!" He did really fix it! WOW~!! I didn't even know I was able to open up the OHP. After everyone left, I tried exactly the same thing and figured out the mechanism. I felt thrilled from that! It is always good to learn something new. Another thing I noticed was how teacher E encouraged her students to speak English only. When doing a pair work, one of the students started speaking her own

native language. So, she said with smile, Are you speaking English? The way she said it was very pleasant and the message was clear. In this class, we should speak English. I used it in my own. When two Saudi students were speaking their language, I told them jokingly, Are you speaking Spanish? And also, many effective teaching methods came from the Practicum meeting with Patricia Brenner. A good example is: Tip #6 Talk to your students while writing on the board. The tip was very useful because I had been feeling uncomfortable when I had to write something long on the board. I just didnt know what to do with the feeling of discomfort. Since I got the tip, I have been using it all the time. There are so many good examples of what I learned from this quarter. I clearly remember what Patricia Brenner once said, Do not invent the wheels! I totally agree with her. The easiest way to effective teaching is to borrow teaching methods from other experienced teachers.

Conclusion
I set goals in the beginning of this quarter on purpose of becoming a good teacher, which are 1) make clear lesson plans and teach class accordingly, 2) create interactive classroom environment and 3) borrow and use other teachers effective

teaching methods. I believe that I did my best to achieve the goals and I tried so hard to compensate for my weakness as a novice teacher. I would like to finish this paper with my last day journal entry. It was bitter-sweet! At the end of the class, I made an announcement that today was my last day of teaching. And then, I gave a message to the students. The only way to improve your linguistic skills is to invest your time and your mind honestly. - Choi, Jungwha It was my farewell message as I finished teaching. I think it applies to all the teachers as well. There are no shortcuts. Be prepared, do research and get connected to students.