Practicum Day 1

My mentor is Kim Maksymovich, who probably needs no introduction to you. My first day the students had a speaking test which they needed to prepare for during class. Kim split off the students into three different groups of 3-4 taking one group at a time to another room for their test. Meanwhile, the other two groups stayed behind in the classroom practicing Agree/Disagree questions and answers. Once they got back the students took a break and were assigned to open up their textbooks and work on abbreviations. Kim gave no exact instructions for me to follow for my first day, however, while she was gone I decided to go engage with each group. I felt confident to steer their conversations into more specific ideas, for example one question asked whether the students agreed that games were healthy for adults or children to play. One student made the remark that he felt video games were okay for children but for adults they only got in the way of our busy lives. I nodded and politely agreed and then made a statement of my own, suggesting that video games could also be healthy for adults who want to relax with something interactive and stimulating, which could lead to a healthier life. This opened up the other students in the group to open up the conversation into more complex ideas while maintaining the agree/disagree objective. I bounced around for a while getting to know the students until Kim finished with all the speaking tests. The second half of the class Kim gave a quick feedback from the speaking test, noting the differences between the definite articles ‘a’ and ‘an’, as well as using different prepositions depending on qualifiers, such as ‘to take care of’ and ‘to care for.’ Afterwards she reviewed the answers of a previous test they had last week. Lastly, the class had a quick lesson on abbreviations before time fell short. After class, Kim provided me with pointers about proximity and movement in the classroom, as well as the ensuring the use of positive reinforcement when someone asks a question. In was a short, but productive day!