carmen experiment

Experiences at Brighton

MY DIARY

21st July

I felt a certain fear during the first class because of the horrible things that could happen in Brighton. I felt as if it was a dangerous place to walk through. I felt quite interested in knowing about how the different materials and tools could be presented. Also the tour through the campus was quite useful and we started to move around it with freedom.

The first day I went to Brighton I took a bus, the 25C, and I arrived with some friends to the seafront. My first impression was really good. I felt surprised because of those beautiful views, the cliffs, the sea, the beach and the people. We walked along the seafront, looking everywhere and taking as much photos as possible. This walk was fantastic. I will always remember this first afternoon. We could see the beach, the sun behind the Brighton Pier and lot of marvellous buildings.


22nd July

We were playing the “Gambins” and the “Telegraph game”. I think these games were useful adapting them to my student’s level.
Tom gave us the list of different webs to visit and search the most useful for our teaching practice.I was practising with some of them. I found some useful webs to put in practice with the students. One of the most useful webs is “BBC” were you can find interesting videos and games to review and present new vocabulary.
I consider very important for our daily work with students to know how we can use the new technologies in class, and how to find useful webs to work with. If I’m able to have a computer in class, I would like to put into practice some of these webs, so that my students could listen to a native speaker and could see authentic materials. They will feel confident using them in class because some of them are adapted to their levels.


23rd July

I found quite useful the lecture about the History of Brighton and Hove. I think it’s very interesting, when visiting a foreign country, to know a bout the history and the meaning and origin of some important places. I felt very comfortable when listening to the explication and looking to the marvellous pictures Alex brought.
The most interesting thing I saw was the Royal Pavilion. I was impressed by the surroundings and the gardens. I felt as if I were in India or in China. I think it is a good place to visit and to spend the day in. You can feel so upset walking along the beautiful gardens and feeling relaxed there.


24th July

We were working with PHONICS. These are quite interesting and useful if you have access to a computer or a smart board. If you haven’t, it’s really difficult to present the correct sound according to the correct phoneme. If I have the chance I could try to present the phonemes to my students.
After that we’ve seen a video without sounds and we have had questions according to it. It’s for a high level of English; it’s not useful for my students if I present a real video. Maybe I can try with a carton video or something like that according to their level and interests. I could use some videos from BBC. Some of these webs:


http://www.bbc.co.uk/cbeebies/music/

http://www.bbc.co.uk/cbeebies/fun/

http://www.sci-spy.ie/

You might have to adapt the videos to your students’ level. But some of them are useful to explain some science topics.

http://www.eslprintables.com

Here you can find some printable sheets and activities. You must have a look.
During the afternoon I went to the “Teddy Bear shop”. I build up a bear for the students on year 1. So that they could speak with her in English. It was a wonderful experience and I found it really funny. I enjoyed the time buying the bear and putting on her new clothes.


25th July

We have tried working with the SMARTBOARD. This is easy to work with it. You can let students to interact with the lesson and to pay attention to what they are doing. I think it’s a good material to use with the students. I have worked with the smart board and my students. They feel confident the first day and also very excited. It is a good experience for them. So I invite everyone to practice and to work with it in the class if the have the opportunity. I found it quite useful, but you have to practise a lot.

27th July

I went to Canterbury and Rye. It seemed to be a very exciting experience but at the end it was not as good as I thought. We spent ONLY 2 hours and a half in Canterbury, it wasn’t enough time to see and visit all the main places there. I couldn’t see properly the Cathedral and I felt so worried to see as much things as possible. I couldn’t enjoy the visit. It was a pity. It was a disaster.
And when we arrived to Rye we had the same time to see the church, the castle and to drink a tea. We could spend less time there because you can walk around the city in an hour.


28th July

I have learnt to create a Google mail. It was no too difficult. I felt comfortable doing it. Also I started creating a new blog, where I have to download my diary and some useful things for the rest of the class.It’s useful if you want others to see your favourite things. I think it's an excelletent idea to share materials with other teachers.