Hello,
a bit about me:
I am Maria Gracia, a fourth grade student pursuing the Primary Education degree at UAB (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona). I built this website with the intention of sharing with other teachers a good deal of resources that I planned and implemented for Practicum V, an internship that I carried out as a part of the specialization in English as a Foreign Language. I would like to bring my experience closer to other language teachers interested in putting into practice several emerging methodologies embracing the use of digital tools at their lessons. As I see it, if we want our learners to become 21st century citizens, we have first to turn ourselves into 21st century teachers, which implies undergoing a continuous process of formation and renovation to adapt our lessons to our ever-changing environment.
The present website comprises 9 different sections, which have been crucial to provide a detailed portray of those two main tasks guiding Practicum V: a Teaching Unit, and a co-teaching activity. It is interesting to note that the Teaching Unit presented follows the principles of a Project- Based Language Learning (PBL) approach, in which a driving question has been the departure point to instigate students to investigate and communicate among themselves so as to create a final output answering to this initial question. On the other hand, the co-teaching activity seeks to open doors to new ways of cooperation among teachers which can result into the upturn of our English lessons.
Dear readers,
ABOUT MYSELF
I'm a trainee English teacher undertaking the last year of the Primary Education degree. My passion towards teaching draws back to many years ago, when I was at High School and I discovered how rewarding this profession was. In fact, when I was fifteen, my parents bought me a big blackboard, which I still have in my bedroom, and from that day on I have not stopped giving private lessons to many different people from distinct age ranges. This was the way I earned my first money.
Nowadays, I'm working in the afternoons at a language school in Barcelona as an English teacher of both children and adults, which has provided me with a good deal of enriching opportunities to gain experience in this field. Apart from that, I have also worked in many leisure activities with children as a play leader, such as school canteens and summer camps.
Two sumers ago, I did a volunteer with adults with functional diversity in which we went to a summer camp during a month. It was truly hard, but also a very fulfilling experience in which I could see another reality and appreciate more those little aspects of my everyday life which I tended to disregard.
Regarding languages, I hold a C1 Certificate in English and I'm enrolling a course to prepare for the C2 exam, which I am taking in June. I also speak fluent Italian, Catalan and Spanish and I have a basic level of French.
As for additional training, I have attended the APAC-ELT convention 2018, which has helped me to expand my knowledge on how to rethink the language teaching and learning to adapt my lessons to the current demands of our society.
All in all, I consider myself as a very hard-working and responsible person. I love reading, writing and learning. I also love travelling, knowing different cultures and bringing this appreciation towards the difference into my classes.
My goals during Practicum V
