Colombo Practicum Journal

PRONUNCIATION ☝ 🗣️ How did you approach pronunciation in today’s sessions? Today’s sessions were mainly focused on students’ project presentations , so working on pronunciation was a bit challenging . During presentations, students often feel nervous , and correcting them in the middle of their speech can make them even more anxious. For that reason, I decided to give gentle feedback after they finished presenting or when they directly asked for help. Interestingly, several students noticed pronunciation differences between their classmates’ presentations and their own, which led them to self-correct . For example, some words were repeated across different presentations, and after hearing others say them correctly, the next presenters adjusted their pronunciation naturally. It was nice to see how peer modeling helped them improve without direct interruption . 💡 Did you include any of the tips/strategies we worked on in our last session? If not, which ones did you include? In the f...

  🎯 How Gamification Boosted My Students’ Motivation and Engagement During my lessons, I experimented with a few gamified elements like challenges, points, and competition — and the results were really interesting! I used two main dynamics with both of my groups. The first one was the “Dance and Freeze” game 💃🕺. I showed the kids a list of shopping verbs that they had to memorize. When the music stopped, I pointed to one student who had to say one of the verbs aloud. The first group was much more receptive and confident, while the second group felt a bit shy about participating. I realized that when I joined the game with them , their attitude changed — they felt more comfortable and were willing to follow my lead. For the second dynamic, I brought some buzzers  🔘. Students worked in groups on an activity from the book, and the first team to finish pressed their button to earn a point. It was a simple idea, but it immediately boosted their excitement and collaboratio...

Leading the Whole Class for the First Time 🟩 General description These classes were really challenging. I planned engaging activities and used several class management strategies to keep students focused and motivated. I presented the topics as clearly as possible, used timers to organize the time, and gave prizes as motivation. Additionally, I let students choose the music for the activities to make the environment more enjoyable. 🟦 Challenges of each group First group: Students were active and participated, but they didn’t stay focused on the tasks. When it was time to make groups, they got distracted with each other. Some specific students didn’t want to work, so I had to call their attention and ask them for the answers when we checked the activities. They got a bit upset but later became more attentive. I also used an attention grabber (“Eyes on me… eyes on you”) because they didn’t pay attention when sharing answers after pair discussions. Second group: Students di...

Effective Strategies for Kids in PT Classes 👧👦 ✨ What strategies, techniques, or ideas from the session on teaching kids could be adapted to your own classes with teens or pre-teens? There are several strategies that can be adapted to different populations. However, considering the courses I am currently assigned, I find these to be the most useful: 🔔 Attention Grabbers – “1-2-3, Eyes on Me” This strategy is effective to regain students’ attention when they are either hyperfocused on an activity and I need to give an extra instruction, or when they are distracted and need to refocus. 📜 Classroom Rules & Contract A valuable lesson I learned from my co-teacher was the importance of setting rules from the first class. She made sure students understood them, and in later sessions she reinforced them. Eventually, students themselves began to remind each other of the rules. This encouraged students to take responsibility while giving her a fair and consistent way to address disc...

Effective Communication ☝ How did I guide my learners through the stages of the language cycle (exposure, noticing, practice, and production), and which stage might need more support next time? ⏳ This class was shorter than usual because we had to hand in the tests, talk about students’ performance, and answer their questions about the activities. 🌐 Language Cycle Exposure  🎥  Students had already watched a video (homework) about past simple vs. past continuous . Noticing  ✍️  Some students completed a fill-in-the-gap exercise to identify when to use each tense in front of the whole class. Then, they shared examples in affirmative, negative, and interrogative forms. Practice  🎮  We played a Wordwall game in pairs or groups of three, where students completed sentences. This activity helped check their understanding of the difference between while and when , and how these connect to past simple and past continuous. Production  🍿  To finish, stu...

Assessment 🤔 📊 How does the teacher collect evidence of students' performance? The team teacher doesn’t usually gather formal evidence of students’ performance. Instead, she checks their understanding through each exercise during class.  Two classes ago, however, she assigned a homework guide related to the topics covered, which she later collected. At the end of every lesson, she also asks students to complete a short writing activity ✍️ , which she sometimes collects. This task not only reviews the day’s content but also connects directly to their ongoing project. In this way, students are both reinforcing what they’ve learned and applying it to something meaningful.  Another strategy she uses is marking homework with simple visual cues . For example, if an activity is well done, she draws a 😊; if incomplete, she leaves a short note. This quick system keeps students motivated without overwhelming them. 💬 How is feedback given in class? Feedback is a constant ele...