PRESENTATION - DIDÁCTICA LI

Hello everyone and welcome again to my blog! My name is María, and today I am excited to introduce the last subject of my degree. Although in previous years this blog has been a framework to share reflections on other courses, this time it takes on a different and very special meaning. It will not only serve as a space to publish a weekly diary of the subject I am about to present, but also as a medium to reflect on my own final stage of learning as a future teacher.

The subject is Didactics of the English Language, which is part of the English specialization within my degree in Primary Education at the University of Castilla-La Mancha (Faculty of Education, Toledo, “Fábrica de Armas”), taught by Professor María Isabel Rodríguez Martín. This course is not just another subject to complete, but rather a continuation and deepening of what we studied in third year with 
methodology. However, this time, the focus is more applied to the classroom: exploring different ways of teaching, reflecting on how learning really happens, and understanding that there is never only one way to teach, but many possible paths that must adapt to the needs of each learner.

That is, in fact, my main objective for this subject: to truly understand how English language teaching is
carried out in Primary Education, and to explore how it can be meaningfully connected with Early Childhood and even Secondary levels. I want to approach didactics not as a rigid set of rules, but as a flexible framework where theories and practices meet real students with diverse backgrounds, interests, and abilities. For me, learning about didactics is learning how to make English accessible to everyone. In the words of David Ausubel, meaningful learning occurs when new knowledge can be connected with what learners already know. That is precisely what I want to achieve: to discover how to link English to students’ lives, so that they do not see it as something distant or imposed, but as something they can truly engage with.

This is also a personal matter. In both my teaching practice and in the private lessons I have been giving for the past two years, I have met students who openly reject English. That experience made me question myself: is the problem the language itself, or the way we teach it? I have come to believe that all students have the right to a dignified education — as our educational laws state — and that this right includes learning English in a way that respects their pace, interests, and learning styles. There is no single “correct” method, but rather a wide range of possibilities, and it is the teacher’s role to find the one that works for each group and each child. That is why this subject feels so important to me: it is an opportunity to gather tools, strategies, and perspectives to better respond to diversity in the classroom.

Regarding how I will organize this blog: my idea is to publish one post per week, summarizing reflections on the two classes we have. Since the semester runs for about fifteen weeks, this will give me a clear structure to follow and a consistent rhythm to share my progress.

This blog is, in short, a diary, a portfolio, and also a space for personal growth. I hope it will reflect not only what I learn in Didactics of the English Language, but also how I grow as María, a future teacher who is still discovering herself.

So… who am I, really? Well, that is something we are going to discover together throughout the posts I will be publishing this semester. Stay tuned for the next post, where I will tell you more about myself!


REFERENCES:

Ausubel, D. P. (1968). The psychology of meaningful verbal learning: An introduction to school learning. New York: Grune & Stratton. 

Facultad de Educación, Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha. (s.f.). Facultad de Educación. Toledo. Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha. https://www.uclm.es/toledo/educacion

Microsoft. (s.f.). Bing. Microsoft. https://www.bing.com

Ministerio de Educación, Formación Profesional y Deportes. (s.f.). Ministerio de Educación, Formación Profesional y Deportes. https://www.educacionfpydeportes.gob.es/portada.html

Pixabay. (s.f.). Pixabay – Free images & royalty-free stock. https://pixabay.com

Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha. (s.f.). Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha. https://www.uclm.es