WEEK 9 - OBSERVATION & APPLICATION

 

Before starting this week’s entry, I want to clarify something. Sometimes my reflections might sound a bit direct, especially when I talk about class dynamics or group work. Please know that none of this is meant in a negative way. These are simply my own thoughts and how I process what we experience throughout the course. The last thing I want is to expose anyone or make someone feel uncomfortable. We all go through good days and bad days, and I truly respect that.

I also want to explain why the posts sometimes feel disconnected or don’t follow a perfectly polished narrative. I am genuinely writing them week by week—not doing everything at the end and backdating it, which honestly would be the easiest option. But I feel that doing it that way would take away the authenticity of the process. Unless I have a deadline or something urgent, I prefer to write in real time, even if that means some weeks are more chaotic or involve stronger emotions than others.

In fact, I like that the blog has ups and downs. Teaching—and learning to teach—is not a perfectly straight line, and I don’t want this space to be artificially smooth either. These entries reflect how I genuinely feel as things happen, just like I did during my practicum with my teacher’s notebook. This blog has become a kind of digital extension of that reflective habit. My intention is never to criticise anyone, but to understand, to question, and to grow.

So, we are officially entering the final third of the semester, and honestly… I can feel it. November is being incredibly intense — deadlines, exams, group work, deliveries, practicum preparation, the TFG starting to loom in the distance… everything junto. I’m genuinely tired, and I can feel it mentally and physically.

Still, this week I want to highlight something: our professor noticed it, and I’m really grateful for that. She understood the overload we are carrying and, thank God, knock on wood, the workload this week has softened a little — fewer practical tasks, extended deadlines, and a general sense of breathing space. I also truly appreciated that she acknowledged in a comment that “my hand” was visible in our group work. It helped me feel seen, especially because my two groupmates usually contribute very little, and this week I was drowning.

I even had a scare with the E-PEL submission (the file didn’t upload properly…), but we’re working on getting that reviewed.
With that context… let’s dive into this week.

SESSION 1:

In this first session we moved into Unit , focused on Young Learners, their characteristics, and how to approach teaching English at these earlier stages. This topic took me straight back to my practicum, because infantil and first cycle of primary rely heavily on routines, movement, and emotional connection.

We discussed:

• What defines a young learner

• How they learn

• What motivates them

• And which teaching techniques work best

I shared part of my experience: in my placement, the classroom had a little puppet called Tom — adorable and super useful. Tom had upright ears when he “behaved well,” and droopy ears when he “got sad.” The puppet left the classroom when behaviours slid, and the children responded incredibly well. The professor talked about puppets too and how effective they can be, so I’ll include some photos of the materials we used.

We also talked about drills, and how many songs for kids are essentially drills. That connected perfectly with the audiolingual idea of repetition → acquisition. Then we tackled questions like:

• What is the best age to learn pronunciation?

• How does the critical period affect language learning?

• When should reading and writing begin?

• How much positive reinforcement should we give? (Spoiler: always.)

This also tied nicely with what happened to me this week — the professor giving me positive reinforcement when I really needed it. It reminded me how small gestures can completely change a student’s emotional state.

Towards the end of the session we covered classroom routines, transitions, and planning, and again everything reminded me so much of my practicum. It’s actually been a year since my first school placement, and this whole week has felt like revisiting it mentally.

SESSION 2:

In the second session, we moved on to discussing families, the role of communication, and especially the responsibilities of the CCP (Comisión de Coordinación Pedagógica). I actually attended one during my practicum, and I remember how surprisingly formal — but positive — the experience was. In the final report, that section was especially valued, so I’ll include a tiny fragment (in Spanish) to illustrate how a CCP observation can be written and reflected on.

Fragment:

"Así, tuve la oportunidad de asistir a una reunión de la CCP (se realizan dos veces al mes), tratándose temas como la atención a dos alumnos ACNEE, evaluaciones y simulacros, el Día de la Constitución, o las diversas actividades navideñas (como las mini olimpiadas), encontrando como asistentes a la directora, jefa de estudios y portavoz, AL (como representación del EOA, en sustitución a la orientadora) y un coordinador de cada ciclo junto a la de infantil y los de prácticas.

De este modo, se acordaron medidas específicas para esos alumnos, así como fechas o aspectos organizativos relacionados con esas festividades (cuáles se hacían interciclos, intraciclos e inter-nivel y a nivel aula). Posteriormente, se me comentó que se realizaron las reuniones de ciclo (se hace una tras cada CCP), en las cuales se les comunicó todo ello, explicándoles de manera específica cómo se iba a llevar a cabo, así como, éste después tuvo una reunión con su compañera de nivel para concretar aún más estos aspectos, no observando deficiencias, pero sí compañerismo, resultándome muy interesante."

We also talked about how, ideally, the CCP should focus on serious decisions, not simply excursions or logistics. In my school it was about real pedagogical concerns: students with specific needs, transitions between stages, and planning adjustments. This felt aligned with what the professor described.

Then we went back into classroom practice with:

• Transitions

• Materials prep

• Chants.

• Techniques for teaching songs.

• Especially how not to give the lyrics at the beginning.

• Limericks - This is what we wrote in groups:

There once was a cat from the bay,

Who loved to chase birds every day.

He leapt for a crow,

But tumbled below,

And slept in the sunshine all day.

I think, that is quite good, but it can be difficult for our young non-native school learns. We can improve it!

This last one triggered a personal memory: in my primary school, Marisol, my music teacher, never gave us the text of a song first. She would always make us listen and repeat until we internalised it, and only later we worked with the written lyrics. In infantil I saw something very similar supported by TPR, which made everything more intuitive and embodied.

I also revisited the video I recorded during my practicum, where I explained the school’s methodology and the everyday classroom dynamics. I originally created that video as part of a reflective assignment, and it essentially worked as a small “teacher’s notebook,” very much aligned with Fernández Bravo’s idea of documenting, observing, and reflecting on one’s own teaching practice. In that recording, I not only collected materials and activities but also captured the pedagogical reasoning behind them, the routines, and the transitions that shaped the learning environment. Looking at it again this week helped me connect everything we discussed in class with real classroom experiences.

Video: https://youtu.be/t4X2aRbXbhU

Overall, a session very rooted in both theory and what I have lived in classrooms — and that, honestly, made it easier to connect even in a week where I’m exhausted.

REFERENCES:

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

Gobierno de Castilla-La Mancha. (2022). Decreto 81/2022, de 26 de julio, por el que se establece el currículo de Educación Primaria en Castilla-La Mancha. https://docm.castillalamancha.es/

Junta de Castilla la Mancha. (2022). Decreto 81/2022, de 17 de mayo, por el que se establece la ordenación y el currículo de la Educación Primaria en la Comunidad Autónoma de Castilla-La Mancha. DOCM, nº 134.

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

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

Some images and videos included in this post are my own (Images and videos by the author).

Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha. (n.d.). Campus Virtual. https://www.uclm.es/campusvirtual