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How to work with Language Assistant

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Subido el 4 de octubre de 2016 por Ignacio A.

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How can language assistants help students to improve their views of others around the world? 00:00:00
So I wanted to talk about this question because two different specific examples came to mind. 00:00:10
Because I think that as LAs or ETAs, that we have an opportunity to really broaden our students' minds, 00:00:14
both with regards to the diversity in American culture and the diversity of global culture. 00:00:22
And as much as sometimes I'm just approached by an English teacher who I work with, 00:00:28
and he or she will say, oh, this week on Thursday, David, I just want you to give a presentation about 00:00:33
some facet of American culture. And so it's a very, um, open-ended assignment. And when I'm 00:00:38
approached with something like that, I prefer to, instead of talking about like Thanksgiving and 00:00:43
Halloween and American football and things they've probably already talked about instead, um, I've, 00:00:48
I've touched on like Martin Luther King and the civil rights movement or other aspects of American 00:00:52
culture that they maybe haven't been exposed to that might also illuminate a part of American 00:00:57
history that they might not be familiar with. And so that's one way that I think that we have the 00:01:04
potential ability to really broaden students' minds and perspectives. And similarly, I've tried 00:01:09
to sometimes also focus attention on other English-speaking countries that are not the 00:01:15
United States. In spite of the fact that I am from the U.S., students tend to think of the United 00:01:20
Kingdom and the United States when they think of English-speaking countries, but I've given 00:01:28
presentations on Australia and Ireland, New Zealand, and these other places where English is 00:01:32
a prominent language, and that is often relevant in these English-speaking classes. And we can say, 00:01:37
hey, did you know that in Australia they have these funny words that they use over here, and 00:01:42
they mean XYZ and so I've also tried to sort of broaden or at least introduce 00:01:46
some new aspects of English speaking world to the students I work with I 00:01:52
think one of the most important things because I mean just in society today I 00:02:00
think that technology because we're we're high technology society where 00:02:06
sometimes it influences people's perspectives and a lot of times different 00:02:13
stereotypes are developed because of this and one of the ways that that these 00:02:18
that LA's can improve students improve their views by breaking down these 00:02:24
stereotypes that come from sometimes things like the media or like movies 00:02:29
that they see and they can also help exchange like I said earlier ideas about 00:02:35
current events are happening in different regions and ideas about their 00:02:41
culture so and I think this is like a one of the way that they can help break 00:02:47
down or at least help improve their views of the world by doing these things 00:02:53
how can the work of language assistance help students to develop collaborative 00:02:59
skills and peer work yeah great so obviously the global classrooms program 00:03:09
I think is an incredible way to build these collaborative skills. 00:03:18
One thing that I also noticed that in a lot of the courses in my school, 00:03:22
it didn't seem that the teachers put so much of an emphasis on group work and collaboration and interactive activities. 00:03:27
It's kind of more either book work or the teacher really explaining or lecturing a concept. 00:03:34
So I think it really is great to kind of add that new dimension, especially even after the Global Classrooms Program ends. 00:03:38
So one of the teachers and I, we kind of worked together to make a new debating program for the students. 00:03:45
And I think that was a great way for them kind of to interact and continue this idea of working in teams and doing these types of activities that they're not really accustomed to in the school. 00:03:50
So I think kind of working with the teachers to build these interactive programs, because a lot of the teachers are willing to do that. 00:04:01
They just kind of want some help with that and some guidance. 00:04:07
So I think that is definitely a great way to do that, kind of just inventing these new activities. 00:04:11
From a personal point of view, what would you say are the highlights of the language assistant program? 00:04:16
For me, this program was really interesting because before this year, I taught for two years as a Spanish teacher. 00:04:30
So this program sort of gave me the opportunity to teach and also learn at the same time. 00:04:37
Normally when you're teaching, you only get periodic observations. 00:04:42
But in this job, I got to work with a teacher, and I got to have them plan the lessons with me. 00:04:46
I got to delve into the bilingual system of education, and they gave me reflections on what went well in the classroom and what didn't. 00:04:54
So it was a teaching and learning experience, which I really enjoyed. It was a great experience. 00:05:00
Oh, there are many. 00:05:06
I think for me at least like initially I know that I've I mean I've never been 00:05:07
outside of the North American continent so it was something that I was a little 00:05:20
bit hesitant but very excited at the same time and I think the program in 00:05:28
general. It pushed me to go outside my comfort zone and because of that I've 00:05:32
experienced a tremendous growth both on a personal level and then even 00:05:40
professionally and I've seen I feel like I've been presented with just like 00:05:45
different opportunities and also another thing was that I got to meet different 00:05:51
people from different cultures and backgrounds form wonderful relationship 00:05:58
with the students, the professors, and it also gave me the opportunity to work on my 00:06:02
community project, which I'm very passionate about, and I'm very happy about how it's progressed 00:06:07
with the school's community garden that we developed. 00:06:13
And so with that, I got to see firsthand the impact that it made on the community, working 00:06:18
with the professors, the students, the elderly, people in the community, which is really nice. 00:06:26
and just like different things like traveling, getting to experience firsthand all the historical places that I normally would just read about, 00:06:31
maybe like in the U.S. or something, because everything I feel here is like very close. 00:06:44
There's also like, it's full of history. 00:06:51
The culture is very enriching. 00:06:55
And, I mean, even from the gastronomy is, like, wonderful here as well. 00:06:56
I mean, there's just so many things. 00:07:04
I think those are, and also, like, forming friendships with the people that I met, like, both in school and then through the program. 00:07:06
I think those are all highlights, at least for me. 00:07:14
So, my main highlight inside the classroom is getting to work with these small groups. 00:07:18
I've been really fortunate to work with 15 or 20 students throughout the whole year, 00:07:24
and we have a really close relationship. 00:07:29
I've gotten to see their English skills improve, which is really cool because I feel like I've helped. 00:07:33
Also, I'm not that much older than them, so I feel like we relate to each other really well, 00:07:38
and class can be fun, we can joke about things, it doesn't have to be so strict. 00:07:43
And so I've really appreciated having this chance to get to know these students, 00:07:47
And I think I'm really lucky for having that chance. 00:07:52
What would you do to make your collaboration as a language assistant more effective? 00:08:00
I think in order to make my collaboration more effective, not only with my teachers, 00:08:08
but with the other staff that I work with, again, is through just solid communication. 00:08:12
I think interacting with each other and exchanging ideas and passing along notes about the students, 00:08:17
about possible ideas to do in the classroom, I think that's a great way to collaborate. 00:08:24
Like I said, not only with teachers, but also with the staff, the other assistants. 00:08:28
I think that's the best way to do it. 00:08:32
How could you contribute in a more effective way to the language assistant program? 00:08:39
I think using the fact that the students view you as a break in their routine would be really helpful 00:08:47
because they have their teachers that they see every single year. 00:08:56
However, every year there are new assistants. 00:09:00
So having you in their classroom is a total change in their day. 00:09:02
And so they're naturally going to be more interested in what you have to say and how you're going to say that. 00:09:08
So I think you have to use that interest to really help the teacher and help the teacher learn. 00:09:15
Because what I've found is that even though they may not be listening to the teacher, 00:09:22
when I say something or when other language assistants say something, they 00:09:27
tend to listen a little bit more simply because we're different. We're the 00:09:32
English-speaking assistants and not the Spanish teachers. It's just a break in 00:09:37
the routine. Then finally, getting to know your students is really helpful because 00:09:42
you're giving these lessons and presentations to the students. So what 00:09:47
you have to do is you have to think, when I was in high school, when I was in 00:09:53
middle school, what did I find interesting about the presentations? What did I like about 00:09:56
what my teachers did? So if you don't like a presentation, you think it's boring, it's 00:10:04
very likely that your students will also think that it's very, very boring because at the 00:10:10
end of the day, they're teenagers. They just want to have fun. They don't want to do work. 00:10:14
So what I would do is I would find out what my students' favorite TV shows and movies 00:10:20
and I would incorporate different memes into my presentations and I they really 00:10:24
really enjoyed that as I became the assistant with the funny pictures at my 00:10:31
school so getting in in the end get to know your students get to know what they 00:10:36
like so you can tailor your lessons and your presentations to those students so 00:10:40
I think for me with I think that I did a nice job of communicating with my 00:10:47
day-to-day colleagues at my school I think if I were to do things differently 00:10:53
going forward I would have been a little bit more open and speaking to my 00:10:58
colleagues throughout the city so my Fulbright colleagues who are at other 00:11:02
schools in the community and then maybe participating more often in forums to 00:11:06
gain lesson ideas or teaching ideas just to find find ways to do things 00:11:12
differently. You know, one thing that I am glad that I was able to accomplish this 00:11:18
year was just kind of breaking out of the typical PowerPoint and lecture 00:11:24
routine that happens, in my opinion, too often in the high school classroom. I was 00:11:29
glad to be able to use primary sources and history classes, to do poetry 00:11:35
analysis in group, to have debates in class, things that just break the mold a 00:11:40
a little bit, and if I were to change anything, 00:11:46
maybe I would have looked to do even more of that 00:11:48
if I was doing it for a second time. 00:11:51
Subido por:
Ignacio A.
Licencia:
Reconocimiento - No comercial - Sin obra derivada
Visualizaciones:
9917
Fecha:
4 de octubre de 2016 - 11:37
Visibilidad:
Público
Centro:
Sin centro asignado
Duración:
12′ 09″
Relación de aspecto:
4:3 Hasta 2009 fue el estándar utilizado en la televisión PAL; muchas pantallas de ordenador y televisores usan este estándar, erróneamente llamado cuadrado, cuando en la realidad es rectangular o wide.
Resolución:
640x480 píxeles
Tamaño:
43.94 MBytes

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