1. Discuss your abilities and significant characteristics that would make you a good

teacher. Make a description of your character in which you include information

about your personality traits, the things you like to do and how being a virtual

language student makes you feel, especially in relation with the learning of English

online. Include all relevant data that can help you complete this task.

I have always considered the teacher profession as one of the most important for the

development of any society. On teachers’ shoulders is the formation of new generation not

only for they transmit knowledge and minds are taught, but also the role of educator and

trainer they play.

I’m Jenny Jimena Bohorquez Rodriguez, I’m an English teacher at Guillermo Quintero

Calderon School, I teach at Seventh, Eighth and Ninth Grades. This process of teaching and

learning has been difficult because my students barely internalize their knowledge in the

sixth grade, actually at elementary school they have not seen enough and therefore the

motivation they have to this subject is little or absent. Therefore, I think that, for a teacher,

it must be very important to recognize that in order to educate, a teacher has to be educated

first, never stop learning, innovate, create methodological strategies that capture the interest

of students, but foremost be patient, because nowadays the child or young student is going

with the sole idea of playing but not with the idea of learning.

If we are successful at this, communication skills and language abilities in students can be

developed, and also we must be a model for accuracy and fluency. Another aspect is to

follow the triangle of teaching-learning process: teacher-student-teaching field, leading to

assess and analyze situations that arise in each of the moments before, during and after

class, process components learning are vital. On the other hand, the teacher should be

characterized by large and small internalize their findings presented in the classroom to

improve his teaching performance.

Besides this, it is also important that a teacher must recognize and apply the different

methodological skills that are needed in teaching English as a foreign language such as:

communicative competence refers to language skills, psychological, cultural, educational

and to develop social skills in the students of a functional and interactive way. Teachers

applying this competence is characterized also developing language skills, socio-linguistics,

strategic, and discursive in the students.

Understanding the different characteristics a teacher of English should have, I consider

myself a responsible teacher, I am interested and concerned for my students to learn, I try

to innovate and create strategies that help my students understand the contents or language

functions, sometimes featuring videos, issuing guides, activities which develop the four

language skills (reading, writing, listening and speaking). In a way, I'm patient and look at

how the students internalize their knowledge, I am not a teacher that likes to feed them with

many topics during the school year, I think those topics should be taught little by little but

well learned, although sometimes, I feel pressured by time, standards and schedules that

must be met.

My traits in the personal aspect, I´m a homebody person, I consider myself an organized

person, I like watching movies, listening to music, cooking, I love dancing, I am a woman

of a few friends, but those I have I give value and I respect them as my own brothers, I am

sincere, responsible and I assume the tasks assigned to me or suggested to me.

Actually as a teacher, I would like to be a little more risk-taking in teaching process, not to

feel so pressured and stressed, get to know these students and motivate them little by little,

so that they study more and help them like the subject I teach. Talking about my skills, I

would love to master perfectly my speech, I sometimes feel a little afraid of it. On the

virtual aspect, I feel that my learning process has been very empowering because it has

allowed me to improve in my concepts about the English teaching and learning and how to

put them into practice in or out the classroom, at the same time, it has allowed me to

improve the management of the different technological tools to be able to make several

tools and aids so that I can create my own bank of technological resources, and thus

motivate my students to learn English without feeling the pressure of a grade and they will

gradually discover the importance of learning English.

2. Talk about common situations at school. Use the Simple Present, Simple Past and

Comparative Adjectives to describe a problem, challenge or unusual situation you

experienced in your school life. Please describe how this personal experience can be

compared to learning online and how you can make an impact in your students’

lives by contrasting this own learning experience to current language learning

conditions. Consider talking about the possibilities that youngsters have of using the

Internet now and what you did to get information in your school years.

Reviewing some of my memories during my school life I always had a fear of English

language, and I had some difficulties learning the few things in the program. I graduated

from high school and remained with these learning gaps but when I got my BA in Spanish

and Communication at University of Pamplona, I felt the need to do other things, and then

I joined a group of colleagues and friends from the university to take a course in English. I

really took it as a distraction and as a means to kill my free time. But to my surprise, in this

process I could notice that my colleagues had a much better level than mine, and I felt a

little frustrated, then after I reflected on that, I started to fill that big gap, and without

realizing, little by little I was falling in love with the methodology applied in the teaching.

We as learners of the language, were happy using the resources (videos, flash cards,

games, etc.) and I felt how the process itself was strengthening my knowledge and skills, of

course, some more than others. After analyzing these achievements and seeing the need

there was in the institution where I used to work, I began my first steps as an English

teacher. Without leaving the side of self-study, I have resorted to various online courses

that SENA was offering, diagnostic tests and training by the Ministry of Education and

some other custom courses I had taken, these experiences strengthened my work as a

student and teacher. Thanks to that process, I felt led me to resume my life as a college

student, study again, although online learning has not been easy to deal with. But I can see

that it has allowed me to acquire more security in my process of teaching and at the same

time has allowed me to meet technological tools and spaces that are helping me greatly to

gain motivation in deepening the concepts when sharing with my students.

If I speak about the process of my students, it's has been slow, first because there is a delay

of five or six years in the English study field, at least in my community. The student has no

motivation to learn English. It is really very difficult when in a group of 28 students there

are four or six who show interest or like the subject and the rest of students are waiting that

the best classmates finish their different tasks so that they can copy and meet just for the

sake of acquiring a grade, but not by the interest in learning. It's very difficult; when the

student doesn't think of their future o doesn´t have dreams at all. On the other hand, I have

only three hours a week and many times I teach one hour or nothing, because of the

different activities that the school schedules, while other schools have five to six hours a

week and the social environment of the students is very different, they have more

possibilities to start studying at a university. etc. This is my educative reality.

A positive aspect in technological field is that I have accomplished that my students gain

interest on the online learning, especially the ninth grade in its entirety, with the course

usalearns- beginner, in grades seven and eight a minority of students, with the course

Duolingo. In this regard I would like that my students and I were more versatile in

technology, as then to have my own blog, my students will make their presentations using

the various tools provided by this cyber world, continue their online courses without

interest on a grade. But first and foremost to extend my time intensity to carry out these

proposals that help the development and acquisition of language skills.

Haciendo un contraste de las características que debe tener un docente de Inglés y las que

poseo, considero que soy una docente responsables, interesada y preocupada porque los

estudiantes aprendan, trato de innovar en estrategias que le ayudan a mis estudiantes a

comprender los contenidos o funciones del lenguaje, presentando videos, guías de trabajo,

actividades donde desarrolla las cuatro habilidades del lenguage (reading, writing, listening

and speaking). En cierto modo soy paciente y busco la forma de que el estudiante

interiorice sus conocimientos, no soy de profesores que ven durante el año escolar muchos

temas, yo pienso que se les debe enseñar poco pero bien aprendido, aunque a veces me

siento presionada por el tiempo, los estándares y programaciones que se deben cumplir.

Mis rasgos característicos en el aspecto personal, me considero una persona casera, me

gusta que todo este organizado, soy una persona que le gusta ver películas, escuchar

música, cocinar, me encanta el baile, soy una mujer de pocas amistades, pero las que tengo

soy muy valiosas las respeto y quiero como mis hermanos, sincera, asumo con

responsabilidad las metas que se me asignan o me propongo.

Como lo manifesté anteriormente, este proceso ha sido lento ya que el estuadante no tiene

ninguna motivación por aprender inglés. Realmente es bien difícil cuando hay un grupo de

28 estudiantes y estos cinco o seis mustren interés o agrado por la asignatura y el resto

esperando que realicen algo su compañeros buenos, para copiar y cumplir solo por el hecho

de adquirir una nota, mas no con el interés de aprender.

I’m a responsible, interesting for the student learn your topics,

“Effective teachers appear again and again to display certain characteristics, while

ineffective teachers tend to make the same mistakes repeatedly”

a diferencia de usted, para mi ha sido difícil este proceso de enseñanza aprendizaje porque

mis estudiantes penas interiorizan sus conocimientos en el grado sexto, realmente en la

etapa de primaria es poco lo que ven y por tanto la motivación que tiene hacia esta materia

es poca o nula. por lo tanto, pienso que

innovar, crear estrategias metodológicas que atrapen el interés de los estudiantes, pero ante

todo ser paciente, ya que hoy en día el ñiño o joven estudiante va es con la única idea de

jugar más no con la idea de aprender.

Un aspecto positivo en campo tecnológico, logre que los estudiantes incursionaran el el

aprendizaje online, especialmente el grado noveno en su totalidad, con el curso usalearn-

beginner, en los grados de séptimo y octavo una minoria de estudiantes, con el curso

duolingo. En este aspecto me gustaría que mis estudiantes y yo fueramos más versatiles en

el campo tecnológico, como lo es tener mi propio blog, que mis estudiantes realizaran sus

presentaciones utilizando las diferentes herramientas que brinda este mundo cibernético,

que continuaran sus cursos online sin el interés de que nota me va colocar la profesora. pero

ante todo que me ampliaran mi intensidad horaria para llevar acabo estas propuestas que

ayudan al desarrollo y adquisición de las habilidades del idioma.

Realmente como docente me gustaria ser un poco más arriesgada en proceso de enseñanza,

no sentirme tan presionada ni tensionada, saber llegar a esos estudiantes más poco

motivados por el estudio y por ende no les gusta nuestra materia, en aspecto del manejo de

mis habilidades, me encataría dominar a la perfección mi habla, me siento a veces un poco

temerosa de ello, en el aspecto virtual, aprender a manejar las diferentes herramientas y

ayudas que existan para crear mi propio banco de recursos técnológicos, y de esta manera

motivarlos para que aprendan el inglés sin sentirse presionados por una nota y que ellos

descubran poco a poco la importancia de saber inglés.

b. Talk about common situations at school. Use the Simple Present, Simple Past and

Comparative Adjectives to describe a problem, challenge or unusual situation you

experienced in your school life. Please describe how this personal experience can be

compared to learning online and how you can make an impact in your students’ lives by

contrasting this own learning experience to current language learning conditions. Consider

talking about the possibilities that youngsters have of using the Internet now and what you

did to get information in your school years.

Como dije anteriormente, este proceso ha sido lento, en primer lugar porque hay un atraso de

cinco o seis años en el estudio de Inglés. El estudiante no tiene la motivación para aprender Inglés.

Realmente es muy difícil cuando en un grupo de 28 estudiantes que hay cuatro o seis muestran

interés o gusto por el tema y el resto de estudiantes que esperaban que los mejores compañeros

hacen las diferentes tareas para casa para luego copiar y cumplir por el simple hecho de adquirir

una nota, pero no por el interés en el aprendizaje. Es muy difícil, cuando el estudiante no pensar

en su futuro o no tienes que soñar. Por otro lado, tengo tres horas una semana y muchas veces me

enseño una hora o nada porque las diferentes actividades que se presentan en la escuela,

mientras que otra escuela tiene cinco o seis horas a la semana y el ambiente social del estudiante

es muy differentes, tienen más posibilidad de comenzar una universidad. etc Esta es mi realidad

educativa.

Revisando un poco mis recuerdo, durante mi vida escolar siempre le tuve miedo al inglés, y

presentaba ciertas dificultades en ella, me gradue de bachiller y quede con esos vacios....

pero cuando obtuve mi título de Licenciada en Español y Comunicación con la Universidad

de Pamplona, Sentí la necesidad de hacer otras cosas, entonces fue cuando me uní a un

grupo de compañeras y amigas de la universidad a realizar un curso de inglés, realmente yo

lo tome como por distracción y como un medio de matar mi tiempo libre. Pero vaya

sorpresa, en este proceso me di cuenta que mis compañeras tenían un nivel mucho mejor

que el mio, y me sentí un poco frustrada, entonces reflexioné y empecé a llenar eso vacios

que tenía de la secundaria, Y sin darme cuenta poco a poco me fui enamorando de la

metodología que los docente aplicaban en nosotros como principiantes de esta lengua, los

recursos que utilizaban (videos, flash cards, games, etc.) en este proceso de ensañanza

hasta llegar al punto de fortalecer mis conocimientos y mis aptitudes en las diferentes

habilidades del inglés, claro esta unas más que otras. Luego, analizando estos logros y

viendo la necesidad que había en la institución donde laboraba inicíe mis primeros pasos

como docentes de inglés.

Sin dejar de lado el autoaprendizaje, he recurrido a varios cursos virtuales que el SENA ha

brindo, pruebas diagnósticas y capacitaciones por parte del Ministerio de Educación

Nacional y algunos otros curso personalizados que he realizado, me han fortalecido en mi

quehacer de estudiante y docente. Porque todo este proceso me ha llevado a retomar

nuevamente mi vida como estudiante universitaria pero desde el campo virtual cosa que no

ha sido facíl afrontar. Pero me ha permitido adquirir mas seguridad en mi proceso de

ensañanza y al mismo tiempo me ha permitido conocer herramientas y espacios

tecnológicos que me estan ayudando en gran medida para motivación en la profundización

de los conceptos en mis estudiantes.