2. How Can We Encourage Students to Be Independent Learners?

Students must be active participants in the learning process, and become "owners of their learning". Gone are the days when teachers were expected to "deposit knowledge into students´ heads", and students took a more passive role. Teachers, in the 21st century classroom, must avoid "spoon-feeding" students, and instead help them become active, independent learners. Encouraging and challenging students to think and act by themselves shoud be our greatest aim. 

Learning, if meaningful, is supposed to transform students’ lives. A teacher´s responsibility is to shape people who are able to continue empowering their skills throughout their lives. We need to shape critical thinkers and lifelong learners. Learning goes way beyond the classroom, and clearly, we should not only think in terms of grades. Students need to develop the skills to learn by themselves and become more self-directed.

For students, independent learning will involve taking initiative, making their own decisions and solving problems by themselves. It also involves the ability to choose the learning strategies that best suit their needs. Of course, becoming an independent learner does not occur overnight; it is a process. Students need our support and guidance, especially at the early stages. Scaffolding then is necessary until students become more independent.

To encourage independent learning, we can introduce different “independent learning activities” that our student can experiment with and benefit from. Students will have to reflect on their strengths, weaknesses and needs, setting goals for themselves. They must also be willing to ask for feedback as a part of their learning, and ask for help when necessary.

1. Creating a Positive and Challenging Learning Environment by Using Interesting and Innovating Strategies

As teachers, our purpose is to help students empower their skills and develop their potential. We want our students to learn meaningfully, and meaningful learning can only take place in a positive and challenging learning environment. Students need to be engaged and involved in the learning process. For this reason, teachers must constantly find ways to motivate and challenge students. Effective lessons are always enjoyable and purposeful. Here lies the importance of implementing interesting and innovating strategies in the classroom.

The strategies we choose to implement in our classes must be oriented to make our students take an active role rather than a passive one. Classroom discussions, for instance, encourage students to be active participants in the class. There are a variety of “discussion strategies” we can use according to what the lesson objectives are or what topics we are dealing with (talk tokens, extended talk, audience talk, or paired talk). 

Using innovating strategies brings an “element of surprise” into our lessons, preventing our classes from becoming tedious and monotonous. For instance, we can ask students to try unfamiliar note-taking techniques (graphic organizers, or pictorial prompts). Regardless of the area we are working on, it is essential to keep our lessons varied so that students remain engaged. Other area, for instance, could be reading. In this case, we should incorporate different “reading strategies” in the class (keeping a reading agenda, small group reading, silent reading etc).  

Our ultimate purpose, when using new strategies and presenting new challenges to our students, is to make them work outside their “comfort zone” and think outside the box to overcome difficulties they may encounter. Little by little, students improve their critical thinking and create new competences, learning for life.

11. Goals and Most Important Principles of Classroom Management

Classroom management is one of the most challenging aspects of a teacher´s job. Effective teaching requires good classroom management. Teachers need to create the conditions that will help learning take place. For this reason, when building appropriate learning environments for our students, classroom management plays an essential role.

Classroom management includes many different areas such as arranging seating and space; setting up, timing, and monitoring activities; giving clear instructions; and dealing with unexpected problems. There are a variety of classroom management parameters which teachers have to take into account in order to deliver their lesson successfully. Among them, we have error correction, attention, momentum, time, space, routines, and discipline.

It does not matter the parameter or aspect of classroom management we are talking about. All of them require teachers to be aware of what is going with their students and what is going on inside the classroom so that they are able to develop the class effectively. For instance, take attention and momentum. Attention means that teachers need to keep students involved, and focused on learning activities, and Momentum refers to how teachers keep the ongoing flow of events in the classroom. As you can see, classroom management involves teachers´ ability to read classroom events, make decisions, and chose a course of action. 

10. What Are My Motives for Teaching? What Rewards or Incentives Do I Get from Teaching?

When I started learning English, I fell in love with the language immediately. I really enjoyed my English classes. My first English teacher had a lot to do with this. She was a great teacher in all aspects: subject matter, methodology and rapport. She made a big impression on me. I remember thinking once: “I like what she does; I think I could do that”.

Choosing my major, then, was not that hard. I did it not only out of my love for English, but also for my interest in ELT. Over time, my love for my major has grown. It keeps me going, giving the strength to face different challenges. I believe that when you enjoy what you do, you feel motivated to do a good job, and it usually shows through your work. I hope I am able to inspire my students so that they can feel the same love for language learning.

In my journey as a teacher, there are always going to be learning opportunities for me, and I plan to take on each of them. I want to become more skilled and feel more empowered over time. In this life, you never really stop growing and learning. In my case, I want to be a lifelong learner because it will help me become a better teacher and person. For instance, I can never stop working on my teaching skills. This is not only about my personal growth or self-fulfillment, but also about the benefit of my students. In the case of a teacher, it is always this way. If I am a lifelong learner, I will always have something new to offer to my students. If my teaching is effective and meaningful, then my student´s learning will be meaningful as well. 

Teachers mean something for students, and students mean something for teachers. I can never forget that my teaching will affect my students - for better or worse. For this reason, I cannot allow myself to do a mediocre job. It is for my students that I want to be the best version of myself. Without them, I have no job, no purpose. Ultimately, this is the reward I get from teaching: knowing that if I do a great job, I will have helped transform someone´s life.

9. Working with Teenagers: What I Like and What I Do Not Like

There are two words I can use to describe what is like to work with teenagers: challenging, and rewarding. Adolescence is perhaps one of the most difficult stages of life. It is a time of changes and discoveries. Teenagers are no longer children, but they are not adults either. It is essential to understand that the teenage brain is not fully developed. Teens still cannot control their impulses, or make good judgments the way adults do. For these reasons and many others, it is no wonder that working with teenagers is a big challenge.

But, challenges are good, aren´t they? The truth is that working with teens demands so much from us. We must understand what our teenage students need from us. We must guide, nurture and inspire our students. If we are able to do all this, then we will have done our job. We will have helped our students develop their skills and potential. We will have walked by their side in one of the most important times of their lives. What can be more rewarding than that?

 "At the end of the day, teenagers need us to be the best version of ourselves". 

During my teaching practicum, I have come to realize several things that I like about working with teens:

1. When you are in a room full of teens, you feel you are in a room full of life. 

Teens are very energetic. Sometimes, this can feel overwhelming. But, we need to be able to redirect their energy and enthusiasm so that learning takes place. For instance, we can make them use their energy when we develop different classroom activities.

2. Teens are spontaneous and witty. 

It was interesting to hear all the things my teenage students came up with. They are unpredictable as well; you do not know if they are going to be cheerful, or moody. You do not know how they are going to respond to a certain activity or request. This was a bit daunting at times, but it also made my whole experience more interesting. For me, it was engaging to see how my teenage students behaved and interacted with each other.

3. Teens are curious, which is probably what I like the most. 

Teens like to learn and discover new things. To my surprise, a large part of my students were truly interested in English. Many of them liked to participate in class. Even after classes, some students would come to me, and ask me the meaning of some words.

Based on my teaching practicum, I can also name some things that I did not like about working with teens: 

While there were students willing to cooperate, there were also students reluctant to pay attention, listen to instructions, or participate in classroom activities. Some of my teenage students were disrespectful. I noticed some had bad attitudes, and I even heard nasty words. I know that sometimes this is due to teens’ moodiness. But, more often than not, it is the reflection of the bad education system we have in our country. Unfortunately, teachers and school administrators dismiss or do not care about the critical problems their students and schools face.

8. What Can the World Wide Web Offer ESL/EFL Teachers?

Being teachers in the digital age, we have one of the most useful tools at our reach: the World Wide Web. The internet, which is the biggest source of information, has a lot to offer to ESL/EFL teachers. Teachers can take advantage of all the information and resources that are available online in order to better their teaching. 

Through the internet, teachers are able to do some research or look for certain materials, which is necessary when preparing a lesson plan. Teachers can find a variety of instructional and authentic materials to be used in class. For instance, teachers can look for worksheets or articles. Nowadays, there are many websites that are specially designed for this purpose. Besides, teachers can find new ideas for activities. For example, there are hundreds of warm-ups or role-play situations online.

The internet also allows teachers to integrate technology into the classroom. Teachers can use videos, podcasts, and interactive power points in their classes. Each of these technologies offers different benefits to students.

The internet offers many learning opportunities for teachers. Let´s remember that teachers must be life-long learners. Teachers should take advantage of the different resources for their professional development. Through videos, podcasts, or online courses, teachers can continue improving their English. They can also keep updated with teaching methodology, or they can specialize in a particular area of their interest.

Finally, the internet is a powerful communication which allows teachers to interact with other teachers and students. Teachers can share experiences and find support with their fellow teachers. Let´s remember that social networks can create a sense of community and allow collaborative learning as well.

It is now very common to see teachers interact with students through social networks, where teachers can share videos, podcasts, articles, etc. As you can see, not only do social networks allow communication between teachers and students outside the school, but also they allow opportunities for learning.

7. How Can the Standard-Features Word-Processing Programs Be Exploited for Teaching Writing Skills?

Word-processing programs (Microsoft Word; Pages, etc) allow students to type in, edit, format, save, and print text. Word-processing programs include certain features that facilitate writing and revising. The process of revising and editing becomes easier and faster. This may appeal to students and engage them in the writing process. Students may feel more motivated when writing in word-processing programs rather than in the traditional way. In the 21^st century classroom, it is very common to see teachers and students using this technology.

Because word-processing programs can be exploited for teaching writing skills, they are a great tool for EFL/ESL students. Teachers can assign writing tasks or exercises that students have to carry out in word-processing programs. For instance, teachers may ask students to write a paragraph. The teacher must give specific instructions, such as “you have to use the future continuous tense” or “you have to include vocabulary studied in class”. Teachers may also ask students to write a summary of a reading, or to write an essay in which students have to reflect on a certain topic or state their take on a real life issue. Paragraphs, summaries, essays, reports, short stories, and anecdotes: these are only some examples of writing tasks that teachers can assign to students.

Through these different activities, students improve their writing skills. The more students practice their writing, the better they get at sentence structure, grammar, spelling, punctuation, vocabulary, and level of paragraph organization. In addition, through writing, you use and develop your high order thinking skills.

Many students say they do not like to write; they see it as a “tedious process”. Teachers face the challenge of coming up with creative ways to foster writing habits. Here, teachers can certainly take advantage of technology. One advantage of using word-processing programs is that students like the features and practicality of them. The easy text modification and formatting options, for instance, make students feel that the writing process is more dynamic and even more exciting. Another advantage is that students can easily display and share their work online in order to receive teacher and peer feedback. This is something students may enjoy.

This blog itself is an example of how using word-processing programs is helpful in working on writing skills. I use a word-processing program to write my blog entry. While writing my blog entry, I reflect on a certain topic about teaching and learning. In addition, I work on my grammar, sentence structure, spelling, and level of paragraph organization. I focus both in “substance” and “form”. The fact of using a word-processing program to write my entry allows me to format and edit my text without complications. All the features that the program offers and the possibilities these features bring make the writing process even more engaging for me. Then, I copy and paste my writing in the blog, where I share my work so that everyone else can read it. I can also receive feedback, which allows me to see my mistakes and check the areas that need improvement. At the end, I have the satisfaction of having produced a piece of writing.