I look forward to learning a lot from this MOOC in order to improve my teaching practices in the classroom. 

I love using technology and I have participated in clil projects in both history and science. I've also been a conversation teacher for many years and am always keen on learning new methods and strategies. 

The middle school I work at is in a small town called Alia, about two hours from Palermo, Sicily. It is not very big and the pupils come from very humble backgrounds. 

The students are aged 11-13. They study Italian, History, Maths, Geography, English, French, Technology, Science, Music, Art and Physical Education. Class sizes range from 15 to 20 and for some classes there are lessons until late in the afternoon and on Saturday mornings. The classes are not provided with class computers or IWB and the students themselves at home have limited access to internet from a PC.  My colleagues and I do not have our own classrooms so we move from one class to another during the school day. Unfortunately the classroom layout in each class is extremely traditional because  students sit in rows in front of the teacher's desk. When we want to do group work, we need to move desks to arrange for a better layout. This sometimes makes us waste precious time but there is no other alternative because of security issues.

There is a computer lab  where we can go but not always is the WiFi connectivity very good and that can compromise the success of our lessons.

While I tell them the story I encourage them to take notes. After telling a story, I pair up the students and ask them if they can retell the story to each other.
Sometimes I have them  change the ending and if they like, illustrate the story and tell it to the class.

2. Role play
After my students have read a dialogue in their text book, I have usually pair them up and have them practice it (sometimes by heart) to learn how to use the correct intonation and pronunciation.  To make this activity more stimulating as a follow-up activity I have them work together to change it, putting in new information.