During my first observation I had mixed feelings, excitement, anxiety, hapiness, fear..... Once children spotted me near the classroom’s door, they quickly approached me and asked: ‘vas a ser nuestra seño de inglés???’ At that point, I was thrilled and told them that I would be their teacher only for a few classes. I took advantage of this little time and asked them their names in English. Most children answered me cheerfully and then, rushed to the playground. It was break time! For me, it was a lovely beginning.

After that, I sat on a chair in the classroom waiting for the teacher of English. We met before children came from the break and warmed me: ‘you’ll see soon how they behave...’ I ‘refused’ to believe that and waited on my chair for children to come in. All of a sudden all kids were in the classroom looking at me. The teacher asked them to stand by their desks for a moment before the class began. Then, she introduced me very warmly and asked children to greet me in English and say their names. Next, she played a song called ‘Good morning, how are you today?’ for children to welcome me. That was definitely the most important and sweet moment during my first observation. Those little faces singing all together and staring at me will be unforgettable.  

During my 2nd observation I paid attention to the class dynamics, some discipline issues and the way the teacher deals with them. Children entered the class very excited and greeted me happily. One of boy that misbehaves sat in front of me asking me lots ofquestions just to talk to me. I realized that he was simply looking for attention and care. We talked together very well and he seemed calm. Once children greeted the teacher stood by their tables, she asked them to do some yoga exercises so ‘you calm down’. Children followed the teacher, stretching their hands up and breathing in and out. When one child started applauding, the teacher shouted very loud and the atmosphere changed. After that, she made children to sit to meditate for a while. They looked quiet...

Afterwards, as usual, the teacher handed the pupils’ book in while children talked and walked around the class. As this is not allowed for children, the teacher started shouting and asked children to sit down immediately. Then. she played a song called ‘I love my mummy’ that children followed quite well. Next, children were asked to finish an activity about 'My Family'. I was surprised that the boy I referred at the beginning did not have his book. I asked him: What happened with your book? He replied: I don’t have a book. So this is the only boy in the class without book and tasks. I began to understand his misbehaviour in part. All of a sudden, he ran to one of the groups and asked one boy to cut his apron. It was at that point that I saw the scene and called the teacher’s attention. She punished them and took them out to talk to the Head. I felt very worried and shocked. I realized that children roughly finish a task per class and a lot of time is spent in these matters.

Reflecting and 'looking for anwers'...

In my first class, I feel very calm and happy. Children welcomed me with hugs and kisses. I started using a puppet Monkey to introduce the new vocabulary related to food and drinks. Children loved ‘Monkey’ and wanted to play with it. Then, I showed Monkey’s lunch box and they were very excited to see what foods and drinks Monkey had in it. It was a very nice beginning and I considered it successful because children were able to enjoy, play and learn at the same time. My first class was beautiful.

In my second class, I had prepared many resources: an interactive poster to classify foods and drinks and the vendor, a puppet hen asked children to help her organize her market. However, children were overexcited and couldn’t stop touching and changing the flashcards during most of the class. They even took some of the flashcards to their tables to look at them carefully. I realized that children are not used to have resources in the English class so that may be a reason for their reaction. After asking for silence for a time children finally settled down but were not very interested on the activity book activity. I had to include their activity book since the teacher of class asked me to do so. It was as if the only thing that existed were the market poster, the flashcards and the puppet hen. When the class finished, I felt terrible. I thought it was a failure but fortunately I had second thoughts after watching the video at home. My feeling changed after a few hours because I understood that children are not used to this approach and this type of activities and, worst of all, my friendly attitude is totally new for them.

After my 2nd class I knew that I had to talk to children about the class dynamics and behaviour. Before starting the lesson I asked them in Spanish to listen to me. I said 'Please children I need you to behave well, you can't stand up all the time, you have to wait for me to ask you to come to front...' I added 'this is a very special moment for me because I want to become a teacher, you know? I need your help please!'. It was amazing the way children listened silently. I think that I was so honest that they could get my message in some way. Morever, they looked worried when I talked to them. For me it was a very important moment since I understood the significance of a serious talk, even with VYL. Most important of all, I realized children can understand very well and reflect when an adult speak to them seriously without the need of shouts or threats. Something kids, unfortunately, are very used at Primary School. After my talk, my class developed smoothly and I noticed a change in children's attitude towards my activities and innovative approach in the following lessons.