The Human Angels that touch my heart.

During each of our journeys, there are those inevitable moments when someone comes into our life at precisely the right time and says or does precisely the right thing. Their words or actions may help us perceive ourselves more clearly, remind us that everything will turn out for the best, help us cope, or see us through difficult situations. These people are human angels – individuals designated by the universe to be of service to those in need at specific points in time. Some human angels make a commitment before their births to make a positive contribution to the world at a particular moment. Others were chosen by the universe. All human angels, however, come into our lives when we least expect them and when we can most benefit from their presence.
A few of the human angels we may encounter are in professions where helping others is an everyday occurrence. But most of them are regular people, going about their daily lives until called upon to be in the right place at the right time to bring peace, joy, help, or heal someone when they most need it. You may have met a human angel in the form of a teacher who gave you a piece of advice that touched your soul and influenced your path. The person that momentarily stopped you to say hello on the street, delaying you long enough to avoid an oncoming car or a collision, is also a human angel. They may offer nothing more than a kind word or a smile, but they will offer it when you can draw the most strength and support from their simple action.
You may be a human angel yet not know it. Your fate or intuition may guide you toward other people’s challenging or distressing situations, leading you to infer that you simply have bad luck. But recognizing yourself as a human angel can help you deal with the pain you see and understand that you are there to help and comfort others during their times of need. Human angels give of their inner light to all who need it, coming into our lives and often changing us forever. Their task has its challenges, but it is they that have the power to teach, bring us joy, and comfort us in times of despair....

The silence voice...

All sounds, from a whisper to a classical symphony, arise out of silence and disappear into silence. But silence is always there beneath sound and is the space where sound can exist. We tend to think of silence as the absence of sound, but silence has its own weight and quality. When you listen to silence, you can perceive its intense depth and power. Taking the time to experience silence calms the mind and rejuvenates the body. Silence is the void where we can hear the many sounds that we often ignore – the voice of our intuition telling us the truth, the sound of the breeze blowing, the hum of the radiator, and the noises we make just because we are alive.......today I walked in the snow- a quiet moment in nature...beauty surrounded me as I gazed at the landscape of winter....in my silence I found myself....ready for what is next... no matter what is happening or what shape my life takes...being fabulous comes with ease when I am ready to walk with grace....silently comfortable with who I am..

Video Podcast for EFL Students

http://jp.youtube.com/watch?v=s5XyCm9RUgw

I have to admit that I am not good enough using technology, specially video editing software, but I tried to do y very best.

1.Description of intended students.

My students are 8th Spanish native speakers graders that are learning English as a foreign language. They are quite motivated to learn not only the language but also the culture that United States has. So, in order to help them to learn I planned this activity.

2.Description of Language Objective and Content Objectives for the individual podcast.

Languages Objectives: Provide the students the opportunity to listen to a native speaker, and to pay attention about what she says in relation to Thanksgiving, and based on the information they are provided, they have to write the answers for some questions. Then, they have to share with their classmates
Content objective.
Students will be able to appreciate the traditions of United Sates, understanding that they reflect the identity of each person that live there.

3.Description of the elements that make the podcast comprehensible.

I do think that this podcast is going to catch the students’ attention, because as they are interested in knowing about American parties and celebrations, they can be motivated easier, even though if the video they are shown is presented by an American native speaker. I do think that students are more motivated to learn and to participate in the activities the teacher plans for them, when they are expose to an authentic situation and the language is spoken by a native speaker.

4.Descriptions of the strategies that we have covered that have informed the choices that you have made with the podcast and how you will use it with students.

Based on the observations that I have made and also in the book I have read, I think that when the teacher has high expectations on his/her students they can notice this and feel themselves motivated to learn and do the things they are supposed to do. With this video I hope my students be able to understand a little more about American celebrations and also what this celebration means for American people. I also want them to improve their listening comprehension, by listening to an English native speaker.

Student Teaching and Job Shadowing Practicum at Sacajawea Middle School.

I did my teacher shadowing at Sacajawea Middle School. Supposedly I was going to work with the ESL teacher, but she already had three volunteers in her classroom. So, she decided that the best place for me to stay in was with the World Languagues Teacher NAMI MEIER. so, I was assigned to her classroom. She speaks Japanese, French, German, Spanish and English. The students whom I was working with were all native English speakers, and as they were studying Spanish the teacher was always motivating them through funny reviews, games and group work, in order to help her students to learn in a better way. She also knows that the students are able to acquire a language faster only if they can understand and practice it. For this reason, she was always motivating the students to participate in the class, she wanted to take advantage of my presence in the classroom, because they had not had the opportunity to work with a native Spanish speaker before; and as soon as they began to lose their shyness, they started to ask me questions in Spanish. They were asking me all the time; how can I say this? What does it means?

One thing that caught my attention in this school was that on november 20-26 it was conducting "Student Led Conferences". I suppose that you are wandering what Student Led Conference is about. The information that I got will help everyone understand why and what students are for. Students are doing Student Led Conference so that they are clear on the learning objectives and how well they are learning them, and what they need to improve on. It also brings parents into students learning process. It is for students to see that they control the learning and it is not just something that is happening to them.
I found that this is a good idea, because it helps students be aware and in control of their learning.

I really enjoyed to be in this school. The students were so kind to me, they made me feel so comfortable. I spent a very good time there. I learnt a lot from the teacher, she was pretty awesome.

Reflection 6: Responde to a question about English Teaching

http://www.everythingesl.net/askjudie/?i=4189&n=250

Ells with learning disabilities.

by Sandy Costin on Oct 01 2006 6:09 AM

How long do you continue to service ELLs who have already been classified with learning disabilites? They will continue to qualify for services because of the disablity.

Re: Ells with learning disabilities
by Claudio A. on Nov 27 2008 2:20 PM

Nowadays, classrooms are filled with an increasing number of students who have been identified as having "special needs", from English language learners, to children with behavioral problems, to those with learning disabilities, as well as some who are labeled "gifted and talented." Experienced teachers know, though, that every student has special needs on some days, and will sometimes be gifted and talented. Part of the skill of teaching involves being able to respond to those needs in a way that helps each student learn. These days, with the increasing diversity of classrooms coupled with pressure to cover more curriculum in less time and have all students perform at a standard level, even the best teachers can benefit from having a collection of best practices for differentiating instruction at hand.


I personally believe that those students must have access to high-quality instruction designed to help them meet high expectations. Teachers should employ strategies known to be effective with English learners, such as drawing on their prior knowledge; providing opportunities to review previously learned concepts and teaching them to employ those concepts; organizing themes or strands that connect the curriculum across subject areas; and providing individual guidance, assistance, and support to fill gaps in background knowledge. Another examples of sheltered English techniques are the use of visual aids, such as props, pictures, gestures, and facial expressions, to help convey meaning; encouraging children to expand and elaborate their responses to help develop oral expression abilities; and structuring oral input based on the level of understanding that children have.

Reflection 5: She already knows

The students whom I am working with, are Spanish language learners and the teacher in order to make this process easier, she is always planing funny activities for them keeping always in her mind the Comprehensible Imput Hypothesis (suggested by Krashen). According to this hypothesis, the students are able to acquire a language only if they can understand it. For this reason, the teacher is always motivating the students to participate in the class. In order to do that she has to find different didactive ways to make information more comprehensible for the learner by using different strategies like connecting new information to prior knowledge, using gestures, body language, drawing, etc.
The teacher had not had the opportunity to work with a native Spanish speaker before. Now that I am working with her, she is teaching with social interaction because she is encouraging her students all the time to ask me things in order to practice their Spanish with me. This strategy is resulting very effective because all the students, even those who were always afraid of speaking are taking risk and participating.

Reflection 4: A topic in Language education that I want to know more about.

In my years of study, I have learned many things about teaching, different methods and some very effective techniques. However, I realized that I did not know much about how to work with students with developmental disabilities. So, I would really like to know how to work with these students and also how could I evaluate them. Students with developmental disabilities are a rapidly growing minority on schools,this is the main reason why schools are facing the ethical dilemma of how to balance the rights of students with learning disabilities with the academic integrity of a course of study.

The other day, I was talking to the teacher who I am working with about this issue, and she told me that a small percentage of students with disabilities, specially those with severe cognitive disabilities, are not able to participate in the assessments that their teacher has developed for all the students, so they have to be assessed differently.

http://www.ncld.org/index.php?option=content&task=view&id=271