#Day 1 Starting day
Main activities:
#image1000words: Before going to Barcelona, we were required to find a picture that can best represent our beliefs in second language teaching. I chose the picture shown on the right side because I believe that the process of learning a second language is like a bridge that connects one's first language to the second one while teachers serve as the constructors of the bridge. The two persons in the picture shows that on the way of learning a new language, a student may learn from more than one teacher. And multiple teachers' effort could help the student eventually overcome the language barrier and finally get into a new language world. All of us were divided into three groups according to the colour of paper we had be given, and then we discussed with our group members about our opinions of each picture and made some notes for the picture's owner.
#image1000words: Before going to Barcelona, we were required to find a picture that can best represent our beliefs in second language teaching. I chose the picture shown on the right side because I believe that the process of learning a second language is like a bridge that connects one's first language to the second one while teachers serve as the constructors of the bridge. The two persons in the picture shows that on the way of learning a new language, a student may learn from more than one teacher. And multiple teachers' effort could help the student eventually overcome the language barrier and finally get into a new language world. All of us were divided into three groups according to the colour of paper we had be given, and then we discussed with our group members about our opinions of each picture and made some notes for the picture's owner.
#Catalan language survivor toolkit: an interesting Catalan language class where some basic expressions of Catalan were introduced to us. Three activities were conducted during the short class. The first activity was asking all of the group members to walk around, and when the teacher applause, we stand still and chat with people next to us in the phrases of Catalan we had learnt. The phrases we’ve learnt were the basic conversation to greet with people, which I believe are quite useful in daily life. The second activity was about a game to guess who is my partner referring to. It was a good practice of the Catalan phrases and the last activity, which was my favourite part of the class, was the game of Kahoot.
#digital competence reflection: it was an activity to help us reflect on whether we have used digital tools in teaching sections such as assessment strategies, collaborative learning, selecting digital resources, etc. The form allows us to choose from lever A2 (Newcomer) until C2 (Pioneer) to actively assess our teaching method of using modern technology in a relatively objective way.
My reflection
As the first day of the study week, it was much of an introduction session, introducing to us what is the project about, and we also have experienced several interesting activities and had a thorough discussion with students from other universities.
In general, three activities were conducted which had been introduced before. In the first activity, the image 1000 words discussion, I was surprised about how ideas could vary among individuals. For example, for my picture, I've received some interesting feedback: one group believes the picture indicates that teachers build bridges between not only two languages but also the culture of two nations, and second language teaching is also about building the students' minds. However, another group insists that the picture has a negative meaning that the bridge is shaping a person's mind in a negative way. Some of my group-mates are quite experienced teachers in primary or secondary schools, so their opinion, along with their personal teaching experience was extremely attractive and valuable for me. As I had never experienced as being a teacher of the second language before, I am lack of professional background of teaching, and not quite familiar with those teaching strategies. To be honest, I had never thought about being a teacher until I came to England for my master degree. As I study Cross-cultural communication and applied linguistics, I could have the chance to be exposed to a new area—teaching, which I’ve found really fascinating so that I’m planning to be a teacher in the future. So the personal stories of different group members could help me to combine what I had learnt in class and what I am going to be in the future, which make me really excited about my future career.
In the afternoon, we had an interesting Catalan language class, where the teacher introduced us to several useful expressions of the language. The class was not long, and quite well-designed, and three activities were involved. However, my favourite part was the game of Kahoot. It was not the first time I play Kahoot. The game was also used when I had an introductory course of Geordie in Newcastle. I suppose it is a quite popular game to be used in the second language classroom here in Europe, but when I was in China, I didn't know this game at all. In my country, second language classrooms have never been so interactive. I have learnt Spanish for four years, and in my university, the Spanish courses were so separate: Spanish teachers from China teach us Spanish grammar and vocabulary and teachers from Spain or other Latin American countries help us to practice speaking and reading skills. The most frequently used strategies in class was PowerPoint, and sometimes, some activities are printed in the paper such as listening to songs and fill the blanks of the lyric. That was four years ago, but with the rapid development of technology, teaching could be more productive by using digital devices. Also, Kahoot is a quite effective tool to receive students' feedback: it requires students to find the correct answer within a short time, which means they need to understand the question and think of the answer instantly. Additionally, the teacher can get the result immediately, of how many of them get the right answer and how many get wrong and in the end, there is a ranking of scores that can make students reflect themselves. Such activities could make the second language classroom more dynamic and attract students' attention even among adults. However, talking about the whole Catalan class, the speed was a little bit fast for me, and sometimes I couldn't catch up with what the teacher had said and when he asked me, I feel so confused. In general, it is a meaningful lesson for me to think about, what content should be taught to students in the first class of a second language, how to make students interact actively in class, and how to use technology to make the classroom more dynamic.
The last activity was the reflection of our digital competence. As I had no teaching experience before, I did not have much to reflect on. However, it did give me some overall ideas about what I could employ to raise my digital competence in teaching if I would be a second language teacher in the future. Overall, it was an amazing day that I had learnt a lot from other members. Although I had not as much experience to share, they were so nice and listened to my opinions with patience. I'm so glad to have the chance to know them.
The last activity was the reflection of our digital competence. As I had no teaching experience before, I did not have much to reflect on. However, it did give me some overall ideas about what I could employ to raise my digital competence in teaching if I would be a second language teacher in the future. Overall, it was an amazing day that I had learnt a lot from other members. Although I had not as much experience to share, they were so nice and listened to my opinions with patience. I'm so glad to have the chance to know them.
