hello there

Hello, my dearest students.

This blog is extremely precious to me as I’ve had it since my first year of university and it makes me so excited to share this wonderful site with you all.

I know you have to start preparing for the TOEFL and I’m here to help you.
I’ll be posting tips and some exercises for you to practice for your test 🙂
I will also ask you to upload some other academic assignments (related to my subject) to help you with your development of writing-speaking skills.

How can I create my own edublog?
First of all, you have to create an account in order to use this site. Here I’m going to show you how:

Go to edublogs.org  and click on “get a free blog”.
Now you have to create a username (it must be your name) and a password (don’t forget it!!!)
Click on “student”, you can also add your email if you want to.

It has to look like this:

Next, create your site title and site URL. It MUST include your name and last name
(e.g: allisonvaldesz)

Lastly, you can decorate and change the appearance of your blog however you want. The only requirement is that it should be an easy-to-read blog.

I’m looking forward to seeing your creations!

xoxo,
Miss Allison

I don’t know about you guys but I am so pleased 2022 is finally over.

I had a tough time finding what I really wanted to do with my life, and to be honest with you, I still don’t know what I want. Life after finishing a 4-year career is strange; you start doubting yourself with questions such as: am I really going to be doing this my whole life? is this career path I chose at 17-18 the right one for me? (These thoughts still haunt me every night!). It’s so disappointing that I haven’t had good experiences teaching the language and sometimes I feel like I am not a good teacher so it makes me question my life choices even more. 

I would LOVE to tell you that life is amazing after you finish this career (or any) and that you will find a stable job in your first year of teaching, but it hasn’t been that way for me, unfortunately. Nevertheless, I am sure some, if not most, of my classmates think otherwise which is fine with me.

I hope I can find my answers soon because it’s driving me crazy!!

Please, don’t get me wrong, I’m grateful for the experiences I got to have in 2022, and I still love teaching English however, it was a challenging year for my mental health, my professional life, and my mid 20’s crisis!

Hello! I hope you’re all doing great.
I’m here to talk about something important that I wish someone had told me before becoming a teacher.

As I mentioned in the last post, I am finally a teacher of English which is a fantastic accomplishment for me. I’ve wanted to be one for years and when I finished my career I was excited to finally work in a school full of students but oh boy, I was not expecting it to go the way it went lol.

Now, bear in mind that I have only worked as a substitute teacher and have only been in 2 VERY DIFFERENT establishments so these two experiences do not have any similarity. 

The first time I had the opportunity to work was in early May and it was in a private school in Placilla (almost 1 hour away from my home). I had no trouble with the students they were extremely nice to me and treated me with respect and understood that I was there as a teacher and not as a new classmate (due to my height and looks it is very important to me that my students see me as an ADULT and not anything else) but my colleagues, they were something else. I honestly thought I was going to be well received since I was new but it wasn’t that way. I felt ignored most of the time and terrified to ask questions since they might think negatively about me or I don’t know. LOL, I am a very anxious person, bear with me!!!!
Fortunately, I was not there for a long time, only for like 1 or 2 weeks. 

All in all, it was a good experience with the students, some of them knew a lot of English, other students didn’t know much but wanted to learn and of course, there were ones that didn’t care at all but they were the minimum.

My second experience is the one that struck me the most because of how negative it was. Believe me when I say the moment I got home I cried my eyes out thinking “why did I become a teacher?” and I was there for ONE ENTIRE MONTH!!!!!!!! tell me about tragedies…

Now, I’ve been told that I am a very organized person when it comes to planning my classes, moreover, I like to implement a lot of technology, videos, and things that make the students engage and become active in their learning process but unfortunately, the school did not have computers or data projectors in any classroom. Furthermore, we had to ask for permission, 2 days prior, if we wanted our students to use their phones in class. At first, it was a bummer, however, I later understood that these students stole things from the establishment and “se suben por el chorro” when you let them use their phones.
On the one hand, the environment among my colleagues was really good, they made me feel comfortable and made me feel included in some activities, which was really nice of them.
On the other hand the students… did not respect me at all. It seems to me that they didn’t consider me as a teacher. I had students who paid attention but most of them were making fun of me (literally), playing with their phones, and not taking responsibility for their actions when I called them out, and I had students who didn’t care if I was explaining important content for the coming test…it was just awful.

I’m not going to lie to you saying I got over this because I haven’t stopped thinking about it. What did I do wrong?, what could have I done differently?, do I really want to continue? do I even like teaching? all these questions keep me up at night and it has been 1 month since I finished that substitute job.
But you know what? this experience does not define my worth as an educator. Sure, we all have bad days and sometimes students are “hard to handle”, you might feel like you are not doing enough or that you want to quit, but this does not mean you are a bad teacher. If this ever happens to you please don’t give up! there are so many positive things about being a teacher and these negative events in your life shouldn’t make you stop doing what you love! and never forget why you started in the first place.

(@missnayasmoments)

So yes, I still think that experiences make you strong.

 I’m taking this experience with me hoping I can grow from it to make myself become a better teacher.

Well, hello 😀 I kinda “forgot” to write on here every week as we had many things to do.
To make a long story short: I finished my practicum with 2nd, 5th, 7th, 9th, 11th, and 12th grade… let me just say…I cried A LOT! my students were amazing and I am going to miss them so much this year.
We also had to deal with some university assignments and of course our CAE exam and our thesis.

HOWEVER, I have some great news:

• I got my CAE results and guess who got a C1????? ME!!! I couldn’t believe it when I saw the results, I was and still am in shock… It brought many memories back to when I first started this career and teachers used to scare us with the exam and how difficult it would be. They tried their best to prepare us and they succeeded. (my highest score was speaking and my lowest…take a guess xD)
  I am sooooooooo happy and proud of myself you guys cannot imagine.
• My group and I killed it on our thesis presentation! T_T I want to give a big shout out to the BEST thesis group, my all time faves, the ones who made me laugh in times of stress and anxiety: Isi, Agatha and Max!!!! <3 (los amo un montón muchas gracias por todo muakkk) and to our thesis advisor, Miss Florita who was there for us even when we weren’t there for ourselves xD we love you and appreciate everything you did for us <3. (I got a 6,5 which is incredible!!)

So that’s it, Miss Allison is official now 🙂 I promise I will try to keep this updated as much as I can.
Thanks to Mr. James who made us create this blog in our first year, it has been a very nice journey and it is amazing to read my older posts and see how much I’ve grown not only as a person but also as a teacher.

 

I hope this blog is useful for future teachers of English from UNAB.

Hi there! good to be back

I am almost finishing my career and I decided to share some things that have happened during this last semester as a student/teacher xD

• I finally had a face-to-face practicum with real human beings!!!! thanks to this I am 100% sure that I do want to be a school teacher.
• I discovered I can drink many cups of coffee in a day without having a heart stroke.
• I need to learn how to drive because I am done with public transportation.
• Now I understand my school teacher who always said that he was tired… now I am tired 24/7
• Listening to Careless Whisper while planning my lessons has helped me…. tremendously like you cannot imagine how many times a day I listen to that song… I think it has become a problem lol
• I don’t have any English lessons (besides a CAE workshop), and I kinda miss them and my teachersss uwu. In fact, the other day Coni (1st-year student) shared a picture of two of my teachers and it made me feel sooo nostalgic 🙁 I miss going to the university (because it only took me 20 minutes to get there xD now it takes me 45 minutes to get to my school. IMAGINE THAT)
• Miss Florita is the best thesis advisor we could have ever asked for. She deserves a prize for that patience, Jesus Christ!. Someone give this woman a raise!!!! 

It has been a crazy year and the craziest semester ever, but I cannot deny that I have loved and cherished every single day I have spent at school and with my students, especially my 12th-year babies who are finishing their last school year <3

I’ll try to write weekly so you guys can see how everything’s going with my life these last 5 weeks as a university student!

Bye bye

Here we are again, people!
Although this time I’m not being forced to write my goals, objectives AND challenges(shoutout to Mr. James) I decided to do it because… why not?
I honestly find it fun to come back once in a while to read my previous posts and realize how much I’ve changed and improved my writing (impressive, huh? it took me three years to realize I improved one skill hahaha)
Let’s start with my goals for this semester, shall we?

1. To recover my love for English. I feel like my interest for this language got lost the moment I started doing things just because I had to. This only depends on me so I hope I can get it back.
2. To truly enjoy my last year. As this is my last year as a student, I’m aware of the fact that I might never see my teachers again, or at least “as teachers”, as well as my friends who have been there for me since year 1. (another shoutout to agatha, isi and cata. Las adoro.)

Now my objectives:

1. To improve my teaching skills. This year was my first practicum with…real people and it was freaking awesome!! I love all of my students and they are the reason why I want to keep improving in every aspect.
2. To organize my time. You know… if you read my past goals and objectives this is a common one. I am now an organized teacher (’cause if I’m not I might die. BE ORGANIZED KIDS, TRUST ME!!!! YOU’LL NEED IT) but I would like to be even more organized although this semester I am going to have less subjects but I’ll have more students to teach and I really REALLY must organize my time perfectly. 🙂

My challenges… that’s a tough one.
I think I only have 1. Well, you guys might now that this is my last year (it says it in the title……. if you haven’t noticed yet xD) and we are now preparing for the CAE which has been an absolute nightmare since I started this career. I believe this might be the biggest challenge I have ever faced throughout my years as a university student but I am pretty sure I will get through this so… I’m excited.

That would be all. I wish my fellow classmates nothing but love and happiness jeje
I will be back maybe at the end of the semester or when I am officially a teacher of English <3 Byebye

Audio 1:
What might the people find interesting about these events?

How difficult might the events be to organize?

Audio 2:
How might the students react to these different ways of learning?

How effective might these ways of learning be?

 

I took both photos from the CAE Handbook.

 

I decided to post this so my future students or my newest classmates don’t feel “alone” during online classes, since many people might think that they are by themselves, no one else is feeling bad, and that everyone else is okay.

Firstly, I’d like to start by sharing my experience with online classes.
January was the month in which I decided that I wanted to change my habits, especially my studying habits so, throughout February, I did a lot of research, I watched many many videos about changing my lifestyle, how to organize my time, how to plan my week or daily planning, how to take notes, etc. I honestly felt prepared and ready to succeed. At that time I didn’t even know about COVID-19, it was something I completely ignored, my bad lol.
When we finally started classes I was happy to see my friends and I thought wow! my third year, my first “práctica” I am going to be a teacher now YAS!!!! but then everything changed in the blink of an eye.

March 15th was the day where all my research became trash. We weren’t on quarantine yet but all presential classes were suspended so no more university and no more waking up at 7 (I cannot lie, I was a little happy about that). Online classes began and it was such a pain in the butt T-T I will never forget the last term because it was just horrible! I lost control of everything. I didn’t want to attend my classes, I wasn’t sure about staying in the career, I stopped taking care of myself…it was a mess. However, now that we started our second term I feel more prepared to cope with these type of classes, our teachers are doing the best they can and I appreciate everything they are doing for us and our learning. (Mención especial a todxs lxs profes que lo han dado todo en este periodo, sabemos que es difícil para ustedes y están “shatos”, pero we love you and we support you!)

Now, I’d like to share some tips that helped me not to lose my mind during that stressful time. Many of these tips I found online and some of them were shared by my friends. I hope they help you as much as they helped me!

1. Find a hobby (or do whatever makes you happy :D).
It sounds very simple I know but, believe it or not, you can use this as a distractor. Instead of worrying about school or university, you can do whatever makes you feel relaxed and happy. You can start painting a picture that you like, collect rocks you find whenever you go out, sing your favorite song, practice making music, read your favorite books, etc.

2. Vitamin D.
People tend to forget how important sunlight is. According to Healthline “Exposure to sunlight is thought to increase the brain’s release of a hormone called serotonin. Serotonin is associated with boosting mood and helping a person feel calm and focused.” In other words go outside (patio, balcony) whenever you can (but don’t forget your sunscreen!!)

3. Connect with your loved ones.
This is a very simple and easy tip. You can call your friends on skype and play games, talk about your day, watch a movie or tell stories. You can also start spending more time with your family or the people you live with. Prepare games/activities to do all together, start a new series, make them know how you feel, if you’re not feeling well, or if you’re happy, you can even tell them how much you love them. I mean just express yourself, sweetie 🙂 This can help you regulate your emotions. Please avoid being in your room all day.

4. Stretch, do yoga, or meditate.
These 3 things make us stay in shape, and it helps us relax and forget a little bit about the tension of being inside our home all day. Besides, it is known that physical activity brings many benefits. According to the U.S Department of Health and Human service, physical activity prevents chronic diseases, it makes your muscles stronger, improves sleep, decreases the potential of becoming depressed, increases your energy and self-esteem, and relieves stress”. You already know, get active! Remember that creating habits might be difficult at first but once you get used to it…it will be a piece of cake!

5. Don’t forget about yourself!
This is, in my opinion, the most important tip I can give you. You need to put yourself as a priority. Motivate yourself by dressing up as you were going to class, put on makeup, take the cutest selfies, and STAY AWAY FROM YOUR PAJAMAS!  Try out a new skincare routine, homemade face masks, new/weird/funny hairstyles. Do activities you really enjoy to forget about your classes once in a while (but don’t avoid your responsibilities!!) It is also important to keep your space very clean, try to clean your room twice a week, or every day…it is your choice.

 

Well people, that was all. I hope these tips help you and that you find some motivation 😀 remember that you are not alone, you can always count on your friends, family, even your teachers. Take care of yourself, stay healthy, and please wash your hands.

(attaching a meme in Spanish)

I decided to come back here because I felt nostalgic and because I wanted to stalk our first-year classmates lol. Now I realized that these 3 years of university have passed very fast… we’re almost finishing our 5th semester and many things have happened since I stopped writing.

The first thing you may all know: COVID-19 the virus that screwed our face-to-face classes 🙁
Online classes have been really difficult for me; I cannot understand what my teachers are explaining and I feel super stressed as well as frustrated and sad. I hope this is over soon, I need to see my friends and teachers, I want to go out uwu.

The second thing: Cata is not having English classes with us :c we miss her a lot and we truly wish the best for her, well now she has some classes with us but next semester we will not have any with her so she will only live in our memory, just kidding.

Third thing: English has become the most difficult subject for me…shocking. I wish it was a joke but it isn’t. FCE has come to my life to make it even more difficult xD My only advice for my classmates is to STUDY ;-;.

That’s it for today. I enjoyed coming back so I think I might do this more often.

To our phonetics teacher: I hope you’re doing okay! 😀 believe it or not, I miss phonetics… well, kind of.

Fourth self-assessment, WOW!
So many things have changed since the last term, it’s crazy to think about it.

These months have been difficult in terms of academic stuff, since we had new subjects like Methodology (with miss Veronica) which I loved! It seemed like we were behind the scenes. We learned not only how to plan a class, but also the different approaches we can use; we had to do one microteaching which in my opinion, was the bomb. I mean I find this subject very useful because it helps us to create our own “teaching style”.
Another subject we had was Linguistics with miss Danisa, this one was really hard for me 🙁 I didn’t enjoy her classes, but once I understood what she was saying and explaining, they were nicer :D.
My strength is, as always, speaking (now with teacher Jaime which has been amazing in this subject), and surprisingly, reading :p teacher Carlos is the best.

I luckily have recovered my motivation to be a teacher, now I am 100% sure I want to dedicate myself to this ♡.
I think the last term was difficult because of my lack of motivation and some personal issues, although, I know it’s all good now and I’m very happy to spend time with my friends at university and knowing we all share the same “love” for English and teaching. I love them. Also shoutout to my boyfriend who has always been there for me ♡.

My goal for the next term is: to have a better organization of my time. To myself and the rest of my classmates: I wish you the best next semester!