Janeth Reyes Nuñez

Working with 4 classess of 40 to 45 students at the Nutrition Faculty. Although, I have learnt a lot about my students and all the experiences, interacting to them. My position is about to work as an ESL teacher face to face through different cultural activities through English.

Developed activities at the Department of Foreign Languages of the mentioned university , considering the students´ motivation through different culturally-sensitive learning environment-meaning from context. University students from all the careers there are at FES Z: Medicine, Nutrition, Biology, Nursery, Psychology and Chemistry. I work at the Foreign Languages Department on Saturdays from 9 am to 2 pm. Authentic materials like songs, literature books, videos, movies, youtube channels, magazines, brochures, etc. are integrated in my lesson plans, so I think the students´ level is the right to take advantage of these materials to practice in another real way our foreign language. I also teach the lessons of the Reading Comprehension Course and the General English Course to Medicine and Community Development for Aging on line students. Most of the time, the sessions are keeping active students by arguing about scientific texts and guiding them to know how to apply different strategies efficiently to comprehend a scientific text. One of my main objectives as a teacher is for them to feel self-confident about what they are reading, and about practicing their target language through real social practices of the language, too.

I worked for 14 years at this school with 1st to 6th graders in Elementary school. I usually work with classes between 25 to 30 students. This institution is joined in The National English Program in Basic Education at Mexico City, which means to learn english through the rest of the subjects, to develop various social practices, considering specific competencies according to specific objectives, giving evidence by doing activities and products like a brochure of rhymes, read stories to associate them with personal feelings, organize a garage sale, follow steps from a recipe and then to write their own one, read information about natural resources, identify countries in the American continent to do a poster of all the content learnt, organize a cards exhibition to share information about other countries like its currency, flag, traditions, language, cuisine, etc. other activities like to solve basic Math problems through different games, etc. I always plan my lessons adding in it the needed word bank to be immerse in the context of the topic, I previously investigate the necessary content of the other subjects for me to present and discuss the topic efficiently through our Language 2. It is interesting for both my kids and I to realize of their progress learning Mathematics, Science, Geography, Civics, but through the english language and vice versa. I diversify instruction by integrating technology whenever possible, and I am also very focus in planning activities which fit to considering all those students´ styles, but also those who need extra guidance.

I work with 1st, 2nd and 3rd grade students, three times per week, during 50 minutes each class. This school is also subscribed to the National English Program at Mexico City, so, I have to continue with the next contents of the Program (Secondary-Cycle 4). I mix it with The Programa de Inglés Viajero, which lets students to know about different cultures around the world through their second language and we also work through products each month we finish to learn and discover about a new country. Most of the time students work in teams to give them the chance to emphasized critical thinking, I always consider communication as a very important aspect to organize ourselves in our class. The evaluation is through the number of stamps they record in their "passports", they get a stamp whenever they complete an assignment and considering the result of their products at the end of the "trip to a specific country".

The experience that has definitely changed my perspective as a professional and as a person, too. I learned too much about other cultures, about the Education System of the United Stated of America, the cultural diversity let me reflect and look for different ways to teach, I even learnt and made myself conscious about my first language, so it is no the same to learn Spanish as my mother tongue than this as a foreign language. It was marvelous to share my culture and to make Mexican students to be aware of their culture but it was amazing to share the Mexican culture with North American students, too. It was so enriching to exchange our cultures and our languages through presentations, social practices of the language, products. I used to choose materials according to my students´needs, interests and different contexts, I was focused on my students´ understanding whenever I used my Language 1. I selected many authentic materials like videos, movies, brochures, photographs, magazines, web pages to know how to rent a house or apartment in Mexico, for example, or, how to buy something on line, skyping students from Mexico and the United States to exchange cultures and languages. I always tried to communicate to them efficiently. We both students and I organized extra curricular activities like a fiesta, we made handcrafts like to dress up the Catrina skull, we made our ofrenda, we cooked Mexican food. I loved the result of one of our evaluations through singing a song in spanish, I could see my students´ strenghts, the Mexican National Anthem, romantic music in spanish, genres like bachata, pop, music for children, students working individually, in pairs, in teams, we were very touched-hearted. I learnt to use the Infinite Campus, an amazing program to work and establishing communication with students, parents and all staff, to assign activities, to evaluate, to call the role, getting statistic of students´ knowledge results, organizing the class by the sitting chart. I also self- regulated with the organization and use of school materials: Since to take photocopies, use books or different school supplies. I learnt to organize my time being addapted to the daily schedules, to the students´times because many of them practiced a sport, so I supported them grading assignments, or explaining them some activities after the regular class, etc. I was really immersed in the culture but also in the way of teaching at the United States. It was very interesting to know about other cultures and contexts, I learnt too much, being flexible to modify, innovate ways of teaching. I learnt of the multi cultural context at the U.S.A. day by day in the school but also out of it.

After this experience, I got interested in investigate about multicultural education, so I decided to start a pre project based on the importance to value our own culture and enrich knowledge about it to be ready to exchange cultures to avoid "differences" and we all really feel gathered through the magic of the cultural diversity. I definitely plan to consider it in the SSL Teaching Specialization I am starting on January 31 2022. I am really excited to expand my knowledge mixing the reflection of the background of my mother tongue as a foreign language but also to build new knowledge about my culture and others: Learning a target language through different cultures, and different cultures through a target language...

I worked as an ESL Teacher with toddlers from 3 to 5 years old during a full school year with Preeschool students.

I worked there teaching english to teenagers, 2nd grade students, three classes of 60 minutes per week.

I was a volunteer teacher at theTeacher´s School of Mexico City where I studied my bachelor´s degree during a semester. I taught the level 2 children´s English course during a full semester.