Vu Thi Hai Ngoc
On the completion of the Practicum tour to Thai Binh Duong University, Naval Academy and Nha Trang University, I have enhanced my professional skills as well as enriched my teaching experience. Looking back at those experiences and memories has led me to write this reflection paper to reflect on how my behavior and perception have changed during this trip.
First of all, one of the most crucial skills that I have developed during the Practicum trip is analytical and assessment skill. When I first received the information the level of the students of Thai Binh Duong (TBD) University just ranged from A2 to B1, and we would teach non-English-major students, I was quite concerned about whether I could conduct the microteaching successfully. My analyzing and assessing progress started once I was informed of the title of the textbook I would use to implement the micro-teaching session. I began to analyze the content of the unit so as to properly select the most suitable and useful points so that my lesson would be interesting and relevant to my students. In other words, I adapted the activities in the book by removing some boring and irrelevant tasks and complementing a game instead at the beginning of the lesson. In this way, the students would feel more excited and involved in the lesson.
In addition, my planning skill has developed significantly when designing the lesson plan for the microteaching demonstration. Moving from assessing the textbook content to gaining insight into our students’ levels, I participated in numerous critical online meetings with my teammates to draft the very first outline of the lesson plan, then continued to design and revise it many times before it became the complete lesson plan. In that demanding process, I overcame a large number of challenges since the planned games and activities not only need to be well-aligned with the learning outcomes and objectives of the lesson but also be engaging to the students.
My collaboration skill has also been considerably strengthened during this practicum. There were three main tasks we needed to cover during this trip: workshop, microteaching and seminar, and all of them required a collective effort from each member of the team. During nearly one month before the trip, my teammates and I had taken part in various meetings so as to discuss and brainstorm ideas together for the best performance of each task. My teamwork skill has improved greatly as I had to work collaboratively with other individuals. I learned how to state my opinions, respect my peers’ opinions in each situation and give constructive feedback to them, thereby fostering my teamwork skill.
Communicative skill is another key aspect that has notably built up after the practicum. During our trip to TBD University and Naval Academy in Nha Trang City, I had a variety of chances to contact and interact with numerous individuals, ranging from my new peers in Class A, my experienced supervisors, my students as well as the cadets, which forced me to be actively involved in interesting conversations to exchange information. As a result, I could learn a great deal from their extensive knowledge and experience when communicating with them.
Besides, I realized that cultural competency skill should be taken into consideration when it comes to teaching English as a second language. Although our teaching group had prepared a thorough lesson plan, our homeroom teacher - Mr. Trung Anh remarked that our lesson lacked cultural factor. In particular, when teaching learners how to give encouraging feedback, we should adapt the material so that it not only fits the Vietnamese context but also is relevant to Vietnamese students. For example, we should teach students how to give constructive suggestions to their partners so that they can improve themselves.
In conclusion, the lessons learned during this practicum will undoubtedly shape my future career, which equips me with the tools to inspire and guide my students toward linguistic and personal growth.
