METACOGNITIVE AWARENESS

Metacognitive Awareness is defined as knowing when, why, and how we learn something. It is to use strategies for learning. It is also when we teach our students to have control over their process of thinking and learning so that they can plan, monitor and evaluate their progress towards the completion of any activity.

·         Why is Metacognitive Awareness important?

Because being aware of our own learning process, strengths and weaknesses, we will be able to reflect and make the appropriate changes for a better learning process. Students need to understand the significant of what they are doing.

In order to contextualize language and get positive production in using the TL, it is advisable to include Metacognitive strategies such as language, cognitive, social and cultural awareness.

·         Which methodology should we use for developing Metacognitive awareness?

According to Gail Ellis, we have to apply three stages: plan, do and review. And teachers have to be prepared to look for appropriate activities to involve learners in real context and ask well-formulated questions so students can think about their learning experience. Therefore they can reflect on what, why, and how they are doing what they are doing.

To sum up, Metacognitive awareness is very important so that students can understand and know about their learning process and apply that understanding in other subjects as well.

HAPPY DAY DEAR TEACHERS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

               Enjoy this day and the following days with your family and students.
We act as the guide for life, show the path towards success and enrich  students' personality  by imparting ethical and academic knowledge. We bring out the untamed talents of our students and sharpen it in order to bring out the best results.
GOD BLESS US.

                                        

Do or make?

'Do'  for Activities

Use the verb 'do' to express daily activities or jobs. Notice that these are usually activities that produce no physical object.

do homework
do housework
do the dishes

'Do' for General Ideas

Use the verb 'do' when speaking about things in general. In other words, when we do not exactly name an activity. This form is often used with the words 'something, nothing, anything, everything, etc.'

I'm not doing anything today.
He does everything for his mother.
She's doing nothing at the moment.

'Make' for Constructing, Building, Creating

Use 'make' to express an activity that creates something that you can touch.

make food
make a cup of tea / coffee
make a mess

Important Expressions with 'Make'

There are a number of standard expressions that take the verb 'make'. In a number of cases the verb 'do' seems more appropriate. These are standard collocations (verb + noun combinations) that are used in English.

make plans
make an exception
make arrangements
make a telephone call
make a decision
make a mistake
make noise
make money
make an excuse
make an effort

Reported Speech. When do I use SAY,TELL or ASK?

Use TELL if it is followed by a (pro)noun object.    
                                Tell Pablo
                                Tell me
Use SAY for statements. No object. But using TO it is possible to have an object.( I say to him...)
             Say "hello"
             Say "I am happy"
Use ASK for questions.

EXAMPLES:
My mother told me to cook early today.
she asked us if we had gone there.
We said that the movie was awful.

EXERCISE

1. She______the waiter if she could pay with a credit card.
2. We_____that we would come back late.
3. He_____his friends that he would be five minutes late.
4. She_____to her teacher that she needed a bit more time.
5. I____my kids whether  thay would swim or watch TV.
6. They______the reporter that they were ready to provide information about the case.
7. He_____to the clerk that it was very expensive.
8. I____them if they enjoyed the movie.

ICE BREAKERS AND WARM UPS

This information is thanks to Sara Denne-Bolton and Kelli Odhuu.

Ice breakers are a way for learners to get to know each other.These activities should be easy with few rules.The best thing is that ice breakers allow students to have plenty communication in the classroom.

Warm ups help students focus on the class and teachers can introduce the topic of the lesson. And the most wonderful is to create AUTONOMY.

What is the difference between goals and objectives?

A goal is a general statement of what we want students to learn from the class. It identifies

• who the learners are and
• the overall behavior the learners are expected to acquire.

Because goals are stated in general terms, they are open to interpretation in different ways. We use the objectives to clarify and explain the goal.
An objective is much more specific than a goal. A well-stated objective leaves little doubt about exactly

• what will be done (observable behavior)
• how this will be measured (performance criteria)
• the conditions under which it will be accomplished (allowances, restrictions, and circumstances).

The 3 essential characteristics of a useful objective are the following:

1. It states specifically the result to be accomplished.
2. It is expressed in measurable terms.
3. It identifies the conditions under which the result will occur. A common condition is time. For example,

                        exactly when the result will happen

                              by what date it will be completely accomplished

                        how long it will take to do the task once the class

                        occurs .

Alice asked:What can I do if students do not like English? (primer año de secundaria)

As everybody knows English is taught in High School (learners have never seen any word in English but heard something from their brothers or sisters)so learners come to their English classes with some views about and attitudes towards learning English. These attitudes are formed by the social environment in which they grow up and by people around them.

What I tell you is to be aware of these attitudes as they can influence leraner’s desire and motivation to learn and be successful in learning English.

* Be patient

* Be prepared for difficult moments

* Be friendly and understand them

Another thing we can do is to check  our teaching method and include different activities or games in order to have positive classes for our learners.