Second Year Reflection
At my first year teaching, I was so busy on spending all my free time, including after school and weekends, preparing teaching materials, class activities, and designing computer games for class using. Because I am not a computer expert, I spent lots of time learning how to edit a computer game to have the game content is the given goals and content/language objectives that I am teaching. After spending all my free time figure out a computer game, I found that I didn’t have time (as each class has only less than three hours stay in my classroom) and enough computers for students to play these game in class. Then I spent another weekends to find a solution to put these games online so that students can also play them at home when they have internet access. Besides designing computer games every weekend, I also searched for class activities to increase students learning motivation. Not even to mention that I need to teach content (math, science, social study, and Chinese literacy) using 100% Chinese to these first grade students who do not even know one word about Chinese language. Also the Dual Language Immersion was first year in my school at my first teaching year so I have no one to ask for experience. I was as busy as a bee at my first teaching year. I was hoping that my second year will become easier because I would have enough materials, activities, and teaching ideas.
I still remember the week when I was teaching students about “how old are you?” Because of 100% Chinese language using in my classroom and I am not allowed to even speak one English word, I spent one week teaching the concept about “age” but students still didn’t fully understand it. I emailed an experienced DLI teacher in other school and she told me it is easy. She printed some birthday cake pictures and have students to draw candles that match as their age and color it. Then students understand it. I adopted her method and used on my students and it worked. At that time, I truly believe that “practice makes perfect.” I believe she experienced some failure as I did and then she found a way. I was lucky to follow her track on that concept even though I have tried one week and didn’t success until she told me the strategy. As I accumulate more experiences, I am willing to provide my experience with other first year teachers, especially DLI target language teachers, as I see their struggles.
At my second teaching year, all Chinese material and content objects have been changed. I then need to redesign all my computer games every weekend. I am still as busy as my first teaching year, but I am busy with an organized way; I am still as busy as my first teaching year, but I am busy with a happy mood. I believe my third teaching year will still be busy but will be smooth and I can provide more success and even failure experiences to new teachers who needs a hint/trick like I did at my first year teaching.
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