Journals of Study Skills

MY WEEKLY JOURNAL Study Skills

AGUST – DECEMBER 2015 B.A. IN E.L.T

UNIVERSIDAD AUTÓNOMA DE SINALOA

Ammi Paola Bermúdez Osuna

First Semester

Morning Shift

Study Skills

My Journal week 1.

I’m Ammi and I started studying the B.A. in E.L.T. on August 17th.

I met my classmates on august 18th, we did a lot of activities together. I think we are

a very united group and I like that, although we’re very different, we get along well

so far.

Our classes officially started on August 19th. Our first class was English 1 with

teacher Frida, she’s Canadian. In this class I got to know my classmates a little

better, asking about important dates, places or names.

Our second class was study skills with teacher Laura, she’s Spanish, she speaks

British English and I like her accent, both of them (English/Spanish). In this class the

teacher started introducing herself and asking us to go in front of the class and do

the same, talk about us a little.

At the beginning some of us were very shy but later we started being more confident

and spontaneous. Some of my classmates were very enthusiastic and gave us

encouragement speeches, I liked that a lot, some of them were very sweet, others

funny and others very motivational.

After getting to know each other, the teacher from the next hour didn’t come, so

teacher Laura started to talk about her class “study skills”. She talked about the

objective of her class, her evaluation procedures, and gave us the weekly homework,

which was start writing a journal about what we learn in her class and how we feel.

Also another weekly homework was work in teams and bring every week a new word

and a quote to share with our classmates. And the last task she gave us was writing

an essay about an article called “second language acquisition”.

Later we established as a group the rules in the classroom, for example, don’t use

our cellphones; don’t bring food, just snacks; be tolerant; be on time etc.

The teacher finished the class welcoming us to the semester and we gave her our

emails.

Study Skills

I liked the class I think it was very dynamic, and it was helpful for me, because

sometimes I’m very shy and that’s one of the things I want to overcome this

semester.

Ammi

Study Skills

My Journal - week 2.

Monday August 24th.

We started the study skills class talking about time management, the teacher talked

about the types of procrastination, which were false procrastination, logical

procrastination and emotional procrastination; and how as teachers we have to learn

to recognize which type of procrastination is affecting us and causing our delay. In

the presentation there was a phrase that captured my attention “In order to be

efficient, we need to respond to disruptions, not react to them” I think is very

important to know how to manage those disruptions in order to be efficient. After

that, the teacher gave us as task to read an article about time management and work

in groups, then as team we talked about our opinions. Later she gave us as

homework to write an essay (individual) about the article and about what we

discussed as a team.

After she gave us the homework, we watched some videos about class management

strategies. I think the videos were very interesting because I could learn how I’m

supposed to deal with noisy kids or students in general and how to capture their

attention. When we finished the videos, teacher Laura told us about her own

experiences teaching little kids, and how hard it was for her. It was funny and very

revealing, because sometimes we think that teaching kids is easier because you’ll

teach Basic English, but knowing how to manage kids without losing it can be very

hard and sure it’s not for everyone.

Wednesday August 26th.

In this class Teacher Laura talked to us about the multiple intelligences theory. I

learned that Dr. Howard Garner, a Harvard professor, was the one that developed

that theory. He said there were eight different intelligences: the spatial intelligence,

the linguistic intelligence, the logical mathematical intelligence, the kinesthetic

intelligence, the musical intelligence, the interpersonal intelligence, the intrapersonal

intelligence and the Naturalistic intelligence. And for each kind of intelligence, people

Study Skills

are able to do different kinds of activities, and there are different things they’re good

at, besides each type of intelligence suits different kinds of careers and professions.

After that teacher Laura asked us to work in groups and think about 4 activities for

10 year old kids, where they could use different types of intelligence. We chose the

kinesthetic, the musical, the linguistic and the spatial intelligence and we planned

four fun activities. Later we explained those activities to our classmates and each

group did the same thing. It was interesting because some activities were similar

between groups but others were very different and I could see how my classmates

think and it gave me more ideas. I liked that activity because in that moment I started

feeling like a teacher and I loved it.

Ammi.

Study Skills

My Journal – week 3.

Wednesday September 2nd.

We started our study skills class working in teams, we talked about how we felt about

our listening back in high school. In my team most of us felt the same way, we

already knew English when we were at high school so it wasn’t so difficult for us,

besides none of us had good English teachers at high school, so the level wasn’t

hard. We agreed to the same thing, we struggle with British accent but we all think

we are getting used to it.

But later when we listened to other teams, we realized some of them had had a very

different experience. Some of our classmates used to live in the U. S., some of them

already knew English when they got there but others didn’t so for them it was a big

challenge.

After that, we read an article of learning theories and the nature of listening. There I

learned some tips to improve my teaching skills and get a better response of my

future students, such as: give the students confident; keep sentences short and

grammatical simple; and emphasize key words.

Later we worked in groups again and we discussed what we learned and talked

about our own experiences and beliefs about teaching. As a team and actually most

of the teams, we focused our discussion in teaching kids. I talked about how it was

very important for me, to give our students confident and never tell them that they’re

wrong, I said that we need to correct them of course but without make them feel like

they made a mistake or they are stupid. I also told my classmates that I think when

you’re teaching kids you have to think like them, and don’t expect them to react like

an adult. I liked the activity because I could express my beliefs, but more because I

could listened to my classmates opinions and some of them were very revealing and

gave me another perspective. I feel like I learn more from these activities than from

reading theory because they give me more tools and ideas for teaching, and it’s so

cool to be in a classroom with many people, with different minds, opinions and ideas

and being able to share them and open my mind.

Study Skills


Monday September 7th.

The teacher started the class talking about note-taking and note-making. We read

an article about the differences between note-taking and note-making, and the

process of each activity. I learned a lot of tips and ways to take and make notes more

efficiently.

After that, the teacher asked us to work in groups and discuss what we learned or

what we found interesting about the class, and share our own experiences as well

because, we were going to make a presentation about note-taking and note-making

for the next class, so we started talking about it. We realize that many of us had

troubles making and taking notes for many reasons, some of us because we couldn’t

listen carefully and take notes of what was on the screen at the same time; others

because they weren’t used to it, like for example they couldn’t read or write fast

enough. After we discussed our experiences we started organizing for the

presentation, we organized so that everyone had a task to do. Two of my partners

didn’t have enough time to help with the presentation so we designated them as the

speakers, and the rest of the team helped looking for the information, organizing it

and making the presentation. And that’s how we finished the class.

Wednesday September 9th.

This was the day of the presentations. Teacher Laura gave us 10 minutes to get

ready and deal with any inconvenient.

The other teams started to give the presentations and we realized we had a lot of

information and our presentation was going to be very long, one of the speakers

asked me to give the conclusion and the other asked another partner to give the

introduction. So we tried to adapt to the changes as quickly as we could. At the end

our presentation was too long.

Study Skills

After we finished, the teacher gave us some advices to make our future

presentations better, and started asking us how we felt preparing and giving the

presentation. I think we should’ve been more organized, also we should’ve

summarized the information more so the presentation wasn’t too long. Even when I

just gave the conclusion which was short, I felt fine and comfortable standing in front

of the class, besides we did an activity with teacher Frida where we mimicked a song

in front of all the class so I think I’m not afraid to be embarrassed in front of my

classmates anymore.

Ammi.

Study Skills



The topic of this class was Learning Styles, which proposes that all people can be

classified according to their “style” of learning.

We read about the different learning styles which were the visual or spatial learning,

in this learning style people prefer using pictures, images and spatial understanding;

the aural or musical learning, in which people prefer using sound and music; the

verbal or linguistic learning, whose learners prefer using words, both in speech and

writing; the Physical or Kinesthetic learning, in this style of learning, people prefer

using their body, hands and sense of touch; the logical mathematical learning, in

which learners prefer using logic, reasoning and systems; the social learning and the

solitary learning. We also read about a lot of authors such as David A. Kolb, Peter

Honey, Fleming, Anthony Gregoc, Anthony Grasha and Sheryl Riechman, who have

made researches regarding learning styles.

Later we watched a video about Kolb’s model, and at the end of the class the teacher

gave us as task to describe what kind of learners we are.

I liked this class because I could understand better how we all have different ways

to learn, I think I am a visual learner, because it’s easier for me to understand a topic

when I see images or when I read about it.

Ammi Bermúdez.

Study Skills



We started the class talking about some materials to teach students. We discussed

as a team what we thought we would use to teach someday. Later my partners Kelly

and Kevin share our opinions and conclusions in front of the class.

After that Teacher Laura asked us which level we would like to teach English. I said

that I’d like to start teaching kids, because I love kids and they are the future of our

world and I think I’d like to give them a good example and be a good influence to

them. But later I’d like to teach high school and college students.

We finish the class telling our quotes and new words, we share 2 quotes and 2 new

words because we didn’t share them the week before. Our words were: loathe, which

means to hate someone very much and Chiliad, which means a group of thousand

things. Our quotes were: “Don’t gain the world and lose your soul, wisdom is better

than silver or gold” By Bob Marley. And “To the world, you may be just a teacher but

to your students you are a star” By Zoey Sayward.


We started the class with some classmates going in front of the class and talking

about what kind of learner they were. It was interesting because they had different

learning styles and I could see different points of view and I could relate to others.

Some of them talked about how it was easier for them to learn by movements and

they also talked about muscle memory which is often used in sports.

I really liked this class because it was nice for me to see how my classmates learn,

and how there are many ways to teach students with different skills.

Ammi

Study Skills



We started the class telling our quotes and new words. Our new word was “Ordeal”

and our quote was “We know what we are, bit we know what we may be” by

Shakespeare. Later the teacher talked about principles for materials.

We saw a video about audiovisual resources, I liked it and it was very interesting. At

the end we discussed our opinions about the video.


The teacher started the class talking to us about our homework. After that we

watched a video about approaches and methods, and another video about the

importance of grammar.

Later, we participate giving our opinions about grammar and about how the teacher

on the video was teaching grammar in a different way. I liked the way he introduced

grammar to his students because it wasn’t boring, or just structures, he was teaching

them grammar with casual conversations and with easy and practical examples. In

my opinion and in my experience it is easier to learn that way, because the student

is not trying to memorize structures, he is just practicing them so easily that it

becomes natural.

After we discussed the video, my classmate Christ present the topic “Listening skills”,

I liked his presentation because he used practical examples and he explained them

well. The next presenters were Kevin and Leydy and they presented the topic

“multiple intelligences” I liked their presentation too because they gave more

examples than theory so it was very comprehensible. The las one to present was

Ramon and he talked about note taking and note making, I think he should have

used more visuals and maybe make it a little shorter but I liked the way he explain

and the examples he gave.

Study Skills


Monday October 5th.

We started the class with a presentation of manual for language text developing and

examining. The teacher asked us about our experiences with this kind of tests. Some

classmates talked about the TOEFL exam, others talked about the PET exam, and

the rest of the class talked about their experiences with the IELTS exam.

I only have taken the IELTS exam and I told my classmates that for me the most

difficult part of this test was the writing, because for me it’s kind of difficult to express

something with so many words. I can develop an idea in 50 words and in the writing

part they ask for 150 words. So I think I have to work on my writing skills, I have to

be able to use more technical and professional vocabulary and give more ideas.

Some of my classmates said that for them the listening part was the most difficult,

because of the different accents and the speed of the speakers. For me, when I first

started preparing for the IELTS exam, and started watching videos of the listening

part, it was very hard. I remember repeating the video many times because I couldn’t

get the answers. But with practice I started improving, and I started watching series

without the subtitles to force myself a little more and improve my listening skills. And

when I took the IELTS exam my highest grade was in the listening part.

Later when I started studying the B.A., first I struggled a little with teacher Laura’s

British accent, but after a week or two, I think I got used to it, and I think it’s great

that we have teachers with different nationalities and different accents because it

gives us more variety and we are used to different accents not just American’s.

After that, teacher Laura asked us to join in teams and think about some tips, and

techniques for one of the 4 skills in this kind of exams and prepare a presentation

for next week.

We chose the IELTS exam because we are used to it, and we chose to give tips for

band 6 listening part.

Study Skills

Wednesday October 7th.

We started the class presenting different topics related to teaching.

My classmate Lulu gave a presentation about the inductive and deductive methods.

After that, I gave a presentation about Krashen’s theory of second language

acquisition, I chose that topic because I found it interesting, besides we have talked

about that topic in TOLLAT class too, so I feel like I dominated the topic and of course

I liked it.

Later Alexander and Jorge talked about materials. I really liked Jorge’s presentation,

I think it was very dynamic and interesting. We finished the class with Alejandra

giving a presentation about sexual diversity and how to handle it in the classroom.

I felt comfortable giving my presentation in front of the class, I think I just have to be

more fluent but I’m improving.

Ammi

Study Skills



We started the class with some classmates giving their presentations. Mary

presented about materials, I really like her presentation because it was very

dynamic, funny and helpful at the same time, she gave a lot of tips to teach to

children and how to get their attention and make learning easier for them.

Belem presented about how to improve your writing skills, this was very helpful for

me because, it is hard for me to explain an idea with many words. She gave helpful

tips too. After that Irving presented about how to improvise in a classroom and how

to teach your students when you don’t have a lot of resources. His presentation was

very interesting and helpful because as teachers we have to be prepared for

everything even for situations like that.

Our weekly word from last week was: “Eager” which means having or showing strong

desire or interest; longing impatiently. For example: He is an eager student. He is

eager for success.

Last week’s quote was: “The will to win, the desire to succeed, the urge to reach

your full potential … these are the keys that will unlock the door to personal

excellence.” - Confucius

This week’s new word was: “Nudiustertian” which means the day before yesterday.

For example: I'd ordered the key on-line for £48 that nudiustertian morning and was

not expecting it to arrive until the following week.

The quote of this week was: “Friendship is unnecessary, like philosophy, like art… It

has no survival value; rather it is one of those things which give value to survival.”

– C. S. Lewis.

Ammi

Study Skills

My Journal – week 10

Monday October 19th.

We started the class continuing with the presentations about the topics related to

teaching. I liked the presentations the topics were different and well explained.

After that we moved on to history to talk about our essays and we finished with the

topics of this semester.


We started the class with the final presentations and after that we gather in teams to

keep working on our presentations for next week. The teacher gave us some advices

for our presentation because we were only focusing on the certificates, in the ielts

exam and we should’ve be talking about how to improve those skills in general.

So we chose how to improve listening skills for intermediate level. And we started

looking for some extra information and going deeper into the topic. We found some

information of how to improve those listening skills in a lecture or conference, and

we included that in our presentation.

Ammi.

Study Skills

My Journal week 11.

Monday October 26th

This day we started with the presentations related to improving skills. We presented

how to improve listening skills for intermediate level.

We started the presentation with Sheccid, Kevin, Kelly and Alex giving some tips to

improve your listening skills while you’re attending a conference or even in the

classroom. They gave several useful advices about it.

After them, Irving and I gave tips specifically for improve your score at the listening

part of the ielts exam. We gave tips such as, don’t try to improve your listening skills

by doing practical ielts exams on the internet, because that doesn’t improve your

listening skills, it only makes you become familiar with the test. We told our

classmates that they should be preparing before, listening to conferences, or music

and trying to get as much of the speech as possible, also trying with different accents

not just American accent. Teacher Laura liked our presentation and told us it was

well developed, she also told us to push our partners Kelly an Alex to talk more, to

help them be more confident.

Wednesday October 28th

We started the class with the presentations of the rest of the teams related to

improving skills.

A team did a really great and complete presentation about different kinds of

certification and how did they grade the students. It was very interesting and I think

they put a lot of effort on it so it was good.

After that, the teacher talked to us about certifications and how the SEP works here

in Mexico for English teachers. It was very interesting and it’s something that we all

should be aware of and be ready for that.

Study Skills

My Journal week 12

Wednesday November 4th.

We started the class with presentations about the origin of Halloween and the origin

of the Mexican tradition “the day of the dead”.

Irving and I started talking about the origin of Halloween and how it came to America.

Later Alexander told us about Halloween too, but with a different perspective,

focusing more on how it is celebrated.

After that, Mary talked about the history of Halloween too. Then Sheccid and Kelly

presented about the day of the dead, they talked about the history of this tradition,

and how Mexicans celebrate it.

The last one was Belem and she talked about Halloween but from the perspective

of a Christian and how this celebration is against the word of God. I really liked her

presentation because I have those same beliefs and I think everything she said was

accurate.

Even when I don’t celebrate Halloween or the day of the dead, it was quite interesting

to see these presentations because I could learn more about the origins of these

festivities.

We finished the class with another team giving an extra presentation about examples

of the writing part in the IELTS exam, it was very interesting and they gave us good

and practical teams for the exam.

Ammi Bermúdez

Study Skills

My Journal week 13

Monday November 9th

We started the class with the teacher giving us a presentation about English testing

in Mexico. We saw the levels of testing and how it has been evolving over the past

years.

I liked the presentation because I think it is very important to know how all this system

works, and how it has evolved.

We also shared the new words and quotes of the past two weeks.

New word: “Reek” (verb) which means to smell strongly or unpleasantly. “The rotting

garbage reeked”. It also means, to contain or seem to contain a potent atmosphere

of something. “A suburb that absolutely reeks for money.”

Quote: “Aim for the moon, if you miss, you may hit a star”. –W. Clement Stone.

The new word of last week was: Feeble, which means physically weak; “The sick

child was still too feeble to walk on her own”. It also means, lacking in substance or

effectiveness. “Feeble arguments”.

The quote of last week was: “In order to succeed, we must first believe that we can”

–Nikos Kazantzakis.

Wednesday November 11th

The teacher started the class asking us to join in our teams and start talking about

our next project of testing. She gave us some articles and we started reading them

and giving our opinions and thoughts about them.

She asked us to choose a topic and we chose vocabulary, so we read all the copies

she gave us and that gave us an overview of the topic.

Then we give each other some topics to research and complete our information.

Study Skills

The new word for this week is: Cavil (verb). Which means to raise imitating and trivial

objections, find fault with unnecessarily (usually followed by at or about). “He finds

something to cavil at in everything I say.”

It also means, to oppose by inconsequential, frivolous, or sham objections. “To cavil

each item of a proposed agenda.”

The quote for this week is: “Perfection is not attainable, but if we chase perfection

we can catch excellence.” –Vince Lombardi.

Ammi.

Study Skills

My Journal week 14

Wednesday November 18th

Today we started the class writing an essay. The teacher asked us to write an essay

about how we deal with frustration in class as B.A. students. And after that, we were

going to share it with our classmates.

I wrote about how sometimes I feel frustrated when I don’t manage my time correctly

or when I do not have the motivation to do a task. I told my classmates that when

that happens to me, the first thing I do is take a deep breath and I try to get rid of any

negative thought or feeling and then when the class starts I try to focus on little and

simple things, like the main points or the main topic, so that I don’t get to much into

my head. In those moments I start taking simple notes like keywords and some

phrases to study later when I’m more calmed. I concluded sharing with my partners

something I had read, it was “you can’t always control what happens to you or what

you have to do but you’re always in control of how you react to it” therefore for me it

was all about seeking for motivation and having a good attitude in class.

I liked this activity because I could share my experience and thoughts but also I was

able to listen to my classmates’ ideas and tips and that was very helpful.

New word: macrosmatic adj. – having a good sense of smell.

Quote:

“Courage is what it takes to stand up and speak; courage is also what it takes to sit

down and listen.” By Winston Churchill

Ammi

Study Skills

My Journal week 15

Monday November 23th

Today we started the class gathering in teams and discussing about our project of

testing. We were working on testing vocabulary, we joined the information of each

team member and we worked on it. After a while we finished the project and worked

on the last details.

We were also talking about how we were going to do our portfolio and our final tasks.

After that we share the quotes and the new words.

New word: cerulean - deep sky blue. The word is derived from the Latin word

caeruleus, "dark blue, blue or blue-green", which in turn probably derives from

caerulum, diminutive of caelum, "heaven, sky".

Sentence: Before entering, he looked up at the cerulean fall sky once more to feel

the sun.

Quote: Christmas is a season not only of rejoicing but of reflection. – Winston

Churchill.

New Word: “Sprawl” [sprɔːl] verb. Bef. 1000; Middle English spraulen to move

awkwardly, Old English spreawlian; cognate with Frisian (north, northern dialect,

dialectal) sprawel, related to Old English spryttan to sprout, SPURT, Greek speirein

to scatter.

1. To stretch or spread out (the legs) such as when sitting or lying: She sprawled

on the couch. She sprawled her leg over his knee and trapped him.

Quote:

“Today you are you! That is truer than true! There is no one alive who is you-er than

you!”. Dr. Seuss.

Ammi

Education

Journals of Study Skills