UNIVERSIDAD LATINA DE PANAMA

SCHOOL OF EDUCATION AND HUMAN DEVELOPMENT

CENTER OF GRADUATE STUDIES

TEACHING PORTFOLIO:

AN OUTLOOK AND INSIGHTS FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF A BEGINNING

TEACHER

PREPARED BY:

KATHERINE VELÁSQUEZ

8-847-2119

IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT
TO OBTAIN THE PROFESSIONAL MASTER DEGREE IN TESOL

PANAMA, REPUBLIC OF PANAMA

2017
 APPROVAL

_________________________________ _________________________________
JURY APPROVAL

DATE: ____________________________
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DEDICATION

To my mom, my loving husband, my siblings, nieces and nephew. Thank you for your support

in each one of my goals.

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ACKNOWLEDGMENT

Thanks to God, for giving me strength and courage to keep working on this project.

Thanks to my mom for her caring help and support.

Thanks to my husband, Rómulo, for encouraging me to continue working even when I was

tired and moody.

Thanks Professor Luz López, for the precious time you spent reviewing my e-mails, drafts,

and answering my questions.

Thanks Professor Amalia Vásquez for your time and feedback. It means a lot to me.

Thanks to my classmates for all the knowledge and experience they have shared with me

during this Master’s Degree.

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INTRODUCTION

Learning a second language is a challenge every language learner assumes at a certain point

of his or her life. This process is difficult; it requires time and practice but, finally, it can be

attained.

During this Master’s degree, participants have been part of different projects, have had the

chance to teach in a university classroom and observe the behavior of adult students. This

experience has given the chance to explore teaching from a new perspective and this perspective

will be portrayed through this portfolio.

The most relevant aspects of this master’s degree will be captured in the following pages by

stating the most important elements that will shape my teaching philosophy from now on.

Reflection will be done on those aspects of each subject that had prompted critical thinking

about the current path and future of the Panamanian education. In this document, a prospect

research will also be presented for those scholars who would like to deepen in the benefits of

the use of cognates for teaching a second language.

The final purpose for this portfolio is to make it helpful for peers in the same situation,

beginning in the world of teaching and with so many things to live and learn but eager to go out

there and change lives. Chapter I presents a brief description of the objectives, scope, limits and

purpose for preparing this portfolio. In Chapter II are presented five teaching statements that

intend to explain the philosophy of teaching of the writer. Those teaching statements are

appropriately supported with teaching strategies and theories. Chapter III presents the

methodology used for preparing this document as well as its results and recommendations for

further improvement in the use of teaching portfolios as self-assessment tools.

 TABLE OF CONTENTS
DEDICATION ....................................................................................................................ii
ACKNOWLEDGMENT ................................................................................................... iii
INTRODUCTION ..............................................................................................................iv
1. Rationale.................................................................................................................... 1
1.1. Description of the Project.......................................................................................... 1
1.2. Problem Approach..................................................................................................... 2
1.3. Justification ............................................................................................................... 2
1.4. Objectives of the Research ........................................................................................ 3
1.5. Scope, Design and Limitations.................................................................................. 3
2. THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK ............................................................................ 6
2.1. Vision and Philosophy of Education ......................................................................... 6
2.1.1. People learn by building knowledge with others................................................... 7
2.1.2. Learning happens in context: Content-based instruction .................................... 11
2.1.3. Students must think critically. Critical Thinking ................................................ 14
2.1.4. What happens at home does not stay at home: Affective Filter Hypothesis ....... 17
2.1.5. Learning in groups is learning for sure: Cooperative learning ............................ 20
2.2. Reflection about each one of the courses of the Master’s Degree .......................... 24
2.2.1. Language Acquisition .......................................................................................... 24
2.2.2. Grammar Aspects of TESOL .............................................................................. 25
2.2.3. Sociolinguistics.................................................................................................... 27
2.2.4. Teaching English through Literature ................................................................... 28
2.2.5. Theory and Practice of TESOL ........................................................................... 29
2.2.6. Linguistic Development and Interpretation ......................................................... 30
2.2.7. Grammar aspects of TESOL part II ..................................................................... 32
2.2.8. Phonology ............................................................................................................ 34
2.2.9. Use of Technology in TESOL ............................................................................. 35
2.2.10. Research Methodology .................................................................................... 36
2.2.11. English for Specific Purposes .......................................................................... 37
2.2.12. Theory and Practice of TESOL ....................................................................... 38
2.2.13. Curriculum Design ........................................................................................... 40
2.2.14. English Language Teaching Assessment ......................................................... 42
2.2.15. Professional Practicum .................................................................................... 44
2.3. Research Proposal ................................................................................................... 46
2.3.1. Research Topic: Spanish Lexical Interference in Translation into English:
Cognates in Translation. .................................................................................................... 46
2.3.2. Objectives: ........................................................................................................... 46
2.3.3. Research Question: .............................................................................................. 46
2.3.4. Literature Review ................................................................................................ 47
2.3.5. Research Site and Participants ............................................................................. 48
2.3.6. Data Collection Method ...................................................................................... 49
2.3.7. Data Analysis ....................................................................................................... 49
2.3.8. Potential Obstacles and Proposed Solutions ........................................................ 50
2.3.9. References: .......................................................................................................... 51
2.3.10. Appendices: ..................................................................................................... 51
3. Methodology and Design ........................................................................................ 51
3.1. Methodology ........................................................................................................... 51
3.2. Results ..................................................................................................................... 51
3.3. Management Plan and Proposal .............................................................................. 52
3.3.1. Viability ............................................................................................................... 52
3.3.2. Scope ................................................................................................................... 53
CONCLUSIONS ............................................................................................................... 55
RECOMMENDATIONS .................................................................................................. 58
REFERENCES .................................................................................................................. 60
ANNEXES ........................................................................................................................ 63
CHAPTER I

RATIONALE
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1. Rationale

This portfolio has the aim of contributing to the reflective literature in Panama. It will allow

future professionals to have a support when starting in the teaching career. In addition to

this, this portfolio is prepared as a self-assessment of the performance during the Master’s

Program, allowing the writer to analyze her achievements and weaknesses in order to make

the necessary corrections in the teaching methodology. Also, it intends to describe the

benefits that each subject of the program has contributed to the participant as well as the

most important aspects of every subject.

In short, the purpose of this portfolio is to allow making self-reflection about the learning

process during the Master’s Degree and how the materials discussed during this process

have improved the teaching methodology and strategies of the participants and will affect

the future methodology of new teachers.

1.1. Description of the Project

This teaching portfolio is a description of personal insights about techniques, strategies,

theories, best practices in English teaching, how they are related and how teaching practices as

a beginner in teaching English have been influenced by these elements. In this project is also

presented a personal teaching philosophy as well as some teaching and language acquisition

theories. This project portrays the methods that will be used to apply a teaching philosophy in

the real classroom and some aspects to be considered for further improvement.
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1.2. Problem Approach

Preparing a teaching portfolio is a process that requires in-depth reflection, self-

consciousness, higher order mental skills, and, in short, an outstanding capacity to identify

personal weaknesses and strengths. Tucker, Stronge and Gareis (2013) define a teaching

portfolio as “(…) a structured collection of selected artifacts that demonstrate a teacher’s

competence and growth.” That means that a portfolio will show the progress a teacher has

achieved throughout a certain period, namely, from the beginning of this master’s degree to

date. In order to achieve this goal, information will be compiled from reliable sources that

support the philosophy of teaching (teaching theories, strategies, techniques, etc.) presented and

relate such information to the teaching experience during these studies. Reflection will be done

on each one of the courses taken during the master’s program. This reflection will highlight the

most relevant aspects of each course in regards to the Panamanian educational reality and the

author’s opinion about issues and trends discussed in class. In order to present a functional

portfolio, the research proposal prepared in the Research Methodology class will be presented,

which tries to implement the use of cognates as a means for improving translation as well as an

innovative way for teaching English as a second language.

1.3. Justification

We live in a very advanced age. Students have access to internet and answers in seconds,

and, especially in this type of world, becoming a teacher is not easy. We need to be updated

with the latest educational trends, we need to understand the preferences of our students, we

have to study and learn new things every day, and we need to love our work. This teaching

portfolio is prepared as a contribution for beginning teachers as well as for any student who may

need some ideas about the most recent teaching movements and how they can be applied in the
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Panamanian teaching environment. In addition, the purpose of this portfolio is to reflect on what

aspects of this master’s degree have influenced on me as a learner and as a future teacher.

1.4. Objectives of the Research

General objective

 To describe teaching tools, strategies, experiences and ideas acquired in the Master’s

degree that would be helpful for other beginning teachers starting in the teaching field.

Specific objectives

 To state elements of teaching that define my teaching philosophy.

 To analyze the contributions of each one of the courses of the Master’s degree to my
perspective of teaching.

 To propose new methodologies for teaching English as a Second language.

 To reflect on my performance as a future teacher based on the different teaching

activities performed in the different courses.

 To draw conclusions about Panamanian education and the usage of new teaching
strategies in the system.

1.5. Scope, Design and Limitations

This project is prepared for teachers and education or English students who want to enroll

in the teaching career since it provides the insights of a person who is starting in this area. It

includes opinions and reflections about all the subjects of the master’s degree and aims at

being considered helpful for future teacher generations. The scope of the project involves a

selection of elements that influence the author’s teaching, based on her philosophy of

teaching, a set of reflections and a research proposal.

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This portfolio can be used as a guide for those new teachers who want to have a

perspective of the profession. It also provides an outlook to the Master’s Degree in TESOL

and shows the author’s opinion about the latest tendencies in education and how to adapt

them to our Panamanian reality. This document intends to portray the steps teachers go

through in order to provide quality education to our kids.

Regarding the limitations for preparing this document, time is certainly the main one. As

there is a specific timeframe for the delivery of this portfolio, the author would need to work

in a fast pace, which would increase the chances of leaving important aspects of teaching

out of the portfolio. Another important aspect related to timing is the need for research.

Some aspects that will be presented in this document require additional research in order to

support them. Due to the lack of time, some resources will be left out. In addition to these

two factors, the lack of physical resources in Panama is an important factor for the author if

she tries to prove a point using Panamanian data. However, when needed, such information

that may not appear in English would be translated.

 CHAPTER II

THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK
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TEACHING PORTFOLIO: AN OUTLOOK AND INSIGHTS FROM THE

PERSPECTIVE OF A BEGINNING TEACHER

2. THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK
2.1. Vision and Philosophy of Education

As a future teacher, my philosophy of education would be focused on maximizing the learning

of my students through meaningful interactions and appropriate materials that will help them

both, becoming proficient speakers of a second language as well as exercising their critical

thinking skills. As a future university level teacher, I want my students to do their best effort

and to be passionate about learning a new language and I want to do this by highlighting my

core values.

Firstly, I want to apply my dedication for teaching by helping them to reach their potential in

language learning. They will do this through scaffolding, in which I want to be their More

Knowledgeable Other, but I also want them to trust their peers in this process and, in this way,

move from one step to the other, with the help of their classmates. In this progression of learning,

I would like my students to exert higher level thinking skills such as questioning and discussing.

Secondly, I want my students to be engaged in class, as much as I will be in my profession. In

order to achieve their engagement in my class, I have to prepare meaningful classes. As,

probably, I will work with students from areas different to the bachelor’s degree in English; I

will have to prepare classes that are appropriate for my students’ interests. These classes, in

addition to be focused on their careers, should be also focused on their everyday lives and

hobbies. For this, I would apply Content-based instruction. Finally, and based on my third core

value, I think that it is extremely important to have a clear communication with our students. In

this case, I want to pay attention to the affective filter since, especially at a university level, we
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deal with students coming from very different backgrounds who can be in their career for many

different reasons and we need to provide a support for them and to make their class a place for

peace and enjoyment. Lowering anxiety in our classrooms will allow us to reach our students in

an easier way and so, obtain our teaching goals more effectively. I would do this by using group

activities that would join the group as a whole and strengthen their trust in each other.

As mentioned above, my teaching philosophy is based on maximizing the learning possibilities

of my students by increasing their chances of enjoying a language class that has been especially

prepared to fit their individual needs as teenagers or young adults. Based on this philosophy of

teaching, some learning theories and strategies that have influenced my teaching ideas will be

developed. This intends to be an outlook to my future teaching practice. The following

statements include these elements of teaching that make up my teaching philosophy:

Scaffolding, content-based instruction, critical thinking, affective filter hypothesis and student-

centered approach.

2.1.1. People learn by building knowledge with others

Learning a new language requires students to work with others in order to achieve

new levels of learning. In this sense, this teaching statement about Building Knowledge with

Others refers to the use of scaffolding in language classrooms. Before defining the term

scaffolding, it is important to highlight its origins. This term emerged from the learning

theories presented by Lev Vygotsky, a Russian psychologist whose theory on social learning

and his ideas of developing children’s skills in a social context have become central to

contemporaneous education (Pritchard & Woollard, 2010). Vygotsky inspired authors such

as Jerome Bruner to start researching on social interaction as a means that prompted

learning. After this, Wood, Bruner and Ross (1976) started using the term scaffolding to
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explain the progress a student makes while learning with peers. Scaffolding refers to the use

of a person with greater knowledge as a support for the learner until he feels confident with

what he has learned and the “base” can be removed (Ashman & Conway, 2002). Scaffolding

is an active participant in the progress of a learner in the zone of proximal development

although it is not part of Vygotsky’s theory. On the other hand, Schunk (2012) states that

this term comes from Bandura’s participant modeling technique, which steps are the same

as for scaffolding. There are two ideas that work along with scaffolding: the reciprocal

relationship between the student and the teacher in which the teacher provides the

knowledge and the student receive it. The second idea is the transfer of responsibility from

the teacher to the student in which the teacher starts making the hardest part of the job, and

then the student has to carry it gradually until he reaches the next level of the zone of

proximal development. It is imperative to point out the need for social interaction during

language learning since, through interaction, learners are able to acquire language structures

and natural language that they could not obtain by practicing in isolation.

The Faculty Development and Instructional Design Center of the University of Illinois

prepared a document setting the guidelines for using Instructional Scaffolding to Improve

Learning. In this document, they explain why and how to use scaffolds, supplementary

materials, guidelines for using scaffolding, how teachers should prepare to use them, among

other interesting ideas that will be developed in the next paragraphs.

Firstly, they explain the usage of scaffolding through a comparison with actual scaffolds

and how they are used for helping the learner to achieve his goal. In this way, the authors

of the article intend to demonstrate that the teacher in this type of activity needs to act as a

facilitator of knowledge. Later, they state some aspects that make it important to use
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scaffolding. In the first instance, they state that scaffolding is good since it provides a

“supportive learning environment” in which the teacher acts as a facilitator and learners can

rely on both, peers and teachers. According to the authors, scaffolding also permits learners

to participate more actively in their own learning as they need to be aware of their need for

progressing and realizing when they are not making more progress or may feel stagnated in

a certain topic. The authors cite Ellis and Larkin (1998) in order to provide a structure for

scaffolding. First, the instructor models the activity for the whole class. Later, they perform

the activity as a group. In the third aspect, students perform the activity in small groups and

lastly, the student will perform the activity individually, showing his knowledge and

capacity.

This document from the University of Illinois also present a chart, showing different types

of scaffolds as well as some example ways to use them in instructional settings. It

emphasizes the use of advance organizers, cue cards, concept and mind maps, examples,

explanations, handouts, hints, prompts, question cards and some others. The part that stands

out the most is the fact that this text provides classroom friendly examples that could be

easily taught to students.

This document also provides a series of steps that attempt to guide teachers to prepare for

using scaffolding.

This document also goes through the benefits and challenges of using Instructional

Scaffolding. Some of the main benefits are that it challenges students through deep learning

and discovery as well as it engages students in meaningful and dynamic discussions in small

and large groups. It also pushes students to become more critical students while they obtain
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an individualized instruction since in scaffolding it is important to pay close attention to

each one of the participants separately. On the other hand, some difficulties for preparing

scaffolding are the following: Preparing scaffolding is very time consuming. It also requires

knowing students very well in order to customize their classes according to their needs.

Another important difficulty is that teachers most know when to eliminate the scaffold so

that their learners would not depend on it in the future.

In our Panamanian classrooms, as well as in any classroom around the world, teachers deal

with a wide variety of intelligences and learning capacities. Using scaffolding is especially

important in this environment, since it allows students to work along and to develop their

skills following the directions of their peers. In this way, learners become able to create

their own knowledge from those explanations given by their classmates and with the help

of the teacher as a facilitator.

Taking as basis the Public-education classroom in Panama, it is possible to use scaffolding

in any kind of activity applied in class, due to the fact that classroom arrangement, and the

teaching curriculum allows to use different types of strategies, the only thing needed is the

will of the teachers to go beyond and start giving opportunities to their students for

interacting.

In the private sector, however, it could be more difficult since private institutions, most of

the time, sell parents a specific and specialized idea for language learning, which many

times restricts the methods teachers can use in their classrooms and therefore, may leave

out students with other intelligences.

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In spite of these difficulties that teachers may face, it is necessary to point out that,

notwithstanding the restrictions of any specific educational system, teachers can always

make certain modifications in order to reach the final purpose of education, which is to help

their students to learn.

2.1.2. Learning happens in context: Content-based instruction

Teaching a second language must be meaningful for the students. This is something that

has been stated by several linguists and scholars throughout time. Following their ideas,

one term has arisen as part of this theory for providing context to teaching; it is Content-

Based Instruction (CBI). According to Kasper, Babbitt, Mlynarczyk, Brinton & Rosenthal

(1999), there are several theories that support CBI such as: Krashen’s Comprehensible Input

Hypothesis, Cummins’ Two Tiered Skill Model, and the Cognitive Learning Theory. In

their work, they explain that Krashen (as cited in Kasper et al, 1999) exposed the differences

between language learning and language acquisition. Krashen (1982) stated that language

learning “refers to conscious knowledge of a second language, knowing the rules, being

aware of them, and being able to talk about them.” It is the way in which, many people start

speaking a second language. People go to university or take language courses in order to

learn the grammar and rules of a language, in this case, English. On the other hand, the

same author expresses that language acquisition is “a subconscious process”. In this sense,

Krashen states that acquisition is similar to the process in which children obtain their first

language. The learner is not aware of being obtaining proficiency, however, becomes able

to communicate with others and has a “sense” of correctness for grammatical structures.

Likewise, Krashen (1982) emphasizes the importance of providing comprehensible input

to language learners so that they can progress in the language acquisition process.
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Comprehensible input is related to his Input Hypothesis (Krashen, 1982), in which he states

that learners will acquire language if they are provided with appropriate input plus a certain

addition of new material, what he calls i+1. Kasper et al, therefore use this theory to support

their idea that contextualized, language curricula using meaningful and comprehensible

input will enhance language acquisition. On the other hand, Kasper et al (1999) describe

the Two Tiered Skill Model of Cummins, as a model for language acquisition, which is

divided in two stages. Reiss (2004) described these stages as Basic Interpersonal Language

Skills (BICS) and Cognitive Academic Language Proficiency (CALP). The former refers

to the skills a speaker uses for daily communication and interaction with others. It is social

language. This is usually obtained within six months and three years, in the case of children

learning English. On the other hand, CALP refers to the language used for academic

purposes, that is, to perform in a classroom environment in which students are constantly

prompt to think critically and exert cognitive functions. It is academic language. The

importance of recognizing the differences between these two tiers is the fact that, Content-

based Instruction (CBI) would require the use of both skills in a classroom environment so

that students become proficient interpersonally while the course also emphasizes the

academic curriculum.

In addition, Kasper et al (1999), highlight the importance of the Cognitive Learning Theory,

specifically of scaffolding used for introducing Content-based language instruction, by

introducing the theory of O’Malley & Chamot (as cited in Kasper et al, 1999), with their

Cognitive Academic Language Learning Approach. This approach used the principles of

the Cognitive Learning Theory (namely, the cognitive stage, associative stage and the

autonomous stage) applied to second language classes and mixed with content subjects such
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as History or Science, all of this, using scaffolding for introducing the new material so that

students could progress in both, content as well as language skills.

Using all three theories that were the bases for the research made by Kasper et al (1999),

readers can observe that the common factor is the fact that learning must be contextualized

for learners in order to gain their interest. This fact not only focuses on avoiding using

explicit grammar as the base of a language course (always keeping in mind that grammar

is an extremely important part of language learning), but on providing appropriate context

to language classes. In Panama, with new school programs such as Panama Bilingüe in the

public sector, Access after school programs, or specialized teaching programs in Private

schools such as the Fit for English program of the American Society of Communications,

classes make emphasis on meaningful topics, provide academic subject classes in English

or combine both, language and academic courses in one; teachers have a wide variety of

examples to apply in their classrooms.

Teachers must keep in mind that, many times, students are not interested in studying a

language, however, they may be interested in understanding songs, movies, interviews of

their favorite artists, and they can do this by knowing a second language. Then, it is the

responsibility of the teacher to use those interests in favor of their language classes and

obtain the best possible results from it. Even though the main purpose of teaching English

is not to prepare our students for tests in other subjects; and this is not what is intended by

applying ideas such as using Science to teach English, it is part of the purpose of this subject

to help students to become proficient English speakers in the future and it can make it easier

for them if they gain life-long learning through contextualized classes.

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Teaching English should be addressed as education itself. Teachers should want their

students to learn English because it will help them to become better professionals, because

a second language opens doors in a globalized world, because English is the most spoken

language worldwide, not because they need to pass the course, or because they want to enter

college. Teachers must educate the new generations to be interested in learning more

languages, to explore the world and to open their eyes and see that there is so much more

beyond what they see on their social networks or in television.

2.1.3. Students must think critically. Critical Thinking

Critical thinking is a subject that has been broadly studied and it is in decay in the last

generations. With the rise of internet and online solutions to everything, the ability to

research and analyze has decreased exponentially in our earliest generations who can find

everything a click away. In order to define what critical thinking is and how important it is

to improve language learning, the definition of this term will be discussed next.

In order to define critical thinking, Paul and Elder (2007) express that critical thinking is “a

mode of thinking –about any subject, content or problem-in which the thinker improves the

quality of his or her thinking, by skillfully analyzing, assessing and reconstructing it.” The

word reconstructing is crucial for this definition, since it links critical thinking to the

constructivist learning approach. Paul and Elder continue saying that “critical thinking is

self-directed, self-disciplined, self-monitored, and self-corrective thinking.” In this part, he

asserts that to think critically, the subject must be able to construct and analyze on his own,

what he has been working on. With this statement, they assert, once more, the belonging of

critical thinking to this field of learning. On the other hand, Phan (n.d.) states that there is

no specific definition of what critical thinking is. He states that the first person who used
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the term was John Dewey, who coined it as “Reflective thinking”. Dewey (1933, as cited by

Phan) describe reflective thinking as “active, persistent and careful consideration of any

belief of supposed form of knowledge in the light of grounds that support it, and the further

conclusions which it tends”. This definition is similar to critical thinking because it requires

analysis of a set of ideas in order to decide whether to believe them or not.

Considering that the aim of this portfolio is to provide a guide for future teachers, it is

necessary to present some case studies in which critical thinking has been successfully

applied in a language classroom. It is the case of the study prepared by DeWaelsche (2015)

in Korea, in which university level students with an intermediate and advanced English level

were prompted to participate in small group discussions using higher-order questions of the

upper level of Bloom’s taxonomy in order to observe their participation in Critical Thinking

activities. The researcher found that Korean students seemed to be very reluctant to

participate in this type of activities so he decided to use the following procedure. He made

students aware of the study since the start of the semester and included critical thinking and

Bloom’s Taxonomy language in order to familiarize them with the topic. In addition, the

researcher gave students the opportunity to group with those students they felt more

comfortable with, in order to lower class anxiety. Students participated in the group

discussions, which were recorded by the teacher using different types of higher-order

questioning and answering those questions provided by the professor. In the results, this

researcher found that, despite there is certainly some resistance from the students to

participate in this type of activities, in most of the cases it was due to lack of language ability

or difficulty to understand the material. In addition to this, students answered a survey

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providing positive feedback towards critical thinking and higher-order questioning classes

and their importance. DeWaelsche (2015) concluded that:

There were many examples of quality, critical responses to higher-level questions;

there were many examples of students actively engaged in student-centered learning

activities; and there were many examples of student success. Although some

students struggled in the present study for the variety of reasons discussed above,

the majority of participants succeeded, and many of those excelled. […] Korean

students want to see a shift to more active learning activities that involve critical

thinking in the classroom. As this study has demonstrated, Korean students are ready

for such an approach. (p. 145)

It is important to point out that this study also prompts the implementation of student-

centered classes, which is something not common either in Korea or in Panama. Student-

centered classes are part of this philosophy of education and will be discussed further in this

chapter.

Continuing this statement, the ability of students for analyzing and grasping the most

important parts of a subject is of great relevance for nowadays education. Teachers must

encourage and enforce them to use, instead of rote methods, real learning activities in which

students’ cognitive capacities are drawn on. Here is where the Socratic Method or Critical

Thinking enters. Critical thinking makes students distinguish whether they can believe or

not what teachers, classmates or other people say and also to produce their own ideas and

expose those thoughts with capacity to defend their point of view. Applying this way of

teaching improves Panamanian education as well as it creates a new generation of thoughtful

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people with real knowledge and discernment. The importance of this project is to enforce

students to use their critical thinking in classes so they can really acquire and apply

knowledge. For this purpose, it is vital to understand how critical thinking improves learning

as well as the roots of the problem of lacking of critical thinking in Panamanian students.

Most Panamanian students prefer to memorize instead of analyzing. This attitude creates a

gap in learning because it eliminates all chances of acquiring long-lasting knowledge and

becomes problematic when the student has to face new situation in which he is asked to

present a personal reasonable point of view. Here, teachers witness how scholars fail

subjects in which they have to think thoroughly to give responses though they might do great

on those that use rote learning. Knowing the basis of the problem, teachers will be able to

solve it by encouraging critical thinking since earlier studies, in this way; scholars will

acquire knowledge that will remain for not only a day, but also a lifetime. Critical thinking

involves choice making, analysis, evaluation and inference. It is important for our students

since it will motivate them to investigate, comprehend and understand what they are

studying, and, consequently, enjoy learning.

2.1.4. What happens at home does not stay at home: Affective Filter
Hypothesis

As professionals in the education field, it is necessary to consider every factor that can

influence on the capacity or willingness of students for learning a second language, or for

learning in general. This statement refers to those family or social issues in the environment

of the student that influence their performance at school and how teachers should approach

them. Considering this, it is relevant to highlight one of the theories presented by Stephen

Krashen in his Principles and Practice in Second Language Acquisition. The affective filter
 18

hypothesis (Krashen, 1982) states that affective factors may influence in the ability of an

individual to acquire a language, thus this filter acts as a mesh in the process of language

acquisition, hindering the capacity of the student for second language obtainment when his

affective filters are high. Krashen bases his theory on the studies made by Dulay and Burt

(as cited in Krashen 1982). Du (2009), explains that:

There are also some affective factors in language learning that are like a filter which

filtrates the amount of input in learners’ brains. People with high affective filter will

lower their intake whereas people with low affective filter allow more input into their

language acquisition device. (p. 162)

This shows that external “affective” issues can influence negatively in the language acquisition

process. Following this idea, Krashen stated three main factors that influence on the affective

filter. First, motivation plays a very important role for the student of a second language. As

teachers, it is important to know which are the factors that make students want to learn that

second language and to encourage them by presenting positive aspects of the second language.

Students with lack of motivation are not willing to participate in class, to pay attention or to

deliver their tasks, even if it represents to fail a subject. This lack of motivation leads to other

factors presented by Krashen. Self-confidence is also an intrinsic factor that affect students

since, people with low self-esteem or lack of confidence are not willing to engage in social

interaction and, therefore, it hinders their ability to practice their linguistic skills. Self-

confidence can also be affected by social factors such as bullying, lack of attention from parents,

students living in social risk environments, and others. In order to build students’ self-

confidence, teachers must use encouragement and praises. The third factor coined by Krashen

is anxiety. It is a very important aspect in the educational field since, when students are anxious,
 19

they are not open to receive new knowledge because their minds are focused on the problems

that are causing such anxiety. Family economics, violence, or lack of attention are real problems

that students carry to the classroom and that cause anxiety in them. Likewise, class anxiety

(communication apprehension and test anxiety as explained by Du, 2009) represents a high

impact on the performance in language classes since students with communication apprehension

are not eager to speak or feel extremely nervous of communicating in public as well as test

anxiety can hinder the students’ results even when they could have studied and prepared for

such test. Colombo and Furbush (2008) state that any negative emotion can activate the affective

filter, thus, their comprehensible input is blocked and students are not able to comprehend or

use language efficiently. The same authors recommend to use small-group activities and

meaningful topics in order to lower the affective filters since this type of activities allow students

to speak and use their language skills while they are still comfortable in a controlled

environment, not as exposed as in front of the class.

Teachers must address the affective filter in the current educational system in Panama since it

will allow students to perform better in the language classroom. In this sense, it is important to

improve motivation and to know the background of our students. When teachers have the chance

to begin working in a new school, it would be ideal to make parent meetings and to see how

parents and students interact in order to recognize any family issue that could be occurring. This

does not mean, in any way, that teachers are supposed to make personal decisions about the

students’ lives, but to pay attention to how these factors are affecting the development of the

students at school and to make changes in their classes to increase motivation and decrease

anxiety. In the same way, teachers need to help students to work in their self-confidence for

producing language by giving appropriate feedback, encouraging interaction and praising good
 20

performance. Students need this kind of feedback that they may not receive at home or from

peers. In addition, teachers need to work on creating an environment of confidence and trust so

their students can talk to them about things that can be causing issues and therefore, affecting

their skills. Regarding anxiety, teachers can do many things in a different way in order to reduce

anxiety levels. Those times in which the teacher was the center of the class and students were

there to learn quietly and sitting are gone. Nowadays, students need to be involved in their

learning process, and this helps to reduce their anxiety levels since they can learn through fun

activities. When discussing the affective filter, teachers need to remember that our purpose is to

facilitate learning to our students and to do so; we need to take care of every aspect that can

affect them negatively and turn it into something positive.

2.1.5. Learning in groups is learning for sure: Cooperative learning

Following the idea presented in the previous point about the changes in the new era of teaching,

we need to consider that everything changes and education is one of those things that require

constant improvement and evolution. Throughout the career of every teacher, there have always

been different teaching theories such as behaviorism, cognitivism and constructivism, which

opened the door for many revolutionary methods to approach education. As different theorists

such as Bruner, Vygotsky and others have stated, learning is a social process, and in this process,

people require interaction in order to learn a second language. Then, other theorists have stated

that learners can actually learn from one another and with others. This idea started the concept

of cooperative learning.

According to McCafferty, Jacobs, and DaSilva (2006) cooperative learning is the result of

student-student interaction. This interaction can be difficult for teachers at first, but it provides

good outcome with appropriate strategies. In order to apply cooperative learning, it is necessary
 21

to consider several factors such as positive interdependence, individual accountability, face-to-

face interaction, appropriate use of collaborative skills and group processing. Positive

interdependence refers to the ability each member of the group has for contributing to each

other’s learning. McCafferty et al (2006) consider that “positive interdependence encourages

cooperation and a feeling of support”. Individual accountability on the other hand, relates to the

responsibility of each group member for the whole group’s learning. Face-to-face interaction

refers to the interaction occurred among group members in which every team member is

benefited with feedback, challenging reasoning and conclusions, and they have the opportunity

to teach and encourage each other (Felder and Brent, 2007). For appropriate use of collaborative

skills, learners develop teamwork skills so that they can improve the way they work as a team.

Finally, in group processing, the group reflect on their work, prepare goals and plan necessary

changes for future effective work. These authors state that in order to have cooperative learning,

all of these elements must be present in teamwork.

In order to explore the uses of cooperative learning in the classroom, some structures coined by

Dr. Spencer Kagan will be presented. Dr. Kagan had two definitions for structure: first, he said

that a structure is an instructional strategy that describes how the teachers and students interact

with the curriculum and second, a structure is content which is free and repeatable (Mohammad

and Mahinpo, 2012). Teachers use these structures to create their classes; the good thing about

these structures is that they can be used, as the learners may need them. Next are explained some

of the 150 structures prepared by Kagan.

 Think-Pair-Share - The teacher gives a question to the class. The students think about

their answer, pair, discuss their ideas, and finally share those ideas with their other

classmates.
 22

 Rally table – Students work in pairs within larger teams. Students will take turns writing

on one piece of paper or completing a task.

 Numbered Heads Together - Students within the team number off from 1-4. The teacher

asks a question and the students put their heads together to discuss the answer. The

teacher randomly calls a number and from each team the student with that number writes

the answer on the team response board.

 Showdown - Each student writes his answer on his individual response board. When

everyone in the group is ready, the leader says "Showdown" and team members compare

and discuss their answers.

 Teammates Consult - Students all have their own copy of the same worksheet or

assignment questions. A large cup is placed in the center of each team, and students

begin by placing their pencils in the cup. With pencils still in the cup, they discuss their

answers to the first question. When all team members are ready, they remove their

pencils from the cup and write their answers without talking. They repeat this process

with the remaining questions.

 4S Brainstorming - Students in the group have roles: Speed Captain (prompts more

ideas), Super Supporter (encourages/recognizes all ideas), Synergy Guru (encourages

members to build upon one another's ideas), and Secretary (writes ideas). Members carry

out their respective roles while the team generates a variety of possible responses.

(Kagan, 1994)

Even if a teacher is not aware of these structures, they have certainly used many of them in class

at least once because they are extremely helpful for group activities. Using cooperative learning

in our environment can help in different ways to increase the interest of students in the English
 23

language. It is important to remember that learning needs to be fun and that, students must feel

related to what they are learning. Cooperative learning helps with this since it prompts group

interaction and active work. This kind of activities promote positive feelings in students and

reduce test anxiety since, professors can assess students in ways that make them feel so

comfortable that they will forget they are presenting a test.

Each one of these statements presented above have provided a piece for my teaching philosophy,

which was described at the beginning of this chapter. Next, reflection on each one of the courses

of the Master’s Degree will be presented.

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2.2. Reflection about each one of the courses of the Master’s Degree

From each one of these courses, we have been able to draw conclusions and learn new and better

ways to teach, but also to reflect on our reality and challenges.

2.2.1. Language Acquisition

Professor: Aleojin Rios – June 2016

Language acquisition is a complex process for both, first and second language; therefore, it

has been studied since many years ago, by so many scholars looking for answers to their

most profound questions about human learning and our abilities to obtain knowledge. The

study of different learning theories in this subject was very helpful for us in order to regain

that knowledge we had acquired during the bachelor’s degree and was underlying in our

brains since it was not being used. The Language acquisition course also presented a

perspective of what we should expect from this Master’s degree and it was positively

surprising. The methodology used in the course was very stimulating and accordant with the

timeframes for every class. From this course, I could take many things but mainly, the fact

that every theory regarding language acquisition has given room to new teaching methods

that facilitated our methods for learning and teaching nowadays. After this course I am able

to openly discuss the advantages and disadvantages of teaching theories such as

behaviorism, cognitivism, interactionism, constructivism and others and not only that, but I

am able to provide evidence to my point of view. The study of language acquisition for

language teachers is imperative and it is something that must be mastered by teachers.

Finally, these theories look for the same goal: understanding human learning and making

this process easier in language acquisition.

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2.2.2. Grammar Aspects of TESOL

Professor: Modesto De Leon – July 2016

Teaching grammar seems to be a very difficult task for most English teachers and,

nonetheless, many teachers want to focus their classes towards grammar. Why does that

happen? During the Grammar course I of the Master’s Degree, we discussed important

aspects that regulate the internal grammar of individuals and how those aspects modify

the ability to produce language. One of the most interesting topics for me was conscious

and unconscious learning.

Following Stephen Krashen’s hypothesis of language learning and language

acquisition, we could understand that a language is acquired through a, most of the time,

unconscious process of getting used to a set of implicit rules without being actually

aware of the process undertaken to obtain such rules. In this way, the person

“unconsciously” is able to reproduce a set of correct grammatical structures without

being aware of how or why these rules work in such manner. Moreover, for most of the

language speakers it is not necessary to be grammarians or know all the grammar rules

in order to speak such language. When the person is aware or “conscious” of the process

undertaken and why and how the rules are established, we are talking about language

learning. I studied many grammar rules at school and university, however I am just able

to quote a few of them, nonetheless I use most of them correctly, so in spite a had an

explicit teaching of these subjects I am not able to use that explicit knowledge and I go

to my implicit knowledge acquired through life experiences with readings, books or

exposure in general to the language to produce a correct grammar. From this course, I
 26

take the need for teachers to stop using grammar as a shield or a wildcard for teaching

and to teach our students to love grammar and its importance.

 27

2.2.3. Sociolinguistics

Professor: Aleojin Rios – August 2017

The study of how social factors influence the linguistic performance of an individual

has been one of my favorite subjects in this master’s degree. This course provided an

outstanding point of view about language learning from the social point of view and it

let teachers know some factors that are not considered and that can hinder the ability of

students. During this course, I learned about the influence of gender, social class,

ethnography and many other factors that can influence the chances of a person for

learning a new language. It was shocking to me that still in our days, there is gender

discrimination and that, in some countries, women are not free to learn the way men

are. Language variations have always been of my interest and in this class, I had the

opportunity to see their influence in language learning. When we consider the things

that define the variations of a language, there are social characteristics to consider.

Style, for example, refers to the different ways in which a language is spoken depending

on the setting, and by setting, we might be referring to the geographical or the social

context. In addition, we need to consider the formality of speech, that is, what type of

language we use in different situations. It is not the same to talk to a friend, than saying

a public speech. Likewise, we do not use the same language when we talk to a little

baby than that language we use with adults. For this, there are domains, which are the

means in which these variations occur. Social aspects of language are extremely

important to set our classroom for different type of students and all of these

characteristics of language learning related to society allows us to understand how to

help our students learn English according to their own environments.

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2.2.4. Teaching English through Literature

Professor: Yessenia Ferrabone – September 2016

Finding different methods for teaching English is always a challenge, but the use of

literature can involve so much more than just reading books. In this course, we learned

and practiced innovative ways to prepare English classes using literary material. We

created classes out of images or book covers, newspaper articles, slogans and

advertisements. The most important part here was to realize that, regardless of the

teaching environment and whether we have many or no supplies, there are always

methods for teaching fun and innovative classes.

In this course, we also highlighted the need for providing comprehensible input since

we needed to prepare meaningful classes that would be relatable for our students. One

of the most relevant aspects for me was the fact that, instead of talking about American

or international holidays, we can always prompt our students to talk about Panamanian

holidays and this will certainly be more appealing for them since it relates to their real-

life experiences. In this course, we also explored the use of TPRS (total physical

response storytelling) and other literary aids that are helpful for teaching.

In my case, as a beginning teacher, this course was an excellent opportunity to start

creating lesson plans and classes. I also had the chance to receive feedback from my

peers and I think that is especially necessary for me.

I can certainly say that the objectives of this course were fulfilled because at this time,

I feel confident to prepare a class that uses any type of literature and I know that my

students will enjoy that class.

 29

2.2.5. Theory and Practice of TESOL

Professor: Ana Palencia – October 2016

The subject Theory and Practice of TESOL gave me the chance to get immersed in the

world of teaching as never before. In this subject, I learned many teaching theories and

strategies and I enjoyed it so much. I feel much influenced by this class for my future

teaching practice and I think I will apply many things from here. One of the most special

things I want to apply is Communicative Language Teaching. Communicative language

teaching is a teaching approach that has been around for a long time. Only using

communicational methods to teach English might be very challenging, taking into

account that most of our students will not be used to speak in a second language, which

makes them lose confidence and turns into a problem for the teacher. Studying about

the CLT approach was really interesting for me because I could see that it is not only

focused on spoken communication, and that we can actually merge different types of

communication in our classes and make them more appealing to our students. I was

most of the time taught to learn grammar structures but when it referred to perform in a

spoken way, it was not easy for me. Since this approach as any other approaches, have

weaknesses, it is important that we make arrangements in order to mix up different

strategies and, in that way, we will be able to gain confidence and practice their English

in a communicative way.

The most relevant parts of this class in my opinion were the creation of the ABC book

because all of them were different and beautiful, and the use of Kagan’s structures for

Cooperative learning. These two are things that changed the way I saw teaching and

that I will definitely use in my future teaching practice.

 30

2.2.6. Linguistic Development and Interpretation

Professor: Fernando De Leon

In this subject, we discussed the differences between first and second language

acquisition and aspects that affect language learning. For first language acquisition, it

was interesting to learn how the lack of one language skill may hinder the development

of other language skills. This is the case of deaf people. However, and it is very

interesting, they can learn sign language as their first language. In my opinion, deaf

people have the same capacity as any other person to acquire a language; they only need

something that fit their needs. Similarly, people with other type of disabilities like Down

syndrome, autism or specific language impairments, have different results towards

language. While the former have physical abilities, they are almost equally capable of

producing standard language than any other person, whereas people with language

impairments look physically well, but they are not able to communicate appropriately.

On the other hand, regarding second language acquisition, there were some facts that

mainly caught my attention. Some of the individual differences that contribute to

language acquisition are aptitude and motivation. First, a person can have all the

capacity or tendency to learn a new language easily, however, the motivations to do it

will play an imperative role. In this field, we can discuss the different reasons that can

make a person want to learn a second language. There are extrinsic and intrinsic

motivations; nonetheless, intrinsic motivations will be the most important since they

come from within the learner. In addition, I consider that, despite we have what

Krashen calls a “monitor” in our brains that helps us observing some mistakes that we

may have while producing our second language. It is certainly easier for a learner to
 31

have someone to rely on when they feel anxious or unmotivated and this is why the

newest learning theories consider the teacher as a facilitator.

 32

2.2.7. Grammar aspects of TESOL part II

Professor: Fernando De Leon – January 2017

After finishing the course, there are some things I want to point out that had made me

see my teaching approach in a different way. In addition, I want to say that I have

learned so many different things from my classmates.

First, having the experience of preparing a class using the SIOP model has opened my

mind to a new set of possibilities. Right now, I am considering teaching particular

classes for adults. In this sense, I have to point out my interaction with my classmates

who gave me some advices on how to approach an adult audience since I used to be

very friendly and, sometimes, it is not too helpful when, at the beginning, we must be a

figure of authority for our students. I also learned that, every class is different and thus,

we need to look for different ways to approach different situations. I must say that, due

to this course, I have realized the real way in which I want to teach my students in the

future. I do want them to manage grammar; I just do not think it will be the center of

our classes. There are countless ways to teach implicit grammar and make learning

meaningful for ELLs and, to me, it is more important than knowing the grammar points

if the person only needs English as a complement for his life.

Other thing I want to point out is how we improved our way to approach our students

since class 1 to class 4. Realizing that using grammar all the time could be confusing

even for us, made us look for different methods to make our classes more interactive

such as games, puzzles, crafts, etc. all of this considering the level of our students.
 33

For me, it has been a great experience and really made me love teaching again, knowing

that I can achieve my goals and actually change the lives of others by leading them in

their way to acquire such an important tool for their future as a second language is.
 34

2.2.8. Phonology

Professor: Ricardo Benitez – February 2017

Knowing how to teach pronunciation to our students is imperative for us as English teachers

to actually have an impact on their lives.

I want to highlight some aspects of the course that I consider are key for teaching

pronunciation to our students and that have made an impact on the way I see this area of

language. First, I want to point out the importance of word stress that we may have not seen

before. Sometimes, when we acquire a language, we do not realize the way in which we say

things and how, the stress we put onto certain words or syllables, convey a different meaning

in different cases. This is something I consider imperative for teaching since, learners must

be aware of how important it is to stress words properly in order to be understood. Stressing

words properly will help our students to be more confident when speaking since they will

communicate in an easier way with native or non-native speakers of English.

Teaching pronunciation must be an element to be included in our courses using all the

techniques we have learned in this course. Our students will become more confident and

proficient in English while we will be able to apply new methods in our classes and make

language more meaningful for our students. In my opinion, the sole fact of making language

meaningful can make the difference between loving and hating a subject. I consider that

being able to speak a second language, in this case, English, and being understood by a

native speaker, is a great motivation for our students and that this, will make an impact on

their lives and this is why we must put our greatest efforts on teaching pronunciation.
 35

2.2.9. Use of Technology in TESOL

Professor: Isabel Cubilla – March 2017

Technology, in the 21st century, plays an imperative role in education. Professors need to be

updated with the latest tendencies and be knowledgeable about social media and other media

that may help students learn better. Especially in language education, technological

interaction opens doors for learning but it all must be filtered by the teacher. In this course,

we discussed technological tools for education such as conceptual maps online, podcasts,

Voicethreads, Webquests and Wikis. The use of Webquests and Wikis was especially

important for me because these are fun activities and can be easily applied to real classrooms.

I think wikis are great tools to share content but also to create new contents and allow our

students to build their own learning. In my opinion, in university level, I could make my

students make up a database of English terms that may be difficult for them and put

definitions and related words that can make it easy for them to remember such terms, that,

at the same time, would be related to their respective fields of study. In the creativity area, I

would use the wiki for creating stories in which, each student would provide a piece of

information and at the end, have the class discuss on the conclusion of the story. In regards

of safety, I think it is important to keep in mind that, most of the time, we work with kids

and that we need to protect them from the dangers they may face online, this is why we

should always keep these wikis private, or avoid uploading pictures, addresses, or even full

names of our students.

A wiki plays a very important role in a modern classroom since, as I said before, it allows

students to share their knowledge, clarify meaning, and build up their own learning and in

my opinion, making students independent learners is the future of education.

 36

2.2.10. Research Methodology

Professor: Maria Dantas – April 2017

In this course, we discussed about different research traditions, paradigms and methods. The

professor gave special emphasis on classroom-based research, which is the main one for our

profession. The professor gave us ideas to read critically and interpret research documentation

appropriately for including it in our research projects. In this subject, we had the chance to work

with a foreign professor. This allowed us to have a different perspective of research and how it

is done abroad. In addition to prepare a research proposal, we reviewed the most important

aspects of research and saw very interesting ideas for research work. As a current translator

seeking to start in the teaching environment, I decided to research about the use of cognates in

translation but also how to apply that to the English classroom. We reflected on the steps applied

to prepare a research and discussed the different obstacles that would affect in the development

of our proposals. Most of us agreed that time is always one of the biggest issues when preparing

research. In addition, in our Panamanian reality, it is hard to find appropriate material in English

for making research; therefore, English teachers have very short options to make research. We

can buy expensive books, look for content online, or translate documentation from Spanish to

English in order to use them. Research is important in order to get to know the type of education

strategies that can be used in our classrooms and obtain better results.

Language learning in our country can be improved by using all the tools we have acquired in

this Master’s Degree. If every teacher uses this knowledge in their classrooms, in a few years,

we could begin a whole new generation of students who are able to think critically, create their

own knowledge and most importantly, enjoy language learning.

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2.2.11. English for Specific Purposes

Professor: Fernando De León – May 2017

In the first class of this course, we discussed several aspects of TESOL as well as we

reviewed some terms we had used in previous courses. As I am not currently teaching, I had

certain expectations on this subject. I really wanted to understand how this teaching world

works and what are the best methods for me to achieve my goal to be an excellent university

teacher of English. Following this idea, I can say that in this first class, I discovered some

interesting aspects of teaching that I had not seen before the way I see them now. First is

classroom management. As I am new in this environment, there are some terms that seem

too abstract to me, and this is one of them. However, I understood that classroom

management is simply how we arrange our classrooms and set our classes so that this setting

is suitable for enhancing the learning process of our students. In my own reality, this applies

for me as a translator and how I lead my team at work, how I should prepare the setting for

them to work properly and be like sponges from knowledge and now I truly believe I will

be able to apply it when I start teaching. Another term that was key for me in this class is

cooperative learning and how it relates to student-centered learning. Even though, it is used

in the teaching environment, I think we as adults sometimes do not pay close attention to

how we learn through our mates in any type of environment and how it also applies for

education. Despite it seems key for us as language professionals that, in order to acquire a

language, we need that person-to-person interaction, we still see students learning verbs by

heart and making written exercises on the verb to be and so many other situations that do

not prompt the actual use of communication in English.

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2.2.12. Theory and Practice of TESOL

Professor: Amalia Vasquez – June 2017

In this course I was able to realize what classroom management deals with and that it is

actually a concept that does not need to be that complicated. It is important to point out the

relevance of providing clear instructions and to set up the classroom properly depending on

the activity that will be carried out. In the first presentation, we also saw topics such as

cooperative learning and motivation. I consider that cooperative learning is a very important

tool for teaching since it allows our students to complement each other in the classroom and

in that way they would be able to learn more and correct themselves by mirroring on their

partners. In the second class, we discussed student-centered learning and how it is used in

our Panamanian environment. Student-centered classes should be the standard in our

country since it allows our students to be involved and create their own knowledge, however,

in my opinion, Panama seems to be far from achieving that goal due to the

underdevelopment of our educational system. Nonetheless, as teachers, we have the power

to make punctual changes on our classes in order to go towards that goal. For example, we

can try using our students’ background knowledge, life experiences and, in short, make

classes meaningful and appealing to them. Regarding multiple intelligences, I find this topic

very interesting since it allows us to observe education from a different perspective.

Knowing that everybody has different types of intelligences helps us as teachers to create

our classes considering that our audience is completely different from one another and that

we have to move around and do things differently. For me, one key idea in this class is the

repercussions that, not considering the intelligences of our students can have in their future.

I personally think that this is a key point for improving our society since people would be
 39

able to discover what their actual vocations are, and thus it would help reducing

unemployment or even creating new job positions.

Finally, for the workshop, I was a little bit anxious at first because I am not familiar with the

teaching environment, and having to discuss about something I do not know is very

challenging to me, but at the end of the preparation of the poster, I realized that I had actually

learned something and it made me feel accomplished. In short, this course had made me see

teaching from a different perspective and start understanding how it works.

 40

2.2.13. Curriculum Design

Professor: Nancy Osorio – July 2017

As a beginning teacher, many things about education are new for me. At the beginning of the

course I was not even clear on the definition of a teaching curriculum, however, throughout its

development it slowly became clearer for me. Professor Nancy gave us real life examples about

the curriculum preparation and how important it is to give appropriate lessons and to plan our

classes. In this course, I learned about different types of curricula but the one I liked the most

was the student-centered curriculum. In this type of curriculum, it is very important to consider

the experiences of the student and use them to make learning meaningful for them. A child-

centered curriculum would need the involvement of factors that are appealing for the group

considering factors such as their ages, backgrounds, likes and others. In this curriculum, it will

be imperative that children feel related to the topics and participate in the creation of the

curriculum by helping the teacher in creating the content. It does not necessarily need to look

like class; it is supposed to be fun and relatable. The application of a romantic design requires

well-focused students that are able to lead their own learning without any framework provided

by the system. This design may seem flawed, as it does not require assessment; therefore, there

would not be evidence on how students are actually grasping the material, which may also

become a factor of stress for the learner. In the humanistic design, we focus on the personal

development of our students and how their feelings and basic needs may relate to their learning

so that, by fulfilling such needs, they are willing to learn. We consider that this design is closely

related to the affective filter and may be useful in social risk environments, as we would also

focus on the needs of the students while we encourage learning and personal development. For
 41

experience-centered design, we need to focus on how to create experiences, or expose our

students to new experiences so they can learn from them.

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2.2.14. English Language Teaching Assessment

Professor: Mayra Rios – August 2017

Regarding this subject, I would like to make some insights based on how tests assessment

methods may be affecting our students. Last year, some students at Universidad Latina were

subjected to an English test to pass their Master’s degree. Instead of them being interested

in the results of the test, all their anxiety was poured into doing it fast, no matter what type

of results they would get. There are two reflections I want to take out of this anecdote. First,

the fact that students made these tests just to get out of the way causes a big margin of error

when our English level is being evaluated. Second, the fact that the tests were given under

a stressful situation and that this affected on the students’ performance. What happens when

we try to test the English level at High School or lower levels? The same thing. There are

different types of students and all of them may react in different ways, but one thing that

will really affect their decisions will be the motivations they have and their anxiety levels.

When our students feel safe and motivated they will make better decisions. Now we will see

how this applies to self-assessment on second language acquisition.

As I mentioned before, self-assessment prompts the participation of students in their learning

process. This happens, as the student is able to think over his own learning and testing his

capacity to perform in the second language. This also allow students to think how the

language can apply to real situations in certain environments. One thing I found very

interesting about self-assessment is that it is not necessary to be done in the classroom and

that, this is something we, as adults, continuously do, especially when we are studying a

postgraduate degree. It is my thought that adults are great self-assessors since we tend to
 43

rely more on our critical thinking and observe things from the outside, which helps us to see

what we are doing well and what can be improved.

Another relevant fact is that self-assessment can also be used in other cases in addition to

placement. We as teachers use self-assessment practices when we make our students correct

their and their classmates’ practices. Self-assessment provides a precise report on the ways

our students are performing in the language and how they can improve without adding stress

to them by leaving freedom of choice. The student will decide when, where and until which

part he will complete a self-assessment test, confident that he will do it well to the extent of

his ability. This is why I find self-assessment so useful, because, in addition to enhancing

language use and reducing anxiety, it works on the student’s motivation to participate in his

acquisition process.
 44

2.2.15. Professional Practicum

Professor: Amalia Vasquez – September 2017

For me, this was a very interesting and enriching experience since it allowed me to work

with students in the target classroom I want to have in the future. Despite I was not able to

teach the whole group because most of them were absent on the day of my practicum, I saw

their interactions on the day of my observation. I definitely liked this experience because, as

I mentioned above, it gave me the chance to see how these students in this environment work

along and let me see what could be my future as a teacher. Comparing this teaching

experience to what I planned at first as a micro class, it was completely different since in a

micro class we work with an idealistic classroom in which our students are supposed to

know everything we want and need them to know in order to give a successful class.

However, when we go to the real life, most of the time not all of our students prepare for

class, read the materials or do the homework so we need to go back and review things

repeatedly, which hinders our goals. Undoubtedly, the practicum is closer to what I expect

to be my life as a university level teacher, although I expect to have larger groups than the

one I worked with. In my practicum, I expected to have a full classroom and, on the contrary,

I only had one student so it definitely changed things for me. Despite this, I consider that

my only student was really engaged in the class, she participated as I expected her to do, and

in short, she fulfilled my expectations. One of the disadvantages of having only one student

was that I could not have larger discussions in class, but the help of my supervising teacher

was great so that my only student had someone to support her during class discussion. If I

do this type of practice again, I would use more some skills such as reading and writing and
 45

maybe, as a teacher, I would give written homework so they can produce at home and

exercise their critical thinking skills.

 46

2.3. Research Proposal

2.3.1. Research Topic: Spanish Lexical Interference in Translation into
English: Cognates in Translation.

For this research proposal, I am interested in studying the advantages and disadvantages of

using cognates in translation by applying a survey and analyzing translations performed by

Panamanian translators. Studying the use of cognates by these professionals is a very

important subject of study as it may show how these cognates are used in the process of

translation and thus, it may help linguists and teachers in the understanding of acquisition

of English as a Second language. I consider this is a relevant subject to language acquisition,

as this study will intend to show a specific characteristic of interlanguage, which is language

transfer or L1 interference, and how it may help or hinder the learning process.

2.3.2. Objectives:
This research will seek the following objectives:

 To detect techniques used by professional translators for using English-Spanish cognates

in their translations.

 To observe the use of false cognates in translation and how translators avoid them.

 To determine the main forms of cognates used in translation by preparing a chart divided

in grammar points.

2.3.3. Research Question:

- How do expert translators use cognates in translation in order to enhance

understanding and facilitate the translation process?

- Do false cognates have an important impact on translation?

 47

- What are the main types of lexical transfer used by Spanish speaking translators in a

daily basis?

2.3.4. Literature Review

For this research proposal, I have decided to refer to the work of two important authors

in the linguistics area. First, I am going to resort to Agustín (2010), who prepared her

work on variables affecting lexical transfer in writing. This work is relevant to this

research as it intends to explain the influence of cross-linguistic in the lexis of learners

in the process of language acquisition. This paper also refers to the use of such transfer

in composition, which is the type of communication used in translation and thus, is

relevant for this research since it will establish some features that affect transfer from

L1 to L2 and how this process occurs for different type of learners in their writing skills.

The second paper then is more related to the use of cognates in translation. Tercedor

(2010), prepared a document on the use of cognates as a choice in translation. In this

document she studies the choices made by students of translation when given a non-

restrained text to be translated and proposed that, based on the research of other authors,

such as Toury (1995), translators would rather avoid using cognates in order to prevent

the use of false cognates. In this research I will rely on the results of the aforementioned

researches, however, this document intends to observe whether, in Panama, cognates

are used as a helping tool for translation and whether there is negative transfer in daily

translations made by professionals.

 48

2.3.5. Research Site and Participants

This research will be conducted in The Republic of Panama via internet and personally

in Panama City. For this research, I have decided to use triangulation of methods in

order to obtain more reliable outcome, which will be discussed in the next point. The

study will be applied to a section of the certified translators who are registered in the

Panamanian Translators and Interpreters’ Association, APTI (for its Spanish acronym).

Among these participants, I have decided to focus this research on English to Spanish

translators and some variables such as their years of experience and their method of

acquisition of the language will be considered in the analysis of the data that will be

obtained from this research and that will be binding for the expected answer to my

research question. For this, I will use a convenience sampling method in which, during

one of the activities of the association of translators and interpreters, I will approach at

least 30 translators from English to Spanish in order to obtain a representative sample

of the whole population. Then, I will apply the survey and will finally ask them if they

would agree on providing a sample translation in order to conduct an analysis of such

document to identify the use of cognates during the translation process. It is important

to point out that additional 5 translators will be surveyed in order to consider the gap of

no respondents. I expect to have participants from all ages and backgrounds therefore,

I am sure that answers to my survey will be very varied and rich. After I had obtained

the results of this research, I have decided to include such results as a publication in the

newsletter of APTI for all participants to have access to it and to contribute to the shared

knowledge of the association. This can also be an interesting subject of study in regards
 49

of the use of cognates in other language pairs that could be started by another translator

from the association.

2.3.6. Data Collection Method

For this research, as I have mentioned before, I will use a triangulated method. First, I

will apply a survey to the members of the Panamanian Association of Translators and

Interpreters and, after that, I will prepare an analysis of five sample translations

provided by participants of the survey or, if applicable, by selected translators who are

legally enabled to give such documentation for research purposes. For the survey, I will

apply a 20-question survey, which will include questions about knowledge of the term

cognate, years of experience, to describe area(s) of expertise, and open-ended questions

that may let the translators to provide a customized answer that can lead us to understand

better this phenomenon. In regards to the document analysis, I will apply a rubric that

will be included in the appendix to this document. In such rubric, I will observe different

aspects such as proper use of cognates, punctuation, semantic aspects of cognates,

among others. The purpose of using these two types of data collection methods is to

consider different types of information that are relevant to the research.

2.3.7. Data Analysis

For my data analysis, I have decided to use the following procedure: First, I will

determine the different variables appearing in the answers to the questionnaire from the

participants. In this part, I will use color markers to observe the different ideas related

among each other. In addition to this, I will use a method of recording my voice while

analyzing the data in order to have a register of possible thoughts that can arise in the
 50

moment of reviewing the translations. For translation review, I will use color-coding

for cognates, red sticky notes for false cognates and blue sticky notes for true cognates.

I will also have additional colors for other patterns I may find during the analysis.

After this, I will start making interpretations on the data outcome, which will be

presented in writing and by using the rubrics explained in the data collection part. In

order to improve the trustworthiness of this study, I will use peer examination.

2.3.8. Potential Obstacles and Proposed Solutions

During this research, I expect to face several obstacles. First, the application of the

questionnaire to so many translators would be something difficult to do since they are

usually very busy and many of them work from home, however, I intend to apply this

questionnaire during a meeting of Association of Translators, which will make more

feasible for me. I will also look for sponsorship in order to give incentives to my

participants, using discount coupons. Other obstacle I foresee will be the timing, since

doing all these questionnaires will take time and thus, the analysis of all that information

will be long. In addition, analyzing these translations will also take time in order to do

a deep work. For timing, I intend to prepare the rubric in order to have an idea of what

I am looking for, but not limiting myself to new findings.

 51

2.3.9. References:

Agustin, M. (2010). An Overview of Variables Affecting Lexical Transfer in Writing: A Review

Study. International Journal of Linguistics.

Tercedor, M. (2010). Cognates as Lexical Choices in Translation, Interference in Space-

Constrained Environments. Target 22:2. (pp. 177–193).

2.3.10. Appendices:

A. QUESTIONNAIRE – These are five (5) sample questions for this questionnaire.

1. Do you have a background in studying English as your professional career?

2. Do you use Spanish-like words in your translations into English?

3. These words are called cognates. When you listen to this word, what comes to your mind?

4. Please give me an example of how you would use cognates in one of your translations.

5. What do you think about using cognates in translation?

 52

B. RUBRIC FOR ANALYSIS OF TRANSLATION

COMPREHENSIBILITY (Using check marks √)

1. Easy readability
2. Grammatical mistakes
3. Usage of technical or specialized terminology
4. The document is easily understood at first glance
5. How many times have I seen cognates in this document
6. Syntax error
7. The translation contains false friends (words used mistakenly due to their
similarity in another language)

ACCURACY

1. The translation preserves the meaning of the original document.

2. Sentences or words have been accurately translated (there is not incongruence with
the rest of the text).
YES NO
1. Did the translation include all the charts, tables, graphics of the
document? (if requested)
2. Did the translator miss important information or marks?
3. Did the translation preserve the style of the original document? (If
requested, in case of certified translations).
4. In your opinion, did the translation comply with its objective?

If you found mistakes in the translation, please classify them as ADMISSIBLE, MAJOR or CRITICAL.

Observations or comments:
 CHAPTER III

METHODOLOGY
 51

3. Methodology and Design

3.1. Methodology

For the completion of this portfolio, a descriptive design has been applied, since different

strategies, techniques, opinions and reflections are portrayed in this document and such

characteristics define the education philosophy presented in chapter II. With the purpose of

achieving the objectives proposed at the beginning of the research, a qualitative methodology is

applied, highlighting those aspects on the study that cannot be counted e.g.: reflections,

philosophy of education, research proposal; all of this, throughout the preparation of this

teaching portfolio. This portfolio is prepared with the aim of contributing for future English

teachers or English language students; so its objectives seek to have a practical use. It is an

analytic study since in-depth observation and reflection has been done to achieve the research

objectives. It is a basic research, since it compiles data with the purpose of showing the

experience of the researcher and to provide examples of outstanding data throughout such

experience.

3.2. Results

In order to prepare this portfolio, several documents were compiled and reflected on. The

different objectives were intended to be fulfilled as follows. The general objective was

accomplished since the portfolio describes in its chapter II several teaching tools, strategies,

experiences and ideas acquired in the Master’s degree. Regarding the specific objectives,

teaching statements that define the teaching philosophy presented in chapter II were stated

and developed. These statements were supported with appropriate theories and examples

and they planned to provide a guidance for future teachers. In the second part of Chapter II,

an analysis of the contributions of each one of the courses of the Master’s degree to my
 52

philosophy of teaching was done, contrasting different aspects discussed in class with real

life situations and our Panamanian reality. In addition, in the same line, reflection was made

on the performance as a future teacher based on the different teaching activities performed

in the different courses and the teaching practicum. The research proposal intended to

propose new methodologies for teaching English as a Second language by applying cognates

to teaching. In this way, personal experience in other professional fields related to language,

such as translation, is used as a means to let those professionals incur in the teaching area.

Finally, and throughout the development of these reflections and statements, conclusions

were made about Panamanian education and the usage of new teaching strategies in the

system was suggested.

3.3. Management Plan and Proposal

In this section, the target audience for this portfolio and the importance of developing a project

of this kind will be discussed. In this sense, the need for teaching portfolios in our educational

system is discussed as well as the contributions this type of work provide for both, the system

and the professional teacher himself.

3.3.1. Viability

The teaching portfolio is generating significant interest as a developmental, reflective and

evaluation tool for lecturers and it is an essential part of the teaching development in Higher

Education (Developing a Teaching Portfolio: 2001). Preparing a teaching portfolio allows

to present a perspective of the teaching philosophy of every new teacher and his experiences

during his learning process. It also allows the professional to self-criticize his performance

during such learning process and to observe his achievements and obstacles to overcome. A
 53

teaching portfolio also allows displaying the methodology of the teacher and how other

teachers who want to follow this example or who may like any specific part of the portfolio

can apply this methodology.

3.3.2. Scope

This project is designed for future teachers and/or students of the English School who are eager

for learning new teaching methodologies and who want to know the perspective of other

professional in the teaching field. It aims at providing appropriate examples, tools and

experiences for future teachers so they can relate their personal experiences to those described

in this portfolio.
CONCLUSIONS
 55

CONCLUSIONS

The culmination of this portfolio permitted to establish the following conclusions based on

the initial facts and the results previously stated:

 Through this portfolio, new teachers will have the possibility to have access to teaching

tools, strategies, experiences and ideas that would help them in the beginning of their

own professional career as teachers in a developing field as education in Panama.

 The philosophy of teaching presented in Chapter II of this document shows different

teaching statements related to several teaching strategies and tools that have benefited

the students of the Master’s program and will benefit future English teachers.

 By analyzing the contributions of each course taken during the Master’s, there has been

room for making conclusions about this type of Master’s Degree and the type of final

project as a teaching portfolio. The usage of this type of assessment tool allows the

student to self-assess his or her own performance and achievements during a certain

timeframe and therefore is a good tool for evaluation.

 Through the research proposal presented in the last part of chapter II, it has been
proposed to use friendly and modern methodologies for teaching English, and that would

allow the students to relate their knowledge of their mother language to their second

language by using cognates.

 Additionally, through the use of reflection on each subject, it was easy to make
observations and self-criticism on personal beliefs and performance as a beginning

teacher. The opportunity to participate in a real classroom was also crucial for reflecting

on the teaching philosophy and which should be the expectations of a teacher when

participating in a university class.

 56

 The Panamanian educational system still has a long way to go but small changes from
every teacher can contribute to improve the quality of education received by our children

and adult students. The projects under progress will plant the seed for future generations

of teachers to continue working the ground and harvest the fruits of this enormous effort

carried out to train tomorrow’s teachers in a Second Language, in order to obtain a

bilingual education for all.

RECOMMENDATIONS
 58

RECOMMENDATIONS

For further use of this type of evaluation tools, it is important to:

 Use longer timeframes for the preparation of the second chapter since this type of

compilation requires the participant to take time for reflection and to find appropriate

sources that support his ideas and opinions.

 Using teaching portfolios as assessment tools is a very interesting way to observe the

performance of education students. It is recommended to use specific topics about

teaching that could be developed by the students in order to obtain richer and more

specific educational material.

 The issue regarding availability of sources in English or difficulty to find appropriate

bibliographic material can be solved by using the University’s online library or by citing

online books. There are also many research papers online that can be helpful for specific

topics, it will all depend on the ability of the author to find his theoretical framework.

 In order to prepare appropriate reflections, it is important to file, if possible, all of the

materials discussed during the classes so it would be easier to have access to it at the

time of preparing these reflections.

REFERENCES
 60

REFERENCES

Ashman A. F., Conway, R. N. F. (2002). An Introduction to Cognitive Education: Theory and

Applications. London: Routledge. Retrieved from:

http://dl.bookos.org/genesis/416000/7368c2724e688f70ec6a2d4fc52911f0/_as/[

Adrian_Ashman]_An_Introduction_to_Cognitive_Educa(Bookos.org).pdf

Colombo, M., & Furbush, D. (2008). Teaching English language learners: content and

language in middle and secondary mainstream classrooms. Los Angeles, CA: SAGE.

DeWaelsche, S. (2015). Critical thinking, questioning and student engagement in Korean

university English courses. Department of English Language and Literature, University

of Suwon, 17 Wauan-gil, Bongdam-eup, Hwaseong City, Gyeonggi-do 445-743, South

Korea.

Du, X. (2009). The Affective Filter in Second Language Teaching. Asian Social Science. (5) 8.

p. 162-165.

Ellis, E. S., & Larkin, M. J. (1998). Strategic instruction for adolescents with learning

disabilities. In B. Y. L. Wong (Ed.), Learning about learning disabilities. San Diego:

Academic Press.

Felder, R.; Brent, R. (2001). Effective Strategies for Cooperative Learning. J. Cooperation &

Collaboration in College Teaching. 10(2), 69–75. Retrieved from:

http://www.ncsu.edu/felderpublic/Papers/CLStrategies(JCCCT).pdf

Kagan, S. (1994) Cooperative Learning, San Juan Capistrano: Kagan Cooperative Learning.
 61

Kasper, L., Babbitt, M., Mlynarczyk, R., Brinton, D., & Rosenthal, J. (1999). Content-Based

College ESL Instruction. S.l.: ROUTLEDGE.

Krashen, S. (1982). Principles and practice in second language acquisition. Pergamon Press

Inc.

McCafferty, S. G., Jacobs, G. M., & Christina, D. I. (2006). Cooperative learning and second

language teaching. New York, NY: Cambridge University Press.

Mohammad, A. & Mahinpo, B. (2012). Kagan Cooperative Learning Model: The Bridge to

Foreign Language Learning in the Third Millennium in Theory and practice in language

studies. 2(6). P. 1134-1140. Retrieved from:

http://www.academypublication.com/issues/past/tpls/vol02/06/06.pdf

Paul, R., Elder, L. (2007). Consequential Validity: Using Assessment to Drive Instructions.

Foundation for Critical Thinking. Retrieved from: www.criticalthinking.org

Phan, M. N. (n.d.). Ability to Think Critically. University of Phoenix. Retrieved from:

http://es.scribd.com/doc/125806815/7326371-Ability-to-Think-Critically

Pritchard, A., & Woollard, J. (2010). Psychology for the Classroom Constructivism and Social

Learning. New York, NY: Routledge, Taylor and Francis.

Reiss, J. (2004). Teaching content to English language learners: Strategies for secondary

school success. United States: Pearson Education, Inc.

Schunk, D. H. (2012). Learning Theories: An Educational Perspective. Boston, MA: Pearson

College Division.
 62

Tucker, P. D., Stronge, J. H., & Gareis, C. R. (2013). Handbook on teacher portfolios for

evaluation and professional development. New York, NY: Routledge Taylor & Francis

Group.

Wood, D., Bruner, J., & Ross, G. (1976). The role of tutoring in problem solving. Journal of

Child Psychology and Child Psychiatry, 17, 89−100. Retrieved from:

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1469-7610.1976.tb00381.x/epdf
 63

ANNEXES
 Table of Contents (Appendix)

Annex A: Prepared Lesson Plans and Curriculum

Lesson Plan: English for Engineering Students………………………………………….3

Lesson Plan: Practicum – Translator’s Professional Ethics...…………………………….6

Curriculum – Phonetics I...……………………………………………………………….8

Annex B: Rubrics

Speaking activity: Persuasive Speech………………………………………..…………21

Speaking Activity No.2 ………………….…………………..………………...……….22

Writing Article: Newspaper article.…….………………………………………………23

Writing Article: Anecdote Writing…………………………………….……….………24

Annex C: My ABC Book

My ABC Book………………………………………………………………………….27

Speaking Activity No.2 ………………….…………………..………………...……….22

Annex D: Practicum Pictures

Pictures………………………………………………………..……………………….39
 ANNEX A

Prepared Lesson Plans and Curriculum

 3

Lesson Plan for Engineering Class

Subject: General English Level: Intermediate Date: 09/16/2017

Topic: Present perfect vs Simple past – The

Expansion of the Panama Canal
Teacher(s): Katherine Velasquez Target Group: 3rd year - Engineering

Content Objectives: Language Objectives:

(standards in student’s friendly language) (stated in student’s friendly language)

PWBAT:
Describe activities occurred in the past
that still have influence in the present
using by reading an article about the
expansion of the Panama Canal and its
relevance to infrastructure projects in
Panama as well as watching a video about
the huge infrastructure project for this
expansion.
Key Vocabulary: infrastructure, ships,
expansion, waterway, transshipment, roll-on video, handouts.
roll-off, megastructure, locks, cargo
capacity.
PWBAT:
- Read the article: “We are just Getting
Started” by the administrator of the Panama
Canal.
- Share ideas on the benefits of the
expansion of the Panama Canal in terms of
engineering.
- Watch a short version of the documentary:
Megastructures: Panama Canal Unlocked
about the Panama Canal Expansion Project.
- Write down a comparison between the
changes in the infrastructure of the canal to
match the requirements of larger ships
following the model provided by the
professor and present it to the class
preparing a brief Powerpoint (5 slides max).
Materials: projector, speakers, computers, article,

Higher – Order Questions: How has the Expansion of the Panama Canal affected the infrastructure
development in Panama? What are other projects in Panama that will mean an outstanding
challenge for infrastructure? Have you considered enrolling in the infrastructure environment in
your degree?
 4

Activities:

Building Background
Links to Experience: Students will be asked about their current knowledge on the expansion of the
Panama Canal, using key questions that will include present perfect tense and simple past.
Example:
Have you ever been to the Panama Canal Expansion?
Have you visited the Panama Canal Museum? When was the last time you went there? Who was with you
that time?
Have you participated in an infrastructure project? What did you do?
Students will be prompted to use present perfect and simple past in their answers.
Links to Learning: Students will read the article “We are just Getting Started” by the administrator of the
Panama Canal and will be prompted to observe, in trios, the differences when using present perfect and
simple past with the guidance of the professor (present perfect and past tense will be underlined). Note
that students will not be told about the tenses; instead, they will be made aware of the difference in
meaning when using one or the other structure.

Key Vocabulary: infrastructure, ships, expansion, waterway, transshipment, roll-on roll-off,

megastructure, locks, cargo capacity.
 5

Time: Student Activities:

2 1/4 hrs Scaffolding:  Modeling  Guided  Independent
Grouping:  Whole Class  Small Group Partners  Independent
Processes:  Reading  Writing  Listening  Speaking
Strategies:  Hands – on  Meaningful  Linked to Objectives

Pre-stage
Icebreaker: Students must say what they have and have not done. T starts by stating: “I
have done something”. Those who also have done what T said stand up /move forward one
place (depending on size of the classroom). For example: T ”I have never worn my T-shirt
inside out by accident” (Students who also have never worn a T-shirt inside out stand up)
(10 minutes)
During stage
Students will read the article “We are just Getting Started” by the administrator of the
Panama Canal and will be prompted to observe, in trios, the differences when using present
perfect and simple past with the guidance of the professor (present perfect and past tense
will be underlined). Note that students will not be told about the tenses; instead, they will be
made aware of the difference in meaning when using one or the other structure. (30
minutes)
Then, students will share ideas on the benefits of the expansion of the Panama Canal in
terms of engineering. They will discuss which are some of the observable milestones in
engineering of this achievement. This will lead the way to the next part of the class. (20
minutes)
Students will watch some excerpts of the documentary: “Megastructures: Panama Canal
Unlocked” about the Panama Canal Expansion Project and they must takes notes. (Around
30 minutes including pauses for comments).
Beyond stage
Students will write down, in pairs, a comparison between the changes in the infrastructure
of the canal to match the requirements of larger ships following the model provided by the
professor (using present perfect or simple past as required). Then, each pair will present
their own comparisons through a brief PPT presentation (5 slides max.) (45 minutes)
 6

LESSON PLANNING
Subject: Translator’s Professional Ethics Level: Advanced Date: 09/23/2017

Topic: External Knowledge: The client’s point of

view
Teacher(s): Isabel Cubilla Target Group: 4th year – Bachelor in English with major
Participant: Katherine Velasquez in Translation

Content Objectives: Language Objectives:

(standards in student’s friendly language) (stated in student’s friendly language)

PWBAT: PWBAT:
Discuss traits that are important in a translation, - Discuss aspects of a translation that are important
from the client’s point of view. for the translator and those that are important for the
Prepare hypothetical solutions to translation issues client
that may occur in their professional lives - Share ideas about translation and translator’s
reliability, translation timeliness and cost
- Watch a video about the use of CAT tools and share
ideas about it
- Elaborate a case of translation in which there are
issues on: reliability, timeliness or costs.
- Present the case to the class with appropriate
solutions to the case
Key Vocabulary: cat tools, reliability, timeliness, Materials: projector, speakers, computers, chapter 1 of
trade-offs, internal knowledge, external the book: “Becoming a translator”, video.
knowledge, faithful translation, retelling,
literalism, foreignism, fluency, summary,
commentary, summary-commentary, adaptation,
encryption, creative translation/interpretation.
Higher – Order Questions: Based on what you know, how would you explain the importance of reliability of the
translator? How would you justify the use of CAT tools? How would you decide when to use a CAT tool as an aid for
a time-constrained translation request?
Activities:
Building Background
Links to Experience: Participants will be asked about what they consider is important for a “good” translation from
the client’s point of view.
Links to Learning: Participants will discuss how their options relate to those traits included by the author of the book.
 7

Key Vocabulary: Cat tools, reliability, timeliness, trade-offs, internal knowledge, external knowledge, faithful
translation, retelling, literalism, foreignism, fluency, summary, commentary, summary-commentary, adaptation,
encryption, creative translation/interpretation.
Time: Student Activities:
2 1/4 hrs Scaffolding:  Modeling  Guided  Independent
Grouping:  Whole Class  Small Group Partners  Independent
Processes:  Reading  Writing  Listening  Speaking
Strategies:  Hands – on  Meaningful  Linked to Objectives
Pre-stage
Ice-breaker: Teacher writes 3 sentences on the board. 2 Sentences are correct 1 sentence is false.
Students must ask questions to try to find 'holes' in the teacher's story. The students must decide as
a class which sentence is false. (5 minutes)
60 minutes During stage
The facilitator will present a PPT to prompt students to discuss aspects of a translation that are
important for the translator and those that are important for the client. (25 minutes of teacher-talk)
Then, students will share ideas about translation and translator’s reliability, translation timeliness
and cost. (25 minutes student-talk)
Students will watch a short video (approx. 3 minutes) about the use of CAT tools and answer the
following questions:
- What do you think about the use of CAT tools?
- When do you consider it is necessary?
- Is it ethical to use them?
- Would you charge below market values for reviewing a software translation? Is it ethical or
unethical? (15 minutes approx.)
45 minutes Beyond stage
After reviewing class material, students will elaborate a case of translation in which there are issues
on: reliability, timeliness or costs. (20 minutes)
Present the case to the class with appropriate solutions to the case (20 minutes)
Exit ticket: To finish the class, we will take the last 5 minutes to answer the following questions in a
post-it and stick it on the board before leaving class:
After this class, what would be the most important aspect of translation ethics for you?
Two adjectives that describe the class
One word that stood out for you
(5 minutes).
 8

Curriculum Design
NAME OF THE SUBJECT:
Phonetics I

Quarter: 2

Code: LIT-6 Credits: 3

Theory hours: 1 Practice hours: 1.15
Pre-requisites: No
SUBJECT DESCRIPTION: This course is an overview on the Speech
sounds of English and it involves different aspects that will help the student
understand how sounds are produced in English and also the difference
between consonant sounds which involve voicing, points of articulation and
manner of articulation. In this course students will also review the
phonological aspects of the language, namely, the phonetic symbols.
Students will also be introduced to the transcription of phonetic symbols.
GENERAL - To understand the functioning of English
OBJECTIVES: speech process by observing the different
points of articulations and the phonetic
symbols of this language, focusing on
consonant sounds.

SPECIFIC - To distinguish the points of articulation

OBJECTIVES: used in the production of the English
language.
- To compare the different sounds of speech
used in the English language.
- To identify the phonetic symbols of the
English language
- To use the phonetic symbols for
transcription of consonant sounds.
CONTENTS:
I. What is Phonetics
II. Consonant sounds
a. Classification of Consonants
 9

i. Voicing
ii. Points of articulation
iii. Forms of articulation
III. Phonetic Transcription of consonant sounds
a. The International Phonetic Alphabet and mid-sagittal sections
METHODOLOGY:
- Using media (Internet websites) to explain and expose students to
English sounds of speech.
- Using handouts to classify phonetic symbols and practice
transcription
- Using charts to identify the points of articulation where are produced
the sounds of speech

ACTIVITIES:
- Oral drills
- In-class workshops
- Solving face diagrams
- Tongue-twisters
- Sound identification (Listening activity)

RESOURCES:
- Handouts
- Internet
- Phonetic charts

EVALUATION:
Attendance: 5%
Assignments: 15%
Tests: 30%
Class workshops: 20%
Final Project: 30%
 10

BIBLIOGRAPHY & INFOGRAPHY:

http://www.internationalphoneticalphabet.org/ipa-sounds/ipa-chart-with-
sounds-flash-version/
International Phonetic Alphabet – Flash version with sounds

Knight, R. (2012). Phonetics: a course book. London: Cambridge

University Press.

Ogden, R. (2009). An Introduction to English Phonetics. Edinburgh.

Edinburgh University Press.

Roach, P. (2009). English phonetics and phonology: a practical course (4th

ed.). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
 12

ACTIVITY CHRONOGRAM
Wee Specific Objective Content Activities
k
1 To explore the - What is Phonetics? - Read the excerpt from the book “An
meaning of Phonetics introduction to English Phonetics” in
as a science and groups of three and solve the
discuss in groups its questionnaire provided by the teacher.
importance for - Briefly discuss the importance of proper
learning English as a pronunciation of sounds when speaking.
second language Provide examples.
- Assignment: Prepare a mind map using
ideas from the text to explain in your own
words, what is Phonetics.
2 To distinguish the - English sounds - Students will observe and pronounce
different sounds in classification words in English paying attention to
English language and - Differentiation between homographs and homophones which will
begin an introduction letters and sounds be briefly reviewed. Then they will take
to English consonant - Differentiating vowels some minutes to create their own
sounds and consonants examples. Using the book “Phonetics”,
- Counting vowels and students will differentiate the sounds of
consonants vowels and consonants in order to be able
to distinguish one from the other.
- Class workshop: Students will practice
creating CV structures from words.
 13

3 To examine the - Classification of - Students will pay attention to the way in

articulation of Consonant sounds which they produce sounds by
consonant sounds o Voicing positioning their hands in their throat in
based on their voicing  Voiced order to identify voiced and voiceless
classification and the  Voiceless sounds.
participation of the - Students will then observe the charts that
vocal folds in the explain the organs that participate in
process. speech and the position of the vocal folds
during the speech process.
- They will proceed to make some drills
with voiced and voiceless minimal pairs.
- Students will be introduced to the
different voiced and voiceless consonant
sounds with real examples plus their
phonetic symbols.
- Assignment: Using the worksheet
provided, students will try to identify
both, the phonetic symbol and whether
the sound is voiced or voiceless.
4 To analyze the - Classification of - Students will work in groups of two to
participation of Consonant sounds observe the articulation process by
different parts of the o Places of pronouncing different sets of words.
vocal tract in the articulation - Then, they will observe the articulator
articulation of sounds.  Articulators chart and will try to identify, based on the
 14

 Active and definition, which are the passive and

passive active articulators.
articulators - Assignment: Research in small groups
about the different points of articulation
and be ready to present two of them in the
next class.
Test No. 1: Classes 1, 2 and 3.
5 - To identify the - Classification of - Students will make oral drills for each
different places Consonant sounds place of articulation, using the list of
of articulation o Places of sounds belonging to each place of
used in the articulation articulation as presented in the speeches.
production of  Bilabial Class workshop: In groups, students will be
the English  Labiodental given a number of consonant sounds and then
language and  Dental they will create a diagram in which they will
how the are  Alveolar identify the points of articulation in which those
related to the sounds are produced. Answers must be
different supported.
consonant
sounds.
6 - To identify the - Classification of - Students will make oral drills for each
different places Consonant sounds place of articulation, using the list of
of articulation o Places of sounds belonging to each place of
used in the articulation articulation as presented in the speeches.
production of  Postalveolar
 15

the English  Palatal - Students will observe both, voicing and

language and  Velar place of articulation for each sound given
how the are  Glottal in class and develop a written practice in
related to the which they will match the consonant
different sound in the appropriate category.
consonant
sounds.
7 - To examine - Classification of - Students will observe the occurrence of
special cases in Consonant sounds special cases by making oral drills of the
which the places o Places of consonant /w/ at different positions in the
of articulation articulation words.
may work  Special - Students must prepare tongue twisters
differently. cases involving difficult consonant sounds and
present them in class in order to observe
the different speech phenomena.
- Students will also observe the occurrence
of other special cases and will discuss
whether those cases are common or not.
Assignment: Students will prepare a chart
dividing consonant sounds in the categories they
have learned in class up to now. Students will
provide examples doing transcription of only
consonant sounds.
 16

8 - To identify what - Classification of Test No. 2: Classes 4, 5, and 7.

is the manner of Consonant sounds - Students will discuss what a manner of
articulation and o Manner of articulation is.
those occurring articulation - Students will see the theory for plosives,
in the English  Plosive fricatives and approximants and their
language.  Fricatives related sounds.
 Approximan - Students will prepare sentences and
t and lateral practice them orally using the sounds for
approximant each category.
s - Students will observe the difference
between final /s/ and /z/ in nouns and
verbs and practice some drills.
Assignment: For next class, students should
bring a short paragraph showing the difference
in final sounds.
9 To identify what is the - Classification of - Students will present their short
manner of articulation Consonant sounds paragraphs taking care of noticing the
and those occurring in o Manner of difference in sounds considering the
the English language. articulation previous class theoretical explanation.
 Affricate - Students will observe the characteristics
 Nasal of the MOAs and their corresponding
 Obstruent sounds. Oral drills will be used per each
 Sonorant MOA.

10 To identify what are - Classification of
some manners of Consonant sounds
articulation that, even
though do not occur in
English, are important
for comparing foreign
accents or languages
and are necessary for
17
- Students will now enclose the previous
categories into obstruents or sonorants
according to the theoretical material
provided by the teacher.
Class workshop: In groups, students will
prepare a chart dividing consonant sounds in the
categories they have learned in class up to now,
including word examples with the
corresponding transcription of its consonant
sounds, only. Each member of the group should
present at least one MOA and the consonant
sounds that belong to it with their examples.
Students should be ready to support their
answers.
- Students must bring their charts for next
class.
- Students will discuss the use of these
MOAs and whether some of them occur
o Manner of in their native language.
articulation - Students shall provide examples of words
 MOA not that may use these types of MOAs in
found in English. Through media, we will listen to
English examples of uses of trill in English.
 Trill
 18

further understanding  Tap

of the IPA.  Latera
l
fricati
ve
11 -To analyze how - The International Phonetic - With their charts, students will now be
consonant sounds are Alphabet Chart exposed to the actual International Phonetic
presented in the Alphabet chart.
International Phonetic - Students will compare and contrast their charts
Alphabet. with the IPA. Answer: How are they different?
And similar?
- Students will now be able to classify
consonant sounds from the combination of the
key features, that is, MOA, POA and voicing.
- Students should solve the worksheet that
provides sound classification (MOA, POA and
voicing).
Class workshop: Students will prepare an IPA
chart, only using transcribed word examples
instead of the phonetic symbol for each category
and will present their charts to class.
12 - To develop face - Mid-sagittal diagrams or - Students will practice drawing face
diagrams from face diagrams diagrams in copies given by the teacher.
 19

the theory given - Students will afterwards fill out face

in class. diagrams with the information about the
consonant that is being represented in the
diagram and vice versa.
13 - To drill on face - IPA Chart and Mid- - Students will improve their face diagrams
diagrams and sagittal diagram which will require to categorize the
location of sounds in the diagram with the three key
consonant features (Voicing, POA and MOA).
sounds in the
IPA chart
14 - To practice the - Manner of articulation, Test: Classes 8 to 13.
transcription of IPA Chart and Mid- - After the test, students will work on
consonant sagittal diagram consonant transcription through dictation
sounds in - Consonant transcription of words. They will only transcribe the
English. consonant sounds. For vowel sounds they
will use the letter V, from the CV
structure.
15 - To review the - All the content of the - Students will work on transcription of
material semester sounds, the IPA chart and face diagrams
presented during in order to be ready for the final test.
the whole
quarter and
solve doubts.
ANNEX B
Rubrics
 21

Speaking Activity
Task: Persuasive Speech Name:_______________ CLB Level:_12°_
Objective: Students will be able to present a persuasive speech on their favorite
movie gender. They will be assessed on use of persuasive language, content
and style of delivery. Speeches need to reference specific examples and connect
with the argument. Speeches need to be a minimum of 3 minutes long and no
longer than 5 minutes.

Criteria for Performance Comments Rating

Indicators
Content

Introduction - Introduction not only 1 2 3 4 5

introduced the speech, but got the
audience's attention.

Body – organization, in-depth details,

and included a variety of details (facts, 1 2 3 4 5
stories, specific examples, etc.)
Persuasive language techniques used well
and effectively.

Conclusion – Speech ended with a 1 2 3 4 5

lasting impression.
Argument - Student fully stated and
defended their argument. Speech contained 1 2 3 4 5
at least two well defended pieces of
evidence and each had a logical connection
to the argument.
Style
Voice - Effective volume, diction, rate, 1 2 3 4
and expression were used. 5
Appropriate pauses were used.
Eye Contact - Eye contact with the 1 2 3 4
audience throughout whole speech. 5
Body language - Stood straight, 1 2 3 4
hand gestures emphasized, facial 5
expressions matched speech mood.
Total /35

Comments on original rubric: The original rubric for this class was very
broad, so I decided to
frame it into a topic that could be meaningful for high school students.
 22

Speaking Activity
Task:________________ Name:_______________ CLB Level:__11°____
Objective: Students will be able to discuss about likes and dislikes for
work. They will work in pairs and present orally their work choice for their
partner, based on the activity “Likes and Dislikes at Work”.

Criteria for Comments Rating

Performance
Indicators

Fluency- Smooth and 1 2 3 4

fluid speech; few to no
hesitations; no attempts
to search for words;
volume is excellent

Pronunciation and
accent – Pronunciation 1 2 3 4
is excellent; good effort
at accent

Vocbulary – Excellent 1 2 3 4
control of language
features; a wide range
of wellchosen
vocabulary
Grammar- Accuracy & 1 2 3 4
variety of grammatical
structures

Total /16

Comments on original rubric: The original rubric included a section for

detail which I
considered did not fit the capacities of students of this level so I decided to
shorten the
Amount of criteria and make it easier for them to understand how they will
be evaluated.
 23

Writing Activity
Task: Newspaper article Name:_______________ CLB Level:_10°___
Objective: Students will be able to create a newspaper article on important issues
occurring in Panama. This article must Include answers to the questions; who,
what, where, when, why and how. In addition, the article must have a headline and
illustration with caption.

Criteria for Comments Rating

Performance
Indicators

Important information: 1 2 3 4 5
The article provides information on
how and on all five Ws: who, what,
where, when, and why.

Writing mechanics:
Writing is descriptive, providing 1 2 3 4 5
detailed information. The writing
keeps the reader interested and
informed and is free of errors.

Headline, illustration 1 2 3 4 5
and caption. Eye-catching
headline, detailed illustration, and
appropriate caption are present.
Grammar and Spelling: 1 2 3 4 5
There are no grammar or spelling
errors present.
Effort and neatness: 1 2 3 4 5
Time and effort on the project is
apparent.

Total /25

Comments on original rubric: I decided to fit this assessment tool to our

Panamanian reality. With so many things happening around us, in different
environments, it is important for our
high school students to be updated and develop their writing skills. I also
decided to make
this paper for a higher level since the original rubric was addressed to
elementary school level.
 24

Writing Activity
Task: Anecdote writing Name:_______________ CLB Level:__12°____
Objective: Students will be able to write an anecdote about either the best
and/or worst advice they were ever given. This anecdote must be done in
chronological order, describe people and places in detail. Keep in mind to use a
style that keeps your audience’s attention and show interaction between
characters. Grammar correctness is expected.

Criteria for Performance Comments Rating

Indicators
Organization
The description has a stated 1 2 3 4
focus and clear and
appropriate organization,
such as spatial,
chronological, or order of
importance. Transitions
consistently help readers
follow the organization.
Elements of Description
The overall purpose is clear.
Many vivid sensory details 1 2 3 4
and apt comparisons help
readers visualize a person,
place, or event. All the details
relate to the central focus and
are appropriate to the
audience. the writer creates a
unique description that helps
readers share the
experience.
Conventions
Grammar, Usage, Mechanics, and 1 2 3 4
Spelling.
There are few or no errors in
mechanics, usage, grammar,
or spelling. Word choice is
consistently careful and
precise.
Entertaining Technique 1 2 3 4
 25

The writer successfully uses

an entertaining technique
while also telling about an
event.
Dialogue 1 2 3 4
The writer includes
appropriate information that
shows the interaction
between the characters of the
anecdote.
Total /20
Comments on original rubric: I decided to use this rubric for high school
level since it is requires to present a set of facts and consecutive ideas
which require a
Higher level of understanding. I consider that the original rubric included
very well all the information required for this type of activity.
 ANNEX C
My ABC Book
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
 ANNEX D
Pictures of the Practicum
 39

PICTURES FROM THE PRACTICUM

40