LEARNING, AGAIN?

I have learned a lot this week. The first thing I was reminded of is that learning happens
everywhere and it happens all the time. From the day we are born and until the day we die,
learning is the constant force that moves us through life. As a learner, this week I have learned
that I enjoy movement a lot. I love to read and study and hopefully that will never change;
however, I was always told to sit down, listen and work in silence. This week; on the contrary,
I have been asked to move around, stand up and work with people I hardly know. As a result,
I have been engaged in a new cycle, a new dynamics of learning. This week has been quite
an adventure and I love voyage and exploration. What will come for me as a learner for the
remainder of this journey? I hope lots of laughter, reflection, self-awareness and maybe one
or two new friends.
A quote I relate to very much from the ones we read this week is The real voyage of
discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes but in seeing with new eyes. by Marcel
Proust. I have been an English teacher for a long time and I feel this week I have been driven
to see learning with renewed eyes. I have been propelled to reconsider myself as a learner
and to remember what it feels like to be a full-time student after many years of being on the
other side of the mirror. It has been enriching and I am sure it will become very handy when I
go back to my context and to my teaching practice. I always thought about myself as a good
person who respected others and who was in general what you would call a nice person.
During this week in the course, I have had the opportunity to analyze myself and reflect about
my beliefs and paradigms about how people learn and how people relate to one another.
What is after all a good teacher if not someone who is able to show consideration and
compassion towards another human being who happens to need a helping hand at a given
moment? We should ponder on the fact that we are, at one point or another, that human
being in need of a helping hand. Perhaps empathy should become more a daily practice and
less a poster decorating the wall of one of my classes.
There are many theories about the way in which people learn and especially about how we
acquire language. If I could come up with the answer to those questions I would become a
millionaire and maybe I would be out of a teaching job in a short period of time. All the
theories about learning try to explain processes that occur in the brain of the learner. This
week I have been wondering if perhaps we should be looking more closely at what happens in
the heart of a person when he/she learns something new. Maybe we should be wondering
about how that learning can change a persons life and bring him/her closer to the person
he/she is meant to become. This week I learned about the motivation that drives a person to
learn a language and how that motivation keeps taking that person back to the classroom for
years, regardless of daily activities, distance, occupation or origin. I learned that we should be
questioning ourselves about our true role as teachers and stop being concerned so much
about standards or examinations.
DAPA 1
DESCRIPTION:
On Tuesday, during Korean class Roger asked us to practice the numbers by hiding one
hand behind our backs and then our partner had to guess that number. I was working with
Migue and even without saying anything, we agreed to show each other the number of fingers
we were holding as a way to confirm our answers. During one of Migues turns I tried to guess
what I thought was number three but he kept saying NO! NO! so he showed me his hand and
because of the way he was holding his fingers it could also be interpreted as a number zero.
What is wrong? I thought, and then when we realized what was happening we started laughing
and said both numbers. It was a confusing situation for which we could find a solution by
communicating in a non-verbal way.
INTERPRETATION GENERALIZATION PLAN OF ACTION
Something that hindered my
performance was that I had
never been exposed to Korean
before.
Yeah! Being exposed to a
foreign language for the first
time can be very frustrating.
I noticed that in your
description you talked about a
situation with Migue in one of
the activities. You mentioned
that there was a
misunderstanding between the
way he had his fingers and
what you interpreted; there
was nothing about not
understanding the foreign
language. This is why, I
cannot make a connection
between this interpretation and
the moment you described. In
It is important to be
exposed to the L2 as much
as possible when learning a
language.
I can make a clear
connection between this
generalization and your
interpretation. It is clear that
you have become aware of
the importance that
exposure has in language
learning.
I will provide my students with
plenty of oral practice so that
they feel confident when they
have to use the L2.
In your interpretation and
generalization you highlighted
the importance of exposure to
the L2. As Im reading your plan
of action, Im wondering if when
you said oral practice you are
referring to exposure to the L2
or to opportunities for students
to use the L2?
order for you to support your
interpretations with facts, it is
necessary to include as many
details as possible in your
description.
I was also hindered by the fact
that I was instructed not to use
English or Spanish to
communicate.
Sonia, in your description
there was no information
about this part of the
instructions. As a reader, it
would help me understand this
moment better if there were
more details provided.
It is necessary, sometimes,
to be flexible about the use
of L1 when teaching a
beginners class.
Couldnt agree more!
Especially when their
learning will benefit from
this flexibility.

I will try to remember that
students at beginner level
sometimes need to use their L1
for clarification of meaning.
Its nice to know you are going
to make an effort to remember.
I think it will be very beneficial
for your students learning.
What are some things you will
do to help you remember this?
What specific plan can you
think of to help your students
when you notice they need to
use L1?
Something that helped me
was that Migue and I were
really engaged in the activity
and we were able to negotiate
meaning by using body
language.
Good job! I can totally relate
this interpretation to your
description above! I remember
you mentioned you were
laughing and trying to get the
message across somehow.
It is essential to take
activities to class that will
keep students interested
and engaged.
Yes! Interest and
engagement are important!
Im wondering in what ways
keeping students engaged
and interested will serve
their learning. What do you
think?
I will include activities in my
classes that foster interaction
and that are interesting for my
students.
Nice! I cannot wait to see your
students benefitting from this
action plan.
Another thing that helped me
was that the class was very
relaxing and we could laugh
about our misunderstanding.
Good to know! I remember
reading about this in your
Students feel more
comfortable in a classroom
where non- threatening
atmosphere is promoted,
What a wonderful effect
can a safe classroom
I will work hard to promote a
non-threatening atmosphere in
my classes so my students feel
at ease participating in the
activities.
What would be one way in
description and also
remember seeing you all
having a good time in the
Korean lesson.
atmosphere have in
learning, right?

which you can promote a safe
classroom atmosphere?


DAPA 2
DESCRIPTION
On Friday, we were discussing our annotations about Lauras class which we had observed
the night before and I was pretty sure I had identified the Encounter stage in her lesson. When
Laura explained the reason why she had used a picture at the beginning of her class, it was
pretty obvious for me that she was activating prior knowledge and not presenting the
vocabulary as I had assumed. That moment helped me understand a little more the first stage
of the ECRIF framework.
INTERPRETATION GENERALIZATION PLAN OF ACTION
Something that hindered my
understanding of the new
framework is that I had just
recently been exposed to it.
I also find that it is not so
easy to grasp the idea of
new concepts the first time
we encounter them. There is
always a first time for
everything! What was it
about this experience that
really hindered you? Could
you describe it?
Sonia, it is hard to make
connections between this
interpretation and your
description above. There is
no information there that
supports the fact that it was
It is convenient to provide
students with many
examples of possible
applications for new
knowledge.
I agreeexposure and
opportunities for practice
make the difference when
learning new concepts.
How do you think the amount
of examples provided would
help students learning?
I will try to expose my
students to many examples
for every new structure or
vocabulary item we study.
Good idea! Im sure you will
be able to lower your
students frustration when
they encounter new
language.


the first time you interacted
with ECRIF.
My understanding of the new
concepts was hindered by
the fact that ECRIF is a new
framework for me,
completely different from
anything I had studied
before.
This interpretation is very
similar the previous one. Im
wondering if what hindered
your learning was the fact
that your previous
knowledge of other
frameworks led you to make
interpretations of the
purpose of the first activity of
the sample ECRIF lesson.
What do you think?
It is important to provide
students with many
examples of the new
structures being studied.
What are some of the pros
and cons of doing this in the
classroom?
I will expose my students to
the structure being
presented through different
sensory channels.
Wow! This sounds really
cool! Id love to get to know
one example of how you
want to do this.
Something that helped me
was that I had the
opportunity to observe Laura
using ECRIF and then we
could analyze it in class.
I can totally connect this
interpretation to what you
described above!
Students benefit from the
modeling provided by the
teacher.
You did a good job with this
generalization. It is both
connected to a part of your
description and the previous
interpretation.
I will provide my students
with modeling when giving
instructions for them to be
able to use the given
structures.
This sounds like a SMART
plan to help your students
get a better idea of the
concepts you want them to
learn
Another thing that helped me
was having different
strategies as a learner to
interpret the purpose of
having the picture at the
beginning of the class.
When I read this
It is important to help
students develop strategies
in order to interpret the
information given to them in
class.
Yes! I think those strategies
can help them even when
I will plan different activities
in an effort to help them
interpret relevant information
in and out of class.
I cant wait to see you in
action doing this
interpretation I couldnt find
information in your
description to connect to it.
they are not in class.

Everything happens for a reason.
The best is yet to come.
Reality is when it happens to you.
From where I am standing right now, these phrases summarize my views of this first week.
So, if I were asked what I think about the experience I would probably say that it is growing in
me. Lets say I am only beginning with my ECRIFication.
Sonia,
Congratulations on completing your first written assignment! It has been a pleasure reading
and commenting on your extended reflection this week and also to know that you are having
such a positive experience on the course so far. I really enjoyed reading about the new
journey of learning you are going through, discovering and re-discovering new aspects of who
you are as a learner, but most importantly, as a human being.
From your essay, I was excited to see how this first week on the course has helped you shift
your attention to students learning by having the experience of being a learner yourself. From
what I read, it seemed to have been such a significant learning experience for you to be put in
the learners shoes. Something that struck me was when you said: All the theories about
learning try to explain processes that occur in the brain of the learner. This week I have been
wondering if perhaps we should be looking more closely at what happens in the heart of a
person when he/she learns something new This is a very powerful realization that I am sure
will guide you towards deeper realizations not only about teaching and learning but also about
human beings in general. I believe that now that you are aware of some of the factors and
conditions that affect learning, you will be able to connect to your students learning needs in a
way that will make learning an almost inevitable result.
In terms of you DAPAs, you did a great job choosing relevant moments to describe. Another
highlight is that you provided some detail to describe the general context in which the
moments were taking place, which is very helpful to get a better idea of the conditions that
affected the moment described. However, one of the most important parts of DAPAs is the
description, which helps support our interpretations, generalizations and action plans with
consistent facts and events. In your descriptions, I noticed there was not enough detail of the
moment you chose to analyze, so there was not enough factual information to base your
interpretations, generalizations and action plans. I also noticed that a number of your
interpretations, generalizations or action plans werent really connected to your description.
The idea is that you make an interpretation based on your description and then you make a
generalization for that interpretation. And then finally, you come up with an action plan based
on your generalization. I would suggest that next time you write your DAPA, you provide as
much detail as possible about the specific moment you chose so as to base your four
interpretations, four generalizations and four action plans on that specific moment.
Sonia, your paper has met the requirements for this extended reflection and is a pass.
If you have any questions, let me know.
Once again, thank you for all your hard work, dedication, and passion.
With gratitude,
Laura.