MY PROFILE

                                                    SECTION ONE                                                      

"Curriculum Vitae"

* Personal data:

Name: Micaela Buttiglieri

Date of birth: 27th of January, 1988

Place of born: Bahía Blanca

Place of residence: Coronel Dorrego

* Academic studies:

Secondary School:

"Colegio San José" (Secundaria Básica)

"Escuela de Educación Secundaria nº 2" (Secundaria Superior. Modality: Science)

Third Studies: 

"Translation English Course" (UNLP. La Plata. - Not finished-)

"Teaching English Course" (Julio C. Avanza's Institute. Bahia Blanca. - Not finished-)

"Teaching English Course" (Lenguas Vivas' Institute. Bariloche. - currently coursing-)

* Other studies:

"First Certificate in English" (Cultura Inglesa de Bahía Blanca)

"Pharmacy assistant" (Sarmiento's Institute. Bahía Blanca)

* Job experiences:

"Shop assistant" (Summer seasons - from 2012 to 2015)

"Supermarket cashier" (Summer seasons - from 2016 to 2018)

"School receptionist" (From 2013 to 2016)

"Clothes' shop assistant" (currently working -part time-)

"English Teacher at Primary School" (E.P.Nº21 - currently working-)

"English Teacher at Secondary School" (E.E.S.Nº2 / San José's School / I.S.M.L. School. -currently working).

"My learning experience to become an English Teacher"

As I said in my presentation, I have always been interested in learning the English Language and improving my skills connected to the language. For that reason, I had decided to study the "Teaching English Course" once I finished Secondary Level. However, during my learning process I discovered that being a teacher implies more facts than just acquiring knowledge, improving skills and being proficient on the English language. It is a process that also implies being able to manage feelings and emotions, to create a kind atmosphere in the classroom, to establish a kind relationship with learners, to use different strategies to motivate learners (according to their interests and needs). Furthermore, to reach this purpose of generating motivation over students,a teacher must also be capable of providing their students the necessary tools in order to allow them to develop their creativity during the learning process. In addition, as future teachers, we have to take into account the importance of creating a good atmosphere in classroom, in which students may feel confident, secure and motivated to take part of the learning process. So, being a teacher means that we have to deal with different features which must be applied in a suitable way when teaching, in order to obtain a positive outcome from learners. Then, if we are able to achieve the goal of teaching students, the results will be very rewarding!

"Teachers aims and goals"

I consider that the teaching process requires commitment , responsability and communicative skills from teachers, who are permantly improving themselves in order to be proficient teachers. It is known that through practice and experience, teachers acquire resources and tools which are useful for their teaching training, and consequently, this fact leads them to fulfill their aims in a suitable way. Therefore, teachers' aims and goals are always closely connected to the improvement of students' skills during their Learning process. So, it is highly important the teacher's confidence over students to gain positive attitudes and outcomes.

 We, as future teachers, may bear in mind the  fact of planning challenging and appropriately differentiated activities, in order to expect students' commitment to obtain their own achievements. We know that students learn in different ways and to support this, we must provide a kind and varied learning environment to allow all learners to develop their skills and abilities to their full potential. Moreover, it is our responsability through the teaching process, to help each student to become a thoughtful and creative person, as well as a cooperative person who is able to interact with others and establish positive relationships; but also a responsible person who is motivated for accepting challenges in order to improve his/her performance and at the same time, a person who is aware of others' needs and possibilities.

"Teaching Approach"

There are many teaching strategies that teachers can put into practice in their lessons, in order to develop different kind of activities. Here, I am going to mention some ways to develop different activities during lessons that we can offer to students in their learning proccess, such as: investigation and problem solving; research; individual work; pair or group work, or even class work; opportunities to use ICT across the lessons; debates, role play, dialogues, oral presentation of works; audiovisual learning; physical and kinaesthetic learning; and so on.

Nevertheless, there is a point I would like to focus on, and it has to do with the importance of teaching students to develop their creativity during their Learning Process. Personally, I consider that an effective approach for teaching is to teach students to be creative. Although creativity cannot be taught, what we can do is to provide students the necessary tools to allow generate or recognize ideas, find their interests and talents, communicate with others, but most importantly to be able to express their likes, feelings and viewpoints. It is important to give learners the space they need to express their ideas and creativity by providing tasks which enable them to express their own thoughts and experiences while experimenting and expanding on the English language. There are some activities such as songs, music, artwork, etc. which help to develop creativity and allows learners to verbalize feelings and emotions they have inside. I believe that students have a high potential which can be discovered through teachers' teaching strategies developed during lessons.

Furthermore, I have experienced as a learner as well as a teacher, the importance to develop critical thinking. I believe it is an effective approach to put into practice while teaching, because critical thinking gives learners the possibility to consider facts in a thoughtful way which allows them to make connections, to analyse different viewpoints, to decide what to believe or do and to make decisions. Therefore, if we form critical thinkers, we are giving learners a valuable tool not only for their academic performance but also for their lives. Critical thinking can be introduced in ELT classroom through debates on different topics in which students can exchange their viewpoints and learn from each other. It also can be excercised by asking learners to analyse news, advertisements or pictures. Other suitable activities can be engaged to make students write essays, reports, book reviews, etc.

In this way, concerning my points of view about the importance of introducing creativity and critical thinking in the classroom, I may feel identified with the Constructivist Teaching Approach, which is based on the belief that learning occurs as learners are actively involved in a process of meaning and knowledge construction as opposed to passively receiving information. In addition, I may also feel identified with the Inquiry-Based Approach which is a form of active learning that starts by posing questions, problems or scenarios, rather than simply presenting established facts. Here, the problem is assisted by a facilitator (a teacher), and learners will identify and research issues and questions to develop their knowledge or solutions. The inquiry-based instruction is principally very closely related to the development and practice of thinking skills.

"Use of ICT in the Classroom"

Nowadays technology is closely connected to our daily lives, as it is present in many situations which require the use of digital tools to solve different issues. I consider that it is really essential to incorporate technological knowledge in the classroom, in order to give students the opportunity to explore on digital tools and learn their uses, benefits and advantages that technology offers us. In addition, the fact of learning how to use technology in a suitable way and with clear purposes, brings us the possibility to obtain valuable tools which we can put into practice in our daily lives. Personally, I think that to achieve a suitable use of technological tools, is necessary to be formed, to explore, to investigate and to inquire about the uses of the different digital tools that we may use for certain purposes.

Moreover, using ICT in the classroom may offer some advantages and benefits for students during the learning process and may enrich teachers' experiences. Technology provides students different opportunities to make learning more enjoyable, and it also encourages a more active participation from learners in the learning process. Teachers may also benefit from using ICT in the lessons,because it gives the possibility to have access to a wide range of information in various formats, and interactive whiteboards which have become essential tools in the classroom. The incorporation of ICT devices can make teaching more effective, as it gives students the possibility to work individually (at each student's time) and also to work collaboratively (through forum discussions and exchange of viewpoints). As a result, students may feel more motivated to participate in the learning process.

"ESI issues in the classroom"

At present, schools ask teachers to introduce ESI in their classes, as it is compulsory to include ESI topics in the teaching lessons. However, issues related to sexuality education can be very confronting for teachers who particularly feel they have no experience in this field, and they may have concerns about addressing these issues with their students. For this reason, it is important for teachers to be previously formed and prepared to develop different issues according to students' age, and also to be able to manage students' reactions and confidence when dealing with these issues in the classroom.

It is essential for teachers to create a kind atmosphere in classroom when introducing ESI topics, so students may feel confident, secure and motivated to participate during lessons, by giving their own opinions, ideas and viewpoints, and by sharing their experiences with their classmates and teachers.

Nowadays, teachers count with a lot of resources and tools available to address this issues with students, which give teachers the advantage to select the right material to work with the different contents according to the level. As a result, students may feel engagement to develop these issues and acquire new knowledge related to ESI.

Conclusion

Teachers do more than teach, and their impact extends far beyond the classroom. As a teacher, you are more than just an educator, you are also a mentor, a confident and a friend. One of the most important reasons for me to become a teacher, has to do with making a difference in the lives of as many students as I can.

I believe that teachers have the potential to interact with students at all stages of development in their lives. A great teacher wants to help students along their journey and to play a part in shaping the person they would like to become. If you want to help students who are dealing with low self-steem and problems at home, then become a teacher to encourage them and help them realize their potential. Becoming a teacher allows you to teach not only knowledge but also life lessons that students will never forget, so you must know that being a teacher is a huge responsibility which implies taking part in the learning process of other people lives. Above all, becoming a teacher lets you take part in shaping the next generation.

For these reasons I mentioned above, and many others, I wish to become a teacher!

Micaela.