ENGLISH DIDACTICS I

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Welcome to my blog! 



I am Genesis Vasquez, and I will share my journey through learning English Didactics. I am currently a fifth-year student of Translation and Interpreting at the Universidad Evangélica de El Salvador. Teaching is a big challenge, but I am willing to learn and capture as much knowledge as possible to share with others. So, pack your luggage to start this journey with me.





Going back to college makes me feel very concerned because I will have to work harder than ever due to my work and academic responsibilities, however, I decided to start with the best attitude.


The English Didactics class is divided into two classes that will be scheduled on Tuesdays and Thursdays. In our first class, the professor explained a brief overview of the activities we will be doing throughout the semester. He explained what the class was about and we took a diagnostic test.


In the second class, we learned about the grammar-translation method (GTM). A method that started in the 1840s and 1850s approximately. This method used several techniques which are still in use today, although in an evolved version, nevertheless, we can still appreciate traces of this method. 



GTM characteristics:

·     Classes are taught in the mother tongue.

·     Vocabulary is taught in the form of a list of isolated words.

·     Little or no attention to pronunciation

·     Reading difficult texts begins early.

·     Long elaborate explanations of the intricacies of grammar are given. 



Now, it is important to know Why should we use this method?


One of the goals of GTM is the correct application of grammar and correct sentence structure.  It allows the teaching of reading and writing in the target language, which allows the exchange of words and sentences.


Finally, we discussed the SWOT technique applied to the GTM topic.


SWOT

Strengths

Weaknesses

Opportunities

Threats 

Strengths:



  •         You learn and internalize the grammar rules.
  •         You increase your lexicon.
  •    You get to know important topics of contemporary society.



Weaknesses:

   

                                                                                    

  • Students get bored.
  • Pronunciation is not addressed.
  • We do not practice listening pronunciation.
     




Opportunities



  •  You got a pen pal (exchanging languages).
  •  A source or a chance to create new authors.
  • The opportunity to develop both creative and reflective writing. 





Threats

  • Your mind can get biased.
  • You do not really get a lot of resources (you run out of materials).
  • You do not get the chance to practice a wide variety of structures/richness of a language (it is too literal). 


As you can see every method has its pros and cons, however, there are always ways to take advantage of these types of methods to help personal and student development. 

The class was very interesting and I learned a lot of things I did not know. We all really enjoyed the class and the opportunity to see each other again.



I hope you have learned as much as I did, see you next week!

Thank you so much for reading!




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