Expectations
Before starting the academic course, I thought that being a Language Assistant would be an impersonal job where I would be helping a teacher. I thought I was considered to teach students about pronunciation and phonemes, vocabulary, and answer their questions; but it was all going to depend on the teacher's preferences, help needed, and the skills she would like to bring to the class.
Reality
After starting the academic course, I became aware of the importance of my position, as a Language Assistant, for the English Department and Bilingual Programme. I realized that many teachers need our help to develop a fully-English lesson plan: because of our native skills we can help the teachers in any English-language environment.
Most of the teachers appreciate our work and feel lucky to have us in their classes. We are an important aid for teachers to share work and advance in the curriculum, by developing their activities and planning new ones. We also help to establish rules and discipline. We are committed to help and improve education, so we become kind of an intermediary between the students and the teacher.
In the end, the Language Assistant is considered an English teacher by students. Because of this young profile, the students might feel closer to the L.A. than to the main teacher. And that is what the L.A. should be aware of and use that link with students to make them enjoy the learning process even more .
Being a Language Assistant is much more than what I expected at first. In Alpedrete there are few Bilingual-certified teachers, but specifically in the Physical Education Department and that is why I am considered an important asset for the teachers I have been working with. Because of my English knowledge and my background as an sportsman, I have chosen a topic related to Physical Education to demonstrate my professional development as an L.A. I encourage you to learn more about my teaching final project below.
Teaching Final Project
Short Basketball Course
Activities:
Static dribbling
Description - Every student takes a ball and spreads throughout the basketball court. They will have to mimic the dribbling skills that the coach is doing.
Objective - Having the students get a feel for the ball and how to handle it and if possible have them dribble as low and fast as they can.
Dribbling relays
Description - Groups of 4-5 students will take turns dribbling 1 or 2 balls around a circuit and race the other teams.
Objective - Improving coordination by being able to run a control 1 or 2 balls. if the student is capable of more, make him not look at the ground and on to the horizon.
Passing drills
Description - Students go in pairs and pass the ball in many different ways explained by the coach
Objective - Perform faster, stronger and more precise passes.
Lay-ups and shooting drill
Description - Starting from the middle of the court the students are in line and they take turns making lay-ups and taking shots at the basket.
Objective - Learning the basics of how to score a basket and how to perform lay-ups is very important for a basketball player, if the student has basketball knowledge we can have him/her take more complicated shots.
2 or 3 player fast Break(no defence)
Description - Students pass the ball to each other and one of them ends it with a lay-up, they do the same on their way back.
Objective - To coordinate the students skills to score, creating a sense of team work, team work is what basketball is all about.