Situating ourselves

A few years ago, teaching English in Ecuador was only focused  on teaching grammar,  students studied for two years the structure of the verb to be  , how to make a negative , positive and interrogative form  and  when they finish high school , learners  couldn´t communicate and most of them hated the language, but now things are changing ;the government is investing in programs to improve English Education at public schools and high schools .

I am  a teacher who is being part of this  transformation taking  a program for English educators  at Mississippi University;  I work   in a public middle low level class, coeducational school in Salinas, a coastal city in Ecuador, where most students don’t have much access to Technological resources , teaching  six courses with forty students in each classroom , they study English five hours per week  and  apprentices should  be able to communicate in English in a intermediate level.

As part of this innovating changes,  I have to  become in a researcher who looks for solutions that as educator   I have to face every day , why students can´t communicate,  lack of motivation,  failed homework , difficulties with grammar and the four skills   of the language, and try to improve my teaching, be creative not only applying new techniques  and methods but also considering the students ‘necessities :   it is necessary to look for their background with the language , to consider their learning styles and play an important role  in motivating them to understand the opportunities a person has when  speaking a foreign language .

It is not an easy task , but I think that a transformation it is not easy  but also it is not impossible, it requires patience , training and research , being the last one the most important to get solutions.