Sònia Reig 

But the English Day not only took place the 5th of April, the preparations started some days before.

Apart from the schedule and the title (done by Y6 students), children had prepared some activities in advanced.

 

During the morning, the students worked with colleagues of other years. So, Y1, Y2 and Y3 worked together while Y4, Y5 and Y6 did the same.

 

The first part of the morning CI went to the theatre to watch “Cinderella”. While this, CS played games at the school. Some English and Arts&Crafts sessions before the English Day were dedicated to prepare these games.

Y4 was in charge to prepare the “Who is who” for Y5 and Y6. While Y6 had to prepare a Kahoot for the rest, about physical descriptions, jobs, town buildings and subjects (that are the topics that Y4 has done). During the games, children were in mixed groups, with representatives of the three years (2 – 3 children of each year), in each classroom were 6 teams, and some of the Y6 students were the “teachers”, presenting the Kahoot to the others.

 

After the morning break, was the turn of CS to go to “La Patronal” the local theatre to watch “The Treasure Island”. And, CI was in the school playing Bingo. The groups are also mixed with students from the different years. Students of Y3 said aloud the numbers and the little children played.

 

Children had worked the play in advanced, in order to make the understanding easier and to know the songs and the main vocabulary. Only two actors performed doing all the characters, the play was easy to understand and achievable for the children, making them take part on it, in few occasions, some children set foot on stage to participate on the play.

 

The school canteen also joined the English Day preparing an English menu:

• Soap of the day

• Fish and chips

• Sponge cake.

 

In the afternoon, was time for Arts&Crafts in some years. Y1 and Y2 created English food with Plasticine. Y3 and Y4, searched information about English icons and monuments, and made posters with them. Y6 drew and painted English flags, each child had his/her own flag from an English speaking country. At the end, all these productions were stuck on the wall dedicated to the English Day.

 

Finally, during the afternoon Y5 students visited infant students to represent the theatre plays that they had been preparing during the last weeks. Y5 students performed the tales and infant students sang a song at the beginning and at the end.

 

During the day the tutors had to be in their classrooms and the English teachers go around supervising and helping.

During the whole day I was with CS, that is where I do the English internship, and I knew all the activities and how they were prepared.

In the first part of the morning, I was going around CS classrooms supervising how they played the games. The Y6 students that had the role of the teacher, did their job really good, behaving with lot of responsibility. I realised that children who were playing were more motivated by the game involving ICT than by the “Who is who”.

I went to the theatre to see “The treasure island”, it was really good, it was easy for the children to follow the story and to understand what they were saying. Children were really enhanced to participate as it could be seen when they ask for volunteers, lots of them were willing to go to the stage.

 

In the afternoon I was supposed to go to the infant’s classrooms to see the Y5’s plays, and record them. But at the end, I was with 6A, because the tutor had the afternoon off, and she wasn’t at the school. So, another teacher was in her place supervising, but she didn’t know the activity, and I went there to refresh what they had to do (Mònica already explained them the day before) and organise them when having to go to pick up the computers. I also went sometimes to 6B to see if they have problems. 

It’s really good to dedicate a whole day to English, so they can be aware of its importance. What was also important was that children not only receive English but they did productions as well. So, they had input and output, being very engaged on the activities that took place during the day as well as on the previous organisation of them.

 

 

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