The importance of planning

“Planning is, undoubtedly, the most important part of the educational task. The functions and responsibilities that are related to the educators as guide, orientators and drivers of the teaching - learning process force them to plan, to organize, to realize and to evaluate all their educational labor” (1)

Teaching a foreign language goes beyond repeating structures and asking the Ss rewrite them; teaching is to achieve that the pupils really apply the knowledge acquired in a spontaneous and natural form. The interaction of the teachers with the group, especially when a foreign language is taught, is an important element, due to most times they are the only link who with SS can practice or exchange the learned. For that reason, the teachers should be conscious that they have in their hands people who trust in them.

On the other hand, the methods to plan the teaching not only help the teachers to convey, in genuine form, the knowledge but also favor that the development of the perfecting of the teaching - learning process, day after day, since learning is never stopped. Furthermore, a planned activity has more possibilities of being successful when is prepared than another one which is spontaneous and it does not carry certain preparation that includes aspects that must be considered in order to be significant.

The didactic planning, in words of Gagné and Briggs (1979:15), demands a lot of time, effort and intellectual dedication, as we know. The educational practice itself is an “object of reflection” (Moran, 2003:41) and only the committed teachers, with themselves and their pupils, give the importance to the production of the didactic planning. Their commitment leads them to analyzing necessarily what happens in a class to be able to reach the stipulated aims.

In the same rubric, in order to make their education more efficient they have to think over in their performance and in what their pupils need, therefore, they have to look for different alternatives that enrich the development of their classes across the didactic planning, as result of a “reflexive work” from their part (Lopez, 2005:49). Moreover, it is necessary to consider both positives and negatives aspects so that, with base in the obtained information, the pertinent modifications can be made. It has to be remembered providing that: “the change must arise from a process of reflection” as have established both Aguilar as Block (2003:55).

Finally, the teachers who are capable of "analyzing their professional practice and to think about it" (Deceano and Rock, 2006:63), will be able to evaluate the effects of their educational labor, their self-criticism and reflection, since far from highlighting their mistakes, they will use as support to make future decisions in their action and to achieve their professional growth.

Sources:

(1) Solá Mendoza, Juan (2004:35) “Pedagogía en píldoras” México: Trillas
Gagné y Briggs (1979) “La planificación de la enseñanza” p. 15 México: Trillas
Morán Oviedo, Porfirio (2003) “La docencia como actividad profesional” p.41 México: Gernika
López Calva, Martín (2005) “Planeación y Evaluación del proceso enseñanza-aprendizaje” p. 49 México: Trillas
Aguilar y Block, (2003) “Planeación escolar y formulación de proyectos” p. 55 México: Trillas
Deceano Osorio, Soledad & Meza Nava, Fabián (2006) “Programa Nacional para la Actualización permanente de los maestros de Educación Básica en Servicio de Talleres