TESL 0170: Teaching observation Journal report

Observation Journal Report

           

General Information Farideh Saffari TESL 0170: Practicum Assignment 4: Teaching Observation Journal Report
Dates: July 10,11,15,16 Times: 8:30- 10:30, 10:30- 12:30    TESL student: Farideh Saffari	Institution:******* Course: Reading, English for Tourism, Intro to Paragraph Writing Level: intermediate/ upper-intermediate Lesson Topics: Think Before you Read (Reading) Use Vocabulary Strategies (Reading) Vocabulary, Chapters 12,13 (Reading) Writing a Paragraph (Writing)               Learning Outcomes: preview reading, make predictions about a reading and set a purpose for reading a particular passage Recognize, interpret and use selected words from the General Service List Use 5 types of context clues to guess the meaning of a word      Learning Objectives: Engage students in various activities such as classroom discussions, group discussion, peer review, games Teach students reading strategies Expose students to useful vocabulary words, make them use these words using different activities and materials	Length of the Lessons: 2 Hours  Number of Students: 15 Seating Arrangement: the chairs and tables were settled in rows

Spotlight on the Learners
What patterns of attention can you observe?	I observed that when the teacher presented the materials, all the students paid attention to her. The students listen carefully, participate in the discussions and ask questions. Sometimes before the class starts or during the break students ask questions and discuss with their teacher.
What types of questions do learners ask?	Most common questions in the class were about the lesson like the use of vocabulary words as they were learning to use the words in context, meaning of a word and pronunciation.
What participation patterns can you observe?	Students really wanted to learn, and they followed the instructions carefully and participated in each activity either individually or in groups.
Additional observations:	All the students were in the classroom 10 to 5 minutes before the class started. They were very respectful toward their teacher and classmates, and also me. The classes are based on textbooks and the teacher would add some extra materials to what is provided in the textbooks.
Spotlight on the Teacher
What is the balance of teacher-centred and student-centred activities?	In the classes that I observed the focus were more on the students’ participation in different activities and games. Students would do the activities before, during and after the materials were given. Even during the teacher-centered activities students asked questions and teacher gave them examples and more instruction if needed.    Student-centered activities mainly included group activities.
How does the teacher confirm student comprehension?	The teacher would ask students questions while introducing new materials. The teacher observed students while they were doing their group activities. She walked around each group and answered students’ questions. Sometimes if the teacher found that students were struggling with an activity, she would guide them and give them more instructions.
How does the teacher adapt their speech to the level of the learners?	The teacher spoke clearly with less complicated words in normal pace. The teacher repeated long sentences or paraphrased some given information to help students understand better. She gave a lot of real-life examples to explain new words. She also used body language to explain difficult words. Although the focus was on the vocabulary and reading comprehension, the teacher gave students many opportunities to talk by assigning a lot of group activities in the class.
How does the teacher encourage student participation?	Most of the students were motivated to learn and would participate in each activity. The teacher tried to keep students’ attention and motivation by assigning different activities.
Additional observations:	Before starting the class, the teacher would write the agenda and the assigned homework on the board. She used PowerPoint with examples and pictures to give the new materials. She also provided the materials on the online platform.

Spotlight on Error Correction
What is the balance between activities that focus on fluency and accuracy?	The balance between activities was really good. As it was a reading and vocabulary class the focus was more on accuracy, also the teacher tried to keep the balance by assigning discussion activities. She would correct students’ grammar and vocabulary mistakes. She would give students more explanations about what they have learned.
How often are errors corrected?	Most of the times, the teacher correct students’ answers when they finished working on the activities.
What types of error correction are used?	Teacher would correct them right away by giving examples and rephrase the sentence. Sometimes she would point out the error and ask them to correct themselves
Additional observations:	Students had homework to do every day. The teacher would show the answers using the projector. Students would ask questions if needed.
Spotlight on Classroom Management
What techniques does the teacher use to build rapport with the students?	The classes that I attended, most students knew the teacher before as they had classes with her only two or three students were new. She knew everyone by their names, and she would call them by names. She created a very friendly atmosphere. She mentioned in the first class about keeping respect and motivation during their learning process.
How do students interact with each other?	The teacher would put students in different groups, so there were a lot of interactions. All the students got along well and respected each other.
Are there any interruptions to the learning and teaching?	I did not see any interruption during the learning and teaching.
How are interruptions handled?	There were no interruptions. All students were participating actively. If a student struggled with a question, she/he would rose his/her hand and ask a question. The classroom was managed effectively.
Additional observations:	The lesson plans and the sequences of the lessons were clear. The teacher would have all the materials ready before the class.
Spotlight on Teaching Methods and Techniques
What warm-up activities are used?	The teacher started the class with reviewing students’ homework and a short discussion.
What review activities are used?	The teacher reviewed the new vocabulary with group activities and games.
How is new material presented?	The teacher would present new materials by using PowerPoint. She used textbook and other additional materials to teach.
How is new material practiced?	Teacher would often give the students activities for vocabulary and reading. Students would practice the new materials by completing the activities in the textbook or she would provide some work sheets. They completed the activities individually at home, sometimes also in class in pairs or groups. I also saw them practicing vocabulary by games.
How is the lesson concluded?	The lessons are concluded with tests and homework.

What fillers are used?	There were a lot of activities and content to cover so that there was no need for a filler activity.
Additional observations:	I found the teaching the method was pretty effective for a reading class. Study reading comprehension could be boring for some students, but the teacher was able to conduct many group activities to keep the class active and effective.
Focus on Resources and Technology
What learning materials do learners have?	Students have course textbooks, cellphones and printouts provided by the teacher.
What resources are used during the lesson?	The teacher used her own tablet to show materials using PowerPoint and textbooks.
What technology is available in the classroom?	The classroom has a projector.
What technology is used?	The teacher used her own tablet and PowerPoint. She also used the online platform.
Are there any challenges observed in regards to resources and technology?	Everything went really smooth.
Additional observations:	I saw the teacher making very effective use of the technology and students were also very comfortable with it.