4-2 grade reflections plus pronunciation drills

4-2 lesson reflections

Introduction.

This video was shot on Monday, the 12^th of October. This is a fourth grade class, of about 30 students, that I have contact with once a week. The rest of the time, the lessons are taught by the Korean English teacher (KEt). Their level is about Novice beginner to mid on speaking, reading it is novice beginner, while listening I tend to think the students are novice beginner to mid level. The levels of ability varies a lot within a class. The lessons are structure based.

Reflection form: presenting microteaching.

2: my style of teaching.  I feel that my style in this class is an open and friendly one. I do help my students with their activities. Aid the main teacher in handing out sheets for example, and generally try to push things along. For example, the gluing in of the worksheets to their book. An average elementary grader will take about 5 minutes to have this done. I can help them (with the aid of a glue stick) done in 1 minute.

3. I do feel that the class is comfortable in communicating (at the start of class) and in doing the chants. Which can be really seen as genuine communication, but at least they are willing to do it.

4. In these lessons, I’m there as the speaking teacher and normally don’t use the board. But if there is a pronunciation issue, then I will illustrate that by writing it on the board.

5. Student talk/ involvement.  The students are expected to talk and did so. Even if it is running through the dialogue, I could have them talking to each other, as this mimics closer to what a conversation would be like.

6. On occasions yes, I did.  These were in reference to closed referential questions about the context of the video they were about to see. The ratio of TTT vs STT up to the close of sampling was 24:27 or 8:9. It’s a good start, but considering it’s a teacher lead lesson, I think that in a student lead, or at least student initiated with a bit of prompting from the teacher, it could be even better. Though some of the more traditional KEt teachers I teach with might be against it.

7. Communicative talk vs evaluative talk.

Past experience from the previous weeks, I have refrained from giving a yes or no, but have tried to nod.  I don’t always succeed but have endevoured to give non-evaluative answers.

Example 1.Why are you angry? Him?

Example 2.Ss: A million! Tt: A million, what?

I think that adding what? To the end of the statement, I think that doing finger correction + wait time would be more suitable. I feel that I have given more communicative feedback than I have evaluative.

I have viewed part of the teaching video and made comments and corrections, up to the end of the pronunciation section.

0:25 KET ask a question “how are you?” but doesn’t monitor the feedback! The students think then, it’s a game and put less thought into the response.

1:03 the class really starts here. The KET stands and quiets the class with a musical hammer.

1:37 I ask again how they are. I approach students with their hands up

2:06 student gives something like an authentic response. I don’t go any further but instead point at another student.

2:19 I set up 1:1 speaking task. The volume seems to be a bit unnatural.

3:02 I call the class to order. Waving my hands in the air is slow.

3:32 lets have a look at page 1-1-0. I think I should use tens and hundreds instead of individual digits. It doesn’t seem a natural way of speaking. KET repeats this using English, and using the right notation. I wait.

4:06 can you read the title? The class answers. I ask for an answer to the question.

I get answers, but acknowledge by gesturing.

4:19 A setup of a listening task.

4:50 so, where are they?

A number of answers are given.  I choose the student that gives the right answer.

I state that ‘Si jang’ is called flea market or market place. I don’t get the class to repeat any of these words even though

5:30

Setting of task. What does Bommi say?

What do you want? Pretty much. And?

I want the doll.

It’s 8, 800 won.

6:13 Right, so we are going to look at the video.

“Right, so” … is a vocal way of bring the attention of the class back to the teacher. This contributes to TTT. As noted before it would be a better move to wave as to raise attention to the teacher.

6:38 Eliciting who this person is in the book.  ’Naw, naw. Okay.’ I think a better answer would be ‘I don’t know’. This statement comes across as being wishy-washy. Perhaps just a shrug of the shoulders would have been a better move.

6:46. KET calls the students attention to the TV for their viewing task.

7:27 Okay, what is the question?  How much is it? Do you want this doll. Etc

Getting everyone involved is a good way of everyone reciting the target language. This whole class is very much a teacher fronted task. How could this be changed in some way? In a structure based classroom,  it would take some modification to do.

7:47 Tt: what’s the price?

After having lead a chant, I ask a closed display question. It would have been better to use ‘and…’ or ‘and then’ to continue their flow of answers. In this instance, had I said that I would have been helping them as opposed to someone directing the task.

 8:08 a clarification request on an incorrectly stated question.  Good. Now, how do I get the students to self correct, or, other students to correct the sentence. Ask them. I’m sure they’ll get the sway that it is what I want, and they will automatically do it.

8:20 I’m having them practice question sentences. The intonation goes up at the end. I signify this with my finger. The students are doing it. An illustrated example on the board would work too, and also dual code the point nicely. At the end of the practice, they could have had some freer practice.

8:49 KEt goes through the picture asking questions.

9:16 I’m bored. I mime some of the objects. (Dolphin). I point to some students who got the answer right. But I don’t say a word. I’m not sure what else I can do at this point.

9:34 chanting of key sentences listened to in the video. I had recycled one key sentence. Good. Would pair work, work at this point? With young learners this may not work.  Will have to trial this to see if it does.

10:17 KEt is isolating the grammar parts? Not sure how much understanding is going on. Not translating into Korean afterall. All the parts of a grammar lesson are there, just not in order. Oh and they almost never produce.

10:50 -13:10 I begin my chant to the class by saying ‘can you say this’. If they’re expected to model their speech on me, shouldn’t I start it? I know that the students should be able to hear themselves. I do think that I should model it first!

In light of hearing themselves, I don’t think I should be clapping any beat to it. Horrible. The whistle hammer doesn’t help either! Clapping does give them a sense of rhythm to the sentence, but on grounds of modeling, they’d be listening to my voice. Fair point, but the students do go on to not stress every syllable and do sound more natural. Ah! Model it first without the claps, then practice it with the claps.

I have modeled the rising intonation at the end of the sentence. With a notation on the board too. Students still clapping though. I didn’t tell them to stop.

I start the chant without clapping, picking up the clapping after the second time round.

--//reflection ends 13:10//--

Recommended changes to teaching methodology

Be more consistent in the way I run a chant drill. Model and then drill.

Keep working on clarification requests. Turn over as much of the speaking to the students as possible. This includes students making the corrections too.

Keep on working on non-judgemental  speech. Keep the conversation going with open ended statements.

Richard and Lockharts

“How am I helping my students”

I feel that I am helping my students by giving them as much chance to talk as possible. It could be more though, and I will work to improve this. By writing this, I mean that I will have to set up rituals and expected responses (in error correction by other students).

I also feel that I’m helping my students by changing the way they’re being taught. I try to ask more open questions, and ask questions in general, about them. How they are feeling, and why.