TESOL Certificate Programs

Observation Notebook

Observation Report Form

Name of Observer Yiyuan Zhang (Tiffany)_ Observation # 1

Date Observation Class Skill/Content Level Teacher

Environment*
06/25/2017 Online https://www.youtube.com Speaking Fluency and Intermediate Jan
/watch?v=2wJgt2kurMs Conversational English

*Include the URL if the class was online

WRITE THE OBJECTIVES ACCORDING TO THE OBSERVATION GUIDELINES:

THE STUDENTS WILL BE ABLE TO EXPLAIN THE MEANING OF GADGETS AND LIST SEVERAL
EXAMPLES OF GADGETS.
THE STUDENTS WILL BE ABLE TO COMPLETE DISCUSSIONS AS WELL AS PRESENTATIONS OF A
CERTAIN GADGET IN TERMS OF ITS USAGE, PRICE AND SO ON DEMONSTRATED ON THE CLASS.

Notes while observing:

0-6 mins
Introduction
T introduces the lessons topic gadgets and asks Ss What a gadget is?.
S5 answers but misunderstands gadgets as tags.
T asks for Ss guesses on the meaning of gadget but Ss do not answer.
T defines slowly and clearly that a gadget is a novel or interesting device. (OB)

T inspires Ss to think of an example of gadgets.

S4 answers with cellphones and S1 answers with iPod and computers.
T reminds Ss of sth. that you could use for a cellphone and then S1 comes up
with GPS.
T then communicates with Ss and gets the answer bluetooth set.
T shows his gadget to Ss and talks with them about gadgets.
Activity 1
T gives directions of a 3-minute video on a certain gadget and asks Ss to pay
attention to 3 questions: Would you buy this gadget?, Why would you buy it,
or Why not? and How much does this gadget cost?.
T plays the video and repeats the 3 questions.

7-13 mins
Activity 2
T gives Ss 1 minute to discuss with their partners about the 3 questions.
T divides Ss into 2 groups.
T keeps observing Ss and reminds them of the last seconds.
Discussion ends.

T asks the 3 questions. G1 says they will but the gadget because it does not take up
space and simple, which might cost $800.
T then asks for G2s response. G2 says they will not buy it because it is too small
and basic, which might cost $1000.
S1 adds that it might cost $500.
T asks if Ss have any questions.

14-39 mins
Activity 3
T gives Ss the gadget they saw in the video and gives directions of the
presentation.
T repeats his requirements and writes them OB.
T divides them into 3 groups and gives them 15 minutes to describe the gadget,
guess its usage and give their own review of the gadget.

T asks S1 to seat more closely to S6.

T checks if there are questions on Ss discussions about the gadget.
T keeps observing Ss during the whole process.
T whispers to G3 to explain the usage of the gadget.
T guides Ss to try to think about their opinions on the gadget, e.g. its color, shape,
etc.
T asks S1 to sit next to S6.
T keeps providing feedback for Sss discussion.
T reminds Ss of the last 3 or 4 minutes.
T reminds Ss to give their opinions on the gadget, e.g. the way it looks, the way it
functions, and try to criticize it.
T asks whether each group is ready for the presentation.
T hands out sheets for Ss to take notes on the 3 questions they mentioned in
Activity 2.

G3 present the gadget first and as they stand up, T repeats the requirements.
T summarizes G3s presentation with the introduction of a new adjective
practical.
G1 presents the gadget and explains that it is small, and has many functions.
 G1 presents the gadget and explains that it is small, and has many functions.
S1 commits an error it doesnt has and T does not interrupt her and then she
corrects the error by herself.
G2 presents lastly, during which S2 commits an error its very cheaper and T
corrects her.
T asks Ss to answer the 3 questions and repeats their answers occasionally.
When Ss answer questions, T always continues the conversation by asking other
related questions.

40-45 mins
Activity 4
T gives Ss around 4 minutes to come up with an advertisement about the gadget.
T gives G3 G2s gadget in Activity 3, gives G2 G1s gadget and gives G1 G3s
gadget.
T reminds Ss to come up with a logo or a creative name to make an
advertisement.
T keeps observing Ss during the whole process.

46-51 mins
G2 volunteers to present their advertisement first, and names the gadget a pocket
phone.
G3 presents second and advertises the gadget as a charger.
G1 demonstrates their gadget and delivers 2 slogans of their discussion results.
T sums up the discussion and introduces the topic gadgets and technology for
the next class.

What did you learn about teaching or learning from this lesson as it relates to the
theory you have studied in your TESOL classes? Include at least one reference (with
an in-text citation) to support your response. (250-500 words)

I focused on teaching, particularly teaching strategies, in the present observation.

For the students involved in the class, they are all intermediate-level EFL learners
possibly from Middle East countries. I intended to observe how the teacher utilized
teaching strategies to arrange students speaking activities and to facilitate speaking
fluency. Generally speaking, the teacher used two teaching techniques to achieve his
teaching objectives, which are the learner-centered teaching style and Communicative
Language Teaching methodology.
With regard to the learner-centered strategy that the teacher conducted in the
speaking class, there were three aspects that ESL/EFL teachers could learn from. Firstly,
the teacher activated students background knowledge on gadgets and then built all
activities upon it. This technique is specifically useful for speaking classes due to the fact
that students need to talk and exchange ideas a lot based on the acquired knowledge for
discussions, presentations and student-to-student conversations. Secondly, for each
activity in the speaking class, the teacher assigned requirements to students and then
walked around from group to group to provide feedback, which ensured that students
could talk autonomously and creatively (Jones, 2007: 5). Finally, the teacher gave
students time to talk spontaneously and creatively in groups, which at the same time,
students time to talk spontaneously and creatively in groups, which at the same time,
encouraged students to participate in the learning process (Jones, 2007: 2). To put it in a
nutshell, the teacher gave students time and space to speak with their own ideas, which
formed a learner-centered atmosphere and was beneficial to their language improvement.
In addition, Communicative Language Teaching was reflected in the speaking
class in two ways. For one respect, the teacher assigned four activities for students to
participate in through group work, to communicate with the partner by using the target
language, to receive language input from their partners and to produce language output
by themselves, and to negotiate ideas in English together. To illustrate, the teacher
incorporated real communication in the classroom, accelerating students proficiency and
fluency in target language interaction and acquisition even if they had limited knowledge
(Richards, 2006: 3, 14). For the other, the teacher encouraged students to share their
perspectives and opinions of the certain gadget in groups to allow students get feedback
from their peers, and at the same time, maximized the amount of time in which students
speak and interact with each other to enhance their speaking fluency and conversational
English speaking ability.
In words, the teacher Jans speaking class concentrated on students, utilized and
incorporated Communicative Language Teaching methodology to help encourage
students to talk a lot and improve their conversational English competence.

Grade: 10/10

References

Jones, L. (2007). The Student-Centered Classroom. Retrieved from

http://elearn.extension.ucr.edu/pluginfile.php/229368/mod_resource/content/1/Student-
Centered%20Teaching%20%28Jones%29.pdf.
Richards, J. (2006). Communicative Language Teaching. Retrieved from
http://elearn.extension.ucr.edu/pluginfile.php/229372/mod_resource/content/1/Communi
cative%20Language%20Teaching%20%28Richards%29.pdf.
Last Updated: 9/8/2017 6:09 PM