Monthly Archives: December 2015

Throwback Thursday: Alligator River

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Although it seems like this lesson happened ages ago now, it is still one of the activities that has stuck with me the most and one that I would like to emulate and adapt in my future teaching.

Before jumping into the story itself, as a class, we created a chart on the board showing possible ways to express agreement/disagreement in English in both a “gentle” and “strong” tone. Although we didn’t focus too much on using these particular expressions in our follow-up discussion/debate, this would be a beneficial part of the activity in a language classroom.

After creating or simply presenting this chart, students then listen to the tale of Abigail, Gregory, Ivan, Sinbad, and Slug, all of whom commit some sort of questionable act in the story: infidelity, violence, lack of compassion/forgiveness, or not helping a friend in need. After listening to the story, students individually rate the characters in terms of their perceived deplorability; this process was later referred to as ‘value clarification’, since this makes it clear what values each individual finds to be most important in a friend or a romantic partner.

Following the individual rating process, we discussed our own ratings with the group and then came to a group consensus. The way that we went about this worked well: we tallied our ratings for each of the characters and ranked them accordingly (the one with the most points was deemed the most reprehensible and thus was at the bottom of the list). Most of us had ranked Sinbad as number 5, so that made it easy. However, there was more or less a tie with Abigail, Ivan, and Slug for least reprehensible, so this is where the discussion kicked in. It was interesting to hear everyone’s take on the story and the values that come into play; everyone had a strong opinion and didn’t hesitate to express it.

We then listened to the other groups’ rankings and explanations of those rankings, and compared them to our own. It was interesting to see how most groups ranked Ivan as the least reprehensible, but Peter then revealed that he would rank Ivan as #5 because he views doing nothing/not helping a friend in need as the worst thing one can do. Overall, this activity sparked friendly discussion and debate, and clarified our values to others as well as ourselves.

Josiah – Pedagogical Repertoire

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Josiah Nilsen’s Pedagogical Repertoire

Envelope grouping game high beginner to advanced Students, in groups of four, are given an envelope with words or concepts in it. Each group categorizes the words or concepts into the categories given. An alternative way to do this would be to have the students come up with their own categories for classification. A good way to review concepts, as well as to engage students in analyzing and evaluating.
Foursquare voting any level Four large squares are designated on the ground, and students are given a choice with four options, one for each square. Students vote for their favorite choice by standing in the appropriate square. Once in the square, students discuss with the other students who chose their option about why they chose it. Then, a person or two from each group explains to the other groups why they chose it. This is good for getting the students to give reasons and defend opinions. No one is speaking in front of the whole class unless they want to, so no one feels singled out or too nervous to speak.

 

This game can be tailored for higher and lower levels.
Jigsaw reading (with expert groups) any level Each student is assigned one of three or four different readings as homework (or short readings, as an in-class activity). Then students meet with others who read the same reading to discuss it. After that, students form groups of three or four with people who did other readings and explain their reading to their group. This activity integrates reading with speaking. It will help the students to pick out the main ideas of a text, since they will have to explain it to others. Discussing with the expert groups first will help students clarify what they got out of the text.
Think-Pair-Share any level Each student thinks on their own about the question before them, then, they share their thoughts with a partner in pairs. Finally, each person shares with the class, or with a small group of four, what their partner said. This is a very versatile activity and could be used in many different ways. It promotes personal reflection, dialog, and sharing another’s opinions.
The animal shape game beginner Students get into groups of three and form an animal with their bodies. The rest of the class tries to guess which animal they are. This is useful for practicing animal vocabulary with beginner students.
Moon/Island survival exercise advanced Students receive a list of items needed to survive on the moon / on a desert island. Each student reads through the list on their own and rates the items from most useful to least useful. Then, in groups of four, students discuss with one another and rate the items from most useful to least useful, trying to come to a consensus. Then each group shares their answers with the class. This is a good way to have students engage some of the higher levels of Bloom’s taxonomy, such as analyzing and evaluating. Students will also present and defend opinions.
Tell a story where each person adds a sentence any level This is best done in groups of three or four. While one person says a sentence, the next person writes it down. After three or four rounds, stop, and read the stories aloud to the class. This can be a fun way to have students create a story together. Students engage in listening, speaking, and writing.
Team debates intermediate to advanced Version 1: No Preparation Divide students into pro and con teams. Each team meets for five or ten minutes to discuss their talking points. Then come back together and have debate.
Version 2: Structured Preparation Same as before, except that students are given ten or twenty short texts or videos beforehand, and must construct their argument solely from these.
Version 3: Free preparation Same as before, except that each team is given 20 minutes to research online before meeting with their team to discuss talking points. Only use this one with mature dependable students. And possibly avoid topics that are really controversial.
Geography Game any level For beginners: Countries Good way to learn geography of the region you are learning about. Could be adapted to parts of your city or parts of your county.
For intermediate: Add Capitals, Seas, Rivers
For advanced: Add Major Cities, Provinces
Jeopardy Trivia any level Students get into teams of three and then play jeopardy. One person from each team is the speaker, and the others provide ideas to the speaker. This is a fun way to review concepts from a unit or from a whole class.
Matching or Memory with a word and its definition any level Students are in groups of four. Each group is given an envelope with a series of small strips of paper containing vocabulary words or terms from the lesson, and another with the definitions. Students try to match the word with its definition. This can be cooperative or competitive. And the cards can be face down (memory) or faceup. This is a good way to review concepts from a unit or class. It helps students to define L2 words and concepts in the L2, rather than mentally resorting to their L1.
Alligator River advanced Show the students the alligator river scenario. Each person rates the characters on their own, then students in groups of four try to come to a consensus on the ratings. Good for analyzing and evaluating. Can get students debating passionately. Do not try with students whose language level is not fairly advanced, unless you have adapted it somehow to accommodate their level of ability.
Trade Fair high beginner to advanced Students in small groups choose some aspect of the L2 history, culture, language, sports, food, music, etc, and create a display and presentation on that thing. This will take a long time to prepare, two weeks at least. Make sure to invite This is a very good way for students to engage in Bloom’s level 6, creating. It will also help develop their presentation skills and sense of self-confidence.
Headbands any Students have a word on a card held up to their head in such a way that the student cannot see their own, but everyone else can. Students circulate around the room and ask questions to try to figure out what their card says. This is a good way to get students to ask questions for information in a communicative way.

This is a good way to review.

 

D. Woods’ Pedagogical Repertoire

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Pedagogical Repertoire

  1. Mission to the Moon/Alligator River: I have listed these two activities as a single activity because they are similar, insofar as they encourage learners to verbally negotiate and reach agreements in groups. The slight difference between the two is Mission to the Moon encourages the students to formulate logos-based arguments, whereas Alligator River encourages them to formulate ethos-based arguments. Before completing Alligator River as a class, Peter elicited expressions of agreement and disagreement according to register (formal/informal) and force; this step is crucial because it helps learners be aware of the language they need to use in order to negotiate effectively. Materials and descriptions of these activities can be found in Golub’s (2000) Making learning happen: Strategies for an interactive classroom (beginning pp. 61 and 71).
  1. Life line: Students are placed in groups of three to five. Each student receives three sticky notes, and lists (with brief writing) three major events along with the associated dates. The sticky notes are placed in chronological order to form a kind of board game. Students roll dice to move across the board. If they land on their own sticky note, each person in the group can ask them one question about the sticky note. If the student lands on another person’s sticky note, he can ask that person three questions about the event. This activity is great for building familiarity/rapport, and for helping students to practice/produce question formulation.
  1. Birthday Lineup: A kinesthetic speaking activity in which students line up in a horseshoe according to their birthdays without speaking to each other. After they have finished lining up, the students say their names and birthdays. In P&P, we first lined up based on how many languages we speak, and were able to speak with each other during the lineup. I envision myself using Birthday Lineup with beginners, perhaps having them practice lining up based on the alphabetic order of their first names (perhaps intermediate learners could discuss how many minutes it takes them to get to work, or to school).
  1. My little guidebook to huge success: Students create a guidebook containing their goals and strategies for achieving their goals. The students are shown an example guidebook, and encouraged to reflect upon and write their own set of goals or strategies, and to decorate the guidebook according to their artistic inclinations. The teacher can provide less proficient writers (and less inclined artists) with prompts written/drawn on the board, or a partially completed guidebook handout. A page in this handout could read, for example, “studying in the ESL program will help me with this, my most significant goal: _______” (taken from the MLGHS handout in P&P).
  1. Four square: This activity fosters peer-to-peer and small group spoken communication and negotiation. The teacher gives the students 4 hypothetical scenarios and 4 corresponding squares on the floor, and each student demonstrates a preference for one of the hypothetical scenarios by positioning herself/himself in the corresponding square. Students grouped in the same square then discuss their reasons for choosing the square, and create a group response to share with the class. This activity can foster type-2 conditional awareness (e.g. “if I could have lunch with Elon Musk, Hillary Clinton, the Pope, or George Clooney, I would have lunch with Elon Musk”). In P&P, “Four Square” was used primarily to build peer-to-peer rapport, and Willow and Annabelled developed a series of handout-based four square writing activities.
  1. Kinesthetic punctuation: The basic premise is one student reads a handout to a group of students, the handout has punctuation spelled out (e.g. <comma> instead of <,>), and the students perform a specific movement for each type of punctuation. The students can either be walking in a circle, or in a line side-by-side (in a line side-by-side would need to be done in a large space, such as a gymnasium or outdoors). The teacher can provide the students with examples of movements (e.g. students slow down for “comma,” stop for “period,” jump for “exclamation point,” etc.), and encourage the students to develop their own (e.g. Tae Bo-inclined students may assign a punch-kick combo to the “semi-colon”). This activity was introduced to P&P students as Workstation H in the Grand Punctuation Workshop.
  1. Squares: Ss are grouped in fours. Each student receives her/his own set of uniquely coloured squares* The groups are instructed to use the rectangles to build one square, five squares, and 11 squares. The stipulations are that all rectangles must overlap, and that students cannot touch other group members’ rectangles. By removing the possibility of touching another group member’s rectangles, the students are encouraged to verbally communicate their suggestions. I envision myself using this activity as a lesson warmer, and as practice or production of spoken politeness. This is a take on the “Cooperation Squares” game described in Golub’s (2000) Making learning happen: Strategies for an interactive classroom (p. 59).

*I am unsure how many rectangles each student should receive. Perhaps four?

  1. Gambit chips: In order to give structure to peer-to-peer reflection or feedback on written assignments and presentations, give students “gambit chips” (smallish cards) with response prompts like “to me, the main part of your argument is X” or “tell me more about X.” This is taken from Stone’s Cooperative Learning & Language Arts (p. 140), provided as a handout in P&P. I can see gambit chips facilitating many different types of conversational activities (i.e. inner-outer circle, one-on-one feedback, group feedback) for learners of various proficiency levels. Gambit chips could even help native speakers develop conversational skills, like those offered by Julian Edge’s collaborative development system.
  1. Outcome sentences: Taken from the Review and Assessment category of the SIOP model, outcome sentences are designed to encourage students to reflect on a lesson by completing one (or more) of the following sentences “I learned _____,” “I think _____,” “I wonder _____,” “I feel _____.” I believe students might enjoy writing these sentences on the board. For this, the teacher could create four columns for the four outcome sentences. Alternatively, students could write outcome sentences in class journals or on miniature white boards.
  1. Film reenactment and adaptation: This activity begins with a focus on pronunciation, subsequently focuses on writing, and returns to pronunciation. Students, in pairs or threes, begin by selecting a short clip from a TL-culturally affiliated film or show they would like to reenact. Students record or perform the reenactment in front of the class, focusing primarily on prosodic replication. The students then adjust the register of the dialogue or the identity of the characters, if not both, and record or perform the adaptation for the class. The recordings/performances offer opportunities for instructor feedback on prosody, and the adaptation scripts can be used for writing assessment/feedback. So as to avoid the promotion of stereotypes, the instructor should check-in with each group at the beginning of the adaptation process.
  1. 10 Cards: This activity facilitates vocabulary acquisition/review for course readings, and can be a good alternative to the traditional, handout-based keyword and definition matching activity. Students are grouped, and each group receives an envelope with 10 blank slips of paper. The group selects from a reading (previously read, in class or prior) 10 challenging words and writes the words and definitions on the slips, and places the slips in the envelope. Envelopes are then swapped between groups. Members in a group then take turns removing one slip from the new envelope and providing clues so the others can guess the word. If the slip-selecting student does not know the word, the slip is returned to the envelope and another slip is drawn. In order to scaffold toward this activity, the instructor should first provide the students with envelopes of ten pre-selected words and corresponding definitions, perhaps during a previous lesson.
  1. Trivia review: Trivia can be played to review a unit or entire course, for which the teacher or students create categories and questions that represent the material and the learners. Post-its can be used to represent the point-oriented categories, and the questions/prompts written or typed on a separate document, or PowerPoint can be used to show the categories and provide the learners with visual text for the questions/prompts. If students create the categories, groups can be formed, and each group can create the questions for one category. A group will then not be allowed to play its respective category during Trivia Review. Example categories from P&P, here to inspire the development of new categories for different courses, include: world cultures & languages, Bloom & Crabbe, know your classmates, Precepts, acronyms, Krashen, instructor trivia, methods in the madness, cooperative concepts.

Ben and Sergio’s Pedagogical Repertoire

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Hey everyone, here is a list of some of our favorite activities from this semester. Most are from this class but some are spin offs of new activities. Hope you all like it!

 

L2 Superhero creation

Level: intermediate/advanced

Language teachers would have students create their own superhero. Students would have to draw and describe their superhero’s abilities. Students would also create an entire history for their superhero and would have to tell other students about their hero. This activity would be best for students in school and may not be suitable and interesting for adults. This activity would reinforce:

  • creativity
  • vocabulary
  • imagination

L2 Role Playing Game

Level: intermediate/advanced

Language teachers would create a role-playing game that would be set in a specific a medieval or modern environment. The game would be similar to the game Dungeons and Dragons. Teachers could create an elaborate game board and would be the game master. Game masters control the reality of the game and act as the narrator and referee of the game itself.

Language teachers would have students design and draw a character for themselves. The student would have to explain the characteristics of his or her character and the character’s abilities in the L2.

The teacher/game master would describe the setting and introduce the players to different kinds of enemies (monsters, dragons, villains, bandits,) and dangerous situations via story telling. When students enter into imagined combat with an enemy, they would roll dice to decide if their attacks landed or not and to determine the amount of damage they inflicted on imagined enemies. Characters would have a specific amount of hit points and points would be deducted from the characters hit points after each attack.

This activity could be used on Fridays as a means to give students a fun and productive rest from the usual language activities. This activity would reinforce:

  • creativity
  • vocabulary
  • verbs of motion
  • imagination
  • verb tense
  • verb aspect

L2 Monopoly

Level: intermediate/advanced

Language teachers would adapt the board game Monopoly into a game that reinforces knowledge of the target L2.  Teachers would use the Monopoly board game as an example. For the street names, teachers could use famous streets from the country where the target L2 is spoken. Teachers could also use the names of other famous landmarks and even add completely new squares, which would prompt students to perform L2 reinforcing activities.

Language teachers could also add a trivia portion to the game in order to practice different aspects of the L2. If a player lands on a chance square, he or she would have to draw a card and answer a question about the L2 or the history, literature, culture and or geography of the L2’s country. For each correct answer, the player would receive monopoly money.  Any game could be adapted for any language and students could participate in the creation of the game. This activity would reinforce:

  • creativity
  • vocabulary
  • geography
  • culture knowledge
  • history
  • literature
  • any aspect of the L2 teachers wish to reinforce

L2 comic book

Level: intermediate/advanced

Students would be tasked with creating a comic book about the superhero that they created. Students would come up with a plot for the comic and a villain for the superhero to encounter. After creating the comic book, students would divide into groups and discuss the comic he or she has created with other students. This activity would enforce:

  • verbs of motion
  • verb tense
  • verb aspect
  • vocabulary
  • imagination
  • creativity

Cognate game

Level: beginner

If a target L2 uses a different alphabet than the L1, this cognate name could be used to introduce students to letters of the alphabet. This game could also be used as a review after students have already learned the L2 alphabet. Teachers would find pictures of famous fast food chains that have opened restaurants in the country where the L2 is spoken. Teachers would then show students pictures of McDonalds, Starbucks, Burger King or others in Russian, for example, and students would have to guess what the signs of the restaurants say. Teacher would not have to limit themselves to using pictures of fast food restaurants. Teachers could use any visual image with words/cognates that have equivalents in the L1 (stops signs, taxi signs, etc.). This activity would reinforce:

  • memorization
  • knowledge of L2 alphabet

KGB (FSB) hunt

Level: intermediate/advanced

This activity is specifically designed for learners of Russian but could be adapted for learners of other languages. Teachers would create a fake dossier of a made up KGB (FSB) agent. Students would have to read the dossier in order to extract essential information about the agent’s biography. Students could also be given a time limit in order to create a feeling of urgency. Teachers could also write up a conversation between two KGB (FSB) agents and have two Russian native speakers act out the conversation while the teacher records it. Students would have to listen to the recording of the conversation and write down critical details. Students would then divide into groups and share the details he or she was able extract from the conversation.  This activity would reinforce:

  • listening skills
  • writing skills
  • speaking skills

Four Square

Level: Beginner to Advanced

Classroom is divided into four sections, and teacher gives different topics to students in each section. For example; which city would you live in? (Boston, LA, Miami, Seattle) or, favorite meal? (breakfast, lunch, dinner, dessert). Then students discuss and defend their opinions based on which section they chose.

  • Students are standing and active
  • Develops speaking skills and students must form their own sentences
  • Gives learners practice in expressing themselves
  • Cultural exposure also based on topics given
  • Variations can be made based on students’ skill level (topics that require less complex language

Visual Thinking Strategies

Level: Advanced (variations for Beginners)

Originally developed as a means of critical thinking towards artwork, this can be applied in the classroom to English learners as a means of practicing speaking skills. First, the teacher picks several images for the students to discuss. Question is asked: “What’s going on in this picture?” From there, students think, pair, and share their ideas. Teacher facilitates discussion and then asks “What makes you say that?” Students think, pair, share again and teacher finally asks “What more can we find?” These three questions are meant to illicit a variety of responses from students.

  • Variations can include; show and tell (students bring in own images), storyboard (images relate to each other), multimedia, and beginning levels (images are simpler and require less complex language to discuss
  • Can be used as an introduction for other concepts of a content-based course

Draw the nose

Level: Intermediate-Advanced

This is a game that I put in my lesson plan for my final Language Analysis project. Students are divided into groups of three. One student is blindfolded, one student “gives directions,” and the other student takes notes. A face is then drawn on a white board with the nose missing, the other student gives directions to the blindfolded student on how to draw the nose correctly. The student taking notes should write down the kind of language used and the words utilized. This is done three times so all students have a chance at each role. At the end, the students compare their notes on language and a culminating discussion on commands and directional language is had.

  • This is fun and lighthearted and will likely be funny due to the mistakes made drawing the nose
  • Makes learners more aware of the language they use and how it is understood
  • Can be done also with pin the tail on the donkey, mazes, or other similar games

Taboo

Level: Beginner-Advanced

This was done at the very beginning of P&P, but I like it because it is fast paced and very helpful for vocabulary. A variety of words are written on pieces of paper and given to students in groups. One at a time, each student will grab a piece of paper and describe the word on it to try to get their teammates to say it. The student cannot use the word (or any of its variations) in describing it. Students take turns doing this until all words are done. Afterwards, the teacher can then see which words were particularly difficult and try to address the issue.

  • This is a good vocabulary activity for a content-based class where new words are being introduced with each topic

Punctuation station

Level: Intermediate

We did this in class also. I also stole several of the papers from each station because I think this is a great activity to get learners aware of punctuation. Stations included acting out each punctuation mark like in musical chairs and even students filling in punctuation on authentic material and seeing who was right. There was also an activity where students would try to read a script without any punctuation at all. And another good one was using punctuation to make the same paragraph of words mean something totally different, it’s also a great way to see how meaning can change from punctuation use alone. Another discussion based on the activities from each station would be a useful culmination to this activity. I also think that this activity can precede a brief lesson on punctuation to make sure all students are on the same page, since I did notice that even in our class some of us weren’t in agreement on when certain punctuation marks should be used.

Information Gap

Level: Intermediate

This is another very social activity where the whole class can interact. Students are given a map with some places missing and others filled in. Each student has different gaps in their map and students have to go around and ask each other questions that will fill the gap in their own map, then they answer questions from their peers to help them fill in theirs. This can also done with written material that is missing bits of information.

  • Depending on which variation you do, students will practice reading, speaking, and forming questions
  • This can also be an introductory activity to a topic in class

 

 

 

 

 

Pedagogical Trade Fair-Escape the Chinese

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In recent years, Escape Room becomes a popular activity in Asian countries. There are also mobile and online games. I thought it might be a possible assessment for language class so Kim and I decided to work on it for the Pedagogical Trade Fair.

The hardest part of our project is to come up with clues. The point of the game is that all the clues are connected, and eventually lead people get out of the room.  For our project, we also need to add in the Chinese language factors. We used Chinese idiom because advanced students had previous knowledge with it and they could also learn new idioms.

Procedure:

  • Students imagine themselves locked up in a room; they need to find clues in order to find the key and get out
  • The clues are hidden in different parts of the classroom; students need to have certain knowledge on Chinese idioms in order to solve the clues

Escape the Chinese Room video: https://youtu.be/7z83L52Ardc

English Escape Room Games:

  1. http://www.tvokids.com/games/bigescape
  2. http://www.tvokids.com/games/bigescape2

Bayview en francais

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by Gerri, Kendall, and Dee

Kendall, Dee, and I chose to teach a third and second grade class French at Bayview. We all had very mixed teaching experiences up to that point. Dee and I both participated in the TAPIF program: I worked in a high school and Dee worked with elementary school children. Kendall also taught French students in high school during her studies abroad. All of us taught English before, but not French.

Needless to say, while Kendall and I looked forward to the  opportunity to try new things, Dee was the most comfortable walking into this experience.

Our first class was with third graders. Overall it went smoothly: the children paid attention, stayed in their seats, and seemed enthusiastic about what we were teaching them. However, we forgot to hand out the worksheet we had made right off the bat, and out lesson would have gone more smoothly had we not neglected to do this. In particular, the children enjoyed looking at the books we brought in and the coloring activity at the end of our lesson.

The second grade class was completely different. While we learned from our previous mistake, and handed out the worksheet right away, they lacked the attention span to make use of it. The class’ teacher did not stay in the room with us, and the children outright refused to listen to the aid that remained in the room.

Kendall and I were particularly flustered by the second grade class. While we both love children, we came out of the experience  not  comprehending how anybody manages to teach children, and having great admiration for those that do. It was frustrating to see such a lack of classroom discipline and not knowing how to fix it. We were not told the quiet signal before the lesson, however it might not have made much of a difference, as the children ignored it when the aid used it. It also became very clear to us that the worksheet we made was too advanced for their grade level, which we’re sure did not help the disorderly classroom situation. Our lesson too, for this reason, took longer than before.

We understand that this class is not reflective of all classes, and take the experience with a grain of salt. The difference in each class really showed us just how varied teaching can be, and how important it is to be flexible in your lesson planning. Having a high tolerance for ambiguity and setting expectations for your classroom early on also seemed to be useful.

On a positive note, this experience reminded us all why we chose to become teachers in the first place: to see that moment of joy when students are engaged and understanding what they are learning. The children were incredibly insightful and creative while designing their planets, and it was so much fun talking to them about their creations. We even got a note from a third grader saying “you rock”.

Four-Square Graphic Organizer-Pedagogical Trade Fair

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posterboard

Our poster focused on the four-square graphic organizer, a simple and versatile tool that can be adapted to be used with any group of students. We displayed examples of adaptations that are appropriate for English language learners.  We showed a four-square that could be used to help students brainstorm classroom rules at the beginning of the semester. With the 4 categories of Rules for me, Rules for others, Rules for the Classroom, & Rules for the School, the tool could be useful for many different ages and contexts.

We also had examples of four-squares to use with different classes. One was a four-square vocabulary organizer with space for the definition of the new word, an example in a sentence, a synonym of the word, and a space for student to draw something that would help them remember the word. Another was an example of a four-square that could be used in K-12 content-based ESL classes: the organizer focused on the life stages of a butterfly, so that students could review biology vocabulary and processes as well as practicing English sequence marker words and common verbs. The adult EFL four-square could be used to help students organize their ideas in paragraph and essay writing, with spaces for the topic, topic sentence, supporting sentences, and the concluding sentence. The adult ESL four-square could be useful with students who have limited literacy skills, and teaches sequence words in order to write a paragraph.

For the interactive portion of our poster board, we used an activity that engaged participants by asking them to compare and contrast the needs of different student populations.  Participants read short descriptions of students and decided if they fit ESL, EFL, Adult, Children, more than one category, or all categories. A few examples were: These students might become distracted and go off-task if the lesson is not engaging (children); These students might not speak English outside the classroom (all); These students might not have access to any native speakers except for the teacher (EFL). The answers were subjective, and we had some great conversations with people who stopped by our table, as they shared their experiences and their perspectives on student needs.

Annabelle Royer and Willow Barnosky

Informal Observation 1: Chinese BUILD

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For this observation, I observed Kelly’s beginner level Chinese class. The lesson only had one student arrive so Kelly adapted her lesson plan so that it was suitable for a tutoring session.

She started by reviewing numbers 1-10 in Chinese with the student (pronunciation, tones, & writing). She then asked the student if she remembered how to make higher numbers. The student iterated the correct rule for creating numbers between 11-99. Kelly helped her write the rule down and practice orally producing several of these numbers. She then asked the student if she remembered the measure word for 100. The student did not so Kelly taught it and they practiced making numbers between 1-999. They practiced by speaking in Chinese and translating to English and vice versa. Kelly also asked the student to practice writing the characters.

The next part of the lesson used the numbers in sentences. The first sentence was: “What time is it?” and answering: “It’s ___.” Kelly asked the student if she recognized the characters and explained the ones she didn’t know.

After practicing asking and telling the time (integrating numbers). They then learned how to ask “when were you born?” and answer “I was born on ____.” This sentence pattern used a lot of the vocabulary that was already taught. Kelly used a game with flashcard to help the student practice the sentence patterns.

During this lesson Kelly used a lot of questions to raise the student’s awareness of her own knowledge of the language and to make connections between learned and new information. She also encouraged the student’s autonomy by asking her to make rules and use her own knowledge to decode the language. Kelly also used contextualized input and output by having the student practice using the question and sentence patterns with the observers (2 spoke Chinese) and to tell the actual time.

The flashcard game at the end was an entertaining way to practice repetition drills that seemed to raise the student’s motivation. The student already had a pretty high motivation to learn the language, but Kelly continued to engage and raise her motivation by making the lesson enjoyable.

I really enjoyed how Kelly scaffolded the lesson so that they worked from small units (numbers) to using those units in more complicated sentence patterns. I would love to do this in my own language classes in the future. I would also like to encourage my students’ autonomy by asking them to use their own knowledge of the language to find underlying rules to decode the grammar.