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TESOL Certificate Programs

Observation Notebook

Observation Report Form

Name of Observer Claudia Walukouw Observation # 3

Date Observation Environment* Class Skill/Content Level Teacher


4/21/18 Online
Speaking/Listening High- Chris
https://www.youtube.com/ ESL
comprehension beginner Westergaard
watch?v=2_38JfVFQoU

*Include the URL if the class was online

WRITE THE OBJECTIVES ACCORDING TO THE OBSERVATION GUIDELINES:


- Students will be able to visually and verbally identify different time periods of
the day (morning, afternoon, evening, night) with 100 percent accuracy.
- Students will be able to identify and pair actions that relate to each time-of-day
(eating breakfast, eating lunch, going to sleep) with 100 percent accuracy.
- Students will be able to construct 3 questions and 3 answers based on time-of-
day vocabulary with 100 percent accuracy.

Notes while observing:

Phase 1 – Introduction

- T gets everyone’s attention with “Hello!”


- Tone is very enthusiastic, bright
- Introduces himself with “My name is…” ; has name written on board and points
to it until Ss reads name out loud

Phase 2 – Introducing Vocabulary

- Uses pantomime to express words/phrases


- Uses simple pictures and short sentences
- Has students repeat phrase “in the morning” individually and as a group, multiple
times
- Refers to each student by name
- Is using audio-lingual method

Last Updated: 4/21/2018 11:23 PM


TESOL Certificate Programs
Observation Notebook
Phase 3 – Eliciting Vocabulary

- Video has on screen caption: “LOTS OF DRILLING WITH BEGINNERS –


THEY NEED IT!”
- Again, uses a lot of pantomime
- T emphasizes pronunciation
- Uses words ONLY related to vocabulary being learned
- Has each student repeat every new word multiple times
- Despite drilling, keeps atmosphere very open and relaxed
- Encourages guessing of vocabulary

Phase 4 – Activity (Pair-Work)

- Reminds students “only English, no Dutch” as they are looking at vocabulary


sheets
- Uses fill-in-the-blank/ matching worksheets
- T monitors activities closely, makes corrections as needed
- After worksheet, encourages students to experiment with phrases learned
- Gradually speeds up speaking—not necessarily going by Ss speed
- Appears to switch between drills/repetitions and question-answers
- Says, “no notes, no notes—dialogue only”
- Arranges groups himself
- Eventually T has students construct sentences on their own, without much
correction
- Doesn’t seem to provide context of new phrases and vocabulary; only repetitions

Phase 5 – “Putting it all together” (Last Phase)

- Full dialogue training; no notes


o Students go through all dialogue they have practiced so far, in pairs
- Has students practice individually with instructor
o Meant to mimic natural conversation with native speaker
- T has students go up in pairs and demonstrate full dialogue
- “NO NOTES”
- T monitors each pair closely
- Ss repeats words only as they remember it; when they do not remember, they fill
in conversation with “I don’t know”
- T makes a correction with evening vs. night, when actually student understood
what she had said and had not needed a correction; student re-corrected T
- Review of errors
- Ending: “thank you very much, have fun.”
o Level of enthusiasm/energy different than from beginning
- Makes quick joke regarding filming process; Ss laugh

Last Updated: 4/21/2018 11:23 PM


TESOL Certificate Programs
Observation Notebook
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)

Observation 3: ESL Beginner Lesson

For my third observation, I chose to watch an online lesson taught by Chris

Westergaard for the Language House TEFL demonstration series. The students appeared

to be high-beginner level ESL adults. Although the lesson was constructed primarily

around the Audio-Lingual Method – “an oral-based approach… [that] drills students in

the use of grammatical sentence patterns” – instructor Westergaard still showed several

key aspects of classroom management (Larsen-Freeman & Anderson, 2011).

Firstly, the instructor set the tone of the lesson and his expectations of the students

early on in the video. He showed enthusiasm right at the introduction, and used gestures

freely to indicate his expressions. As he introduced new vocabulary, he also used a

variety of gestures and movements to illustrate the words’ meanings. Westergaard kept

student participation at a maximum, expecting repetition at every stage, from each

individual student. When a student showed hesitation, he encouraged her by repeating the

phrases himself and giving her multiple chances to try again.

Additionally, instructor Westergaard also made ample use of pair- and group-

work activities. He prepared worksheets that appeared to be appropriate for the students’

level, and arranged groups himself when necessary. By monitoring each group as they

worked, he was able to identify errors quickly and address them as needed. After each

student-centered activity, he brought the focus back to the front of the classroom for

group feedback and general error corrections.

Last Updated: 4/21/2018 11:23 PM


TESOL Certificate Programs
Observation Notebook
Finally, Westergaard also exemplified the balance between instructing the class as

a group and focusing on individual needs or questions. Although most of the lesson

consisted of phrase-repetition, towards the end of the video, he allowed his students to

experiment with different sentences without fear of correction. He compiled the

vocabulary learned that day in one large, interactive dialogue exercise that mimicked a

natural conversation between native speakers. In this way, the students were challenged

to use the new vocabulary in realistic settings, with guidance only as needed.

One aspect of the lesson that may benefit from further reflection is the approach

he used in addressing mistakes that were made multiple times. Part of it may have

stemmed from the root of the Audio-Lingual Method, but it seemed as if most of his

error-correction is simply animated gestures or repetition of the correct vocabulary—he

did not appear to explain the context of the words themselves. Moreover, although he

remained fully engaged with the students at all times, the enthusiasm that he started with

was no longer present in the last section of the video. With that said, Westergaard still

demonstrated effective classroom management techniques through consistency in both

his approach and his expectations for his students.

Last Updated: 4/21/2018 11:23 PM


TESOL Certificate Programs
Observation Notebook

References

Larsen-Freeman, D., & Anderson, M. (2011). Techniques & Principles in Language

Teaching. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Last Updated: 4/21/2018 11:23 PM

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