Leigh Scarano

Intro to English Language Learning

8/28/19

Lesson Reflection

1) What was the biggest challenge you faced while planning the lesson?
- The biggest challenge I faced when planning the lesson was creating a script that was
not too difficult for my group to translate, as well as say. Because the lesson was in
another language, we had to be conscious about the translation and making sure our
lines were not too long or difficult memorize. In addition, because we had planned
lines, it was challenging to maintain a flow of the lesson because if we wanted to say
something else, we could not because of the language barrier.

2) What was the biggest challenge you faced while teaching the lesson?
The biggest challenge we faced when teaching this lesson was trying to keep the class
engaged and understanding what we were saying. Although it was funny we could not
truly speak the language, we had to create the illusion that we could. When we were
speaking, we had to make sure were getting the students to understand what we were
saying, although we could not properly say it.

3) What did you rely on the most during your instruction to overcome these challenges?
- To overcome the problem of the students not fully understanding us, we had to talk
slow and with our hands to motion when we wanted the students to repeat what we
said. In addition, we used many visuals so although the students did not understand
what we said right away, when they see a visual, then they will be able to piece
together the lesson.

4) Was communication with your students easier or more difficult than you originally
thought?
- Communication was easier with the students than I thought. The students were all
more engaged and willing to try to understand what we were saying than I thought.
Once we used visuals as well as the video or drawings, the students understand the
lesson and what we wanted them to do.

5) Do you feel you used co-teaching as effectively as you could have?

- Because we did not know the language, and were just reading off of note cards, I do
feel I could have used co-teaching more effectively. Using a script, especially in
another language, is very formal and strict because we only know how to say those
set lines, and cannot bounce ideas back and forth.

6) Do you feel you achieved your objective? How can you be sure you did or didn’t?
- I feel we fully achieved our objective, which was that students were going to learn
about basic shapes. When we assessed the students at the end of the lesson by
drawing the shapes and having them say them aloud, all of the students knew what to
do and say.
7) As a student of other group’s lessons, what was the biggest challenge you faced?
- The biggest challenge I faced when being a student in another group’s lesson was not
remembering the shape, color, or numbers right away. Because I was unfamiliar with
the new language, picking up on the vocabulary was tough at first.

8) As a student, what did you rely on most to comprehend what was being taught?
- As a student, I relied on hand gestures to understand when the group wanted us to
speak or stand. In addition, I relied on the pictures and videos, as well as the “I, We,
You” demonstrations.