TESL 170 - Observation Journal

Reflective Observation Report

              I had the opportunity to do my observation hours at H. Int. English School, which is a private school here in Winnipeg. I observed a total of five full lessons varying from 1.5 hours to 3 hours for each lesson.

The school offers programs for different academic purposes. Some examples are the Pathway Program which is a program for students intending to enter College or University;  integrated skill classes in the mornings, and skill-based classes offered in the afternoons for students who want to improve a specific skill area (Reading, Listening, Writing, and Speaking).

This school determines the students' English level by using the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR). The CEFR was something that I was not that familiar with. I was expecting to see CLB levels instead. After all, this is what I was fully familiar with throughout my TESL program. Having said that, I thank the classroom teacher for taking the time to find me a chart with the CEFR "can do" statements. This helped me a lot to understand and know the English level of the students.

Regarding the number of students in each classroom, this varied from class to class. There were students from different backgrounds and nationalities, but Asian students outnumbered other nationalities.

Under the aspect of teaching, the teacher usually began her lesson by taking attendance, asking students about their weekend, and asking questions about events happening in the city.  I think having a few minutes at the beginning of the class to connect with the students is an important part of the entire lesson. I could see how the students enjoyed sharing a short story about themselves and how important it was to them to share that with the teacher, and also with the rest of the class. For me, I think this is key in developing rapport and connection with the students.

I really enjoyed watching the teacher use different teaching methods in her classroom.

One method that she used was the deductive approach to introduce new materials to the students. After giving the rule and the examples on how to use a new vocabulary word, idiom, or phrasal verb, she would send the students to work on their own and then work with a partner. The students enjoyed giving each other feedback about their work. The teacher would walk around the room and offered error correction to the students as well. She did this in a very balanced way.

In addition to the paper-based activities, the teacher integrated technology into her lessons quite often. One specific tool was the use of a smartboard which was conveniently installed in the classroom. A quick example of how she used this device is when she Air-Dropped a worksheet image onto the smartboard and corrected the activity with the class. How cool is that!

I truly enjoyed my time observing this teacher. Her passive and calm way of talking to the students made me realize that there is no need to over project your voice in a classroom to be heard. As a teacher, you owe it to those students who really want to learn, and for those students who get easily distracted, there is no need to call them for their attention. They will join in the learning on their own.

Please see all my notes taken during my observation.  Click here