Pre-Intermediate and Intermediate Grammar

  • Before Class: The classroom does not have a previous class in it before this one, so students have shown up for the lesson about 30 minutes before the lesson. They either settled into their seats and having either brief chats with other classmates/friends or have taken the time before class to prepare themselves and check/do their homework from the previous class.
  • When the class did start, there was a brief introduction of myself, my name and why I was joining the class for the day before jumping into their teaching routine. A new student had joined the class, but since this was already the second week of classes there were a bit behind on previous lessons. They had made it clear that they needed to catch up and that with the nature of summer courses, it is a faster paced environment so they would not be able to cater to them as well as if they had been there since the first class.
    • While it is unfortunate that the student had missed the first few lessons, I think that explaining this is important for the students to recognize their own responsibility for their learning as there is only so much a teacher can do if they aren’t there for class.
  • The teacher had been a bit late in arriving to class, and was doing their best to quickly et their things organized so they could lead the class efficiently. While they were getting organized, they gave a student (the only one in the slightly higher course of the two) a slightly different text book with the answers in the back so that they can check their answers when they study by themselves outside of class time.
    • I loved to see this, because it showed me that the teacher took into account the different needs this particular student had and made an effort to cater to them.
  • Once the class has its ”official” start, and each student’s name tag has been handed out, the teacher begins by going through the homework from the previous lesson and using it to do a warmup/review. While reviewing the homework, the teacher was speaking clearly.
  • At this point in the class, students are quiet but attentive as they follow along. This is in the same classroom as hours 1 and 2, so the layout remains the same as the teacher stands at the front of the room using the projector to display the students worksheet onto the whiteboard, then using a dry erase marker to fill in the answers as students answer the questions out loud as a group.
    • This was the first time I’ve seen this technique used and I thought it was so smart! I remember when worksheets were printed on a clear sheet of plastic and the teacher would use a projector and use water soluble markers to write on them. So I thought that this was a brilliant way to emulate it in a much more modern setting. It also makes it more interactive because you can get students to go up and fill in the blanks themselves after working on problems individually.
  • When the students were calling the answers aloud, they were encouraged to say the entire sentence leading up to the answers, not just the answers themselves.
    • I like this, because it helps the students become more familiar with speaking in longer sentences, but also being able to read aloud more comfortably.
  • Uses the examples given in the text book to give an opportunity to students to speak on past experiences.
    • I think this is a really great way to engage students and get them to bring a piece of themselves to the conversation. Not only that but they might learn a new word/phrase related to their interests, or even how to express themselves more fully within the English language. This is also another way that we as learning facilitators can help our students be seen, not just as a student, but as an individual with unique life experiences.
  • It is at this point the teacher is explaining the difference between every day use, and academic use. Specifically how in modern speech, the grammar may not be correct but the meaning of what is being said is easily conveyed.
  • During short conversations to re-engage the students the teacher makes notes of the students birthdays and home countries.
    • I believe this is something that would depend on your students. Some of them might not be comfortable with giving out private information like that, so while it could be seen as a caring gesture, not everyone is willing to give this kind of information about themselves.
  • The teacher showed that they have good control over the atmosphere in the classroom, as he is able to reign in the students when it starts to get a little loud or rambunctious.
  • Once the assignment/worksheet had been handed out, the teacher used this as an opportunity to quickly run to the washroom
    • I had never thought about it much during my time as a student, but thinking about it I believe this is really smart. Student will have a few minutes to work on whatever was given, but also without the watchful eye of the teacher they perhaps might feel more inclined to ask a classmate for help. This could also be a quick brain break for students that need a moment to collect their thoughts. It could also be seen as a moment where you “shake up” the classroom, as bathroom breaks tend to be more on the unpredictable side.
  • 10 Minute Break
    • I believe it is important to note that this particular teacher had a cart with all of their supplies for the courses they taught that day. I loved this idea, so long as all the classes are taught in the same area or building this seems like a much better idea compared to other options I’ve seen teachers using to carry not only their teaching supplies, but also assignments taken for marks and whatever else might be needed that day.
  • During the break, most of the students spoke in English most notably with the other students without a similar cultural background, as neither parties could communicate in their mother tongue.
  • Once the class came back together after the brief recess, the class was split up to do partner work with the person beside them with a few stragglers being told to join certain groups.
    • Looking from a teacher’s perspective, I now understand why I was put in groups against my will as a student so many times. It is to make sure that everyone is included and felt seen, even if the desire in the moment is to be left alone or even just hesitance at a social interaction with new people. I hope to be able to engage my students enough so that there might not be as much hesitance not just in group work, but that they feel like their voice and opinions are just as important as the content being taught.
  • It was during this time that the teacher took my fellow student-teacher and I to the ESL textbook room and gave us a copy of the course’s textbook for reference when going through the course materials for the remainder of the class time, but also as reference to the kinds of materials we will probably be working with when we start teaching lessons with our sponsor teachers.
  • Once we had returned to the classroom, while going through the assigned worksheet the teacher made note to explain not just the meaning of certain words, but also the context that they may be used in.
    • I think this is another thing to note because native English speakers have grown up in most cases with these opportunities sprinkled throughout our lifetimes, usually with a parent or someone older to correct us when we use them. With ESL learners, I think it is a good idea to give them as “heads up” as to which contexts certain phrases or idioms might be used.
  • Due to explaining the contexts of certain idioms, there were brief off-topic conversations, but they only lasted about a minute or so before moving on to the next question.
  • It was at this point that the teacher had realized that there was still a fair amount of content to go through before the end of class and that time was approaching rather quickly. They then put up the next page of the worksheet up on the projector, and proceeded to have each student go through and real aloud one line each.
    • I think this is good for letting the students prepare to speak aloud opposed to being called on at random, and perhaps give them a little more confidence for when they speak/ read aloud.
  • Before letting the class go for the day, the teacher reminds them of a test next class as well as test-taking strategies, such as reading the instructions carefully, and to read the text provided a few times before answering the questions on the test. Then, when assigning homework for the next class the teacher makes notes for themselves to remember what it is that they had assigned.