Class type: Intermediate Speaking

Subject: Advertising and Consumer Behaviour

  • Before the class started, I was able to gain access to the classroom a few minutes before the class arrived to set up. I had ensured enough copies of the activity sheet were available, as well as a few copies of the lesson plan in case any supervising teachers wanted a copy as well. Then I prepared the video ad for the end of class, and skipped through the ads so that I could get directly to the advertisement. I tried my best to prep all of the activities ahead of time to the best of my abilities.
  • Once all of the students had pooled in and got comfortable in their seats, I had begun the lesson with asking what their topic for the week was. It took a little bit of coaxing to get them to respond.
    • Understandable so, as the usual teacher that had helped coordinate this lesson the previous week was away, so shuffling teachers can be a little daunting for students.
  • For the first activity that I had planned, Students were to take turns pulling a piece of paper out of a hat. Each piece of paper listed a common every day item such as a watch, a car, a toothbrush etc… Then we went around in a circle and each student was to give at least 3 reasons/sentences as to why they think we should buy the item on their piece of paper.
    • I think this activity went really well! I had also pulled out a piece of paper, and modelled how I wanted them to answer. I would say all of the students in my class were really receptive to the activity, and it made them think critically about what they thought of the item, and then communicate those thoughts. Some of the students needed a bit more time than others to organize their thoughts. But overall I would say it was a great success. This activity only went for about 15-20 minutes, as we did 2 rounds as a group before moving on.
  • For the next activity, I had students think of a favourite thing (or a brand if they could not think of anything). Then once everyone had an item in mind, I gave them an activity sheet where they would need to interview 3 people with the questions provided about their favourite item. Once every one had finished their interview sheet, they were then to return to their seats and we’d go through each person’s favourite item as a group before moving on.
    • I will admit, here is where my nerves got a bit of the better of me. I hadn’t explained the instructions clearly the first time, so there was some confusion as to what the students thought they were supposed to do. After a few attempts at explaining however the students went whole heartedly into the task, and pairs that had finished early, I had beckoned them over so that they could interview me as well. This way they weren’t just standing around waiting for another pair to be finished, since some went through it quicker than others. Once everyone finished, and we had gone through everyone’s favourite things and why, I think the activity overall went really well! I think if I were to do this activity again, I would try and either find a way to explain it more succinctly, or I might tweak it a little more.
  • The next activity I had planned was sort of a game of comparison. I had attached pairs of company logos that produced similar goods/services. For example; Coca-Cola and Pepsi, Starbucks and Second Cup, Apple and Samsung etc… And we had a group discussion as to what they believe is better and why.
    • Wow! I think this was the most talkative I have seen the group yet! My only grievance is that I did not have enough cards prepared. Looking back I would have liked to have maybe 2 or 3 more pairs of brands to go through. The group was really good about taking turns voicing their opinions with minimal coaxing, and a few good laughs. The reason why I wish I had made a few more cards is because we had gone through the activity a little faster than I had anticipated.
  • For what I had intended to be the last 1 or 2 minutes of class had actually turned out to be between 5-10 minutes, as the previous activity had gone quicker than anticipated. I had planned to show the group one of my favourite commercials (a Korean Tropicana Ad). Because the ad is only about 30 seconds long, with only slight variations, I only played the first 3 loops before moving on. Since we were still too early to let them go for the day, i turned what was meant as a farewell-food-for-thought video into a discussion. Did they like the commercial? Did they think it was effective? Would they buy the product? Why or why not?
    • Not going to lie, I felt very proud of myself for thinking on my feet in the moment. Everyone wanted to voice their opinions, and we actually ran out of time opposed to waiting for the clock.

Overall, I think my very first time actually creating a lesson plan and executing it went really well! The students were engaged for the majority of class time, and I can see that the class I am currently with are warming up to me. I cannot wait to see them again for the next class!

That being said, the only real critique I had from my supervising teacher was that I seemed a little bit nervous. We discussed that this was something that will go away more or less with practice. During my time in the TESOL/TEFL program, I can already see major improvement in my skills in facilitating a classroom and I look forward to seeing how I grow and improve moving forward!