CELTA Written Assignment 4ii: Lessons from the Classroom

CIRA FERNNDEZ SNCHEZ

In this assignment we want to know some things you would like to borrow from the
lessons/teachers you have observed and why. The idea is for you to identify and comment on FOUR
techniques, features or ideas you have seen which would help your own teaching. Your comments
will be based on observations of your PEERS, TUTORS and EXPERIENCED CLIC TEACHERS.

Example:

ASPECT OF THE LESSON (PEER): In the final stage of a debate, the teacher organised the students into a
tight circle for group discussion. Though they took a little time to get going, they did so independently of
the teacher, who stayed outside the group taking notes. After a short while the discussion really took off
and the students got very involved and rarely looked to the teacher for help. It was very natural
communication.
HOW THIS WOULD HELP ME: I have had the tendency to try to start off group discussion with me in front
of the whole group. This hasnt worked very well. The students tend to be very unresponsive at first.
This tends to draw me into the discussion and I end up running the whole thing. This was a great idea and a
great chance to listen and take some notes as the students speak.

PROCEDURE:
Take notes in all your observations (tutors, peers and experienced CLIC teachers)
Write your comments in the FOUR boxes which follow (as in the example above)
At least one box must be about each of the following categories:
o Your tutors
o Your peers
o Experienced CLIC teacher(s)

Please do not mention any of the teachers by name, but do indicate the category as in the
example above (e.g. (PEER))
Maximum 500 words
Hand in the complete assignment on Tuesday Week 4
Use the attached list of areas to give you ideas and to write notes/reminders

ASSESSMENT CRITERIA:
Successful candidates can show evidence of:
Ability to identify the main strengths and development needs from their own teaching and the
teaching of others
Ability to write at a level of accuracy which does not jeopardise clarity and
comprehensibility, and which reflects a knowledge of discourse, grammar, punctuation and
spelling.
Aspect of the lesson (EXPERIENCED TEACHER / DVD): I really enjoyed the way
the teacher checked meaning of TL by drawing clines, concept checking and eliciting
other examples; she highlighted features of forms using colour on the whiteboard, then
she modelled and drilled chorally and individually for pronunciation.
How this would help me: So far I have not worked thoroughly on the TL of a
vocabulary lesson. I think I could apply the techniques mentioned above, especially to
elicit more examples from Ss and convey meaning more thoroughly (connotations,
collocations, etc.)
Aspect of the lesson (PEER): One of the most successful lessons I have observed
from peers was a skills lesson (reading). The staging was excellent: an interesting lead-
in which triggered prediction (a wordle), a gist task, pre-teaching of blocking
vocabulary, a detailed reading followed by a comprehension task (true/false), and a
final written task.

How this would help me: Some of my lessons were not highly successful in terms of
staging. Thanks to my peer's lesson, I realised how important it is to set tasks at the
right time to avoid stages overlapping. It is also very important to avoid overplanning (I
tended to overplan a little at the beginning).

Aspect of the lesson (PEER): One of my peers has made very good progress in
setting up activities clearly (instructions, checking instructions, giving examples etc) and
dealing with different class interactions: Ss working in pairs, in groups, Ss standing up
in order to find a partner, mixing them up by assigning them a number or letter, etc.

How this would help me: I have the feeling that I have not experimented much with
different class interactions. I have only arranged Ss in pairs or groups of 3-4 and once I
did not anticipate that having an odd number of Ss could be problematic for carrying a
particular task. The observation of excellent classroom organisation, interactions and
dynamics has been really helpful and I will try to incorporate them in my own teaching
practice.

Aspect of the lesson (EXPERIENCED CLIC TEACHER): What I liked most about the
experienced CLIC teacher' lesson was how he dealt with learner's errors. He encouraged
self-correction and peer-correction by echoing the L's error with questioning intonation
to highlight it several times.

How this would help me: I have not put this technique into practice; in general
terms, I have the impression that correcting learners' errors appropriately is an area I
still have to explore more.

PROGRESS & ACTION PLAN

In which two areas of the course do you feel youve made most progress?

1. Setting up activities clearly (instructions, checking instructions, giving examples etc): my

instructions are now clearer and less wordy than at the beginning of the course

2. Facilitating natural communication: I think I have provided Ss with effective tasks at

the productive skills stage of the lesson, which produced a great deal of natural oral
interaction.

Which three areas do you feel you need to work on most in future?

1. Checking Ss' understanding of meaning: using CCQs at the right time, providing more
examples, creating more suitable activities.

2. Dealing with different class interactions: I have to be more creative and take more risks in
relation to this area.

3. Appropriate staging of lessons, in particular, grammar lessons: make the plan more
effective by avoiding unnecessary stages, avoid activities which seem redundant.
POSSIBLE AREAS TO FOCUS ON:

Conveying meaning in context

Checking students understanding of meaning

Clarifying and highlighting forms of language

Helping students with pronunciation

Dealing with appropriacy of language

Providing appropriate practice activities

The teachers speech (language grading, naturalness of language, speed etc)

Setting up activities clearly (instructions, checking instructions, giving examples etc) and
dealing with different class interactions

Organising the classroom to suit the learners and the aim/activity

Effective monitoring and feedback

Materials Design

Facilitating natural communication

Monitoring learners progress during the lesson

Providing appropriate feedback on student output

Dealing with learners errors

Dealing with the unexpected