Date: Feb 10 TEFL Like a pro (Multiple Videos, 2 hours)

 

    This observation was of many classes taught to English learners. The women teaching use simple explanations of the lesson and ask students lots of questions to get students talking. They practice real-life worksheets such as applications or essays. This gives them the tools to do these things on their own. Other teachers in the example ask open-ended questions to get students to speak their mind, then gets students to read out assignments on their own with the class. There are many examples of students speaking together on their own in pairs while the teacher facilitates. There are also examples of bodily-kinesthetic activities, where students use objects to improve their understanding of writing and listening content. One of these games is a board race, with teams running back and forth from a board to categorize vocabulary. The teacher uses chocolate bars to encourage her students to run to and from the board and go as fast as possible. This game could be played in a small or large class and can be changed depending on what the class is learning. The videos go over bad teaching habits, such as repeating students answers and interrupting students. This was a good example video to watch so that I know what some of the common bad habits there are and can try to avoid them. All of the activities and lessons that are shown and demonstrated are great ideas to use for future classes. Activities like role-playing, board games, and mingles are all great ways to get students talking and interacting with each other in English. These videos are a great resource for watching in the future, as they go over a wide range of classroom activities and examples for what to teach in the classroom.