Observation #1 Mrs. Vincent's ESL classroom

The class that I observed and will be observing this year is Mrs. Vincent's ESL class at Riverdale High School. The purpose of the lesson was to study pronouns. Most of the students knew the personal pronouns: I, you, he, she, it, we, you, and they.

THE LESSON
The beginning of the lesson was simply a reinforcement of that knowledge. Mrs. Vincent told the students that the following day, they would have an assignment in which they would be circling pronouns. She proceeded to talk about reflexive pronouns. One thing that I really liked about her teaching method is that she points out both the correct and commonly incorrect way to say things. She gave the examples of the correct reflexive pronouns: himself, herself, and themselves. She then gave examples of incorrect reflexive pronouns that are commonly used: hisself, theirself, and theirselves. She then discussed indefinite pronouns, such as some. She emphasized that the students have to focus on the prepositional phrase in order to determine whether or not the verb is plural. She then talked about subject-verb agreement, and gave the students a procedure to follow when determining subject-verb agreement. The first step is to eliminate prepositional phrases. The second step is to determine the action. The third and final step is to find the first noun or subject pronoun not in the prepositional phrase. I like how Mrs. Vincent has taught the students prepositions and how to find prepositional phrases. It is helpful in order for them more easily locate the subject and verb of the sentence. After explaining the subject-verb agreement, she proceeded to commands. She gave the students a sentence: Stand up. She asked what the subject was. Most of the students had no idea, but one student was finally able to provide the answer. The subject was the understood you in the command. She then gave the students the following sentence: Both of my sisters (are,is) going to Europe during the summer. The students had to put the prepositional phrases in parentheses, find the subject, and choose the correct verb. After three minutes, she called upon a student to come to the board and fix the sentence. After this, the class was almost over. She told the students to study for the assignment tomorrow with pronouns.

The EA, Amy, was working with two students in the back that have very limited English skills. She was going over flash cards with the students that had fruits and vegetables. She was working on the pronunciation and spelling of the words, as well as recognition.

How did the second language learners react/interact?

All of the students except for one seemed to be focused on the lesson. Most of the students actively answered Mrs. Vincent's questions and were engaged in the lesson. There was little talking among students during the lesson. Most of the attention was directed towards Mrs. Vincent's lecture.

What evidence of "community" in terms of the second language learner did you observe?

In terms of community, I observed a relaxed atmosphere in which students are encouraged to participate. It is a small class of only eleven students, most of which are Hispanics. There was one student, as I had mentioned earlier, that did not seem to be paying attention. There was also a student mentioned that is notorious for missing class. Apart from those two students, I saw an engaged classroom where learning was taking place. The two students working with Amy were actively engaged in the flash cards, developing basic English skills.

What is required to become a member of this classroom or learning environment?

In order to be a member in this classroom, a student must be learning English as a second language. Once the student reaches a certain degree of language proficiency, the student tests out. These tests are given every spring. Participation, regular attendance, and an effort to advance in English are all necessary in order to excel in the class. Students need to bring their textbooks, pencils, and paper to class in order to participate.

What events occurred during the observation?

Right after the bell rang, a student walked in late. The student tried to sit down in the back of the room, but Mrs. Vincent did not let him. The classroom was too cold, so the maintenance man came to fix the room's unit. Mrs. Vincent did a good job of keeping the students focused while this was occurring. One of the students did not show up for class, nor was she on the absentee list. Mrs. Vincent sent the aide to the office to find out where the student was. All of the students were well-behaved and participating in class except for one. Mrs. Vincent had to specifically tell him to take out a sheet of paper after all of the other students had done so.

What can an observer see if he/she entered the classroom at this particular time?

An observer would come in to see a well-decorated classroom with attentive students. The students were great. They were engaged in the lesson, and have a strong desire to learn English.

What evidence of "acceptance and welcome" would a second language learner see?

I believe a second language learner would see this as the most welcoming classroom of all. It is an environment where it is understood that the students are not fluent in English. In the classroom, there are students from different parts of the world: Mexico, India, Thailand, and Japan. The teacher has effective control over the classroom; therefore, she can be more relaxed. I assume that she has established this control from day one. Having a well-controlled classroom actually creates a more relaxed atmosphere where the students are able to learn. Mrs. Vincent cares about the students, and they know that. I was very impressed at how relaxed yet effective the classroom environment was. The students seemed happy to be there.