Observation #2 Mrs. Vincent's ESL Classroom

TEACHING ISSUES

What identified problems related to teaching, lesson delivery, materials, and related strategies are present?

One problem in the class was that many students were absent. On the day that I went to observe, both of the students that are beginning level English learners were absent, as well as two intermediate level students. Another problem is that the students had taken a test the day before, and not done well. Mrs. Vincent decided not to record the grades due to poorly the students performed. That day, Mrs. Vincent decided to go over the test and re-teach the lesson.

What problems or issues related to teaching - in general- did you observe?

I observed that the students are struggling with subject-verb agreement, and that Mrs. Vincent is going to have to re-teach the concept. The students still seemed to struggle somewhat with subject-verb agreement during the lecture. Also, with 4 of 11 students missing from class, it is hard to keep the class as a whole moving forward.

What concerns emerged with regard to grouping, interactions, etc.?

On the day that I observed, there was only one group of five students. The beginning level students, which work with the aide, were not there. Since they missed class, it will only slow their progress in learning English more. As far as interactions go, all of the students except for one were very interactive with Mrs. Vincent during her lesson. Although they were trying to get the right answers, many struggled to do so.

What did you observe that worked well in promoting second language acquisition?

I observed that Mrs. Vincent adapted to the circumstances by re-teaching a lesson that the students did not master. I like how she went over the test, question by question, going over the correct answers. The test was over subject-verb agreement. She then went over the method to determine subject-verb agreement: 1) Find the prepositional phrases and put parentheses around them. 2)Find the first noun in the sentence and change it to a pronoun. 3) Use the pronoun to determine if the verb is plural. She is emphasizing subject-verb agreement right now, which is one of the foundations of any language. Also, she encourages the students to use English only in class. Otherwise, many would just speak in Spanish.

What types of interactions took place that encouraged second language acquisition?

I observed that all of the students except for one were interacting with Mrs. Vincent throughout the lesson. She asked questions, and they gave answers. If they gave the wrong answer, she would correct it. The class had a very relaxed atmosphere, in which the students could give the wrong answer and not feel bad about it. A student learns best in a relaxed environment such as this.

What materials were best suited for the second language learners in this setting?

Materials best suited for the second language learner in this setting were pen and paper for taking notes.

What information do you need (as an ESL professional) to better meet the needs of the second language learners in this environment?

One thing that would help me meet the needs of second language learners in this environment would be to know each student's learning style. What may work for one student may not work for another. Also, it would help me to know why one particular student does not interact in class and appears to not be paying attention. Another thing that would help me more effectively teach my students would be to research and implement the newest and best methods for teaching ESL.

How was culture integrated into teaching and learning?

In this class, there was no culture integrated into the lesson. The lesson was strictly about subject-verb agreement.

What issues or concerns related to culture, multiple perspectives, and linguistic diversity emerged?

As far as culture or multiple perspectives are concerned, no issues or concerns arised during the lecture. In relation to linguistic diversity, I know that Spanish and English have similar rules when it comes to subject-verb agreement; therefore, the concept should not take too long to learn. I also am familiar enough with Japanese to know that the verbs are not conjugated for whether the action is being done by one or more than one person; in other words, it would be like saying I be, you be, he be, she be, we be, it be, and they be. There is a Japanese student in the class, and he has probably struggled with this aspect of learning English. He does not interact much at all with his classmates or the teacher. The diversity of the class is reflected in that some students coming from languages of the Indo-European family will probably pick up on concepts faster than those who do not.