Date: January 18th
Time: 1-1:50 p.m.
Teacher: Leslie Wagner
Room: 313
Topic/skill: speaking (prepositions, vocabulary related to family and activities, and the simple present tense).
I observed professor Wagner's foundations level speaking class on January 18th. The teacher began class with a reminder about a forthcoming quiz at the end of the week, and encouraged the students to prepare for it. That day's lesson, however, was built around the topics of family and activities. Using a family diagram, the professor explained the terms of each kind of family member (e.g., father, niece, cousin, etc.), and then asked the class how one related to another (e.g., "she is his daughter."). The lesson plan then shifted toward the topic of activities, with each student, using his textbook, choosing an activity and relating to the teacher whether or not he does/doesn't or likes/dislikes it (e.g., "I like to ski."). The lesson concluded with a "daily routine" handout; using this, the students filled in what they do on a typical day at a particular time (e.g., "At 7 a.m. I...eat breakfast.") Student participation: the teacher encouraged the students to call out their answers frequently. Perhaps because of the small class size, pair work, not group work, was frequently used. I also noticed that when a student had trouble understanding his partner, he would politely ask him to repeat himself, which I found both surprising--the teacher allowed the students the autonomy to try and clarify meaning on their own before assisting--and respectful. Feedback provided: the professor used lots of positive feedback, making corrections to students' errors with "I say...[correction]" instead of telling them they were wrong. Moreover, the professor constantly strolled around the room, student to student, listening in on conversations, correcting errors, and providing clarification to those who needed it.
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