1. INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES – WORKING WITH A SLOW STUDENT

Aims: to reflect on the student activity of a selected learner with special needs to gain awareness of individual learner characteristics and their impact on the teaching processto reflect on the possibilities of teaching mixed ability classes

InstructionsYou are going to focus on the student activity of a selected learner with special needs: a slow learner, a learner with some learning disability or a learner on a much lower proficiency level compared to the class. Watch one student like this throughout the course of one lesson. Using the chart below, tick the activity that he/she is involved in at two-minute intervals. If the activity is not listed, tick ‘Other language learning task’. If the learner is idle, tick ‘Not involved/vague’.

Learner description (anonymous): a learner with learning disability, class 4, elementary level

Type of activity 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 24 26 28 30 32 34 36 38 40 42 44Listening to teacher V V V VListening to studentListening to tape V VSpeaking to T – repetition, drill, reading aloud VSpeaking to T – other VSpeaking to S – controlled task V VSpeaking to S – fluency focusSpeaking to S – chatting in L1 VReading textReading exerciseReading – otherWriting – copying from board V VWriting – exercise V V VWriting - notetakingOther language learning tasksNot involved/vague V V V V

1. How often/much was the student participating in the lesson? S tried to take part in a lesson, some exercises were simply too advanced for him and he couldn’t manage to do them.

2. Did the teacher make any special efforts, additional to the standard procedures, to involve the student in question in the course of the lesson? He was sitting in the first table, near teacher’s desk. Teacher sometimes gave him additional explanation or checked his work.

3. Is it possible to deal with mixed-ability classes? What might be the most effective techniques for such a context? It’s hard, but it’s easier to deal in higher grades than in lower, because class is divided into groups. So there is about 12 pupils in a group. When it’s possible it’s good to give the weaker S easier exercises or let him finish at home.

2. OPENINGS AND CLOSINGS

Aims: to identify procedures for opening and closing lessonsto develop the awareness of providing links between lessonsto improve the skills of lesson planning

InstructionsObserve three consecutive lessons of the mentor with the same class. Tick the procedures for the opening and closing stages of each lesson.

OPENINGSL 1 L 2 L 3

Describing the aims of the lesson

V Pointing out links between the current lesson and the previous one(s)

V V Reviewing previously taught material informally

V V Introducing friendly atmosphere with the help of a warm-up

Assessing students' knowledge

Other (please specify)

CLOSINGSL 1 L 2 L 3V

V Summarising or reviewing the key points of the lesson

Relating the current lesson to the previous and/or future lessons

V Encouraging students to ask questions

V V Assigning homework

V Praising students’ achievement/evaluating students’ work

Other (please specify)

1. What are the most frequent opening and closing strategies in the lessons observed? Why is it so?The most frequent opening is reviewing previously taught material and introducing friendly atmosphere. The most frequent closing is summarizing or reviewing key points of the lesson and assigning homework. In my opinion it’s good to refresh Ss memory (because not everybody studies at home) and review the crucial points of the lesson so that Ss would know what they should concentrate on while preparing for the next lesson or for the test.

2. Why is it important to use proper openings and closings? How do students benefit from them? The most frequent opening strategies in the observed lessons are: reviewing previously taught material and introducing friendly atmosphere with the help of a warm-up. It gives slower learners a chance to revise material and leads them into an English speaking environment as well. The most frequent closings are assigning homework and summarizing. In this way teacher can highlight what is the most important and evaluate what students had learnt.

3. What influence does a bad closing (or lack of it) have on the teaching effectiveness? Lack of closing or a bad one gives you and your Ss additional work. It won’t “omit” you, you will have to come back to it.

3. THE STAGES OF THE LESSON

Aims: to identify the stages of the lessonto gain awareness of how to make transitions from one lesson phase to anotherto reflect on the overall lesson structure

InstructionsObserve a lesson. Try to isolate the major stages, putting down the teacher's and the students' actions. Write down the exact way the teacher makes a transition from one stage to another – a phrase, an action, or any other way, in L1 or L2. Also, try to notice the students' reactions to the transition. Then answer the questions below.

STAGE WHAT THE TEACHER DOES WHAT THE STUDENTS DO MODE OF WORK

Stage 1 T greets Ss and checks their homework. Ss shows their posters and talk about them. The rest of the class listen and evaluate.

Group work

Transition T asks Ss to say the names of the months in the different order.

T throws a ball to individual Ss. Each Ss says the name of the month.

Group work

Stage 2 T introduces a phrase “school term” and asks Ss about their school year in Poland.

Ss try to answer. Group work

Transition T asks Ss to look at some pictures. Ss look at the pictures and answer T’s questions.

Individual work

Stage 3 T plays the tape twice.T asks Ss to do some exercises.

First Ss listen to the tape.Then, Ss listen to the tape an answer T’s questions.Ss match the pictures with the paragraphs, etc.

Individual work/ group work

Transition T elicits the phrases with different prepositions of time.

Ss find the phrases in the text. Individual work

Stage 4 T writes the rule on the blackboard. Ss help to complete it and write it. Group work

Transition T elicits from Ss the phrases connected with describing the weather.

Ss say the words and phrases. Group work

Stage 5 T writes the question: What’s the weather like in summer/spring?

Ss work in pairs and describe the pictures in the book.

Pair work

Transition T asks Ss how to fill in the graph? Ss guess what they have to do. Group work

Stage 6 T asks Ss to work in pairs and complete the graph.

Ss do the task. Pair work

1. Did the stages follow a logical and justified progression? Can you recognise any of the lesson planning models familiar to you from methodology classes?The stages follow a logical progression. Ss move smoothly from one stage to another. It’s a typical lesson based on “communicative method”. We have: warm up, lead in, presentation and practice.

2. How were the activities linked? Did the teacher make any links between the tasks? Were the transitions smooth? T tries to link the activities by reminding or introduction of rules. I believe that the transitions are smooth.

3. Was there variety in the lesson – of the modes of work, of skills, of activities, of materials? There was a variety in the lesson. T encourages Ss to participate in the lesson by building context. Ss were practicing listening, writing and speaking skill. There wasn’t a lot of reading. It was based on the book.

4. Would you structure the lesson differently? How?The structure was good, however it would be good to use some additional materials, instead of the book.

4. COURSEBOOK EVALUATION

Aims: to identify important factors in the materials selection processto gain insight into the teacher's perception of the coursebookto improve the decision-making process of coursebook selectionto confront the teacher’s and the students’ view on the coursebook used

InstructionsThis observation task consists of two parts. One is the interview with the teacher about the coursebook they are using. Ask them to choose one of the coursebooks, ask the questions and put down the answers in table 1 below. Then, ask the questions in table 2 to a selected learner (preferably one of the brightest, most motivated and most conscious ones). Then reflect on the experience using the questions given.

Coursebook evaluation – an interview

The teacher Name one coursebook you are now using

New Friends 4

What class is it used for? 6

Which aspects of the book do you like most?

a)material presented in a very interested way

b)all 4 skills practised in variety of tasks

c)additional materials (tests, Cds, Teacher’s book)

Which aspects of the book do you dislike most?

a)None

What do you think the Ss like about this book? Stories and “Wonderful words” section

What do you think the Ss dislike about this book? Too little space left for writing in exercises, some songs

are boring

How and why was this book chosen for your Ss? The teacher chose it after using lower levels of this

series

In your opinion, what are the three most important things in selecting coursebooks?

a)material presented in an interesting way

b) all 4 skills practised equally

c)supplementary materials

What other supplementary materials are available for this title?

Cd-ies, Teacher’s book, tests

How often do you use them? regularly

In what way do you use them? For preparing to the lesson, while teaching and to check SS progress and knowledge

Coursebook evaluation – an interview

A selected learnerName one coursebook you are now using

“New Friends 4”

Which aspects of the book do you like most?

a) funny stories

b) a lot of new words

c)a lot of grammarWhich aspects of the book do you dislike most?

a)too little space left for writing

b) songs

How do you evaluate the topics and texts?

Ok

How do you evaluate the language difficulty of the book?

Rather difficult, but motivating

What are, in your opinion, three most important features of a good language coursebook?

a)interesting materialb)interesting exercises in an activity book

Are there any parts of the book that the teacher seems to prefer and spends most time on?

She spends the same amount of time on each part of the book.

Are there any parts of the book that the teacher seems to dislike and spends little time on?

Not all songs are presented.

Does your teacher use any coursebook-related materials during lessons?

Yes, a lot.

How often and in what way does he/she use them?

After each new part of material.

1. Was the coursebook evaluated similarly by the teacher and the students? Were the same factors liked/disliked by both parties? Teacher liked everything in the book, but Ss not really. T knew what students disliked.

2. Do you think the coursebook suits this particular class? Why yes/not?Yes, it wasn’t too easy and too hard, Ss were participating and responding well.

3. Are the same features of a good coursebook enumerated by the teacher and the learner? Why is it/is it not so? For Ss the most important was that the material is interesting and teacher took into account different features, that Ss don’t realize.

4. Was the teacher autonomous in the coursebook selection process? Yes.

5. To what extent does the teacher make use of coursebook-related materials available? Teacher brings some additional material to class (like copies, cd-ies) and uses them quite often.

5. TEACHING AIDS DURING THE LESSON

Aims: to analyse the use of teaching aids in the classroomto reflect on the effectiveness of particular teaching aids for teaching language aspectsto gain understanding of the opportunities opened by various modes of delivery

Instructions:Observe two lessons of the same teacher in different classes (if possible, exactly the same lesson). Put a mark each time a particular teaching aid is used for different aspects of language during one lesson (in grey) and during the other (in white). Then reflect on the questions below.

Aids: Vocabulary Pronunciation

Spelling Grammar Function Listening Reading Writing Speaking

Blackboard V V V V VCoursebook texts V

V V V V

Coursebook recordings

VDictionaries

Authentic visuals

V

Authentic recordings

V V

Realia V V V V

Wallcharts V

Flashcards V

Puppets

Overhead projector transparenciesPowerPoint presentations

V V V V

Computer software

V V V

Internet websites online

V V V

Other(please specify)

1. Which aid was most frequently used during the lesson? Why? Was it effective use?The first lesson was a normal lesson from the book, the most frequently used aids were: book, blackboard, recording. The second lesson was an additional lesson conducted in an IT lab. The most frequently used aids were computer and the Internet.

2. If you were to teach that lesson, would you use any other teaching aids? Which? In my opinion aids chosen by the teacher were good, I would use similar ones.

3. Was the teaching aids use the same in different classes? Did the teaching aids used have the same effect on the classes? The teaching aids were different and lessons looked different. The second one had more informal atmosphere, was more interesting for Ss.

4. Did the teacher use a lot of authentic materials? If yes, to what extent were they adapted? Teacher used quite a lot of authentic materials like websites, visuals, presentation, recordings.

5. Were the teaching aids mainly publisher-made, authentic, teacher-made or learner-made? Would any of these suit the lessons observed better? Generally they were publisher-made or teacher-made.

6. THE TEACHER IN THE CLASSROOM

Aims: to analyse various aspects of the teacher's presence in the classroom to draw conclusions as for the effect they might have on learners and the learning processto improve one’s own body language

InstructionsObserve the mentor, take notes on the points given below, choose answers or tick relevant cells in the tables below. Then reflect on the questions below.

1. Teacher's use of voice:Pace too fast fast normal slow too slow

Volume too loud loud normal silent too silentRhythm smooth broken/interrupted

2. Teacher's eye contact with students:a lot a little none

with the same students with different students with nobody

3. Teacher's position in the classroom:Never Sometimes Often All the time

Sitting VStanding VWalking around the classroom VSitting/kneeling/lying on the floorSitting on desks VAny other (specify)

4. Body language: Type of expression used

To demonstrate tasks

To present new words

To maintain discipline

To gain attention

To nominate

Raising a hand VRaising eyebrows VShrugging shouldersBending forward VNodding head VShaking head VWinking VAny other (specify)

1. What was the pace of the teacher's voice? Was it the same throughout the lesson? If not, when did the teacher speak faster and when slower? The pace of teacher’s voice was normal. It was changing throughout the lesson, depended on the lesson stages. The teacher spoke faster while she was practicing with Ss and spoke slower while she was presented a new material.

2. Did the teacher speak loud enough to be heard and understood by all students? Yes.

3. What was the effect of the teacher’s eye contact with students (or lack of it) on the teaching process? She kept eye contact a lot, Ss were encouraged to speak aloud.

4. Did the teacher's position and movement around the classroom have a motivating or distracting effect on students? Why? Sometimes she used a body language instead of using words, for example nodding head can be motivating. I have doubts about standing so much. I think it can be a little distracting.

5. Which body language expressions were most effective? Do you think some other body language expressions would be better to achieve the aims given in the table?Some other gestures that can be used: raising hands, bending forward, facial expressions.

7. ORGANISING PAIR/GROUP WORK– TEACHER ROLES IN THE CLASSROOM

Aims: to gain understanding of a variety of roles the teacher adopts in the classroomto learn how to organise and manage group work in its different phasesto evaluate the efficiency of different teacher roles in particular moments of pair/group activities

InstructionsThis observation scheme MUST be done during a lesson with pair or group work, thus, ask the teacher beforehand which lesson is going to include pair or group work activities. During the lesson, fill the table with brief descriptions of the activities. Then reflect on the lesson answering the questions below.

What the teacher does The teacher's role What the students do

Pre

T asks Ss to guess their task (investigate friend, ask him questions)

To lead Ss into a new activity, to elicit what their task is.

Try to guess what their task is.

While

T gives S1 some pictures.T gives S2 some pictures.

T monitors Ss work, helps if Ss need her.

S1 asks S2 questions, S2 answers them (they use pictures given by T).

Post

T gives each Ss a special chart to fill in.

T goes around the class and checks how the Ss do the task.

Fill in the charts according to answers their previous questions.

1. What is the teacher's role in each of the stages? Pre-, while-, post-? How does it change according to the stage, from a teacher-centred approach to a learner-centred one? First it was a teacher-centred approach, than it changed into the learner-centred.

2. Did the teacher switch roles in different activities? Was it easy and smooth for them?3. Was it visible that the teacher had a preference for some role and a clear resentment of

some other?T tried not to be in the centre, she gave proper instructions and checked if Ss understood them.

4. Did the learners participate equally in the activity? Did the teacher have to ensure equal participation? How? Ss needed the answers to fill in the chart, that’s why they had to participate equally in the activity.

5. Did any learners resist pair/group work? Why was it so? What can be done to prevent it?There were some learners, who resist pair work, because they were absent previously and didn’t know some phrases. T had to help them while doing their task, although some revision was done at the beginning of the lesson.

8. OBSERVING CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT –TEACHER’S NOMINATION STRATEGIES

Aims: to observe the pattern of teacher-student interaction in classto analyse students' participation in the lessonto notice a range of nomination strategies that can be used during the lesson

InstructionsDraw a rough sketch of the seating plan of the class below. Put a mark in each box each time when that student is personally called upon by the teacher to participate in any activity, is addressed in some way or is selected as a volunteer to answer teacher question. Then reflect on the lesson answering the questions.

1. Did all students have the chance to speak in class? Did the teacher's action zone include all learners, or were some of them left out? Yes.

2. Were the questions asked without nominating the student to answer? How did the teacher treat volunteers? How did the teacher treat non-volunteers (i.e., students who never volunteer)?Sometimes T nominated the S, sometimes she asked the volunteers. The volunteers usually answered using long sentences. Slower and worse learners were asked easier questions. They usually answered using one word, for example had to answer a yes/no question.

3. How did the teacher nominate students (calling them their first names, family names, gestures, other methods)? Was the nomination strategy the same to different students?T usually called Ss using their first names or using gestures. The nomination strategy was the same.

x3 x7

x6 x5 x1 x4 x5

x4 x2 x3 x3 x4

9. OBSERVING CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT – INTERACTION PATTERNS

Aims: to observe the pattern of interaction between the teacher and students during the lessonto analyse students' participation in the lessonto reflect on the selection of mode of work for activities

InstructionsObserve a lesson focusing on modes of work. Classify each activity and put it in the relevant part of the table. Then reflect on the lesson answering the questions below.

T to whole class

T to S, whole class listening

T to S, class working in pairs/groups

Individual Ss speaking to T, whole class listening

Individual S speaking to another S, whole class listening (open pairs)

All learners speaking in pairs

All learners speaking in groups (more than 3 people)

All learners speaking and moving around the class

Silence

Asks each Ss what are you wearing?What colour is it?

Answering T’s questions.

They are comparing their answers (crossword)

Asks Ss to listen to the recording.Points out that although the words have the same pronunciation, their spelling and meaning is different.

In pairs they circle the appropriate words for each sentence.

T asks to read through present Simple

T is checking answers, individuals

They act out Helen and questioner,

negative table. Asks to listen to the recording and mark what Helen and her family do and don’t do.

Asks Ss to look at the chart and think of the sentences about their family.

come to the blackboard and write down the answers.

asking and answering questions using the information from exercise 4.

1. Do the aims of the lesson justify the interaction pattern used? The aim was to revise the material, so yes.

2. Were the activities suited to the interaction patterns? Do you think there was a need for using other interaction patterns?Maybe work in a bigger groups is good, but as far as I know teachers rarely do this. Sometimes this mode of work is used in so called “projects”, for example while Ss are working on posters together. It is not common to work like this to exchange the information. When Ss are working in pairs, it is easier for T to control their work. There was silence from time to time, for example when Ss were thinking about the answer or writing.

3. What was the proportion of Teacher Talking Time (TTT) and Student Talking Time (STT)? I didn’t enclose all lesson in the chart, because I consider it as impossible. I didn’t know where to put for example a song, they were singing it together as a class. I didn’t know where to put examples of individual work as well. As I remember T talked more than Ss.

4. Did the teacher favour any particular mode of work? Why was it so? Was it influenced by the class profile (e.g., a hyperactive class, learning disabilities, etc.)? T preferred individual work more than pair work or group work. It’ s easier to review material in this way and evaluate Ss work. It makes sense in case of classes with pupils with behaviour problems.

10. CLASSROOM POWER

Aims: to observe the lesson with a special focus on the decision-making process to gain awareness of the practical aspects of learner autonomyto reflect on the teacher-centred/learner-centred view of the language classroom

InstructionsObserve two lessons of the same teacher in two different classes from the perspective of the questions in the list. As replies, put a cross in the T (teacher), S (student) or T/S (a mixture of T and S) next to the questions. Reflect on the experience and answer the questions below.

T S T/S1. Who chose the aims? X X2. Who chose the language and/or skills focus? X X3. Who chose the topic(s) and activities? X X4. Who chose and prepared materials? X X5. Who chose the seating arrangements? X X6. Who wrote on the board? XX7. Who cleaned the board? XX8. Who did the students speak to? X X9. Who created the pairs or groups? X X10. Who decided when to stop the activity? X X11. Who operated the equipment? X12. Who decided which questions or problems will be

explored in the lesson? X X

13. Who chose the vocabulary to be learned? X X14. Who gave the meanings for words? X X15. Who spelled out new words? X X X16. Who gave explanations? X X17. Who asked questions? X X18. Who answered student questions? X X19. Who repeated what was said if others didn’t hear it? X X20. Who created the silences? XX21. Who broke the silences? X X22. Who checked the classwork/homework? XX23. Who chose the homework? X X

1. Could any of the above-mentioned activities executed by the teacher have been performed by students? The lesson labeled with black colour was prepared by T and it was Teacher- centered. The red one was generally prepared by Ss and it was student –centered. In the first case T could have give more power and let them perform more.

2. Do you think the teacher was aware of the classroom power distribution in the two classes? Were they happy about it, or willing to change it? I think Ss were aware of classroom power distribution, but they didn’t seem to want to change it. During the red lesson they were more active and enjoyed to take part in a lesson.

3. What was the connection between teacher’s attitude to classroom power and actual/possible misbehaviour problems?Usually in classes with misbehaviour problems teachers conduct a teacher-center lessons, give less autonomy to pupils. When T makes decisions, there is no place for quarreling, talking and doing mess.

11. MAINTAINING CONTROL AND DISCIPLINE

Aims: to raise awareness of different instances of student behaviour in the classroomto reflect on the range of teacher reactions to evaluate the efficiency of reactions to behaviour problems

InstructionsObserve a single lesson focusing on instances of students' misbehaviour. Try to watch all students and see if they do the tasks assigned. Briefly characterise students' misbehaviour, teacher's reaction (or lack of it), students' response. Finally, mark the effectiveness of the reaction with a double plus, a plus, a double minus or a minus.

STUDENT'S MISBEHAVIOUR

TEACHER’S REACTION STUDENT'S RESPONSE EFFECTIVE++, +, -, --

S is talking during the writing task.

T says that she won’t check his work and give him “plus”.

S says “I’m sorry”. ++

S tries to send sms. T continues explaining the task, but meanwhile uses a gesture and shows “no” to the student.

S puts the phone away. ++

S throws a pen to his friend who wants to borrow it. The pen falls down on the floor, making noise.

T asks S to pick up the pen and pass it normally.

S does what the T said. ++

1. What are the most frequent instances of students' misbehaviour?Probably they want to have contact with other students or there is a distracting thin like mobile phone or lack of pen.

2. How did the teacher react to them? Was the reaction the same to different offenders?The reaction was different.

3. Was anything done to prevent misbehaviour?At the beginning of school year the rules were settled.

4. Did the misbehaviour problems have any influence on the lesson (timing, pacing, successful realisation of the aims)?No.

5. Which of the observed ways of maintaining discipline do you regard as most effective?All were good, but I like the first and second one.

12. GRAMMAR PRESENTATION

Aims: to observe patterns of grammar presentationto reflect on the most effective ways of introducing new grammatical structuresto gain awareness of the role of the teacher and students in grammar presentation

InstructionsAsk the teacher before class which lesson will be devoted to grammar instruction. Then observe the lesson, fill in the table below and reflect on the questions.

Name of the grammatical structure: Simple Past (regular verbs)Students' language level: elementaryMaterials used during the lesson: book, cd

Given by LanguageIn what order Teacher Students Textbook Polish English P-E

Explanation2.

If the verb finishes in a consonant followed by –y, the final –y changes into –ied.If the verb finishes in a consonant –ed is added to the verb.If the verb finishes in a single vowel followed by a single consonant, the last consonant doubles and –ed is added.If the verb finishes in –e, only –d is added to the verb.

First T speaks English, then translates it into Polish.

Rule3. Please look at the

Language box and read it.

Language box (book)

V

Examples:e.g. isolatedsentences

4. T says the phrases and draws the attention to different pronunciations of the endings of the verbs.

S repeat it after T.Than they complete the table referring to the picture story to check the verb endings.

V

Examples:e.g. in text, dialogue

1. They listen to a picture story.

V

Any other (specify)

1. Was the grammar presentation done in a context meaningful to students?Not really, it was based on the book.

2. Were there any teaching aids used in grammar instruction? Was it efficient use?Only the book.

3. Did the lesson include enough practice exercises, both controlled and free practice?Only controlled practice exercises.

4. Could you see that at the end of the lesson students learned the structure?Yes, they got to know some of the irregular verbs and the rule.

5. Do you think some other way or order of presentation would be more effective in this particular class?For example a film would be an interesting idea.

13. VOCABULARY IN THE CLASSROOM

Aims: to observe a variety of techniques of vocabulary presentationto evaluate and find the most effective patterns for vocabulary instructionto gain awareness of the importance of practice of new lexis

InstructionsAsk the teacher to tell you which lesson will be devoted mainly to vocabulary work. Then, during the lesson, complete the table about the presentation of ten new words. Finally, reflect on the questions below.

PRESENTATION PRACTICEVocabulary

itemHow was the meaning presented? By whom?

How was the form presented? By whom? What activities were used to practice the item?Spelling Pronunciation Grammatical form

Clothes and vocabulary connected with summer holidays: cap, dress, jacket, jeans, kite, skirt, trainers, T-shirt, school uniform, seaside, shoes.

Text from the book, T talks over Language box.

Text from the book, Language box.

Repeating after teacher. Listening to the text.Writing their own sentences and reading out loud – T is making sure that Ss are using correct pronunciation.

Ss learn negative forms (Present Simple) and using it in a sentences with key vocabulary.

Reading, listening, finding out more examples in the text, circling the correct words, writing the negative sentences.

Pictures of the clothes. T elicits the names and colours of the clothes.

Repeating after T.

Pair work, Ss look at the pictures and say what they like/don’t like, wear/ don’t wear.

They think about their favourite clothes and in groups of 3-4 tell each other about it and its colours.

1. Did the teacher use a variety of techniques to present new vocabulary? Did they only rely on themselves, or did they use other learners as a resource as well? Ss know most of the words. It was a lesson based on the book: text, tape and pictures were used. During the practice they could have used other words and use others as a resource.

2. Did the techniques used match the vocabulary items? Did the teacher achieve their purpose?Yes, the aim was to teach them to talk about clothes and summer using Present Simple negatives.

3. Were the students provided with the opportunity to use new items? In what way? Was it a productive use?They had an opportunity to use new vocabulary in different ways – while: reading, writing, speaking, listening.

4. Was the students' knowledge of vocabulary tested in any way? During the current lesson or the subsequent one? It was tested on the subsequent lesson.

14. DEVELOPING SPEAKING SKILLS

Aims: to observe oral skills developmentto compare various speaking tasks with reference to their communicative valueto reflect on the most effective ways of promoting L2 use in the classroom

InstructionsThis task involves observing three speaking tasks of different types, which could be done during one lesson or can span three lessons. Ask the teacher which lesson is going to include a speaking task. Focus closely on a speaking task and fill the table by including a description of the activity, brief summary and grading of the factors that encourage communication (from 1 - the least to 5 - the most).

ACTIVITYDESCRIPTION

FACTORS THAT ENCOURAGE COMMUNICATION

CLASSROOMORGANISATION

INFORMATION GAP

NO LANGUAGE CONTROL

NO TEACHER INTERVENTION

COMMUNICATIVE

PURPOSE

FOCUS ON MESSAGE NOT

FORM

1. Ss work in groups of 3-4. Each group selects a famous person and writes the Saturday daily routine for this person.The groups take turns to read their descriptions and the rest of the class try to guess the name of the famous person.

4. 3. 5. 1. 2.

2. In pairs Ss plan the week at a sports camp and write description of each day. They have to use the pattern On (day)… at (time)…Than in larger groups 4-6 they tell each other what are their plans and discuss what they like most and what they are good at.

2. 3. 1.

2. 3. 1.

3. Ss play board game (practice questions and short answers – Present Simple). They play in pairs as a team against other teams. To move the counter one of them has to form the question with missing auxiliary and his/her partner has to give short answer.

1. Were there any management problems during the activities? The larger the groups are the harder is to manage them for the teacher.

2. What would you do to make the activity more communicative? They were communicative for me.

3. Was there any way of feedback/error correction done during the tasks? T walked around and controlled the progress of the work. Checked the possible errors while they were writing, or corrected while they were playing the game.

4. In what way did the activities resemble real-life interaction? I think the activities were interesting for Ss and practiced the patterns/sentences that they could have used in real – life. But the activities weren’t real-life itself.

5. To what extent did the teacher try to ensure the natural communication in the class? Group work or pair work extends natural communication, however in the classroom it’s still rather control and not very natural.

15. TEACHER INSTRUCTIONS

Aims: to analyse the features of classroom languageto gain understanding of the effectiveness of instructionsto pay attention to maintaining the proper balance between the use of L1 and L2 during the lesson

InstructionsAnalyse one entire lesson, paying attention only to the instructions of the teacher. Put the instructions down quoting the teacher making NO CHANGES. If you feel it is necessary and proper, rewrite the instructions so that they would be more effective for students.

Original instructions Supported

by:

Effective:

yes/no/partly

Rewritten instructions

Let’s revise the material

from the previous lesson.

Translate the sentences.

T gives the

sentence in

Polish and

waits for

the

volunteer.

yes

Open your Students’ book.

Look and talk about the

pictures for 5 minutes.

T shows

the

pictures in

the book to

Ss.

They talk for

a short while,

so T is asking

questions and

asks to

answer.

Think about the words in

the box. I will ask you what

do they mean in Polish. If

you know please give me

the answer.

T after a

while

reads the

adjectives.

If the Ss

don’t

know the

answer she

gives it.

yes

Please, repeat the words

after me.

Says the

word,

yes

waits for

Ss to

repeat.

Now label the picture.

Have you finished?

Compare your answers with

S next to you. (Porównajcie

odpowiedzi).

Let’s check the answers.

T shows

the picture

in the

book.

Uses gesture.

yes

1. Were the instructions brief, concise, without redundant information, comprehensible; or perhaps longish, unclear and not on the students' level of language? Was the language used (English or Polish) appropriate?The instructions were short and clear, T used mainly English.

2. What were the pieces of information included in the instructions: the aim, the procedure, the time, any others? Were there any important pieces missing?The aim was included, sometimes time, often the procedure. She also asked questions.

3. Were the task instructions supported by any other techniques: a whole-class demonstration, examples of task outcome, open-pair task, L1 translation, L2 paraphrase? Was it necessary?It was supported by gestures, showing the activity in the book.

4. Did the teacher check students’ understanding of instructions in any way? If so, how? How do you know the instructions were effective/ineffective?Students understood the instructions, because they respond to them. The instructions were easy to understand, because they are often used on the lessons.

16. ERROR CORRECTION

Aims: to analyse the features of classroom languageto gain understanding of different techniques of error correctionto pay attention to providing proper feedback on errors without obstructing communication

InstructionsAnalyse one entire lesson, paying attention only to the error correction of the teacher. Put down all the errors and teacher reactions. Then classify the errors in the table and mark the error correction techniques used.

Student's error Teacher's reaction1.On July we will go to the seaside. In July, why asks Ss.

2.It is more cold today. We say it is colder today.

3.Can you lend me the pencil? Says we don’t say lend, but borrow. We borrow things from people. For example Mary borrows me the book, but I lend her Cd.

4.Two childs are playing football. T waits a moment and says: There’s no such a word as childs. We say one child and 3… waits for the Ss to finish. A volunteer says children. And teacher explains that it’s because the plural is children like mouse-mice.

Now classify the errors according to the following categories

PRONUNCIATION LEXICAL WORD ORDER GRAMMATICAL CONTENT

Number corrected

3 1,2,4

Number ignored

and mark the error correction techniques used:

T provides the correct answer immediately VT waits for the student to finish speaking and then correctsT calls on another student to correct VT repeats the student’s utterance with a rising intonationT says “again/repeat”T makes a pause just before the break so students might correct the error

V

T does nothing, but gives the learner the chance to self-correct

T indicates there is an error with a gesture or facial expressionT mentions the nature of error (e.g., “tense, 3rd person sing”) VT tells the learner “no/wrong”T ignores the error

1. Was the teacher consistent in the correction of learner errors and the use of correction strategies?Yes, she was.

2. Did the teacher favour any particular correction strategy? Were any strategies neglected? Should they be used? The teacher often corrected Ss herself and gave explanation.

3. Was the error correction procedure appropriate for the aims of the lesson and its phases? Yes.

4. Did the teacher manage to maintain the proper balance between accuracy and fluency? Was it reflected in the selection of error correction techniques?T tried not to interrupt Ss talk. Fluency was important, when the Ss finished the sentence T commented or corrected mistakes.