The following reflections are based on the observations of an ESL class. The video showed was of a high & intermediate-level Chinese class. There was 1 female teacher leading the class of 12-13 students. I could relate this session to the Direct Method. No translation takes place and visual aids are used to teach concepts.

Reflections

What appealed me most as a language learner was that the teacher was very professional inspite of facing several behavioral issues from students. Discussion was on the topic ‘free time’. Students were seen creating disturbance & laughing disrespectfully. Surprisingly, teacher takes it sportingly. A point worth mentioning is that out of the 10 characteristics of highly effective ESL teachers, she definitely possessed quite a few, particularly highlighting the quality of ‘street smartness’. She had knowledge about the students & cultural environment, hence dealt very smartly. For instance, 1 student was constantly talking, upon her asking, he said he was singing; to which she replied politely that now is not the best time to sing & to sing in free time. She handled the situation very nicely, not getting upset or angry at the repeated disturbance.

 

All 4 skills of language development are covered. Teacher is seen using blackboard to explain the activity and guiding students to read for a few minutes, thereafter form sentences. This shows that grammar is being learnt inductively. Teacher is also seen showing a video on the projector covering the listening skill.  A significant aspect here is lighting of the room which is dimmed for this purpose. Teacher takes the students’ notes back from them, to check them and provide feedback, highlighting the need of correction and fixation concepts. After that, she talks about joint research as well, for covering the writing skill. Eventually, she focusses on the speaking activity. Timer is turned on and students converse in small groups for a few minutes, lighting is still dim in the class. When less than 1 minute is left, lights are turned on. Then the buzzer rings, class is over and speaking individually is postponed to next class which will be based on a new topic.

 

What I considered important here is a necessity of good lighting in a class irrespective of student age. This is due to the fact that lighting stimulates the mood & learning as well, especially in a class with no windows. A reason for lack of student attention can be attributed to the classroom setting as it seemed dull. Even the furniture setting was not right. The furniture was arranged in a U- shaped pattern. Class had a long table which seemed unorganized. Instead, individual sitting or pair sitting would be better, as if 3-4 students are sitting together, then there is bound to be distraction.

 

For me, there are 2 key takeaways from this session. First is the teacher’s patient, supportive & professional nature. Finally, the importance of lighting and physical setting in the classroom to create an environment conducive to L2 learning.