On 25th January 2021, I joined the LLC Conversation Club’s Social Room. Mara Audet was the instructor, and it was supervised by Karen Densky. The session started as she introduced the first slide with colorful balloons. I could relate this session to the Total Physical Response Method, my favorite approach to language learning & teaching as well.

Reflections

  1. What appealed me most as a language learner was that she brought a fun element in the very beginning of the class. A good topic was covered. The students started drawing balloons on the first slide and the session started on a lighter and happy note. Later during the session, a funny video was shared and this led to a very interactive session. I vividly remember, at one point of time, 3-4 students were wanting to add their inputs and speak. Additionally, interactive whiteboard was used numerous times.

 

  1. Nevertheless, a major drawback was that due to a technical glitch, the instructor’s camera was not working. This created a major missing element in the entire session. This setting might not be taken positively by few learners as the screen presence is an integral part for keeping the students motivated to learn. Furthermore, students took a lot of time to speak the exit tickets.

 

  1. I like the fact that lot of attention was paid in involving the students’ participation. The class was designed to include lot of activities using the interactive board. As an instructor I saw value in this approach and would love to use it in future. Moreover, I would incorporate the fun element whenever possible. This helps to clear the concepts and accomplish L2 learning simultaneously. However, there are a few changes that could be done. For instance, making students type their favorite movies when they were asked to circle their favorite movie genre.