MT Review

The goal of the lesson was the use of countable and uncountable nouns, the students would have to know when to use "How much" and "How many" as well as how to answer a "How much/How many" question by using "a little/ a lot of/some, or a number" when it was appropriate. My class is college students with English levels between the range of Novice Mid - Intermediate low. There is the random student who is either above or below the listed skill levels, but in general, this is the level of student that I usually teach. The Students were told to watch a video clip then answer questions about the video based on both what they saw and what they heard. A few sample questions from the lesson are:, "How many people wore red?" and "How much hair did an actor (Freddie bender) have?" There were also questions which covered previous topics which were covered in earlier classes (What was the woman's first name?)



I was very unhappy with how my micro-teaching went last week, and I was even less thrilled with it after reviewing the recording.  For one, I didn't like the amount of Ttalk that I did during the presentation.  Usually in my classes, I have the students engage each other more then what I displayed during the MT and I definitely should have showed this during my presentation.    Unfortunately due to the 9 minute time limit, I was more concerned on getting the task at hand accomplished as opposed to demonstrating how I teach.  This should not had been a consideration since Tom repeatedly told us what the goals were for the MT (which is demonstrating skill, not finishing the task).  Another thing that I noticed is that I didn't  use the WB.  Again, I was to hung up on sticking to what I wrote in the LP as opposed to demonstrating what I normally do in class, and in the LP, I made no mention to WB use.   Thus, How can i be  accurately assessed for a grade if I don't demonstrate what I actually do?    I need to DISPLAY that I do INDEED use the WB OFTEN in class, and I need to as well cut down on my Ttalk as well.  Also, the choral repetition I used in the MT was random, their was no planning ahead of when it would be needed and the students may not recognize WHY particular  phrases were repeated. Another thing I noticed is that I could have corrected the student mistakes more efficiently and  I discussed this with  very same issue with Tom after class.  You will notice that I when a student made a mistake I would not correct them, what I did instead was rephrase what they said with the correct English.  My goal in doing this was to ensure that a student's affective filter would not be raised by pointing out their errors, however, after I inquired about the issue with Tom, he informed me that I could had used a chunking technique so that students notice that their was an error as opposed to just rephrasing the student's reply in it's correct form.  When i rephrased  the reply, some students are aware of the error (as you saw Tracie self correct her error) while other may not be aware an error was made.  Finally, I didn't like the fact that I allowed some of the students to give only one word responses. Again, since starting STG i have been very conscious not to allow one word replies from my students when I am actually teaching, but again, how can I be accurately assessed if I don't show this during my Micro-Teaching.

One of the few things I did think went "ok" was how I engaged the students. I wasn't JUST concerned about  looking for the "right grammatical answer" every time a student replied, as I was actually showing that I was interested in what they said, not just HOW they said it.   In turn, the conversations (with the students) seemed more genuine as opposed to having an English lesson.  That being said, I need to find a better balance between keeping the students affective filter lowered, while at the same time making sure that the class is engaged in a productive lesson in which the "i+1" approach is used.  I also feel as though I tried to involve all the students, since there was pair work, and I tried to include as much as the class as possible while still trying to get the listening portion of the lesson started.  One must balance their time, and when 2 minutes is needed for the listening exercise, that only leaves 7 to get other tasks done.

Since the lesson was indeed a Listening practice, perhaps I am being a bit to hard on myself,and again, 9 minutes does not a accurately display a what is actually being done ina 2 our class... however, I can't help but to notice the  many Many areas in which I still need improvement.  I will concede the fact that my teaching style has changed/improved immensely since the beginning of the semester, and I am happy with my progress.  However, with that being said, there is still a long road ahead, and I need to PROVE that I am capable of the teaching abilities that I claim I have, as opposed to just THINKING that I have them.

my First Micro Teaching Vs The Second Micro Teaching... Lets get ready to rumble...


I actually liked how my first Micro Teaching went when compared to the second go round. I elicited answers from my students, I used the WB, every student was involved, and there seemed to be a better understanding from my students as to what I was teaching. Also, the interaction between the students and myself "may have" seemed less conversational in the first Micro Teaching, since I tended to correct students mistakes more often, which in turn may have raised their affective filter, however, I don't feel as though I solely focused on HOW the students used grammar, as I paid attention to what they said, and gave them honest conversational replies when they talked and corrected them when it was needed. Although, I dio have to be careful how I point out mistakes to ensure that the students don't "lose face", which may result in students losing interest in learning English. Finally I feel as though my use of choral repetition was more organized in the first Micro teaching, and there was a purpose when I used choral repetition. However, the main difference between the first Micro Teaching and the second was that the first Micro Teaching was a speaking exercise, where as the second Miro Teaching was a listening exercise. The first Micro Teaching was also the "preview" stage of the lesson, where as the second Micro teaching was the presentation stage. I do feel comfortable with how I set up the preview stage of the day, since I allow the students to interact with their classmates, as well as with me. The negatives from the first Micro teaching are as follows:
TTalk. (to much Ttalk)
Organization (or a lack there of)
A sloppy use of the WB.
I over-corrected my students' mistakes, which in turn raised their affective filter.

I realize that I can improve in many areas and in the second Micro Teaching and I feel as though my teaching ability slipped when compared to the first go round. As you can imagine, this is quite disappointing. In the future I will be mindful to combine the positives from the 2 Micro Teachings, while at the same time I will use Exploratory Practice to form habits which help me cut down on the negatives.

Last second surprises are no longer a surprise.

This week Sports week at my school. I know I know, what does a game of dodge ball have to do with education at a college level. Teacher participation was mandatory for many of my classes and  since many of my students don't have English related majors,  English isn't a priority to the heads of their departments.  Guess who had to join the Sports days exercises as opposed to teaching English for many of his classes.  Now I will admit that I had fun, however,  due to the fact that my "new schedule" was told to me at the last possible moment, AND (again) teacher participation was mandatory (I was payed to practice dodge ball and badminton).  The week wasn't a complete waste, since I did teach my 2 Monday morning classes, however, all my afternoon classes were practicing for sports week Monday through, Wednesday and Thursday and Friday was the actual event. my classroom participation was shall we say, "limited'.

Listen

This week was exam week at my university, but fortunately I was able to get a class to"volunteer" for my video reflection.  The idea behind the this weeks teaching was to activate the student's schema on past tense verbs, as well as discuss what foods that the students like to eat and know  how to cook. I than set up a listening exercise by using the "eavesdropping" technique  that I learned in the STG Methodology class. The audio recording which I played was between a "man" and a woman named 'Rebecca".  The "man" asked Rebecca  about foods from different countries, which of those foods she liked and knows how to make.  I set up the eavesdropping scene by having 2 students play a couple at the airport.    The 'boyfriend" is hungry and asks his girlfriend to buy him some food.  After the "girlfriend" is  gone for an extended period time the, boyfriend goes looking for her, only to find that she is talking to a very handsome man. With the scene set up, I then play the tape.

 *The unit which I am currently teaching is about countries around the world their foods and hobbies, thus the airport backdrop.

After viewing the recording, I noticed quite a few things which were both good and bad.  I noticed where I improved from the methodology techniques that I learned this semester,  and I noticed on areas where I need  to improve.

The first thing that I realized is that I need to SLOW DOWN, everything seemed so rushed.  I was admittedly under a time constrain due to the fact that I had to hand out the exams after the lesson, but this is not a time for excuses.  Another thing that I noticed was that I often didn't allow students to work through problems themselves.  I would often give them the answer, or another student would help the struggling student out.  In addition,  I also  realized that I have to be MORE organized.  This was the first week in which I used an eavesdropping listening technique, so "bugs" need to be worked out, however,there were times in which I could have used the WB more effectively, or I could have spent more time rehearsing the questions AND answers I wanted the students to use via choral repetition. You may also notice that I didn't have the students ask their own questions to classmates.  However I did do that during roll call, so i didn't completely neglect that aspect of the teaching.  Finally, I am a bit concerned with the amount of Ttalk that I did.  Ttalk is an obvious problem that I need to work on, however, I believe being better organized will remedy some of this problem.

The good... I noticed that I am asking students to speak in full sentences as opposed to allowing them to give one word replies.  I also asked follow-up question, as well as chaining the questions as to ensure that the whole class was involved during the lesson.  Since I realized that these issues needed to addressed a few weeks back, I made a conscious effort to improve on them.  After watching this latest recording, I now recognize other areas in which I need to improve, and as before, I will make a conscious effort to improve on these new problems as well.

Lights, Camera....

This week I used some of my old tricks which I was reminded of during this weeks readings from Harmer.  The weekly  topic focused on food and cooking, and opposed to having the students just act out the script that was issued at the beginning of the chapter, I had them first read it to themselves silently and then circle the words that they did not understand.  Once they were finished, the students gave me the list of words which they were having trouble with and I wrote them on the WB.  For example one word was "yolk", and the word "yolk" went up on the WB.  When all the words were listed on the WB, I pulled a "volunteer" from the class and had him "mime" the script as the other students read it aloud.  When we came across a "circled" word which appeared on the WB, I again asked the class what that word meant.  To my delight, I could actually see the "light switch on" when the class saw the student act out mixing the "yolk and the white together" (when making scrambled eggs). When I asked  "What is yolk?", many students said "yellow" or they gave the Korean word for "yolk" .  Now I must admit that I didn't remind the class to use complete sentences, or to say in the words in English.  I  was caught up in the moment and my swelling pride for the students overtook all professionalism.   The class didn't use dictionaries, they learned how to discover the meaning of a word on their own, by looking for clues in the reading.

Seeing "the light switch on" has been rare these days, because I used to just write the definitions on the board and move on with the lesson.  However, teach a man to fish...  I explained to the class that there are "hints" throughout the reading and had the students  define the rest of the WB words in their note notebooks as the "volunteer" finished acting out the script.  When finished, I asked the students what the rest of the words meant and they has no trouble defining them. I then had the students pair up practice the script.  Next I had a few students come to the front of the class and give their performance.

Ttalk for this portion of the class was at a minimum since the Ss did the bulk of the talking, and since the did most of the work, they seemed to grasps the new vocabulary a bit better.

Tell me why...

I dont like Mondays.   - Boomtown Rats

A general consensus is that most people don't like Mondays, and after a long holiday, the dislike for Mondays often morphs in into a general hate.  Unfortunately Mondays are the wake up alarm for the week, and like it or not, both teacher and student must be prepared to work through the the dilemma of Monday mornings together.  If either side of this equation is not pulling fair their share of the load, problems will arise.  Which was the case this past Monday morning, and every Monday morning I have had this semester with my 9:30 Monday morning students (they don't do their fair share). .  What I find odd is that the 11:20 class which I teach (on Mondays) is the polar opposite of the 9:30 class, even though these 2 classes share the same major.  Ying, say hello to Yang.

I have informed the  students (several times) that if they don't have books and note books, then their homework grade suffers, which in turn will hurt their over all grade.  Yet 50% of the 9:30 class just doesn't seem to care.  With this being the situation, I am at my wits end. This is not a problem that I alone share,  When I walk by Korean teachers' classes, I will often see students sleeping in class, talking to peers, or using their cellphones.  I am unsure if this is a cultural norm, or some of the teachers (at my school) care less than the students.  Or are the Korean teachers hoping that the mandatory military service will straightened out some of the male students. I realize that I am the one who has to adjust to rules of the country, and my employer, not vice versa, so I try not to judge too harshly.

To add to the problem,  Mid Terms are this week, and unless these students have an amazing habit of "turning it on" when tests roll around, or resort to cheating, they are going to get very poor grades.    By the way, cheating is a BIG "no no"in my classes.  I do intend on giving a lot of make-up homework for poor grades and late assignments, each student will be given ample opportunity to pass.  But what will these students learn? That they can get by in life putting forth minimal effort? UGGGH. Perhaps it's time to lower the boom.  A student is not allowed in class unless he/she has a text book, a notebook and a pen. Which means they will have minus 3 points for an absence. Many of these students are more concerned about their attendance than they are about learning. A little scare tactic may be just what my 9;30 class needs.  If students do have all the material the following week, I will give them back the minus 3 points which they loss the previous week.  This can be a one time offer.

Fortunately the rest of my classes are "A" to the "WE" to the "S"-"O"-"M"-"E"... But Monday, 9:30.... Yikes!  What a way to start a week.

Focus

Once You Have Empathy on All, You Truly Are Divine.  -Buddha

With the wisdom of the Buddha in my back-pocket   I had little trouble empathizing with my students on this fine October day, as they were lacking a great deal of focus and motivation.  Returning to school after a week long vacation can weaken the resolve of even the most dedicated student, and that was clearly the situation which I faced today.  Fortunately I have built a fairly decent relationship with my classes, and my students seem to be aware that I will work with them as opposed pushing them off a cliff.  However, the key word is "work", and after a relatively slow start, I was very proud of  how well the students responded to the daily lesson.  A typical class consists of me refreshing the students memory from the previous weeks topics during roll call.  I will often ask one student a question regarding a previous class topic, then I will call a random name from the attendance sheet and have the previous student ask the new student a similar question. Since the students are called at random, AND I have incorporated "chaining questions", the class seems more focused, since students are unsure IF I will call on them again.  I  must admit that I have changed my CI techniques considerably since starting SMU, and to my delight, I have found that engaging students with a more Dialogic approach has improved the environment of my classes.  The students seem more willing to speak in class and inform me about their interests, which in turn has made teaching easier, since a positive relationship has been established.

Once roll call was finished today, the students were much more focused and the new material was easier to introduce, due to a more student driven discourse which I now use.  I have also started to make students come up to the front of the class and perform what they have learned, which has improved their attentiveness.  Students seem more focused, since they are being evaluated by their peers, and I also believe that many students relish being the center of attention.  The biggest problem that I have found is that I am often working against the clock, since my classes are fairly large.  However, the results (of my new approach) have been more productive when compared to the teaching methods that I have used in the past.  I assume that with practice, clock management will be less of a problem as I hone my skills, and student participation, and focus, will continue to improve.

Richards and Lockhart:

Today's goal was to teach students how to describe injuries while at the same time incorporating the lessons from the previous weeks in  daily activities, and I believe the goal was accomplished.  As usual, I used the class text book as well as the WB and the internet, which all seemed to be quite effective.  The class wasn't teacher dominated as the students know that I expect them to talk more in class each week, and I always "review" the material form the previous weeks.  The least successful part of the class was due to the students whom still come to class without a book or a pen.  These students contribute the least amount to the class, and being unprepared is the main reason why.  There are usually only 2 students per class that are unprepared and during the class brake I made those students run to the book store and buy what is needed.

One amusing thing that happened today was that and older student (55) told the class that her "bottom" hurts because I hit her (in case you were wondering, I did not hit her).  She seems like a "traditional  Korean grandmother", so her "injury" was quite unexpected.  It was very encouraging to see her have fun in class, while at the same time practicing her English.  That being said, I am still unsure what changes I should make to my teaching style, because I learn something new each week at SMU.  Also, my teaching has changed quite a bit in the past few weeks, and I am sure the more I learn as a student, the better I will become as a teacher.

Many students were missing from class today, due to the long holiday week, but the students that did attend were quite active (after a slow start).  I  am also now using scaffolding techniques to help students whom have trouble, and chaining questions to help ensure that the whole class is attentive, as opposed to just focusing on one student at a time.  I believe that  the students did indeed  learn how to describe injuries as well as inform others on how those injuries may have occurred,  however much work still needs to be done, and I have a limited time to do it in.

I think that my professional development is below average in many areas and above average in others.  My biggest problem is organizing the new skills that I have learned at SMU, and using those skills on a consistent bases.  Although,  I do feel that I have developed quite a bit in the past few weeks, and in time, I am certain that I will find better ways to organize the new information that I am currently learning.