In this observation, the instructor used the class to explain the purpose of the lesson. It was obvious from the beginning that he wanted to prepare the students for the real-world. The world could have been applying to the Universities of their choice. Despite his students knowing what he was saying with certain limitations, he did ask them to request to speak slower if needed. The class dynamic was very bright and purposeful. On numerous occasions the instructor mention why they attend his class, or why learn English etc. Everything had a purpose in completing, and not just a random task working towards nothing. When handing out the paper consisting of questions and reading material, he tasked the students to be in groups of fours to guide one another. When class first started, the desks were arranged in columns. As soon as the task was given, the group of fours created square-like shapes to collaborate with one another. Group work was a tool that he used in his activities as maybe he saw the need for assistance amongst his students. Possibly, it could be that by discussing with one another, they can practice reading and speaking altogether. He did require the task, or all spoken words to be in English for obvious reasons.

As an observer, I found the activities to be inclusive to everybody. When he asked about why a student responded the way they did, he would add a simple question to allow the class and himself to know that student a bit more. One of the impressive pedagogical approaches he used in the lesson, was breaking it down. Breaking everything down from task instructions to finding purpose in student responses, allowed each student to complete it step-by-step. He never assigned and ignored, rather walked around and checked on their progression. Further, he always considered the simple fact the demographic which he was part of was not a native English-speaking classroom. For that, he was careful in his word choices. Making sure that the words were not elementary, but not exceptionally difficult vocabulary. Huge benefit in my opinion, especially for how much setbacks the lesson may have concurrently. By keeping tasks and words simple, there were no room for over-complexity. As an observer, that piece of care he instilled in the approach made me be aware of keeping the expected classroom competency equal to words used. Observing each part of his lesson, the notion of prioritizing whether students understood the task and his dialogue before anything else. Thinking back to the experience, he never asked whether the students understood it, rather kept explanation short. As result, those that asked, either had a follow-up question, or they simply did not grasp the instructions or task fully.

Lastly, I found that compared to the other classrooms I have observed, he wanted learning to be fun even at a high school level. No matter if he was asking a question, or making a small remark, he added a humorous element to the spoken words. Ultimately, creating a bright atmosphere which the students laughed together. Students receiving education in Asian communities tend to be quiet and contain less happy element in the classroom. I am comparing on how the eastern form of school calls for strong, strict learning discipline. Whereas western students are empowered through positive vibes and support from teacher and peers daily. Hence, as soon as I saw Shawn creating the laughing atmosphere for the Japanese high school students, it made me ponder on blending cultures. Occasionally, we may think schooling is divisive and cannot mend together. However, as I witnessed in the instructor’s classroom, schooling is schooling. If there are parts that works in this context, why not use it to our advantage?