In the observation, the instructor was instructing an ESL level 1 and/or 2 class of about fourteen adult students. The classroom size was not immense, so the students were sat together spread across to long desks. Such desk arrangement called for her to be closer to the students for them to clearly hear her words. She kept all the class instructions very short, and consistently tested the students by asking for answers. Her pedagogical method was more direct question and answer. the instructor would ask a short direct question, and her students would give a short direct response back. Her students have not attained much experience with applying their knowledge in the real-world, let alone might have not received much education in the English language at all. Hence, introducing concepts called for concise and related to the item (i.e. pointing to the item itself). Throughout the observation, she used hand gestures and pointing to associate the word to the item. Association was immensely important and was shown why this was needed constantly. When necessary, she would correct the students if they referred the wrong word and item.
In the warm-up, the instructor can be seen teaching common introduction phrases like “how are you”, and its responses. After introducing the phrases and its responses, she would hand out the name tags and use the question to ask the owner of the name tag. This action allowed for name familiarity, quickly checking whether the students understood and apply the learned knowledge. She did not introduce intermediate words, rather necessary words that described their feelings in the right way (i.e. “I have a cold/fever” [rather than just saying I feel sick or bad]).
In the lesson, it was student orientated. Not only were students being introduced to new vocabulary, they needed to grow in their four respective competencies. For that, she always has them speak after her, and they would give examples. For instance, she used “Tanya’s store” to help students apply what they learned. If it was incorrect, she would step-in and correct them. This real-world application was brilliant. As soon as she organized her desk surroundings as a store (as look-alike as possible), students kept being engaged. Furthermore, the learners being adults, the atmosphere was relatable, because this was the atmosphere they were in day-by-day. Having the surrounding prompt memory is great, and she wrote down the basic sentence structure for the question and response on the board (i.e. “Do you have a shirt?/ I want a shirt), so students can always look at it for reference. Progression in the lesson had increase student participation. When it came to the card game activity, it gave them an extra chance to practice their new words among groups. The game was not confusing nor complex. It seemed to be like goldfish, and the students would ask their peers if they had a specific item card in their hand:
Student A: “Do you have shoes?
Student B: “Yes I do.” *hands the card to Student A
Student B: “Do you have _______?”
Lastly, when it came down to the exit ticket, she made sure that they can at least give her an example. Requirement was simple, they had to say what they were wearing. Correct, and they would be leaving the classroom. She never discouraged answers, just to correct them if the word was incorrect.