Aaron CO #1

Classroom Observation #1

Teacher: Vicky Golen

I really enjoyed my first class observation with Vicky Golen! The class I observed was a low level grammar class in which students were learning about verb tenses. Most of the students in the class already seemed advanced for their level. They all spoke fairly well considering it was a beginner class.

At the beginning of class it was really easy to pick up on Vicky's enthusiasm. She was really energetic and her energy spread to the rest of the class. She made an extra effort to be really encouraging which seemed to help not only those she encouraged, but helped the rest of the class feel more confident. When students made mistakes she corrected them, but encouraged them to push themselves and allow room for mistakes.

I also noticed some practical things she does that I would like to employ in my own classroom. Ms. Golen used her hands when she talked, which helped to clarify what she was trying to say. I have already started using this during tutoring and I've found it to be really helpful. She enunciates really well, which I think is a skill every ESL teacher needs to develop. I never knew how slow an ESL teacher needed to talk until I heard it myself. Ms. Golen also used very clear facial expressions to indicate the tone of what she was saying. Even though she was enunciating well her facial expressions provided extra clarity.

When it came to grammar teaching Ms. Golen used some of the techniques we are learning in class. She writes down incorrect sentences and corrects them. She breaks down the errors and allows students to thoroughly explore the content in order to provide correction. Ms. Golen also kept a vocabulary list and whenever the students discovered a new word she would add it to the list.

-Aaron Taylor