For this observation, I observed an online advanced communication class. The class is made up of adult students with a variety of cultural and social backgrounds. There were a few students absent for this lesson, as such the conversation groups were smaller. Additionally, there was a new student.
During the warm-up, the teacher had the students say good morning in their native language. I thought that this was a great way to incorporate the student’s native languages into the class. This was especially clever given that the first activity was a class discussion on an at home listening activity about local languages. During the local language activity, there were a couple of students who dominated the discussion and answered most of the questions. To get more of the students engaged in conversation, the teacher asked certain students open ended questions. One aspect of this class that I really liked was how the activities worked together. Each activity had different topics, however they related to the previous one in some way. I think that this lesson design kept the students engaged and encouraged critical thinking. When I do my own lesson plans, I will ensure that each lesson has a theme. The activities also increased in the amount of individual participation required as the lesson progressed. I think that this was smart given that the students in this class at times seem reluctant to participate. This allowed those students who were perhaps nervous to work up to answering individually with the camera on. I think it is still important to mention that there were a few students who refused to turn on their cameras. Facial expressions and visual cues are a big part of communication and thus use of the cameras is important in this class. In my opinion, students would be more willing to turn on their cameras if the purpose of using them was explained.
The teacher utilized the study rooms during this class. Before sending the students to the study rooms, the teacher laid out study room rules. The rules stipulated that when in the study room students must have their camera on and each person must participate in the conversation. The teacher also assigned leaders for each study room whose job was to keep the conversation on topic. I think that providing rules for the study rooms ensured that the activity was successful. I will keep this in mind when having my own students do group discussions.