For this session, I observed an online class that was labelled as an Introduction to the Communicative Classroom. The class comprised of adult learners at the beginner level.
One of the first things I noticed was that the instructor already is teaching body language right from the beginning of class. Facial expressions and body language make up a tremendous part of communication and is very intuitive in a person’s L1. However, the body language from one language to the next may not cross over. Also, I wonder if it helps a learner feel more connected. I know in my own experience when I’m learning a language, at the beginning I always feel very dry and monotonous, because my vocabulary isn’t large enough and I don’t feel connected with the language yet. I wonder if specifically teaching it right from the beginning helps students feel more connected and as themselves when conversing in the target language. The teacher also appears to put extra emphasis on the stressed vowels. For learners coming from non- stress-timed languages such as Korean, the stresses may be quite difficult for their ears to hear. I wonder if she puts the extra emphasis on the tenses on purposes.
I noticed the teacher is very efficient with her time. There was not a lot of lag time between switching mini class activities. I was also surprised at the amount of props she uses, like having pants on the wall to show her selling them. I never really thought about bringing in such large props for a lesson, but I can understand why it would be useful and now I know it’s okay to do that once I am on my own teaching. I also enjoyed how she introduced and reviewed information in the class. While she was teaching about clothing, she is also exposing the class to situations they will need to navigate, as well incorporating listening, speaking, and reading all throughout the review. Lastly, I really liked the activities she brought into the class. Revising games that are common for us, like Go Fish, for the topic at hand is really interesting. It is definitely something I would incorporate into my teaching.
