For this observation, I watched a video of a grade 6 class in China. Since the class is being taught in China, it can be presumed that most of the students if not all share the same L1 of either Mandarin or Cantonese. Most of the students will be 11 to 12 years old at the grade 6 learning level.
It appears that the teacher follows a similar structure for each class, since the students were very easily able to predict what was she was going to ask. Before in another reflection, I mentioned that this tactic seemed to work well for that class to keep the students comfortable in that area. However, this class did not seem to be challenged at all. I think it’s important to keep some areas predictable for students, but push in other areas instead. By keeping one area of the lesson familiar, it gives the students something sturdy to lean on, figuratively of course. That way, when you push them in another area, such as new vocabulary or speaking, they are not completely lost. I guess it’s kind of like skiing on a hill you would normally snowboard on. You know the run, and where the turns are, but you are learning the new skill skiing. You can focus on what is new, while not having to be worried about too many other things at once. This is definitely something I will have to remember when teaching in the future.
In this class, I noticed there wasn’t a lot peer work, and a focus on repetition after the teacher. I wonder if there is more group work later on through the class. I also noted that the teacher uses a lot of body language while talking. It’s something I’ve noticed in a few of my the face-to-face classes as well, and it seems to help students understand more clearly the vocabulary. I think this is something I will practice and really try to add to my teaching.
