According to Mishan and Timmis (2015, p.89), language learning materials should be conceived with more holistic aims and integrated skills. This assertion guided me through the process of teaching this lesson. For my third assessed observation, I decided to deliver a class with a grammatical focus while integrating implicitly the other skills. The curriculum being flexible, I decided to teach ‘’modal verbs’’ because, during the previous class, they could barely express ‘’ability’’ or ask for ‘’permission’’ in English. Unfortunately, I only had two learners instead of six. However, they were happy with this restricted number since I could focus on their personal challenges and allow them to speak longer than usual.
To my surprise, it was a good class, and I was really moved by my two learners who showed satisfaction concerning the whole class but especially the speaking activity. I might say that I made some improvements compared to the last class in terms of classroom management, Time management, and selection of adapted (Google jam board) for the class.
Classroom management
The class size plays a major role in the academic performance of the learners. The fewer the learners, the easier it is for the teacher to meet the learning outcomes (K. and I.F., 2022). I used to teach a set of 6 learners online but this time, I only got 2 learners. It was a different experience. I had more time to address their personal issues and maximize the class time by focusing on different activities that they find relevant. It gave me the opportunity to know each of them and select the learning content accordingly. By working with this small class of two people, I could notice for example that they both like cooking, and one of them (Selarie) is pregnant. Based on this observation, I can easily predict the content that is going to enchant them or anticipate their personal preoccupations during class time.
Another challenge I took up regarding class management is to adapt the plan when necessary. As I mentioned earlier, the class aimed to raise the learners’ awareness of the use of two modal verbs: can/ could. During the implementation of the class, I planned to teach them the negative and interrogative forms of the two models. Unfortunately, I could not cover up these aspects because, as beginners, they needed sufficient time to respond to the questions or read the text. Therefore, I decided to shorten some activities and reschedule them for the next class. This allowed me to manage the time better and stick to one hour as required by my supervisors.
Time Management
The factor of time management is the most challenging aspect of teaching for me because no one can predict what will happen in the classroom. During my class, for example, one of the learners was moody. Despite my willingness to extend her talking time, I had to interrupt her occasionally to give the floor to her classmates. Besides that, I have never taught for an hour, so it was a very new experience for me. I have never thought that I can teach beginners effectively for an hour because they expect more explanations from the teacher very often, speak slowly, and feel frustrated when you interrupt them. Despite the fact that my fears were based on the previous class, I managed to stick to the time, but I have to admit that my detailed lesson plan with the different stages helped.
The teacher’s road map
For effective online teaching, EFL teachers need to be able to design professional lesson plans that will guide them and determine what the learners should learn and how and when they should learn it. It helps teachers track the learners’ progress and effectively use class time. After 30 minutes of class with the learners, a glance at my lesson plan made me realize that we were running out of time. Instead of rushing the learners, I decided not to focus intensely on the negative and interrogative forms of could/can in the sentence. It will be covered during the next class.
Besides the lesson plan, most EFL online teachers should be trained to use some digital resources to make their class lively and memorable to the learners. Before talking about their training, it might be relevant to mention that some are not even aware of the existence of these materials that can facilitate learning acquisition and tap the learners’ minds. During my previous feedback tutorial, Nancy encouraged me to use ‘’Jamboard’’, an interactive whiteboard that is access-free and handy for teachers who might be reluctant to use the new technologies. I have been using it for one month with learners and they are impressed. They found the class more professional and different from what we were doing before. Jamboard helped them memorize and remember the new words we collected from their conversation.
The balance between TTT (Teacher talking time) and STT (Student talking Time)
There is an essential aspect of my teaching Nancy insisted on last time: The learners’ role. She reminded me of my desire to create autonomous learners. Therefore, my teaching practices and classroom management should reflect this will. I decided to give the learners much time to speak together, make some mistakes and learn from each other. I was listening to the microphone off and jotting their different mistakes. They found it challenging, in the beginning, to speak without the teacher’s help, but they appreciated it. One of them even said ‘’without the eyes of the teacher’’, we can speak.
It was brilliant, even if I could not cover some class parts. I allowed my learners to express themselves. Unfortunately, I had to interrupt them at some points because I was time conscious, but with 20 min extra, I would have been able to cover the entire content. I made some improvements, and I think my teaching is becoming more student-centered.
Development point after feedback from Nancy
These are the things I would improve or use in my next class:
-Concept checking: Nancy really insisted on how I can start my class by eliciting information from my learners while using concept checking questions. During my next class, I plan to use it effectively with my learners.
-I also need to improve my technical abilities when it comes to teaching online. I have started using Google jamboard but I have not completely mastered how the platform works. More research about that might help me navigate it easily.
-I plan to observe a class of one of my classmates who is a delta qualified. This observed lesson might give me a clear idea about how to teach according to the UK standard.