My final assessed observation was a listening class on listening strategies. It was completely different from the way I used to teach before. I have never taught listening on zoom because I used to deliver face-to-face classroom. I decided to get out of my comfort zone and give it a try, acting upon the advice of my supervisor Nancy. For a meaningful data-driven reflection, I watched my recorded video two times in order to reflect upon how I taught and the potential mismatch between my lesson plan and my classroom practices. The conversation with Barbara, who is my observer on this last assessed observation might stimulate other reflections as reported by Farrell, (2017). For him, collaborative reflection with an experienced teacher can be beneficial to in-service TESOL teachers and I think he is right. Meanwhile, this paper will look at specific points that I wanted to improve after my previous post-observation conversation with Nancy.
This last assessed lesson was an attempt to put into practice all the knowledge I gained from the module. We did not face any technological failure or big issues with the learners. However, there are some aspects of the class that I want to comment on. It might also be necessary to mention that prior to teaching this class, I went to a language school here in Brighton to observe one of my classmates and have a clear-cut idea about her teaching practices. Even if it was a face-to-face classroom, it was helpful to see how teaching English to ESL learners was implemented here. It gave me insight into how I wanted to deliver my own teaching content. Having watched my video, I think there are different aspects I would like to further discuss but I may start with the elicitation of information.
ELICITING INFORMATION
The class started with a lead-in activity where they were instructed to describe an image related to the topic of the lesson. I used some concept-checking questions to elicit information from the learners. Here, my observer Barbara appreciated the way they reacted but suggested the creation of a clearer context and maybe the use of a different picture (a picture of the ear) that could have allowed the learners to talk about their experiences with listening and facilitate for me the process of elicitation. I could have asked questions like what you find difficult about learning English, what about listening, what difficulty you have in listening, and what do you do when you have these difficulties? I could have asked them those questions to get them talking about themselves. To be honest, I prepared these kinds of questions to start with, but I was wondering if the time will allow covering everything that I planned to teach. I decided to drop the questions and do something different. Barbara gave me this brilliant idea to build in activities that are optional that I could include in my lesson plan or take it out if I do not have time.
PRE-TEACH VOCABULARY
Another thing I did is to pre-teach the vocabulary words that are likely to prevent their comprehension of the podcast. I know that Chang & read (2006) argue that pre-teach vocabulary is not helpful in a listening text, but I think it can help some learners with a very low level of English. I have never pre-taught vocabulary before in a listening class, but I decided to give it a try and see how it will go. My supervisor seemed not to appreciate pre-teaching vocabulary but really liked how I proceeded with my learners. She advised me to expand on the vocabulary by using concept-checking questions more to elicit information from the learners. For example, instead of asking them to tell me what they know about ‘sweat’, I could have asked the question does the cold make you sweat. By asking questions and contextualizing the words, they would have been able to say much about it. This is a valuable idea that I look forward to using.
Student Engagement
Another area that I wanted to improve is student engagement due to individual differences. One of the biggest hurdles that I face as an English teacher is how not to eliminate the less active learners during the class. I worked with five learners but two of them did not fit the intermediate level and found some aspects of the class challenging. It was a bit difficult for me, but I tried to immerse them as much as possible by getting them to work with their classmates on different tasks. By getting the weaker learners to work in pairs with the proficient ones, I wanted to create a supportive environment where they could help each other. Barbara liked the idea but asked to try different avenues by allowing the shy learners to also work together. They might get more involved in the conversation and feel less intimidated by those they perceive as proficient. I will explore this idea and I think it will definitely help depending on what I am working on with the learners.
AUTONOMY
Another point she asked me to explore next time is to give my learners a bit of autonomy by allowing them to use the chat facility to ask questions or contribute to the class. It might help the shy learners to share their concerns or participate in the class actively.
Technique for error correction
Besides students’ engagement, I also asked her to comment on the way I gave instructions. She mentioned that no issue clearly stands out, but I can bring in more error correction next time by recycling the learners’ mistakes from the breakout rooms and displaying the words on the whiteboard. This way, I could treat error correction in an anonymous way without frustrating any learner.
Building learners’ self-confidence through positive feedback
I blushed when my supervisor told me that I am a positive person because I praise my learners using encouraging words such as perfect, amazing, and congratulations. I did not really notice it because this is something that I do unconsciously, but I think it helps to an extent and gets them to become more confident. I think that motivation serves as a powerful trigger for learning a language. It is a determinant factor for an effective learning process, especially in the second language acquisition domain (Alrabai, 2014). Since learning a language seems to be a tedious and lengthy process (Ibrahim. 2017, p.24) that seems to have no end, I think it is valuable to create a condition where they will learn without anxiety by receiving positive feedback or encouragement from their teachers and classmates. This is my take from my SLA module and since then, I am empathetic when it comes to my learners. I walked in their shoes some years ago and I know how it feels to learn a language.
Conclusion
Overall, I think the lesson aims were achieved and if I were to teach again, I would bring in more correction by recycling the learners’ mistakes from the breakout rooms and displaying them on the whiteboard anonymously to appeal their attention to that. I will also visually show the instructions on the board or PowerPoint slide to ensure clarity. I will not reject flipped learning because I discovered a new way of teaching listening with this module. Barbara asked me not to ignore flipped learning but think of it as a way of activating receptive skills into productive skills. As Barbara mentioned, there is always scope for trying out new things. I am happy I dare to try out new ideas in class. I am even eager to learn more and another assessed observation. This last assessed observation is the result of all the knowledge I accumulated from this module. I am really elated. I am sure of something: I am no longer the same teacher.