Category: Reflections

This was my reflection in the ESAL course. Today’s class atmosphere and students’ learning enthusiasm were successfully mobilized. Because at the beginning of the class, the teacher first carried out group discussion and practice with classmates. Such activities set at the beginning of the course can effectively help students to bring into the classroom environment, help them quickly into the learning role, but also can mobilize the learning atmosphere. During this time, I could hear the students talking enthusiastically and they were actively learning from each other. While talking about Assignments, the teacher patiently explained the requirements of Assignments. The teacher tried to explain each expectation or requirement in detail and gave examples to the students so that they could fully understand the Assignment requirements and what was expected of them. This method is the easiest and clearest way to explain the relevant content to students. In the process of giving examples, teachers also use different methods, among which the most notable is reverse example, which is to show students negative or wrong cases, so that students can avoid similar mistakes or help them better understand teachers’ requirements. During the teaching period, teachers have been actively asking students what questions or ideas they have about the course. Seeking immediate feedback from students is beneficial for both students and teachers. Teachers can immediately know the feedback of their own teaching, and make corresponding adjustments or changes according to the feedback, which is helpful to help students further and better understand the course. It’s also a good opportunity for students to learn something they don’t know or understand. Overall, this class has always used the student-centered teaching method, and the class efficiency is very high.

This is a conversation course at the Conversation Club. This lesson’s main object is about movies, including favourite movies, actors, awards, snacks. In this lesson, I have noticed that the effect of combining the subjects that students are interested in or funny with the learning content is very significant and effective. Before the beginning of the class, the teacher conducted a poll to ask students about their attitudes towards the movie, and carried out the next class activities according to the students’ answers. Based on the relevant content of the film, teachers ask students a lot of questions and guide them to further expand and think about the relevant content, which can not only stimulate the enthusiasm of students to take the initiative to talk, but also exercise their listening and speaking ability. Since this is a conversation course, students are motivated and required to have a conversation or discussion with the teacher. This can motivate students to speak up in case some students may be unwilling or afraid to speak in public. When students are stuck or have difficulty in speaking, teachers will use their own cases to explain to students, and let students find a sense of identity. I think it’s a great way to motivate students to talk or talk about something that’s relevant to the course. Encouragement and support from teachers are always very common in the classroom, and students can feel supported and believed in. When students’ confidence is built and supported during the course, their learning experiences and feelings are better and their abilities and potential are maximized. Overall, this way of teaching is very effective for students’ abilities of listening and thinking.

This was my second reflection in the ESAL course. The main content of this lesson is about countable nouns and non-countable nouns. Before the class began, I noticed that the teacher asked the students a question, which impressed me deeply. The teacher asked the students if they had any questions before we began. I think this is a very good way, and also provides a good opportunity for students to review the knowledge of the last class, and encourage students to ask questions, and finally achieve the purpose of learning. For the main content of this lesson, the teacher used the most method is to give students examples. This method is the easiest and clearest way to explain the relevant content to students. There is a Chinese idiom called “drawing inferences from one case”, which specifically means that one can infer or draw other cases from one case, which means that learning can be put into practice. In this class, I saw that the students really achieved the purpose of drawing inferences by analogy under the teacher’s encouragement and help. In the process of teaching, teachers also help students to understand and learn nouns by combining textbooks and multimedia systems. Audio playback helps improve students’ listening ability and spelling ability. When the students do not understand the content and the textbook, the teacher also responds positively and patiently explains. This not only reflects teachers’ respect and attention to students, but also helps teachers have a clear understanding of the progress of the class, so that teachers can timely adjust the teaching methods and progress. In the middle of the course, some students were inattentive. At this time, the teacher used group discussion and random questions to help students concentrate and improve their participation in the class, which was an effective method. At the same time, it is very important for teachers to constantly review what they have learned, which is also frequently reflected in this class. After the break, the teacher led students to review the content of the first half of the class, which not only helped students review what they had learned, but also helped them return to the state of class in time.

This was my first reflection in the ESAL course. The main content of this lesson is about nouns. In the process of teaching, the students listened carefully and gave the teacher a positive response. Throughout the course, students and teachers kept interacting, which was very good for mobilizing students’ sense of participation and enthusiasm. In addition, students can effectively learn knowledge through interaction with teachers, which is also good for teachers, because teachers can timely understand the learning status and state of students through interaction, so that teachers can adjust and change their classroom progress. One thing I noticed in the course was that the teacher used common examples in life when giving examples. For example, when the teacher asked the students about the difference between A and One, he used the case of shopping. This can help students to think about and discuss what they have learned, and help them to understand the content better from the perspective of life and practice. When the teacher finished a session, he asked the students if they had any questions. This action can help some students who have not been able to catch up and give them a chance to fill in the gaps. In my opinion, teachers should actively and repeatedly seek students’ advice or encourage students to ask questions in the course of teaching. Because from students timely feedback helps teachers plan and adjust the curriculum, it is not only based on the idea of the student-centered, also embodies the respect of teachers to students, and I also noticed that the teacher has been holding the modest attitude,when students say a word which teacher not familiar, he modest ask students how to spell. Such an attitude can also show teachers’ respect for students. All these are helpful to cultivate the relationship between students and teachers and improve students’ learning ability. The teacher also tries to take care of every student in the question session, and tries to let every student have the opportunity to speak, and the teacher will give relative encouragement, which is a good way to mobilize the enthusiasm of students.

This is a conversation course at the Conversation Club which I observed for second time. This lesson’s main object is about food, including food preferences, food culture and other aspects. In this lesson, the teacher and the assistance combined multiple contents with different activates and conversations to create atmosphere and opportunities for students to communicate with each other. First of all, the topic of this class has been chosen to be very attractive. As a Chinese saying goes, food is the most important thing for the people. Food can arouse students’ interest and enthusiasm, because it can be said that food is one of the most common things in life. Second, This gives me a revelation that if I carry out courses in the future, I can also use topics or contents close to life to carry out projects, which can better help students quickly enter the state of learning. Based on this theme, the teacher asked students a lot of questions, and guided them to further expand and think about the answers or questions, which could not only stimulate the enthusiasm of students to initiate dialogue, but also exercise their listening and speaking ability. I noticed that in class dialogues and activities, some students would be stuck or temporarily silent. In view of such problems, the teacher would repeat and explain the questions patiently to help students better understand and answer. As the students in this class come from different countries, the teacher put forward corresponding content according to the different cultural backgrounds of each student. This is a good strategy and way to help students have a sense of belonging and kinship, which can further stimulate their enthusiasm for communication and dialogue. In the classroom, teacher designed many activites about food in many aspects. This gave all the students a chance to learn about each other’s country and culture, and the teacher also set up a Breakout Room. It can provide a chance for students to communicate with each other and practice their speaking and listening skills.

This is a conversation class for beginners. The most striking thing about the setting in the classroom is the variety of props in the classroom. By combining the knowledge students need to learn with real life scenes, teachers can strengthen students’ learning ability and practice with real life, which can help students understand the learning objectives. Students in the teacher’s prompt, learn and review the specific symptoms of the word. Teachers help students learn by setting up group activities and games as well as practical exercises. Teachers help students learn and review knowledge by asking questions and encouraging them to speak up. In the process of questioning, the teacher asked the students questions step by step. Help students learn words and complete sentences by bringing the words of the learning objects into real life, or using the learning objects as examples. At the beginning, some students did not speak actively, and most of them listened carefully. However, with the promotion of various activities and exercises set by the teacher, some students who did not speak actively at the beginning also actively participated in class activities later. In most cases, the class is led by the teacher. This classroom observation makes me realize that teaching EAL will face many problems, for example, students may have different levels and their learning abilities. Therefore, teachers should adopt different methods for different types of students. At the same time, teachers need to constantly activate the classroom atmosphere and encourage students. Let students in the process of learning to be full of confidence and sense of achieve. If I were a teacher, I might add an activity in the classroom where students point to common or similar items on their bodies. For example, students in sweaters can identify each other. This can strengthen students’ cognitive skills and memory.

This is a ESL/EFL class for children. Whiteboard and electronic blackboard are set up in the classroom to update the content, which includes multi-media teaching and provides students with learning content not limited to words and pictures. For the course objectives, the teacher will guide the students to open the textbook and tell the students the learning objectives. In class, the teacher will ask questions and guide students about the learning content provided by the teacher. However, due to the large number of students in the class, not every student has the same opportunity to speak. Teachers also encourage students in the process of learning and asking questions. For class activities, not all students respond, some students are more active. Generally speaking, the atmosphere of the class is quiet and passive, and students will answer questions after the teacher asks and gets permission from the teacher. What is special is that there are two teachers in this class. In the dialogue section, the two teachers can provide cases to the students with practical dialogues. In addition, teachers give students opportunities to practice in groups and ask questions randomly to consolidate their knowledge. Meanwhile, teachers will repeat what they have learned to help students strengthen their memory. By asking questions, teachers guide students to review what they have learned. Teachers integrate students’ English learning skills by guiding students to speak and connecting with groups. Teachers also set up games to mobilize students’ participation and help them focus. From this observation, I learned that teachers could not take into account the learning situation of each student with a large number of students in the class, so there may be differences in the learning level of students. If I were a instructor, I might add several different types of group activities or group learning in the class, and guide or correct each group separately, or I might give less spoken students some opportunities to speak.

This is a conversation course at the Conversation Club. In this lesson, the teacher combined multiple activities with different contents to create opportunities for students to communicate with different scenes and contents. Guidance and cases provided by teacher could help students relate what they have learned and related to real life. Meanwhile, teacher could stimulate students’ interest in learning with different activities. The important point is that when the students did not follow the instructions and made mistakes, the teacher did not stop or criticize them. The teacher chose to listen with patience and encouragement, and guided the students to complete the exercise of “WH” according to the lesson plan. In this class, the teacher used different activities or games, and the scope of learning and contact also involved many aspects, such as celebrities, animals, movie. During this period, teacher use her own real life as examples for students, such as the teacher’s cat or the teacher’s family member. These give students a clear case and can deepen their understanding. In the process of this exercise, the teacher has been creating a relaxed and pleasant learning atmosphere, which is also an important aspect of the curriculum. When students study in a relaxed and pleasant environment, they will relieve the pressure of study. Especially for such communication courses, the relaxed learning atmosphere can motivate students to speak actively. Even if students are not skilled or make mistakes, they can also easily learn new content and knowledge. At the beginning of the class, some students did not speak actively, and most of them preferred to listen carefully rather than speak. With the various activities and exercises set by the teacher, some students who were not active in talking at the beginning also actively participated in the class activities and were able to actively interact with the teacher.

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