"How was the experience of observing classes in a private English Language Institute? How can it contribute to your professional growth as an English teacher? Tell your friends what called your attention in this teaching/learning context.”
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I liked the experience of observing classes in an English Language Institute, even if I already study in this context, because when I was in a different role, not as a student, but as an observer, I could see things that I had not paid attention yet, as the organization of the plan and the activities; the way by which these activities are organized and varied, in order to reach different styles of students, and their different necessities, working with all the skills, and so on. This experience can contribute to our professional growth, especially when we do not have experience, in teaching, because we can have a notion of what is important and relevant to do, and also what we think we cannot do in our practise. What most called my attention during the observation was the opinion of the students about the learning of English in public schools. In one of the classes I was observing, in which the content was the present perfect, the teacher asked students about their contact with verbal tenses in the regular school. All of them said the same thing: "In the regular school it is impossible to learn even verbal tenses, imagine to learn how to speak English...". It was not a surprise for me, but it made clear the reason for which they were there.
ResponderExcluirIn an a Private English Language Institute, as Marta has already said, you can face students that are there to really learn the language, and it is the difference between the other ways to learn/ teach English. Certainly it is not a rule, and sometimes you are going to find students in a language institute that do not like the language, studying for some obligation. But the point is that in my observation I saw the context not as a teacher, because I am engaged in a English Language Institute, teaching in this context. And it was nice to analyze things working. I could saw the importance of teacher fluency and dynamics and also, paid attention to students’ level and fluency too. It is unavoidable to compare the contexts when you are observing, and conclude - very obviously - that in a private institute, the focus is the language. What called most my attention were the amount of resources, materials, technologies, and commitment with English acquisition. Students and teachers have too much support to study and teach, and according to it, they are there to communicate, to use the language as much as possible. I got amazed to see the hierarchies of the school speaking English all the time, and also with me. It makes me think about the importance of this context, in order to form no-native speakers and I have got some ideas and analyzed my own work in this context.
ResponderExcluirThe lessons which were observed in the private langauge school helped me to notice that the vast majority of the teenagers, study English because they have the intention to travel abroad or take vestibular. The students' choice for this school happen because it has a different appoach if compared to the other schools. The aim is not only teach the language, but also make the students aware of the culture that surrounds it. One of the reasons for that approach has to do with the students' background. As they have two, sometimes three English lessons per week at regular school, they tend to wait for something different from their routine while going to the English course; something that is able to entertain them and challenge them.
ResponderExcluirIt was very interesting to see how technology can provide varied activities and even powerful in a sense, as it calls the students attention and make they feel interested in the subject.
As a conclusion, I would say that teaching English for teenagers in private language schools demands open-minded and modern teachers who make use of this new tool so much demanded nowadays.
Marta said something that made me think about the purpose of observing classes. Let's think: We've been observing classes since our first day at school! So... Why do teachers' education courses still require student-teachers to observe classes????? What's the difference between observing and attenting to a classes?
ResponderExcluirI totally agree with you, Elaine and Juliana. I think all that resources, as the interactive board, multimedia classes, the variety of activities and so on really contribute to the learning, because it makes students more enthusiastic and motivated to participate and really learn the language. And as Elaine said, it is so important that in a place where is intended to teach/learn a language, all the people there speak in the language, too, because it makes students feel that they are really in contact with the language and they are there to learn and practice the more as they can.
ResponderExcluirI think when we are students (especially when we do not have experience in teaching) we are not able to judge and think about teachers practise. But from the moment we start studing for this and have practise in teaching, we are able to think about that, because we have the theory and practise needed to compare, think about what is useful or not for us, about what kind of practise we can or cannot adopt in our acting as teachers. I say this from my experience. When I was in the regular school, I could not think about that because I did not had experience in teaching yet. But now, even when I am just attending to a class, I use to think about that teacher's practise, and try to absorb what I think is good for mine, and think also of what could be changed.
ResponderExcluirAs a private institution, the school has to create an environment which provides lerning and practicing, since it is very common to hear students saying that they do not have another place to put their learning into practice, but at the private school. That's why almost all the staff speaks English all the time. I believe that for most students this is a nice challenge. Besides, the school is seen not only by the students, but also by other people - who don't study there, that it really can teach a foreing language.
ResponderExcluirHi everybody...
ResponderExcluirI heard you all talking about the role that technology can provide us when teaching, and about language institutes. I feel really upset when I realize that we are not giving too much attention to the public context. I haven´t taught there yet due to the fact that me and Ju are in the nursery, but Elaine, who had contact with this context for quite some time, can provide us with different perspectives. I am concerned, you may be also, that we do not have a wide range of material to teach in public schools, but as teachers to be (hahah) we should think of what we can do, to start changing this reality. I´m not talking only about resources, but how to deal with students, and their pre-concepts about English class in this context.
As I was talking to Ju some days ago, I think it is a challenge for us get out of University and make things different. My observation in the private school was not good due to the fact that the teacher did no prepare the classes and I could see she did not care much about students. It was more a way to spend some time (and earn money). In the language institute, I have the same opinion as the girls, it is just perfect! It may sound a little philosophical, but I´ll try my best not to become what I criticize.
I learned too much observing the lessons at LAB-Uel. As a teacher to be, I fell that even the group don´t know anything of English,the proficiency and the wide vocabulary of the teacher make all the difference. She always motivated them with positives phrases and tried to use the 4 abilities in the classes. Something that called my attention was that when a student ask a question about the rule of grammar or some vocabulary, you can´t freak out. Just say that you don´t have security about the answer and in the next class you will bring it. Feedbacks show that the students doubt´s have importance in the process of learning.
ResponderExcluirI totally agree with Marta, as she says when we are students we are not able to judge and think about teachers practise. We know that because we studied together in the high school, and our teacher wasn´t very good. In that time was Ok, but now we know that classes based on grammar and translation is not the way, I believe that even in public school this is not the best method of teaching.
ResponderExcluirEvelyn talked about a very interesting situation: when you don't know the answer of a student question. And I totally agree with her in the point that it is ok, and as a teacher, I experienced this situation many times, especially in the first year teaching. Sometimes, you are not prepared for the question and generally related to vocabulary, I find it impossible to know all the words a student can ask, but the problem is that when you don't know something they can lose their reliability on you.
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ResponderExcluirAs everybody started discussing about their experience observing classes, I thought about Taisa's question related to the difference between giving and attending classes, and as Juliana mentioned the teachers' characteristics and also structure of the school in this context, it is very important when you are an observer. When you face a classroom as a teacher, you cannot realize some aspects of the class, or even if you realize, the points of view are really different in this two positions. As Martha posted in her first comment,"I was in a different role, not as a student, but as an observer, I could see things that I had not paid attention" is what happens with us. We can feel the difference also comparing things as a student.
ResponderExcluirwhen I was relating class at the Private English Language Institute, I observed two different teachers with distinct way of teach. The first one was very common, the same and conventional method with repetitive exercises that became the classes bore, tiresome and monotonous but at the end was productive, for the reason of big effort of students. However the second teacher was very better, was a motivated and inspired class with many interaction among students and they used many times the interactive board a item very useful, with music. Thus I perceived that we can teach English in a different way more enjoyable, not monotonous and keeping it efficient.
ResponderExcluirSo I will try to teach, as a possible, such the second teacher
Andressa mentioned the issue that concerns public teaching. Public schools are not THAT modern, but I can affirm that technology has arrived there too! Nowadays we see those televisions which can be used to show pictures to the sts (once you know how to use a pen drive!) Besides, there are interesting books with different activities, which can be done in groups or individually and that can provide the "extra" that sts always ask for.
ResponderExcluirYou guys know that! Teachers are creative and always manage to do what they are supposed to do with some difficulties or not!
I agree with what Elaine has said, because when I started observing classes, I became more concerned about planning classes, bringing Ss different activities, an make them aware of the process fo learning a language.But, it is really different when you are the teacher, and when you are the observer. You generally do not see things that an observer could.
ResponderExcluirHello people! UAU I’ve read everything that you wrote here… it is amazing! I confess that I have learnt a lot with you. Congratulations!!! So… as an observer in a private ELI, I learnt a lot too. The experience was good. I learnt how to prepare good classes and also how to put everything at risk because we need to pay attention in everything that is related to our class (lesson plan, equipment, materials, etc). If you do not have materials available to you, you need to create/find something that can help you inside the classroom. In the other hand, if you have some good materials you MUST know how to use them, because you can mess up everything in minutes. Andressa said that we do not have a wide range of material to teach in public school and we should think of what we can do to change this reality. I believe that she is right. When I’m preparing my lesson plans, I always try to think about my student’s needs and what can I do to prepare an attractive/interesting class to them. Observing other teachers, can help us to think about the teacher we want to become and learn from their mistakes and try to avoid them in the future.
ResponderExcluirI believe that the difference between observing and attending to a class is our behavior. As observers, we need to be aware to the process that the teacher is using to teach… and as a teacher we need to be aware about HOW to do it effectively
ResponderExcluirAs Elaine said when we are a student we aren´t pay too much attention in the organization of the class. The all process, we just see the practical: a song, an activity in group, but sometimes we don´t understant what is the objective of the teacher. As an observer is more easily to feel the growth of the students and how they learned class per class.
ResponderExcluirIt was new and very good to me. That was my first time in a private school and I could notice a big difference in relation to public schools which I am used to: number of students per class, in a public school there are 4 times more students per class than in a private.; good material; interactive board, which in my opinion is important but we can work without it.
ResponderExcluirThe classrooms are really prepared to provide the students a deeper contact with the language, mainly in terms of conversation skills.
The classes are all conducted in English all the time and what I mainly could observe is that the focus is on the conversation and something could be done to improve student’ writing skills.
Being there was really interesting for me. First, because, we always heard people criticizing teachers from privated schools as if they aren't good enough, but in fact i noticed you have to be "good enough" to be there. As Evelyn highlited, you have to know how to answer lots of questions, you have to know how to due with some situations where studends, because they pay the school, they want to give orders in the class and disrespect the teacher. I had kind of this experience in a privated school here, and it was really terrible and boring. On the other hand, as Juliana said, it was a good experience to see the technology resources that the teachers had in their classes. I had the privilegy to observe an african teacher and he was very good, dynamic, and all students were very entusiastic during all the time he was teaching. His english was funny, but it was good. He knew lots of things and was very exciting.
ResponderExcluirAs Claudia said, the difference between observing and attending classes will be our behavior and our comprehension that we can't judge teachers without being on their steps. We can't say "he could be or do like this or that" if we don't have our own experience. Theory without practice is like teaching with no learning: empty.
I just think that it's so hard to follow a book with no breaks during the whole year with almost nothiing new, but I could see that the teachers were very good and well prepared, which was so good.
as juliana sad the students who go to private english school has a reason for learning English which helps them in terms of motivation. However the one resourse found in the private school that is almost impossible to a public school providing is classes with few students,the rest is not so difficult to get.
ResponderExcluirGabriel talks about the way the classes are conduced and the interaction between teachers and students.
ResponderExcluirIn fact the class which we observed togeter was very interactive but in my opinion the method used by the teacher do not provide the students a development in all their language skills, I could notice the students are more familiar with exercises about conversations instead of the ones involving grammar.