The aim was to get students talking to each other about their life in Malta with their partner and then relate the story to the class by only using six words as a way of testing their existing and summary skills in a practical situation also working as a transition into the reading/listening comprehension. Was supposed to elicit the correct versions of the words students had difficulty with in the previous lesson however during the lesson I decided that it would be better to do it towards the end because it would make for a better lead in to the next section however due to time constraints I didn’t manage to fit it in.
Next time I’ll prioritize correcting errors from previous lessons in the beginning of the current lesson as I really noticed students comprehending the definition and renunciation of the word. In the second section students had to answer specific questions relevant to the text. L opened this section by asking if they knew who Ernest Hemingway was and discussing accordingly. Gave out instructions by using the imperative however it seemed that I was coming off a little too serious which might have slightly intimidated the students so I tried not to use it as often. Add sure to take make the students read the questions before they even began to read the text just to give them an idea of what they have to be looking for. One very obvious mistake I did in this section was not describing the vocabulary before the students read the passage even though mentioned in my lesson plan, probably because was trying to focus on other personal inconsistencies to work on, however I made sure to go over the words anyway once they were done reading.
At the time made a judgment call and thought rather than interrupt their reading it would be a better idea if they read the story and try to answer the questions without knowing all the words since it would be applicTABLE in a real situation. When teaching them the new scapulars made sure to elicit the word from them by explaining the definition and by using gestures however should have spent more time on pronunciation by asking to students to repeat it loudly and clearly also referring to the phonetic chart. Should have also used more in depth concept check questions to make sure they understood.
Monitoring students wasn’t too abrasive, I usually would help them too much and not allow enough time for them to attempt the exercise on their own though in this lesson I made it a point to allow them to do so and after discuss their answers n class. Another thing I’ll keep in consideration in classroom management is sorting the students out in pairs since I left them in groups of three and this caused some problems when correcting work. In the third section the students were tasked with a listening comprehension. Soused on using the same process I used before in making the students read the questions before they listen to the comprehension and suggested they write down the gist of the answer so they wouldn’t waste time writing it out completely and miss the chance to answer the rest (working on giving instructions). Even though the students were attentive to the listening and their answers were sufficiently correct, they missed out some key phrases which were expected so I might need to consider pausing the tape halfway or play it back again another time. Add sure to give examples of the answers required to make sure they were following carefully however I should have double checked if they understood the questions by asking them to repeat what they’d have to do to the class. The fourth and fifth section suffered due to time mismanagement on my part ND even though I managed to convey the main aim of the lesson I need to take that into consideration. Exercise 3 & 4 focused on having the students discuss the short stories and by personalizing it tried to make them relate and converse about them with the class.
It would have been interesting to develop it further but I wanted to set up the vocabulary exercise so could give them some homework. I’ll need to adjust my lesson plan accordingly so as to compensate for when exercises take longer then they should. B) In regards to my development as a teacher I’m quite confident in the way I’ve improved however there is still a couple of things that need work on. When I first started the course was very stiff and serious in demeanor as I hadn’t experienced teaching before but I’m slowly working on it and it’s showing both by affirmation by my peers/tutor and by the students themselves.
They seem to be more outgoing and interested in the lesson each time I work on improving my personality I used to think being a teacher involved dictating to answers to students and having them listen and memorize what you teach however through the Celt course Eve developed arioso skills such as eliciting, concept check questions, hand gestures etc to help them come up with the answers themselves rather than giving it to them directly. Deiced that it greatly increases their confidence and they’re more likely to remember something they re taught when they’re given the opportunity to interact within the lesson. I’ve improved in organizing my lesson plan however I need to use a more methodological approach to it, when observing other teachers could clearly see how well each section transitioned into each other and how everything followed the specific theme f the lesson and that’s what tried emulate in this teaching session. Sing the warmer as an introduction to the theme of life stories and relating the vocabulary exercise also and it seemed to work well. One of my biggest problems is developing a healthy rapport with the students. They seem to acknowledge me as a teacher however it feels forced because they can feel my tension, practice and having a detailed lesson plan is helping me further better myself. Most of us doing CELT have been following the course book in teaching students however through observing our tutors we’ve been exposed o various other ways of starting the lesson or teaching a specific subject.
It’s always good to deviate and give them a more interactive activity with which to get their brains ready and active, lessons don’t always have to be boring. Even referencing exercises and other material not exactly associated with the coursework is encouraged and I’ve used certain exercises from other books that I found relevant. C) In retrospect I’d like to continue my development by getting a job in the field since definitely need to work on my class presence and get more experience hen dealing with students in a classroom setting.
Experience is definitely the factor here but I’d also want to consider some other courses that could help me deal with students better or a specific branch in English such as business. The good thing about Malta is that there’s several schools looking for teachers throughout the year especially in summer when we have a huge influx of students making it the ideal place to practice teaching students from different backgrounds and cultures since my goal is to eventually go live and work abroad and using teaching as a tool to absorb new cultures.
