Observation Report

Forms for inclusion in the Observation Notebook must be typed

Name of Observer____Wang Zhao______ Observation # _8_

Date Observation Environment (include URL if the class was online) 5/15/13 UCR Extension Class Skill/Content Class Teacher Level/Number (Beg./Int./Adv.) Adv. Candace Jorgensen

Listening

Focus on relevant areas from the What Can Be Observed handout. Notice how the teacher handles these areas during the class. OBJECTIVE OF THE LESSON: Students will be able to : understand and distinguish key listening terms (e.g. linking; reduction; redundancy) aware of the terms during listening and be able to articulate using examples from context

Notes while observing: T greets Ss Review mid-term exam (10 minutes) The first part of the exam is to match terms with its definition E.g. linking: the ending sound of one word connects to the first sound of the next word Reduction: sounds or letters are eliminated when words are spoken quickly Redundancy: two words that carry the same meaning T goes over each term with the students and provides examples to further explain the concept The second part of the exam is short answers T discusses each question with the Ss and calls out Ss name to answer the questions 1. List two ways a listener infers Ss offer answers and T puts them into two groups Eyes: facial expression, body language, clothes, appearance Ears: voice, intonation, stress words

Observation Report
Forms for inclusion in the Observation Notebook must be typed 2. What do we hear between thought groups? Ss: pause, silence, fillers 3. How do fillers help the listener? Ss: erase, have time to think/understand about what speaker just said, think about whats coming next, take a rest 4. What is one group of words that is commonly stressed? Numbers, negative words, verbs, dates, nouns, adv. Adj. 5. How does stress help the listener? Catch the main idea/ the most important thing After reviewing the mid-term, T asks Ss if they have any questions Practice (25 minutes) and presentation ( 10 minutes) Listening activity: Before listening, T asks Ss what they remember from last classs listening T: What was it mainly about? Tell me a complete sentence. Several Ss answer: Borrowing money and lending money A girl lending money T: You mention a girl, what was her job? Theres no response so T asks Ss to open their book Some Ss answer : Shes an author T: ok, so shes a writer of a column, about what? Ss: About money T presents a listening tip to the Ss: stress and linking in phrasal verbs T asks Ss: What is phrasal verb? Its verb+preposition Then T asks Ss to read the definition together T gives Ss a transcript of the listening dialogue with some words missing Cloze exercise: T plays the audio, Ss fill in the missing words Then T plays the audio one more time and asks Ss to underline the stressed words while listening

Observation Report
Forms for inclusion in the Observation Notebook must be typed T projects the tapecript on the screen, gives markers to the Ss and asks them to come up and write the missing words The whole class read the dialogue together and point out the stressed words T asks Ss to compare unfamiliar vocabulary with their neighbor T explains litigious and appropriate afterwards Wrap-up (5 minutes) T assigns homework

(continue on back) What did you learn about teaching or learning from this lesson? Consider your observation focus, and the theory you have studied in your TESOL classes.

First of all, students are exposed to key terms (e.g. linking, reduction, redundancy, fillers etc.) that are essential for making sense of the thought pattern and speaking conventions of native speakers. I have noticed that most representation of these terms in context actually do not impede comprehension. However, it is crucial for students to be able to detect them and use them in speech because they are commonly used by native speakers. For example, in the listening activity students heard several reduction examples like gonna and wanna. For advanced students, they have already known the meaning of the words. Teacher needs to direct their attention to the fundamental concept of reduction as well as other terms mentioned earlier in English speech and supply additional examples. ESL students do not aware of these phenomena because they are often overlooked in a listening comprehension class that focuses on product instead of process. Furthermore, the use of authentic material is a great way to help students become familiar with the real use of the target language. It is like a rehearsal before the real show, students have the chance to extract meaning from utterances that are usually beyond their current knowledge. Teachers have to keep in mind that re-playing a recording, even several times, is fine in order to help students achieve comprehension. But outside the classroom people sometimes only have one opportunity to hear something. Hence, they need to learn to unpack whatever they hear from that single exposure.

Observation Report
Forms for inclusion in the Observation Notebook must be typed

What activities/techniques from this class do you want to remember for your own teaching practice? Consider specific ways in which you could apply the techniques and methods you saw. Consider your future teaching environment and your students needs and goals.

I will carefully use tapescript in my future teaching context. Sometimes students resist using written words as an aid to improve listening because in their L1 is unusual to read a transcript of what they listen to. And ultimately students need to gain experience and confidence in listening without the support of written words. But it usually takes a lot of time and effort to achieve the goal. For pedagogic purpose, there is no reason why teachers should not include them, especially in the early stages. Oftentimes there are variations between the spoken and written form of the language. Students could listen and read simultaneously to find the distinction. The authenticity of the materials should be also taken into consideration. Authentic materials usually have some interfering elements in nature. For example, the dialogue used in the lesson that I observed, the interviewee has a distinctive African American accent. It might be a good idea to introduce the features of so called Black English in listening to advanced students. For lower level students, however, this could be at the expense of their comprehension because the fast speed and vocabulary have already been a major challenge. Moreover, some authentic recordings are likely to suffer from poor recording quality like too much background noises. Sometimes it may contain too much culture elements that it is simply not worth sacrificing majority of the class time to explain them. I agree to give students authentic input as much as possible in class. There are still many aspects that need to be taken into account while selecting these materials.