Observation of Teaching English Focusing on Teacher-Student as well as Student-Student Interactions - Essay Example

Download file to see previous pages... The projector was on but was never used for the duration of the class. Likewise, some students were deemed absent, as observed from the greater number of vacant seats as compared to the first observation period. He talks in a monosyllabic manner that is perceived to be monotonous and students at the back would strain to hear the entirety of his discussion. The students posed diverse stances ranging from perceptive, partially responsive as a class, partially attentive (which means there were a few who were really inattentive), somewhat indifferent, and generally unparticipative. Description of Teacher-Student Interactions The professor discussed the day’s subject matter on the need to examine the context of the sentence by enumerating a point-by-point sentence structure as detailed in their course material. He tried to solicit participation from the student by asking them questions after relevant points from the course material were presented. Apparently, only one student from Saudi Arabia was virtually responding actively to his inquiries. The rest of the students (predominantly Asian) were either very softly responding in their respective seats or silently observing and listening during the whole discussion. At one point where handouts were needed to be disseminated, Saudi students voluntarily stood up and assisted in distributing the materials to the other members of the class. As noted, other students (Asian) were not at all participating and one actually saw two students changing seats upon the start of the class discussion; and where one student even changed seats twice for some reason. Even worse, some Asian students were also seen sleeping in class (a total of three students) and neither the professor nor the classmates made any efforts to wake them up. The professor either did not see them or was indifferent to students sleeping in his class. Description of Student-Student Interactions Regarding observing student-student interactions, one could deduce that the students are already well acquainted with each other. This acquaintance was observed to have negative effects in terms of exhibiting private conversations and communications with each other, without regard to the professor discussing the lessons. These were actually three (3) Asian students talking to each other while the professor was explaining the lesson in front of the class. A positive student interaction was observed as two (2) Saudi students voluntarily assisted the professor in distributing the handouts. The rest of the classroom environment was predominantly silent during the lecture due to absence of reaction and response; as well as active participation from the students. Description of Lesson, Activities and Group Work The lesson was delivered purely using a lecture approach. Only the course materials were the sole reference for the discussion. Despite availability and access to using the overhead projector, it was not at all utilized. Likewise, the soft voice, monotonous manner of speech and communication pattern, as well as being stationary (standing in front of the class) limited movement, activity, vitality, and diversity in instructional approach and use of instructional materials. At some point in time, about 30 minutes after the start of the ...Download file to see next pagesRead More