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Reflective Paper This is a reflective paper for an Adult Education English as a Secondary Language Class (ESL) I attended at Proficiency Language Center located in Columbia, Howard County, Maryland. The class I attended was an Adult Level 3 class that took place on the 3rd Oct, 2016. The class consisted of 8 students from different nationalities: 3 Colombians, 1 Peruvian, 1 Burmese, I Brazilian, 1 Iranian and 1 Turkish. The students’ age ranged from 25-40 years. The teacher was Mr. Chris Sanders, of Caucasian origin and in his early forties. The lesson that Mr. Chris was handling on that day was Idioms and Vocabulary found on chapter three of the textbook. The students seemed to be well prepared for the class as a majority of them knew the objectives of the lesson. The teacher engaged the students in the learning process by asking them a number of questions regarding idioms. The students gave a variety of answers and participated in the learning process by reading and writing. In so doing, the learners gained language skills. Reading and writing, as we learnt in class, helps ELLs to learn effectively. The teacher then introduced a number of idioms such as “put up with,†“keep in touch with,†“look forward to†and “take a shower.†I realized that this was a lesson that mainly focused on the syntax, semantics and lexicon subsystems of language. The lesson focused on how words were combined to form sentences, the meaning of words and sentences and the vocabulary of language. After a thorough explanation of those idioms, Mr. Chris went on group the students into pair groups consisting of two members per group. He then requested them to work in those groups to work on an exercise found in the textbook on idioms. Grouping the students allowed them to learn from each other and was also an effective teaching method. As the students were working on the exercise, the teacher moved around the classroom observing their progress. This was a way to ensure that the students were on the right track and did not have difficulties working on the problems. One group seemed to have a problem with “keep in touch.†The teacher went to the group and sat with them. He spent a considerable amount of time explaining it to the students until they understood it. I found this move by the teacher to sit with the students and explain to them the problem a good one as it made the students comfortable and allowed them to interact with the teacher as peers. Another group was experiencing a similar problem to which he joined them and explained to them the problematic idioms. After he was done explaining, the same students signaled that they had another problem. This time round I could see the teacher employing gestures to drive the point home. This is a good strategy as it ensures easy understanding of concepts and subject matter. The teacher then proceeded to give answers to the same exercise. Rather than give answers straight away, he engaged the students in giving meanings and explanations about the given idioms. I notice that the class is teacher-fronted as the teacher was the one giving directions, checked on the students and helped them out in case they had problems. Given that language skills associated with literacy and cognitive are learnt mainly through formal instruction, it made sense that the class was teacher fronted. Given that it is an adult class, it makes sense that the class was interactive rather than being teacher centered. This move ensured that the students participated in class and understood clearly the concepts. One of the students gave an example “I put up with bad weather†to which another replied that it meant he tolerated bad weather. Another student indicated that the example implied that the student was not happy with the weather but was still happy. The teacher indicated that all answers were correct. One student could not understand the meaning of “take a stand†but the teacher explained it thoroughly to ensure that she understood. I notice that some of the students defended their answers by referring to the text book meaning that they were keen on the objectives of the lesson. One of them was very competitive. The students worked cooperatively as they kept on asking questions and seeking clarifications on whatever idiom they did not clearly understand. I notice that the teacher is so encouraging and engaging. This is an effective learning method as it ensures that the students are active in class and also enhances the retention levels of the students. The specific language objectives are clear as they could be stated by the students. This was an indication that the objectives were well understood by the students. The teacher went on to teach the topic further. He then revised the lesson by engaging the students in group activity. One again the students were paired and given an exercise. One again the students asked questions where they felt they did not understand. As I observed, the students’ comprehension is a wide range of variety. The teacher made sure that the students understood the question before giving answers. This was to ensure that the students give the correct answers to even trickier questions. The teacher listed other idioms to which the groups had to give the meaning and examples. Students had to write the examples on the board and explain the meaning. As we learned in class, reading and writing are strategies by which ESLs acquire Cognitive Academic Language Proficiency (CALS). I notice that the competitive student raises his hand and asks the question “Teacher, what are Idioms?†This question sends the students busting with laughter. The teacher gives them a period of time to recover. The teacher is not offended by the question but embraces it and asks the student whether it was on a lighter note or the fact that he did not understand the topic. The student replies it was on a lighter note. I realize that it was a strategy to kill the monotony of the lesson and a way of making the students feel at ease. The class proceeds with the teacher correcting the answers of the groups and explaining to them their mistakes. This was a way of ensuring that they did not repeat the same mistakes on their next attempt. The teacher then gives two more examples ‘cry over spilt milk and “they are going head to head with Israel†to which the students must give examples and meaning. He asks each group what they had written and what it meant. I notice that all the activities in the class are age-appropriate and also relevant to their backgrounds. The student from Myanmar raises a point “break 10 minutes.†The teacher asks the class the correct idiom for taking a break. The student from Brazil answers “take a rest.†The teacher is impressed and allows them a 10-minute break. As they head out, the teacher plays music from all over the world which is very enjoyable. I realize that this was a way of incorporating the different cultures in the class. After the break, the teacher groups the students into four groups and asks them to discuss the social political issues that are important to them. This was an exercise in their textbook on speaking skills. I realize that the music kept on playing in the background and had not been turned off. This was an exercise aimed at building their language skills. I discover that music was a way of encouraging the students to participate and accept the lesson and also as a way of helping them to relax. The students discuss their experiences and express their feeling towards political issues. I realize that this was not only a way of assessing their speaking skills but a way of incorporating the issues that were happening in their home countries in class. Some of the issues they discussed were racism, littering, freedom of speech, gay rights, education and nuclear weapons, all of which were different in the home countries of the students. Given that the discussions involved the students using grammar and language they used in everyday life, I realized that this was a way by which the acquired language skills and new vocabulary. The discussions are very lively and the students appear to have a keen interest on these topics. According to Bunch, Kibler & Pimetel (2013), the interest and motivation of ESL students in a topic enables them to overcome challenges related to learning. The teacher tapped on his students’ interest and motivation to ensure effective learning. The last fifteen minutes of the class were aimed at checking the grammar of the students. The teacher gives two more examples “look forward to†and “keep in touch.†The students give examples such as “I look forward to getting a better job†“I look forward to going back to my country.†Just to ensure that the students understood the topic, he asks them to give examples using “put up with.†The students gave different answers such as “I have to put up with traffic every day,†“I put up with his shoes†and “I cannot put up with hunters. She took a stand.†The teacher was impressed with them and gave compliments to their answers. The teacher asked them how they felt with the class. This is a great thing as it ensures that everyone enjoyed the lesson and gave the teacher pointers on what he needed to improve the next lesson. As the class neared its end, the teacher gave out homework which was on studying and reading more about the idioms and vocabulary. He also told them to prepare for the next class by reading more on the next topic. This was a very engaging class. The teacher and the students interacted in the learning process to make it very lively and engaging. The students played their role in asking questions and the teacher responded accordingly. The teaching methods and all activities incorporated in the class contributed to making the learning process effective.
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