SIT TESOL Certificate Course - Practice Teaching Observation Sheet

Teachers name: Leoric

Date: May 27th
Trainer: Nico
Time: 40 min.
Lesson plan: Was handed in yet not on time. Urgent

Level: High beginners/Low intermediate

# of students: ~20
Lesson type: PDP Song
feedback was provided.

General feedback from trainer: Thanks Leo for teaching your first PDP Song lesson at ICDA under the SIT
TESOL Certificate course! Some of the celebrations I want to express in this summary revolve around the
energy you put in the class, but also how relatable and dynamic your activities and the topic were overall.
Especially by the end, students were so involved and felt so in charge of their own performance, that they
suggested a different way to do the second During task which you agreed on, showing their palpable
interest and your great flexibility to adapt the activity to accommodate their needs. The fun, the laughs and
the opinions students gave make me think you caught their attention from beginning to end.
The most relevant puzzle I can offer has to do with the focus of the lesson. Especially the second and third
tasks dealt with the Form of the song the structure of the lyrics and the words they are composed by. At
the end of the class I was left with the honest question, "did students understand what the song was
about?" I think it is important for students to also work on the Meaning dimension of songs in order to enrich
their global grasp of it, so I encourage you to find ways to work with that as well.
In terms of PDP, I noticed you had all your step, starting from a Pre that worked with the topic and the
Support Language in a very student-centered way. The During offered 3 tasks in total, and the swift Post
gave students the chance to give their opinion about the general topic of the song, which engaged them
beyond the dismissal time.
In regards to your work on action points during this lesson:

Action plans for next PT:

* I will write out my instructions to just have an idea of how they are going to sound like

* I will chunk my instructions so I don't use more than 3 verbs at a time

Time

I notice
(Description of students and teacher
actions or words)

I am wondering and/or
thinking.

Interpretation: what helped/hindered

student learning & Generalizations:
Themes and inside or outside theory
that connects to and/or explain what
might have helped and/or hindered
student learning

17.20 T: How are you guys?! What's the

weather like today?
S: It's perfect
T: If you have a boyfriend or
girlfriend but for me, just under the
blankets [high-fives student]

I think the way you decided to

start out caught your students'
attention and not just for your
usual level of energy, but also due
to how relatable the topic was.
The theatricality of lifting up the
blinds was also a nice part of this
introduction, and students felt
involved right away which they
showed by their answers.

17.22 T: Share with a partner about this

topic, "Needing Love"

In my experience, the topic of

love is a tricky one to deal with in
classes with teens and young
adults. It is not wrong at all, yet
many responses can be expected.
I think the way you approached it
led students into taking it rather
seriously yet not too much, just

Ss talk in small groups first

T: OK, who want to share their answer?
S: Yes, because we are social beings,
we all have a need for love [T highfives student]

I am offering

(specific and measurable

possible action
plans/suggestions/questi
ons for consideration and
exploration)

mature enough to get honest

answers.
Thank you too for acknowledging
your students' answers at this
stage and in general. When us
teachers demonstrate students
we are paying attention to them
by reacting to their contributions,
I think they feel heard and get
involved into the lesson, feeling
confident when participating.
17.25 Ss check and read out 4 idioms on the
board, and work in small groups to
figure out the meanings for them
T: Today I want you to learn a couple of
idioms about love

17.33 Ss take a look at the board, where they

have 3 sets of pictures that tell an idea
T: You are going to identify the main
idea in the song, OK?
Ss listen for the first time
Some Ss talk as the song plays

I could see students were

interested in the new vocabulary,
and part of it might have some
relationship with the motivation
you provided at the beginning.
The fact that the phrases were
new to them also may ignite their
curiosity, and listening to them
trying to work out the meanings
makes me think they actually
were curious.
Great job setting the task before
the Text with the pictures
projected on the board. Pictures
are a great way to show ideas
without using language, which
sometimes gives away the answer
or interferes with their
performance of the task.

Ss check the correct answer

17.39 Ss stand up in a circle and receive a
piece of color paper with a part of the
lyrics
T: You are going to stand up with the
paper against your chest, and we need
to be in the order of the lyrics. For
example, who's gonna be the first one?
Ss listen again and arrange themselves
17.45 T: Are we in order? [Ss are hesitant]
Ss: Let's put them on the floor!
Ss listen again, now working on the
floor

17.50 In groups of 4, Ss will fetch the card

they listen in the lyrics of the song in a
competition.
Ss smile, yell and play expectant

Wow, this seems to be a very

engaging Kinesthetic/Tactile
activity. Students were a bit
hesitant at the beginning with the
instruction of standing up, but
they seemed to be engaged once
they were explained. Nice job
addressing different learning
styles and giving the task a fresh
breath of air.
The very wide smiles I saw and
laughs I heard from students tell
the whole story in this section of
the lesson: they were really
having fun as they ordered the
lyrics. At the same time, some of
the students were not sure about
the order the same students
who were not moving much. I
think it was wise at this point to
listen to them and adapt the
activity to get their need for
Accomplishment met.
Once again, the level of
expectation and fun involved in
this competition-like activity got
your learners glued around the
tables, waiting for the moment to

catch the cards and singing.

I also realized the dimension
addressed and focused on while
exploring the details of the song
was the Form, so they had to
identify chunks of lyrics and
individual word and phrases. This
made me think about the work
with the Meaning dimension, and
how we can make sure students
are making sense of the text in a
student-centered way.
17.57 T shows a question: Do long-distance
relationships work?

Despite students being close to

the door and ready to leave, I
could hear and see they were still
T: I want you to share your opinion with
involved in such a controversial
at least 2 other people
conversation, which is no doubt a
reflection of the class itself and
how the question made them
engage.

17.59 Class dismissed!

You might want to

consider including
tasks that make
students put their
Meaning-making skills
to the test, so they
also work with what
the song means at a
deeper level than the
words and stanzas
than the Form.