TESOL Certificate Programs

Observation Notebook

Observation Report Form

Name of Observer: Geraldine Odiakosa Observation #: 2

Date Observation Environment* Class Skill/Content Level Teacher
11/27/18 https://www.youtube.com/ ESL for Writing, Intermediate Kerri
watch?v=o-5vsXKX8po Academic Listening - Advanced
Preparation

*Include the URL if the class was online

WRITE THE OBJECTIVES ACCORDING TO THE OBSERVATION GUIDELINES:

STUDENTS WILL MATCH VOCABULARY WORDS TO DEFINITION/MEANING WITHOUT
MISTAKES.

Notes while observing:

Warm up
T – “Alright so how are you guys today?”
Ss – “Okay”
T – “I see we have a guest in the class today. Does anyone remember her name? I told
you yesterday. You can ask her if you don’t know”. Guest says, Aliyah, Aliyah.
Ss – Student responds “Aliyah.”
T – “Do you have any questions for her?” Student laughs.
Ss – “Where are you from?” Guest says my family is from India.
Ss – “Do you like our teacher?” Teacher and students laugh. Guest says she’s very nice.
T – “So she’ll just be watching the class. You can ask her if you have any questions. Ok,
first I want you to discuss the class last night. What did you do last night? Discuss with
your partner.” Students talk and discuss with partner.
T – “So did you guys do some work last night?”
Ss – “Thesis statement.”
T – “Ok good. Thesis and… I’ll write what you guys say on the board”.
Ss – “Thesis and we fixed our in-class essay”.
T – “There was one other very important thing…”
Ss – “Research paper”
T – “Yes that’s correct. There are parts of the essay we need to have done today. What
should we have completed already? There’re a couple parts. Discuss with your partner.”
T – “So, what we’re going do is get a partner and check each other’s essay. I have a sheet
where you can make notes. Once you finish, you’ll check the others. By the end your
essay will be really prepared and well fixed. I’ll give you a number to get a random
number. We’ll make eight groups.”
T – “Okay I’ll pass out the sheets and we’ll make sure everyone understands”. Teacher
sees student came in late.

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Observation Notebook
T – “Students, can you tell the student what we are going to be doing now?” Teacher uses
this moment to do comprehension check. Student explains. Teacher gives specific
directions that there are 20 minutes to review each paper. Teacher showcases Webpage
that has countdown timer.

Presentation
T – “Let’s stop with our editing and let’s go to our listening portion. Everyone can put
their computers away”. T hands packet of information to students. See if you can look at
the picture and figure out what our topic of the day is.”
T – “So what’s our topic?” Ss – says the title of the lesson.
T – “No I didn’t say read the title, I said look at the picture. What do you see here?”
Ss- “A conversation”.
T – “Between who and who?”
Ss – “Waiter and a customer.”
T – “The first thing I want you to discuss is: What are the healthiest foods here. Give
some examples of the places you can get healthy food.” Students discuss healthy food
restaurants in town.
T – “I want you to talk about the two discussion questions. The first one is about the
picture, the second one is your own opinion.”
T – So you guys have a reading here (points at information packet) and it’s about what?”
Ss – “Food.”
T – “No it’s not about food. It’s about...”
Ss – “Food guide pyramid.”
T – “Do you have this in your own country? Discuss this pyramid with your partner.”
T – “Now quietly read and answer three questions about the food pyramid. You can
discuss with your partner when you are done.” Students work on assignments.
T – “Now let’s work on vocabulary and meaning. So, the instructions say to match the
word with the meaning. Ask your partner if you’re not sure.”

T – “Everyone let’s discuss your answers. Which ones do you have different answers to?
Ok let’s look at this. Diet, what does diet mean? A. Food for good health, or D. the type
of food that someone usually eats. If you think that’s the answer, can you make a
sentence about diet. Can you make a sentence about the diet of a panda without using the
word diet?” Ss says. “Bamboo is the diet of a panda.”
T – “Bamboo is the diet of a panda? Ok, that’s better. Ok you’re right the answer is D.
T – “Is nutrition is a noun …verb? Yes, a noun. How about using nutrition as an
adjective?
Ss – “Nutritious food.”
T – “Very good. You can say a type of food is nutritious. Or our diet is nutritious.”

Practice
T – “Ok you’re going to listen to someone describing the food pyramid. Ok you need to
fill in two things: What do you feel in? Teacher does comprehension check.
Ss – “The…. (inaudible)”
T – “And what else?”

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Observation Notebook
Ss – “The example.”
T – “Yes that is correct.” Teacher repeats instructions. “I want you to discuss with your
partner what you like or do not like how you take notes.”
Teacher plays video of someone describing the food pyramid. Teacher asks students to
answer discussion questions. Teacher has an open discussion about eating breakfast.
Students respond to the teacher’s questions and are able to respond in full sentences.
Teacher continues class by discussing the in-class essay from the previous class.

Wrap Up –
Teacher provides homework due for the next class. It is an argumentative essay. Teacher
instruction to choose two topics and create an outline. Teacher reviews with students
what are needed to complete an outline.

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Observation Notebook

What did you learn about teaching or learning from this lesson as it relates to the
theory you have studied in your TESOL classes? Include at least one reference (with
an in-text citation) to support your response. (250-500 words)

I observed a recording of a face-to-face ESL intermediate to advanced class. The

class was located in Canada and attended by students from Asia. Students appeared to be

between the ages of 17-18 years with a mix of male and female. The students were in the

last two weeks of an eight-week course preparing them to enter a university in Canada.

The class focused on writing research papers and lecture note-taking. For this

observation, I focused on technology use and activities.

The topic of the lesson was the Food Pyramid. What I noticed is the teacher

focused heavily on writing activities and discussion. The students listened to a lecture

which allowed them to practice their note-taking skills. The students were able to discuss

and compare notes from the lecture. To engage the students in critical thinking, the

teacher asked comprehension questions about the Food Pyramid lecture. As stated by

Stanley (2013), “Comprehension, which can be defined as ‘the process of relating

language to concepts in one’s memory and to the references in the real world,’ is key to

forming an accurate understanding of a situation” (Stanley, 2013). As students were

preparing to enter university, it was important to include multiple opportunities to write

during the class.

The technology used in the class was the internet and video. Another technology

present was a projector, computer, and speakers. One of the ways the teacher kept track

of time was by a webpage of a countdown timer. I believe this was very useful in class

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Observation Notebook
management. Not only can the teacher keep track of time, but the students can also self-

manage, therefore, helping students manage their time during activities which can be

helpful in the university.

Although I prefer to teach younger students, after the observation, I now have an

interest in teaching advanced English learners. I recognize there is a vast difference in

how one should speak to a young learner versus an advanced English learner. For older

advanced learners, I appreciate being able to speak to them on a relatable level. Soon, I

would like to gain experience in teaching both beginner and advanced ESL classes.

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Observation Notebook

References

Stanley, G. (2013). Language Learning with Technology. Cambridge: Cambridge

University Press.

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Observation Notebook

Last Updated: 3/18/2019 10:47 PM