Reflection on a lesson (1)

During our class we have watched a video containing parts of an English lesson with young learners. Students (boys only) were six years old. I enjoyed watching this lesson. Though we saw just a glimpse of it, it was enough to get an idea of this teacher's methods and techniques of working with students.

The lesson focused on animals and numbers. Vocabulary contained: 

• adjectives (big, small, short, tall, happy, sad, good, bad)
• nouns (names of animals) 
• numbers from 1-12

Apart from that, students were practising: 

• forming sentences 'It's a … (name of an animal)' 
• asking questions 'Is it … (chosen number)?'

The lesson was fast-paced and full of activities. Teacher was only using L2 (English) and encouraged students to do the same. His instructions were highlighted by multiple gestures (pointing, counting, mimicking). Instead of pointing out and correcting mistakes, the teacher made them repeat the correct sentence or pronunciation of the word.

Visual aids presented in the class contain pictures of animals, flashcards with numbers and a football field chart. They were used to practice previously introduced vocabulary (animals) and form sentences with their names. Teacher checked if students can identify and name them and spot the missing one. 

To maintain classroom discipline, teacher was using short, undersandable instructions (e.x. sit down, stand up). He also started counting down when students were too noisy. Students were asked to raise a hand while volunteering. A few times a particularly loud student was asked to be quiet.

A few things could have been done better. Firstly, his classroom discipline methods were not always successful. Students were very engaged and moved a lot, though there should be some quieter moments. Balanced lesson should have both stir and settle activities, so students both have time and a chance to move and cool down in between those activities. Secondly, class arrangement made it difficult for some students to see. When they were trying to get closer to the teacher, he advised them to come back. Maybe, the desks could have been placed differently or teacher could have moved more instead of staying next to the board. Apart from that, judging by the effectiveness and students' involvement in it, I reckon it was a successful lesson.