Category: Reflections

Tonight I observed the Thompson Rivers University Conversation Club for the second time. The club, which takes places through the Big Blue Button platform, aims to provide students with a safe and casual space for students to practice their English. Upon joining the online club I was excited to see a number of ESL students present and ready to engage in the club.

To start the lesson the two teachers lead a welcome activity in order to provide each student with an opportunity to turn on their microphone and introduce themselves. This was a great way to break the ice and warm up the group to practicing English. Students were eager to share information about where they were located in the world, the time zone and their individual reasons for joining the club this evening. This early activity tapped into the student motivation which provided useful insight for the teachers to lean-into later on throughout the lesson.

After this point in the lesson it felt like something shifted; teachers began speaking more and as such, reduced the space for students to speak within. In addition students seemed to pull back from engaging and were no longer volunteering to answer questions. Silence became more regular and a sense of awkwardness emerged, which as a student, teacher and observer I experienced. It was also at this time that the teachers commenced talking over each other which resulted in a challenges with the audio and a bit of confusion among the club. I began to reflect on my own experience as a teacher and the ways in which I would typically encourage engagement in an in-person classroom and how these efforts need to adjust in the online space.

After an hour the club began to wind down and the teachers discussed the exit ticket activity. Students were called upon to answer the question and they eagerly did so and thanked everyone for their time. This closing activity was a great way to book-end the club and I made a note to implement a similar activity in upcoming lessons.

In conclusion this observation provided me with an opportunity to reflect on how leading online learning experiences is challenging. Encouraging students to speak online requires a different and perhaps, more structured approach.

Today I observed an Academic Reading Skills course offered at Thompson Rivers University. Due to a work commitment I joined half-way through the multi-hour class and I tried to join without disrupting the flow of the lesson. Luckily I joined just before the class was going on break! During the break the teacher and I spent a couple of minutes discussing course content, classroom management techniques and the lesson; this context was extremely helpful as I continued with my observation.

After the break the teacher provided me with an opportunity to introduce myself to the class so students knew who the “new person” in the class was. I took this opportunity to explain who I was, the TESL program, and how I was hoping to engage in the classroom space. Students didn’t have any questions and the lesson progressed. I felt that the opportunity to introduced myself to the class created an instant connection to the students and I immediately had a sense that I was part of this community.

As the lesson progressed it became apparent that the English language proficiency of this class was one of the highest I have observed to date. The lesson was focused on a piece of literature and students were discussing characters, plot and themes throughout the text. Students shared an analysis of the text that they completed prior to the lesson and the teacher provided a summary of the questions and comments from these submissions. Even though students were highly-engaged and demonstrated an understanding of the text, there were vocabulary words that students struggled with. The teacher paused the lesson a couple of times to ask students if they understood specific vocabulary and if they did not know a word, the teacher took the time to explain it in the context of the piece of literature.

For the second part of the lesson students were assigned to break-out groups where they were asked to reflect on the text and answer specific questions as a group. I was placed in a group with three students. Once in the group a natural leader emerged and took charge for facilitating the group conversation. Students used their microphones and didn’t turn on their cameras. While the students worked through the questions they struggled with vocabulary. During this part of the activity I found it challenging to not jump-in and support or facilitate the discussion for the students. I held back from turning on my microphone or writing text in the chat as I wanted to provide time and space for the students to work-through the activity at their pace.

In conclusion this lesson has me thinking about the role of the teacher, specifically when to provide answers and when to lean into students in the classroom space to support each other’s learning. In an online environment it can be challenging to see behavioural cues of students understanding, such as facial expressions or the act of raising one’s hand. Ensuring students have the space to question or clarify is important and determining how to create these spaces in which to do so is key to a positive learning environment, even more so online.

Today I observed the classroom in which I will teach as part of my TESL practicum experience. The class, another English 600 level within the Centro Universitario Anglo Mexicano (Anglo Mexican University Centre) also transitioned to online learning due to the global pandemic and takes place online via the Microsoft Teams platform. As this was the first time I was virtually meeting the class, my fellow TESL student and I were asked to prepare short introductions in order to establish a connection with the students. We attempted to deliver our short introductions the day before, but due to technical difficulties we were unable to join the Teams platform.

Building on previous lessons on stereotypes, Kathryn and I commenced our introductions with a brief overview of who we were, where we were from and the stereotypes that are often associated with our identities. To provide an opportunity for engagement, we ended the introduction with the two truths and a lie activity. The students listened patiently to our descriptions and some student even wrote down comments we were sharing. When they learned the “lie” they laughed, spoke about the lie and even commented in the chat. In the end, the activity turned out to be a positive experience for everyone and a great way to meet the students.

Unfortunately our time with the students was cut short as the weather had turned for the worst due to the imminent hurricane. Students were vocally nervous about the major weather storm approaching and the teacher attempted to reduce student anxiety by answering questions and clarifying myths. The teacher adjusted the lesson for the day and played an audio recording from a friend in Texas who was a meteorologist; the recording provided an overview of the weather forecast and the potential pathway of the hurricane. The teacher used this opportunity to clarify and explain unknown vocabulary while reducing stress of the students. Shortly thereafter, class ended as the teacher needed to consult with administration on whether or not classes would continue for the remainder of the week.

While the lesson today was cut short it highlighted the need and importance of flexibility when teaching. The teacher was able to pivot the lesson to focus on the stress of the students by sharing the audio clip and finding ways in which to discuss English vocabulary. It’s a friendly reminder that teachers must be current on local, national and global situations and the ways they can impact the learning environment.

Today I observed the same 600 C1 English class as two days ago as I was interested in observing whether or not the highly organized, structured and respectful classroom environment from a couple of days ago was a one-off, or a true reflection of the environment the students and teacher have co-created. To my surprise, it was the latter.

The teacher in this class had amazing classroom management; the students were polite and following along with the lesson, when asked a specific question the students raised their hands to answer, never speaking over each other. The focus of today’s lesson was IELTS listening. The teacher played a video, asked a set of questions, re-played the video and asked a different set of questions. Students were asked to submit their answers through an online assignment submission system through Teams.

It is becoming more apparent that structuring learning online takes a bit more time and effort to ensure learning outcomes are being met. While this lesson progressed appropriately, it moved at a much slower pace than it would have taken place in-person. In order to ensure each student was engaged in the lesson the teacher was checking the WhatsApp group, the online chat and the raise-hand function within Teams. All of this tools take time to check, and thus slow down the pace of the lesson. In addition, with 50-minutes for each class, minus the time at the beginning and end, there is approximately 30-40 minutes of lesson that can take place.

In conclusion todays observation reinforced the need to spend considerable time on narrowing the scope of the lesson to one or two objectives while identifying one or two activities that can take place in an on-line environment. Lessons can progress slower or faster than anticipated and ensuring you, as the teacher, have enough content to engage students is key to an engaged classroom experience.

Today I observed my first international class (600 C1) located in Cancun Mexico. As with the majority of educational institutions worldwide, Centro Universitario Anglo Mexicano (Anglo Mexican University Centre) transitioned to online learning due to the global pandemic, with classes taking place through the Microsoft Teams platform.

Immediately joining the class through Teams I could sense feelings of respect, interest and enthusiasm from the students. Students had their cameras on (mics muted) and were patiently waiting for the “Teacher” to call out their name to say hi. Yes, you read that correctly, the students in this specific class refer to the teacher as “teacher” – this is the first time in my educational and teaching experience that I have witnessed this and at first I was surprised and in awe.

The lesson on this day was a mixture of students presenting on their chosen university pathway, followed by a mini-lesson focused on dialogue through conversation on superheroes. While I was unable to connect with the teacher prior to the lesson commencing due to Teams challenges, I inferred that the lesson was all about new vocabulary and providing space for students to practice their English.

Having witnessed a number other online classes, this class felt different. Students were actively engaged in the lesson; students volunteered to answer questions that were asked, and students asked their own questions to further understand unknown vocabulary. While this played out in front of me on the computer screen, I reflected on the possible differences between this class and the TRU classes I observed recently. Demographics, social relationships between students and length of time since commencing the school year must be factors I thought, but was what I was witnessing a unique aspect of this specific class, or of clear difference between the Canadian and Mexican education systems? The only way I’ll find out is through additional observing. Here we go!

Today I observed a split class (Basic Integrated and Pre-Intermediate Integrated Skills) which focused on practicing listening, speaking, pronunciation, vocabulary building, grammar, reading, writing and learning strategies. From the beginning of the class I was impressed with the flow and the engagement of the students.

The lesson, specifically focused on adjectives, included a clear description of the grammar point, activities for students to participate in and personal stories to bring to life the vocabulary. This was the first class I have observed where the teacher made full use of the technology functions; chat, emojis, microphone, and breakout rooms. In addition, the teacher embedded a comprehension check tool into the class where students would identify via a number whether or not they understood the directions (1 = “got it” and 2 = “confused” or “don’t understand”). It was apparent that the students were actively engaged in the activities as when called upon they were quick to volunteer and answer.

While the teacher was working from a textbook, they embedded personal stories into the lesson to increase comprehension. This approach emphasized the human side of teaching and is a good example of how a teacher can create an enriched learning environment even within the digital context.

In conclusion this observation reminded me of ensuring the goal/objective of the lesson is clear so that students are aware what they are learning and working towards. Once this is determined the types of activities and exercises that support this objective will become clear.

Today I observed Conversation Club, which focuses on providing a safe space for students to practice their English in a casual and supportive environment. While, unfortunately, there were no students that joined the online club, it was an opportunity for the student teachers to participate in the activities to get a sense of how the club operates.

Early on in the lesson, it became apparent that the teacher leading the club put considerable effort into the development of activities that were engaging and fun based upon the theme of music. The choice to use the theme of music for the lesson reminded me of the importance of tapping into students’ motivation as a key element to engage in second language learning. Throughout the lesson the teacher embedded videos, games and activities that were fun and encouraged conversation between students. The topic immediately sparked my interest as a student and I was patiently waiting my turn to share my thoughts and perspective.

In order to encourage conversation the teacher called on specific students by name, asked them to turn on their microphone and answer the question(s) being asked. At this stage of the class, while slightly nervous, students fully participated and shared their thoughts. Perhaps it was due to the fact that the students were native English speakers, or perhaps it was due to the personal passion with the topic, either way, at the end of the lesson I felt energized and excited about connecting with fellow students in the class.

In conclusion this observation reminded me of the importance of creating classroom spaces that encourage participation in a way that is comfortable for all participants. As I begin my journey in on-line teaching it will be important to reflect on how to translate my in-person classroom teaching experience to this new environment.

Today I observed my first online Teaching English as a Second Language (ESL) course, which was focused on advanced oral communication. Being the first online course that I observed, I put particular attention to the way in which technology was being used in order to encourage oral participation throughout the class.

What became apartment quite quickly was how technology can encourage participation, but also, discourage. While the instructor was able to put the discussion questions on the screen for the class to see, without the cameras or microphones on at all times, it appeared that the teacher struggled with keeping students on track with the activity. When broken into groups, students seemed confused about what they should be doing, which resulted in many silent pauses. Similar to in-person classes, one student did attempt to keep the activity and conversation proceeding, but without the tasks readily available, students reverted to non-participation.

In conclusion this observation reminded me of the complex social fabric of a classroom, particularly within the online environment. This space is new for most students and teachers and I will need to put extra attention into the development of lessons to ensure they are structured in such a way that guides students on the learning journey.

It’s been a while since I’ve been in the formal role of “teacher” or “educator” in a classroom setting and to ease back into the theory and practice I welcomed the opportunity to watch videos of a highly-engaging Teaching English as a Second Language (TESL) educator named Tanya Cowie.

I was impressed with the variety and number of activities Tanya integrated in to the lesson. She brought props for real-life situations which aided in the students’ comprehension of vocabulary as they could envision using the vocabulary outside of the classroom. To further enforce the learning, when new words were introduced she wrote them on the board, highlighted the number of syllables, and pointed to the items within the classroom. To me this demonstrates that the teacher is extremely invested in the learning of their students. The amount of time and energy invested in this lesson by Tanya is exemplary and it was apparent that the students were acquiring the vocabulary and communication. At the end of the lesson Tanya integrated an exit activity that reinforced the learning that took place within the lesson.

Teaching in a TESL classroom is different from teaching a subject in English. I knew this coming into the Thompson Rivers University (TRU) TESL program, but it was when watching Tanya’s videos that this really began to hit home for me. The amount of effort Tanya put into each and every component of the lesson is astonishing and the way in which she was able to pivot to the changing needs of the classroom throughout the lesson is admirable. Students responded to every question she asked, and were even quickly writing down words and phrases in order to ensure they captured each component of the vocabulary. Perhaps this was due to the fact that the class was focused on adult literacy, or perhaps it was due to the high motivation levels of the students in the class. I look forward to exploring and learning more in the observations to come.