Teaching Speaking Day 1

Over the last three weeks, I have been observing a speaking class with a a focus on Canadian culture. Each class it two hours long and consists of eighteen students from five different countries, each with a different language base. The students are at an intermediate level of English and are concurrently taking reading and writing courses. Most of the students are eager to participate and are able to interact well with each other.

The general topic of this lesson is dating. The students were previously introduced to the topic by the regular classroom teacher at the end of the previous day's lesson. In that lesson, students completed a customs quiz in their textbook (Genzel and Cummings) that checked their previous knowledge of North American dating customs. They also briefly reviewed four common methods of meeting people to date, and compared them to what occurs in their own cultures.

My lesson focused more closely on some of the aspects of current dating trends: first dates, online dating, blind dates and speed dating. For each of these subtopics, I used a short Youtube video as an introduction, and then had the students work in pairs to discuss the ideas from each subtopic and to use the vocabulary. I arranged the students in male-female pairs where possible, but some of the pairs were female-female. The students seemed comfortable with this arrangement. I also arranged the pairs to mix the first languages, in order to encourage students to communicate in English.

My lesson plan is linked below, with any identifying information redacted.



Overall, the lesson went well. The students participated well in the pair work, after an initial hesitation to change seats. I visited each pair at least twice for each conversation, and answered questions when they came up. I had to explain the term "pet peeves" a few times, and I will review that briefly in the next lesson. The video on first date questions did not play completely, but I had previously made a list of the questions, so I was able to write them on the board and briefly discuss them before starting the pair work.

When given the online dating form, many students were initially unsure what to do with them, so it was necessary to explain to several pairs individually that they were to guess the information about their partner first, based on previous conversations. Once they understood, they seemed to enjoy the activity.

Many of the character and personality traits for the blind date activity seemed unfamiliar to the students. I was able to demonstrate some of them  with examples when descriptions were not enough. The students seemed to have some difficulty with this activity. I am not sure if it was because they were unfamiliar with the terms or because they were not comfortable with role playing different traits. I will consult with my sponsor teacher and will include a question in my final evaluation tool for the students.

For the speed dating activity, I put the students in one large group, instead of two, since there were several students absent from the second group. There was not much time at the end of the class for this activity, but it seemed to elicit the liveliest conversations. I had them change partners after only one minute, and there was some reluctance the first time. There was no time for a final discussion, so I will include that at the beginning of the next class. I did not need to use the contingency activity.

Lesson Plan #1: Dating (Isliefson)
Online Dating Form

Self-evaluation
My strengths include the following:

1. My lesson was well organized, with all materials prepared and backup activities ready in case of extra time or technical failure.
2. I was able to make eye contact with different students as I spoke to the class.
3. I moved on to an alternate activity when the technology did not work. I was able to resolve the problem later, when the students were interacting with each other.
4. I showed a dynamic personality and used demonstrations and examples when the students didn't understand some vocabulary (i.e. I exaggerated some actions).
5. I was patient when explaining new words to individuals.

I noticed the following weaknesses:

1. I tend to focus on a few students when talking to the whole class, and may not include as many different students as I should.
2. I am not always sure of the students' level of vocabulary and understanding, and I may use vocabulary that they don't know.
3. I tend to over explain some ideas and do not allow enough time for students to respond or ask questions.

Resources:

Drinnan, Allison. (Feb. 19, 2014). Calgary Speed Dating. [video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RWH2lt3YbKY.

Genzel, Rhona B, & Cummings, Martha Graves, (2010). Culturally Speaking, 3^rd Edition. Boston: Heinle, Cengage Learning.


PurebloodPaul. (Feb. 17, 2013). Friends-HD-Rachel's Blind Date. [video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LEkG-NExwNc&t=27s. 

Ranstergreen Enjoy. (April 9, 2017). Funny Commercial - Hotels.com - Online Dating. [Video File]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7A499EEUEt8.

Sexy Confidence. (August 27, 2015). 10 Perfect Questions to Ask on a First Date. [video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LEkG-NExwNc&t=27s.

The Course Outline, Instructor's Guide and the Curriculum for the course were provided by the school, but cannot be cited due to privacy requirements.

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