TESOL Certificate Programs

Observation Notebook

Observation Report
Forms for inclusion in the Observation Notebook must be typed

Name of Observer_ _Ye Ran_ Observation # _Vocabulary__

Date

Observation Environment (include URL

if the class was online)

Class
Skill/Content

02/11/201
5

Class
Level/Number
(Beg./Int./Adv.
)
Very beginner

Teacher

https://www.youtube.com/watc Vocabulary
h?v=qqaAdZ9hZhY&list=PL7
Maida
BlTIDdOgZKXgMkfUsDGoF
p5HH97TP_8&index=2
Focus on relevant areasfrom the What Can Be Observed handout. Notice how the
teacher handles these areas during the class.
OBJECTIVE OF THE LESSON:
Students will understand the new words: girl and boy.
Students will distinguish the two words by playing games.
Notes while observing:

Warm-up activity (5 minutes)

1. T lets students stretch their arms and shake their hands. T does the actions as well as
gives the instructions such as I put my hands front, I raise my hands up, and I stretch
my arm. Students imitate Ts actions.

Presentation (15minues)
2. T uses two puppets, one is a girl, another one is a boy, to teach students new wordsgirl and boy. T points out one puppet girl and says: This is Mary. Everyone say hello
to Mary. Those kids feel so happy and speak out loud: Hello, Mary. Then T says:
Mary is a girl. T repeats the word girl twice. At the same time, T points little girls
in the classroom and repeats: You are a girl Finally, T asks: You are what?
Students answer: girl. After that, T uses the puppet boy and compares the puppet to
boys in class.

Last Updated: 5/19/2015 11:49 PM

TESOL Certificate Programs

Observation Notebook
3. T invites everyone stand up again. T will sing a song while doing actions. The song
are like this:
Little girl, little girl turn around;
Little girl, little girl touch the ground;
Little girl, little girl jump up and down
Little girl, little girl sit down.
Students follow the T and do the actions. Finally, T asks what the little girls name is.
Students answer Mary.

Practice (10minutes)
4. T arranges a game. Students make a circle and sit next to each other. T elicits the rule
of the game. T will sing a song while students are passing on a bean bag to the person
stands next to. Once T stop singing, students also stop passing and T will ask students
a question about the person who holds the bean bag. Is she a boy or girl? or Is he a
boy or girl? In order to make students understand the rule, T firstly helps students do
the game as an example.
5. Students then play the game four times until they can give a correct answer to the
question. T gives positive feedback to students when they answer questions correctly.
(Continue on back)
What did you learn about teaching or learning from this lesson? Discuss your
observation focus, and the theory you have studied in your TESOL classes. Consider
the three levels of teacher reflection (surface, pedagogical, critical). (100-200 words)
What I learnt from the class is to teach vocabulary by incorporating movements. In the
class, those very young students can learn through observing Ts actions. For example,
when T sang the song and did actions for the first time, students followed and imitated
their T. However, for the second time, when T repeated the time, some students can
finish the correct actions. Asher (1997) supports that most of the interactions that young
children experience with parents or other adults combine both verbal and physical aspects.
The child responds physically to the speech of the parent, and the parent reinforces the
childs responses through further speech. This creates a positive feedback loop between
the parents speech and the childs actions. T in this lesson used some parts of Total

Last Updated: 5/19/2015 11:49 PM

TESOL Certificate Programs

Observation Notebook
physical response, which is a language teaching method developed by James Asher. It is
based on the coordination of language and physical movement. In TPR, instructors give
commands to students in the target language, and students respond with whole-body
actions (P. 104). The approach could be useful for the very young learner. Beginners
will begin to speak when they are ready.

What activities/techniques from this class do you want to remember for your own
teaching practice? Discuss specific ways in which you could apply the techniques and
methods you saw. Discuss your future teaching environment and your students needs
and goals. (100-200 words)
One skill I learnt from the class is to use realia to engage young students and reinforce
the use of the target language. Students like puppets and that also give a direct visual
image to students about girl and boy. If I will teach kindergarten students , I would like to
use authentic objects, such as photographs, menus, brochures, receipts, maps etc. that are
used to teach and learn languages. Due to the fact that young learners are difficult to
concentrate on class, I will also be prepared to manage situations involving distractions
and off-task students. For example, I will keep silent for a while to draw students
attention.

Last Updated: 5/19/2015 11:49 PM