Reflection on Lesson:

(Lesson Plan attached as Appendix A)

What went well:

I think that the activities were varied, which helped make the lesson interesting

for the students. “Not only does a frequent change of topic in itself help to

maintain attention and interest in the classroom, it also makes it more likely

that sooner or later every student may get to something that interests him or

her.” (Ur: 1988: 20) Also, the pace was right as it ensured plenty of repetition of

the target structure, allowing it to be cemented into the Ss’ memories. Also, the

preparation was detailed and comprehensive. The Ss found the activities simple

to follow, because they were modeled for the Ss by the teacher. “There are

various ways of making sure that instructions are clear: by... doing a 'trial run',

or demonstration of an activity with the full class before letting them work

independently..." (Ur: 1988: 34).

Moreover, the Teacher was able to anticipate that Ss will be having difficulty

with word order as this is a more complex and less commonly used structure.

Therefore, keeping the resolutions simple helped keep the focus on the structure

that was being introduced in the lesson as did ensuring that inappropriate or

incorrect language was not accepted. "Without corrective feedback and

guidance, second language learners may persist in using certain ungrammatical

forms for years"(Lightbown, Spada: 2006:184)

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What didn’t go well:

I think that the time allocation was not very realistic. I should have anticipated

that it takes Students time to understand instructions and get started on

different activities. Also, the production activity could have been made more

relevant to their own jobs rather than asking them to imagine another business’s

objectives and learning to articulate them as it wasted plenty of time while Ss

were trying to imagine what kind of objectives/ goals that certain business would

have.

What can be improved in the next lesson:

I will remember to allocate my time more appropriately. I will try to have a

“stand by” production activity, while making the other stages less intense.

Therefore, if my Ss are able to finish, then they will have time to do the standby

activity, otherwise if it takes them more time then I can have time to achieve my

entire lesson plan.

How my teaching has improved since the last feedback:

I was able to anticipate the kind of grouping that each activity would require.

Rather than assigning four people in the practice stage, I was able to gauge that

only two persons would be enough for the activity, therefore I understand

groupings better, and take time to analyse an activity from that point of view in

my planning.

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Assignment No. 2: Planning Beyond the Lesson

Introduction:

Very often second language students need more practice than is available in a

text book. As they have no platform to practise the language outside the

classroom, the teacher must provide a variety of contexts and situations in which

mimic real life as closely as they can. The Teacher must also introduce authentic

language so that the learners are aware of accurate use of the structures. Some

structures which may be more complex or less frequently used require more

extensive work than do simpler structures. “When, however, the material is

specific, as in the learning of a grammatical structure, most of the volume

should consist of repetition of the items to be learnt. “(Ur :1988: 12)

For this very reason, it is important that the Instructor understands how to vary

activities so that the students do not get bored with the amount of repetition

that is needed. The practice should be done over a few days rather than in one

solitary class to ensure a higher rate of retention. I have learned during the

course that it is essential to sometimes alter the lesson plans and be able to

create/ adapt remedial work and extra practice (Practice may be defined as any

kind of engaging with the language on the part of the learner, usually under

teacher supervision, whose primary objective is to consolidate learning.

(Ur :1988: 11).

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1.Further Practice for Grammar Lesson on Future Perfect.

At the end of the lesson, I feel that the Ss still need more practice to ensure that

they are able to retain the new structures that were introduced in this lesson.

“(Some linguistic forms are so rare in classroom language that learners have

little opportunity to hear, use and learn them if the teacher does not make a

point of providing them

(Lightbown,Spada : 2006:190)

When, however, the material is specific, as in the learning of a grammatical

structure, most of the volume should consist of repetition of the items to be

learnt. “(Ur :1988: 12)

Therefore, to further consolidate and build on the lesson, I plan to continue my

lessons with further practice on the same structure using a variety of activities for

my purpose. “Not only does a frequent change of topic in itself help to maintain

attention and interest in the classroom, it also makes it more likely that sooner

or later every student may get to something that interests him or her.

“(Ur :1988: 20)

Lesson 2:

(Teacher Assistance in Analytical Understanding) To help the Ss understand the

context in which this particular tense is useful, I would like to introduce a timeline

on the Board (Board Plan attached Appendix A). With the help of a timeline, I

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would be able to convey examples of scenarios in which the future perfect tense is

used. E.g. Theme: Moving House Next week.

T: By what time will we have finished packing the dishes?

S: We will have finished packing the dishes by 5:30.

Practice will follow with the same Timeline on board with different activities and

the time mentioned by which they are expected to be completed. Ss can practice

in pairs (with cues provided by Instructor). The audio lingual approach with its

emphasis on speaking and listening was used successfully with highly

motivated adult learners in training programmes for government personnel in

the United States(Lightbown,Spada : 2006:140)

Later, in the Production stage, another timeline in a similar format will be used

(e.g. Theme: Preparing to throw a dinner party [Appendix B])

5:00-5:30 Grocery shopping

6:00-7:00 Cleaning the house.

Ss will be grouped in pairs again and they will be free to ask each other questions

about whichever activity they choose on the timeline. “Some (second language

learners) may find that they benefit from opportunities to imitate samples of

the new language, and imitation is clearly important in developing

pronunciation and intonation"(Lightbown,Spada : 2006:184)

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Lesson 3:

(Extra Practice) The Ss will be given Worksheet A[Appendix C]. T will ask them

to list out their business objectives against an expected date of completion.

(Justification) This will allow them to use the structure which they have been

practicing for the previous two classes, allowing them to become familiar with

and confident in the use of the particular structure. Attaching it to business

objectives would give them a clear example of its real life usage. “Varying the

activities, tasks, and materials can help to avoid this (boredom) and increase

student's interest levels” (Lightbown,Spada : 2006:65)

Because these Ss are mostly working adults, they will find this particular

adaptation particularly useful. Allowing them to see its practical implementation

will also increase their interest, which may be waning by the third lesson on the

same topic, suggested also in “The two features of interest and repetition,

though not easily combined, are by no means mutually exclusive, and thinking

of ways to achieve both of them simultaneously is perhaps the central

challenge facing the teacher and materials writer in designing effective

practice techniques. (Ur :1988: 12)

T will divided Ss into groups of 4, trying to group Ss from similar jobs/industry

together. Ss are required to role-play, and present their Year’s Business /

Departmental Objectives to the CEO (Teacher).

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Lesson 4:

(Extra Practice) To provide Ss with extra practice, Ss will be given Worksheet

[Appendix D] in which they are required to correct the errors in the given

speeches.

(Justification)This will ensure that Ss themselves do not repeat the same error,

and it will provide an easily assessable format for the Teacher to evaluate the Ss’

understanding and learning, and to serve the purpose of critical analysis as

demonstrated ".. to train them to look at written work critically, as readers, and

will help them to view their own work in the same way at a later stage in the

course"(Byrne: 1988:33)

The T may, at this point, progress to structures such as could have/ might have.

2. Detailed Explanation of Activity to help Implementation of Objectives

Following is a detailed description of the activity mentioned for Lesson 2. This

involves the use of a timeline which is how I believe the teacher can assist in

furthering the Ss’ analytical understanding of the chosen structure. With the

assistance of a timeline, I think the Ss will be given a visual representation of a

timeframe , thereby providing a better understanding of the practical usage of this

structure. Moreover, because the activities are centered around a theme, Ss will be

able to understand its implementation in context.

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a) How you will organize the activity

Stages

Interaction

Time Procedure/ Activity Skill in

Focus

Stage

Aim

Warm up 2-3

Mins

T will come into the classroom. T announces that she

needs to move house next week

T asks Ss what kind of chores such a task may involve

(Elicit packing/ shifting/ etc).

Listening To focus

the Ss on

a theme

Presentation 5

mins

T will post a timeline on BB. Timeline reflects various

activities and times by which they are expected to be

completed.

T models: “By 5:30, I will have packed all my dishes.”

Repeats same structure.

T models another cue: “By 6 o’ clock, I will have

finished my dinner.

T asks S, “What will you have done by 8:30?”

S to respond: “I will have packed my furniture by 8:30.”

T then asks Another S, for another time limitation.

Repeat until Ss are comfortable.

Practice 15 T tells Ss to divide into pairs. T hands out blue cards and

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mins red cards (one blue one red to each pair) blue and red

card to have different sets of times on them so Ss can ask

each other about different cues.

T then holds up one red card that belongs to a Student,

and models the activity by showing the time on the card

to the class, then framing a question accordingly “What

will you have done by 12:34?”

Ss to continue practice in pairs.

T goes around the class discreetly monitoring and

vigilantly listening for errors.

Production 20

mins

T signals end of previous activity.

T asks Ss what kind of tasks they have to do when

planning a party. Class brainstorms together, and T

writes responses on BB.

Ss are given a blank piece of paper in which they will

write down their own timeline for planning a party, and

their partner will ask them questions about the timeframe.

b)difficulties that the learner might have and how T can help.

The learner may have difficulties in being able to articulate their responses in

“Throwing a Party” production activity. This is why a few ideas will be posted on

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the BB so that Ss’ conversation is not hindered by their lexical limitations.Also,

the learner might have difficulties in understanding the Practice stage activity.

The T can assist in this regard by providing a model for the activity, and then

monitoring all pairs to ensure that she is able to instruct and guide Ss where

needed.

c) justify

I believe the activity has been logically organized in this way. The reason is that

Ss are first introduced to the concept of a timeline and why one prepares it. This is

then followed by an understanding of how it is used to ensure that a deadline is

met by saying that by this time, XYZ will have been completed. The Ss are given

a chance to practise this structure with the Teacher so that any minor errors that

occur will be corrected instantly. Also, this will help all the Ss gain confidence in

using the target structure. Once this has been established, the Ss are then given a

chance to practice with a partner using the same timeline. This gives Ss a chance

to practice the required structure on their own, while the guiding hand of the

teacher is still present. The activity then leads onto an entirely new timeline that

they are free to create, and the questions are no longer dictated by the Teacher.

However, by this time, the Ss have received ample practice and are more

confident in using the familiar structure.

I choose to model the activities and brainstorm with the Ss so that the Ss’ lesson is

not hindered by their misunderstanding of instructions/ lack of ideas/ inability to

articulate some thoughts into English.

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Conclusion

The above assignment proves that it is necessary for the teacher to not plan a

lesson in isolation, but as a component of several in a series or in a progression.

One lesson might be the pre requisite for another, or it may be a logical

predecessor to the one that follows. Often the lesson may even serve as a

building block for the one to follow. Lessons may be linked in theme or objective.

It provides a continuum for the Ss as well as cues for the teacher so that he or

she may link the new items to be taught, providing Ss with the opportunity to

attach new language to previously learnt language. Hence, the learning becomes

more permenant.

In this particular instance, At the end of the above series of lessons, it became

clear that most of my Ss had a fair grasp on the new structure. The use of the

new grammatical structure in a variety of ways helped them understand some of

the real life applications of the new structures, making their learning more

meaningful and useful in their daily lives.

(1,584 words)

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