Open-Class

Yesterday, one of my coteachers and I attended an open-class at an elementary school in 20 minute walking distance of our school. I enjoyed the experience, for many reasons. I chose to attend, because this is a public school with 999 elementary students*. The open-class was a general 40 minute English class for 28 students in E-4 (4th grade);  there were 15 girls and 13 boys. On average the elementary students in this school experience instruction, 80% English and 20% Korean. Approximately 90% of the class was taught in English. Open-class, as I understand it, is a scheduled class where parents, faculty, administrators and academic guests are welcome to sit in the back of a classroom and observe the teaching, students, materials, lesson/s, etc. The invitation was provided about two weeks in advance. Usually a survey is completed afterward. For about 45 minutes post class the observers sat with the teacher and administration to discuss the strengths and weaknesses of the lesson. There was not a written survey. [Last month a few of my students' parents attended and were very happy to see how much English was being spoken to instruct all learners. Parents completed a written survey to submit to administration, which reflected their concerns and praises.] In being the audience of an English class and room the experience naturally afforded the opportunity to consider my learners and how they can benefit from new activities. The class was managed and taught well.
The lesson was DAYS OF THE WEEK, with an objective for the students to learn/memorize the days of the weeks and recite them in order, forward and backward. The teacher commenced the lesson with an example of her weekly schedule, previewing the names of the days, using images. The teacher's style of repetition was fun and helped the students learn. For example: The students sang the new terms, using a rising and descending basic musical scale. Every student was engaged in the short singing activity. The students seemed familiar with the notes they were singing, so my guess is that they have learned other English words using this musical scale exercise. Reflecting on the overall experience, I added 2 "tools" to my "kit" that I will employ, especially with my elementary students - after the national exam (later this week). The other tool was using conversation cards as a game; i.e. having students match two to four phrases together in a group or paired activity.

Take away 1: Have at least 3 activities per class, per lesson - even if one activity does not have more than 3 minutes to be completed. My classes are 45 minutes each, so watching the scaffolded exercises I learned that there is enough time to complete more than one or two activities. I was doubtful due to the short amount of time, but now I am confident.

Take away 2: The TEE Program promoted by the DMOE allows Korean English teachers the opportunity to study advanced English in the United States for 6 months and return to Korea to educate their young scholars. This program sounds like a great career opportunity for Korean educators; their students will also reap the benefits in having a teacher who can accurately teach a foreign language.

Take away 3: Allow students who are too shy to speak up opportunities to speak and let them do it in their own voice. Normally I make students repeat words two and three times if they mumble or speak too low. However, this might be intimidating to some learners. Earning their trust first and praising them for correct answers first seemed to work best in this class. Now, that I am learning a foreign language as an adult, I can relate to how my students must feel when asked to recite something. The feeling of anxiety and uncertainty is real and a supportive teacher will understand that while creating a comfortable space in which to develop one's language skills.

Ponder point:
While listening to the framed sentences and conversations the students were being taught it is important to highlight that the foreign language textbooks our students use are not always accurate. For instance, the video example was of a student asking their parent "What day is it?" The reply "It's Wednesday." and ended with the parent stating "Okay, have a good time!" Therefore the children were taught by the teacher to wish others a good time instead of day. This was brought up during the post-session. The teacher did take note of it. Although, it would not hinder communication if English speakers stated "Have a good time" when asking for the day or date, one person might walk away wondering why the person did not merely say "Have a good day" instead. One must ask themselves are they working to help students become fluent in the language or to have a basic understanding to access the foreign language when speaking with native speakers of that language.  

In the future, if afforded another opportunity to attend an open-class, I will if my schedule allows. In my opinion, observing and participating in open-class is a form of professional development.

*When I started teaching at my school there were 109 students enrolled; the special school educates students from pre-K through adulthood (stay tuned for a post about the school I love and will work in for the next year).