TESOL Chiba

This unit emphasized to me the importance of ensuring the students are engaged and understand the lesson. In the first lesson the teacher spoke to the students as if they should know what he is teaching even though they were low level students. He did not encourage them, spent too long writing on the board and was not organized or prepared for the question he was asked about the difference between ?can? and ?could?. He had a very cold, unwelcoming demeanor and there were many other flaws in his teaching method. In the second lesson however he was immediately welcoming and engaging with the students. He immediately gave his name and asked for their names to assist him during the class and make them more comfortable. He was well prepared with pictures of the more difficult animals, gestures for the actions and an example to show for the activate phase. He made himself available to the students to help them while they worked and was motivating them even if they were incorrect, he made the lesson fun and made the classroom a place where mistakes were ok. He also utilized pair-work for the activities to let the students interact with each other and share ideas rather than requiring them to work alone for the whole class. As a result of all these differences, the second lesson was much more helpful for the students. They were able to understand the lesson content and were much more engaged with the teacher because of his welcoming approach to teaching.