Teaching Observation & Lesson Presentation Practice:

Video 1: Communicative Activity – Getting to know you:

1. In this activity, how does the teacher ensure that the students are clear about
which questions to ask each other? (2)
Ans: The teacher ensures that the students get to know their teacher first, so writes
the answers on the board so that they get to frame questions, then they get to
know about each other and ask questions based on them. It is about “Getting to
know you” activity as an introduction so that the students feel comfortable.

2. The first day of class can be an extremely daunting experience for even the most
experienced and “seasoned” teachers amongst us. What should a teacher do prior
to the first day of school (whether taking up a teaching post for the very first time,
taking up a position at a new school or simply teaching a new group for the very
first time)? (2)
Ans: It is a good idea to visit your classroom prior to the first day of school so that
you can familiarise yourself with the layout of the classroom and the equipment at
your disposal. Make sure that you have curriculum/syllabus outlines photocopied
and ready to hand out to your students on the first day of class.
Introduce yourself and tell your students a little about your professional background
and perhaps some interesting personal details (hobbies/interests).
Distribute the curriculum/syllabus outlines and any other relevant documentation.
Discuss the focus and content of the syllabus.
Discuss your own expectations (grading, assignments, conduct etc.).
Discuss required text books and if possible, bring along a copy to show to your
students.

3. Why is such an activity (“Getting to know you”) ideal for the first lesson of a new
class where all the students are meeting each other for the first time? (3)
Ans: This kind of an activity can be an “ice-breaker” for all the students who are
meeting each other for the first time. It is also recommended that teachers carry a
notebook and pen with them at all times during the lesson so that when monitoring
speaking practice, you can make note of language errors, especially those that
impede understanding, and also of good use of language and good examples of
meaning clarification.
The other aim of the lesson would therefore be: To help students to notice the
errors they make when speaking and how it affects mutual understanding, and to
help them correct and improve on their language use. To encourage students to
learn from each other’s good use of language.

4. In this activity/lesson, the class is comprised of students of mixed ability

(intermediate and upper-intermediate level). A mixed ability class presents a
number of problems and issues. Refer to the following problems that may arise and
offer possible solutions: (8)
a) How does a teacher present tasks that all students are able to compete?
Ans: Use a needs analysis to prompt the students to reflect upon their learning
style, learning strategies, language needs, learning enjoyment, motivation,
language strengths and weaknesses. Questions that might be included are...
What kinds of class activities do you enjoy / benefit from?
Which language skill do you most wish to develop?
Do you prefer working individually or with a partner?
Would you rather sit and listen to the teacher all lesson or participate in group
work?
Explain the mixed-level situation to the students and give a list of possible
approaches to the teaching and learning. In pairs, the students rank the
approaches/ideas according to their suitability for the situation.

b) How does a teacher deal with faster and more able students who complete the
task first and who become bored/disruptive?
Ans: For such students the teacher should be ready with more challenging activities
to keep them engaged and working.
It’s always a good idea to have some extra activities lined up for those who finish
quickly. It will help keep them focused and will allow the rest of the class the time to
finish the task.
Having interesting extension activities prepared which the students want to be able
to move onto is important, so they don’t feel like they’re being punished with
mundane exercises for finishing first. If the activities are really fun it might even
motivate those slower students to work a little faster.
Try things like:
Writing funny stories or songs using the language from the lesson.
Creating an audio or video dictionary on their phones with all the new vocabulary
they’ve learned.
Making a quiz using Kahoot to review the language from the class.
Playing games like
Keeping a journal in their books or using apps which helps them create journals etc..

c) What does a teacher do to engage a class that comprises a wide range of

different levels?
Ans: This kind of class is indeed a challenging one for any teacher as they have to
plan wide range of activities according the levels of the students. When it comes to
addressing a wide range of skills and abilities in your classroom, there is no one-
size-fits-all solution. As a teacher, you have to tailor your lesson plan to different
learning styles, student backgrounds, and a variety of other factors. Also,
differentiation is the process of making education accessible for all students. It’s a
personalized approach to teaching that addresses individual learning needs rather
than using one strategy to address everyone. Keeping in mind the different kind of
learners like, visual, aural, and verbal learners, gifted students, and students with
moderate disabilities all need to be acknowledged with different styles of teaching.
d) How does a teacher ensure that students remain interested when texts and tasks
are too easy for them?
Ans: Give them choice:
Try to offer more than one way for your students to show what they know and
understand. All of your students will benefit from having more choice. It’s essential
for advanced learners to dive deeper into the subject.
Integrate Technology:
Including technology in the classroom forms a powerful bridge from academics to
the real world. The flexibility of the Internet provides rich and varied learning
options for advanced students.
Working together:
For advanced learners, working with peers is critical. Social and emotional
difficulties diminish when they have opportunities to learn with intellectual peers
like in pairs or groups.
Encourage goal setting:
Give the students opportunities to set their own personal learning goals. Display the
days or week’s schedule in the classroom.

Video 2: A Warmer Activity

1. At what stage of a lesson should a teacher introduce a Warmer? (2)

Ans: Normally the best time to have a warmer activity is during the first five
minutes of the class. Students need to get from speaking their own language to
speaking English. If one is teaching in a country where the official language is not
English, then beforehand the students will be speaking their own language.

2. Is it necessary for a Warmer to somehow be connected to the main content of the

lesson. (2)
Ans: This depends on the teacher and the topic they choose. It need not be always
connected to the main content but if the lesson/topic demands then can be used as
a connection as it helps the students to make a connection between the warmer
and the main content.

3. Why is a Warmer activity very useful? (2)

Ans: To wake up the students, also useful like a brain exercise as it helps them
ease into the classroom and the expectation of learning in a low-key way
that isn't stressful. Plus, this helps the non-morning people catch up to the same
level as the early risers. Warmer can be physical as well as brain workout.

4. What are Fillers? (2)

Ans: Fillers are activities or resources to use if you've got an extra few
minutes spare to fill up in a lesson. They're a great way to engage your
students with something productive and beneficial instead of wasting lesson time.

5. Why is it a good idea to have a list of such activities available in your

classroom? (2)
Ans: The classroom activities interact the learners and motivate them to learn
new ideas. ... Classroom activities are very important for teaching-learning process
because it encourages learners and helps them in fulfillment of their learning in the
specified time, also persuades them to get up from their seats and communicate
and actively participate with their peers.

Video 3: A Listening Activity:

1. This listening lesson starts with a warmer activity. Why is this particular lesson
warmer effective? (2)
Ans: The teacher is teaching a lesson related to food. She wants to make her
students aware what lies in the main content of the lesson, which is why she started
with a food matching warmer activity.

2. What are student groups required to do in this lesson warmer? (2)

Ans: The warmer activity has a list of food and its country of origin. The students
are required to discuss and quickly match the food with its country correctly.

3. The class is given a pre-listening task (to be completed in their groups). What are
they required to do? (2)
Ans: Before the actual task a pre-listening activity is given in which there are two
countries, Spain and Thailand, where the students in their groups have to guess
which food they might be describing in Spain and which food they are describing in
Thailand and how the students think might prepare that dish.

4. During the first listening of the tape, what task are the students given while they
listen? (2)
Ans: The students have to listen to the tape and find out whether their guess about
the typical dish and more or less how it is prepared is correct and matched with
their answer. They listen to the tape and check their answers with their partners
afterwards the teacher can get the feedback from the class to make sure they have
understood.

5. What does the teacher do just before the students listen to the tape for the first
time? (2)
Ans: The teacher highlights on the vocabulary or the words regarding the food
which the students need to know like knife and fork, chopsticks (highlights on the
strong syllable), fry/frying, makes them guess the word skewer with strong syllable
highlight.

6. Why is it important to pre-teach new vocabulary? (2)

Ans: It is important and also very useful to pre-teach the vocabulary as the students
get an idea about the topic they are going to learn and will have prior knowledge of
the vocabulary included in the topic. Pre-teaching vocabulary facilitates the
reading of new text by giving students the meanings of the words before
they encounter them. This practice reduces the number of unfamiliar words
encountered and facilitates greater comprehension as well.

7. In this lesson, how does the teacher introduce the new vocabulary items? (2)
Ans: The teacher introduces the new vocabulary by giving the students some clues,
gestures and Pictionary so that they can guess the words. She highlights on the
strong syllables of the words so that the students can get a clear sound of how to
pronounce them.

8. What does the teacher do after the students have listened to the tape for the first
time? (2)
Ans: The teacher tries to get the feedback of the students on what and how they
have understood.

9. What are the students required to do for the second listening? (2)
Ans: For the second listening the students are required to answer some questions
given by the teacher like: How they prepare food?
What does it taste like?
When do they eat that dish? Like is it an everyday dish or
is it
prepared for any special occasion?

10. During the second listening, what type of information are the students listening
for? (2)
Ans: During the second listening the students are listening for more specific
information about the dish/food so that they get to know more about the country’s
food. This also makes the students pay attention to details and gather information.

11. How does the teacher conduct feedback after the second listening? (2)
Ans: The teacher conducts the feedback by listing the answers from the class.

12. What were the students required to do in the post-listening task? (2)
Ans: The teacher tells the students to talk to their partners about their country
dishes using the same questions like ‘How they prepare?’, ‘What does it taste like?’,
‘When do they eat that dish?’ and get to share the information.

13. What does the teacher do to close or bring the lesson to a conclusion? (1)
Ans: The teacher corrects/highlights on some more vocabulary regarding the topic
like chopping, grating with highlighting on strong syllable on grater and tells the
students to repeat after her.
Video 4: Teaching a Grammatical Structure:

1. What does the teacher do to indicate that the student should use a contraction in
place of the full form? (2)
Ans: The teacher shows a hand gesture, using two fingers getting together to
indicate contraction of two words “he” and “would” which become “he’d” in place of
full form.

2. What grammatical structure is being taught in this lesson? (2)

Ans: Contraction and sentence structure is being taught lesson. The teacher uses
other picture prompts and the students repeat the sentence as a class and
individually as well. This gives the students further practice of the structure.

3. When do we use the 2nd Conditional? (3)

Ans: 2nd Conditional is used to express unlikely or unreal situations like,
positive – If John was rich, he’d buy a car.
negative – If John was rich, he wouldn’t buy a car.
question – If he was rich, what would he buy?

4. Why does the teacher use controlled oral practice (class and individual)? (2)
Ans: Controlled practice exercises are an integral part of the lesson as
they strengthen the student's knowledge of each individual language
point. Free practice activities are also essential as they allow the student to
experiment with the language without having to produce specific answers. It also
helps the students’ pronunciation regarding the words and the sentences.

5. What techniques does the teacher employ to check that the students have
understood the grammatical structure? (2)
Ans: The teacher has some mixed-up conditional sentences with a question and
answer and wants the students to put them in order. The teacher also tells the
students to talk to in their group what would they do if they were rich?

6. What seating arrangement is used in this lesson to maximize student interaction

in class? (2)
Ans: There are 2 groups of 3 students in each. They are seated opposite to each
other to have a proper interaction/conversation.

7. How does the teacher conclude the presentation section of the lesson? (2)
Ans: In this section the teacher concludes by ensuring that the students are
comfortable with the form and the meaning.

8. Describe the first controlled practice activity and explain what the students were
expected to do? (3)
Ans: The teacher has an activity of mixed-up conditional sentences with a question
and an answer and the students are expected to put them in order and frame
proper sentences in their groups.

9. In the second part of the Practice section/stage of the lesson, students were
given a freer practice activity. What were the students required to do? (2)
Ans: The teacher gives a question about “What would they buy if they were rich or
what they wouldn’t buy?”. The students are required to discuss in group and
compare the answers with each other.

10. In the third part of the Practice section/stage of the lesson, students are asked
what they would do if they discovered their boyfriend’s / girlfriend’s diary open. The
students are then presented with different situations (written on paper) and are
given two tasks to do. What are these tasks? (2)
Ans: The teacher gives them a paper with questions and wants them to answer in
full sentences what they think/feel and then secondly discuss and compare their
answer in their group.

11. Which teaching approach is used in the lesson? (2)

Ans: Grammatical structure, Model sentence, Board summary, Controlled and free
practice teaching approach is used.

12. Briefly describe/outline the steps in a PPP (i.e. how a PPP lesson would proceed).
(6)
Ans: The 3Ps or PPP also known as – Presentation, Practice, Production, this method
could be characterized as a common-sense approach to teaching as it consists of 3
stages that most people who have learnt how to do anything will be familiar with.
The first stage is the presentation of an aspect of language in a context that
students are familiar with, much the same way that a swimming instructor would
demonstrate a stroke outside the pool to beginners.
The second stage is practice, where students will be given an activity that gives
them plenty of opportunities to practice the new aspect of language and become
familiar with it whilst receiving limited and appropriate assistance from the teacher.
To continue with the analogy, the swimming instructor allowing the children to
rehearse the stroke in the pool whilst being close enough to give any support
required and plenty of encouragement.
The third/final stage is production where the students will use the language in
context, in an activity set up by the teacher who will be giving minimal assistance,
like the swimming instructor allowing his young charges to take their first few
tentative strokes on their own.

Video 5: A Communication Lesson:

1. In this Communication lesson, what are the lesson aims? (2)

Ans: The aim of the lesson is to develop fluency and to give students further speaking
and listening practice.
2. What does the teacher do at the beginning of the lesson to set-up the communication
lesson? Was this teacher-centred or student-centred? (4)
Ans: The teacher shares a story with the class. She tells the story as if it happened with
her. Then she tells the students to talk each other in groups and share and compare any
incident that has happened with them. After some time, she asks the students to share
the story and pretend that its their story. Then she turns the lesson into a question-
answer session between the students. This approach is more of student-centered.

3. How did the teacher continue the activity? Was this teacher-centred or student-
centred? (4)
Ans: The teacher tells the students to chose one story and make it their own for one
group. She tells the first group to prepare the story and think of answers in all aspects.
And for the second group she tells them to prepare questions to ask them. After some
time she tells a student to share her story to the whole class. The teacher rotates the
students of one group so that all the three gets chance to share the question and
answers with each other. Again this is a student – centered.

4. Describe what the students had to do next. (4)

Ans: The student follow what the teacher has told, they form groups to share and
discuss their stories with each other. One of them is a liar. The rest have to find out who
it is.
As per the teacher’s instructions one of them shares her story to the whole class. Then
the teacher tells one group to rotate or take turns and answer the questions which the
other group asks them. By this interaction they have to find out who is telling the truth
and who is lying.

5. During the student-centred activity (when Group A is asking Group B questions), you
will notice that the teacher adopts a less conspicuous role (remaining in the
background). Why is this? (3)
Ans: Teachers are creating opportunities for students to work in groups,
collaborate, experiment, discuss and revise. With students at the center of
their learning, teachers are becoming more of a support person guiding their
progress and learning. As it is a student-centered activity, the teacher choses to
remain in the background, observe and support the students in their
communication/discussion with each other.

6. During the student-centred activity, you will have noticed that the teacher was taking
some notes on a piece of paper. Why do you think the teacher was taking down some
notes? (3)
Ans: The teacher here was going around and observing the students and their
discussions. She was making notes of some words that the students needed further help
in pronouncing and for corrections. She took the example of the words “folk” and
“competition” where she corrected and revised that the ‘l’ is silent in “folk” and there’s
a strong syllable in “competition”. Further to this she also highlighted on a sentence
which had to be in past tense.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------