Natalie Brentano

C & T 491
Dr. Cho/Dr. Peter
17 June 2015
Week Two: Observation Notes
A Level observation notes Language Use:
What kind of language is used? What are some features of that language? What are some
differences in the exchanges between different participants? What about non-verbal language
use?
Teacher to Student:
When the teacher would introduce new ideas, they would give many examples of how they
may use these ideas and what it means by using gestures, facial expressions and showing
pictures. While the teachers still talk very slowly, it is faster than the B level class. For the A
level classes, a co-teacher is not present, thus the class is conducted entirely in English. The
teacher will be asking questions, while reassuring the students by giving them a smile or by
simply encouraging them.
Student to Teacher:
There is confidence that is evident within their voices, these students use a lot more hand
movements and facial expression, as if to demonstrate that they understand and that they
comprehend what is going on. They use sound effects to demonstrate something that they
cannot remember the name of, other times a single student will translate what one student
says into English so that the teachers are able to understand, though this is not very common.
Korean is used among the students to develop an idea of what they want to say, so it is used
as a tool, and not as an easy way out. This helped many students to eliminate a lull of
confusion.
Student to Student:
The students amongst themselves will generally use Korean, but other times when they are
forced to use English for an activity they are able to use English effectively. Though the
levels of these students are higher than the B class, but it is still very basic, they are able to
confidently say "Hello, how are you? bye, hello teacher". In addition, the students will laugh
but it is more encouraging to students to try another time or to fix their mistake. Korean is
also used as a tool in order to eliminate confusion among other students; it is used as a way
for them to prove that they know what something means to another student.
Some of the techniques I've observed in class for:
Listening practice:
Maren will ask some warm up questions, usually questions that are based off of their past
lessons, to see how much the students have retained. The students are required to at least have
a general ability in their listening skills to gain a sense of what is going on. The students will

also listen to dialogues that are said at the beginning of class and as a group.
Speaking Practice:
Repetition is something that is very common within these A level classes, they would read
their stories aloud to their peers and they would make full sentences on their own when asked
a question.
Reading Practice:
The students would read their stories to the class; they would read their homework and the
dialogue that was presented to them, in a PowerPoint.
Writing Practice:
Students would practice writing quickly, by using abbreviations. Some other students were
writing short stories using the past tense, others would be writing their responses for their job
interviews.
How is student's comprehension assessed and corrected?
Students' comprehension was assessed by asking review questions and then Maren would
give them stickers for participation and correctness. Dionne gave those who came with their
homework completed were awarded extra credit. Other times, Annette and I would walk
around the classroom and help the girls and then when we came back together as a class they
would be asked more questions to see if they comprehended the material at hand.