Observation Task 2: ‘What Materials Do I Need?

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Using effective materials for teaching and practicing listening and speaking
Focus: Appropriate resources for developing listening and speaking skills
Description: Student teachers observe activities during a lesson. They complete an
observation table that identifies the resources used and investigate where they came from.
They must consider the effectiveness of the materials and how they supported learning
and teaching.
(Source: Moon, J. (2005) Children Learning English. Oxford: Macmillan Education. p. 135)
Objective:
This task encourages student teachers to consider resources that are effective in teaching
listening and speaking.
Procedure:
You will need the Observation Table: What Materials do I Need?

 Make sure you are familiar with the Observation table.

Before the Observation:

 Think about what a teacher needs to consider in organising language learning activities.
 Brainstorm all of the resources you can think of that can be:

Made bought

 Choose TWO lessons to observe – make sure that the second one follows the first.

During the Observation:

Use the Observation Table to record:

 The activities during the lessons

 The resources used and where they are from
 The interaction patterns you notice
 Presentation of materials: e.g. Instructions/modelling/explanations
 Why/Notes; for example, the purpose of the activity (paired reading, listen and draw,
revising vocabulary, etc.)
After the Observation:

 Think about each activity now and decide whether it achieved its purpose. How
appropriate were the resources used? If you were to teach this lesson again, what
different resources might you use and why?
My MST made many different activates and I think all of them were good
because the students were achieving the learning outcomes. If I am going to
teach my MST's lesson I am going to use the same activates. P18 activates
 How did the teacher organize and distribute the materials and what instructions did she
give?
All the activates were organized because my MST was preparing everything
very well and she used to provide all the materials that students need. When my
MST was instructing and guiding the students she used simple language and
clear instructions.
 Were any resources used for both lessons?
-My MST used the computer in the both lessons
-My MST used the white board in the both lessons
-My MST used the data-show in the both lesson

 What resources seemed to be used for different interaction patterns? What does this tell
you?
The first table P18 'Story in sequence' activity.
At the beginning the teacher wanted to let the students depend on their selves
and to do the activity by their own but later on she changed her mind and she
gave them an example on the white board (Visual one) to make it clearer.

Resources can take a long time to make. What could you do to build resources over time
for topic work? Who could assist with resource making? Why?

Resources can take a long time to make

-Printed pictures
-Laminated paper or worksheets
-Different activates for different group's levels.
What could you do to build resources over time for topic work?

I could build resources over time for topic work by keeping a soft and hardcopy of
any activity I made it, because I could use it in my future classes.
Who could assist with resource making? Why?

The students could assist with resource making because it will make them feel
responsible and more independent.

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Observation Table for Lesson No. 1: What Materials do I Need?
Class: 2/B Number of learners: 22 Age of learners: 7-8 Length of lesson: 45 minutes

Activity Resources Where Presentation Interaction Why/Notes

from?

Singing at the -Computer From the Audio presentation for the song (with The teacher -To get started with the
beginning of internet lyrics) opened for the lesson
-YouTube
the lesson student the
-To make the students
'Fight song' -Data-show (to song and they
motivated to learn
present the lyrics) started to sing
as a usual in
every day

Story in -Worksheets The teacher The teacher was visualizing and My MST used -To make the students
sequence took it from presenting how to do the story in to explain the able to order the story
-Pictures of
the sequence instructions for in sequence
different scenes
resources the students
from storybook -To make the students
room but and she gave
write some simple
-Example sheet she them a visual
phrases on each scene
improve it example
of the story

Pictures of The teacher One student was standing at the middle The teacher To make sure the
different animals created by of the class and hides one picture of was choosing students are able to
Make them
who live in herself the animal that she/he chose. Then, the student match the animals with
guess
various habitats trying to give her/his classmates some who will speak their habitats.
hints to guess the animal at the middle
of the class,

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 then, the
chosen
student started
to give some
hints about the
animal and the
classmates
started to
interact with
him/her

Observation Table for Lesson No. 2: ‘What Materials do I Need?

Class: 2/B Number of learners: 23 Age of learners: 7-8 Length of lesson: 45 minutes

Activity Resources Where from? Presentation Interaction Why/Notes

Show and One student the student The student sat at the middle of The student was -To make the students use
tell brought her brought the toy the class hiding her toy and interacting with her their voices.
favourite toy from her home, started to tell her classmates friends and telling -To make the students respect
and before that about the toy. After she them about her toy, their classmates.
she bought it finished talking about her toy after that her friends
from 'TOYS'RUS' she told her classmates if they started to ask her -To make the students good
listeners.
shop have any question, and they questions and she
started to ask and she was answering -To improve the students'
answered all their questions. them. communication skills.

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Punctuations' -computer to My MST took this My MST started to write all the -The teacher started -It make the students more
display the activity from the punctuations' names on the to instruct the creative
Posters
punctuations teacher guidance board, after that she showed students and after
-It make the students able to
' mark book the students the picture of each that she let them to
recognize the punctuations .
punctuation. work.
-paper to let
the students Later on, my MST told the When the students
create students you are going to started to do their
posters create posters including these works my MST was
about the punctuations' marks and you walking around
punctuations have to draw each punctuation them and praising
with its name. them.
-colourful
pens

Kung'Fu Computer to My MST got this My MST was displaying the The teacher was -It makes the students able
display the activity from the punctuation mark on the board presenting the to recognize the
punctuations
punctuations internet. and the students were making punctuations' marks punctuations' marks.
the noise of it, with acting like and immediately the
-It’s a good way to teach
playing 'Kung-Fu' for example; students were
young learners
if the teacher is displaying making the voice
"COLON" : picture the students and acting ( she
are going to say Ha! Ha! And taught them how in
each Ha! Means "full stop." the previous
The students will do this by lessons)
acting like Kung-Fu players.

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