Five Lesson Plans, Materials and Detailed Reflections

This section includes five lesson plans and lesson materials picked for detailed examination and 

detailed pre-teaching and post-teaching reflections.  For this purpose, lesson plan number 13, 15, 34, 

36 and 37 have been used. 

Lesson plan 13

Click here to view the lesson plan and lesson materials. 

Reflective Summary

Does teacher reflection upgrade the application of ‘best practices’ for instruction? The inceptive question ensues when I prepare for my classes. Hence, I used to reflect on all the lessons prior to teaching and anticipate the pre-teaching expectations. This lesson was outlined to train the learners to organize and structure a paragraph accurately. A paragraph is considered as the foundation for any other type of academic writing (Boardman & Frydenberg, 2008 as cited in Wali & Madani, 2020). Therefore, I expected my learners to enhance their paragraph writing skills. As the lesson is completely directed towards ameliorating the writing skills of the learners, I anticipated that integrating technology in the teaching and learning process would foster active learning. Accordingly, I shared an instructional video to the LMS platform assuming all the learners would watch the video a day before.  As Daulay et al. (2012) stated that in flipped learning instruction learners have more opportunities to be engaged and stimulated to enhance their proficiency levels. Hence, I anticipated that every learner would watch the instructional video, thereby, they can actively engage in the pre-task. of the lesson.  

Moreover, I assumed that the lesson would create a learner-centered classroom and there will be a balance between teacher talk time and student talk time. I am poised that I am optimistic about the pace and timing of each stage with transparent time allocation yet, as the lesson appeared to be complicated, I anticipated that I would encounter time management issues. As Cohen (1975) stated, “sometimes, sequencing and pacing of elements in a second language course is rather arbitrary” (p.420). Moreover, I fostered deductive, conscious learning and cooperative language learning in the lesson, thereby I assumed that my rigorous reliance on Vygotsky’s sociocultural theory and More Knowledgeable Others would mould the lesson effectively.

During the lesson, I realized that reality outdoes anticipation. Even though I expected the learners to watch the video prior to the lesson, the majority of the students didn’t watch the video, and therefore, I had to play the instructional video inside the class and the schedule has to be adapted accordingly. According to Allwright and Bailey (1991 as cited in Gun,2014)

It is likely that every teacher has had the experience of having something unexpected occur

during a lesson. Whether it leads to the derailment of the lesson or a contribution to learning is often largely a matter of how the teacher reacts to the unexpected, and the extent to which the co-production is encouraged or stifled (pp.76-77).

Consequently, I had to explain to the students the potential benefits of using flipped classroom concept and in the future when I share the instructional video, I thought that I should share it at least three days in advance. I was satisfied as I could manage the time to complete the lesson without any twists. Moreover, I thought that it would be productive if I could share a few more examples when I explain how to write a strong topic sentence with a topic and a controlling idea.  As anticipated, learners enthusiastically engaged in the collaborative tasks and I literally appreciated the role of MKOs and frequently I had to be their MKO in order to assist them to complete the tasks. I am not an ELT practitioner who sits on the seat till the learners complete their tasks. I move around the class, thereby I can monitor the progress of the learners. As Nagler (2015) stated effective classroom management by the teacher is intended to provide learners with more opportunities to learn. To corroborate this, both my mentor and supervisor used to appreciate my competent classroom management skills and through this, I realized that learners struggled to complete the third task. Therefore, I had to take an instant reaction and I selected the first and second sentences of the task and explained how to break them into topic and controlling idea. Besides, I figured that when they are given tasks to complete, I should provide the instructions and explain the task by taking one or two as examples. I reckoned that I have a favorable rapport with the learners and there was a balance between teacher talk and student talk.  

Reference

Cohen, A. D. (1975). Error correction and the training of language teachers. The Modern

Language Journal, 59(8), 414-422.

Daulay, S., Sanjaya.D., Pin, T.L., Khazin, K.M., & Babar, M.Y. (2021). The Effect of Flipped

Learning Instruction on Tertiary English Learners’ Writing Achievement. TESOL

International Journal, 16(1), 232-252.

Gun, B. (2014). Making Sense of Experienced Teachers’ Interactive Decisions: Implications for

Expertise in Teaching. International Journal of Instruction, 7(1), 75-90.

Nagler, K.S.(2015). Effective Classroom-Management & Positive Teaching. English Language

Teaching, 9(1), 163-172.

Wali, O., & Madani, A.Q. (2020). The Importance of Paragraph Writing: An Introduction.

International Journal of Latest Research in Humanities and Social Science, 3 (7), 44-50.

                                                     Lesson plan 15

Click here to view the lesson plan and lesson materials. 

Reflective Summary

Reflective practice involves teachers’ cognition about their actions and decisions and their awareness of teaching and learning which is deeply affected by their beliefs, assumptions, knowledge and experience (Borg, 2008). Being an ELT practitioner, I always engage in pre-teaching and post-teaching reflections thereby, it allows me to consciously flourish a repertoire of relevant and context-specific strategies and techniques. The lesson was outlined to train students to use the correct type of noun in grammatically correct sentences and differentiate between countable and uncountable nouns. Hence, when I got ready for the lesson, I reflected on what would happen in the lesson as this group of students raise an abrupt experience every day.

The lesson started with a brainstorming activity in which it was anticipated that every learner would recall their knowledge of nouns. Besides, it was expected that learners would actively engage in the discussion of the theory section with their prior knowledge of nouns. According to Khemlani and Lynne (2000), activating schemata boosts the interest and attention of the learners, forges the link between students’ prior knowledge and the new material and assists in comprehending the new material (as cited in Arisal, 2016). Furthermore, the lesson comprised both individual and group tasks especially emphasizing collaborative learning, underpinning one of my treasured teaching methodologies, task-based language teaching, and it was anticipated that it would promote natural learning, generate learners’ intrinsic motivation and accelerate communicative competence. As Barrot (2016) mentioned, task-based language is underpinned by the consolidated “information processing theories, collaborative learning, and interactionist hypothesis which aims to develop learners’ knowledge and skills in second language” (p.2277).

Besides, I believed that integrating task-based language teaching with the socio-cognitive transformative approach would be productive in this lesson as this lesson blends with the current principles in language learning including “collaboration, contextualization, differentiation, ICT integration, process orientation and reflective learning” (Barrot, 2016, p.2279). Moreover, it was anticipated that learners would apply the learned knowledge in task five, six and seven, thereby, they will produce grammatically correct meaningful pieces of writing. Since a reasonable time span was allocated for every section of the lesson, it was anticipated that there would be a balance between pace and timing. Moreover, it was expected to sustain a positive rapport with the learners moulding an equilibrium between teacher talk and student talk.

During the lesson, I perceived that reality outdoes anticipation, yet I was confident as multiple scheduled aspects in the lesson materialized as they were predicted. In the brainstorming activity, every learner recollected their knowledge of nouns and I could be able to start the lesson as it was scheduled and majority of the learners shared their knowledge while I was explaining the theoretical aspects of the lesson. There were instances where some of the introverts retreated to engage in classroom discussions. As Shalevska (2012) stated an introverted student would cherish it if he or she could remain seated and work on his or her own. Nonetheless, I personally accept that collaborative learning fosters higher achievement and greater productivity, supportive, and committed rapport and greater psychological health, social competence and self-esteem (Laal & Ghodsi, 2012).  Hence, I always prefer collaborative learning. When I reflect on the lesson so that I figured that I should brief the learners about the potential benefits of collaborative learning. Accordingly, I question myself whether I was productive in integrating task-based language teaching with the socio-cognitive transformative approach in the classroom.

Besides, majority of the learners completed the last three tasks actively and they received the opportunity to share their creativity and innovative thoughts with their peers in fact, they cherished using the padlet in class. As anticipated, I could have managed the classroom effortlessly because of the familiar rapport I maintained with the learners. Moreover, students have completed the reading comprehension efficiently, yet I thought that it would be productive if I can provide the meanings of the difficult vocabulary in advance. The ultimate feedback I received from one of the boys in the class made me realize that I was successful with my efforts.

“Madam, I even don’t keep a notebook to take notes and even you used to ask me where were your previous notes, but I don’t want to keep a notebook because your way of teaching makes me keep things in my mind”.

Reference

Arisal. (2016). Using Schema Activation Strategy to Increase the Students Reading

Comprehension [Thesis, University of Makassar].

https://digilibadmin.unismuh.ac.id/upload/369-Full_Text.pdf

Barrot, J. (2016). Implementing Task-based Language Teaching in ESL Classrooms. Advanced

Science Letters, 21(7), 2276-2280.

Borg, S. (2008). Teacher cognition and language education: Research and practice. Continuum.

Laal, M., & Ghodsi, S.M. (2012).  Benefits of Collaborative Learning. Procedia - Social and

Behavioral Sciences, 31, 486 – 490. doi:10.1016/j.sbspro.2011.12.091

Shalevska E. (2021). The Introverted Students in the Modern ESL/EFL Classroom. The Online

Journal of New Horizons in Education, 11(2), 93-97.

                                                                    Lesson plan 34

Click here to view the lesson plan and lesson materials. 

Reflective Summary

Teachers have the capacity to systematically reflect on their classroom experience and construct meaning out of it (Hopkins, 2008). Since I was methodically reflecting on my lesson prior to teaching and after teaching for a while, I have acknowledged my complementary and contrary forces which I apply for professional growth as an ELT practitioner. This lesson is designed to train students to distinguish statements/claims and supporting material in paragraphs and identify arguments in research papers, and follow similar methods to make their own arguments consisting of statements/claims and supporting material. I anticipated that when the learners hear the content of the lesson, they would be pessimistic. Hence, I cogitated on how to reduce the complexity of the lesson and make the learners comprehend the content productively. Therefore, I thought that I should apply a synthesis of task-based language teaching, communicative language teaching and deductive approach. According to Mehjabin (2007), “no single teaching method was used in the classes. It is beyond argument that different kinds of methods and techniques should be tried out to make teaching better” (p.9).

The lesson started with an ice-breaker activity in which learners’ prior knowledge of arguments, statements and claims was questioned and I anticipated that they have a minimal mastery of these concepts. Initially, the distinction between statements, claims, and support would be explained and students were expected to complete a collaborative task based on the theory. I expected that one of the key principles which define my teaching philosophy, the sociocultural theory that social interactions help students develop their ability to use language and the role of More Knowledgeable Others would be manipulated here, thereby I thought that the learners would complete the task regardless of its complexity. As Liu et al. (2018) stated, collaborative learning lessens learners’ anxiety and fosters their confidence and autonomy. Therefore, I anticipated that the apprehension due to the complication of the lesson would be diminished through cooperation and collaboration. Furthermore, as the learners were taught paragraph writing, it was expected that learners would recall their prior knowledge.

During the lesson, I perceived that reality outdoes anticipation, yet I was confident as multiple scheduled aspects in the lesson materialized as they were predicted and the intended learning outcomes were effectively accomplished. While the students were engaging in the brainstorming activity I realized that learners have minimal awareness of the key concepts of the lesson but I thought that it would be effective if I can share a padlet link for the students so that I can grasp if everyone has that minimal knowledge.

As Meng and Heijke (2005) stated many teachers neglect the significance of time management in the classroom. Nonetheless, I always checked if the students needed more time, and if they requested, was ready to give them more time regardless of completing the expected sections. I perceived that the role of the More Knowledgeable Others and sociocultural theory were exhaustively manipulated in the classroom context because the students who were accepted as competent learners in target language assisted their peers. Besides, prior to starting the paragraph structure for building arguments, I attempted to recall learners’ knowledge about the structure of a paragraph from some randomly selected learners, yet I realized that they had poor memory.

As Maftoon and Babamiri (2011) stated, “a text may seem to be organized inappropriately because the writer has either been taught different organizational schemata or has not mastered the organizational patterns to produce structures that are acceptable in a discourse community” (p.99). Hence, without accurate mastery of writing a paragraph, it is worthless to teach them the paragraph structure for building arguments. Accordingly, I anticipate that if a majority of the class possesses misconceptions or a weak understanding of a concept that I viewed as a critical prerequisite, I decided to include covering it in class regardless of the scope of the day. Accordingly, there was a mismatch between the allocated time and the real timing. I realized that I lost the balance between teacher talk and student talk yet, I had to re-explain a few things in detail. Hence, the allocated time for the third task was insufficient due to unexpected circumstances. Nonetheless, I cherished that I could have recalled their prior knowledge and assisted them to eliminate the mistakes by pursuing a positive rapport. When I reflect on the lesson, I acknowledged that I need to cherish the positive features of the lesson.

Reference

Hopkins, D. (2008). A Teacher’s Guide to Classroom Research. Open University Press.

Liu, M. C., Huang, Y. M., & Xu, Y. H. (2018). Effects of individual versus group work on learner

autonomy and emotion in digital storytelling. Educational Technology Research and Development: A Bi-Monthly Publication of the Association for Educational Communications & Technology, 66(4), 1009 -1028. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11423-018-9601-2

Mehjabin, N. (2007). Teaching techniques that I use in my ESL classes: pros and cons.

https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/61800047.pdf

Maftoon, P., & Babamiri, H.M. (2011). The effect of building formal schemata on EFL students'

writing achievement. TELL 5(2), 97-123.

Meng, C., & Heijke, H. (2005). Student time allocation, the learning environment and the

acquisition of competencies. Retrieved from

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/4776039

                                                                Lesson plan 36

Click here to view the lesson plan and lesson materials. 

Reflective Summary

In order to deliver instruction that addresses the needs of the ESL learners, ELT practitioners need to question themselves “what constitutes good teaching?”. Hence, prior to and after the learning and teaching process, I reflect on my expectations of delivering the lesson to the learners. The lesson was outlined to train students to position the adjectives accurately in grammatically correct sentences.  Hence, when I got ready for the lesson, I questioned myself whether I would be able to accomplish the lesson outcomes as they were scheduled.

The lesson started with a captivating task, in which learners were expected to share a grammatically correct meaningful sentence about themselves using an adjective. As they were taught the adjectives as a separate lesson, I anticipated that they would recall their prior knowledge. Majority of the learners actively engaged in the task and they confidently shared their knowledge, yet a few learners had some grammatical concerns in their sentences. As anticipated, I assumed that I would be able to proceed with the lesson effectively with the knowledge of the learners. As Ponniah and Venkatesan (2018), the cognitive paradigm of knowledge acquisition is a process of constructing meaning, based on the interaction between new knowledge and knowledge structures already in the learner. Hence, I incorporated this paradigm while teaching the positions of adjectives.

Based on my prior experiences, I thought of providing a list of difficult words in reading comprehension prior to the task, thereby, learners would be able to complete the activity accurately and it worked as I expected. As Rost (1990) declared pre-listening tasks accommodate listening tasks. Therefore, while the learners were engaging in the third task, I realized the significance of undertaking a pre-listening task. For instance, asking the learners to identify the meanings of several complex words in the listening task collaboratively would be productive. I always admire providing learners a comprehensible input and learners need to be subjected to linguistic input that is moderately above their current language level, thereby, learners can comprehend the novel input. According to Krashen (1985), input is grasped accordingly when interlocutors flourish in making themselves understood in communication. In his view, then, the main role of an ELT practitioner in an ESL classroom is to ensure that learners receive comprehensible input by providing them with listening and reading materials. When I outlined the lesson, I didn’t perceive this, yet I questioned myself whether I was fruitful by providing the learners this listening task.

Moreover, for the last task learners were supposed to prepare a weather report in groups using the second activity as a model. I was positive because as I expected learners unknowingly manipulated the social interaction hypothesis and their language proficiency was fostered by face-to-face interaction and communication. In addition, I used to move around the classroom, thereby, instructing and assisting the learners when necessary. Questioning is one kind of active teaching procedure in ESL classrooms (Ma,2008). Hence, after each section of the lesson, I questioned to check if the learners grasped what they have been taught, to enhance students’ involvement and to promote students’ classroom interaction. Besides, I believe that they are not hesitant to interact with me when I keep continuously about questioning the lesson. I exhaustively treasure monitoring and corrective feedback in the classroom. As Schmidt (1994) declared perceiving the gap between a “learner’s interlanguage system” and the “target language system” can facilitate interlanguage development (as cited in Chen & Liu, 2021, p.25). Effective corrective feedback should have the capacity to help a learner observe the gap between their error and the target language. Hence, I provided corrective feedback for every task that the learners engaged in and occasionally, peer evaluation as well. Furthermore, I reckoned that I have a favorable rapport with the learners and there was a balance between teacher talk and student talk. 

When I reflect on the lesson, I acknowledged that I need to cherish the positive features of the lesson and work on the weak points, thereby I can give more to the learners.

 

Reference

Chen, W., & Liu, G. (2021). Effectiveness of Corrective Feedback: Teachers’ Perspectives.

                  Iranian Journal of Language Teaching Research, 9(1), 23-42.

Krashen, S. (1985). The Input Hypothesis: Issues and Implications. Longman.

Ma, X. (2008). The Skills of Teacher’s Questioning in English Classes. International Education

                  Studies, 1(4), 92-100.

Ponniah, J.R., & Venkatesan, S. (Eds.). (2018). The Idea and Practice of Reading. Springer

                  Nature. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-8572-7_5

Rost, M. (1990). Listening in Language Learning. Longman.

 

                                                                       Lesson plan 37

Click here to view the lesson plan and lesson materials. 

Reflective Summary

“Teachers reflect on particular events, their strengths, weaknesses and whether they used appropriate teaching approaches by analyzing where difficulties arose, considering how they might be overcome, and deciding on the future directions their teaching might take” (Butler, 1996 as cited in Cimer, et al., 2013, p.135). The lesson was outlined to train learners to produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style are appropriate to the task, purpose, and audience. Then, I reflected on what were my factual expectations of this lesson. 

It was expected to start the lesson with a technology-integrated task in which learners were supposed to interpret the given image and shared the answers to the questions on the padlet. As Wang and Vasquez (2012) declared technology integration nurtures a constructive classroom environment that is convenient for language learning. Hence, I anticipated that every learner would involve in the activity and they would be able to construe the given image as a sample of a formal letter. Initially, the distinction between the formal and informal letter was focused and it was anticipated that it would be more like an open discussion, thereby, learners can cooperate in the discussion.  It is declared that students in Asian countries are reluctant to speak in the classroom. To improve the situation, based on the theory of output hypothesis proposed by Swain (1995), it is declared that students should be given opportunities to speak in class (Navaz, 2021).

Moreover, in the initial task, learners were expected to cooperate with their peers and realize the language useful in formal letter writing and it was anticipated that learners’ engagement in tasks would foster communicative competence. Then, the format of a formal letter was explained in detail and learners’ engagement with the discussion was highly expected. As Navaz (2021) stated the tendency in Sri Lankan ESL classes is that teacher talk occupies most of the class time. Hence, I anticipated maintaining an equilibrium between teacher talk and student talk. Furthermore, Perera (2001) examined that the teacher-student interaction is not taking place at a satisfactory level in Sri Lankan ESL context. Nonetheless, I anticipated maintaining a positive rapport with the students, thereby, it helps to foster a productive learning environment. Besides, I anticipated that I would restrain from overusing the native language in the classroom, yet, Sanmuganathan (2017) stated that most of the time ESL students and teachers use their mother tongue to involve in interactions. During the lesson, I realized that reality outdoes anticipation.

Learners engaged in the brainstorming activity competently and most of the aspects occurred as they were scheduled. There was a good pace and timing of each stage and I instructed and assisted the learners when necessary. I used to join the breakout rooms frequently when learners engaged in the group tasks and I attempted to create space for interaction in breakout rooms. Furthermore, after every discussion learners got the opportunity to scrutinize their comprehensibility, and the allocated time for the explanations was minimized to enhance the engagement of the learners in the lesson. Accordingly, learners were able to complete two extensive types of tasks during the lecture, yet at the end of the session, I discerned that the class still looked like a teacher-centered classroom and I acknowledged that I need to work further to avoid a teacher-based classroom setting and foster independent learning. Besides, while learners were carrying out the second task, I thought that without asking the learners to write a formal letter just after the explanations, it would be productive to provide them with an activity in which they can be rearranged the jumbled parts of the formal letter.

Moreover, when I reflect on the lesson I realized that I have scaffolded the lesson, yet, I overused the native language. The application of native language is not an issue yet, the ESL teachers should consider its applicable use and when it is essential to use (Spahiu, 2013). There were several instances where I ignored the balance between teacher talk and student talk as well.  Overall, when I reflect on the lesson, I realized that I can cherish the positive features of the lesson and work on the weak points, thereby I can give more to the learners.

 

Reference

Cimer, A., Cimer, S.O.& Vekli, G.S. (2013). How does reflection help Teachers to Become

                  Effective Teachers? International J. Educational Research, 1(4), 133-148.

Navaz, A.M.M. (2021). Developing Interaction in ESL Classes: An Investigation of Teacher-

                  Student Interaction of Teacher Trainees in a Sri Lankan University. International

      Journal of Learning, Teaching and Educational, 20(2), 174-196.   

                  2021https://doi.org/10.26803/ijlter.20.2.10

Perera, M. E. (2001). The role of classroom interaction in second language acquisition in Sri

                  Lanka [Doctoral thesis, University of Wollongong]. http://ro.uow.edu.au/theses/1805

Sanmuganathan, K. (2017). Historical perspective of English and some pedagogical problems

and solutions in teaching English in Sri Lankan schools. International Journal of Scientific and Research Publications, 7(6), 623-629.

Spahiu, I. (2013). Using Native Language in ESL Classroom. International Journal of English

                  Language & Translation Studies, 1(2), 243-248.

Wang, S., & Vasquez, C. (2012). Web 2.0 and second language learning: What does the research

                  tell us? CALICO Journal, 29, 412-430.