https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HJkaLf-44BE
Above is the video I watched for this hour of observation.
The two teachers leading this lesson seemed to have an extremely fast paced and structured lesson plan. It was interesting to see that the first half of the class was dedicated to traditional teaching (Describing pictures, practicing conversations, etc.), and the second half was dedicated to a fun and competitive game. It seemed to me that all of these factors were intentional in order to keep the kids engaged and away from distractions. I think the strategy was to get through the more “boring” (from the kids’ perspectives) material as fast and as efficiently as possible, and to immediately apply what they have learned by playing games. I think this overall strategy was very appropriate for the students at that age group.
I noticed a very high level of participation and enthusiasm by the students. I also noticed that the teacher gave a slip of paper to every student that participated and answered correctly to questions. I don’t know what was on the slips of paper, but I’m assuming they used the “carrot-on-a-stick” approach to encourage participation. I don’t know if it’s a good idea to condition the kids this way, but it seems like the reward was effective to keep the kids engaged.
I believe the lesson was planned very well for kids. If I do teach English (or any other subject) to kids, I think I would mimic their overall lesson plan – study first, then play later. However, I won’t be using that same strategy on university students.