https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZnIe3c5xbzU
Above is the video I watched for this observation.
This English class was rather different to the other classes I have observed so far, because the class had a guest speaker/teacher talk about general ways to become a better language learner.
The class was given questions to discuss in small groups in English, but the class was mostly silent. I also heard some Japanese being spoken. This lead me to believe that the questions were too difficult or complicated to answer in English. I also think the teacher talked very quickly, and said informal words like “gonna” instead of “going to”. I think the combination of all of these factors lead to a lack of student engagement.
With that being said, I can understand the benefits when the teacher speaks quickly and informally – especially for advanced students, that a typical English class would not necessarily cover. A typical English class is a controlled environment simulating professional English, so it was good to see students being exposed to a more natural form of communication. I appreciate how the teacher gave the students an opportunity to listen to “real” English – regardless of whether that was intentional or not, and I would like to be able to adapt my language style depending on the language levels the students are at, or what the focus of the lesson is.