For this hour of observation, I observed the first half of an Advanced Oral Communication Level 4 ESL class. 11 adult students from varying cultural backgrounds were present. The focus of the class was to learn language used in discussions and to practice having discussions.
I thought the instructor did a great job of facilitating interactive learning in spite of the challenges of the online class format. He had the class learn how to have discussions by actually engaging in discussions with him and with each other. The students were given a list of target words and phrases to try to incorporate into their discussions which I thought was a helpful visual aid. One of the instructor’s greatest strengths in facilitating learning was that he was constantly acting as a model for the students. When they struggled to engage in discussion, he demonstrated the target language to not only prompt them to express their ideas, but also to provide an example of how the language of discussion is used.
The instructor had a few methods of assessment in this hour. He assessed knowledge of vocabulary by asking students to provide synonyms for words or to articulate what a word means. He assessed some oral discussion skills of four students by calling on them to share something that is banned in their home countries. He then assessed reading comprehension skills together with oral discussion skills by having students read a controversial story in groups and discuss it, then share a summary of the story and some points from their discussion with the class. For a more accurate assessment, the instructor engaged in the discussions with the class, asking probing questions to either clarify their interpretations of the stories or to help them articulate their arguments.
I think the main challenge to learning was the online format. I think it would be easier and more engaging for the students to practice discussion skills face-to-face. The students seemed reluctant to participate at times, and none of them wanted to turn on their cameras. I think if they could see each other they would have an easier time discussing. There were also challenges in the group discussion activity as not everyone fully comprehended the story they were discussing. The instructor did his best to clarify the content of the stories, but there still seemed to be some confusion. I think better comprehension would lead to better discussion, so maybe the material was too challenging.
I liked the instructor’s approach to teaching the class how to have discussions. As I mentioned, I think his biggest strength was his modelling of the skills he was teaching. When the students were reluctant to engage in discussion with each other, he helped them along by having discussions with them and asking prompting and probing questions to keep the discussion going. He also highlighted the cultural relevance of discussion right at the beginning of class which I thought was a great thing to do. He told the class that in this culture we are expected to have opinions, and he encouraged the students to disagree with each other. This demonstrated why what they were learning in this class was important, and also gave the students permission to engage fully in honest and meaningful discussion.