Observation Journal 1
Date: 13/09/2012
Duration: 1 hour
Location: International House London
Level: Upper Intermediate
Teaching Aim: Past Subjunctive (structure lesson) Use of “I wish” for regrets and criticism

Lesson Pace
During the first half of the lesson the teacher moved at a particularly fast pace. Whilst understandably a swift pace is required in order to fit the breath of information into the lesson I feel this was to the detriment of student learning in some instances. For example when asking questions of students it was common for the teacher to answer before providing sufficient time for students to answer. This had the consequence of stopping all but the quickest students a chance to be involved with the
The teacher also made an effort to select students at random when eliciting answers; something which I believe is key to keeping students focused, as it is all too easy for students to switch off if they know they are fifth or sixth in line to answer a question.
A couple of times the teacher admitted to making mistakes on the hand-outs, which is an aspect of the lesson that could easily have been corrected by proofreading all materials beforehand. This didn’t appear to be a problem for the class as they looked comfortable with the teacher whom they have likely worked with before. Although for students with which the teacher had not worked with before this could have been a problem because students wouldn’t necessarily have the same confidence levels in a teacher they are unfamiliar with.
Classroom Management
Students were arranged in a semi-circle formation facing the teacher. My belief was that this particular arrangement benefited the students, as it allowed all students to face each other and thus lower any barriers to peer-group interaction which may have existed with some students sitting behind others. This structure also helped when students were asked to talk in pairs and allowed the teacher to easily monitor each conversation without being disruptive. For my own lessons I aim to use this same layout where possible as it would appear to be the best way to involve