Classroom Observations - Instructions (16-20)

Instructions

 Today I want to talk about the part of my observation during which I focused mainly on instructions and how they were being given by the teachers and understood by the students. This was a very insightful section for me as the manner of the instruction can be very important in teaching especially in a different language as, as a teacher, it is necessary to be understood by the students. Therefore, if the instructions are unclear or hard to understand the students will be lost and they will be unable to proceed with any activities, and in turn will struggle with language learning, which is the main job of the teacher. 

To begin with, it is important to observe the lesson from the very beginning as a lot of the instructions occur at the start of the lesson before the activities are given out and new language is introduced. One of the first things I noticed was that the teacher doesn't necessarily take attendance of the class in an outright manner, as the classes are rather small and it is very obvious to see who is missing from each lesson. That being said, I have noticed that before the lesson starts, general attendance is checked when the students enter the school by a teacher monitoring behaviour in the halls. It is also often the case that the other students know who is absent and often also why they are absent, so, in this case, communication with the students is very important. 

Moving on to the main part of the lessons, before the start of each activity the teacher will signal to the students, most often using vocal (chant or speaking) or physical (clapping) cues to get everyone's attention before giving instructions, at first, about the topic, theme, and lesson objectives. Depending on the class and grade which is being taught, the amount of instruction is different as the younger students would not be able to understand more difficult or complex sentences, ideas, or concepts. Therefore, simplifying your vocabulary and language when talking to the younger classes or lower levels is vital.

At the start of a new activity, the teacher most often explains what needs to be done in a specific activity, most often with examples and physical drawings on the whiteboard to emphasize what needs to be done. For example, if an activity requires to have words filled in blanks, the teacher may give an example on the board of how it is to be done, most often with the help and input from the students as an interactive example. When the teacher is unsure whether the students have understood the activity or assignment, she may ask the students to show her an example or explain how to do the activity by themselves.

During the activity, the teacher will float around the class checking the student's work and helping those who may not have understood the assignment or the activity individually while the activity takes place. While doing so, the teacher can gauge the understanding of instructions and how well received they were by the students, which allows the teacher to keep in mind if it's necessary to make the instructions clearer in the future or if it's possible to make more complicated activities with additional instructions (if the previous ones are too easy). As the teacher can witness and gauge the activities and when they are being finished, they are aware of when the activity is coming to completion. The teacher can ask whether everyone is finished and if the consensus is positive there are different ways in which the teacher will proceed, sometimes asking specific individuals for answers is the best method of checking for understanding and allowing the students to practice their language skills. 

When giving instructions, especially with the younger years, one should use a lot of gestures and demonstrations of the activities. For example, in one of the classes which was introducing a new topic, specifically related to items and possessions, the teacher showed her own "watch" or "bracelet" (which were some of the key vocabulary in that lesson). With this gesture, the teacher was able to introduce the words as well as emphasizing that "the teacher has a watch" (using it in a full sentence) before asking other students about what they have and emphasizing sentences similar to this one, for example, "Student A has a bracelet". This manner of instruction can be very useful for the students as they are personally included in the topic and have a direct visual of what is happening.

Another example of physical demonstrations was during a grade 4 class, the students were struggling with grammar concepts and the difference between the present simple and present continuous. A great way in which the teacher made sure that the students understood what the grammar means and when it is used, was through a roleplay. This was a difficult concept that was explained in a way that all of the students were able to understand, as the teacher pretended to be on a phone call with one of the students asking them about their plans for tomorrow (“What are you doing tomorrow? I’m going to the cinema”), it was through this way that the present continuous vocabulary and grammar was used as an example through it the students understood the meaning and activities which followed. This roleplay example was often reiterated and re-emphasised in the rest of the lesson and the following lessons on this topic and it seemed to work each time as the students were then able to explain and understand the grammar concept and were able to give examples in return.

From what I have witnessed all of the instructions are very age-specific, depending on the class, but are often easy enough to understand by the students, however, the younger they are, the simpler the instructions get, but sometimes necessary to give more complex instructions. The older students, however, are at a level where they understand these instructions and it is not an issue. For example, the older grades that I have watched had very good control and use of the English language so more difficult vocabulary and instructions can, and often are, used.

From what I witnessed, most if not all of the instructions are often very clear and the students most often understand them very well, when it is uncertain whether they understand or not the teacher asks them comprehension questions to see if they know what they have to do, and also they inspect the class throughout the activity to see if they are on the correct track. In conclusion one of the most important parts of giving instructions is being aware of how much is understood at each level and adjusting appropriately to each specific situation and class. The more time spent with each class, the more of an understanding a teacher will have about the students and their abilities and so can adjust as necessary to the requirements of the students, and from what I've seen this was done very well at the different levels.