TESOL Certificate Programs

Observation Notebook

Observation Report
Forms for inclusion in the Observation Notebook must be typed

Name of Observer: Hyeonseong (Daniel) Shin

Date

Observation Environment

Observation # 6

Class
Teacher
Level/Number
(Beg./Int./Adv.)
7/14/15 UCR Extension
Pronunciation
IOF 2A
Debbie Peterson
Intermediate
Focus on relevant areas from the What Can Be Observed handout. Notice how the
teacher handles these areas during the class.
(include URL if the
class was online)

Class
Skill/Content

OBJECTIVE OF THE LESSON: STUDENTS WILL BE ABLE TO DISTINGUISH THE DIFFERENCES

OF SIMILAR PRONUNCIATIONS. STUDENTS WILL BE ABLE TO PRODUCE CORRECT
PRONUNCIATION OF THE GIVEN PHRASES AND SENTENCES.
Notes while observing:

Yesterday, students listened to the sounds. Today, students will study how to
pronounce what they listened yesterday.

Warm up (8 minutes)
T writes a sentence on the board Was it above us? T asks Ss to try pronouncing
the sentence. This sentence is for practicing // sound.
When T calls Ss names, Ss are asked to pronounce the sentence. When Ss struggle
to do it, T helps them giving corrections and advice one by one; For example, /t/
sounds like /t/ of water and /b/ sounds longer.
Practice 1 (17 minutes)
T distributes a handout which is about practice with central vowels bus // vs
stop /a/. T reads out the direction and instruction, and T then has Ss practice in
pair. Ss practice each phrases one by one according to the rules of pronunciation
and intonation.
Walking around the class, T gives advice when Ss are struggling to pronounce
something and encourages Ss to keep practicing with their partner. When Ss seem
to have finished all of the work, T approaches and asks them to pronounce again.

Last Updated: 11/9/2015 10:51 PM

TESOL Certificate Programs

Observation Notebook

When T shows how to pronounce the phrase or sentence, T seems to exaggerate the
pronunciation in order for students to notice how to pronounce and to make the
sound correctly.

Practice 2 (10 minutes)

T distributes a second handout to more work on // sound. In the handout, there are
three types of // sounds. Some vocabulary is classified according as their //
sounds. T pronounces each word first and T then let students try pronouncing them
by copying her sounds.
Sometimes, T writes the IPA pronunciation of the words on the board so that Ss can
see how to pronounce the words.
When Ss cannot pronounce well, T asks Ss to close their eyes and to concentrate on
their listening. After listening carefully, T asks Ss to pronounce the words.
Practice 3 (15 minutes)
T has Ss work with their partner. One student pronounce a word of two words on
the list, other student needs to figure out which word their partner pronounced; for
example, they practice dull vs doll.
While Ss are working their work, T walks around monitoring and answering to the
questions. After their pair work, T provides corrections and explanations as a class.
For example, T writes dull (//) vs doll (/a/) on the board. T then asks
students to mimic her sounds showing and how much they should open their mouth
and how their tongue should be located and moved.

(continue on back)
Last Updated: 11/9/2015 10:51 PM

TESOL Certificate Programs

Observation Notebook

Last Updated: 11/9/2015 10:51 PM

TESOL Certificate Programs

Observation Notebook

Last Updated: 11/9/2015 10:51 PM

TESOL Certificate Programs

Observation Notebook
What did you learn about teaching or learning from this lesson? Discuss your
observation focus, and the theory you have studied in your TESOL classes. Consider
the three levels of teacher reflection (surface, pedagogical, critical). (100-200 words)
In the observation, I concentrated on the procedure of the pronunciation class;
that is, how the teacher designed the class in order for students to practice the correct
pronunciation. Students level was intermediate. They could speak English, but
sometimes they did not have correct pronunciations. In their English, they quite had
pronunciation of their own language (L1). The teacher believed that students needed to
listen to the sounds; that is, how to make the sound correctly. This is quite similar idea
how an infant acquires its native language. The child has the time to try to make sense
out of the sounds it hears and chooses to speak when it is ready to do (Larsen-Freeman
and Anderson, 2011). This is why the teacher yesterday focused on the listening to the
sounds, then today focused on how to pronounce the sounds. Also, this is why the teacher
sometimes asked students to close their eyes and concentrate on the listening.

What activities/techniques from this class do you want to remember for your own
teaching practice? Discuss specific ways in which you could apply the techniques and
methods you saw. Discuss your future teaching environment and your students needs
and goals. (100-200 words)
I would like to apply several activities in my future class that I saw during the
observation. At first, when the teacher began the class, she asked students to speak the
written sentence on the board calling students name. This was a way of giving
opportunity to practice pronunciation and to get correction right away from the teacher.
Most of my future students will be likely to be Korean students. Even though they have
studied English several years, they would still struggle with American Idioms. So, if the
sentence has the idiom that would be useful for ESL students, this activity will be very
beneficial in terms of learning new English expression as well as practicing
pronunciation. In addition, I would like to use the technique that the teacher asked
students to close their eyes because I also agree with the idea which students should
listen first in order to get a correct pronunciation. Sometimes, students are too hasty to
practice enough. If students close their eyes, they would feel relaxed and could focus how
to make the correct sound.

Last Updated: 11/9/2015 10:51 PM

TESOL Certificate Programs

Observation Notebook
References
Larsen-Freeman, D., & Anderson, M. (2011). In Techniques and principles in Language
Teaching. New York, N.Y., USA: Oxford University Press.

Last Updated: 11/9/2015 10:51 PM