LG 524 CLASSROOM OBSERVATION

1. LG 524CLASSROOM OBSERVATION WEEK 7.

2. WHAT OCCURS IN CLASSROOMS…. • Classroom observation is a means of undertaking research into what occurs in classrooms by attempting systematically to observe and keep records of classrooms events • For example in research into how teachers use question techniques, the chart could show how often the teacher asks a question, who he asks, how long he waits for an answer, any pattern of which learners he asks.

3. FOUR TYPES OF CLASSROOM OBSERVATION • Psychometric. • Interaction Analysis • Discourse Analysis • Ethnographic • These are not the Word of God; there are variations and combinations depending on your Research Topic.

4. Modes of Observation • 1.JH. EAP.Language In Use. Upp/Int. 27/03/00. 90 minutes. • Type of Class. General English Course Book. Reading, summarizing (oral), • discussion,grammar focus. • (Figures on the left refer to time in minutes). • 1.Topical.Changing the Clock. • 2-4.Topical. Current film. • 5-6.Student problem Toothache,>Dentist. • 7-8. Student question. Vocab, from 2-4. • 9-11.Course related. Coming exams, revision. • 12. Course related. Homework. • 13-28. On TG task. • 29. Student Question. Vocab. • 30.Topic related question. • 31-32. On TG task. • 33. Task related Teacher activity. Questions. • 34-35.On TG task.

5. Observing Learner Behaviour • A good deal of CO research has been aimed at observing learner behaviour in the classroom. A study aim may be to observe the overt behaviours of good language learners in the classroom; this may be correlated with other data, such as comparing hand raising frequency in learners(learners who ask or answer questions more often than other learners) with overall proficiency measurements.

6. Observing Teacher Behaviour. • As much attention has been paid to teachers classroom behaviour as that of the learners, with some studies concerned with the amount of teacher talk, others with the function and distribution of teachers talking, and others with the way teachers modify their speech in second language classrooms.

7. CAUSE EFFECT RELATIONSHIPS • CO is one of a number of techniques which tries to establish relationships between teaching practice and learner success or the lack of it, or learner response • Of course one has to establish what constitutes success (passing an exam, an ability to perform certain functions in English?); To give a test directly after the classes? But did they learn as a direct result of the class, or through some other factor(knew it already// cheated…).

8. CLASSROOM OBSERVATION POINTS. • The setting, what effect the physical setting of the classroom may have on learners/teachers. • Human variables, such as gender, age, L1, L1 Culture and how this affects learner behaviour,i.e. in strategy use. • Interactions; what kind of interactions take place, i.e. in asking questions, who answers, teacher asking questions, techniques and response to questions , leaner response to teacher feedback.

9. Structured observation • The focus on the observation • The frequency of the observations • The length of the observation • Nature of entry, ticks, crosses • Access to the observation environment • Observer presence • Observation notes

10. EXAMPLE OF OBSERVATION IN PRACTICE • Teacher and participant observation. • Observing the teachers actually teaching may not only provide extra data but point to specific instances where the teacher was mistaken or misguided in what they claimed about their own TG use. • Lesson observations are used as a further source of data; complementing interview data.

11. Access • As a student in a department of Language and Linguistics I had no standing that would have allowed me to insist on access • Permission obtained from the appropriate director or head of department first, before approaching individual teachers. • I explained to the teachers who had agreed to the observation what the purpose of my study was, how the observations would help in data gathering and analysis, and how I would go about the actual observation in the lesson itself

12. OBSERVATION INSTRUMENT 2 • 36.Student question. Vocab. • 37.On TG task. • 38-40. Task related student activity.summary. • 41-44.OnTG task. • 45. Task related student activity.summary. • 46-47.Task related teacher act.question,vocab. • 48.Task related student act.summary. • 49.-50.Task related Teacher/Student act.discuss. • 51-57.On TG task. • 58-59. Topic related, student/class management. • 59-60. Topic related. Teacher monitors,elicits answers. • 61-82. On TG task. • 83.Topic related, student activity. • 84-87. On TG task. • 88.Course related, IELTS exam. • 89.On TG task. • 90. Class finishes.

13. PARTICIPANT OBSERVATION • In Participant Observation of my own class taking observation notes was clearly impossible during the class itself, classes were recorded and the observation instrument filled in soon after the class with the aid of the recording • My main concern was to find out when/why/what the teacher (in Participant Observation, myself) deviated from the TG plan or TG-suggested activities for the lesson

14. REFERENCES • Allwright, D. 1988. Observation in the language classroom. London. • Hopkins, D. 2008. A teachers Guide to Classroom research. Open University (in paperback or as online book from library website) • Brown , J. 1995. Observing Dimensions of Learning in Classrooms and Schools. Online Book. • Waynryb, R. 1992. Classroom Observation Tasks: a Resource Book for Language Teachers and Trainers. Cambridge • Ragosta, M. 2011. Reliability in Classroom Observation. • Cohen, Manion, Morrison. 2011. Research methods in Education. Routledge • Slimani, A. 1989. The Teaching/Learning Relationship: Learning Opportunities and Learning Outcomes. An Algerian Case Study. Unpublished PhD. Thesis. Lancaster University UK. • Slimani, A. 1992. Evaluation of Classroom Interaction. In Alderson, Berreta,Evaluating Second Language Education. Cambridge.