The importance of observing

When we observe someone teaching a language to young learners we see action and consequence in process.  We notice so much – how many in the class, how they are grouped, how the teacher uses the target language, how the children respond, the visuals on display and how activities are used.

Of course we normally have a definitive purpose in this task – a student teacher learning about classroom processes, a colleague assisting the regular teacher, a trainer observing a trainee. There’s often a checklist to be gone through.  But whatever the reason for the observation it allows us to imagine how we ourselves would teach.

Last week as I observed some lessons I was reminded of how valuable it can be for all teachers to have opportunities to watch themselves. Recording our lessons from time to time – by placing a camera on a desk or asking a colleague to help – gives us great opportunities to reflect on our practices. We can see so much about children’s interest and desire to be involved with the lesson – and what kind of action really helps maintain and encourage this attention.

There’s a lot to be learnt from the back of the class!