I observed Angel Rios’s Group 3 Grammar class this morning.
I’m really glad I went to this particular group’s lesson because I had been to
Group 2 in my previous two observations. It was really interesting to see the differences
between the two sections with regard to knowledge of the English language.
Angel was lively and seemingly happy, regardless of a fractured finger on his
right hand. This is unfortunately on his dominant hand, making it difficult for
him to write on the board. Despite this, he went through a detailed lecture on “Infinitives
vs. Gerunds.” He drew a large Venn diagram on the whiteboard and labeled each
circle accordingly. Angel is very interactive with his students; he likes to
ask a lot of questions to make sure the students are paying attention and
(hopefully) enjoying the lesson. He asked students to call out the functions of
infinitives (noun, adjective, adverb) and gerunds (noun), respectively. He then
detailed their uses within the diagram. I won’t go through each point, but it
was a very cohesive lesson that was easy to follow. Along the way, Angel asked
the students basic grammar questions to support his lesson, such as, “What does
an object do?” or “How does an adverb function in a sentence?” Following the
lecture portion, he asked the students to take out a sheet of paper and,
working together, construct a sentence for each use of the infinitive or
gerund. It turned out that the students didn’t want to work together (unclear
why?), but they successfully completed the assignment. This only took about 10
minutes, after which Angel called on different students to read their sentences
aloud. I think Angel is a very competent and sincere instructor, and it is very
clear that he is passionate about his work. His students are very lucky!
You made a good point! Every group is different, but the biggest difference is usually between Group 2 and Group 3. For Group 2 students, you still need to simplify your language, but teachers usually don't modify their language in Group 3 classes.
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