Emily_CO_3

I observed Angel Rios’s speaking class on Thursday.  He had the agenda written on the board and went over it with the class.  They started off by reviewing speech acts, which are types of expression depending on the situation and context.  They had homework on this topic the night before, and they went over the answers as a class.  Angel called on people for their answers.  The atmosphere of the class was comfortable.  People were willing to answer and converse about what they’re learning.  Angel used funny, real-life examples for the students, which will help them remember the concepts better in the future.  If a student got an incorrect answer to one of the questions, Angel would simply ask them “why” instead of saying it’s wrong.  This method gives a more positive washback, and when the students give reasoning for their answers, Angel recognizes the validity of their thought processes before explaining why that wouldn’t be the best answer. 

Next, Angel showed the class some videos of previous CIES students (who gave him permission to show the videos) performing the projects that they are supposed to plan and perform the following day.  He wanted them to notice the things that they should and should not do.  Angel asked the students what they thought, and they concluded that body language and voice volume are very important.  The skits are free topic.  The students spent the remaining class time getting in pairs and planning out the dialogue of their skits.  Angel walked around, listened, observed, and answered questions during group time.  He also talked to me for a little bit during this time.  He told me that the students used to do audio recordings, but when he gave feedback on things such as covering up the mouth while speaking and other body language quirks, some of the students were in denial.  He said that the students are given a copy of their video for a self-assessment, and this way, they can see for themselves.  Another thing that Angel did during group time was checking the students’ vocabulary notebooks for progress.  They have to add new words that they’ve learned to their books with either a definition or translation.
Angel is a really good teacher.  I actually met him a while ago and have helped babysit his children, who he’s raising to be bilingual (English and Spanish). He works really hard and cares a lot about his job.