FSU TEFL 120

For my fifth and final class observation, I attended Professor Ryan Flemming's advanced level speaking class on Thursday, May 26th. The class began with a student-led, socratic-style discussion on the topic: should adults in America be allowed to carry a concealed weapon? A student introduced the topic with background information, then everyone took turns speaking. I was very impressed by the tenor of the conversation and the way students consistently treated each other with respect. I do not believe a class of American college students could have an equally open and civil conversation about guns. After the conversation wrapped up, Professor Flemming asked students to work on an ongoing project where they chose a topic to survey FSU students on. 

For my fourth class observation, I attended Professor Olivia James' advanced level speaking class on Wednesday, May 18th. This was my time observing an advanced class, and I noticed that, like our textbook suggested, the lesson appeared to focus more on the content of conversations than other speaking classes, which placed more emphasis on learning grammar and sentence structure. Professor James began the class by showing students a TED Talk on the topic of loneliness. She used the video as an introduction to a class conversation about loneliness and the difficulty of making real connections in the digital era. Professor James for the most part let students guide the conversation, pausing to correct their mistakes or answer questions students had about vocabulary. The topic of loneliness also had specific relevance for the students, who may be homesick or struggling to form new connections in the US. It created a strengthened sense of community in the classroom. 

For my third class observation, I attended Dr. Angel Rios's speaking class on May 16th. Dr. Rios began the class with a causal conversation, asking students what they did over the weekend. I thought the conversation was a clever warm-up activity because it helped ease students into have conversations in English and gave them a chance to practice speaking about everyday topics. The students were practicing using sentences with gerunds that day and Dr. Rios prefaced the main lesson with a quick grammar lesson to ensure students had the necessary baseline knowledge. Dr. Rios kept the main lesson interactive by regularly asking students for examples of "trigger verbs" that may signal the appearance of a gerund. After the lesson students were divided into pairs and asked to create their own conversations including trigger verbs and gerunds. Dr. Rios walked around the classroom and checked-in with students to see if they needed help. Then the pairs presented their conversations...