Caroline CO #1

Group 3A Grammar Observation

Sana McHarek

January 15, 2020

This past Wednesday, I had the pleasure of observing a grammar class for intermediate level CIES students. The class was comprised of only six students and many were chatting with each other before class began. Already in observation mode, Professor McHarek gently reminded students to speak English when conversing with one another, reinforcing the notion that English must be practiced in all social settings and not just in the academic sphere. Class began with a review of some "beautiful mistakes" from the previous lecture, in which the students were asked to partner up and examine the sentences on the board for grammatical and structural errors. Remaining an active part of the class, Professor McHarek listened in on the student's discussions and offered guidance when necessary. Calling on students to correct the mistakes, Professor McHarek made sure that students were not only able to correctly identify the grammatical errors but could also elaborate on the grammatical rule that conditioned the correct answer. Much of the remaining class time was spent on adjective clauses, with several activities introduced to practice using the grammar mechanism in a real world context. One of the teaching strategies I noted was the use of an inductive learning technique in which the class completed a grammar activity on adjective clauses before Professor McHarek introduced the broader concept. I also really enjoyed how encouraging Professor McHarek was to all the students. Even when they made mistakes or didn't understand the question, she remained upbeat and positive and praised the students for their continued engagement with the class material. Overall, I really enjoyed observing the class and I am glad that I was able to see the teaching practices we have discussed extensively in class implemented in a real world classroom context.