Caroline CO #3

Group 4A: Listening Observation 

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Ryan Flemming

This past Tuesday, I had the pleasure of observing Ryan Flemming's advanced listening class from 2:00 to 2:50 PM. The class size was relatively small for a CIES course, with only six students in attendance. Professor Flemming began the class by reviewing the plan for the week, which included an upcoming comprehension and vocabulary quiz on Thursday. He spent the first several minutes of the lecture reviewing the expectations for the upcoming quiz including the structure, content, and grading parameters. From my observations, the quiz will engage both students listening and writing skills as the bulk of the exam is composed of listening to the definition and writing down the correct terminology. After the review, the class transitioned into their active listening activity. As part of an ongoing lesson, the students were listening to an academic lecture on births, marriages, and funerals while exercising their note taking abilities. The lecture was broken down into manageable time bites, with Professor Flemming pausing the lecture after each topic section to allow students to finish filling in their notes. They were then expected to review their notes with a classmate to fill in any information gaps. Given the advanced nature of the class, Professor Flemming didn't actively correct any mistakes he heard (as there wasn't many) instead opting to observe quietly and answer questions about the meaning behind certain American cultural practices when asked. The focus of the class was less on fixing mistakes and more about comprehending more complex cultural information. I really enjoyed observing an advanced level course after my previous observation experiences in lower level classes as it provided an opportunity to see how advanced English learners utilize resources outside the English textbook to further advance their language skills.