During each lesson, you should carefully observe the other members of your group as they teach, and make notes which will form the basis of your contribution to the feedback discussion. Use the following guidelines to help you in this task.
• Observe the teacher’s use of language. Does s/he grade her language appropriately to the students’ level? Does s/he talk too much? Note down any examples of language that could have been simplified or instances where the teacher was talking unnecessarily.
• Observe the teacher’s instructions. Were they understood by the students? Were they clear and simple? Were they staged? Were there enough pauses? Were they checked? Did the teacher demonstrate where possible?
• Observe how the teacher deals with showing and checking meaning of either grammar or vocabulary.
• Observe what adaptations the teacher has made to the coursebook materials. Has s/he added or rejected anything? Are there any further changes you think s/he usefully could have made?
• Observe what use the teacher makes of eliciting and using questions to involve the students. How successful is s/he at keeping the students engaged? Are all students encouraged to participate equally?
• Observe how the teacher makes use of monitoring and gives feedback. What does s/he give feedback on? Is the feedback varied in style? Was s/he able to make use of things noticed during monitoring in feedback?
• Observe how the teacher responds to student errors. What techniques are employed to encourage self- or peer-correction? Were any errors ignored? Was it better to ignore them or not?
• Observe the stages in the teacher’s lesson. Were they coherent? What was the apparent stage aim of each stage?
• Observe the different types of interaction that take place between teacher and students during various sections of the lesson. How many different types of interaction do you see? Were the teacher’s responses usually appropriate or useful?
• Observe the different techniques the teacher uses for showing and checking understanding of meaning and form during the lesson. Also, does the teacher deal with pronunciation? How successful is s/he in these things?
