Olumayowa CO-2

On Monday, May 20th I observed Vicky Ledbetter's Foundations reading class to gain an understanding of how students at that level begin to learn English. As she walked into the class, the first thing she did was walk up to the whiteboard and write down her agenda for the day. She is very social with her five students, and it is obvious that when she converses with them she is trying to review topics that they have recently studied. She asked all the students about what they did on the weekend so that they could answer in the past tense and it was a very stimulating exercise even though they did not recognise that they were doing work.

The amazing part about this class is that all the students are really enthusiastic and happy to be there, they are always asking questions and trying to practice their English. It reminds me a lot about my own elementary language class where everyone was having a great time because we were learning about a culture that we knew so little about and were at the elementary level your progress seems so rapid. Before class these guys in Vicky's class were practicing their vocabulary, handwriting, grammar out of choice! I wonder if there is a way to keep student enthusiasm this high through the process of learning a language.

Their lesson of the day were readings from the night before and during the class, about Popcorn and "A Hard but Happy Life", then the students had to answer questions about the passages. Also they were handed a vocabulary list that had all the words for the week, this is how my Arabic class is structured and I really like that. During the lesson, none of them were hiding away because they all wanted to answer questions; Vicky never forgot to give them lots of praise. Because their immersion is just beginning, they all have lots of questions to ask the teacher and she makes sure to address everyone of them personally, which makes lessons move slowly but she does not allow the lesson to be carried away with questions. I guess at a Foundations level in reading, it might be preferable for the class to move pretty slowly.Vicky demonstrates and draws pictures as much as possible so the students get a lot of "lightbulb moments" in one class session.

She also advises students on their immersion in the United States, for instance I laughed when Ahmad said he was driving this weekend and she taught him about driving fast and the Police in Tallahassee (because speed limits are rarely enforced in Saudi Arabia so everyone drives crazy fast). Also I had a great time learning how to use the phrase "No way!" because she used the example:"What do you say if someone asks you, 'Do you want some bacon?'. You say 'No way!'" I should mention that all five students are Arab, even though the class have a very comfortable clubhouse-like feel, I could tell that they are strictly to speak English as much as possible.

I really like Vicky's teaching style and I'm sure that I'll be teaching students at this level a lot in my future so I have signed up to observe her Foundations speaking class next Tuesday. This also gives me the chance to see how eating lunch affects student performance/enthusiasm. So excited!