OBSERVATION TASKS

DAY ONE: OBSERVATION OF TUTOR/EXPERIENCED TEACHER

When observing today’s lesson, consider the points below. What is there about the classroom, the
activities, the teacher and the students that helps to create conditions for effective learning?
The Classroom
Make notes on the classroom, considering seating arrangements, teaching aids, pairing/grouping of
students and how these are changed during the lesson.

The Teacher
Comment on the rapport between teacher and students. What is the teacher’s role at various stages of the
lesson? What is the balance between teacher and student talking time? Comment on the teacher’s
instructions and use of voice. How does he/she get the student’s attention?

The Learners
How motivated are they? Why? Are they taking part in their own learning? Is the teacher challenging them
or doing most of the work him/herself? What did they learn in this lesson?

The Activities
Make notes of the activities used. What did students actually do? What was the balance between teacher
and student involvement? How were the activities set up and brought to a close?

Summary
What will you take away from this lesson?

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 OBSERVATION TASKS (NOTE – TUTORS MAY CHOOSE TO GIVE YOU AN ON-THE-SPOT
OBSERVATION TASK BEFORE TP INSTEAD OF THE ONES INCLUDED HERE)

OBSERVATION TASK 1: LEARNER/CLASS PROFILE

Name, Sex Mario Puntillo
and Age Female

37

Country and Italy

L1
Italian

Reasons for Better job

Learning opportunities
English
Wants to watch
the news in
English

Level of High School

Education

Previous 5 years high

English school, 2 years
Study part-time in
language
schools

Learning Very kinesthetic

Styles and and talkative,
Preferences, likes group
Level of work, prefers
Motivation spoken English
to
writing/reading,
tends to
dominate at
times, very
motivated
Level High
Intermediate

Mid B2
2-3 General Speaking
Strengths Pronunciation

2-3 General Reading

Areas for Writing
Development Grammar

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 Task 2: Rapport and Dynamics

Teacher 1 Teacher 2 Teacher 3

1) Did they introduce themselves

and write their name on the board?

2) Did they use the learners’ names?

3) Did they smile?

4) Did they speak to them as if they

were children instead of adults?

5) Did learners share anything

personal/about themselves of
interest?

6) Did they show interest in the

content of what learners were
saying?

7) Were they able to have a laugh or

joke with them at any point?

8) Did they allow learners sufficient

time to speak

9) Did they use a combination of a)

sitting b) standing, and c)
monitoring, circulating? If ONLINE,
did they circulate in breakout rooms
to monitor students?
10) Was there enough variety of
interaction patterns: individual, pair,
group, whole class?

11) How many times did they praise

individual learners? What about the
whole class?

12) Were they relaxed? What could

they do to feel more relaxed or
confident?

13) Do you notice any, fidgeting,

speaking too fast/too much/too
loud/too softly, repeating something
like “Okay” a lot, etc.?

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 Task 3: Teacher Talk

Teacher 1 Teacher 2 Teacher 3

1) How was the volume of

their voice?
2) Are they able to vary their
volume depending on
whether they are talking to
individual learners or the
whole group?

3) Was their own use of

language accurate?

4) Was their own speech

clear?
5) Was their use of
language appropriately
graded, i.e. for this level of
learner?

6) Did they resort to

inappropriately simplified
English at any point?

7) Did they speak to them

as if they were children
instead of adults?
8) How was the quantity of
their Teacher Talking Time
(TTT)?
9) What effect on rapport do
they think too much TTT
has?
10) Were there any
examples of effective
eliciting in their lesson?
What were they?
12) Were there any
ineffective examples of
eliciting from their lesson?

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 Task 4: Setting Up Tasks

Teacher 1 Teacher 2 Teacher 3

1) Were they able to

successfully get the
attention of the whole
group?

2) Were the activities

demoed effectively
before materials were
handed out?

3) If yes, how did they

achieve this? If not,
what could they do to
achieve this more
successfully in
subsequent lessons?

4) Were instructions
clear and concise?
(Please provide specific
examples.)

5) What could they do

to improve their
instructions?

6) Do learners change
pairs/groups? Does this
work effectively?
Why/why not?

7) Were there times

when Ss seemed
unsure of what the task
was? Which tasks
were these specifically?

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 Task 5: Staging and Aims
Write down the stages of the lesson and record the aims of each, adding some comments on the
effectiveness of each stage in achieving its aim and thinking about how logically staged the lesson is.

Teacher 1 Teacher 2 Teacher 3 Teacher 4

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 Task 6: Monitoring Effectively

1) Notice how the teacher monitors. Are they milling around the room or are they actually doing something.
Note what they appear to be doing.

Teacher 1 Teacher 2 Teacher 3 Teacher 4

2) Is there support for weaker learners? Write examples of this. If not, how could they be supported?

Teacher 1 Teacher 2 Teacher 3 Teacher 4

3) Are stronger learners kept busy? Write examples of this. If not, how could they be kept busy.

Teacher 1 Teacher 2 Teacher 3 Teacher 4

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 Task 7: Things I’d Like to Steal
As you observe your colleagues, note activities or techniques that you think are particularly effective and
that you would like to use. Write what the activity or technique is, how it’s carried out exactly and why it is
effective. For example, one colleague might have effective lead-in activities, or another might be especially
good at keeping students engaged during feedback stages. You may also want to ‘lend’ the teachers a
technique that would help them next time they teach.

Activity/Technique How it’s carried out Why it’s effective

Teacher 1

Teacher 2

Teacher 3

Teacher 4

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 Task 8: Lesson Planning
Look at your colleagues’ lesson plans. Name 3 things that were successfully planned:

Planning Strength 1 Planning Strength 2 Planning Strength 3

Teacher 1

Teacher 2

Teacher 3

Teacher 4

Name 3 things that were successful in the delivery of the lesson:

Teaching Strength 1 Teaching Strength 2 Teaching Strength 3

Teacher 1

Teacher 2

Teacher 3

Teacher 4

Name three things that you would do differently/could be improved on in delivery:

Change 1 Change 2 Change 3

Teacher 1

Teacher 2

Teacher 3

Teacher 4

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 Task 9: Task Achievement

1) Comment on task achievement, e.g. how successful were learners at completing the tasks today?
● Consider level of difficulty (too easy/difficult?).
● What did they struggle with and why was this a problem for them? (e.g. too difficult, unclear task
setting, unfamiliar topic etc)
● What support were the learners who found it difficult provided with to help them towards successful
achievement of the task?
● How were stronger Ss challenged?

Teacher 1 Teacher 2 Teacher 3 Teacher 4

2) Overall, what did learners really learn from the lesson today?

Teacher 1 Teacher 2 Teacher 3 Teacher 4

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 Task 10: Changeover

This task depends on which class you are observing.

If you are observing your current class then answer questions 1-2.
If you are observing the new group, answer questions 3-6.
In both cases, answer questions 7-8.

1) What advice would you give the new teachers taking on your group in terms of:

Planning

Teaching

2) What are your old group’s primary, ongoing learning priorities/needs at this point?

3) What do you suspect are the new group’s primary learning priorities/needs?

4) What do you anticipate you will need to focus on in with the new level in terms of your own teaching?

5) What advice would you like/questions do you have about the new group in terms of:

Planning

Teaching

6) What do you anticipate the new teachers will need to focus on in terms of their own teaching skills when
they move to your old class?

(Continues on next page)

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 TASK 10 (CONT.)
7) Consider how successfully this particular lesson worked for this particular group of learners in terms
of delivery. Name three things that were most successful:

Teaching Strength 1 Teaching Strength 2 Teaching Strength 3

Teacher 1

Teacher 2

Teacher 3

8) Name three things that you would do differently/could be improved on in delivery:

Change 1 Change 2 Change 3

Teacher 1

Teacher 2

Teacher 3

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 Task 11: Feedback

Feedback helps consolidate what learners have learnt, especially when learners found something difficult.
Feedback can be done in a number of ways. Today we will focus on whole class feedback (WCFB). Whole
class feedback can come in many forms:
● the teacher providing a clear conclusion to a task

● praise/acknowledgement

● acknowledging and responding to the content of what learners say

● acknowledging/praising/correcting the language that learners use

● providing the answers on a handout/on the board/orally

● eliciting the answers orally

● getting learners to write up answers on the board

Play close attention to the whole class feedback that all the teachers collectively provide today.

Write down the different types of feedback techniques. Which did you see? (e.g. elicited orally from the
learners, written on the board, a handout etc..)

Teacher 1 Teacher 2 Teacher 3 Teacher 4

Did any of the teachers provide feedback to the content of what learners had to say, (i.e. the message
rather than the language)?

Teacher 1 Teacher 2 Teacher 3 Teacher 4

Did any of the teachers provide feedback on the learners’ performance of the task/activity? (e.g. praise, or
concluding the task with a clear ‘winner’ or prize).

Teacher 1 Teacher 2 Teacher 3 Teacher 4

Did any of the teachers provide error correction of any actual language errors? If yes, provide
examples. If no, what errors did you notice. Provide examples.

Teacher 1 Teacher 2 Teacher 3 Teacher 4

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 Task 12: Achievement of Aims/Learning Outcomes

1a) Answer this question for the teachers who taught a language focused lesson (grammar,
vocabulary, functions). How effective were their techniques for clarifying meaning, form, pronunciation
(e.g. eliciting, concept checking, drilling, highlighting form, guided discovery etc.) AND/OR how effective
were their feedback and correction techniques?

Teacher 1 Teacher 2 Teacher 3

1b) Answer this question if one of the teachers taught a skills lesson (reading, listening, speaking,
writing), How did they make sure that learners actually did the tasks in the way that they wanted them to
and thereby practiced or developed what they actually wanted them to practice/develop?

Teacher 1 Teacher 2 Teacher 3

(Continued on next page.)

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2) What issues did learners have with what the teachers were teaching them? Provide concrete evidence
for this, e.g. examples of specific errors, completing tasks incorrectly etc. Did they support learners with
these issues? If yes, how did they do this? If not, how could they have supported them to help them better
achieve the aims/learning outcomes?

Teacher 1 Teacher 2 Teacher 3

3) What do you think the teacher’s lesson aims were?

Teacher 1
Aims

Teacher 2
Aims

Teacher 3
Aims

4) Do you think these were met? Why/Why not?

Teacher 1
Achievement
of Aims

Teacher 2
Achievement
of Aims
Teacher 3
Achievement
of Aims

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 Task 13: Self-Directed Task
Each teacher teaching today will provide you with an observation task that they have designed to help
him or her focus on specific areas of their choosing.
Ensure that you have a copy of this and that you complete the right task for the right teacher!
OR
If you have not been given this task, make some general observation notes below:

Teacher 1

Teacher 2

Teacher 3

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 Task 14: Peer’s Progress

For each colleague you observe today, try to note at least three ways that they have improved. Try to be
as specific as possible so that your colleagues have concrete ideas to take away with them.

Teacher 1 Teacher 2 Teacher 3

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 Task 15: The lesson as a Journey

Observe the lesson today, and draw your impression of it. (Draw the lesson, not the classroom, i.e. see it
as a journey.) You will present your picture to the teacher during feedback (as a gift) and provide some
explanation of it to the group. Be as creative (or as literal) as you want. If you’re creatively inclined, feel
free to go wild!

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 OBSERVATION OF EXTERNAL TEACHER

1. Describe the teacher’s rapport.

2. Is there a balance of activities?

3. How long does each stage of the lesson last?

4. What is the balance of students’ to teacher talking time?

5. How effective are the instructions?

6. Are there a variety of interaction patterns?

7. In what ways is the class, and the way it was run, different from the classes you've observed on
the CELTA course?

8. In what ways were the students similar and different from our students on the CELTA course?

9. What did you discover from the experience of attending a class at a language school?

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