Tutor demonstrates sound knowledge and awareness of the use of English and the linguistic systems underlying it, and provides appropriate models of spoken and written English.

Examples of best practice:

• Models on the board include parts of speech, phonetic script and stress marks.
• Models of pronunciation provided for individual words and words in connected speech.
• Examples and explanations are: relevant; concise; memorable.
• Teachers demonstrate awareness of register (written and spoken).
• Teachers demonstrate awareness of L1 interference.

The content of the lessons shows that the course objectives, the learning needs and cultural backgrounds of the students have been taken into account.

Examples of good practice:

• Detailed class profiles showing in-depth awareness of individuals’ strengths and needs.
• Evidence of sensitivity to learners’ pace of learning and need for further practice.
• Relevant additional activities provided to challenge able learners.
• Written reinforcement included to meet visual learners’ needs and account taken of non-Roman script learners.
• Provision made for students with special educational needs.
• For young learners, activities involving movement are included

Lessons lead to relevant learning outcomes, made known to students and achieved through a coherent sequence of activities.

Examples of good practice

• Learning outcomes are clear, checked and noted.
• Obvious movement from familiar to unfamiliar.
• Potential difficulties identified and preempted.
• Possibility of varying the plan is acknowledged.
• Explicit link between student profiles and content/structure of lesson.
• Lessons appropriately staged.
• Warmers (if used) are relevant to learning aim or topic; for YLs warmers (if used) motivate and prepare students for learning.
• Supplementary material provided to support core materials to give sufficient time and opportunities for practice.
• Activities lead on to relevant homework.

Teaching techniques are appropriate to the focus of the lesson and to the needs of the group and individual learners.

Examples of good practice

• Evidence of confident use of range of techniques when needed, including appropriate elicitation, prompting and concept checking.
• Regular and integrated checking of understanding of meaning takes place.
• Teachers demonstrate ability to teach language in relation to different skills with explicit focus on subskills. Reference to VLE for later follow-up work.
• Evidence of adaptation for students with special educational needs.

Tutors promote learning by the effective management of the classroom environment and resources.

Examples of best practice:

• You model the activity and asks clear ICQs to ensure your students knows what to do
• Your student has a comfortable seat and table to work at which is well lit and at a comfortable temperature e,g, a quiet room in the house where you won’t be disturbed by other household members
• You prepare and use visually appealing materials which are error free e.g. the resources on the ITL portal
• You supplement, omit, adapt or replace any activities in a course book to meet the needs of the student e.g. replacing a reading text in a coursebook with one that is more appropriate to the student’s interests

Students receive appropriate and timely feedback on their performance during the lesson.

Examples of best practice:

• You note down some key strengths and errors to use in feedback after a task
• You have a clear correction code for written feedback which you’ve explained to your student
• You use subtle gestures e.g. 3 fingers to indicate the 3^rd person or encouraging facial gestures as your student is performing a task so as not to interrupt and encourage accuracy and fluency
• You give balanced feedback on both positives and challenges that the student has in productive skills activities

Lessons include activities to evaluate whether learning is taking place.

Examples of best practice:

• You use concept checking questions that require short answers, are unambiguous and clearly demonstrate to the tutor that your student has understood the meaning – these can be scripted in the lesson plan
• You use a variety of assessment techniques that don’t feel like “tests” to help students naturally see their progress e.g. video diaries and comparing the student’s speaking ability at the beginning and end.  Using KWL charts, brain diagrams that “fill up” with knowledge over the course etc.

Tutors demonstrate the ability to engage students and create a positive learning atmosphere.

Examples of good practice

• Teachers demonstrate awareness of, and ability to deal with, L1 needs.
• Teachers mediate appropriately in potentially problematic cultural topics.
• Styles of learning (visual/auditory/kinaesthetic) and special educational needs are dealt with.
• Evidence of knowledge of individuals’ lives and experience (teacher to student and student to student).
• Teachers demonstrate good balance of student-student and teacher-student talking time; clear instructions; good checking; good voice projection; pacing; good awareness of learners; good use of pair work; good use of names/nomination.
• Teachers have effective strategies for controlling use of LI. Variety of activities in evidence.
• Changing groups/interactions takes place seamlessly.
• Teachers change activity as a result of unanticipated needs.
• Learners are totally engaged.

Student: xxx              Level:         B1

My student’s background and reasons for doing this course.

xxx is a native Spanish speaker living in Switzerland. She learned English and German at school and currently works as a House Mistress in an international boarding school.  She has learned a lot of useful English on the job but now feels that she would like to change jobs to one with more sociable hours and so is in the UK to help her build her speaking confidence for an interview as well as her writing ability to respond to job adverts

 Learning Outcomes

My learning outcomes for this lesson, i.e. the skills / systems the student will have acquired, or be better at, by the end of the lesson. The main learning outcome is listed first.

Primary focus: xxx will be able to write a job application email

Secondary focus: xxx will better understand different cohesive writing devices that help signpost the reader

Lesson fit

What came before the lesson and what it will lead on to

• In the previous lesson we started looking at paragraph writing using starting and finishing sentences
• We have been studying some discourse markers in class
• We worked on job related lexis in one of last week’s lessons
• We have done some writing in class and she needs to work on cohesion by building the sentences into a paragraph
• We will go on to work on reading skills where understanding cohesion will be extremely useful

Language Analysis:

Cohesive Devices:

How I will evidence that learning has taken place:

Xxx will be able to write an email using the cohesive devices

The materials I am using, e.g. my own materials and / or the page numbers of books:

I will use a Task-teach-Task approach

Own materials – emails that I have adapted for the purpose of the lesson

The aims for my own teaching:

To ensure a writing lesson is interactive and communicative and that my clarification stage is effective 

I anticipate the following problems for my student and have planned to overcome them as described below:

Ellipsis

Students are taught that in English sentences have Subject – Verb – Object so missing out a subject or verb seems alien to her

The highlighting stage will bring this to light and then during the clarification stage I will focus on the technique explaining that it is not necessary when in fact it has been included earlier on in the phrase.  During monitoring I will check she is doing it correctly and help where necessary.

Variety of conjunctions

We will be looking at several conjunctions with similar meanings e.g. along with, as well as etc

I will use patterning to show where and how conjunctions can be used so that she can take home a written record (see above)

“-ing” form

Using the finite “–ing” form after “to” is also alien to students who are used to using the infinitive.

During the clarification stage I will draw her attention to it and remind her that the frame is “in addition to” + “ing” not “in addition” + “to +ing” (see above).

I find this helps students remember the structure better and causes less confusion

 Time

 Procedure for Achieving Learning Outcomes

 T>S

 S>T

Welcome- and check homework

5

Warmer- my ideal job.  Using different pictures to elicit jobs and the skills they require.  Discuss which one would be ideal and which skills student thinks they have – can she give examples of these skills in action?  Are there any skills missing?  T makes notes of these to use in speaking extension activity

5

Task - T gives S application letter with some simple comprehension questions to check meaning

10

Teach – worksheet with guiding questions for s to notice cohesive devices.  Inductive approach so s builds understanding of the devices used in terms of Meaning and Form.

15

Task – T asks s to write a job application letter using some of the cohesive devices from the lesson.

15

Speaking extension activity – Teacher “interviews” student for the job she’s applied for focusing on the skills identified in 1^st task. T records the interview using S’ phone.

5

Teacher:

Xxx

Student:          

Xxx

Course type:    

Super Intensive English for Work

Level:  

B1

Date:  

Xxx

Observer:

Director of Studies

Things to continue:

• Lovely rapport and she was happy to ask you for support
• Clear objectives for the student for the day’s lesson
• Lovely reformulation and encouragement
• Good review of the previous day’s lesson
• She’s doing most of the talking and work J
• Meaningful and motivating context
• Clear lesson staging and flow – moved well from controlled to freer practice
• Good use of student’s answers from Task 1 in the final interview so it feels as though you’ve really listened to her
• Lovely idea to record so she has a record of the interview to use again

Things to consider:

• A quick focus on some pronunciation issues in the final roundup so she’s aware of the phonemes she can work on
• I agree with your point on the CV

Overall comments and suggested points for action

• A lovely lesson xx which was well planned and staged and focused on xxx needs.  You taught everything using a meaningful context which was relevant and level appropriate for the student.  There was also a clear continuation from previous lessons and she obviously felt comfortable and at ease with you.
• There was a nice mix of skills development together with the cohesive devices and the proportion of STT to TTT was very appropriate.
• Thank you very much for providing the materials and the recording.