Observation Task: Clarifying language
Part 1: Focus on parts of the lesson when the teacher clarifies language for the students.
Consider points when the students ask for clarification and when the teacher actively seeks
to check understanding.
Key area Which techniques were used to help How effective were the
students? E.g. concept checking techniques?
questions, visual aids, boardwork,
drilling etc.
Teaching the TL: CCQs, visual aids, The techniques were very
Meaning drilling, finger pointing, visual aids useful and engaging as they
(pictures), body language, boardwork, were student-centred. Sts were
repetition. able to understand and answer
Stomachache
T’s questions.
CCQs – What is another word for sick? Ill
Visual aids – T shows a drawing and says
that this is her friend Fred who is always
sick. T shows another picture and asks
sts: Who is this? Sts reply the doctor.
What is the problem? T elicits the
answer from the students by pointing to
the stomach and saying Auch.
Toothache: T shows picture; elicits the
answer from the students: toothache
Headache – same as for the previous
words.
T elicits from the students what the
doctor would ask the patient: What’s
the matter? Or What’s the problem? T
points that the most natural is What’s
the matter?
T shows the pictures a few times to
ensure sts learnt the TL.
T uses body language to show where the
pain is.
Practicing: Students role play the doctor
and the patient.
one is the doctor and the other is the
patient (What’s the matter? I’ve
got….Oh dear!) (T monitors, corrects
their pronunciation and praises sts.)
The techniques were effective
Form T uses the fingers to show the correct as students were able to
form of the sentence: He has got remember which words
stomachache. He’s got stomachache. needed the article and which
ones didn’t i.e. stomachache vs
T drills chorally: Students repeat the
a cough.
correct form and pronunciation of the
sentence.
Headache: He’s got a headache.
Cough: He’s got a cough. T uses fingers
to show the correct form, pointing a
cough.
T boards What’s the matter and asks
what is ‘s is
I’ve got stomachache what is this
word: ‘ve have
What about he? He’s got = he has got
T boards all the words and sentences
and checks forms and pronunciation all
over again. It was initially done orally,
now she also boards it.
She boards all the words and sentences
and highlights where it’s necessary to
use the article: stomachache – no
article; a cough – needs article.
T shows a word and students have to
say a suggestion. You should go to bed .
Asks students if go to the bed is correct.
The techniques were effective
Pronunciation Sts have to identify where the stress as sts learnt and were able to
falls: stomach. He’s got stomachache. produce the correct
pronunciation of the TL.
Toothache: T shows the students where
the tongue goes in order to pronounce
the word correctly. Drilling of
pronunciation.
Temperature- T claps to show the
syllabic separation of the word: tem-
pera-ture. T drills pronunciation
individually.
T models corrects intonation for: What’s
the matter? And Oh dear!
Boardwork:
T boards What’s the matter and marks
the stress with square bullet.
She marks with square bullet the stress
for all the words and elicits the
information from the students.
T asks students to spell the word should.
You should go to the dentist: where is
the stress? Drilling chorally and
individually
T didn’t deal with appropriacy in these 2
Appropriacy videos.
Part 2: Choose three clarification techniques which you would like to incorporate into your own
teaching:
1) Eliciting answers from students.
2) Body language and eliciting TL from students
3) Pair’s correction: asking students for the correct form or pronunciation.
4) Great use of visuals. I want to improve that too.
