Overall I was relatively happy with the lesson idea that I came up with. I thought it was quite contemporary and highlighted a fascinating little facet of current American culture. I was also pleased with the lesson plan; it was simple and straightforward but entirely appropriate for the lesson. In the end I was also quite happy with the in-class delivery of the lesson. However, upon reflection I think there were some issues and problems which I should probably have anticipated in the planning stage.
Going into the planning stage I was looking forward to applying and using Moran’s cultural knowings framework as a guide and template. In particular I was excited to come up with a cultural experience the students could actually perform. The experiential focus of the framework is one of the most compelling aspects. Initially I have to say I was at a loss as to a topic or subject and discarded several poor ideas. For instance, I was going to explain the history and cultural background of why people in the West clink (chink) their glasses when saying cheers or giving toasts. I thought this would be great; I could use realia and bring in some cups and a non-alcoholic beverage and actually practice it like that. However, I mistakenly believed the history stemmed from a fear of being poisoned. When I researched the topic I found out this was an urban myth. The real history is far less interesting and far more difficult to succinctly explain in a ten minute lesson. So after a couple of similar disappointments I settled on something presumed to be relatively mundane; the evolution of the handshake. Clearly the handshake alone is too bland so I wanted to show how even hand gestures evolve over time and incorporated the high five and the new, Obama approved, upstart hand gesture – the fist bump.
Having settled on a topic I tried to think what the best TLC would be to actually deliver it. Because I wanted to deliver a highly interactive, participatory lesson where the students actually do all the actions I introduce, it seemed a pretty obvious choice to use the present continuous as the language goal. I felt this choice, along with the chosen subject matter, represented a neat marriage of target language content and cultural content. The subject matter is, I believe, interesting cultural content for any student with even a passing interesting in American culture or recent American history. I think showing that the fist bump gesture actually has roots in the Vietnam War is fascinating and reveals the deeper cultural elements at work behind what may initially appear to be a trivial act. Furthermore, I felt that the evolution model provided a logical and understandable flow that should be easy to follow and comprehend. Once these two elements were decided on the lesson came together quite quickly.
I decided that right from the beginning I wanted the students to be actively participating in the lesson physically and actively using the TLC straight away. I wanted every minute of the lesson to be packed with comprehensible input and interaction. The topic dictated the lesson in a way. I knew I wanted the students to do each gesture so I knew I would have to show pictures, then give an example, model the TLC, use some choral repetition and then have them practice both the gesture and TLC with a partner. So all I had to do was get some good images and videos for a PowerPoint presentation that I could refer to throughout the lesson. This way I could show them examples, show them the TLC, use the images to elicit information and generally have something to bounce off. I think the MIC techniques I used worked really well in delivering the TLC and the basic premise of the cultural topic. The response to the visuals was positive (the gif’s seemed to be popular) and the students appeared to respond well to the teacher’s encouraging body language. I tried to use lots of repetition and lots of rephrasing which appeared to help. I think the classroom interaction was also quite successful; the students seemed to enjoy and have fun practicing the gestures with each other. They were quite eager participants in the choral repetition too.
In retrospect, although I was happy with the lesson and would use it with my own students as a warm-up, I now feel it may have been a little too superficial in its description of the cultural content. I was happy with the ‘knowing how’ stage where the students actually get to do the cultural practise; they watched examples, they watched me give an example with a student and they got to practice with each other. I felt the ‘knowing about’ stage was fine; the PowerPoint did a good job of showing the different gestures in authentic contexts. The homework exercise I would have given covered the ‘knowing oneself’ part reasonably well by inviting the students to reflect on which gesture they liked the best and when would they use it. But I feel the ‘knowing why’ stage where the students should discover explanations was a little weak. The information I presented was fine in itself just not as comprehensive as it perhaps could have been. However, I would not want to go too deep as the activity is designed as a warm up. If I was going to expand it to a full lesson then I would embellish and add significantly more cultural and historical information.
One thing I would like to mention is just how nerve wracking it is giving any kind of presentation to your peers. I have no qualms about standing in front of my classes and co-teachers but giving a presentation to a class of peers is such a nerve wracking experience. I would have hoped that as you get older this feeling would fade but in my case it definitely has not. I feel just as nervous now giving presentations as I did as an undergraduate! I would even be less nervous just giving the presentations to the teachers. I am not sure how to work on this.
Ultimately, I was happy with the lesson; although nervous the in class teaching went well; the content was quite interesting and seemed to engage the students; the TLC was appropriate and effectively delivered and the TLC seemed to work well in conjunction with the cultural content. I look forward to planning more substantial lessons based around Moran’s ideas in the future.
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