Reading Response Journal 6 1

Reading Response Journal 6

Richards & Lockhart (2013) talked about activities and the language used by the teacher

in the language learning classrooms. When it comes to activities, they mentioned “Lesson

planning usually begins with consideration of general goals for a lesson, and then leads to

decisions about the kinds of activities which will help attain these goals” (p.161). This means

that the activities should be representative of the goals the teachers are expecting the students to

achieve by the end of the lesson. As teachers, we should never create activities that can be

considered random or just be there to fill up the time. The opposite! We should create meaningful

activities that help our students reach the goals they are expected to obtain by the end of this

lesson or chapter. The number of activities should never be the main focus, the knowledge and

experience they bring should be that focus, specially that we know that our students are

extremely smart and would easily pick up and notice if that activity was meaningless to the

lesson.

Another aspect that we as educators should consider would be the types of activities. I

will be highlighting some such as presentation activities, comprehension and application, and

feedback activities. The first of these as the name applies, students are expected to present some

sort of content or information. We should be very careful with this since we all know the level of

stress and anxiety it can bring to our students. When creating such activities, teachers should

make sure that the classroom can be considered a safe environment for the students. A place

where they can talk, present, and make mistakes without worrying about harsh consequences.

Comprehension and application activities are when we ask our students to apply or use

the knowledge they have just learned during this classroom or chapter. This can be very

beneficial to the teacher as well since it can act as some sort of assessment of the students’
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learning and if anything needs to be revisited. This activity is extremely meaningful, and students

will appreciate it a lot specially if it was as a group activity. The students can learn from each

other, correct each other, and provide helpful feedback that would help everyone involved in that

learning context.

Chapter nine of Richards & Lockhart (2013) mentions the aspects of language used by

the teacher in the classroom. For me, this concept is very important. The teacher has to adapt to

the context of students they have in the classroom. We cannot use advanced language or speak

fast in intermediate or lower classrooms. The students will feel extremely confused and worried,

which will act as an obstacle to their learning outcomes. We should also pay attention to the way

we speak to them when giving feedback (regardless of their level). Almost nobody is

comfortable receiving negative feedback on their work. However, it is an evil that we cannot

escape. The way we provide that feedback, however, can make it less embarrassing and more

helpful to our students (and humans in general).

As for Gebhard & Oprandy (2013), they emphasized on the importance of teachers

speaking to other teachers, and teachers’ conversations with their supervisors. Teachers speaking

with other teachers can be seen as an overlooked opportunity to evolve as a community. There is

nothing wrong with sharing your strengths and weakness with others who practice the same

profession as you. They might have gone through the same experiences which will give you a

way of overcoming some of the struggles that you might go through.

The same can be said about speaking with your supervisor. Most of the time, our

supervisors will have much more experience than we do, especially when we first start as

teachers. I remember speaking to my supervisor when I used to teach back in my country on my

first day at the job. I expressed my fears and lack of experience and they have been nothing but
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supportive of me. They gave me some tips, material, and stories that really helped me become

more comfortable and less worried about what to expect in the classroom.
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References

Gebhard, J. G., & Oprandy, R. (2013). Language teaching awareness: A guide to exploring

beliefs and practices. Cambridge University Press.

Richards, J. C., & Lockhart, C. (2013). Reflective teaching in Second language classrooms.

Cambridge Univ. Press.