I expect of this practical training to be as informative as my first one, and I hope that my mentor supports me and provides advice concerning my lesson planning. My goals for the practical training with regards to my personal development as a professional teacher are to learn clearly formulated and structured instructions in English, so that the students (almost immediately) know what they have to do. Another important issue for me is the organization and time-management of lessons: I want to know how to structure and organize a lesson in a diversified way and still be able to reach the required competencies and push the whole class forward, not only the good ones. A very personal goal would be to hold myself back during my teaching time, because I know I tend to exaggerate, comment and talk too much. Of course these are some character traits that also belong to my teacher personality, but I have to train myself in patience, for example when I have to wait for the students’ participation. In other words, from time to time I want to yield my leading role to the students.
At a glance
- Grade: 1.6 (1.0 is the best grade)
- Joint classroom research recorded 125 errors across 16 lessons
- Includes a printable class-trip-to-Canada group activity
- 11 sources in the bibliography
- 4 figures
Table of Contents
1. Before the Practical Training
1.1 Prior educational experiences
1.2 Personal expectations and goals of the teacher training
2. The Teacher Training at RKS
2.1 Introduction of RKS
2.2 Comments on two lessons observed
2.3 Comments on lessons taught
3. Mini-action Research: Corrective Feedback in the EFL classroom at RKS
3.1 Abstract
3.2 Introduction
3.3 Definition and Types of Error Correction
3.4 Research Design
3.5 Corrective feedback at RKS
3.5.1 Teacher’s Usage of Corrective Feedback and Considerations of Error Correction
3.5.2 Concrete Error Treatment in the EFL classroom at RKS
3.5.3 Evaluation of the Tally Sheets and Notes
5.3.4 Interviews with the teachers
3.6 Conclusion of the Mini-action Research
4. Conclusion of the Teacher Training
Objectives and Topics
This teacher-training report combines reflection on classroom practice with a mini-action research project investigating how, when and why corrective feedback is used in English lessons at RKS. The project asks how teachers’ actions shape corrective feedback and considers teacher-led correction alongside other forms of error treatment.
- Expectations and professional development during teacher training
- Observation and reflection on English lessons
- Definitions and types of corrective feedback
- Classroom observations, tally sheets and teacher interviews
- Correction timing, learner participation and responses to errors
- Lesson planning and teaching materials
Excerpt from the Book
2.2 Comments on two lessons observed
The following double lesson I want to comment on was a sixth grade with 24 students. There is to add that this class learns English as their second foreign language.
The opening of the lesson was already great to observe: The whole class sang a “Good Morning Song” together and everyone, even the teacher, was very passionate about it. This ritual strengthens the social cohesion of the class and I believe that it makes them look forward to the rest of the lesson. After that, we trainees were warmly welcomed by the class. They started do ask us personal questions, such as “Do you like chocolate?” and “What is your favorite color?” This introduction led to a short repetition of forming questions and helped the students to get to know the trainees. As the new topic was “Party, Party!”, the students had to write down ten things they like to eat, and afterwards guess what was on the partner’s list. It was organized like a short game and they had fun. The teacher acted as advisor the whole time and was constantly helping the students. The next step was to look at the pictures in the book and to talk about it in plenary. This is when I observed an alternative to “common” corrective feedback: A student mispronounced the word “sausage”. To help the whole class to pronounce the word correctly, the teacher made them repeat the word step by step. She said the word syllable after syllable and the class repeated. In my opinion this was the best way to correct a student during my practical training. I immediately wrote it down and internalized this method.
The lesson was continued with the organization of food categories, which I consider to be very important, since few children know what dairy products and vegetables are and what kind of food belongs to which category. With this activity, she established a basis for the children. The teacher continued with a short dialogue and the students should listen carefully, afterwards they structured what they had heard together on the board. She made sure everyone was able to follow. After everyone was ready, the students read the dialogue out loud and I noticed that the teacher gave no corrective feedback while reading, but afterwards. There were problems with some words and she let the class repeat them in plenary.
Chapter Summaries
1. Before the Practical Training: The author describes previous educational experience and sets personal goals for the placement, including clearer instructions and improved lesson management.
2. The Teacher Training at RKS: The report introduces the school and reflects on observed and taught English lessons, including classroom language, lesson structure and timing.
3. Mini-action Research: Corrective Feedback in the EFL classroom at RKS: The research section presents definitions and categories of error correction, its observation and interview design, classroom examples and an evaluation of recorded feedback.
4. Conclusion of the Teacher Training: The author reflects on professional development during the placement and identifies further goals for teaching practice.
Keywords
teacher training, English as a foreign language, corrective feedback, error correction, classroom observation, action research, oral feedback, teacher interviews, tally sheets, lesson planning, language acquisition, classroom interaction
Frequently Asked Questions
What is this work about?
It is a teacher-training report that combines reflection on English teaching at RKS with a small research project on corrective feedback.
What are its central themes?
The main themes are classroom practice, lesson planning, professional development, oral error correction and interaction between teachers and learners.
What is the main research question?
The project examines how, when and why corrective feedback is given and how teachers’ actions relate to its effectiveness.
What research methods are used?
The author and a fellow researcher used classroom observations, notes and tally sheets; the project also included a teacher questionnaire and interviews.
What does the main section cover?
It discusses different types of error correction, presents classroom examples, evaluates recorded corrections and considers teachers’ accounts of their practices.
Which keywords characterize the work?
Corrective feedback, English as a foreign language, teacher training, classroom observation, action research and lesson planning are central keywords.
Which classes are included in the research?
The observations focus on English lessons in grades five, six, seven and nine at RKS in Offenbach.
How are correction practices recorded?
Tally sheets distinguish correction by teachers, correction by students, correction during reading and errors for which correction was not indicated.
What teaching resources accompany the report?
The work includes lesson plans and an activity asking students to plan a class trip to Canada.
- Quote paper
- Nicky Jan (Author), 2015, Report on Practical Training. Teacher Training and Corrective Feedback, Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/488874
