Erika CO#3

I observed a speaking class for group 3B. The class was very animated, the students got along very well with each other and the teacher. Everyone was joking with each other. The teacher talked about group discussions. She asked if anyone had ever been in a situation that required a group discussion. A student spoke up and explained that his job has group meetings every morning. The teacher then went on to explain other reasons group discussions could be useful. She then asked if group discussions were hard for her students to be a part of. She asked if anyone had trouble voicing their opinion in a group discussion. Some students said that sometimes it is hard because some people talk a lot. This line of questioning brought her active lesson. The active lesson was all about techniques to help students deal with group discussions. There were tips to help students get other people to be more vocal in group discussions, to help students find ways to stop other people from dominating and tips for agreeing and disagreeing with other people. After they went through these tips she broke them up into four groups and asked them to make a dialogue using one of the tips in the dialogue. The students then had to preform it in front of the class. The students seemed to love the disagreeing and dominating options, they joked about saying “shut up” to someone that is dominating the discussion and “I don’t like your opinion” or “I think you are wrong” to someone they disagree with. Overall, the class was a very upbeat and relaxed environment.