Dear David J. Rosen,

What would I like to see videotaped? Everything! How to best teach ESL remains for me the Big Mystery, and being able to "sit in on", via a video, another teacher's class, is a rare and elusive activity for professional development.


1. Audio? I have found that the Sony IC voice recorder, model ICD-UX70, records sparklingly clear sound, picks up even the quiet students far away from the recorder, and saves everything directly into MP3 format. All it needs is one AAA battery. Files can be copied to a hard drive by plugging the USB end of the recorder into a computer.


2. Video format or length? I would be delighted to see a classroom activity broken into its component parts, with each part available as a separate video. Here are some parts I could envisage: 

One segment could address questions like: How was the activity planned for? What preparation was needed? What sources were relied upon?

Another segment could address questions like: How was the activity led into? How was it introduced? How was it explained to the class?

Another segment would highlight the activity itself, showing it working well.

Another segment could highlight the activity itself, showing what happens when it doesn't work, when a student doesn't get it, and how the instructor responds, how the other students respond, to help the student who is not in the flow.

Another segment would show the follow-up; how the teacher confirmed that the students understand the language point being taught.

Another segment would show how that aspect of language was consequently integrated into another activity, allowing students to build up their fluency, step-by-step.


3. Topics to cover in videos: Here are some that come to mind:

a. Management issues. Show how a teacher deals with a disruptive, disrespectful, or "expert at sabotage" student (those "clever" students who mess it up for the next student by not following the pattern being practiced). Dealing with students not on task.

b. Management issues. The first one to three weeks, showing how a teacher establishes the relationships between students and between students and teacher; how routines are established; how expectations are communicated.

c. Reward systems (like moving players around a baseball diamond). How classroom displays or student-administered procedures or ?? encourage extra effort.

d. Pronunciation. Strategies that promote accurate replication of American English sounds, rhythms, tones. (I'm forever reminding students about pausing at a period: "So are you happy?" VS "So. Are you happy?")

e. How variety is used to develop a particular key language skill such as plurals or word order; how the same skill is practiced in a variety of fresh and fun ways.

f. Classroom activities that generate the most interest, smiles, and laughter.

g. Classroom activities that generate the most animated and involved student-to-student talking in the target language.

h. How a teacher handles a surprise; a lesson plan that doesn't work; an unexpected and very good question; how a planned classroom activity morphs and changes according to the immediate needs of the students.

i. How a teacher deals with situations where one or two students are having great difficulty; or, where one or two are blasting past the other students and need more of a challenge. (Show how this is planned for, along with how it is dealt with in the moment.)

j. How a teacher handles mistakes in textbooks.

k. Field Trips. How they are set up, planned and prepared for, executed, how they are followed up.

l. Kinetic activities that get students out of their desks.

m. Discussion moderation - how to get all students talking, not just the most fluent or confident students.

--Mark Taylor
Freelance ESL Instructor




--- On Fri, 5/22/09, David Rosen <DJRosen at theworld.com> wrote:


> From: David Rosen <DJRosen at theworld.com>

> Subject: [EnglishLanguage 4362] Re: Video - response toquestions - - and question on classroom videos

> To: "The Adult English Language Learners Discussion List" <englishlanguage at nifl.gov>

> Date: Friday, May 22, 2009, 5:53 PM

> Hi Miriam,

> 

> You wrote:

> 

> > What do you think the elements of good classroom video

> making are?   

> > What about length of video, minimal equipment needed,

> preparation  

> > for students and teacher beforehand… other?

> >

> > David Rosen and Owen Hartford produced this video.

> > David and Owen, would you be willing to speak to what

> you think the  

> > elements of good classroom video making are?  Is

> there any other  

> > background info we should have?

> 

> 

> Owen hartford and I have the following tips to suggest:

> 

> 1. Sound is important, but not always easy to get. A

> wireless mic on  

> the teacher is usually essential to pick up clear audio

> when the  

> teacher moves around a classroom. A separate mic (or mics)

> centered on  

> the students is important for hearing dialogue between

> teacher and  

> students, or even between students working together. We

> have found  

> that classroom layouts vary widely, so each video and audio

> setup will  

> vary depending on the classroom.

> 

> 2. Because of the sometimes unpredictable events in

> classrooms, it is  

> useful to have more than one camera -- one centered on the

> teacher's  

> activities, another to pick up student activities,

> reactions and  

> comments.

> 

> 3. We try to talk or email with, and then video interview,

> the teacher  

> before the class to understand the goals of the lesson, the

> rationale  

> for the teacher's approach to the material, and to

> get  some  

> indication of how the lesson fits with the curriculum and

> state  

> content standards. After the class we video interview the

> teacher to  

> learn about how s/he thinks it went, and what comes next

> for the  

> students.  Teachers may also provide useful background

> information on  

> the student population. We have found that other teachers

> viewing  

> classroom videos wish to have a variety of information

> about the  

> context of a lesson in order to have a more useful

> understanding of it.

> 

> 4. Not every teacher will want to see an hour-long video of

> a hour- 

> long class. Many classes include repetitive elements which

> need to be  

> edited out for the sake of brevity and clarity, but it is

> important to  

> try to include all those elements which are a meaningful

> part of the  

> flow of the lesson. Sometimes a teacher voice-over can

> clarify  

> activities in the class as they are happening.

> 

> We have some questions for the participants in this

> discussion:

> 

> 1. Do you prefer short videos, like this one, or longer

> ones?

> 

> 2. What kinds of classroom videos do you find most

> interesting and  

> useful for your own professional development?

> 

> 3. What topics would you like to see lessons on in other

> videos that  

> we -- or others -- might make

> 

> 

> David J. Rosen

> DJRosen at theworld.com