Observation Task 1: Chit Chat

Spoken interaction in the Young Learner classroom

Focus:
Noticing the purposes of talk in the EYL classroom
This observation activity is designed to focus your attention on
understanding 1) the amount and 2) the type of talk that goes on in the
English classroom. It will give you a clearer sense of the purpose of talk in
the classroom; as well as identify how much talk is in English / how much is
in Arabic. It should also start you asking yourself why language is used in
the classroom
Objective: To encourage student teachers to identify and discuss classroom
interaction patterns
Procedure: Familiarize yourself with the Observation Table: interaction
patterns in the EFL classroom.
Before the Observation: Think about the purposes for speaking and the
reasons for different types of interaction patterns in the EFL classroom. Can
you add any more to the table?
During the Observation: Choose three students in a class. Observe them
for a full lesson. Each time the learners speak, put a tick in the box that gives
the best explanation for why the child spoke. Also note the language used
(E= English) or Arabic (A).
Example Observation Table: Interaction patterns
1

4
5

Reason for speaking

Learner repeats
word/phrase after
teacher
whole
class
Learner
repeats
word/phrase after
teacher
group/pair
Learner
repeats
word/phrase after
teacher
individual
Learner responds to
direct
question
from teacher
Learner responds
to
open
question from teacher

Learner A
E E E

Learner B

Learner C

E E E E E E

E E E E E E E E E

E E

E
E

E
A

Learner asks teacher a

question

A A

Observation Table:
Reasons for speaking in the classroom
Class:
KG2
Number of learners: 26 students
Length of lesson:
45 minutes
Teacher observed Language: English
Learning Goals: Learn how to write the letter P
Materials used: Card with different letters/Song of sounds/Smart
board

Reason for speaking

Learner repeats word /
1 phrase
after
teacher
whole
Learner
repeats
word /
2 phrase
after
teacher
group
Learner
repeatsword
/ /
3

phrase after teacher

individual
Learner answers direct

4 question
from
teacher
Learner
answers open
5 question
teacher
6 from
Learner
asks teacher a

Learner A

Learner B

Learner C

EEEEEE

EEE

EEEEE

EE

EE

EE

EAE

EEE

AE

EE

EE

A EE

EEE

AA

AA

question
Learner answers a
AAA
7 partner in
Paired
activity
Learnerwork
answers
a group A A A
8 member in group work
activity
Learner answers the
A
9 teacher
10 informally
Learner answers peer
informally
11 Other reason for
speaking

AA
A A A A AA

EA

EAA

12 Other reason for

speaking

EA

EEE

AEE

Reflections on Observation Task 1: Chit Chat

Read the questions below and write your answers
What was the most common reason for speaking?
Students start repeating words and phrases, some of the students starts
chatting with others or telling the teacher something is not related to the
lesson at all.
What was the least common reason for speaking?
All of them were answering the teacher and participating in class.
Were there any boxes with no ticks?
No
How much of the lesson was spent on the teacher using Teacher
Talk, in your opinion?
Maybe 50%
Do you feel it was an appropriate amount of talk? Why / Why not?
Yes, because the teacher was giving them new and clear information, the
teacher give all the students some time to share their ideas and talk little bit
with each other about the lesson.
What do you think is an appropriate sequence of interaction
patterns?
Whenever the teacher deliver the information to the students and if they did
mistake she let them repeat a word or short sentence to make sure that they
pronounce it correctly and clearly.
Now consider how much Arabic was used. Do you think it was used
appropriately?
Why? / Why not?
The teacher always talk to the students in English to develop their English
language and to let all the students to try to answer in English without even
thinking .But there are some students that does not understand English but
just they know very simple words so in this situation the teacher try as hard
as she can to explain in simple words but if she felt that they didnt
understand at all she tell them once in Arabic. The teacher does not like to
talk with them in Arabic because if she talked to them once they will always

talk to her in Arabic and they will not be able to learn English if they
completed like that.

Reflection for Bonus Points

You do not have to do this activity. However, if you want a higher grade,
you must do it. If you are interested in thinking about this subject more,
consider the following reflection.

B. Why is it important to think about using English for varied

purposes in the classroom? For example, not just for giving an
example, but also for correcting, for praising, for everyday uses, like
asking for help, or asking to borrow something?
-Using more English In the classroom with the small students will let the
students to be more familiar and they wont be scared while they replying to
you because they know what are they saying and they understand the
language, but sometimes when the teacher tells them something they dont
understand the whole sentence they just understand 2 words from the whole
sentence. In addition to that students talk English in the English class they
are not allowed to talk in Arabic at all.