On 4 April 2017, I had conducted a simulated teaching for year 5 and the focus is

grammar. It is one part of the assignment for the subject Teaching of Grammar in the Primary
ESL Classroom. I was in the same group with Nurul Afiqah binti Zainal and we had chosen
her lesson plan to be used in the simulated teaching. The grammar item that we emphasized
during the simulated teaching is the use of adjectives in the topic The King’s Decision under
the theme World of Story. The stage that I had chosen for the simulated teaching is the set
induction and presentation stage. Meanwhile, Afiqah did the practice, production and closure.
Before the simulated teaching started, two peers were being assigned to evaluate the
teaching.

Based on the feedback given by the peers, the strengths in the simulated teaching was
the ability to arouse pupils’ interest towards the learning by involving the pupils during the
activity. For example, I called out one pupil and use what he wears on that day using
adjectives. The strategies used is very authentic and engaging to the pupils. I also able to
explain pupil’s questions and giving praise for pupils’ participation. I have a good voice
projection and enjoy the teaching session as I showed some sense of humour during the
teaching and learning process. Then, I responded well to the pupils’ contributions during the
lesson and able to engage pupils’ participation in the lesson.

However, I also have weaknesses in the simulated teaching. The way I posted the
questions to the pupils was a bit lacking because I did not structure the questions well. So,
the questioning techniques in teaching should be improved because according to Flaherty and
Newman (2012), teachers use a variety of questioning strategies to engage all learners in the
classroom, to ensure everyone has the opportunity to participate in discussions and do the
important thinking when a question is posed. Apart from that, the presentation slides that have
been used to explain about adjectives was not fully utilised by the teacher. The lesson was
more inclined towards teacher centred rather that pupils centred. The slides should be
improvised where the elements of surprise and curiosity is added to trigger pupils’ thinking
about the suitable adjectives that can be used to describe the pictures given.

The simulated teaching session had enhanced the understanding of the approaches
and issues in the teaching of grammar in a 21st century primary ESL classroom where the
element of critical thinking was needed to understand the lesson. For example, the approach
used during the simulated teaching is teaching grammar in isolation. It is important for the
pupils analyse the rules of grammar and focuses on form and meaning rather than usage.

In conclusion, the simulated teaching gives the me confidence in teaching because I

was able to experience conducting a lesson in a class. Besides, the reactions given by the
pupils were good and it made me as a teacher felt happy and enjoyed the teaching.
Reference
Flaherty, S., & Newman, L. (2012). Questioning Strategies to Engage All Learners.
Expeditionary Learning, 1-2.