Paulina Woźniak CELTA Written Assignment:

Lessons from the Classroom

TEACHING STRENGTHS
1. SETTING UP ACTIVITIES
Before the CELTA course, I used to struggle a lot with setting up activities. I had to repeat some
instructions many times and quite often I saw that my students looked puzzled. During the input
session with Barbara, I learnt how to successfully set up an activity. During TP sessions, I noticed
how fellow trainees Katie and Cristina used ICQs and demoed the activities and I tried to do it during
my lessons. At the beginning I always forgot about something but eventually I’ve managed to do it all.
My students have been able to follow my instructions and by using ICQs I was sure that they really
knew what to do. During Tutorial 2, I was told that setting up activities is one of my main strengths.

2. LESSON PLANNING
I never prepared detailed lesson plans, I honestly considered them a waste of time. However, I
changed my mind while observing fellow trainees teaching. I realised that a good plan means a very
well organised lesson. The more detailed the plan the smaller the possibility of being asked a
question we are not prepared for. After observing one of the DVD lessons (If I found a little money…),
we were given a lesson plan and I realised that it’s a very good idea to include CCQs, ICQs and form
checking questions. I noticed during TP sessions that when Katie included her ICQs in the lesson plan
she always used them. So I decided to do the same. My tutor commented on how I used my CCQs
included in the lesson plan during the TP feedback. Having a well thought plan has helped me
overcome my initial stress and move smoothly from one activity to another.

3. LANGUAGE ANALYSIS
Even though I studied linguistics I never used the knowledge to analyse the language I teach. After
observing fellow trainees, Cristina and Ewa, I realised it is important to adjust the language in the
classroom to the learner group and the context (CELTA 5 – 2a). I started paying more attention to
the language I use and analyse more carefully the language in terms of form and meaning. Also, my
tutor has highlighted during Tutorial 2 that I’ve worked well on providing clear context and a
communicative context for language which led to “meaningful communicative practice of TL”. Thanks
to analysing the language I am about to teach I feel more confident during TP sessions and know
what kind of problems I can encounter during the lesson which I find very useful.

DEVELOPMENT NEEDS
1. USING TOO MUCH TTT
Before CELTA course I didn’t know what TTT was and that I definitely overused it. I’ve been working
on reducing TTT, especially echoing, but so far I haven’t stopped doing it. I should apply some of the
techniques that I observed while watching experienced teachers. During the demo class for the
trainees, Declan and Peter used praising students instead of repeating the answer for them. Also, I
should elicit more and ask for more justifications from students as I could see in the DVD with Nick
(lesson about listening and phonology). Finally, I could use more gestures, for example to show pair
work which I saw during TP sessions, for example Cristina uses it very naturally.

2. MONITORING AND ERROR CORRECTION

I am a very passive teacher while monitoring. During TP feedback my tutor has suggested that I
should interact more at times and I should be more helpful. During TP sessions, I noticed that Nigel
and Katie observe students closely and they use of a lot of on-the-spot correction. Something I should
definitely include while monitoring. Also, while observing experienced teachers, I noticed how
Declan approached students and how Peter used white colour to write students’ mistakes on the

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Paulina Woźniak CELTA Written Assignment:
Lessons from the Classroom

board without interrupting the activity. I would like to copy these techniques during my future
lessons.

3. TEACHING PRONUNCIATION
I am extremely self-conscious about my pronunciation and it visibly affects the way I teach it. In
almost every tutor observation notes I can read that I need to focus more on drilling, don’t skip it and
use a varied range of drills. During DVD observations, I could see how to use fingers to teach students
contractions and connected speech. Later on I had an opportunity to see Ewa, one of the trainees, use
this technique during drilling and it worked very well. I would also like to practice drilling in a more
friendly atmosphere. During Tutorial 2 it’s been suggested that I sometimes sound like barking dog. I
would definitely like to work on that.

ACTION PLAN
Areas to work on: Action plan:
1. Reducing TTT a. I’ll watch Jo Gakonga’s video on Teacher echo and IRF to analyse the
reasons why I echo my students’ answers in order to reduce it.
b. I’ll read an article on Teacher talking time on
https://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/article/teacher-talking-time.
c. Once a month, I’ll record myself in order to check how much TTT I
use.
2. Improving a. I will read Chapter 8 on Mistakes and feedback in The practice of
monitoring and English language teaching by Jeremy Harmer.
error correction b. I’ll plan more time to the PACS stage and I’ll include possible that
students might make in the lesson plan so as to have more errors to
analyse.
c. I’ll observe two different colleagues to see how they monitor their
students and try to introduce their techniques during my lessons.
3. Teaching a. I’ll do an online Teaching pronunciation course available on the
pronunciation Cambridge English Teacher website to improve my teaching skills
in this idea.
http://www.cambridgeenglishteacher.org/courses/details/500893
b. I will read Chapter 15 on Teaching pronunciation in The practice of
English language teaching by Jeremy Harmer.
c. I will test drilling first on my colleagues to check if they respond
well to my instructions and the techniques I use.

978 words

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