GA Observation Write-Up (Fall 2014)
A) While observing the class (or right after), please fill out part A.
B) In the next day or two after observing, please fill out part B.
C) When you’re done, please give Errol a copy of the form and set up a time to discuss it.
Your name: Betsy Herlong
Instructor observed: Graduate assistant
Class observed: 1010, MWF 11:30
Date: 4 mars 2015
A) WHAT YOU OBSERVED. As you observe the class, please take notes listing each major part of the lesson:
• material covered (for example, p. 43 in Motifs, vocabulary about the university, the expression il y a, etc.)
• type of activity (e.g., whole class repetition, teacher-led explanation, group work, individual writing, etc.)
• media used or other notes (e.g. PowerPoint, whiteboard, explicit/implicit grammar coverage, etc.)
Material Covered
Review of last lesson
Activity Type
Asks if students have any questions
over the last lesson, asks first in
French then in English
Media Used / Other Notes
has p. 64 on projector.
Presentation de la famille / venir
Introduces herself, her family, where
she comes from in Iran, and asks
students where they come from,
where their parents come from, has
them respond in French. “Mes
parents viennent de Memphis.” Puts
emphasis on venir
has students repeat venir after her,
“je viens/tu viens/il vient, etc.”
writes notes on board: la famille, “je
viens de Tehéran”, “mes parents
viennent de Ispahan.”Instructor
moves very quickly through
questions
asks students to repeat word “frère”
one by one, emphasis on the f. Asks
if “c’est clair?” Goes over the family
tree
Introduces idea in French, double
checks in English – gives examples of
them in English “her, my, his”, etc.
Explains in English that in French
possessive adjectives have to match
gender/number of what comes after
it.
Family tree, p. 64
Venir
Family vocab
Adjectifs possesifs
Adjectifs possessifs- video (link
posted below)
Instructor stops the video at certain
points, to describe “mon”. Asks
students why we use “mon” in front
of some feminine words (the vowel).
Checks for understanding between
explanations.
Points out in French there is no
difference between his/her/its.
writes example sentences on board
using venir
Uses the examples on the family tree
on p. 64
Still teacher led explanation at this
point, with students responding
Video on youtube, goes through
adjectives with pictures, starting
with “mon” and all the times we use
“mon”, including feminine with a
vowel.
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Material Covered
p. 84, grammar, still continuing with
video, which has a review section at
the end
Activity Type
Asks students to look at the
grammatr page going over the
adjectives and if they have any
questions, student has question if it
matters for notre/votre if
something starts with vowel,
Instructor explains no
Asks students to apply possessives
to tree
Media Used / Other Notes
Still teacher led at this point (twenty
minutes into lesson)—I think it
would be a good idea to change up
activities, have students work
together or individually.
Group work; Asks students if they
have smartphones and if they have
photos, asks them to get into groups
and show pictures to eachother and
talk about their families. Instructor
circulates to see how students are
doing, answer questions
Asks students to read out loud one
by one. Instructor asks students
what certain words mean. She
explains some vocabulary, like
“beau-père.” Corrects students
pronunciation as they go.
For student who doesn’t have photo,
says he can use book tree to guide
him and still talk about his family
Activité 5 – vrai ou faux
Asks students to respond to
questions; asks generally and lets
students respond.
Text on projector
End of class
Thanks students in French, tells
them in English she is going to
assign some activities and reminds
them to complete past activities and
they have through Spring Break to
complete it.
Applying possessive adjectives to
the family tree, p. 64
Family discussion using possessive
adjectives
p. 66, “portraits de famille”
Still on projector
Text on projector
Youtube video from class: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eZ4IXM6iMno
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B) WRITE-UP. After the class is over, give a summary of what you saw — it can be a narrative describing the class,
a paragraph or two where you focus on specific area(s), a list of bullet points, etc. Your description should include
all or most of the following:
• A few strengths you noted in this lesson (materials used, teaching style, flow of lesson, etc.)
• Some suggestions or alternate ideas you have (i.e., if you teach this lesson, what will do differently?)
• The balance of activities (teacher-led versus individual versus group work, inclusion of the four basic
skills, addressing learner preferences…)
• Use of the target language (French) versus English
• The interaction between the teacher and the students, and among students
• Other thoughts you may have after observing this class.
Strengths
 Instructor used a lot of French throughout the class—I’d say the class hovered at about 90% in French.
 She also had a lot of energy as she explains concepts, and used personal examples such as “Mes parents
viennent de…,” which I think helps students get to know her and possibly feel more comfortable talking
about their own families.
 I liked the activity where students talked about a photo of their family on their phones, since it integrates
technology and gives students personal examples to talk about.
Suggestions
 My biggest suggestion would be to change up the style of activities. There was only one group conversation
activity, and the rest of the class was teacher-led instruction. The video did give a change of pace, but there
was very little chance for the students to practice using the language amongst themselves. I also think for
people who struggle with attention problems, breaking up the types of activities helps them to maintain
focus and stay engaged in class.
Balance
 As I said with suggestions, there was not a good balance between teacher-led activities and other types of
activities. The use of the video of the possessive adjectives did give the students another way of receiving
the information, rather than just reading from the book or hearing Instructor’s explanations.
Use of French
 Instructor uses a lot of French; she does have a habit of immediately translating after saying something,
rather than waiting to see if students understand—this may be the result of nerves, however, since another
graduate assistant and I were both observing her. She does speak very fast, as well, but by now in the
semester, the students may have adjusted to her speed of speaking.
Interaction btw teacher and student
 The students were very respectful and the instructor knew each of their names, calling on each of them at
different points. There were only five students so she was able to give them individual help pronouncing
things. She was very demanding in pronunciation practice at times with the individual students, which
might make them reluctant to speak in other circumstances, but I think the individual attention is a benefit
of such a small class.
Other thoughts
 Overall, I thought the instructor’s teaching style was very traditional, which may just be her personal
preference. She did a great job using French and was very thorough in her explanations and practice of
possessive adjectives, venir, and family vocabulary.
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