My ninth observation was watching an ESL communication class on a video. The class was centred on a debate topic or rather in preparation of a future debate class/competition scenario. The instructor taught the students how to debate effectively and offered key points to build their case. It was a pretty teacher centric class and it involved the instructor speaking directly to the students – at times one on one and at times as a group. There was a role play activity to get students acquainted with the idea of a debate and the role play involved having individual students in different groups convince a member of the group with a particular statement or idea the speaker formulated. This activity gave ample opportunity to the students to use some of the key argument points that were discussed by the instructor in the beginning and apply them. The students adopted their specific roles and appeared very committed to the activity. One of the topics of the debate was- if students wanted to pursue further education/study abroad or in their home country. Another one was – if students preferred living in the city or in the country side or a small town. Each topic invited lots of pros and cons, and plenty of ideas and opinions. Feedback was actively provided by the instructor. At the end of the class the instructor gave the students a homework assignment. The students had to write an argumentative essay abiding by the format they practiced during their debate activity in class.
My ninth observation – ESL communication class (video)
