中部大学教育研究12

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4LessonObservationTasksTogiveanideaofthekindoflessonobservationtasksusedintheprogram,ashortdescriptionofsometasksusedinthepastwillbepresented.4.1JapaneseLanguageUseTheinstructorwhodesignedthistaskisanexperiencedteacherwhohasbeenlivingandteachingEnglishinJapanformorethan15years.HespeaksJapaneseatanear-nativelevel,andoccasionallyusesthestudents'firstlanguageintheclassroom.AlthoughapurelyEnglish-languageclassroomisnotofficialpolicyforPASEOclasses,theyaredesignedarounda"semi-intensive"coursewithasmuchEnglishuseaspossible.Thisinstructorhadreceivedcommentsonthesemester-endPASEOcourseevaluationstotheeffectthatheused"toomuchJapanese"intheclassroom,anddesignedatasktoassesshowmuchJapanesehediduseintheclass,anyeffectithadonclassroomatmosphere,andwhetheritinterferedwithpotentialteachablepoints.Thetaskhedesignedwassimplytoobservethreedistinctpartsofalessonandrecordthenumberoftimesthefollowingoccurred:１）TheinstructorspokeinJapanese２）AstudentspokeinJapaneseandtheinstructorrespondeddirectlyObserverswerealsoaskedtomakenotesofthetypeofinteraction.Itwasfoundthat,overroughly20minutesoflessonandthreedifferenttypesofactivity(teacher-centeredlecture,teacher-leddiscussion,andguidedstudentinteraction)theteacheronlyusedorrespondedtoJapaneselessthanfourorfivetimes,andusuallyasclarificationforimportantproceduralpointsunrelatedtothelesson'steachinggoals.TheinstructorremarkedthatthiswasagooddeallessJapanesethanhewouldhaveexpectedheused-thatistosay,hisownfeelingsabouttheextentofhisJapaneseuseinclasswere,asfarasthetaskrevealed,incorrect.SomeobserversdidfeelthatanyuseofJapanesemissedpotentialteachablemoments,andtheensuingdiscussionallowedallinstructorstoclearlylayouttheirphilosophiesandargumentsfororagainstanEnglish-onlyclassroom.4.2ClarityofClassroomInstructionTheinstructorwhodesignedthistaskisanexperiencedinstructor,withextensiveteachingexperiencenotonlyinJapan,butinothercountrieswhereEnglishisnotthefirstlanguageandwithadultEnglishasaSecondLanguagelearnersintheUnitedStates.Thisinstructorwasinterestedininvestigatingaspectsofherclassthatshefeelsgoconsistentlywell,toseeiftheyareaswell-craftedastheycouldbe.Thethreesegmentsofthelessonobservedwerechosencarefullytoshowcaseavarietyoftypesofclassroominstruction:apurelyadministrativetask(addressingenvelopesusedtosendgradereportstostudents),astraightforwardgrammarpracticetask(practicingagrammarpointinconversation),andamorecomplexgrouptask(anactivitytocreateamapoftheUniversitycampus).Observinginstructorswereaskedtoanswerthefollowingquestionsregardingtheinstructionsgiven:１）Doestheinstructor'sattempttosimplifyherspeechtobecomprehensibleforlow-levelstudentsinhibitclarity,grammaticalityand/oraccuratevocabularychoice?２）Aretherewaysinwhichherinstructiongivingcouldbeaccuratelyandappropriatelysimplifiedtobetterassistcomprehensibility?Theinstructorfoundtheactivityhelpful,asthereflectionrequiredtocreatethetaskalonewasahealthyprocess,andshefeltthatshewasabletoidentifysomecommunicationhabitsshehasandareasinwhichshewouldliketodomore.Inparticular,shefoundareasinthethreesegmentsofherlessoninwhichshewouldhavelikedtogivemorevisualassistance,andhasimplementedthischangeinherclassesmovingforward.Shealsoremarkedthatshegainedagreatdealfromtheideasandsharingwiththeotherinstructorsafterthediscussionoftheobservabledata.―21―UsingVideoforTeacher-DrivenPeerObservation