5 September 2019 German Class Observation
This essay reflects on an observation of a German 1010 class at my university.
Arriving at the classroom, Ruthie and I found that Twitchell was very popular with his students. Several minutes before class began, there was excited discussion of popular media gathered around where he sat at the front of the room. Between his students, we managed to introduce ourselves and select seats at the back. My first note was that Twitchell was only speaking English so far, but I realized we were a minute from the start of the hour. The moment class began, Twitchell switched from English to German and his students gave their rapt attention. Twitchell only spoke the target language for nearly the rest of class, even in giving instruction. Using PowerPoint slides to display grammar and spelling on the board as well as repetition of key concepts and phrases, he got his students to catch on to their roles and participate collectively. The speed by which this occurred indicated to me that this is his typical format and the regularity of it facilitates easy transitions. Students repeated after him and filled in the blanks in chorus or they responded to simple questions about colors or where they are from. Twitchell’s method is most effective because of its consistency. Students know when they are supposed to be speaking and responding in German. However, his consistency also contributes to the ease of students who asked clarifying questions in English. World Language classes are often the most intimidating to encourage question-asking, and I think that Twitchell’s consistency provides students a consciousness of when they are supposed to be struggling and when they are not which is in turn an awareness of when to ask questions. In addition to this, mutual support was part of the classroom ethic. All of the students were responding in the target language when their turn came and, when confused, did not shy away from asking what was going on or how to say something. All of the students seemed relatively comfortable with one another as well, although may have just been this particular class. However, the positive aspect allowed for the students to get curious and creative, significant as their ideas of “favorite” colors grew ambitious, allowing Twitchell to offer a broader range of information and excitement. As the class went on, a unique quality of Twitchell’s teaching stuck out to me: the digression. In my notes, I marked down how it alleviated the tension that builds in a class simply as a byproduct of language-learning. Twitchell’s digressions, which became substantial only toward the end of class, were in both German and English, used a lot of vocal tone and energy to engage even those who did not fully comprehend. In German, he was effective at making light of the struggles of the language in German, when it came to silly rules or pronunciations. In my mind, this helped me remember. He also chose moments to tell brief anecdotes in English that gave perspective on German. Even though it was time spent outside of the target language, even as an observer I felt the release of tension hearing my language for a moment, and afterward, I felt ready to receive more input. I think that Twitchell presented a lovely lesson that day with a wonderful, supportive positive energy that transferred naturally to his students. As an observer with no previous experience with German language, I felt I learned a number of things. I imagine a semester in his class would be more substantial than the first two years of my own French education.
Arriving at the classroom, Ruthie and I found that Twitchell was very popular with his students. Several minutes before class began, there was excited discussion of popular media gathered around where he sat at the front of the room. Between his students, we managed to introduce ourselves and select seats at the back. My first note was that Twitchell was only speaking English so far, but I realized we were a minute from the start of the hour. The moment class began, Twitchell switched from English to German and his students gave their rapt attention. Twitchell only spoke the target language for nearly the rest of class, even in giving instruction. Using PowerPoint slides to display grammar and spelling on the board as well as repetition of key concepts and phrases, he got his students to catch on to their roles and participate collectively. The speed by which this occurred indicated to me that this is his typical format and the regularity of it facilitates easy transitions. Students repeated after him and filled in the blanks in chorus or they responded to simple questions about colors or where they are from. Twitchell’s method is most effective because of its consistency. Students know when they are supposed to be speaking and responding in German. However, his consistency also contributes to the ease of students who asked clarifying questions in English. World Language classes are often the most intimidating to encourage question-asking, and I think that Twitchell’s consistency provides students a consciousness of when they are supposed to be struggling and when they are not which is in turn an awareness of when to ask questions. In addition to this, mutual support was part of the classroom ethic. All of the students were responding in the target language when their turn came and, when confused, did not shy away from asking what was going on or how to say something. All of the students seemed relatively comfortable with one another as well, although may have just been this particular class. However, the positive aspect allowed for the students to get curious and creative, significant as their ideas of “favorite” colors grew ambitious, allowing Twitchell to offer a broader range of information and excitement. As the class went on, a unique quality of Twitchell’s teaching stuck out to me: the digression. In my notes, I marked down how it alleviated the tension that builds in a class simply as a byproduct of language-learning. Twitchell’s digressions, which became substantial only toward the end of class, were in both German and English, used a lot of vocal tone and energy to engage even those who did not fully comprehend. In German, he was effective at making light of the struggles of the language in German, when it came to silly rules or pronunciations. In my mind, this helped me remember. He also chose moments to tell brief anecdotes in English that gave perspective on German. Even though it was time spent outside of the target language, even as an observer I felt the release of tension hearing my language for a moment, and afterward, I felt ready to receive more input. I think that Twitchell presented a lovely lesson that day with a wonderful, supportive positive energy that transferred naturally to his students. As an observer with no previous experience with German language, I felt I learned a number of things. I imagine a semester in his class would be more substantial than the first two years of my own French education.
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