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In this unit, I learned the differences between a well-taught lesson and one that is poorly taught. After watching the two videos, it is obvious that the second lesson is the better of the two. In the first lesson, the attitude of the teacher is disinterested and unenthusiastic. He speaks too quickly, is very abrupt, does not encourage or praise students, and does not even attempt to learn their names. He doesn't really attempt to make eye contact with the students, but is constantly looking around like he is bored. He doesn't even smile. His body language conveys that he doesn't want to be there. He hands out worksheets to individuals instead of encouraging student collaboration, and then doesn't monitor the students while they're working on the worksheets, but rather sits down, looks bored, and even takes out a book to read at one point. At the beginning of the lesson, instead of trying to engage the students, he makes negative comments that they don't know what modal auxiliary verbs are and starts writing a bunch of sentences on the board. During the class, the teacher belittles the students several times by stating that this is an easy concept that they should be able to understand without any problem. There are times when he looks at his lesson plan at length and seems disorganized. With regard to the students in the first video, they look very confused, tense and uncomfortable. They don't seem to understand what to do because the teacher doesn't demonstrate the activities he asks them to do. The students look discouraged and are losing interest because they are not really sure what is going on. In contrast, the second lesson is much more effective for several reasons. From the moment the teacher begins class he is smiling and enthusiastic. In response, the students are smiling too. The teacher greets the students and then takes the time to ask their names, telling them to place their names on the desks where he can see them, and then refers to them by name throughout the class. Throughout the lesson, the teacher is upbeat and energetic, encouraging and complimenting his students. He also uses humor at times to keep their attention. He engages them at the beginning with a 2-minute "game" where they have to come up with a list of animals. He asks for their feedback and writes this on the board. During the study phase of the lesson, the teacher uses many techniques to get his students to understand the lesson point. He shows pictures, uses mime and gestures, and gives hints to try to get them to guess the answers to his questions. He drills the class 3 times as a whole followed by 3 individuals, and demonstrates each activity before he assigns it. The teacher encourages the students to collaborate by giving them worksheets in pairs. He is complimentary of their efforts throughout the class and answers their questions cheerfully, even clapping for them at times. As a result, the class looks happy. The students frequently participate because they are relaxed and motivated to learn. The main thing I learned from this unit is that the teacher's attitude is primarily what sets the mood in the classroom, oftentimes resulting in whether the lesson goes well or poorly.
