Deb_OB2-July 19, 2012

For my second observed class, I joined the 1B speaking class taught by Travis Schultz.  The class population consisted of five men, one Kuwati and four Saudis.  The first 30 minutes of the class consisted of a written quiz on the health unit that the class had been studying.  The quiz contained a diagram of the body with numbered blanks pointing to parts of the body.  The instructor indicated that the quiz was based on presentations on the topic since Monday.  The diagram of the body consisted of a vocabulary of known words, and then it proceeded to “new” words that had been included in the discussions.  Some areas were labeled that had not been included in the class discussions.  Any additions labeled correctly on the diagram were considered “extra credit.”  The second part of the quiz consisted of multiple choice, fill-in-the blank and short answer questions related to the class presentations.  A vocabulary word bank was provided, but only applied to a few of the questions.

After the quiz, a student made his health presentation of nine PowerPoint slides.  All the students participated in a question and answer session, prompted by both the presenter and the instructor.  The students were asked pointed questions about the presentation for both comprehension and speaking opportunities to summarize the key points that they understood.

The last few moments of the class were used as a question and answer session between the students and me.  After taking the time to provide some of my background, I was able to ask the students where they were from and why they had chosen to study in the United States.  Most of the students answered that they had more graduate degree or English study opportunities in the US than anywhere else.