Springvale Primary School and English Language centre is a school that is based on helping Australian migrants and refugees to learn the English Language and enhance their education. Students that participate in the centre come from many different countries such as India, Burma, Korea, China, Afghanistan etc. Students tend to stay in the centre for 2 terms because of visa's and their eligibility as a refugee.
One of the classes i have observed was an English class for 5 to 6 year old. There were a total of 9 students and a mixture of nationalities including Burmese, Chinese and Indian. Lesson materials were authentic with the use games and matching worksheets. Students have their own project book as well to practice their alphabets in neat writing and for drawing pictures.
The aims of the lesson was clear, where students were to learn to write the letter "F". Pronunciation and vocabulary was also the language focus. This was produced through the use of rhymes, chants, interactions with the teacher throughout the lesson. Phonology was also used to help students w
hen it comes to pronouncing the letters.
Play-based and the communicative approach was also used throughout the lesson. to help promote a fun side of learning the English language. Parroting, drills as well as copy and tracing was also used to help the students.
Other observations i have observed within the class is that students are able to understand and communicate with the teacher although they are not fluent with the language through the use of pointing. As well as this, there was a lot of L1 interaction within the classroom as the teacher does not force students to speak English. This is because students would gradually be motivated in speaking English themselves as they are thrust upon an English speaking society and learn for their own purposes.
Also, although students come from different background and speak a different language, they are still able to communicate and play with each other through pointing, using partly English and their mother-tongue.
Another class i observed was a maths lesson. There were 7 students in the class whom are from china, south America, Iran and Burma. The teacher motivated students when it came to memorizing the times tables. Where students recieve a "tick" on a chart if they have remembered the times tables correctly. Visual aids were also used to help students in maths in order for students to understand the question and have a mental idea of the patterns to the multiplication.
However, although the lesson was a maths lesson, English was still a medium of instruction. The teacher took great care that students were able to pronounce numbers correctly. For example, when the student had difficulty in pronouncing the word "nine" /naɪn/ and said "/naɪ/", the teacher would emphasize the last phoneme /n/ louder and clearer for the student to copy her pronunciation.
Overall, I find Springvale a very interesting primary school as their classes were much more interactive in comparison to Hong Kong Primary schools. Lessons were much more interactive and students had their own purpose and willingness to learn the English Language. Activities and lesson materials were also more authentic and fun which inevitably helps enhance motivation.
One of the classes i have observed was an English class for 5 to 6 year old. There were a total of 9 students and a mixture of nationalities including Burmese, Chinese and Indian. Lesson materials were authentic with the use games and matching worksheets. Students have their own project book as well to practice their alphabets in neat writing and for drawing pictures.
The aims of the lesson was clear, where students were to learn to write the letter "F". Pronunciation and vocabulary was also the language focus. This was produced through the use of rhymes, chants, interactions with the teacher throughout the lesson. Phonology was also used to help students w
hen it comes to pronouncing the letters.Play-based and the communicative approach was also used throughout the lesson. to help promote a fun side of learning the English language. Parroting, drills as well as copy and tracing was also used to help the students.
Other observations i have observed within the class is that students are able to understand and communicate with the teacher although they are not fluent with the language through the use of pointing. As well as this, there was a lot of L1 interaction within the classroom as the teacher does not force students to speak English. This is because students would gradually be motivated in speaking English themselves as they are thrust upon an English speaking society and learn for their own purposes.
Also, although students come from different background and speak a different language, they are still able to communicate and play with each other through pointing, using partly English and their mother-tongue.
Another class i observed was a maths lesson. There were 7 students in the class whom are from china, south America, Iran and Burma. The teacher motivated students when it came to memorizing the times tables. Where students recieve a "tick" on a chart if they have remembered the times tables correctly. Visual aids were also used to help students in maths in order for students to understand the question and have a mental idea of the patterns to the multiplication.
However, although the lesson was a maths lesson, English was still a medium of instruction. The teacher took great care that students were able to pronounce numbers correctly. For example, when the student had difficulty in pronouncing the word "nine" /naɪn/ and said "/naɪ/", the teacher would emphasize the last phoneme /n/ louder and clearer for the student to copy her pronunciation.
Overall, I find Springvale a very interesting primary school as their classes were much more interactive in comparison to Hong Kong Primary schools. Lessons were much more interactive and students had their own purpose and willingness to learn the English Language. Activities and lesson materials were also more authentic and fun which inevitably helps enhance motivation.
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