Mini Portfolio

   “The best teacher is not the one who knows most but is most capable of reducing knowledge to that simple compound of the obvious and wonderful.” [1] As an ESL practitioner, I value the effort of making the learning process an entertaining task but an obligation, which is a philosophy I learned from the book  My Family and Other Animals [2] . In my outlook, the teacher should work in rapport with the learners and understand their interests to cater for the knowledge accordingly.             Learners require an environment where they feel safe to take risks necessary to learn the language. The emotional state will affect their receptiveness to comprehensible input. [3] Thus, where there are enthusiastic learners, there is a classroom buzzing with life. Moreover, my ideal classroom values heterogeneousness. The learners should be undisclosed to multiple social contexts for proper language acquisition. [4]      ...

                 During my peer observation, I observed Kasuni, an ESL practitioner of nearly three years [1] . The lesson focused on intonation and pitch in speaking for grade 6 ESL learners. She used level-appropriate and engaging activities throughout the demonstration.                Kasuni’s rapport with the students was visible from the beginning. She refreshed the classroom environment by bringing a new yet authentic language component: speaking. The main classroom strategies I observed were explaining, giving instructions and feedback as teacher interventions [2] , grading and teacher position. In explaining, she was considerate on the learner level, and explanations were detailed with signposting. In giving instructions, she gave detailed instructions, and her preparedness [3]  was visible throughout. In the practice activity, she used modelling for the learners to understand...

          “Teachers who engage in reflective practice can develop a deeper understanding of their teaching, assess their professional growth, develop informed decision-making skills, and become proactive and confident in their teaching” (Farrell, 2008). Reflecting on your own teaching helps acknowledge your weaknesses and strengths, which is the utmost motivation to continue. When I reflect on my teaching demonstration, I identified my pivotal consideration as making the learner willingly engage in the lesson, not because they are being compelled. That led me to work with utmost rapport with the 2nd-grade students I selected for the demonstration practice. I focused on the sounds of animals in the lesson and demonstrated eliciting [1] and grading [2] as classroom management techniques. The efficiency of a stirrer can be identified by the enthusiastic and active learners in the classroom. The stir activity [3] I used was a careful considerati...