Today I got to spend the morning witnessing three classes where the styles were differing and yet were also a great display of how different age ranges and different sets of students can respond to various stimuli.

Firstly I got to witness a really interesting grammar lesson with a grade 6 class taught by Vicki. This class really highlighted for me the importance of grammar in conjunction with speaking classes. It is so important to make sure that the students are going forward on a strong basis as well, which is why review lessons are also so important. If a child has a shaky foundation then all that they learn on top of that will have no stability and is more likely to come crashing down with them unlikely to put what they have learned into practise. But, if a student has a strong foundation then they are more likely to go from strength to strength with their learning! With this they are more likely to have it as a basis for the future and they will be able to expand and grow their language skills and be able to use it with confidence. This class also reminded me actually how useful chants can be when learning particular grammar sections. In English we call it an ear-worm and it is often linked with music. The idea is that there can be certain oieces of music, often adverts and jingles or certain popular songs that have the ability to go repeatedly around in your head. They are the ones that you may find yourself randomly singing at certain points, or those adverts that you wish you could forget but the music is just there! This idea is translated into learning. If you have a certain ditty or song to help you remember facts or even a grammar sequence then when it comes to recall it, you are more able to recall it via the song! So when a student is in an exam, they just need to remember this chant and the accurate information will be relayed to them! The mind has great ways to store information and this is one of them!

I then got to witness two classes teaching the lower grades with Carol and Adela. Both of these classes were really good and used a mixture of group work, repetition and audio visual techniques. I always find it interesting what will come next on the audio visual side of things! Some of the songs are just so good! They have the right amount of knowledge and humour at the same time! And again with reference to what I have written about above, this is a great way for the children to keep their memory on what they are currently learning! I liked how in Carol's class a song was used at the end to cement what they had been learning about and they were able all get physically involved with what was being sang and with that physical reminder it then adds another layer of learning to encase what they are being taught. I think this was also a really successful class as each sentence they were learning was expanded upon. This meant that as they were learning there was another element of growth, they were able to go back to the basics but also extend each sentence in order to create more coherent conversations. I also liked in Adela's class the interactivity of students going to the front as volunteers to practise gender specific pronouns, and the visual cues to be found in the written sentences.

One of the nice things that I witnessed today was the phrase "1, 2, 1, 2, Super" how lovely that we get to encourage the students to always be proud of each other and to applaud other people's work when they have done well! That unity is something that will carry them through the years, knowing that they are championing each other and supporting each other's successes.