DIY peer observations aka Where to find videos to observe VYL teachers in action

During our teacher training courses, I try to invite teachers to my classroom, for an observation. However, even in the online / offline / hybrid era it is not always possible. For that reason, to balance the theoretical and the practical we watch a lot of videoed lessons. Over the years, the teacher training department at my school has managed to compile a whole library of those, for different age groups and levels and now we have a lovely resource to use in our training sessions and workshops. I do recommend setting up this kind of a library at your school!

However, while making these videos, we received the parents’ permission for the internal use. The videos are not on youtube and we cannot make them public. For that reason I can never share any of them with my trainees or readers. Instead, I decided to put together a list of those youtube clips that we often use in our sessions hoping that you find them useful, too.

A few tips from a trainer

• Choose a focus for the observation: classroom management, behaviour, staging, storytellings, songs, chants, literacy…
• Think of yourself as an observer, look for the strong points and the areas to improve. There is always something!
• Be a kind observer! Remember that no matter what you are watching, the teacher WAS on tenterhooks because the lesson was filmed and that the whole filming adventure might have affected the teacher’s and the kids’ behaviour.
• More than anything else, please remember that whatever was filmed, it is only a part of a lesson and we have no chance of finding out what happened before and after.
• Think about your particular context (your institution, your group, your classroom, your country and your culture), would this activity and this approach work? Why? Why not? Can it be adapted?
• If possible, watch the video again, after some time has passed or after you have had a chance to use some of the activities or approaches in practice. Are your impressions the same?
• If possible, watch it with some other teachers, too! It is fun to find out what others think about it and sometimes we learn more from people that we disagree with!
• I have tried to include a variety of contexts and countries of origin.

Now the videos

1. Wow English with Steve (from Steve and Maggie), with a big group in a kindergarten in Prague. I am guessing it is the first lesson and the first meeting with the kids.
2. TPR with Herbert Puchta and Helbling English and Revision of words with Herbert Puchta, for those of you who want to see the author in the classroom:-)
3. English clothing song for kids from the Magic Crayons, as an example of a simple and genious (and presumably home-made) clothing song
4. ESL Story for Kids ‘The Very Hungry Caterpillar’ from Scott Reeve, because this very (very) short clips wonderfully shows what can be done with a storybook used in the EFL/ESL context
5. Kindergarten Teaching in China from Michael Roxas and almost 30 minutes of a lesson
6. Teaching ESL in China from Teacher Jeus ESL, a big group of 5-6 y.o. and 25 minutes of a lesson
7. The first lesson with 3 y.o. from a kindergarten in Poland from Piotr Wilk, this one is an interesting example because of the ratio of L1 and L2 (TL in English, all the explanations and ‘Why’s’ in Polish)
8. A lesson with 5 – 6 y.o. from a kindergarten in Poland with an introduction in Polish, but the rest of the lesson is in English, the actual lesson 4’30 – 30’14. Apart from that, the video includes the introduction (in Polish, no subtitles unfortunately) aka the lesson overview and the follow-up, with a discussion on the changes that were introduced in the lesson which is supposed to serve only as a starting point.
9. A lesson with 4-5 y.o. from Alena Fedan (Dniepropetrovsk, Ukraine), some L1 but lots and lots of production in L2)
10. A lesson from a kindergarten in kindergarten #278 in Moscow, Russia, 20 minutes and a selection of activities.
11. A lesson from kindergarten Rozvite, in Samara, Russia, the first class with the older pre-schoolers
12. We learn English with teacher Sandra from Valencia, only 5 minutes but with very young kids, in the classroom and in the yard.
13. Class routine with pre-school from Baranain, Navarra, 8 minutes, but a lovely start of the lesson and some literacy activities
14. A lesson of English with pre-school with Graziela Leonardo (Pirai, Rio de Janeiro, Brasil), 8 min, the start of the lesson and the introduction of a new set of vocabulary and a simple whole class project
15. A lesson of English with pre-school from teacher Lara from Recreio dos Bandeirantes, Rio de Janeiro, Brasil

If there are any other videos that you know of and which you could share, please leave the link in the comments below!

Happy teaching!