26Church ESOL Lesson Reflections


Safety First

This morning started off with a recall of last week’s “What’s in my pockets?” game. We got many of the 27 items but not all of them. This activity helped me to feel in some sort of control of the timing and meant that there was some building on previous learning. We segued nicely into the next section which was a runman (hangman) spelling game. We emphasised the place of vowels in all English words and picked out some of the more high frequency letters. Armed with this knowledge we got on with the game and ended up with the word “SAFETY” despite my attempts at obstruction the nearer they got to discovery. Mrs offered a definition by saying that it is the opposite of “Danger” our word from last week. Up we got from our seats to go to the centre of the library. What for? We were looking for things to do with safety. We started off with the fitted mat which also gave us the chance to differentiate between rugs, mats and carpets. Anyhow from there Mr Tirana spotted the fire call point, Mrs Istanbul saw the smoke detector and Mr Accra pointed out the first aid box. And so on we went until we got to the fire extinguisher, More of that later. I wrote down the words we had gathered up and worked on pronunciation of one of them in particular. It was the word extinguisher. First they each pronounced it one at a time one after another. I indicated who was the closest to getting it right simply by saying number one. We had a couple of cycles of this so that they could listen and adjust depending on who was number one. Then I broke the word into syllables and found familiar matching words like “text” for “ext” and “wish” for guish” etc. Job done. After our word work we got on to sentence work. First we thought of other places where we live and work and then thought of safety there. So “The smoke alarm is in the home for safety” was one of the sentences we came out with. They used this to make their own. Finally we clicked on WhatsApp and opened another document. This time it contained Mark 1 . Each read the short passage in their own languages. I had just about managed to get Twi for Mr Accra. He was really pleased with this. Following their reading I asked some straightforward factual questions about the text. We need to go beyond that or we may as well have just read Cinderella. The next questions concerned being ready. I asked who would be happy to hear that King Charles would be visiting their home this afternoon. Answer. None of them! Why? Because they were not ready. Well our passage said that the kingdom of God was near and there was only one way to be ready for God. That is to repent and believe. I asked for a list of behaviours and attitudes which we are not at all happy with and which God himself utterly rejects. The first came from Mrs Istanbul. Lying. We developed this and saw how corrosive and damaging lies are. We added stealing, jealousy and hatred to our list. I was glad to think that they understood something of our unreadiness to meet the God pictured in the Bible. On the other hand it takes faith to believe that the rescuer, Jesus is able to save and change us. Pray that these dear friends will have understanding and faith that comes from God.

After the Lesson …

AI is used here to generate imagined reflections on the lesson from the perspectives of four teachers.  These perspectives are grounded in established pedagogical theory and support reflective evaluation of intent, implementation, and impact, contributing to ongoing improvement in teaching practice.

Andrea – reflect and apply

What resonated with me was the movement from concrete experience to reflection and application. Learners touched, named, pronounced, discussed, and then applied language to new contexts, which aligns closely with experiential learning cycles. The real-world environment of the library anchored abstract vocabulary in lived experience. Reflection then transformed experience into understanding. You should look again at the work of David Kolb. You would like it.

Takeaway: Build in a brief explicit reflection step so learners can articulate what they learned and how.

Ralph – revisiting ideas

Your lesson exemplifies what Bruner called a spiral curriculum, revisiting ideas like safety, readiness, and vocabulary in increasingly complex ways. I appreciated how learners rediscovered meaning rather than being told it outright, especially through questioning that pushed beyond surface comprehension. The careful sequencing of recall, exploration, and abstraction was evident throughout. This kind of discovery sustains motivation and retention.

Takeaway: Make the underlying conceptual “big ideas” even more explicit at the close of sessions.

Zaida– intelligent support

I was struck by how deliberately you created opportunities for learners to learn from one another, particularly in pronunciation work where “number one” functioned as a social reference point. As Vygotsky reminds us, learning is fundamentally social, and your approach places interaction at the centre of development. The way you supported learners just beyond what they could do independently reflects work within the zone of proximal development. Meaning was co-constructed rather than delivered.

Takeaway: Keep foregrounding peer listening and adjustment as a conscious learning strategy.

Contrasting Commentary

Ronald – nothing measured, nothing gained

While the lesson is engaging, I question whether its outcomes are sufficiently measurable. Skinner’s work emphasises clear behavioural objectives and reinforcement, yet many of your goals remain internal and interpretive. Without systematic reinforcement, it is difficult to ensure learning has occurred rather than simply been experienced. A tighter stimulus–response structure would offer more certainty.

Takeaway: Consider where explicit reinforcement or mastery checks might strengthen accountability for learning.

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From pedagogical principles to teaching takeaways

Look at the lesson again and at the comments made by your colleagues. Here are some suggestions for consolidating and improving a lesson like this.

 

1. Build deliberately on prior learning

2. Use social and multisensory strategies

3. Go beyond recall to meaning and application


Bury your stupid pride!

I’m ready for you Mrs Karachi. Last week our lesson took a wonderful detour through your gripping story. Mrs Karachi is such an ebullient, irrepressible 60 year old. Her English is all over the place despite her having been here for over 30 years. She hasn’t been to classes during that time and so her language has been picked up in a most disorganized way. Add to this a whole mess of challenges and we have a recipe for broken English. She understands tons but responds like a beginner. Well today was not her day for taking over. I had a strategy for taking some sort of control. I asked the class to guess how many things were in all of my pockets. The top offer was six. Well weren’t they in for a surprise as I took out USB cables, a coffee sachet, a Bluetooth keyboard, keys, tiddlywinks, earbuds and so on until we stopped at item number twenty seven, a book. What a whole lot of language and conversation was to be had from these. The only thing missing was some sort of panic alarm. That would have fitted brilliantly with the theme of the lesson. But that was not to be, as this part of the lesson had arisen spontaneously. We squeezed our vocabulary and pronunciation and connected speech work out of this. By the time Mrs Bogata and Mrs Lisbon arrived late we were well set. But I had failed. Failed miserably. Where was my original lesson plan? I think I saw it floating out the automatic doors all-in-the-name-of “We’ve found something equally important and more pressing in these pockets”. Time to get back on track with two thirds of the lesson time gone. I now had to cut and trim. No problem. Oh no! In comes Mr Girokaster. He was a first timer and had been directed to us via our banner at the church building. So we all introduced ourselves. Yet another welcome distraction. Now time for our word game. It’s hangman really but instead of hanging him I draw a stickman running away through a doorway. The hidden word is “danger”. That’s difficult for most of them to spot after four letters so the game is useful. We get to talk about vowels and high frequency letters and they have to use the phrase “Can we try ‘ r’?” just so that there’s a bit more English in the game. We follow this up with a conversation activity where we all get up, circulate and relate a story where we have been in danger. It’s amazing to hear of earthquakes, terrible car smashes, deep water and fire. To be the teacher of a class where people can tell their true and personal stories is a humbling thing. We eventually sit down ready for the last part of the lesson. The Bible part. There are times when I feel so awkward. Some of this feeling is just stupid pride. When I abbreviate, truncate and simplify my language and stand just this side of pidgin English in an attempt to get learners to understand, I think to myself. What do I think? Answer: “ I hope no English speaker who might be listening thinks that this is all I am capable of. I hope they think I am more intelligent than this language suggests”. This is the dilemma of any English teacher who wants to do more than regurgitate a grammar text and feel that they have done their job by so doing. Bury your foolish pride. I have to learn to do this. I just need to remember that if God can speak through a donkey to Gideon then he can speak through me. Anyhow, God speaks in baby language to us. Do we really think we can understand his thoughts properly? Today we looked at the early part of Mark chapter one and the thought that we are in danger from God. We’re in terrible danger. We have lied, and stolen and been greedy or envious (we may even have been stupidly proud!) We may have looked down on others or been selfish. I asked, “Is God alright with that? Does he just give us a pass?” That was rhetorical! I think their faces and nods showed they got the point. So our text spoke of one who came to get us out of that trouble and danger. A saviour! Jesus, who was sent by God to fix things for people who regret their wrong and are sorry for it, and will own up and ask him to rescue them and change them. As I understand it, that’s good news. There is no better news. Pray that our band on 10 learners will understand it too.

After the Lesson …

AI is used here to generate imagined reflections on the lesson from the perspectives of four teachers.  These perspectives are grounded in established pedagogical theory and support reflective evaluation of intent, implementation, and impact, contributing to ongoing improvement in teaching practice.

Zaida  – social energy

I really resonated with the way learning in your class was socially constructed through talk, objects, and shared stories. When Mrs Karachi and others engaged with the items from your pockets, they were clearly operating in what Vygotsky would call the zone of proximal development, supported by you and by one another. Meaning came first, and language was co-built rather than delivered. That kind of mediated interaction is exactly how internalisation happens.

Takeaway: Keep trusting the social energy of the room and continue to act as a responsive scaffold rather than a controller.

Bob – keep it real

Your lesson is a vivid example of learning rooted in experience rather than abstraction. Dewey argued that education begins with lived experience, and your pockets quite literally became the curriculum for a time. The learners weren’t practicing English for some future use; they were using it immediately to make sense of real objects and real danger stories. That gives learning continuity and purpose.

Takeaway: Don’t mourn the lost lesson plan too much—experience was the lesson.

Liza – lowering language , lowering barriers

What struck me most was the sheer amount of comprehensible input you created without forcing output. Learners listened, guessed, reacted, and gradually contributed at their own level, especially those who understand far more than they can yet say. By lowering your language and your pride, you lowered the affective filter and made acquisition possible. The stories of danger were rich, compelling input—exactly the kind Krashen argues leads to acquisition.

Takeaway: Continue prioritising understanding and meaning; accuracy will follow in time.

critical voice

Ron  – you missed habit formation

I worry that the lesson lacks sufficient structure and reinforcement. From a Skinnerian view, language learning requires clear models, repetition, and reinforcement of correct forms, not extended detours and improvisation. While the stories are engaging, there is little evidence of systematic habit formation or correction. Enjoyment alone does not guarantee learning.

Takeaway: Balance spontaneity with more controlled practice to ensure correct language habits are formed.

Plan lightly, listen deeply

2. Protect meaning and dignity

3. Embed forms in “lived talk”

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