Ehsan Gorji is an Iranian teacher, teacher trainer and teacher educator. He also designs strategic plans, devises study syllabuses, runs quality-check observations, and develops materials and tests for different language institutes and schools in the country. Ehsan has been a GSE Thought Leader and Expert Rater since 2016.Ìý
Reflective teaching, despite it sounding modern and sophisticated, has not yet become a common practice among English language teachers. However, the experientialÌýÌýproposed byÌýÌýoffers a practical approach for teachers. The cycle involves teaching a lesson, reflecting on "what we did" and "how we did them," and then using that reflection to improve future English classes. By using this approach, teachers can prepare for better teaching in the long term.
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Reflective teaching is important to teachers, especially language teachers, for it is one of the few practices that maintains dynamic and healthy teaching. Ranking high along with continuing professional development and lesson planning, reflective teaching prevents teachers from entering autopilot mode – i.e., when a teacher changes from class to class, only battling their growing fatigue.
Reflective teaching helps focus our attention on the responsibility of the teachers to deliver effective teaching and impact students' learning. Language teachers cannot learn for our students; nevertheless, we can pave the way for their learning. Reflective teaching grants us the judiciary seat after each class to listen to ourselves and form accurate and independent judgments on how our teaching assisted, or sometimes impeded, their learning in our classes.
Forward-looking reflective teaching is a new perspective on post-teaching analysis. It starts from the very first and wishes to prepare for the very end. Unlike reflective teaching, which mainly focuses on the 'teaching' phase, forward-looking reflective teaching observes both 'teaching' and 'pre-teaching' phases to gather enough data and analyze it to produce better results in 'post-teaching'. This approach provides language teachers with the following checklist of questions.
To apply forward-looking reflective teaching and to bring it to our everyday teaching, we can consider examples from the following checklist.
Planning the lesson
1. Was I aware of which learning objectives I intended to teach?
2. Was I aware of which learning outcomes I needed to follow?
3. Did I curate suitable lesson objectives?
4. Did I carefully inspect the language examples I used in my lesson?
5. Did I explicitly know what I was able to do in my class?
Designing the tasks
6. Did I break my lesson into clear stages, following each other smoothly? For example, preliminary > presentation > controlled practice > freer practice > production/ or: before > during > after/ etc.
7. Did each of my lesson stages intend to push my learners toward the lesson's learning objectives?
8. Did each of my lesson stages intend to push my learners towards the learning outcomes of the course?
9. To what extent did my lesson design give my class an adequate opportunity to practice and generate communication?
10. To what extent did my lesson design provide my class an adequate opportunity to practice and enable collaboration?
11. Did I time my stages well?
Setting assignments
12. Did my assignments target the learning outcomes my learners were supposed to acquire?
13. Especially in , did I set assignments in favor of 'fun and ease' or 'fun, ease and outcome'?
14. Especially in Adult and Professional Learners classes, did my homework assignments intend to develop their employability skills?
15. Did my assignments encourage learner autonomy? How?
Treating errors
16. Did I treat errors or just correct errors?
17. Did I bear in mind that not every error is indicative of an actual issue?
18. Did I sharply distinguish an error from a mistake, and did I treat these two differently?
19. Did I tell faulty knowledge from non-existent knowledge accurately?
20. Did I apply teaching withÌý when appropriate?
Delivering feedback
21. Did I evaluate my students' formative progress against some detailed learning objectives rather than basing it on how others did in class?
22. Did I evaluate my students' summative progress with the precise learning outcomes that their level demanded?
23. Did my feedback on my learners' learning and oral performance help me communicate clear and detailed expectations to the learner, with the aim for them to improve in the future?
24. Did my feedback on my learners' learning and written performance help me communicate clear and detailed expectations to the learner, with the aim for them to improve in the future?
The teaching checklist works better if it is run through regularly. Start from one class each day, and gradually change the rhythm for more. Immediately after your class or later at night, before planning the next class, go through the checklist and add more than your estimated teaching capacity. Ask yourself every one of the questions patiently and note down your answers; they show you where to start for the next class. Some of the questions in the checklist might receive 'Yes'/'No', and some might come up with:
The checklist works much better if you prepare a plan of action to improve things for the following class(es). Do not feel bad if you score lots of 'No's or 'Not at all's; instead, be inspired to reduce them in the subsequent classes step by step. This checklist is a roadmap to your professional development and more importantly, to better the learning by your students; therefore, welcome it and let it run everyday check-ups on your teaching.
Collaborate with colleagues to share checklists and set up forums. Discuss and learn from each other about inspecting language, error treatment, and feedback delivery. Ask questions to enrich your action plan. Find out how to create effective scaffolding. The forum can cover all parts of the checklist.
Read this blogÌýto better understand lesson planning and inspecting language.ÌýReview and revise your techniques and principles in your teaching wardrobe, especially with teaching beginners.
A forward-looking reflective teaching checklist works best if accompanied by the Global Scale of English and its . Years of research by thousands of experts and teachers from around the globe have resulted in a free, excellent bank of learning objectives for different learner types – young, adult, professional and academic. This checklist and approach, alongside the GSE resources, can further equip you with the necessary tools to succeed.
In a previous blog, we shared someÌýstrange English phrases that might have left you with some questions. The English language is full of peculiar phrases that can even confuse fluent speakers. In today's post, we'll take a look at a few more such phrases to help you expand your repertoire.
November marks , an excellent opportunity to improve your English skills. While there are several ways to enhance your proficiency in English, writing a novel is a lesser-known method that can significantly refine your understanding of the language. As well as enhancing your vocabulary and grammar, creating a story is an imaginative and fun way to unleash your creativity. So let's have a look at some things picking up the pastime can help you with.
It's a great way to improve your vocabulary naturally. As you create your story, you search for the perfect words to express your thoughts, which helps you explore synonyms, understand the nuances of language, and discover new phrases that can add depth and richness to your writing. Websites like and are excellent resources to enhance your word toolkit.
When you're writing, having a good grasp of grammar and syntax is vital. To clearly express your ideas, you need to navigate grammar rules with precision. Platforms like and Purdue OWLÌýprovide comprehensive guides and tools that can help you improve your grammatical skills. By regularly referring to useful resources as you write, you'll be able to identify and correct errors and also enhance your understanding of grammatical structures.
Writing novels are an excellent opportunity to develop a unique style of writing. You can discover your voice as a writer by trying out different narrative techniques and literary devices. Online writing communities like and Ìýprovide opportunities for collaboration and feedback, allowing you to receive helpful criticism and refine your writing style in a supportive environment.
If you want to create an awesome novel, you've got to read a lot. By diving into the world of literature, you get to experience all sorts of writing styles and pick up some great tips for telling a compelling story. Websites like , ÃÛÌÒapp Plus and offer a plethora of literary works, providing access to various genres and writing techniques. This kind of exposure enhances your reading comprehension and helps you discern the subtleties of language.
Creating a coherent and engaging narrative requires critical thinking skills. As you navigate the complexities of plot development and character arcs, you'll naturally get better and better at it. Websites like and offer resources to sharpen critical thinking skills, complementing the cognitive benefits gained through the novel-writing process.
As well as having educational uses, writing is a powerful tool that can be used to process complex emotions and ideas in a therapeutic way. Whether you are dealing with stress, anxiety, or just trying to make sense of a difficult situation, writing stories can provide an outlet for your thoughts and feelings. So, if you're looking for a way to process your emotions and ideas while having fun, novel writing may be your perfect outlet. It's also something you can do without any technology, so a great way to technology detox.Ìý
Writing a novel is not just about unleashing your creativity but also refining your grammar, enriching your vocabulary, developing a unique writing style, enhancing your reading comprehension and fostering critical thinking. Make sure to use all available resources and take inspiration wherever possible. Creative writing is a journey of constant improvement and self-discovery. You might surprise yourself.
Need some inspiration? Check out 9 great novels to help improve your English or Books to improve your English: Sci-fi and fantasy edition.
It's incredible to know that there are thousands of languages spoken across the world, each with its unique set of challenges for learners. A question that often pops up is: "Which language is the hardest to learn?". Today we take a closer look at this question and consider different factors that make learning a language challenging.
