In brief:

• Classroom Observation Instructors are role models for observation students
• Students take part in active classroom observations in order to understand the various approaches, methods, and techniques used in language teaching

“The Victoria READ Society has worked with the University of Victoria Linguistics Department for over ten years. We host observation students as well as mentor student teachers. This has proven to be a rewarding and useful partnership. The READ students get to meet and talk to English speaking university-aged students while the Applied Linguistics students gain the experience of meeting and teaching people who are struggling learning a new language.

"It is a win-win relationship for all of us.”
- Cindy Vaartnou, Victoria READ Society

Description

 As part of the course requirements for Linguistics 374, students take part in at least five classroom observations of various language classes both on and off campus. Instructors who allow our students to join their class for a lecture give our students the opportunity to better understand the various approaches, methods, and techniques used in language teaching.

The observation process allows Instructors to teach their class as usual, but with one or more Observation Student present. Observations can range from a few students on a single day to many students throughout an entire semester. Instructors are able to set the parameters for the observations, in terms of the number of students, acceptable observation days, whether student participation is required, and other details.

After the observations have been completed, students write reports based on the knowledge gained from the observation experience. The observation process is integral to the Applied Linguistics Program because it provides students with the opportunity to observe various teaching methods before they participate in a Practicum. Thus, the class instructors are role models for the observation students.

Contact

Nicholas Travers (alassist@uvic.ca) if you are interested in having our Linguistics 374 students observe your class. To allow students and instructors to get the most out of the observation process, we ask that you include the following information in your email:

• Course name (e.g. French 100) and level description (e.g. very beginner)
• School Location (e.g. ‘on UVic campus’ or ‘123 Street Address’)
• Instructor’s name
• Instructor’s contact information and preferred method of contact (phone, email, or both)
• Days and times of course instruction (e.g. Monday and Thursday, from 8:30 AM to 10:00 AM)
• Classroom location (e.g. Clearihue Building, Room A311)
• Maximum number of observation students allowed per class day (e.g. ‘only 2 students per day’)
• Maximum number of observation students allowed in total (e.g. ‘only 10 students total’)
• Specific information and requests, for example:
• range of dates during which observation students are allowed (e.g. September 23 – October 11)
• which class days are not suitable for observation (e.g. ‘Fridays are quiz days’)
• how early in advance to contact you (e.g. ‘no previous contact necessary’ or ‘3 days in advance’). Unless otherwise stated, procedure is for students to contact instructor at least one week prior to observation.
• how early students should arrive (e.g. ‘15 minutes early to discuss day’s plan’)
• whether students are required to participate in class activities
• any other important information !