Throughout the world, dance is an expression of celebration for a successful harvest. Although tools of technology have replaced the traditional farming methods of many cultures, many celebratory traditions have been well preserved. One such tradition is that of dance.
The intercultural objective of this lesson is for students to notice a similarity between Korean and Zimbabwean cultures. The similarity is the tradition of dancing in celebration of a successful harvest. Another objective is for students to learn the differences in how each culture uses the body in dance and to understand how messages can be expressed through body movements. Students are expected to physically participate in learning 'Dinhe', a Zimbabwean harvest dance, while practicing the instructions. Finally, students create and teach their own dance moves, creating messages through movement.
As I viewed my video lesson, I immediately noticed that I was speaking a bit too quickly. I was eager to show as much of my lesson as possible and this may have caused me to be a bit speedy. I hope that in my real classroom, I would be less hurried during the presentation and practice.
While giving instructions I did well in facilitating student interaction by directing them to ask each other questions. However, at one point Heidi expressed confusion about the term 'sow'. While she did not ask a direct question, her reaction was quite realistic to what a real L2 student would do. She repeated the word a couple of times after hearing it. Through the inflection of her voice, she expressed unfamiliarity with the term. I made a quick comment explaining that 'sow' and 'plant' shared similar meanings. I knew that the following slide would isolate the term and that students would have a chance to practice the phrase 'sowing seeds'. Still, I could have spent a few more seconds explaining the term when the student first noticed it as new vocabulary. Another observation made during the viewing was that I failed to check student comprehension of instructions for the first listening activity. I should have asked a couple of students to repeat the instructions before beginning the video.
I hadn't anticipated student difficulty in hearing the instructions during the first listening/viewing. I should have, but I didn't. I had seen and heard the video so many times, I took for granted the fast pace at which the instructions are given. From the first instruction, "get grounded" to the last, "slightly tilt your pelvis", there is practically no pause. During the MT, a lot of students were unable to complete the chart and these were NS teachers! I immediately came up with a solution. Although my plan was for the teacher to check student comprehension, instead I asked students to work together to compare and share answers. In this way they seemed more eager to speak with one another because they wanted to complete the listening activity sheet.
I believe that my strongest teaching technique was the use of my body in expressing word and phrase meanings. I positioned myself close to the board, so that I could point to relevant images. Also, I used my entire body to help students understand terms, such as before, sowing seeds, bend, wide apart, slightly, relaxed, grounded, heavy, dig up, and jump for joy. Using my body benefited both the students and myself. Students were able to better understand the terms and I was able to warm up my body for the dances that were to be taught and learned!
This is a lesson I would really enjoy teaching. I believe that students would embrace the activities and produce some interesting dances of their own. Of course, this would be more likely once the students have studied with each other and myself for a while. I would not teach this lesson during the first weeks of a new class. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to teach this lesson at my academy. The classrooms are entirely too small. However, it will definitely be implemented in a future curriculum. The MT showed me that this lesson can be enjoyed by both children and adults. I think my STG classmates had a good time, at least I hope so!
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