Masaryk University Faculty of Arts Department of English and American Studies

4.2.Progress of the children

In the first lesson the children looked very shy. They hardly ever spoke and they did not seem as though they heard English ever before. It was difficult even to get them to play a game to learn names of others, where there was not necessary to speak English and the principle is basically to mimic what they see and say their name and the name of some other child. With the arrival of Veru they became more talkative and relaxed. Whether it was Veru’s energetic air or the fact that they became accustomed to the environment remains unknown. By the end of the semester there was cooperation established and the teaching went smoothly. The author considers it an accomplishment that by the end of the semester all of the children were able to ask to go to toilet by the whole sentence (“Can I go to toilet?”).

At the start Jeanette did not look much interested or friendly. She needed to be asked directly, but when she knew the answer, she said it. When she did not know, she said nothing. As the course progressed she became keen to share experiences from her life. She often brought little toys to the lesson that provided topic for conversation. Her father who waits for her outside during the whole lesson proved to be a distraction as she had a tendency to go and talk to him every time she went to toilet. By the end of the course she became enthusiastic about sharing what she knows and always seemed satisfied with herself when praised for it. Even though she was rather distracted at the start by the end she was the one reproaching others for disturbance.

Even though Claire looked shy at the start she surprised me by suddenly seating herself on my lap one day. It provided a topic for the author to meditate about as to how to use this element in lessons and how strictly to set the boundaries. It was decided that as long as it does not interfere with the lesson and the goal of the course, it actually provides and interesting diversification and it is in fact individualisation. However, this element has to be integrated into the lesson is such a way that the other children do not feel excluded. As was stated in Chapter 5, point Pyramid of needs they need to feel they are all loved equally. To return to Claire: unlike Jeanette she, indeed as her mother claims, does not say what she knows, she rather likes to show off her skills in gymnastics. However, her interests proved to be a good way to reach her. When learning about body and revising animals an activity called animal yoga was used. As it required some physical skills and combined these with another Claire’s favourite topic which is animals, it can be claimed that this was her favourite activity, because she felt she exceeds others.

Philip from the start came across as very shy. He tends to stand aside, he loses confidence quickly and takes provocation from Daniel to the heart. Sometimes, he stops speaking in the middle of a sentence. He needs assurance that he is listened to. With encouragement he shows knowledge of English. He claims that before attending this course he was interested in English but did not like it much, now he likes it better. It is difficult to get through to him even though he is nice.

Daniel on the other hand seems very confident and tends to makes fun out of Philip. He has a reason to be confident, because he is more advanced than the others, however his behaviour had to be worked on. He has difficulty to understand why children who are two years younger than him do not know the things he does. However, as has been stated, he is willing to help to teach them. He shows interest about English. He wants to know what is the topic of the lesson, what is the topic of the next lesson and sometimes asks whether there will be a lesson about something that interests him. He tends to talk about things that interest him, he preferred to talk in length about his family history rather than to draw a picture. Time showed that his confidence is partly pretence. He tends to be hard on himself, when he thinks his work is not perfect. It proved to be a problem as he is not able to finish a picture in the same time as others, because he keeps erasing it and starting again. He prefers to express himself in other ways, however it is a belief of the author of the thesis that it is not because he actually does not want to draw, it is because he does not believe in himself. He is enthusiastic about drawing at the start, but looses interest, because he thinks it is not good enough. Also, when the children were cutting shapes from a paper he kept adjusting his piece so long that in the end it did not resemble the desired shape at all.

4.3.Group dynamics

It is important to keep in mind that every child is not only an individual but also a part of the group. Each of the children brings a unique input to the group dynamics. For example, Veru brought enthusiasm, but it combination with Daniel they often became distracted together. Veru joined the course later than the others, but she had no problem to fit in. Her mother claims that in a group she tends to be a leader, but she did not show this tendency. However, when compared to Claire and Jeanette she seems older, which may be caused by her being more assertive than the other girls. She certainly seems to be more compatible with Daniel than the others. Daniel proved to be a benefit for the group as he is more advanced than the others. He is able to translate or explain when the others do not understand, the others can learn from him or he can read to the youngest as they are still just learning to. It is however important to make sure that Daniel also does something that is profitable for him during the lesson. Due to Daniel’s treatment of the others it was necessary to think about promoting team behaviour. Jeanette proved to be the most enthusiastic about it as she keeps record of the progress of the lesson and usually really concentrates on its content. As has been mentioned Claire brought the element of physical, both in the sense of exercise and touch. With Philip it is important to keep in mind that all voices need to be heard and that each of the pupils needs an opportunity to express themselves.