I observed a video of a one-hour lesson in an intermediate class in a Korean public school, which was taught by a team of one Korean and one American (native English speaker). This class consisted of approximately thirty students who I understand to be sixth grade so likely around twelve years of age. The focus of this lesson was speaking and listening based around the topic of discussing past activities. In this lesson, I appreciated both benefits and issues of pacing, routinization, repetition, and motivation, particularly for younger learners. Finally, I noted challenges regarding a relatively large class size.

When I first watched this lesson, I was struck by the speed and nearly mechanized efficiency at which it progressed.  It felt rushed and I doubted that students could be following and learning. However, I later came to realize that students were able to follow due to a level of routinization that established clear expectations. The lesson had interactive digital materials that employed the same patterns. The teachers employed techniques like hand gestures and rhythmic clapping for classroom management needs. On the other hand, the teachers seemed complacent about instruction as a result. From the beginning, the lesson plan was referenced only briefly and incompletely and a representation of the plan on the board (a good idea) was not returned to for the remainder of the lesson. Explanations of the purpose of activities was also lacking.

Another reason students seemed to keep up was the content was mostly review and was repeated throughout the lesson. A downside of this was a lack of challenge for the students, but volume of successful speaking practice is beneficial and avoids frustration. Further, there were a manageable number of student errors that could be corrected to reinforce understanding, which led me to believe it was an appropriate level.

Further, while there was a certain amount of rushing that could have been avoided, the upside of the pacing was that the students never appeared bored and there was no “dead” time. This is an important consideration for younger learners who may not be interested in every activity for long periods and could be easily distracted. Motivation of these younger students was also addressed by making the content about kids of the same age, but primarily by external benefits such as a reward system and by playing a game for about half the lesson. These strategies were highly successful. Other strategies, such as singing, were not as successful, which shows these approaches are not automatic as a lack of teacher enthusiasm was a problem.

A final note from this lesson, as the first I observed of this size, was the lack of meaningful relationships between the English speaking teacher and the students. The interactions were very stiff and he didn’t refer to any student by name. Further, there was little individual attention or assessment and stronger students seemed to both volunteer and be selected more often, creating the possibility of leaving others behind. The rapid pacing of the class may have exacerbated this.

This lesson was helpful in understanding the different approaches that may suit younger learners as well as the practices of educational programs in other countries.