UCE, module 2, student feedback

STUDENT FEEDBACK

I received feedback from two parallel classes who I had taught the conditionals. Class 2a was taught through drama, class 2b in a 'conventional' way. In a so-called SOFT analysis, the students expressed their opinion of the teaching situation as they had experienced it for unit 8 of the course book ('Ist-Zustand'). In the column 'satisfactions', they were asked to write everything they had liked, been satisfied with during the 4 teaching units. The column 'faults' was provided to express their dissatisfaction with the situation they had experienced. The second half of the questionnaire referred to the situation they aspired for the future ('Soll-Zustand'). In the column 'opportunities', they were asked to express the possibilities they saw in order to improve their learning. The column 'threats' was provided to reflect on possible inhibitions that could be in the way of putting their hopes expressed in 'opportunities' into practice.

The students were supposed to write down anything that came to their mind. The categories ('speaking', 'writing', 'grammar' etc.) are the result of my evaluation.

The number in brackets indicates the number of students who expressed the same opinion.

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Soft-analysis BMS 2a (taught through drama)

'Ist-Zustand'
(the present
situation)

SATISFACTIONS

FAULTS

[up]

Discussion (5)
- Free conversation

Grammar (5)

- Good explanations in the books.

- Explanations in the book with
considerable effort understandeable (when studied by myself)

Change (3)
- Change
- Physical movement

Test preparation (2)
- Writing texts
- Discussions

Linkers (1)
- Worksheet with explanations

Use (1)

- Using the material dealt with in class

Vocabulary (1)

- Vocabulary was used several times: I learned it better

Writing (1)
- Writing letters

Grammar (14)

- Grammar was used unconsciously

- I wasn’t aware of the connection
between the drama work and the
topics in the book.

- The explanations in the coursebook
are difficult to understand.

- The grammar wasn’t explained
at the beginning.

- Time clauses were not explained
and understood well enough.

- Wish/if only: not explained enough.
Difficulty when to use this construction.

Linkers (7)
- More practice necessary
- Not enough routine
- Translation into German

Discussion/grammar (1)

- I was not familiar with the rules when
speaking; intuitive use

Discussion: guidelines (1)

- Guidelines on the overhead projector
not necessary (didn’t think myself)

Test preparation (1)

- I prefer working with grammar
exercises from the book.

Vocabulary (1)

- 'Base and strong adjectives‘:
wasn’t aware of the connection to the
book when they were used in class.

'Soll-Zustand'
(future
possibilites)

OPPORTUNITIES

THREATS

[up]

Discussion (2)
- Correction while speaking
- More speaking, less acting

Grammar (14)

- (9) Deductive grammar teaching (first the rules, then using them).

- More explanations of the rules and summaries of rules.

- Time clauses/wish/if only should be discussed in more detail.

Homework (1)

- Exercises in the workbook should
be discussed in class.

Linkers (5)
- More exercises
- Translations

Test preparation (1)

- First explanation of grammar,
then use (= deductive teaching)

Grammar (2)

- Detailed explanation takes a lot
of time.

Discussion (1)

- Being corrected during conversation
can be frustrating.

Drama work (1)
- Fewer possibilities to do drama.

Linkers (1)

- Putting together a chart can be
very time-consuming.

No problem (1)
- No possible problems

Soft-analysis BMS 2b (taught in a 'conventional' way)

'Ist-Zustand'
(the present
situation)

SATISFACTIONS

FAULTS

[up]

Grammar: Explanations (9)

- Good explanations on the blackboard and on separate worksheets.

- Topic was discussed intensively

- Use of pictures

- Clarity in explanations

- Repetition

- Language review p. 79 (SB): easy to understand.

Writing (8)

- Writing texts and correcting them.

Book (4)

- A lot of work with the book

- Good help from the grammar book (Murhpy )

Exercises (2)

- Discussion of the exercises in the workbook .

Vocabulary (2)
- Separate vocabulary tests.

Discussion (1)

- SB p. 78 : What would you do with 2 million pounds?

Linkers (1)
- worksheet

Reading (1)

- Reading p. 80 (SB): Who wants
to be a millionaire?

Use (1)
- Writing texts

Grammar (7)

- grammar reference in the book
(SB p. 152) not very clear and difficult,
since all the explanations are in English.

- Topic (conditionals) was dealt with
a bit too long.

- Clearer explanation of the grammar.

- Time clauses/linking words: should
have been explained in more detail.

Worksheets (6)
- Difficult worksheets for linking words.

Explanations (4)
- Detailed explanations
- Worksheets a bit difficult

Linkers (4)

- Linkers not practised enough,
no translation was given.

Group Work (3)
- Not enough group work

Book (2)

- Personal dislike of the book

- Too much work with the book
can get very boring.

Writing/Discussion (2)

- Always the same topics for the
writing tasks.

- Many texts and dialogues, quite
little grammar.

Discussion (1)
- Not enough speaking

'Soll-Zustand'
(future
possibilites)

OPPORTUNITIES

THREATS

[up]

Explanations (5)

- Clearer explanation of the grammar
in the book

Computer (3)
- Practice with the computer

Grammar (3)

- Grammar should be made easier
with the use of pictures and additional
exercises.

Group work (3)
- More group work.

Media (3)

- Watch films; understand everyday
language

Discussion (1)
- more speaking

Linkers (1)

- More exercises to practice the linkers.

Worksheets (1)

- More worksheets according to
students’ individual needs.

Writing (1)

- Many different topics for short essays.

Media (4)
- No language laboratory available.
- Difficult to find a suitable film.

Time (3)
- Lack of time for more explanations.

Computer (1)
- No PCs available.

Resources (1)
- Money, time, computers