TASK A In the context of teacher education or teachers’ professional development where you work, what are the kinds of observation that pre-service teachers / in-service teachers are expected to do?

i. Live observation of lessons given by experienced teachers;

ii. Observation of video-recordings of lessons by experienced teachers;

iii. Peer observation of fellow students (e.g. in microteaching) or teacher colleagues;

iv. Self-observation: reflection on recordings or diaries of their own teaching;

v. Other kinds of observation – which?

TASK B If descriptions of the observation module given to pre-service teachers (or the observation tasks that in-service teachers are asked to carry out) are available to you, read them and reflect on the following questions:  

• What are the main purposes of the lesson observation that pre-service teachers / in-service teachers are asked to do?  
• Do they use checklists or make reports of the lessons they observe? If so, what kind(s) of checklists and reports?
• Do they have a discussion with the pre-service or in-service teachers whom they observe?
• Are they asked to comment on or assess the ways in which the teachers being observed use language?
• If they are asked to consider in some detail how teachers use the language of instruction, what aspects of language use are they asked to reflect on or comment on? 

  i.	The quality and clarity of instructions;
  ii.	The correctness of the language used;
  iii.	The choice and variety of questions;
  iv.	The language used to mediate new concepts or information;
  v.	The verbal feedback or correction given to learners when they answer;
  vi.	The support given to learners who have difficulty understanding or expressing themselves (some examples are provided here);
  vii.	The language used to react to problematic learner behaviour and other ways the teacher uses language.