Pat WW CO-1

I observed a speaking class today with Olga Garmash. I arrived 10 minutes early. As I waited in the classroom, the students came in and greeted each other in what I suppose was their first language. Conversations continued until class started and until then, I heard no English spoken at all.

Olga walked in and started the class, which was practice for a debate that would be held in 2 weeks. The class was divided into 2 groups and the resolution was written on the whiteboard: “Should animals be used for testing of drugs and cosmetics?”

One woman asked to be moved to the “negative” side because “she liked puppies.” We all laughed. We all laughed even harder when another woman declared she was on the right side because she didn’t like animals at all.

The 2 groups were given 5 minutes to decide on their 4 points to argue for the affinitive or negative. These 2 words were written in the white board.

As the debate started, I was a bit surprised that there was very little correction of grammer or pronunciation. But seeing the obvious enthusiasm for the debate and then remembering our class lecture and readings, I understood that the Ms. Garmash was letting the students express themselves without correction. I noticed that some corrections were being written on the whiteboard during the debate: mouse/mice, vascular, systems, etc. The debate was very lively.

At the end of an hour, I was asked to declare a winner. I thought that everyone had made good augments. But the woman who had asked the affirmative group to imagine themselves as a puppy and then asked the puppy/people to voluntarily give up their lives for a cosmetic had made her point. The affirmative people wilted under that argument and the negative of the resolution won the day.

One great class management technique was observed. A student interrupted Ms. Garmash as she was explaining something and trying to move on to something else. She said, “The short answer is “no”. If you need a longer answer come see me after class.” Then she went back to what she was doing. That was brilliant. I’m going have to remember that one.