Francisco TO-3

I observed Maryland's reading class on Tuesday at 11:00 am. This class did not have as many students as the previous ones I have observed. Instead it had only about seven or eight students. I introduced myself to Maryland and she asked me if I could introduce myself to the class when it begins. The class began and Maryland told the students that there is a visitor and pointed to me. I stood up and saw all the students smiling at me. I can tell that all the students enjoy meeting other people from different cultures and are eager to learn about them. I told them I am originally from Mexico but now reside in the U.S. and that I am currently getting certified to teach English as a foreign language. After my introduction they all clapped and then Maryland asked the students to say their name and introduce themselves to me, a gesture I found extremely generous. The class began with Maryland displaying a group of vocabulary words on the projector. These vocabulary words appeared to be more difficult than some of the other one I have observed, some of them, I must admit, I did not know. She went over each of the vocabulary words then told the class that all these words are in passages of the novel "1984"that the class will be reading. For the remainder of the class, we read and listened to an audio tape of the first chapters of "1984". Before the class concluded, Maryland assured the students that this read is considered a difficult read and is read by students in high school. Maryland asked me if I read the book in high school and I told the class that I did and it was during me senior year. I added that I considered the book challenging at the time also. The students seemed to be pleased with themselves for being able to fathom a book that is considered challenging for native English high-school students.