Includes bibliographical references and index.

PART ONE: Introduction
1. Observation as a learning tool
2. Who is this book for?
3. Why a book on observation?
4. How the tasks are organised
5. How to use the tasks
6. A word of caution

PART TWO: The tasks

1. The learner
1.1 Attending to the learner
1.2 Learner motivation
1.3 The learner as doer
1.4 Learner level
1.5 The learner as cultural being

2. Language 2.1 The teacher's meta-language 2.2 The language of questions 2.3 The language of feedback to error 2.4 Language echoes 2.5 Language as the negotiation of meaning

3. Learning 3.1 The learning environment 3.2 Checking learning 3.3 Learning and teaching compared 3.4 Learning aims 3.5 Lexis and learning

4. The lesson 4.1 Lesson planning 4.2 Opening closures 4.3 Lesson phases and transitions 4.4 Grammar as lesson content 4.5 Lesson breakdowns

5. Teaching skills and strategies 5.1 Presenting 5.2 Eliciting: teacher prompts 5.3 Eliciting: teacher responses 5.4 Giving instructions 5.5 Managing error

6. Classroom management 6.1 Managing classroom communication: patterns of interaction 6.2 Managing pair and group work 6.3 Teaching and leaning roles 6.4 Timing and place 6.5 Classroom power

7. Materials and resources 7.1 The board as resource 7.2 The learner as resource 7.3 'Whole-learner' materials 7.4 Task analysis 7.5 Task design and evaluation

Bibliography

Task index

Index

Classroom Observation Tasks shows how to use observation to learn about language teaching. It does this by providing a range of tasks which guides the user through the process of observing, analysing and reflecting, and develops the skills of observation.
The book contains a bank of 35 structured tasks grouped into seven areas of focus: the learner, the language, the learning process, the lesson, teaching skills and strategies, classroom management, and materials and resources. Each task looks at one aspect of a particular area: for example, the language a teacher uses to ask questions, or how the teacher monitors learning, or how people interact in a lesson. Each task provides guidance in how to record observations, and questions to help users interpret the data and relate the experience to their own teaching circumstances and practice." (Book Cover)