2007 English Teaching Methodology Class Blog

Blogging Task 11 (Optional)

2007-07-31T16:07:00.000+09:00

Today we had AK, an English teacher from a high school in Mizusawa and NU, an English teacher from a Junior High School in Morioka give demonstration task-based English lessons and speak about English teaching in general. Please write what you learned about teaching from watching their lesson and the discussion you had with them. If you write in your blog, I will add a link to your post below:
Students who wrote about NU's class:
Karuha
Kanage
Nakki

Students who wrote about AK's class:
Jaguar

Blogging Task 10: Reading Activities

2007-07-19T16:49:00.000+09:00

Today we saw 4 micro teaching lessons. The teachers and their reading topics are given below. I would like the teachers to write in their blogs by Monday, July 23 and the students to write a comments in the teacher's blogs by Wednesday, July 25.

Teachers: I would like you to write about the following:

What were the objectives of your pre-reading and in-reading activities. Were you successful in attaining those objectives?
What were the strengths and weaknesses of your mini-lesson?
Did you make any discoveries about teaching, if so, what?

Students: I would like you to react to what the teachers wrote.

Here is a list of the teachers and their lessons:

Nabeso and Kanage: Eating in a Japanese Restaurant
Naojin and Micchi: Can anyone hear me?
Buchan and Nakki: Carson, Rachel Louise
Jasmine and Ambition: Try to be the only one

Blogging Task 9: Commenting on

2007-07-05T23:57:00.000+09:00

Today, we saw three micro teaching presentations from the following pairs. They will write a comment in their blogs by Monday, July 9. I would like you to write a comments on their blogs about the strong points and weak points of their presentation and practice. Please write a comment on their blogs by Wednesday, July 11.

Knight's Night & Satomin Structure: I use a computer to watch you tube.

Noriharu & Misato Structure: Makkenji is a teacher who wrote a famous book.

Mayuchan & Chiita Structure: What is he doing?

Scarlet & Manning Structure: Manning finished studying for the test.

Blogging Task 8: Giving advice to Prospective Teachers or ALTs

2007-06-21T14:23:00.000+09:00

In your blogs, please write a post for people who do not know Japanese schools but will be working in a Junior High School. The people who you are writing to can either be a teacher trainee (kyouiku jisshuusei), an ALT or any other kind of group you can think of!
In your post, based on Mr. M's lecture and your own experience as a student or teacher, give your readers information you think they will need to be a successful teacher in a Japanese Junior High School.
Last year in my own blog, I wrote a message to ALTs based on Mr. M's lecture and my own experience. Please have a look at the post and you can write our post in a similar style if you wish.

The due date is Wednesday, July 6, 12:23AM.

Here is a list of people who have written in their blogs as of June 25:
Buchan
Emiko
Genzai-Shin
Hikkun
Jasmine
Kanage
Karuha
Keichan
Kiki
Manning
Mayuchan
Micchan
Misato
Micchi
Moomin
Nakki
Nabeso
Naojin
Otokojyuku
Pizza
Radish
Rozen
Satomin
Wakame

Task 7: Comment on our "Grammar" Teacher's Blogs

2007-06-14T16:46:00.001+09:00

Today, June 14, we participated in three mini grammar lessons. Each teacher will write a reflection of their lesson on their blogs by June, 18 7PM. Please write a comment on each of the blogs of the teachers. When you write a comment, please consider the following: Did the teachers successfully teach the form, meaning and use of their target structures? What were the strong points and weak points of their lessons. The blogs of the teachers and the structures they taught are below:
1) Radish & Wakame: Do you ~?
2) Moomin-Satona & Jaguar: ~ because ~ .
3) Hikkun & Genzai-Shin: noun + infinitive construction (work to do, food to eat)

Task 6: Write your comments on the Vocabulary Teaching Lesson

2007-05-31T13:50:00.000+09:00

Today, Rozen and Micchan as well as Keichan and Otokojuku will do a ten minute vocabulary teaching mini-lesson. They will write a relfection in their blogs by Monday, June 4. Please write a comment on their blogs by Wednesday, June 6, 10PM.
I would like Rozen, Micchan, Keichan, and Otokojuku to write the following headings in their post:

What we did for our lesson:
What our students did during our lesson.
The strenghts and weaknesses of our lesson.

Blogging Task 5: Microteaching: Conducting Communicative Activities

2007-05-24T12:36:00.000+09:00

Today, Emiko, Karuha, Kiki and Pizza conducted improved versions of the communicative activities I presented two weeks ago.

By Monday, May 28, they will reflect on the communicative activities they conducted in ETM3 on their blogs. I would like them to explain
1) what kind of language they tried to review
2) what the objectives of their activity were
3) what new things they discovered about conducting communicative activities
4) their overall reflection of their experience.

You can read their blogs by clicking on their names. You can see the original activity they tried to improve upon by clicking the "old version" link next to each activity.

Emiko: Using Movement <old version>
Karuha: Information Gap Card A Card B>
Kiki: Interview Activity <old version>
Pizza: Karuta <old version>

Emiko, Karuha, Kiki and Pizza to write a reflection on their blogs by Monday, May 28 and everyone else in ETM 3 will comment on their blogs by Wednesday, May 30.

Blogging Task 4: The Present and Learn Approach vs. The Teaching Through Input Approach

2007-05-17T14:03:00.000+09:00

Please write about the following for next week:

What are the strengths and weaknesses of the Present and Learn Approach and the Learning through Input Approach? As a junior high school English teacher, which approach would you use for teaching vocabulary; the Present and Learn Approach, the Teaching through Input Approach, or a hybrid? Why?

To see a powerpoint presentation the different approaches, please click here.

Here is a sample outline of an entry:
Today we learned about two approaches for teaching vocabulary: the Teach and Learn Approach and the Learning through Input Approach. You can see a PowerPoint presentation of the approaches here. I would like to tell you about the strengths and weaknesses of each approach as well as the approach I would use as a Junior High School English teacher.
First, I will talk about the strengths and weaknesses of….
Second, I will talk about the strengths and weaknesses of ….
Lastly as a junior high school English teacher I would favor the Teach and Learn Approach/ Learning through Input Approach/ a Hybrid.

For an example of an excellent blogging entry, you can also read Keichan's post on methods of teaching vocabulary.
Please do the task by Wednesday, May 23, 8PM

Next week, I would like to ask Micchan and Rosen as well as Keichan and Otokojuku to demonstrate the hybrid teaching approaches they recommended.

ETM 3 Members Ideas for Communicative Activities

2007-05-17T13:50:00.000+09:00

In the last class I presented 9 typical communicative activities done in the Japanese Junior High School English classroom and asked ETM 3 members to write how they would improve 2 of the 9 activities. Everyone had very interesting ideas and I was particularly intrigued by what the following students wrote about how to fix the following activities:

Emiko: Using Movement
Karuha: Information Gap
Micchi: Find someone who
Naojin & Kiki: Interview Activity
Nakki: Questionnaire
Pizza: Karuta

I have asked 3 of these students to try their ideas in ETM3 next week and write about the outcomes. I am looking forward to next week!

Blogging Task 3: Communicative Activities

2007-05-10T13:56:00.000+09:00

Write how you would improve at least two of the typical communicative activities I presented in class today. You can view the typical communicative activities here. Please include a link to the communicative activities so anyone reading you blog can see the communicative activities that you are talking about. You can begin your blog saying something like this:

Today, I am going to review two of the "typical Japanese junior high school"
communicative activities presented in ETM 3. The activities I am going to review
are _______ and _________. You can view them here.

Please do the above by Wednesday, May 16, 5PM and comment on someone else's blog. Please tell me whose blog you commented on by writing a comment to this post.

Blogging Task 2: Free Writing

2007-05-02T00:07:00.000+09:00

The last class everyone including myself seemed to lack energy and be a little worn out. Let's recuperate over Golden Week, think about something else other than English education and come back to ETM 3 on May 10 feeling energized!
Your next blogging task is to write about anything that is important to you. Please write an entry in your blog by May 7.

Questions to ETM3 about your Learning Experiences

2007-04-25T17:36:00.000+09:00

ETM 3 members wrote about their experiences learning Englsh in junior high school and senior high school. Here are some questions that I asked them in their posts.

Karuha wrote that role play was her favorite ativity but my experience has been that many students in Japan do not like role play. I would like to ask Karuha how role play was carried out in her classes. Did students read a dialogue or did they improvise?

Kanage, as well as many other people in ETM 3, wrote that the only reason for studying English in high school was to pass the university entrance exam. I asked her if all her subjects in high school had similar objectives.

Many ETM 3 members wrote that studying for entrance exams was least valuable. I would like to know what was useful about studying for entrance exams?

Keichan wrote a very interesting post about her English learning experience. I asked Keichan whether or　not the reason she became interested in English was her English teacher or her interest in English itself.

Kiki wrote that she did not like the monotonous repetition of words in her English class. I am curious as to what her alternative method is for studying words and whether it is possible to use this message for each word.

First Blogging Task: Our stories of studying English in secondary school

2007-04-19T13:56:00.000+09:00

Please make a blog entry discussing your experience studying English in Junior High School and Senior High School. Your entry should include the following:

Your most enjoyable language learning experience at school and an explanation of why
Your least enjoyable language learning activity at school and an explanation of why
Your most valuable language learning activity at school and an explanation of why
Your least valuable language learning activity at school and an explanation of why
Overall, how would you rate your experience as an English learner?
The influence you think your language learning experience will have on your teaching

Please do the above by (Monday, April 23, 8PM)Please comment on a classmate's blog by Tuesday, April 24, 11PM and e-mail JH to say whose blog you commented on. Come to class prepared to discuss your own language learning experience and to compare it to the experiences of others.

English Teaching Methodology 3 Blog

2007-04-19T13:28:00.000+09:00

We are an English Teaching Methodology course. We are located in the prefecture of Iwate which is in northern Japan. The class consists of 30 students; some of them plan on being English teachers, others plan on being elementary school teachers, and others plan on entering the private sector. We started on April 12 and we will finish the first week of August. All the students will have teacher training this September and this class will hopefully help prepare them for that.
Students will be blogging about their experience as language learners and teachers as well as be using these blogs as a means to exchange ideas and opinions about teaching English. We hope that you can join us!
This blog will be used as a portal to access the students' blogs as well as a means to present the week's blogging topics and showcase interesting student posts.
Below is our blogroll and feeds are to the right:
Ambition: http://half-field-february.blogspot.com/
Buchan: http://buchanshappylife.blogspot.com/
Chiita: http://chiitadata.blogspot.com/
Emiko: http://emikoblog.blogspot.com/
GENZAI-SHIN: http://you-do-not-eat.blogspot.com/
Nabeso: http://cheerfully.blogspot.com/
Hikkun: http://cool-struttin.blogspot.com/
Jasmine: http://dreaming-girl-jasmine.blogspot.com/
Jimbo: http://discussenglish.blogspot.com/
Kanage: http://totoro-kanage.blogspot.com/
Karuha: http://karuha-haruka-karuha.blogspot.com/
Keichan: http://keichansblog.blogspot.com/
Kiki: http://sooooo-nice.blogspot.com/
Knight's Night: http://knights-night.blogspot.com/
Manning: http://e1205012.blogspot.com/
Mayubo: http://mayuboo.blogspot.com/
Micchan: http://micchans-room.blogspot.com/
Micchi: http://ilikeenglish-micchi.blogspot.com/
Misato: http://misablog.blogspot.com/
Moomin: http://moomin-satona.blogspot.com/
Nakki: http://nakki-english-english.blogspot.com/
Naojin: http://naojinsblog.blogspot.com/
Noriharu: http://lupin-the-3rd.blogspot.com/
Pizza: http://pizza-english.blogspot.com/
RADISH: http://tsugaruben.blogspot.com/
Rozen: http://rozen-english-teaching-method.blogspot.com/
Satomin: http://s-m31105106.blogspot.com/
Scarlet: http://scarlet13.blogspot.com/
Shin: http://otokojuku.blogspot.com/
Wakame: http://enjoy-english.blogspot.com/