Task 6: Write your comments on the Vocabulary Teaching Lesson

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:

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

Blogging Task 5: Microteaching: Conducting Communicative Activities

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

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

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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

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

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

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

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.