Today is a Q&A post, discussing some elements of teaching. Thanks go to Michelle for these great questions:
"How are classes going?"
Classes are going well. I've finally gotten into the swing of things...for the most part. There are some things you just can't ever be truly prepared for, which makes this job excellent for developing ad libbing, improv, think-on-your-feet skills. For example, one class that is usually very strong could wind up getting more tripped up on a lesson topic that the other classes had no problem with, and I have to quickly conjure up some new way of explaining myself, drawing on the board, pantomiming, cross-referencing a different concept, customized to the problem that this group is having.
I try really hard to involve as many elements of learning as possible into the lesson. I know that some students are audio-learners, some are visual, some are hands-on, some are logical, some need other ideas to connect to, and some just have to manage through a brick wall in their brain. So, my lessons are designed to cater to as many of those as possible, featuring worksheets, fill in the blank, progressively increased challenge, response to audio queues, student oral response, illustration, mathematical/logic based grammar equations, and cross-reference-able memory queues, to name a few.
"What is your biggest hurdle at school so far?"
One of my biggest challenges is the need for patience. I have been learning that slowly and painfully, but have made leaps of progress. Another major obstacle is thinking of meaningful content for my oral conversation class. I teach seven 1st-year English grammar classes a week, and those are easy to prepare for because there are a million grammar points to cover, and a million ways to cover them. However, I teach a single 2nd-year Oral Conversation class, which has no text, no syllabus, no curriculum, and no clearly defined set of goals other than "to encourage communication." On top of that, this particular class is especially difficult to reign in and get to focus, despite the fact that it is only 11 students. I have to prepare extremely interesting, engaging topics, while maintaining a relatively low level of English. Some of the more simplistic/"childish" subject matter that works for 1st-year students just doesn't interest the 2nd-years, yet their English skills aren't quite developed enough to discuss things like politics, history, and more intellectual culture, despite the fact that those topics would probably appeal to them more on the intellectual level.
"What level is your highschool - meaning what percentage of your students will go on to University?"
Well, it depends how you define University. If you mean 4-year college (四年制大学 - Private, National, and Public), then the answer is ~61%. If you throw in vocational schools and such, that number goes higher. More than 50% go to 4-year Private University. I'm not sure how that ranks my school nationally.
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That's about it for today. Also, I had reservations about even mentioning it on this blog, but I recently posted a video to my YouTube channel about the progress I've had in terms of getting in shape since coming to Japan. I've chosen not to embed the video on here, as dieting really isn't relevant to this blog. If, however, you would like to see the video (warning, it is 7:20 long), you can click here. In the future, I won't be mentioning YouTube videos that I've chosen not to embed, so if you are interested in other video content I might be posting, then:
You can check out my YouTube channel to see all of my videos, subscribe to my channel, post rating and comments, etc. by clicking here. (Note: you'll need to register for YouTube to post comments there, subscribe, and rate videos).
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
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I'm reading your answers and I think you are keeping a really open mind. Patience is DEFINITELY key, hats off for giving it your all. It's easy to get frustrated and throw the hands up, but you sound like you've got a real gambare spirit!
ReplyDeleteI used to throw some "fun/culture" lessons in between the grammar lessons. Ex: music of the world, I would print a map and give each student a copy. I went around to different JETs and got music from about 10-15 different countries. The 15 countries were highlighted to let the students know which ones to choose from. Then I would let them listen to the music and they would have to guess which country the music came from. After I revealed the answers, they were all pretty surprised. We were able to talk about musical terms, give some opinions, likes dislikes, use adjectives (strange, fast-paced, etc.) I found someone with North American Indian chants and played it. You should have seen their faces when I told them it was from the US. It just helps to break down barriers of stereotypical thought and it helps break up the monotony of the typical English class.
The other lesson that was a little different was talking about onomonopias. They have lots in Japanese, pecopeco, dokidoki, garagara, etc. I used the cockodoodle-doo of a rooster, drip drop of water, etc. Then I made them repeat it. That was when the shock appeared on their faces. I had them think of examples in Japanese and then we practiced saying them in english. The hard part was trying to think of a way to help the students use them.
These are just thoughts, I love reading your comments because it reminds me so much of my experience on the JET. The one thing you said that still rings true for me was the ability to adapt. I can't tell you how much it has helped me in my work/career. I think you've already learned a lot in such a short amount of time.
Michelle
Nagano AET/PA 2001-2004