My Strength and Weakness for Teaching

I got so many things for teaching English from ETM3 class.
But, I don't know whether I got real power of them because I've not experienced real class of English as a teacher.

Now my strength is the power of logical thinking. It's from math, my major.English grammer is very logical. I think I can explain a grammer better. In addition, my smile is my strength, too.

On the other side, my weakness is that I've not done practice so much. The classes change for the actual situation of the students. I've not seen it so much. Then I can't correspond to many situations of students.

Thinking about Group Work

In university, sometimes group work didn't go well.
The reason is how friendlly they are, I think. University doesn't have class like ES, JHS, HS. So it's more difficult to make many friends for university students than ES, JHS, HS.

But, that can be occured in JHS and so on. That's at begining of the class, especially 1st grade. Then we have to plan the group work what the students can act friendlly. For that, I suggest two plan for improve.

First, activity with body work. Some group works are only conversasion, so we teachers should use body works, especially in this term. With body work, student can enjoy the class. It can see in after sports. We can refresh and thinking become more positive after sports. So I think body work is important in group works.

Second, games. And I suggest competition. With competition, the group must go the goal and students want to win. So games make students one.

With these ways, group works can go well, I think.

Thinking about THE MOST DIFFICULT GRAMMATICAL ITEMS IN JHS

I think Relative Pronouns is one of the most difficult in JHS English classes.

When I was a cramming school teacher and teach English, many JHS students mistook relative pronouns questions. Many of them mistook the order off the words. And then, I want to teach them with follow ways.

At first, when I teach relative pronouns "who" I'll use this sentence.


"The man who is sitting on the bench is my father."


1. Many of student may be troubled with the subject because there are two "is". So first, I'll show only the sentence "The man is my father" and the picture which is drawn men.

2. Read the sentence with students and make a question "Which man?" Student answer and I write the sentence "My father is sitting on the bench."

3. I make a question "How should we explain who my father is in a sentence?" and practice in Japanese sentence. "ベンチに座っている男性が私のお父さんです" will be make up.

4. I write the sentence "The man who is sitting on the bench is my father." This is sum of these two sentenses, so students can understand easily.

5. After explain this sentense, practice. There is the picture which drawn many men, so students explain who is them friend, cousin and uncle to next person in this way.



That's my plan,

For teacher trainees

Last week, Mr.M who's JHS teacher came to our class and tell us some information to teach in JHS. I am going to introduce some of them.

Before tell you his talk, I say some MY opinion for teaching in JHS. I have done teaching practice and went some volunteer tutor: it is a activity what university student go to JHS or elementary school and help teachers as volunteer. I felt something for teach in there.

1) Remember praising
2) Always smiling
3) Make classes with cmmunication

Here can be said all of JHS subject's class. These lead student more active and enjoyable.

Mr.M said these three, too. I can feel these in real in teaching practice. These are one of the most important method of classes. Especially, I felt importance of communication. You may tend to depend on your class schedule, and then can't see the students. Mr.M also said,"English is practical subject." It means English is different subject from math and so on. You should mind there are student.

For this, Mr.M showed us some of the patarn of group activity. "Jigsow learning" is one of them. In class, there are groups it consist of 4～6 people. Teacher gives a different number(1,2,3,4,...) for student in each groups. And then, the student who has the same number from each groups gather and make new group. Next, the teacher gives defferent questions for each groups. Finally, the students go back to original group and tell and think own group's question.

He shows us how to interest to students. These are very important and effective. You should try, I think.

June 14

I went to H Elementary School in Shiwa town as volunteer tutor.

Volunteer Tutor is the activity that sponsored by Iwate unversity. University student go to designated elementary or junior high school.

I am charged of the third-year, fourth-year and sixth-year class and teach arithmeic as second teacher.

Teaching arithmetic is more difficult than mathmatics in junior high. Of course, the content is easier than math. But we understood many things with a sence, so we felt it difficult when we explain strictly. In other words, we must teach more structurally.

In other hands, we must simplify the contents in elementary school English. That means we must teach less structurally. That is because elementary school English needs the pleasure.

I felt it interesting. There is clear distinction. I'm going to compare these two from other point of view.

The Reviwing of Our Lesson

①Write a reflection about your lesson.

We took the English class for Ms.Yoshida and Ms.Arihara.
First of all, I feel we need more time for plan the lesson than I suspect. Our lesson was not perfect ( of course, there can't be perfect lesson, I think). We stop the lesson sometimes and make the time students do nothing. I think we should take more time to plan.




②What did you set out to teach ?

I set out the game that required the expression "What do you have for ...".
At first, we thought the lesson need interesting activity for students and interesting activity produce good results for English learning. And this expression is long, so it is necesarry to repeat. This game can enjoy and repeat (and communicate).



③What activities did you plan ?

I planed grammer. This class was special because we can't speak Japanese (we knew that they can speak japanese later...). So we can't explain detailed grammer. In addition, we can't explain the meaning of words with Japanese. For this situation, we used a play and some pictures. It was effective, I think.



④What were the most successful parts of your lesson ?

The most successful part was the game.
All of them enjoyed the game and could use key expression.
But there is a unsuccesseful. We didn't perticipate so much. We should do so because we could know how students get the expression.



⑤What were the least successful parts ?

The least successful part was the grammer.
We couldn't do smoothly. We should have taken more time to plan and some time to practice the lesson.



⑥Would you teach this lesson differently if you thought it again ?

Yes!!
I have many things to improve

An Analysis of My Language Learning Experience

I'm going to analyze my language learning experience.


1. My most enjoyable language learning experience

My most enjoyable language learning experience has been conversation.
The classes with ALT in JHS typify this activity. Our ALT preparate many interesting activities for enjoying English. For example, Bingo game and singing a song. This activities tell me the pleasure of communicate and talk with English.

2. My least enjoyable language learning activity

My least enjoyable language learning activity has been memorize.
When I was third grade in high school, I have to memorize many words for entrance examination. It's too many and includes slang that we would not use in diary. I feel no pleasure. 1 month later, I forgot many of them.

3. My most valuable language learning activity

My most valuable language learning activity has been speaking english with my classmates. Especially, in the classes with Mr.Hall and Mr.Unher.
Communication oportunity has been lacking for my English aquisition. In each class we have to speak with English, then I got communication skill gradually.



4. My least valuable language learning activity

My lesst valuable language learning activity has been... nothing. Each activity give me English skill, even enough studied things. Because I got accustom to English through each activity.

5. In general my language learning experience has been ....

In general my language learning experience has done on papers.
Until attend English classes in university, a lot of my English activity has been done on papers and lack of communication. Most of English activities in JHS and HS was memorize, grammer, translating and paper test. So I can't talk in English until these classes even though I studied English 6 years!! And I enjoy English now because I can use English in natural communication.


6. What kind of influence do you think your language learning experience will have on your teaching?

Teaching practice in Nakano elementary school, I think.
I went to Ueda JHS as math teacher, and I can't practice as English teacher. They will be very important experience for my teaching life as English teacher.


Thank you.