Teaching, Learning, Adjusting: Week 2

    Working on grammar points, especially how to explain them and model them for students is not always easy! This week, I had the feeling that some English grammar points have no center of gravity! Meaning: Are these rules really real? I got a bit lost in overthinking, but also learned some new perspectives. I have spent many years playing music and working on being creative and breaking down rules just enough to allow myself to be as free as I possibly can musically, but still hold on to tradition. When I approach grammar I am often baffled by word function. I can see everything as a noun! I feel that to really understand many grammar points I have to check my creativity at the door and accept boundaries created by others ( the grammar makers).  

    I created a PowerPoint to go over an item that was causing some confusion last week in my private class. I am glad I dived into this because it is a grammar item that many of my students in various classes have trouble with (adjectives with -ing or -ed). So, I have included my first of what I want to be a regular series of "5 Minute Grammar" slide shows. I hope to do a grammar point like this every two weeks or so and aim at the trouble spots my students have ( and learn myself in the process).

    I have a new class this week on Wednesday, September 14. I titled (advertised) the class "Creating". I have two students so far and I will put together two learner profiles this week for them. I hope to get my new students' opinions, ideas, wishes, and goals this week. I also hope to inspire them, so in the first class, I will share with them something I have been creating. I think that creating something real that students may be able to make public, is a powerful method. Finally, I want to widen my students' vocabulary ( I think they want this too) and so this week I may develop some vocabulary goals, but I will also wait for student input on Wednesday. 

Grammar Lesson for my private Tuesday class:

First Wednesday class, 9/14: Creating

    I want to share with my students a creative project to start a conversation about creating. Below is my musical project I will share. 

    Both of the students coming are young adults that work in an administration office at Utsunomiya University. Both of them have unique goals, passions, and reasons for studying English. They are both motivated to better their skills. They are interested in the creating angle for learning English and I think it is something we can do to practice real-world processes and acquire language at the same time. However, I am going to stay open to their direction as well.