This past week was really busy teaching and preparing for my start at Utsunomiya University on Monday, October 3rd. I would like to visit each classroom and provide a little glimpse into what I have been preparing and also what has been going on pedagogically in my current classes.
Ben' class: 9/27, 3pm-430pm, every Tuesday
We are reading short dialogues/ scripts. We focus on reading aloud with prosody and students generally need some modeling and assistance with question sentences, pausing and intonation at punctuation marks (in general). This weeks short ( 3 page) script had quite a few tag questions. These are a bit strange because they are sometimes, (or always?) a positive phrase, combined with a negative question: "You like sports, don't you? ( do not you?!). After reading our script, students asked a few questions about words, pronunciation, and grammar. We then explored tag questions.
I explained one use of these questions. When we meet people a second time, we don't have to ask the same question we asked the first time we met. We can show the person we remember a little bit about them. Very handy!
Creating Class: 9/28, 6pm-7pm, every other Wednesday
One student presented a very nice presentation about protein. She prepared and created an excellent PowerPoint and presented this along with narration. I took a video of the presentation and emailed it to her and also emailed her feedback from me. I am working on making appropriate feedback and I realize that the feedback can relate to the context of the project/learning situation. A USM classmate mentioned that, and I agree, if a project is more formal with scripted language and notes, then correcting (bringing to attention) small grammar issues can be appropriate. In more casual situations I usually focus on meaning and communication, so in these situations, feedback is limited and small stuff is not worried about ( it can always be modeled back appropriately). I provided my feedback email to my student's presentation below. We also had a chance after the presentation to ask questions and discuss her work and information, which was helpful.
Feedback email_________________________________________________________________________________
Hi Yuha,
I hope you are doing well today?! It's raining outside now! Ahhh. And, I have no umbrella...oops.
You did a fantastic job last week talking about protein!! Thank you so much! I sent you the video I took, sorry it's kind of funny because the video only shows the computer, but that's ok!! Your PowerPoint and speaking went really well and I learned a lot too ( I'm sure Yukina did likewise)!! Actually, I think I have been eating better since your presentation! I think the protein I need!!
Below are a few things little corrections and ideas. But, you should remember you did a great job!!
Let me know if you have questions.
I think next week, we will listen to Yukina talk about differences between Japanese and English and ask her a few questions
( maybe you can think of some questions to ask this week or in our class next week).
After that, I want us to just practice speaking about a few different topics. Kind of open talk time.
Presentation Feedback
PRESENTATION TALK
You used some Presentation "talk" really well Yuha! Please keep thinking about these helpful phrases, here are some more to use:
~Next....
~this slide shows...
~Let's take a look at....
~Let's explore this further (more)....
~Let’s talk more about... {where we typically get protein}
After these phrases, you can then show the next slide…
SENTENCE IDEAS
Your body change a bit -“Your body will change a bit.”
Here are some common sources of protein.
Now, I would like to talk about common types of food that provide protein.
-Here are statistics about daily protein needs…
( exercise needs, emotional needs, social needs)
Yuha, Again, excellent job on your protein presentation!! :)
One suggestion for improving your presentations in English is to write and use note cards and *write down everything you plan on saying. I know this will take extra time!! Ahhhhh, but maybe it’s helpful to do it once or twice.
If you write note cards with key points you will say, and, include a few new presentation “talk” phrases ( For example: "Let's talk more about protein and where we get it”…(next slid), then, you can practice adding new phrases, questions, and all this presentation “talk” in.
....and if it is written down, you may be able to work on speaking very smoothly.
But, it’s also good to do without note cards, as you did!! It’s good to try both ways!!!
Thank you!! And see you NEXT Wednesday!!
Have a fantastic week,
Ben
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________
Teikyo University, Friday's 1:20-2:50, 3:00-4:30
1:20 Class
One student presented his one-minute speech. The topic was: Talk about a cultural tradition or holiday tradition that is important to you.
We scaffold this speech with textbook work and vocabulary work in class the previous week. After the student spoke we asked a few questions to continue the conversation and then we explored the vocabulary a little more. The word "custom" came up and we write some sentences together relating to holidays and traditions. We also explored its more conventional side. Below is a student-created sentence:
All students gave speeches and I encouraged classmates to ask one question per speech. We had a very nice atmosphere and I believe the speeches were both challenging ( speaking at the front of the classroom), but very doable. Three students also submitted their video uploads. I provided a tiny bit of feedback, mostly encouragement. Some students improved their speech between video submission and in-class performance.
https://padlet.com/teikyocolloquialenglish31/c9nfw6k3vkpjw61t
Colloquial English 2
Utsunomiya University
Begins on October 3. I prepared a lot of material. I hope to explore this in my next post.
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