Learning to Teach Better

Thank you Penny for the great tips and for 4 weeks of information and ideas. I will be thinking about and implementing much of the advice as I'm sure the other participants will be doing as well. For me, this week had some interesting ideas about reading and check comprehension. For example, I really enjoyed reading out loud and guessing new words by context when I was a student because it was almost like a game. However, I also have vivid memories of some of my classmates painfully stumbling over words (even though we were all native speakers). I hadn't really thought about those kids before even though I am sure some of them exist in my classes now. While I wouldn't remove it altogether, I will think more carefully about when and how I ask students to read aloud. As for comprehension questions, I had the same experience when I was studying Japanese in university. I usually get around it with my students by asking them to perform some task based on the reading (usually deb...

What I took away from last Sunday's meeting was a reminder that we as teachers are the ones who judge what is and isn't appropriate when it comes to our classrooms. While rules or other teachers may try to influence us in one way or another, we need to think critically about what we are doing and make the best possible choice for the students and situation. What works in one activity won't work in another. What is impossible at one school may be commonplace elsewhere. What is important is to be aware of the range of possibilities and carefully choose what fits our (and our students) needs best.

I like to coordinate lessons with other teachers at my school, which has led to using books as sources of debate material. I take whatever book my students are reading that and either a) ask them to generate topics that could be controversial, or b) make a list of questions that would prompt the same sort of discussion. It has worked really well the last few years. Last year, they read Frankenstein which generated topics ranging from "Who is responsible for the deaths in the book?" to "Do scientists have the right to create life?" It is really though-provoking and the students get really into it (especially for Japanese students). The writing teacher then asked to use the ideas we generated in debate to write an essay.

A little late to the game, but I have to say I am thinking of giving jazz chants another go after that video. Of course I know there is a rhythm to English, but I always found it a little to cheezy for high school students. Seeing Carolyn Graham take regular conversations and make the chant appear in music was really cool. Even high school students could appreciate music being made out of thin air and enjoy playing around with words and music. I also like the idea of getting students to discuss things without commanding them to "talk." I teach debate, so we often start discussing general topics with the aim of turning them into full-fledged debates.

The idea that I really focused in on was using time wisely. After getting my lesson plans together and becoming comfortable with the courses I teach, I never went back to see if there were improvements beyond the obvious areas where I did not feel completely prepared. Even if I do not use the exact activities mentioned, I want to make an effort this second semester to analyze and record the time on task and, if necessary, to try and find activities that promote more use and interaction with English.

Hello everyone. My name is Mikaela Smith, and I am a teacher at a private high school in Kanagawa, Japan. This is my second time taking an iTDi course, and I'm really looking forward to working with you all.