Oh my… the semester is almost over! It is unbelievable that I have taken 4 courses this semester. I thought I would not be able to survive at all. Thanks to my classmates who worked with me and other friends who helped me with my English, I managed to get through it all. After this semester I only have one more class, which is a linguistics class, and it will surely kill me. I must complete this course in order to receive my Master degree. This course was very hard, but, I honestly can say that I have learned a lot. None of the classes I have taken are a waste of my time. I have accumulated a lot of teaching materials that I can use in my class, both for Japanese learners and English learners. I really appreciate the difficulty of this course, but it surely provided me a chance to improve my teaching practice.
Unfortunately, I do not have a license to teach anywhere in the United States. Before I came here, I had never thought about staying in the states for a while after graduation, so I do not have a licensure path either. However, I would like to try to transfer my Japanese national license in English subjects into a TN one, so that I may be able to teach here.
I have taught the Japanese language at MTSU for 3 semesters, and it has been very interesting. I love all of my students. They are all different, but all of them showed passion when it came to learn the Japanese culture and the language. Their questions made me think about whom I am and what I have as a Japanese person. I wish all of my students were learning the language in Japan, so that they can make more use of it though.
For one of the course requirement, I made a Wiki page for ESL professionals and teaching materials. Actually, I honestly do not like the Wiki because it often messed up my work. It sometimes took me more than 2 hours to edit it causing me frustration. I haven’t used my Wiki pages in my class for my students because it is for ESL, but I may redesign the site for other Japanese learners, so that they can have access to a lot of useful information regarding the Japanese culture and language.
Even though this course was for ESL add-on, I worked with my Japanese learners so that I could make use of obtained information in order to improve my teaching practice. I surely learned a lot and sometimes applied the materials, such as writing prompts, to my Japanese class. It seemed very successful for both my students and me, because the students had more detailed directions to follow. I am so glad that I took this course and other related courses that allowed me to acquire different materials that I can use in class. .
Since I worked with my Japanese learners, it is a bit hard to give advice to an ESL teacher. But as an ESL learners myself, I want to tell you that those students are having difficulty fitting into a new environment. When I studied abroad for the first time in America, I was culture shocked and had a hard time in adjusting myself to a new school. Many students do not come here to study abroad, so it would be a lot different from my situation. However, if they have at least one person who understands and listens to them, they can feel at home. I’m sure that, as I am enjoying teaching the Japanese language to my students, you will enjoy teaching your students as well because they are very adorable and unique.
Thursday, December 2, 2010
Literature Circle
For one of the course requirements, I implemented a literature circle, which is a discussion-related reading practice. I implemented the activity in my Japanese class where I have been working on my previous course requirements as well. In conclusion, I would say it was unsuccessful, unfortunately. There are a few possible reasons for the results that the experiment produced. First, their Japanese skill was too underdeveloped to read something consisting of new vocabulary and new grammar. Second, there was not enough time to implement the literature circle thoroughly. However, I believe it would be very helpful in teaching English when I go back to Japan. The students in traditional English class in Japan focus more on grammar, not on the content of the story. Using a Literature circle can be facilitated to develop students’ reading skill.
Yes, it was unsuccessful to implement a literature circle with my students who are taking Japanese as a second language. Students didn’t know what to do, because there were too many words and grammar they didn’t know even though the book is for lower level beginners. It seems very hard for them even when it came to skimming and scanning the text. However, the context and pictures of the story helped my students in knowing what was actually taking place. One of their favorite topics that they enjoyed was learning about Sushi, their most well-known and favorite Japanese food.
Discussing their knowledge on Sushi in the pre-reading activity was helpful in building further understanding towards Japanese cultural aspect. All of them knew what sushi was, but actually one of them had never had it before, so the material itself was very interesting for them as well. As students read and discussed, they became more interested in the reading. Through discussion, however, I doubt if their reading comprehension was well developed due to the difficulty of the material.
I’m sure that I will use a literature circle in my class in the future, but not for my Japanese students. Because of their proficiency level, reading is still too difficult and boring. There are too many things that they do not know while reading without feeling a burden. However, it will be very effective for higher lever Japanese students, who may be over the 2000 level. Even though we do not offer reading/writing classes, I would like to try to let them read a text and discuss the material.
In order to repeat the literature circle, I need to consider my understanding of the literature circle, first. This time, I was still trying to figure out how to implement this method correctly while actually putting it into effect with my students. If I will use the literature circle for my Japanese 1010 class, I would change the material a lot in order for them to easily comprehend it. I will definitely try the same literature circle for my intermediate or advance students to see how the results turn out if I have a chance to teach a different class.
A Literature circle method seems to be a very effective way for teachers and students to have discussions about the material. Teachers should consider incorporating a literature circle in their regular classroom. In this case, teachers need to carefully choose literature that students are interested in reading and discussing. As least, the level of the literature should be at the same level as the students’ proficiency, or a little bit more challenging. I’m sure they will like it!!
Yes, it was unsuccessful to implement a literature circle with my students who are taking Japanese as a second language. Students didn’t know what to do, because there were too many words and grammar they didn’t know even though the book is for lower level beginners. It seems very hard for them even when it came to skimming and scanning the text. However, the context and pictures of the story helped my students in knowing what was actually taking place. One of their favorite topics that they enjoyed was learning about Sushi, their most well-known and favorite Japanese food.
Discussing their knowledge on Sushi in the pre-reading activity was helpful in building further understanding towards Japanese cultural aspect. All of them knew what sushi was, but actually one of them had never had it before, so the material itself was very interesting for them as well. As students read and discussed, they became more interested in the reading. Through discussion, however, I doubt if their reading comprehension was well developed due to the difficulty of the material.
I’m sure that I will use a literature circle in my class in the future, but not for my Japanese students. Because of their proficiency level, reading is still too difficult and boring. There are too many things that they do not know while reading without feeling a burden. However, it will be very effective for higher lever Japanese students, who may be over the 2000 level. Even though we do not offer reading/writing classes, I would like to try to let them read a text and discuss the material.
In order to repeat the literature circle, I need to consider my understanding of the literature circle, first. This time, I was still trying to figure out how to implement this method correctly while actually putting it into effect with my students. If I will use the literature circle for my Japanese 1010 class, I would change the material a lot in order for them to easily comprehend it. I will definitely try the same literature circle for my intermediate or advance students to see how the results turn out if I have a chance to teach a different class.
A Literature circle method seems to be a very effective way for teachers and students to have discussions about the material. Teachers should consider incorporating a literature circle in their regular classroom. In this case, teachers need to carefully choose literature that students are interested in reading and discussing. As least, the level of the literature should be at the same level as the students’ proficiency, or a little bit more challenging. I’m sure they will like it!!
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