Date and Time: Sunday, 29 September 2013 – 10:30am – 12:00pm
Speakers:
Prof. Haruyo Yoshida
Prof. Bruce Malcolm
Summary:
Using two teachers in class simultaneously is a relatively new phenomenon in Japan. During this unusual team-taught course, the authors wanted to know if student verbal communication improved, and if learner autonomy increased. Instructors were a Japanese TEFL professional and a native English-speaking instructor of English communication and academic writing. Eight graduate students participated in the 15-week course of 90-minute classes conducted entirely in English. Students read research articles selected from ESL/EFL journals and produced digital presentations explaining and critiquing each article. Assignments were supplemented with reflective journals, and students received support from graduate TA peer-mentors.
Students took a standardized spoken-English test twice; results showed notable improvements, particularly in sentence mastery. Course-end interviews revealed that students also realized increased independence and confidence in this unconventional setting.
Bio data:
Haruyo Yoshida and Bruce Malcolm work at Osaka Kyoiku University. They teach, respectively, courses in Class Management Strategies and Applied Communicative ICT Methodology, and Intercultural Communicative Practice and Academic Writing. They are currently involved in a project to develop university students’ learning autonomy, constructing a model for autonomous learning within a team-taught setting using student-generated content and digital presentation tools.
This event will be followed by lunch at a nearby restaurant for those who wish to attend and the Nara JALT AGM
Location: Yume-Kaze (near Todai-ji Temple, Nara)
Guide to Location: https://jaltnara.wordpress.com/venues/
Fee for JALT members: Free
Fee for one-day members: 500 yen
Nara JALT 