February 2016 Event: English for High School Education: Professional Development through Teaching Practice

How did your university students study in HS? What will your JHS students be studying when they get there? What is happening in HS classrooms at present? What is in store for the future?

We very much look forward to seeing you at the event to join the conversation.

In this event, several high school English educators from different backgrounds and teaching contexts are going to share their teaching practices in class. In general, teaching English at high school in Japan has specific duties such as a necessity to prepare students for taking university entrance exams. Considering such, the presenters will share their teaching activities. Audience members will have an opportunity to develop their understanding toward current situations and issues in the English education of high school students.

「高等学校における英語教育 ~授業実践から専門性を高める~」

今 回の講演では、経歴・背景の異なる高等学校教育者たちが集い、それぞれの授業実践を紹介します。一般に、日本の高等学校での英語教育においては、大学入試 に備える必要性などの拘束があります。このようなことを考慮した授業活動を皆様に紹介し、高等学校における英語教育の現状と論点について、より理解を深め て頂ける機会を提供します。

Date & Time: Sunday, 28 February 2016 – 1:30pm4:30pm
Venue: Yamato Conference Hall (やまと会議室) (access)
Speakers:

Masayuki Nakano, Angela Wren, Rachel Stuart, Kazuhiro Iguchi & Adelia Falk

Fee: Free for JALT members, and 1000 yen for non-members

ABSTRACTS

Presentation 1: Masayuki Takano (Nara Prefectural Horyuji Kokusai High School)
Introduction to English for High School Education

Recently, Japan’s educational policy has seen an increasing emphasis on preparing its youth for the global economy. As a result, there have been significant changes in its university entrance exam requirements, which in turn impacted Japan’s high school English education. The Ministry of Education also began to place more emphasis on cultivating global citizens who, while remaining rooted to their Japanese heritage, are able to succeed in the global economy. This presentation discusses the changing expectations for high school English teachers, while touching upon its connection with Japan’s university English education.

1.「高校教育の英語教育概論」

高野 正之 奈良県立法隆寺国際高等学校

近年、若者への「グロー バル化対応」を意識した日本の教育方針が、大学入試要件の大きな変更を余儀なくさせ、加えて、そのことが高等学校の英語教育に影響を及ばしています。日本 の大学の英語教育との関連性に触れ、高等学校の英語教師への期待がどのように変化しているかについて議論します。

Presentation 2: Angela Wren & Rachel Stuart (Nara Prefectural Horyuji Kokusai High School)
A Step by Step Introduction to Debate

This is a 10 lesson debate unit that takes students from simply giving their opinion to fully participating in a full team debate. In the first half of the unit, the concept of debate is introduced, such as, disagreeing and giving strong reasons. In the second half, the students learn about the structure of debate and prepare for their final debate. To build confidence in the students, interactive games are used throughout the unit. This debate unit is suitable for all high school level students, even those with no previous experience with debate.

2.「ステップバイステップ ~ディベート入門~」

アンジェラ・レン、レイチェル・ステュアート 奈良県立法隆寺国際高等学校

単に意見を述べることからチームの一員としてディベートに参加できるまで、10段階に分けたディベートの授業実践を紹介します。対話型のゲームを用い生徒に自信をつけさせるこの方法は、ディベート未経験者からすべての高校生のレベルに対応できます。

Presentation 3: Kazuhiro Iguchi (Kansai Soka High School)

3.井口和弘 私立関西創価高等学校 *Schedule change: Due to unforeseen circumstances Kazuhiro Iguchi will unfortunately not be able to present. Apologies for any inconvenience.

Presentation 4: Adelia Falk (Nara Prefectural Nishinokyo High School)
Textbook discussions – a “four-skills” approach to studying high school English textbooks

It can be difficult to integrate classroom communicative activities and textbook lessons. Therefore, an approach to teaching textbook lessons that is based on a discussion model will be introduced. Using discussion projects as a means of understanding the textbook promotes cooperative learning and speaking in English. In this presentation, discussion-based lessons will be introduced, including how discussion groups are structured and the roles performed by each student before and during the discussion. Exercises based on each of these roles can also be used separately, outside of a discussion project. The roles are designed to teach skills students may find useful for future language learning.

4.「テキストブック討論~高校英語教科書学習よる4技能アプローチ~」

アデリア・ファーク 奈良県立西ノ京高等学校

「英語で話す」「協働学習」を促進するために、ディスカッション形式をベースにして教科書の内容を教える方法を紹介します。また、グループの分け方や、各生徒のディベート前とディベート中の役割分担についても触れます。

Feb Poster 2016-page-001

The Annual Tenri University-Nara JALT Joint Seminar 2012

Hosted by: Tenri University, Nara JALT, Kansai English Language Education Society (Nara Chapter), and NET Forum

Time and date: 12:40–17:50 Sunday, January 29th, 2012

Theme: Reconsidering the Standards of Teaching

 

Schedule:

12:40–13:00

Opening Addresses

 

13:00–13:30 Presentation 1

Kazuya Nakakono (Unebi Junior High School)

Looking Back at My First Year as a Junior High Teacher

 

13:40–14:20 Presentation 2

Yasuhiro Sakata (Takada High School)

Pronunciation Practice for the High School Students Who Want to Be Elementary School Teachers

 

14:30–15:10 Presentation 3

Takashi Yamamoto, Misa Naruse, and Motoyasu Saito (Tenri High School)

Towards Establishing the a Unified Syllabus for the Whole School

 

15:20–16:00 Workshop/Presentation 4

Matthew Apple (Nara National College of Technology)

To Use Tech or Not to Use Tech: Is This Even the Right Question?

This part-lecture, part-workshop will first offer a set of criteria for assessing the use of technology in the language classroom, after which participants will be invited to examine a list of potential language learning activities and discuss what technology could be used to help the learning process.

 

16:10–17:40

Jyuichi Suzuki (Kyoto University of Foreign Studies)

Improving Teaching Procedures through Self-evaluation

Jyuichi Suzuki, vice-president of the Kansai English Language Education Society (KELES), has been advocating the use of self-evaluation on the part of English teachers in order to improve the procedures of everyday teaching in language classes. He is going to give us some advice, which helps us reconsider the “standard” procedures of our teaching.

 

17:50–18:50

Snack party and informal discussion session

 

For further details or to register, please contact Hidetami Nakai of Tenri University at: h-nakai@sta.tenri-u.ac.jp (Just write your name and “I will attend”).

 

Directions:

For directions to the event, please refer to the Tenri Uni’s official homepage. If you drive, first go to the Tenri City Hall, which is on the route 169 (Nara to Tenri to Sakurai). Turn left if you are coming from Nara and go along the Gingo avenue for about a kilometer, then you’ll get to the Tenrikyo Headquaters. Tenri University is across the street.

Or, if you get off at Tenri Higashi Intersection of Meihan highway, and drive along for about 2 miles, then you’ll hit Isonokami Shrine. You can see Tenri Uni from there. You’ll see the two tall chimneys. Just turn right at the first traffic signal in front of the Shrine. From there you’ll find the event posters.

 Note:

Tenri Univ has two campuses: 1) the PE Department right behind Tenri Station and 2) the Somanouchi campus in front of the Tenrikyo Headquarters (kyokai-honbu). The venue is the Somanouchi campus near Isonokami Shrine. If you come by train, walk up the main arcade up to the Headquarters. It takes about 25 minutes on foot, or 5–10 minutes by taxi.

Lena Okada Presentation.

Lena thanks so much for an interesting and enthusiastic presentation.

Thanks too to everyone who made it out to Gakuenmae and contributed through your participation and questions.

Nara JALT Publicity.

Nara: March—Everything You Need To Know About Teaching English at Elementary Schools by Lena Okada 

With abundant energy, ideas, and experience, Okada led us through three hours of learning needs, classroom activities, and situational considerations. She began with a look at the pros and cons of teaching English in elementary school at respective ages.  One concern she expressed was that the “rich Japanese culture” may be dying.  She spent quite a bit of time talking about pronunciation and related activities. The role of ALTs in the classroom was another area she dealt with. Other things that she explained were the importance of visual aids, need for TPR-oriented activities, use of songs, and the role of games in the classroom. Okada then demonstrated a number of games, which reflected the priorities of her curriculum: numbers, colors, shapes, then fruits and vegetables. She stressed that purple should be the first color taught because it is the most difficult to pronounce. Right from the beginning, students should work on their pronunciation so they can train their muscles and ears for sounds that are not part of Japanese.  

The relatively fast-paced session was peppered with interesting ideas and useful activities. In addition, Okada has written a book that she feels is an elementary school English education curriculum.  

 by Rodney Dunham

 

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