Event Report, Tottori Chapter October 2018

Language Teaching Workshops:
1. Teaching English in English: Strategies for Success
「英語で行う英語教育～成功の秘訣とは？～」
2. Making Our Teaching More Effective
「よりよい教授法の思考～もっと効果的に教えるために～」
Event Speakers:
・1. Christopher J. Hollis of the Hokuei Board of Education
    クリストファー・ハリス（北栄町教育委員会）
・2. Shirley Leane of Tottori University
    シャーリー・リーン（鳥取大学）
Responding to members’ requests, Christopher Hollis (current president) and Shirley Leane (former president) of Tottori JALT shared their ideas for effective teaching of English in English. They also gave us clues for how to encourage students to be more active in lessons. After the workshops, we all had a chance to exchange ideas at a networking potluck dinner.
Workshop 1 of 2 – Teaching English in English: Strategies for Success
Chris started with four key words, collaboration, negotiation, imagination, and communication, all of which are important for inspiring and empowering students to learn a foreign language. He showed us several activities. For example, in “Reverse Taboo”, through using cards on which a keyword and, below, related words are written, a pair of L2 learners can collaborate to negotiate meaning and use their imagination when attempting to communicate. The rules are that one in the pair makes sentences based on the various keyword related words and the other attempts to guess the keyword. Finally, Chris demonstrated an activity that helps students to use their imagination to guess the meaning of target phrases in context through using movie clips from popular kids’ movies, such as the Minions.
Workshop 2 of 2 – Making Our Teaching More Effective
Firstly, Shirley asked us to define “a good teacher” by reflecting on our own observations and experiences. We all participated in a fun activity which illustrated the importance of eye contact in the classroom. She also talked about the importance of allowing and encouraging students to move during lessons, even the simple act of standing up to talk with their partner can help motivate students. Finally, we had a group discussion about classroom management and how to better hold our students’ attention. Using references from Zoltan Dornyei and Rod Ellis, she emphasized that it is the teachers’ responsibility to make sure students are motivated in the classroom.