会場での開催が中止となった 2020年秋に開催された、初のオンライン 動画視聴によるCertificate ProgramのWorkshop 3とWorkshop 4のフィードバックを一部ご紹介します。
WORKSHOP 3
Lecture:Know Yourself, Know Your Student / あなた自身を知ること・生徒を知ること
Practicum:Teaching the present tense 現在形 / What do you do every day? I 〜 every day.
■Having participated in the IIEEC Teacher Training this time, I understand how the MIs are linked to the MAT Method and therefore with the Let’s Go series.
■As a teacher I have been trying to use and pull out as much of the intelligences in my students. I have tried activities and methods in various settings to develop their MIs, but I am convinced that the MAT Method is the most effective one for many reasons. The motivation level is high, the speed of acquisition level is high, and there is a sense of security within me that I am on track with the organized MAT Practice System.
■I am amazed at how successful the MAT Method is. I never imagined the teaching of verb sentences could be so successful. Ms Kita’s consistent use of gestures, classroom English and enthusiasm has been inspirational. Considering my personality, I am pleased that I have been able to participate in this online session where I am able to replay the recordings for confirmation. Watching the skills sessions and the activities shared in the lectures multiple times have helped me gain confidence in giving myself a challenge to introduce them in my classes.
■I tried integrating the question component of the MAT method correctly. Introducing it while drilling the sentences is simple and easy for students to understand. Students observe how to use the question naturally in conjunction with the sentence.
■I noticed it especially with my third grade students who tend to get very distracted. When I hesitate and pause too often, they lose interest. However, keeping the momentum with the drills of question/answer as a class, in groups, and in pairs helps to retain the attention of students.
■It was very valuable to learn about the different forms of intelligences and how they integrate importantly in the way we teach our students. Keeping my class student-centered is important, although it does break the mold of the Japanese traditional lecture approach. This means that there is often resistance for management and Japanese peers who are very set in their teaching ways. However, when done correctly, the results speak for themselves.
■I enjoyed watching the video of workshop 2 very much as I did at workshop 1. It is extremely helpful for me as a teacher to understand how children’s and human brain works. I could deeply understand that why gestures and actions are so effective for younger children. Without knowing the Brain Function, I don’t think I could utilize the MAT Method fully.
■I have always believed the MAT METHOD gestures would last for 100 years or more of our lifetime for students to remember English, as we forever remember some popular songs from our childhood.
■It was fascinating to learn about our Brain Function not only as a teacher but as a person.
■I have always been interested in knowing my own intelligence, but I never thought about what my teaching style is. However, it is very important to know for adjusting my teaching style when it is necessary. I need to know both myself and my students well.
■This workshop not only taught me how to teach but also reaffirmed my attitude.
WORKSHOP 4
Lecture:Getting Maximum Results in Reading while Speaking
Practicum:発話させながら読む力を最大限につける
■I think the idea of bringing a textbook to life is fundamental to a creative teaching approach. There is no doubt that a creative approach further engages students, and stimulates a great learning environment. I strongly benefited from this component of the workshop, and I would have liked to see more examples on how to do this.
■I really appreciate the way a question is introduced. Although I did comment on this in my last report, it was evident in class that introducing a question in a very natural way helps students to observe the way it’s used naturally, and it also forces them to pay attention, as most of them know by now that I will ask them to tell me what question I asked shortly after.
■ I actually practiced it with my daughter, to see how she would handle it. At no surprise, she caught on very quickly to the natural introduction of the question format.
■However, we can make use of the textbook for activities, and as everyone has it, we don’t have to prepare special cards or materials for the activities. I will be more creative and think how I can use textbook in every lesson.
■It was interesting to see how the MAT Phonics function. The phonics materials I am familiar with and friends who are keen on emphasizing phonics suggest that learning the alphabet names can get in the way of learning the phonetic sounds. (…) It just seemed unrealistic to avoid teaching the letter names. Therefore, I have been doing is to show students that letters have “names” and “sounds”.
With the MAT Phonics there is a natural flow from learning the letter names to learning to decipher the letter sounds. The four consonant groups and the Phonics Math was truly an eye opener.
(Workshops 1 & 2 はこちら、 Workshops 5 & 6 はこちらから。)
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他、多数のフィードバックを頂きました。
受講者様からの様々なご意見を参考に、リニューアル版のオンラインプログラムの準備を進めています。(2023年8月現在)
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IIEEC Teacher Training Center