Reservations for the 2014 Sessions of the IIEEC-OUP Teacher Training Certificate Program are now being accepted. These popular workshops have helped thousands of teachers become better teachers and their students to learn faster with lots of fun. Here are some of the comments we received from teachers who had taken the 2013 courses and received their two certificates from IIEEC and OUP.
— Workshop 1 Fundamentals of teaching: The MAT METHOD —
– I was surprised when I first heard that 80% of the class time should be used by the students’ talk, “No, that’s impossible…” was my impression at that time. But as I learned about the method, I gradually found out that MAT way of teaching was so fun (in the students’ point of view) that there was no doubt they would start learning English.
– I was surprised with the striking difference between the MAT Method and the English learning experience I have had at schools in Japan. At the same time, I was convinced with the note that the MAT is the proven way of teaching English. In my personal experience, the teachers liked calling on individual students. The problem is that as the number of participating students increases, the rest of the students wait longer and longer just for the answer by the student the teacher asked the question. I recall it was just a waste of time and money. Moreover, the long waiting time for someone else’s answer in silence not only broke the smooth flow of the lesson but also easily discouraged motivated students. Unlike the traditional type of English lesson provided in Japan, the MAT Method ensures all the students to speak English throughout the lesson. I also realized the importance of actions while learning for retention and recall. With the MAT Method, I am extremely thrilled to teach Living English to my future students who will be little ambassadors at the Tokyo Olympic Games in 2020.
– Using Japanese for key words meant a lot. I don’t have to expect homeroom teachers to explain the meanings or grammatical points in Japanese any more, which sometimes ends up in a failure. Now, most of the class immediately understand the key point. This really saves time.
– I made flashcards (B5 size) for the lessons. On my first attempt to use the MAT METHOD, I went only as far as the step 3: S-T in Introductory Exercise. Even though I was too clumsy to go beyond that, my students (college) seemed to enjoy pronouncing the words. I asked them to comment on the lesson at the end of the class. Surprisingly, the majority of them commented very favorably on my feeble attempt at encouraging them to pronounce more, and they thought it would help them with their English.
– One day, I made the children work in pairs. They helped each other and worked hard to win the game. These games could give lots of practice, help students concentrate, build up confidence to speak. They had lots of fun while learning. I recognized the importance of student-centered lesson.
— Workshop 2 Activating the right and the left sides of the brain —
– The most important thing that I have learned is that to say the word or sentences while doing the actions or gestures. The students can easily remember and understand what we teach in the lesson. (…) The program was very interesting all throughout from the beginning until the end.
– In a class with a junior high school girl, I used clapping during the lesson to keep a rhythm…I asked her to tap the table when she read, (…) at the end of these reading practice she said it was fun an easy to understand (…) since then she seems to be more motivated in trying to do her best, in writing as well.
– Using MAT, I was amazed how easy it was for me, because I wasn’t trying to control the class but rather lay out a good example of speaking English at first and then focus on their lips and action to see if they have acquired the words and sentences by then.
– In my class, I showed my kids the picture cards and taught “go to school” etc. As I did the drill, they were all doing the gestures with lots of fun and no one was bored or sleepy anymore. Usually in my class, there are a few kids with wondering eyes looking outside or picking their nose. However, on the first day I used the cards with gestures, they were active and speaking out loud. Parents who were waiting outside came to see what was going on in the classroom. I see, without exception, that my kids would love to see more cards and learn gestures for that activity.
– Before taking the MAT training, I was the teacher who relies on games and music in order to have attentions by younger students whose concentration is so limited. Now that I learned the 6-second DRILL and gestures, the class relation got easier and smoother. (…) I learned that gestures activate the right side of the brain, “visual” part, causing to remember the information better.
— Workshop 3 Know yourself, know your students —
– I tried exact same thing that I learned at this workshop in my classes. That was fun. I introduced the sentence “I sing a song on Halloween night.” Then students started to make sentences using other verbs. I kept asking them what they do on Halloween night. Next, I asked them “What did I say?” They soon answered. They said the sentence very rhythmical and natural. And then, students do the pair practice using janken shouting “What do you do on Halloween night?” Their happy faces and clear natural sound make me so glad and confident.
– All the ideas and games I learned are really useful and made my students feel comfortable learning English. And I realized that to be confident about what you are doing in every class is very important for teachers.
– I found it an eye opener to hear that the best visual aid in the classroom is the teacher. My facial expressions, also my tone of voice, relay the importance of what I have to say. Therefore the teacher is a role model, an example of what the teacher expects his students to be. In other words an exciting teacher who portrays excitement will encourage the students to become excited, too.
We had many more comments from all the teachers who participated in the training course. We are preparing for the 2014 session and hope to bring you even more information through our lectures and techniques to show how to teach successfully with the MAT METHOD. We have many repeaters who have told us they learn even move the second time. We are looking forward to seeing you at our workshops. Come and join the fun!
For the next sessions starting on May18th: IIEEC-OUP Teacher Training Certificate Program 2014
IIEEC Teacher Training Center