I didn't make a post all last week since I was just so crazy busy. I finally started Japanese classes last week. After almost 5 months here, I got off my but and started some classes. The Hyogo Prefectural government offers free classes for foreigners interested in studying Japanese. You simply buy the textbooks and come once a week (only once for the beginner class and twice weekly for the more advanced classes). It was definitely some great mental exercise last week during my first class. I almost blew a mental gasket. They assume that you can already read Hirigana and Katakana before you even begin (even though it's a beginner class). I can read Hirigana for the most part (mind you...I'm pretty slow at it) and start tackling Katakana tomorrow night!
As for teaching, last week was a week of ups and downs. It's been a little hard getting back into the swing of things after Sports Day. It's very refreshing to be "teaching" again, but most of my long-range planning was completely thrown out of whack because of the 2 plus weeks of "dance and game" practice leading up to Sports Day.
Check out my latest Youtube vid about a field trip I took with my class. We went to Awaji Island. It's just off the coast of Kobe, Japan and is still considered part of Hyogo Prefecture. The island is next to Shikoku.
Surreal Japan
We visited a rather strange place. It is a theme park called "England Hill" and has nothing to do with England. See the original here on my Youtube channel.
I'll try to make a few more posts in the next few days.
Sunday, October 5, 2008
Thursday, September 25, 2008
Amazing New Shots from North Korea...
Alright...this has nothing to do with teaching, but many of the people who read this blog are teachers in South Korea. Many of the folks who read this blog will have an interest in seeing these amazing pictures that were just shown in the Boston Globe.
Many of the photos are by photographer Eric Lafforgue.
Check them out....they're really impressive!
Cheers,
Kevin
Many of the photos are by photographer Eric Lafforgue.
Check them out....they're really impressive!
Cheers,
Kevin
Reading in Your Classroom
Teaching young learners how to read is obviously one of the most important duties of any teacher. Whether your students are sitting in your homeroom in Canada or are Korean students in your Tuesday/Thursday after school class in a hagwon, they need the basic skills of reading. When students are able to unlock the puzzles and mysteries of reading, their language skills and ability to think critically increase exponentially.
As a teacher there are so many different aspects of reading you must think about. Initially, students need the basic skills to decode text. Phonemic awareness must be acquired followed by basic phonics. Some of the initial seeds that must be planted are vocabulary and basic grammar. Once the emergent reader moves past these stages, a new world will begin to open for them.
I also believe that it`s a teacher`s responsibility to make reading FUN! A young learner should never look at reading as work. They should look forward to it. Whether your doing a read aloud, shared or guided reading, they should have a good time. When students equate reading with fun, they simply want to do it more often.
One way I`ve made reading more fun for my kindergarten class is by giving them a comfortable place to read. My `book nook` is a fun and inviting place where my students love to be. I often give then 10 minutes independent reading times and they love lying down with a nice pillow and exploring the books I have in my book bins. If your looking for ideas to make a more cozy reading are in your classroom, simply Google `reading center` or `reading corner.` I found a lot of ideas when I clicked on Google images after searching for this.
This is the "Book Nook" in my classroom. The white board was purchased at IKEA for about $30 and I made the tree using cardboard boxes and construction paper.
Once you have your reading area, set rules and guidelines. My students know that this isn`t an area for play. It`s for reading, story time or book talk. Now of course, this alone won`t make your students better readers, you have to plan and take the task very seriously.
If you are looking for some great ideas about how to teach reading more effectively, take a look here.
In many parts of the United States it`s referred to as Four Blocks. In the province of Ontario in Canada, it is now referred to as Comprehensive Literacy. I suggest reading up on different things such as Guided Reading, Shared Reading, Picture Walks, Independent Reading and Read Alouds.
I hope some of these ideas make you feel more confident in your ESL classroom or in any classroom for that matter.
As a teacher there are so many different aspects of reading you must think about. Initially, students need the basic skills to decode text. Phonemic awareness must be acquired followed by basic phonics. Some of the initial seeds that must be planted are vocabulary and basic grammar. Once the emergent reader moves past these stages, a new world will begin to open for them.
I also believe that it`s a teacher`s responsibility to make reading FUN! A young learner should never look at reading as work. They should look forward to it. Whether your doing a read aloud, shared or guided reading, they should have a good time. When students equate reading with fun, they simply want to do it more often.
One way I`ve made reading more fun for my kindergarten class is by giving them a comfortable place to read. My `book nook` is a fun and inviting place where my students love to be. I often give then 10 minutes independent reading times and they love lying down with a nice pillow and exploring the books I have in my book bins. If your looking for ideas to make a more cozy reading are in your classroom, simply Google `reading center` or `reading corner.` I found a lot of ideas when I clicked on Google images after searching for this.
This is the "Book Nook" in my classroom. The white board was purchased at IKEA for about $30 and I made the tree using cardboard boxes and construction paper.
Once you have your reading area, set rules and guidelines. My students know that this isn`t an area for play. It`s for reading, story time or book talk. Now of course, this alone won`t make your students better readers, you have to plan and take the task very seriously.
If you are looking for some great ideas about how to teach reading more effectively, take a look here.
In many parts of the United States it`s referred to as Four Blocks. In the province of Ontario in Canada, it is now referred to as Comprehensive Literacy. I suggest reading up on different things such as Guided Reading, Shared Reading, Picture Walks, Independent Reading and Read Alouds.
I hope some of these ideas make you feel more confident in your ESL classroom or in any classroom for that matter.
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
Back to the Classroom...Back to curriculum!
Alright...It's Tuesday night here in Japan and it was a National Holiday today. It's the Autumn Equinox and Fall temperatures will hopefully be here soon. Sports Day has come and gone. For the 2-3 weeks leading up to Sports Day, curriculum went on the back-burner as we prepared for the big day.
As of tomorrow morning, we'll be back to the regular routine and...well basically...I have to reteach my kids the old routine. They've all but forgotten. Circle time, Language, lunch, Math and then Science.
Also,I have to begin incorporating some more phonics games. We've been following some guidelines set forth by the British Ministry of Education and they've been teaching some brilliant new phonics theory to their teachers. I have a lot of homework to do myself in order to get myself up to snuff. Professional development work coupled with my new Japanese class that starts next week...I'm going to be a busy guy!
BTW...if anyone id familiar with the website ESL Cafe, I've posted an interesting link. I actually secured my second job in Korea through this website. I bypassed the "recruiter" stage and was hired directly by a school. It was a great little school in Ilsan, South Korea. It was called "Day By Day English Academy." It's not around anymore, but I have some fond memories of working there.
The founder of ESL Cafe is Dave Sperling. Here's a great podcast about how he started his site. It's a great listen for anyone who's working overseas doing the ESL thing or for anyone considering starting an ESL-type business venture....inspiring.
Have a great Tuesday everyone!
As of tomorrow morning, we'll be back to the regular routine and...well basically...I have to reteach my kids the old routine. They've all but forgotten. Circle time, Language, lunch, Math and then Science.
Also,I have to begin incorporating some more phonics games. We've been following some guidelines set forth by the British Ministry of Education and they've been teaching some brilliant new phonics theory to their teachers. I have a lot of homework to do myself in order to get myself up to snuff. Professional development work coupled with my new Japanese class that starts next week...I'm going to be a busy guy!
BTW...if anyone id familiar with the website ESL Cafe, I've posted an interesting link. I actually secured my second job in Korea through this website. I bypassed the "recruiter" stage and was hired directly by a school. It was a great little school in Ilsan, South Korea. It was called "Day By Day English Academy." It's not around anymore, but I have some fond memories of working there.
The founder of ESL Cafe is Dave Sperling. Here's a great podcast about how he started his site. It's a great listen for anyone who's working overseas doing the ESL thing or for anyone considering starting an ESL-type business venture....inspiring.
Have a great Tuesday everyone!
Monday, September 22, 2008
Sports Day in Japan
Alright, it's a Monday morning and normally I'd be in homeroom, but I'm sitting at home having a coffee writing. Why is that? Well, I have the day off since I worked on Saturday. Saturday was our school's Sports Day. Sports Day is a really big deal in Japan. It's something students look forward to all year when they are in middle and high school, but in my school's case; it's something the parents really look forward too.
My students are too young to be playing games like soccer or baseball, but we had practiced several cool little activities for them. Many relay races, obstacle courses as well as some singing and dancing. I had absolutely no idea how time consuming it was going to be to get ready for Sports Day. More preparation hours than I want to count. We designed games that we thought would be appropriate for the kids and ones they would be capable of playing. We also wanted to make sure the games would be entertaining for all of the family members who would come to watch their little "future Olympians"! Then we practiced everyday for more than two weeks.
Unfortunately, for both the students, parents and teachers, the temperature shot up on Saturday and it was above 30C in the Kobe area. There was next to no shade on the sports field and by the end of the day I looked like a lobster.
Here's a little more about Sports Day in Japan from Wikipedia:
"Sports days are often a week-long event at Japanese schools. Preparation typically begins on a Monday and continues until Saturday, with the sports day being held on the Sunday. During the week preceding the sports day, students have no regular classes, but practice their events throughout each day, culminating in a full dress-rehearsal the day before the event, which often includes performances by the school band and presentations by various school clubs as well as individual and group competitive events. These practices, and the sports days themselves, normally take place on the schools' fields, which provide little relief from the heat and sun." Wikipedia article...
Here are also a few interesting videos about Sports Day in Japan.
In this vid, you can see some of the games and activities high school students do in a typical Sports Day. See original here...
This is a vid by my friend "KansaiPJ" as heis known on Youtube.
In this vid you can see some students at a private highschool in Osaka, Japan preparing team t-shirts for Sports Day. See original...
So, there's a little about Sports Day in Japan. It's a really big deal. I never encountered anything like this in my years working in South Korea or in Canada. It's pretty cool I think....hard work for the students and teachers though :)
My students are too young to be playing games like soccer or baseball, but we had practiced several cool little activities for them. Many relay races, obstacle courses as well as some singing and dancing. I had absolutely no idea how time consuming it was going to be to get ready for Sports Day. More preparation hours than I want to count. We designed games that we thought would be appropriate for the kids and ones they would be capable of playing. We also wanted to make sure the games would be entertaining for all of the family members who would come to watch their little "future Olympians"! Then we practiced everyday for more than two weeks.
Unfortunately, for both the students, parents and teachers, the temperature shot up on Saturday and it was above 30C in the Kobe area. There was next to no shade on the sports field and by the end of the day I looked like a lobster.
Here's a little more about Sports Day in Japan from Wikipedia:
"Sports days are often a week-long event at Japanese schools. Preparation typically begins on a Monday and continues until Saturday, with the sports day being held on the Sunday. During the week preceding the sports day, students have no regular classes, but practice their events throughout each day, culminating in a full dress-rehearsal the day before the event, which often includes performances by the school band and presentations by various school clubs as well as individual and group competitive events. These practices, and the sports days themselves, normally take place on the schools' fields, which provide little relief from the heat and sun." Wikipedia article...
Here are also a few interesting videos about Sports Day in Japan.
In this vid, you can see some of the games and activities high school students do in a typical Sports Day. See original here...
This is a vid by my friend "KansaiPJ" as heis known on Youtube.
In this vid you can see some students at a private highschool in Osaka, Japan preparing team t-shirts for Sports Day. See original...
So, there's a little about Sports Day in Japan. It's a really big deal. I never encountered anything like this in my years working in South Korea or in Canada. It's pretty cool I think....hard work for the students and teachers though :)
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