CA Edington's Journal
Teaching Development - Sapporo University
April, 2001

Having now had all my classes at least twice, I’m less anxious about them than before I started. This semester’s going to be a tough one, especially since there’s no break after Golden Week all the way through the end of July. However, I rather like the flow of my week with the most challenging classes, perhaps for both me and the students, falling on Tuesday and Wednesday. I also like being able to teach the first two periods every day since my body gives out after lunch, and I’m able to take a nap before my evening classes or activities.

The first day of the Teaching Development class at Sapporo University, I was disappointed that nearly one-third of the students came late. It was terribly disruptive, and I had difficulty concentrating on what I was doing at the time. Also, they missed important explanations of what we’re going to be doing in class. Those I asked mainly said it was because they had overslept, which I can understand to some extent given that they had just had two months’ vacation.

Also, even though the class had been "advertised" as one for those planning to become English teachers, there were several who had no such plans. I was confused as to why they were taking the class, although if their main goal was to improve their English, that will happen. Fortunately, by the second week, nearly everyone came on time, and those who were there truly made an effort, for the most part.

When I began the jazz chant, however, their rhythm was good but their voices were really weak–for a group of over 30. It wasn’t a problem of energy. I’m afraid I’m going to have the same problem as last year with people afraid to speak out in front of others, even when they have something they want to say. I’m going to have to use a number of techniques to encourage them to speak more freely, in other words, overcoming years and years of being educated to do just the opposite, that is, be quiet and never ask questions. Sigh! I have my work cut out for me.

Superstition Report

Having the students report on one of the superstitions did prove to be a rather daunting task for them. However, everyone who tried got credit, which was everyone in the class except for the one who had Wedding Superstitions and tried to "fudge" her way through. (She didn’t succeed. I called her on it.)

I learned a great deal about how to give that kind of assignment. (I have to mention here that I knew virtually nothing about the students, their level, their ability to do Internet searches, what kind of instruction they had received before, etc. I only know that most of them have spent some time abroad or want to.) What virtually everyone had done (except for one student without a computer who used her mother as a resource) was go to the site I had suggested and print out information about the superstition assigned. I could see that their "reports," which I had said were to be 2-3 minutes each, were going to consist of reading the printed information.

The very first one was an excellent summary. She simply said that a black cat coming towards you was good luck but one going away from you was bad luck. The second student, however, began reading and, after a minute or two, I stopped her and said something to the effect that she was giving us too much information. Could she give us one simple point about why black cats are bad luck? I also talked to the class about "telling" vs. "reading."

At that point, I realized I had to give everyone a few minutes to get organized. In a few cases, we received clear, succinct reports, but most merely highlighted the points they chose to read to the class. It was only with my repetition and rephrasing that they could see how the information could be put into simpler words emphasizing only the most important points. In all, it took most of the class time, nearly 60 minutes, but I felt it was well worth the time.

The feedback I got on the Self-Assessment Forms was that they learned something about doing a report. Because of the 3 or 4 that were done well, they could see the differences between reading and telling, and the importance of being succinct (a new word they were able to add to their vocabulary). Since more than half the students are in my Academic Writing class as well, I’ll be able to use this experience when we do summarizing next term. In fact, I’m going to have them use the same material on superstitions since it’s one that already has an intrinsic appeal.