For today's lesson, I had a student who I was just meeting for the first time. So, naturally, it was a good opportunity to practice self-introductions. After we got the student's one point from last time out of the way, we went through self-introductions. I was very happy to find that this student was very enthusiastic and was eager to practice speaking especially. Following brief self-introductions, it was like she was interviewing me! She would continually ask me follow-up questions after I would answer her questions about my school life back home.
She then wanted to guess which country I was from, upon eliciting some clues from me. She first guessed England, then Germany, but then when I finally gave the easy clue (Maple) she realized I was from Canada. Normally this brings about a "Ohhh, Canada is nice!" kind of response from students. However, this student got quite excited as she has plans to go to Toronto, Canada in a few months to study English.
She asked me more and more questions about Canada and about Toronto. And I would ask her questions about why she chose Canada and Toronto, in particular. She would struggle to ask these questions, so I would help her along by writing the questions on the board as she went, and she would eventually be able to properly ask the question to me.
Also, as we continued through this conversation, we would go through certain vocabulary that she would like to learn, and she asked many questions related to how to say things as well. Overall, we went through a lot, Sse took a lot of notes, and she still seemed genuinely excited to keep learning English by the end of the lesson. Since we were covering so much ground and so quickly, I hadn't had the chance to look at the clock, and when I did I noticed we were over time already. So I quickly put up the new one point, and with little help she was able to give a very relevant example. "I'm looking forward to going to Canada because I have never been to another country before."
Saturday, February 28, 2009
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
A 25-day pickle...
Today for my first lesson, I had a single student who, I had found out just before the lesson, writes comedy. By the end of the lesson, I realized how funny he was (in the good way). We began with his one point from last time: I have to work 10 days in a row. Following my prompt, the student was able to quickly catch on and say it. I asked him if he had ever had to work 10 days in a row before. I wouldn't have been surprised if he had. But I was surprised to hear him say that he worked 25 days in a row before, and 14/15 hour days at that. He then went on to explain the reason for this, and it was quite interesting to hear about. This also lead to the explanation of a few vocabulary questions and common word choice ones which were related to his story. It was great that he was so eager to get across his story without me having to ask him too many questions.
Following this we went onto a discussion about food and drink. He told me about how he likes most foods, except Japanese pickles, because he thinks they smell bad. I asked him more questions, and later he told me about how his father's good was as a pickle-maker! That just might explain the dislike of pickles. We went over some more explanations of related vocabulary and phrases that arose during our conversation. I then segued into the Restaurant routine with him and finished off with another one point. By the end of the lesson he had written down a lot of notes and he seemed to be happy about it. Me too!
Following this we went onto a discussion about food and drink. He told me about how he likes most foods, except Japanese pickles, because he thinks they smell bad. I asked him more questions, and later he told me about how his father's good was as a pickle-maker! That just might explain the dislike of pickles. We went over some more explanations of related vocabulary and phrases that arose during our conversation. I then segued into the Restaurant routine with him and finished off with another one point. By the end of the lesson he had written down a lot of notes and he seemed to be happy about it. Me too!
Monday, February 16, 2009
Basics, basics, basics...
This last week I've been using the present continuous lesson from the Smith's School of English curriculum with as many of my students as their study plans will allow. The interesting thing about this particular lesson is that it contains a staggering amount of vocabulary for the sake of practicing the central grammar point. I find this to actually be the most rewarding part of the lesson. The task of switching a verb from standard present tense to present continuous is rather mechanical with few exceptions. As such, most students can master it in a controlled environment after seeing only a few examples. The sheer volume of vocabulary however gives even a higher level student a run for their money.
As usual I start out with a review of the one point from the students previous lesson. This helps to break the ice as usual and establishes a link of trust between the student and I. After that I can transition right into the present continuous lesson plan. Each step of the lesson is tiered with a well paced learning curve for students who are new to the material. For students who are more familiar with the material I can easily skip intermediary steps right into the more complex activities.
This lesson has plenty of logical stopping points so no what pace the student moves through the material it's pretty easy to transition into a routine review when I see we are nearing the end of the lesson. I always pick a routine that the student has practiced before and go through either the hint bar or the questions depending on their level. With a few minutes left in the lesson I move into the new one point and practice it a bit before bidding the student farewell. I had fun exploring this lesson and I'm looking forward to exploring another as deeply next time.
As usual I start out with a review of the one point from the students previous lesson. This helps to break the ice as usual and establishes a link of trust between the student and I. After that I can transition right into the present continuous lesson plan. Each step of the lesson is tiered with a well paced learning curve for students who are new to the material. For students who are more familiar with the material I can easily skip intermediary steps right into the more complex activities.
This lesson has plenty of logical stopping points so no what pace the student moves through the material it's pretty easy to transition into a routine review when I see we are nearing the end of the lesson. I always pick a routine that the student has practiced before and go through either the hint bar or the questions depending on their level. With a few minutes left in the lesson I move into the new one point and practice it a bit before bidding the student farewell. I had fun exploring this lesson and I'm looking forward to exploring another as deeply next time.
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
The good ol' days
Today's lesson started out with a review of last weeks one point as always here at Smith's School of English. The student had reviewed it well. I could tell because he used it so naturally when i presented him with an opportunity to do so.
After the one point we began discussing phrase cards 1 through 5. The student came right out and said he really enjoyed these phrases and told me that these are great for expanding his "range" in English and that the phrases themselves seemed very practical. He would do his best to define the phrases using different terms, use them in sentences, and pose questions to me using the new phrases. This provided a lot of talking practice for him and eventually led to him telling me that he used to own a coffee shop. You never know where the natural flow of conversation will take you!
He described this as a really great period in his life, a fond memory if you will. I could tell how sincere he was by the nostalgic look in his eye. He told me all about how he used to enjoy talking to the customers and filling their cups with coffee. He had about 11 staff members that worked with him there and it all sounded very fulfilling to me. Now he is retired and enjoys a more relaxing daily life but it was rather touching to watch him reminisce that way. When time was up we finished up with a new one point and said our farewells until next week.
After the one point we began discussing phrase cards 1 through 5. The student came right out and said he really enjoyed these phrases and told me that these are great for expanding his "range" in English and that the phrases themselves seemed very practical. He would do his best to define the phrases using different terms, use them in sentences, and pose questions to me using the new phrases. This provided a lot of talking practice for him and eventually led to him telling me that he used to own a coffee shop. You never know where the natural flow of conversation will take you!
He described this as a really great period in his life, a fond memory if you will. I could tell how sincere he was by the nostalgic look in his eye. He told me all about how he used to enjoy talking to the customers and filling their cups with coffee. He had about 11 staff members that worked with him there and it all sounded very fulfilling to me. Now he is retired and enjoys a more relaxing daily life but it was rather touching to watch him reminisce that way. When time was up we finished up with a new one point and said our farewells until next week.
Monday, January 5, 2009
Happpy New Year!
Wow! 2009 is here and we have a whole new year to look forward to here at Smith's School of English. As expected, most students seem to want to talk about what they did over the Christmas and New Year holiday as well as ask me questions about mine. Be fore we get into that though i make sure to establish a one point at the beginning of the lesson to make it clear the lesson has indeed started. I do my best to make this a smooth transition and get it in right away but if the student is excited about something before I can even get a word in I don't mind letting the one point go until they say what they wanted to. After all, In a conversation lesson practicing speaking is the point right? I wouldn't cut a student off when they are practicing excitedly just to fit my time schedule.
After establishing the one point we practiced asking and answering basic and expansive questions based on the subject of the recent holiday. This takes a lot of discipline on my part so as not to do all the talking myself. My job is to evaluate the students' questions and answers while offering support where needed. Some times it's easy to lose yourself and take over the conversation but I keep control for the sake of the students' practice time.
After that bit of fun we so a bit over review in a more structured fashion in the form of a routine. It's a nice way to start the year off since students are often so familiar with the lesson structure. After being gone for nearly 2 week a bit of familiarity can be a relief I'm sure.
With the review finished an no time left we finished of with the first one point of 2009. Welcome back!
After establishing the one point we practiced asking and answering basic and expansive questions based on the subject of the recent holiday. This takes a lot of discipline on my part so as not to do all the talking myself. My job is to evaluate the students' questions and answers while offering support where needed. Some times it's easy to lose yourself and take over the conversation but I keep control for the sake of the students' practice time.
After that bit of fun we so a bit over review in a more structured fashion in the form of a routine. It's a nice way to start the year off since students are often so familiar with the lesson structure. After being gone for nearly 2 week a bit of familiarity can be a relief I'm sure.
With the review finished an no time left we finished of with the first one point of 2009. Welcome back!
Wednesday, December 3, 2008
Hot Spa..
When I didn't see my 8pm student in the lobby this evening, I was a bit worried because I remembered him mentioning his wife having some medical condition last time in class. Anyway, it was a great relief when he walked into Smith's School of English Kyobashi 10 minutes later.
Naturally, I asked him about his wife and he was surprised that I remembered our conversation but also happy to tell me that everything was fine and in fact he and his wife took a 2 day trip just last weekend to one of the most famous onsen (hot spa) places in Japan -- Kinosaki! Having been to Kinosaki once in summer myself, I was more than happy to compare notes with him. We had a great conversation about Kinosaki and hot spas in general, I was even invited to Oita since my student was originally from there and his family still lived there! During the conversation, I used the questions from Japan Sea routine without actually informing him of what I was doing, but he did extremely well and got plenty of practice out of it without knowing. Nice conversation AND abundant practice, double bonus!
We then proceeded to the item part of the lesson, which was about passive voice. I pretty much just followed the lesson plan till practice 1. When we went through the passive voice quiz activity, we had a good laugh about each other's lack of Japanese history and sports knowledge, but hey, we were here for an English class! We had so much fun that I didn't even realize that the minute hand was pointing at 45! I had to bring my class to an end by introducing a one-point:" If you go to...., I recommend you to...." As I expected, he had no problem giving me an example once I told him what "recommend" meant. I assured him that I would listen to him and try out the foot spa next time I went to Kinosaki!
Naturally, I asked him about his wife and he was surprised that I remembered our conversation but also happy to tell me that everything was fine and in fact he and his wife took a 2 day trip just last weekend to one of the most famous onsen (hot spa) places in Japan -- Kinosaki! Having been to Kinosaki once in summer myself, I was more than happy to compare notes with him. We had a great conversation about Kinosaki and hot spas in general, I was even invited to Oita since my student was originally from there and his family still lived there! During the conversation, I used the questions from Japan Sea routine without actually informing him of what I was doing, but he did extremely well and got plenty of practice out of it without knowing. Nice conversation AND abundant practice, double bonus!
We then proceeded to the item part of the lesson, which was about passive voice. I pretty much just followed the lesson plan till practice 1. When we went through the passive voice quiz activity, we had a good laugh about each other's lack of Japanese history and sports knowledge, but hey, we were here for an English class! We had so much fun that I didn't even realize that the minute hand was pointing at 45! I had to bring my class to an end by introducing a one-point:" If you go to...., I recommend you to...." As I expected, he had no problem giving me an example once I told him what "recommend" meant. I assured him that I would listen to him and try out the foot spa next time I went to Kinosaki!
Spirit of the season.
Here at Smith's School of English we have students of all levels. They range from true beginners to confident vets looking to maintain their exposure to English. Today's lesson was with a set of particularly high level students. This means to me that the lesson could really go in a lot of unplanned directions. I always prepare a lesson regardless of student level but I'm always ready to abandon that lesson plan in the even that the students pull me in a different direction of interest.
With that in mind I started out by reviewing the one points from their previous lessons. This went smoothly and the students all came up with their own original phrases with only a bit of support from me. After this I moved into a review of some key questions from the Smith's routines. I facilitated this by asking them to discuss each others weekends and ask expansive questions of each other. Once they successfully demonstrated use of all the questions I had expected of them we moved into a discussion topic as an Item.
Not unexpectedly, something interesting came up in the course of discussing their weekends. One student remarked that she sees many Japanese customers buying Christmas presents at her shop and this struck her as odd since most Japanese people aren't practicing Christians. What an interesting topic! We went on to discuss what Christmas means to each student and what it means to them. We also discussed how they perceive Christmas not only in Japan but in western countries. They had lots of practice using English and had some pretty interesting stories to tell! Before I knew it we had finished the lesson and it was time for a new one point so we finished with that.
With that in mind I started out by reviewing the one points from their previous lessons. This went smoothly and the students all came up with their own original phrases with only a bit of support from me. After this I moved into a review of some key questions from the Smith's routines. I facilitated this by asking them to discuss each others weekends and ask expansive questions of each other. Once they successfully demonstrated use of all the questions I had expected of them we moved into a discussion topic as an Item.
Not unexpectedly, something interesting came up in the course of discussing their weekends. One student remarked that she sees many Japanese customers buying Christmas presents at her shop and this struck her as odd since most Japanese people aren't practicing Christians. What an interesting topic! We went on to discuss what Christmas means to each student and what it means to them. We also discussed how they perceive Christmas not only in Japan but in western countries. They had lots of practice using English and had some pretty interesting stories to tell! Before I knew it we had finished the lesson and it was time for a new one point so we finished with that.
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