Essay time...

The Birmingham MA TEFL is a distance course consisting of six modules and a thesis (six 4000 word essays and a 12,000 word thesis). Each module contains two topics. The current module is LEXIS, then SYLLABUS & MATERIALS. We read like hell for as long as it takes and then have to crank out a 4000 word essay answering one of about 10 preset questions. The module lasts for 4 months and it feels like I'm reading for 3 months and then writing for the last month.

I've read a great deal (maybe even too much) and everything is still sifting its way to the bottom of my brain. It is really quite an unreasonable task to try and process all of this and come up with anything meaningful in such a short time, isn't it!

I was all set to offer up my own brave new world of TBL for my JSHS situation and now realize that TBL is pretty much dead according to many, even though Ellis, Willis, J. and Willis, D. may not admit it yet. I don't think they are entirely wrong in their ideas, just off track somewhat. I'll hopefully explain why in my essay. If you can't wait, go google Michael Swan, among others.

I'm hoping I can somehow salvage some new perspective/approach to the essay before I crash and burn at the end of March. Last week, one of our study group, Anthony, offered up his outline and sat in the online skype "hotseat" while we all attacked him (lovingly). At the end of an hour, he said that he now knew what he wanted to write in his essay, and felt ready to get writing/editing. It's my turn tomorrow evening and I hope my experience will be equally as clarifying. God knows when I'll send a draft to my tutor, but my classes ended last Friday, so I'll have more daytime hours to deal with my essay angst.

Still cheerful,

Steve

Mother Tongue (L1) in an EFL classroom

I made a new friend at a Temple University Seminar featuring the charming, convincing and prolific vocabulary researcher Batia Laufer on 2/17/07.

His question:
[Batia Laufer said] ... a language teacher must be proficient in the L1 in order to be an effective teacher. I was wondering what are your thoughts about that statement in regards to the seminar and your personal experience.

My thoughts:
I just wrote a 4500 word essay on the Use of the mother tongue (L1): Successfully negotiating the Slippery Slope in the classroom. I am sure that the mother tongue is just one more effective TOOL or RESOURCE, among many, that an effective teacher uses when necessary. Everyone, including Batia Laufer, uses the phrase, "a JUDICIOUS (sensible and careful) amount" to describe how much L1 to use in the classroom. Nation goes further by saying that the teacher should use no more than 10% of the L1. I think that is a good target depending on the class and level of students. I argued that low level students can benefit greatly from L1 support. I also believe that somewhere around the intermediate level, students begin to wean themselves of the L1 and want more English-only instruction.

So, if you plan to stay in Japan for a while, get your butt into a Japanese class as soon as you can. The deeper you go into learning Japanese, the better you will understand (in an eavesdropping kind of way) so many things about your students and classroom dynamics. This will lead you to being able to connect much better with your students and your school as well. Moreover, the benefits of studying a language (i.e. being a student yourself) are countless. Finally, knowing Japanese for your personal life will open more doors than you could imagine.

My own opinions, supplemented by reading about 32 published articles on the topic, go way beyond this short answer and I welcome further discussion on this topic.

Keep in touch. If you ever want to chat about the Birmingham program, try calling me through Skype (http://www.skype.com/)

Context, Context, Context

A teacher's question to Paul Nation at the online TESOL Vocabulary seminar (1/30/07): How do you convince learners that extensive reading done during valuable class time is worth it? My students have said they think it is a waste of time although I have tried to convince them otherwise when we have done it 2 times per week for 20 min each time.

His answer: A tough question. I think you are on the right track by persisting. The hope is success leads to enjoyment and valuing the activity.

My answer: CONTEXT is the most important consideration (too few people put what they say or think into context) . In Japanese high schools, there is a huge difference between 'learning' English and 'studying' English. For GENERAL COURSE students, I think ER and story-telling are key components of Nation's four strand approach (I'm starting an ER program from April). If students are in the ENGLISH COURSE or SCIENCE COURSE and attempting to enter a good university, they may need to know upwards of 4000 - 5000 words, so ER will be a tough sell because there isn't enough 'bang for the buck'. From the students realistic and sincere perspective, all that matters is studying content/techniques that will lead to passing the obscenely wicked university entrance tests. Focusing on reading speed/comprehension in ER can help somewhat for 'chobun' (long readings) on the entrance exams. I think a better use of time would be getting them away from the standard Japanese TARGET series of vocabulary books. From what I understand at this point, they are based on an obscure and endless compilation of words that have appeared over the years on previous univ. entrance exams. They overwhelm students with too many low-frequency words. The General Service List (GSL) http://www.languages.salford.ac.uk/staff/dickins.php would be a much better use of their study time. I don't know if there is anything in Japan for using the GSL???

My question to everyone: I have 3 research ideas from Nation's talk:
1. The 10 minute writing data research (amount and quality of output gain)
2. Comparing the TARGET series that almost all Ss use to the GSL. (efficiency of study time)
3. Researching the difference between using single words on word cards vs. using chunks on word cards (e.g. "threaten" vs. "Tanaka sensei threatens me everyday)

I will teach 5 new WRITING classes from April (Ko II and Ko III). They provide a wonderful new opportunity and challenge at this point in my teaching life. I'm excited to figure out how to teach them well. On the other hand, it also creates a huge dilemma. How do I balance my needs to teach a real English Writing course with the students' impending "university entrance tests from hell?"

Anyone interested in jumping into some collaborative research?

Views from Abroad

The little stats counter (free download) is a wonderful addition to any blog. It tells you how many hits you collect each day, and even identifies where they come from. I am giddy to have received my first visitors from outside of Japan. In fact, I had viewers from The U.S., Korea and Mongolia all on the same day.

I heartily invite you to contact me if you have any interest in high school level EFL teaching, extensive reading, interest in action research or would like to discuss our MA TEFL course. One of the 3 main purposes in starting this blog is to expand my circle of like-minded teachers.

Initially, I was terribly hesitant to go from voyeur to poster, but like everything else, it gets easier with each and every post. Once I got started I realized that most of the 'good' people were very open to being contacted as long as I was earnest and sincere.

I have three good ideas for research related to vocabulary and hope to start at least one of them from April 2007. I would love to do some collaborative research because the process of working with someone is at least half the fun in doing these kinds of projects.

I can be reached through this page, at bluesteed@hotmail.com or skyped as bluesteed.

Thanks for visiting my blog.

What an opportunity; what a dilemma

I have been asked to teach 5 new classes from April, 2007. I'm in my 14th year at an all girls private JSHS in Osaka, Japan, and have taught Oral English almost exclusively up to this point. The new classes will be Ko II (grade 11) and Ko III (grade 12) writing classes. They provide a wonderful new opportunity and challenge at this point in my teaching life. I'm excited to figure out how to teach them well. On the other hand, it also creates a huge dilemma. How do I balance my needs to teach a real English Writing course with the students' impending "university entrance tests from hell?"

I am looking for ideas from any other teachers who have faced a similar situation. I have found a few starting points on the internet already. If you have any experience or thoughts on this topic, particularly within an EFL framework in Japanese high schools, I would LOVE to hear from you.

I just listened to a January 30, 2007 TESOL Virtual Seminar “Teaching Vocabulary, Is It a Waste of Learning Time,” with Paul Nation. It was so good that I may not sleep tonight (I AM prong to hyperbole, but it was really good!)

He gave everyone so many specific, practical ideas and is obviously a wonderful TEACHER. He explained, reviewed, gave great details and examples. I highly recommend it.

Too many interests, too little time

I'm only on the 3rd of 6 modules but my interests are quickly piling up. Being a type 7 on the Enneagram, http://www.enneagraminstitute.com/, it is no big surprise to me, but I'd better keep on top of things or else...

For anyone who golfs, the following tip I heard should be analogous:
Standing on the first tee, with driver in hand, ominously looking down the fairway, we are advised to, "Stay focussed on the ball and try to keep less than 300 things from racing through your brain at once."

I can clearly see that I'm evolving as a teacher through this MA TEFL. I find that trying to stay "practical" while piecing together the many potential components that will form both my own theory of learning and the English program at my school can be overwhelmimg at times.

In Japanese high schools, there is a big difference between 'learning' English and 'studying' English. The former works best through a holistic approach to the language (like TBL) whereas the later centers on a rigorous and grueling mental study of English in order to pass university entrance exams. At the high school level, it feels almost impossible to convince JTEs to adjust their grammar-translation (GT) methods into a more holistic TBL approach. There are many universities that have recently been implementing TBL into the university setting and this seems like a very good idea according to many experts including, among many others, Nunan and Ellis. I think TBL is a reasonable approach because the focus can be on 'learning' English more than 'studying' English. I don't know how many JSHSs have found a way to use TBL within the current world of "Juken Benkyou".

I'm very interested in finding a way to "sell" the idea of TBL to the average JTE (who hasn't got an MA TEFL) so that JTE and NT goals can be more aligned and their students can enjoy English more and be more successful in English as well.

Personally, I am determined to find the right mix of approach, based on theory, to lead me to my goal. Here's where I am or my "recipe" at this point:

1. I'm trying to wrap my head around understanding TBL in order to implement a TBL approach into my classroom.
2. I'm starting an Extensive Reading program for both in-class and out-of class. I want to expose my students to a large amount and wide range of English.
3. I'm evaluating how to give "Vocabulary" its proper place in my lessons.

The weeks seem to be flying by, with readings from the MA TEFL modules scheduled towards a weekly SKYPE session (online FREE conference call format, http://www.skype.com/helloagain.html) on Monday nights at 10 pm. If you are interested in what we are doing, skype me via bluesteed. We discuss, compare, clarify and try to understand the implications of what we are studying. We also laugh.

This week I joined TESOL http://www.tesol.org/s_tesol/index.asp and renewed my membership to JALT http://jalt.org/. I figured that for the duration of this MA, I would like to open as many avenues to new ideas, interesting people and new opportunities. I think both associations are worthwhile for my professional development.

The following link is a wonderful, up-to-date introduction to TBL. Thanks to Mark for sending it to me. http://www.asian-efl-journal.com/September_06_home.php. The editor's introduction to some 8 articles is wonderful and the first short article by Nunan offers a variety of clear definitions of 'task'. Check it out.

Where to begin?

I was somewhat dubious about beginning the MA TEFL course because I have run into too many academic types over the years who seemed like they couldn't teach their way out of a wet paper bag. They were long on theory, but unbelievably short on the practicalities and/or realities of teaching. I swore to myself that, if I started the MA, I would endeavor to become a "practical academic'. I would focus on things that were directly relevant to the students in my classroom, things that could actually help them to learn English.

So, since the beginning of this MA course, I've been collecting interesting articles and research papers that relate to teaching EFL in Japanese junior and senior high schools (known as JSHS from now on) and I would like to make them available on this blog for others to use. I have also collected things that relate to affective issues such as motivation and learner expectations. Additionally, I have already developed a few "pet interests" such as the role of questions and feedback in class, extensive reading, vocabulary acquisition, and the role of the mother tongue in EFL classes.

As I begin to figure out how to organize my collection in order to make it available to others, I'll happily begin sharing...

Looking for some answers

After 18 years of teaching EFL in Japan by instinct and by trial & error, I began an MA TEFL through the distance program at the University of Birmingham in April 2006. I highly recommend it for anyone looking to develop professionally or to 'go deeper' into teaching. It is challenging and stimulating albeit overwhelming at times.

I have found myself becoming increasingly frustrated that most of the readings in my course are ESL based and/or based on research done in countries other than Japan.

Therefore, my aim with this blog is three-fold:

1. I would like to collect relevant research that has been conducted in Japan.

2. I would like to do some collaborative action research related to junior and senior high school teaching.

3. I would like to build a network of teachers with similar interests.

I look forward to the adventures that lie ahead.

Steve