The new semester has started!

The new semester has finally started. My first class was a reading and writing class. Today I had 32 students, but I am expecting this to change next week. It is also too soon to tell how the class will be, but I have many students from last semester. I will have to alter the class a little so that they do not repeat the same material. Today's class was mainly orientation and assessment. I first introduced myself and told them to call me by my first name. I then had them write their name on a card which they will keep on their desk in order to help me remember their names. Once we finished, I had them do classroom English in pairs and then I asked them for the answers individually. I wrote the answers on the board and had them repeat after me. I also repeated the fact that each expression is important and that they should try to use whenever possible.



Next, I had them change their partner and had them ask on another questions, and after write a short introduction of their partner. The purpose of this activity was to get them to meet the other students, and also to see how well they could write.



Then I gave them the syllabus and absentee slip and explained the class using some Japanese. I am feeling that in the future I may or should try to translate the syllabus into Japanese so that there will be no risk of misunderstanding. However, I told them that if they ever have any questions that they could ask me anytime. Something that I did not do was talk about mistakes and letting them know that it is OK to make them; that it is a part of learning. That is something I should do next class.



Finally, I told them to bring a pencil, paper or a notebook and a dictionary for next week. I gave them a questionnaire to give me today or at the latest tomorrow which will provide me with some personal information of each including student's interests etc.



Well, I think that is it for this post. If you'd like to leave a comment, by all means please do!

Cheers,
eisensei