Hello everyone!
Well, I just had my second class of the semester. This class focuses primarily on reading and writing, but this year I’ve decided to include some listening as well. Unlike yesterday’s class which has only eight students, this one has thirty-eight, but for this class in particular, it’s common. Something I think I forgot to mention yesterday is that both of these classes are open to first and second-year students, although first-year students are predominant. Also, like yesterday’s class, I am conducting this one in a computer room. Actually, with the exception of textbook and primary focus, TOEIC vs Reading/Writiing, this class will be fairly similar in structure.
CLASS STRUCTURE:
Independent Listening with MLH
Students will go online and register to be able to listen to the class audio files independently. Macmillan Language House has a great service called My School; all you have to do is request it and you have access to your own personal page that students can access, too. I wanted to have students do the listening activities independently because it allows them to focus more on the task than if I had them do it as a group where some students would be at a distance from the stereo. Furthermore, this allows me to check their ability, give feedback and evaluate their performance more easily as they will be expected to hand in the work they do.
Once they have registered for the page, they will have to listen independently to a short paragraph, which will also act as a model paragraph for the writing task later. They will listen and repeat after the audio; they will have headphones or earphones, so the amount of embarrassment experienced will be reduced somewhat (I say reduced because I think some will still be shy even if no one can hear them.).
SIDENOTE on EMBARRASSMENT
What I refer to is the feeling some students have when they have to read or speak in front of others. I have had some students speak more quietly than usual, and I’ve even had one who turned red. Of course, I tried as much as possible to encourage a relaxed atmosphere, but for some students it is still difficult to perform such tasks, hence I decided to try such a task this year.
CLASS STRUCTURE CNTD:
Textbook focus
After practicing the paragraph alone, they will then practice with a partner, changing the highlighted words in the paragraph with ones provided in the book. Next, they have about two writing activities that will be written out in their notebooks. These activities mainly consist of comprehension and grammar or vocabulary questions. Once they finish that, there may be one or two listening questions, depending on the chapter, that will have to do on their own. Again they will write the answers in the notebook. Finally, they will have to write a short paragraph based on the theme of the chapter, and that too will be written in their notebooks. Finally, these notebooks will be submitted to me for review at the end of class.
Internet Focus
Honestly, I am not sure if they will be able to complete all of what I am planning to have them do since I have not done this before, but once they finish the textbook tasks, they will have to go on-line again to the academic word list practice site where they will have to work through the list and some of the questions for that list. I will also expect them to email me this work as this will be included in their grade.
TODAY’S CLASS:
I won’t go into very much detail about what I did because today’s class followed the same pattern as yesterday’s class with the exception of having them write down their information in Excel. However, I was able to get this information (name and student number) via a questionnaire I distributed to find out which units they would like to do this semester. I did this because there will only be 12 classes this semester (two classes will be tests, and today’s class was orientation) and one of those 12 will focus on introductions. Therefore, that only leaves 11 classes, but there are fourteen units, so I had them choose them, which I think is better than me choosing them. It also allows me to get an idea of their interests, which is important, too. Next week will be the real start and I’ll be able to get a better idea of who my students are and what they can do. I will also be able to see how my plan will work, but of course, like all tentative plans, I’m sure that some things will probably have to be altered, but that’s one of the ways we learn how to teach, isn’t it? Trial and Error?
Cheers,
eisensei
SYLLABUS:
このプリントは重要です！紛失しないでください
**********************************
Classroom: ********************************
Time: 10:40 – 12:10 Thursday
Instructor: ******************************
E-mail: ********************************
OFFICE: ***************************
REQUIRED MATERIALS:
New Easy Writing (MLH)
Earphones or headphones
Dictionary
Notebook
NOTE: Students who do not bring these items will lose points.
WEBSITE:
Academic Word List (http://www.academicvocabularyexercises.com)
New Easy Writing (http://www.mlh.co.jp/sp/school?type=28)
GOALS:
By the end of the course, you should:
-be able to write a short paragraph on various topics
-have a larger vocabulary
-have a better listening ability
SCHEDULE:
April
15 ORIENTATION
22 Unit 1 Introductions
May
6
13
20
27
June
3
10 TEST 1
17
24
July
1
8
15
22
29 TEST 2
GRADES:
Grades will be based upon the following criteria:
*Attendance
Participation
Weekly Quizzes
Vocabulary Exercises
Midterm Test
Final Test
*If you come at 10:55 or later, you will be marked absent.
*If you are absent 3 times, you will receive an F.
*If you are absent for a valid reason, you must give me that reason in writing by 1:00 PM Friday. If you fail to give me this notice of absence, you will be marked absent.
Thursday, April 15, 2010
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
It begins...
Hello everyone!
Well, I've officially started my second year today. My first class of the new academic year was an advanced TOEIC preparation class. This class only has 8 students so far, so it should be an interesting semester. Also, unlike last year, I am conducting this class in a computer room. There are three reasons that I decided to do this:
1. Academic Word List
There is a very good site, in my opinion, that has all the lists plus loads of questions to practice the vocabulary with immediate feedback.
2. Listening Practice
I think sites such as VOA or Breaking News English are good for practicing listening comprehension.
3. Email
Something that I am considering trying, although I am not sure if it will work well since it is my first time to try this, is have the students email me at the end of class vocabulary lists of words that they did not know. I would then take these lists and make vocabulary quizzes for the students based on the most frequent words in their lists.
CLASS STRUCTURE
Like the email idea above, I am not sure how this will work out either, but each class will follow a similar structure.
1. TEXTBOOK
Students will first work through the textbook (see below), but it is up to the student to choose the order; I have given them complete freedom in this matter. As they finish each question, they will submit their answers for marking, which I will do in class since there are so few students (one of the many advantages of a small class). Next, they will go back through the questions, highlighting the words they did not know. They will then make a list of those words with Japanese translation using Excel.
2. AWL
After a certain time, they will be expected to go online to work on the AWL, first starting with list 1 and so on. They will have to go through the vocabulary making sure they know the pronunciation, part of speech and meaning in Japanese of those words they don't know, and they will include these words in their list as well. After that, they will work through the questions on the website. Each list has 6 groups of 3 sets of 10 questions, so I am thinking of asking them to do only 1 set from each group. Also if there is time, I will ask them to add the words they don't know from the questions to the list they have already made that class.
3. INTERNET LISTENING (COOL DOWN TASK)
Finally, they will email me this list and with the remainder of the time they will listen to an article from VOA or BNE. This will not only give them some listening practice, but it will also work as a post-task activity, or more importantly, a way to relax a little after having worked so intensively.
TODAY'S CLASS
The purpose of today's class was to explain the course. I first introduced myself, stating explicitly what we would be doing in the course. I then had them write their names on cards with a marker - these cards will be placed on the computer they use to help me remember their names. I also had them hold these cards in front of them and I took a picture of them in pairs. Again, this was also for the purpose of remembering their names. Since there are so few students, however, I am quite confident that forgetting names in this class will not be a problem.
Once I finished taking their photos, I went through the syllabus (see below) explaining things in more detail, stopping at certain times to ask them if they had any questions. I also told them that if they ever had any questions they could email me or come to my office. Finally, I had them enter some personal information into the computer that I will use to make the student list for this class.
Well, I think that is it for today. Things are going to be busier for me this year, so I really can't spend so much time writing these, but I will do my best to continue them throughout the year. For those of you who are starting like me, good luck and all the best this year!
Cheers,
eisensei
-------------------------CLASS SYLLABUS-------------------------
このプリントは重要です！紛失しないでください
*******************************
Classroom: ***********************************
Time: 9:00 – 10:30 Wednesday
Instructor: ********************************
E-mail: **************************************
OFFICE: ********************************************
REQUIRED MATERIALS:
Reading Guide to the TOEIC Test (Thomson)
Earphones or headphones
Dictionary
NOTE: Students who do not bring these items will lose points.
Academic Word List (http://www.academicvocabularyexercises.com)
GOALS:
By the end of the course, you should:
-be able to improve your TOEIC score, especially in the reading section
-have a larger vocabulary
SCHEDULE:
April
14 ORIENTATION
21
28
May
12
19
26
June
2
9 TEST 1
16
23
30
July
7
14
28
August
4 TEST 2
GRADES:
Grades will be based upon the following criteria:
*Attendance
Participation
Weekly Quizzes
Vocabulary Exercises
Midterm Test
Final Test
TOEIC Test Score
*If you come at 9:15 or later, you will be marked absent.
*If you are absent 3 times, you will receive an F.
*If you are absent for a valid reason, you must give me that reason in writing by 1:00 PM Thursday. If you fail to give me this notice of absence, you will be marked absent.
Well, I've officially started my second year today. My first class of the new academic year was an advanced TOEIC preparation class. This class only has 8 students so far, so it should be an interesting semester. Also, unlike last year, I am conducting this class in a computer room. There are three reasons that I decided to do this:
1. Academic Word List
There is a very good site, in my opinion, that has all the lists plus loads of questions to practice the vocabulary with immediate feedback.
2. Listening Practice
I think sites such as VOA or Breaking News English are good for practicing listening comprehension.
3. Email
Something that I am considering trying, although I am not sure if it will work well since it is my first time to try this, is have the students email me at the end of class vocabulary lists of words that they did not know. I would then take these lists and make vocabulary quizzes for the students based on the most frequent words in their lists.
CLASS STRUCTURE
Like the email idea above, I am not sure how this will work out either, but each class will follow a similar structure.
1. TEXTBOOK
Students will first work through the textbook (see below), but it is up to the student to choose the order; I have given them complete freedom in this matter. As they finish each question, they will submit their answers for marking, which I will do in class since there are so few students (one of the many advantages of a small class). Next, they will go back through the questions, highlighting the words they did not know. They will then make a list of those words with Japanese translation using Excel.
2. AWL
After a certain time, they will be expected to go online to work on the AWL, first starting with list 1 and so on. They will have to go through the vocabulary making sure they know the pronunciation, part of speech and meaning in Japanese of those words they don't know, and they will include these words in their list as well. After that, they will work through the questions on the website. Each list has 6 groups of 3 sets of 10 questions, so I am thinking of asking them to do only 1 set from each group. Also if there is time, I will ask them to add the words they don't know from the questions to the list they have already made that class.
3. INTERNET LISTENING (COOL DOWN TASK)
Finally, they will email me this list and with the remainder of the time they will listen to an article from VOA or BNE. This will not only give them some listening practice, but it will also work as a post-task activity, or more importantly, a way to relax a little after having worked so intensively.
TODAY'S CLASS
The purpose of today's class was to explain the course. I first introduced myself, stating explicitly what we would be doing in the course. I then had them write their names on cards with a marker - these cards will be placed on the computer they use to help me remember their names. I also had them hold these cards in front of them and I took a picture of them in pairs. Again, this was also for the purpose of remembering their names. Since there are so few students, however, I am quite confident that forgetting names in this class will not be a problem.
Once I finished taking their photos, I went through the syllabus (see below) explaining things in more detail, stopping at certain times to ask them if they had any questions. I also told them that if they ever had any questions they could email me or come to my office. Finally, I had them enter some personal information into the computer that I will use to make the student list for this class.
Well, I think that is it for today. Things are going to be busier for me this year, so I really can't spend so much time writing these, but I will do my best to continue them throughout the year. For those of you who are starting like me, good luck and all the best this year!
Cheers,
eisensei
-------------------------CLASS SYLLABUS-------------------------
このプリントは重要です！紛失しないでください
*******************************
Classroom: ***********************************
Time: 9:00 – 10:30 Wednesday
Instructor: ********************************
E-mail: **************************************
OFFICE: ********************************************
REQUIRED MATERIALS:
Reading Guide to the TOEIC Test (Thomson)
Earphones or headphones
Dictionary
NOTE: Students who do not bring these items will lose points.
Academic Word List (http://www.academicvocabularyexercises.com)
GOALS:
By the end of the course, you should:
-be able to improve your TOEIC score, especially in the reading section
-have a larger vocabulary
SCHEDULE:
April
14 ORIENTATION
21
28
May
12
19
26
June
2
9 TEST 1
16
23
30
July
7
14
28
August
4 TEST 2
GRADES:
Grades will be based upon the following criteria:
*Attendance
Participation
Weekly Quizzes
Vocabulary Exercises
Midterm Test
Final Test
TOEIC Test Score
*If you come at 9:15 or later, you will be marked absent.
*If you are absent 3 times, you will receive an F.
*If you are absent for a valid reason, you must give me that reason in writing by 1:00 PM Thursday. If you fail to give me this notice of absence, you will be marked absent.
Friday, April 2, 2010
Belated thank you's and a groovy article
A belated thank you
First of all, sorry for not doing this sooner, but I would to thank everyone for their comments on my last post. I really appreciated all the advice and the fact that I am not the only one who can be completely open with students. I especially liked Barbara’s comment about sharing information, which I now try to keep in mind when talking with students.
A VERY good article
Every Friday, I receive ELTNEWS.COM’s weekly newsletter, and while I don’t always read it, I decided to take a look at this week’s articles and stumbled upon Mike Guest’s article, ESS- How Tomoyuki lost his groove. I won’t go into any details, but I highly recommend you read it if you already haven’t.
Cheers,
eisensei
First of all, sorry for not doing this sooner, but I would to thank everyone for their comments on my last post. I really appreciated all the advice and the fact that I am not the only one who can be completely open with students. I especially liked Barbara’s comment about sharing information, which I now try to keep in mind when talking with students.
A VERY good article
Every Friday, I receive ELTNEWS.COM’s weekly newsletter, and while I don’t always read it, I decided to take a look at this week’s articles and stumbled upon Mike Guest’s article, ESS- How Tomoyuki lost his groove. I won’t go into any details, but I highly recommend you read it if you already haven’t.
Cheers,
eisensei
Monday, March 15, 2010
Teacher-Student Relationship : How open is too open?
Hi everyone,
I’ve been thinking about something recently and would like to hear what you have to say about it.
Everyday we interact with our students in and out of class. Over time we may build relationships with some of our students, some closer than others. Some of us may even go out from time to time with some of those students and obviously discuss various topics, some of which may revolve around you, as some students are curious to know more about their teacher.
My question is therefore,
How open is too open?
What I mean is how much should we let our students know about ourselves as a person? Of course there is a limit, but beyond the obvious, how open should we be with our students?
Cheers,
eisensei
I’ve been thinking about something recently and would like to hear what you have to say about it.
Everyday we interact with our students in and out of class. Over time we may build relationships with some of our students, some closer than others. Some of us may even go out from time to time with some of those students and obviously discuss various topics, some of which may revolve around you, as some students are curious to know more about their teacher.
My question is therefore,
How open is too open?
What I mean is how much should we let our students know about ourselves as a person? Of course there is a limit, but beyond the obvious, how open should we be with our students?
Cheers,
eisensei
Monday, March 8, 2010
The ROBOT EFL Revolution?
Hi everyone,
I know I just posted not too long ago, but I was just taking a look at the David English House e-mail newsletter when I stumbled across the following article:
Robots to Replace Native English Teachers
What do you think? Can we be replaced?
Cheers,
eisensei
I know I just posted not too long ago, but I was just taking a look at the David English House e-mail newsletter when I stumbled across the following article:
Robots to Replace Native English Teachers
What do you think? Can we be replaced?
Cheers,
eisensei
Discussing pragmatics now are we?
Hi everyone!
I just had my first official discussion meeting with a grad school classmate, and I think things went really well. We discussed a variety of topics including the dummy operator verb ‘do’, which Leech (2006) explains as follows:
"[T]he verb do, used as an auxiliary, is often called the dummy operator because it has no meaning of its own but exists simply to fill the 'slot' of operator when an operator is needed to form (for example) negative or interrogative sentences. In a similar way, it can be called a dummy subject when it fills the subject slot in sentences like: It's a pity that they wasted so much time."
We also did an analysis of a small dialogue based on the properties of everyday language as stated in Peter Grundy’s book Doing Pragmatics (2008). For those of you who are unfamiliar with these properties, there are nine in total:
1. Appropriateness
-Use of the most appropriate language for the given context
2. Non-literal or indirect meaning
3. Inference
4. Indeterminacy
-Ambiguous or unclear utterances, which leads the addressee to infer its meaning
5. Context
6. Relevance
-Understanding an utterance by choosing its most relevant meaning for the context in which it was uttered
7. Accommodation
-Background information, often cultural
8. Reflexivity
-Advice, or information a speaker provides to facilitate the understanding of his or her utterance
9. Misfires
-Misunderstandings
And here is the dialogue we used for the analysis:
A: Are you an exchange student?
B: No, I'm a teacher here.
A: Oh. Where are you from?
B: I'm from Canada.
A: Nice.
Although we have already discussed our own analyses, if you are interested in pragmatics, or if you happen to be studying it as well, just go ahead and leave a comment and tell me, “How would you analyze this dialogue?”
Cheers,
Eisensei
References:
Leech, Geoffrey N. (2006) A Glossary of English Grammar (Edinburgh University Press).
Grundy, Peter (2008) Doing Pragmatics (Hodder Education)
PS. Although I used Leech’s book as a reference, I actually found the quote for the dummy operator verb here on About.com, but was unsure as to how to make such a reference, so went with the original source. If anyone knows how to make such a reference, or if anyone knows of a resource for explaining such references, please let me know and I can make the changes.
I just had my first official discussion meeting with a grad school classmate, and I think things went really well. We discussed a variety of topics including the dummy operator verb ‘do’, which Leech (2006) explains as follows:
"[T]he verb do, used as an auxiliary, is often called the dummy operator because it has no meaning of its own but exists simply to fill the 'slot' of operator when an operator is needed to form (for example) negative or interrogative sentences. In a similar way, it can be called a dummy subject when it fills the subject slot in sentences like: It's a pity that they wasted so much time."
We also did an analysis of a small dialogue based on the properties of everyday language as stated in Peter Grundy’s book Doing Pragmatics (2008). For those of you who are unfamiliar with these properties, there are nine in total:
1. Appropriateness
-Use of the most appropriate language for the given context
2. Non-literal or indirect meaning
3. Inference
4. Indeterminacy
-Ambiguous or unclear utterances, which leads the addressee to infer its meaning
5. Context
6. Relevance
-Understanding an utterance by choosing its most relevant meaning for the context in which it was uttered
7. Accommodation
-Background information, often cultural
8. Reflexivity
-Advice, or information a speaker provides to facilitate the understanding of his or her utterance
9. Misfires
-Misunderstandings
And here is the dialogue we used for the analysis:
A: Are you an exchange student?
B: No, I'm a teacher here.
A: Oh. Where are you from?
B: I'm from Canada.
A: Nice.
Although we have already discussed our own analyses, if you are interested in pragmatics, or if you happen to be studying it as well, just go ahead and leave a comment and tell me, “How would you analyze this dialogue?”
Cheers,
Eisensei
References:
Leech, Geoffrey N. (2006) A Glossary of English Grammar (Edinburgh University Press).
Grundy, Peter (2008) Doing Pragmatics (Hodder Education)
PS. Although I used Leech’s book as a reference, I actually found the quote for the dummy operator verb here on About.com, but was unsure as to how to make such a reference, so went with the original source. If anyone knows how to make such a reference, or if anyone knows of a resource for explaining such references, please let me know and I can make the changes.
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
Coming out of blogger hibernation
Hello, everyone! I hope you are all doing well. I can't believe that it has almost been a month since my last post. Why haven't I been posting? Well, honestly, my reasons are pretty much the same as those Martin Tuttle gave on his blog last month - except for the baby part. I was quite surprised to stumble upon his post yesterday when checking my Google Reader, something I need to do more, and see that there was someone else who felt the same way. So thanks to you Mr. Tuttle, I've decided to try to post more often despite not having classes. Of course, I will begin posting regularly again from April when my classes start, but until then, I will try to keep myself in the blogosphere as much as possible. So tonight, for my comeback, if you will, I have prepared, what will probably be my biggest post - I would like to present the self-access language learning center that I have set up at the university where I am currently teaching. I hope you enjoy it and I welcome all your comments.
Cheers,
eisensei
PS: Maybe I don't need to say this, but just in case, please click on the photos, graphs etc to enlarge them.
--------------------------------------------
SAC - Introduction
Since the 1960s and 1970s, when the first resource centers and self-access systems were developed, the notion of self-access has prospered, both as theory and practice. Self-access centers are now common in many countries, and Japan is no exception (Jones, J.F. 1995; Gremmo, M., Riley, P. 1995). In order to clarify the goal of such a self-access center, Sheerin explains:
“The primary aim of such facilities is to enable learning to take place independently of teaching. Students are able to choose and use self-access material on their own and the material gives them the ability to correct or assess their own performance. By using such a self-access facility, students are able to direct their own learning.”
(Sheerin, 1989: 3)
The type of self-access system that I have set up is that of the ‘supermarket’ system, which offers the learner the opportunity to look around and choose what to study (Miller, L., Rogerson-Revell, P. 1993). Ultimately, I would like to have the students themselves organize, control, and maintain the center with the teacher’s role being that of an advisor or guidance counselor.
References
Gremmo, M. & Riley, P. (1995) Autonomy, self-direction and self access in language teaching and learning: the history of an idea. System, 23(2):151-164.
Jones, J.F., (1995) Self-access and culture: retreating from autonomy. ELT Journal, 49(3):228-234.
Miller, L. & Rogerson-Revell, P. (1993) Self-access systems. ELT Journal, 47(3): 228-233.
Sheerin, S. (1990) Self-Access (Oxford: Oxford University Press)
---------------------------------------------------------------------
History of SAC
June 2009
I distributed a survey to all my students to find out which materials they would like to have in the center.
Using this data, I proposed the idea of setting up a self-access center at the departmental meeting.
July and August 2009
A budget was created for the project.
I started discussing floor plans and materials with my student volunteer staff.
October 2009
The room for the SAC was renovated.
I ordered the necessary materials for the SAC, ie furniture, DVD players, books etc.
I presented the SAC to students at the department orientation and asked for volunteers.
October 2009 – February 2010
In one of my classes, I had students make supplemental materials for the graded readers available in the SAC.
January 2010
The materials arrived.
I started to get the room ready, ie assembling shelves, arranging materials etc, together with the student volunteer staff.
February 2010
We conducted trial opening of the SAC, which is still underway.
At the end of the semester, I discussed the SAC in all of my classes.
The staff and I made and put up posters to advertise the SAC.
March 2010
I presented the SAC to a group of professors.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Plans for 2010/2011
I intend to re-distribute a modified questionnaire to all students.
I will try to recruit new staff including more exchange students.
I will announce via memo the opening of the SAC to all faculty members in order to request support and materials.
I will allocate two courses to SAC material preparation
Spring Semester - Audio/Visual
Fall Semester – Reading
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Survey for SAC and Survey Results (June 2009)
I used a bilingual survey with a 6-point Likert scale, with 1 being ‘No, not at all.’ and 6 being ‘Yes, I would really be interested.’ I also asked them to write their name, sex and age.
Key
Peach – 6 (Yes, I would be really interested.)
Purple – 5 (Yes, I would be interested.)
Pale Blue – 4 (Yes, I would be a little interested.)
Pale Yellow – 3 (No, I don’t think I would be interested.)
Burgundy – 2 (No, I wouldn’t be interested.)
Lavender – 1 (No, I wouldn’t be interested at all.)
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Floor Plan
---------------------------------------------------------------------
SAC Assistant Responsibilities
-tidying
-checking out materials
-answering questions related to the center/materials
-checking inventory
-selecting materials
-making displays/posters
-planning events
-inputting data
-peer exchange
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Materials Available in the SAC
---------------------------------------------------------------------
SAC Material Preparation - Activity Making Process
1. Choose a chapter. Any chapter is OK, but the first chapter may be the best to use.
2. Write out the chapter using Word.
3. Read the chapter.
4. Write down any words you don’t know or any words you think students may not know.
5. Use a dictionary to find out each word’s part of speech (noun, verb, etc), and meaning (Japanese, English or both).
6. Choose the order of the activities you will make, and begin making them.
7. Once you have completed the activities, read the rest of the book.
8. Write down any words you don’t know or any words you think students may not know.
9. Use a dictionary to find out each word’s part of speech (noun, verb, etc), and meaning (Japanese, English or both).
---------------------------------------------------------------------
The SAC
Cheers,
eisensei
PS: Maybe I don't need to say this, but just in case, please click on the photos, graphs etc to enlarge them.
--------------------------------------------
SAC - Introduction
Since the 1960s and 1970s, when the first resource centers and self-access systems were developed, the notion of self-access has prospered, both as theory and practice. Self-access centers are now common in many countries, and Japan is no exception (Jones, J.F. 1995; Gremmo, M., Riley, P. 1995). In order to clarify the goal of such a self-access center, Sheerin explains:
“The primary aim of such facilities is to enable learning to take place independently of teaching. Students are able to choose and use self-access material on their own and the material gives them the ability to correct or assess their own performance. By using such a self-access facility, students are able to direct their own learning.”
(Sheerin, 1989: 3)
The type of self-access system that I have set up is that of the ‘supermarket’ system, which offers the learner the opportunity to look around and choose what to study (Miller, L., Rogerson-Revell, P. 1993). Ultimately, I would like to have the students themselves organize, control, and maintain the center with the teacher’s role being that of an advisor or guidance counselor.
References
Gremmo, M. & Riley, P. (1995) Autonomy, self-direction and self access in language teaching and learning: the history of an idea. System, 23(2):151-164.
Jones, J.F., (1995) Self-access and culture: retreating from autonomy. ELT Journal, 49(3):228-234.
Miller, L. & Rogerson-Revell, P. (1993) Self-access systems. ELT Journal, 47(3): 228-233.
Sheerin, S. (1990) Self-Access (Oxford: Oxford University Press)
---------------------------------------------------------------------
History of SAC
June 2009
I distributed a survey to all my students to find out which materials they would like to have in the center.
Using this data, I proposed the idea of setting up a self-access center at the departmental meeting.
July and August 2009
A budget was created for the project.
I started discussing floor plans and materials with my student volunteer staff.
October 2009
The room for the SAC was renovated.
I ordered the necessary materials for the SAC, ie furniture, DVD players, books etc.
I presented the SAC to students at the department orientation and asked for volunteers.
October 2009 – February 2010
In one of my classes, I had students make supplemental materials for the graded readers available in the SAC.
January 2010
The materials arrived.
I started to get the room ready, ie assembling shelves, arranging materials etc, together with the student volunteer staff.
February 2010
We conducted trial opening of the SAC, which is still underway.
At the end of the semester, I discussed the SAC in all of my classes.
The staff and I made and put up posters to advertise the SAC.
March 2010
I presented the SAC to a group of professors.
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Plans for 2010/2011
I intend to re-distribute a modified questionnaire to all students.
I will try to recruit new staff including more exchange students.
I will announce via memo the opening of the SAC to all faculty members in order to request support and materials.
I will allocate two courses to SAC material preparation
Spring Semester - Audio/Visual
Fall Semester – Reading
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Survey for SAC and Survey Results (June 2009)
I used a bilingual survey with a 6-point Likert scale, with 1 being ‘No, not at all.’ and 6 being ‘Yes, I would really be interested.’ I also asked them to write their name, sex and age.
Key
Peach – 6 (Yes, I would be really interested.)
Purple – 5 (Yes, I would be interested.)
Pale Blue – 4 (Yes, I would be a little interested.)
Pale Yellow – 3 (No, I don’t think I would be interested.)
Burgundy – 2 (No, I wouldn’t be interested.)
Lavender – 1 (No, I wouldn’t be interested at all.)
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Floor Plan
---------------------------------------------------------------------SAC Assistant Responsibilities
-tidying
-checking out materials
-answering questions related to the center/materials
-checking inventory
-selecting materials
-making displays/posters
-planning events
-inputting data
-peer exchange
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Materials Available in the SAC
---------------------------------------------------------------------SAC Material Preparation - Activity Making Process
1. Choose a chapter. Any chapter is OK, but the first chapter may be the best to use.
2. Write out the chapter using Word.
3. Read the chapter.
4. Write down any words you don’t know or any words you think students may not know.
5. Use a dictionary to find out each word’s part of speech (noun, verb, etc), and meaning (Japanese, English or both).
6. Choose the order of the activities you will make, and begin making them.
7. Once you have completed the activities, read the rest of the book.
8. Write down any words you don’t know or any words you think students may not know.
9. Use a dictionary to find out each word’s part of speech (noun, verb, etc), and meaning (Japanese, English or both).
---------------------------------------------------------------------The SAC
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