Post by Otaku on Mar 19, 2008 9:32:25 GMT 8
I love this article! I love the fact that English was actually being taught via a REAL topic, instead of the usual I'm-learning-English-to-give-directions-and-tell-you-about-Japanese-culture standpoint. It almost brought a tear to my eye!
I think foreign English teachers become desensitized to Japan's nationalistic English textbooks after being in Japan's public school system for some time. I think we come to Japan more worried about being 'culturally sensitive' than focusing on actually teaching English and our own culture. Within the past year, I can't seem to run away from Japanese people telling me, "When if Rome, do as the Romans." However, I'm under the strong opinion that 'Rome' has no place in the English classroom.
It makes me happy that some teachers are keepin' it real!
Deep topics in English / Biology class experiments with immersion lesson
Yoko Mizui / Daily Yomiuri Staff Writer (Mar. 6, 2008)
Is it possible to provide immersion education at a public high school? Two teachers--Hideharu Tajima, an English-language teacher, and Tomohisa Ono, a biology teacher--took up the challenge at Igusa High School, in Nerima Ward, Tokyo, on Feb. 18.
The theme of the lesson was "the race concept in biology," based on part of a textbook for U.S. high school students. To make students understand how people feel when they are subjected to discrimination, Tajima first selected a few students who were wearing glasses or red rubber wrist bands. He told them to sit down on the floor. Students didn't know why they were made to do this. Later they were told it was simply an introduction to the day's lesson--racial discrimination.
Tajima made a presentation in Power Point, using pictures of African-Americans and words from Martin Luther King, Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech. The pictures shown included U.S. Sen. Barack Obama and golfer Tiger Woods. Tajima explained they were both of mixed race.
This introduction led to the day's theme --the race concept in biology and whether racial discrimination is biologically justified by the difference in genes and physical traits.
Ono followed Tajima's introduction with an explanation about a genetic theory that demonstrated that racial distinctions were not biologically sound, which led to the conclusion that racial discrimination is not right from a scientific point of view. He conducted the lesson entirely in English.
The experimental lesson given to 41 freshmen was open to outside teachers and the press. Ono said he prepared the students with an outline of the subject in Japanese during a previous lesson. "At our school, freshmen study chemistry, not biology. So I don't usually teach them. This is my second lesson with them," said Ono, who is the homeroom teacher for these students.
Although the content and the necessary English for the lesson was fairly difficult for high school students, they seemed to have at least a general understanding of it, thanks to the Japanese preparation. When Ono used difficult English words, he paraphrased them using easier words repeatedly. He also used visual aids such as photos and graphs.
Before the lesson started, students were given a list of vocabulary words, such as "ancestor," "diverse," "evolution," "population" and "underlying."
This project was originally planned by Tajima, who studied bilingual education at graduate school. "I have been wondering if it would be possible to have an immersion class at a public high school by Japanese teachers without the help of a native English speaker," Tajima said. "I found a good partner, so we decided to give it a go."
Ono, who came to the high school two years ago, speaks English well. He also was responsible for selecting the topic. "I know students are interested in ethical concerns such as discrimination. So I picked a chapter about race from a U.S. biology textbook," Ono said.
According to the results of a questionnaire handed out after the class, most of the students enjoyed the class, though some said the English was difficult or too fast. Some were surprised that Ono could speak English so well. Some even said they were able to concentrate on the lesson because it was conducted in English.
As it was a study class, two advisers were invited to observe the lesson--Ryoichi Matsuda, associate professor at Tokyo University's graduate school, and Akihiko Haisa, professor at Sagami Women's University.
"The lesson was interesting and I enjoyed it," Haisa said. "The topic is very important in making an English immersion program successful. I think students are interested in racial discrimination, so even if the English is difficult, they will try to understand the topic if it's interesting."
He said collaboration was very important with this kind of approach. "It's necessary to come at this from two angles--English-wise from an English-language teacher and content-wise from a teacher of the target subject. We really need to think about how to best develop today's experimental lesson," he said.
Matsuda, one of Ono's graduate school professors, first praised the positive attitude of the principal and teachers at Igusa High School. He said the day's subject was suitable for a multiethnic country such as the United States.
"I think it would've been possible to take different approaches to the theme of heredity, such as blood type, which is more familiar for Japanese students," Matsuda said. "The method of first introducing an interesting topic and then developing it to a target subject is also a kind of immersion. This teaching method is commonly used in the United States."
In a question-and-answer session following the lesson, Tetsuo Harada, a professor at Waseda University, commented that it was difficult to strike a balance between his students' English level and the content of immersion education. "The content should be suited to the age level of the students. It is necessary that the students recognize that English is just a tool. The contents of Japanese English textbooks are usually very boring," he said, adding that he, too, was able to concentrate on the day's lesson personally.
The observers included some university students. Kei Koshigoe, from Keio University, said there were too many students for a proper immersion class. "I think this kind of immersion lesson should target students who like English. Immersion classes should be used to present content that students already understand well in Japanese," he said.
As for the comment that the content was too difficult for the students, Ono said he expected students to guess the meaning of unfamiliar words by looking at the graphs and charts.
Ono, who was nervous about giving a lesson in English, said he was relieved when he saw his students paying attention. "I wanted my students to watch my teaching," he said. "I also thought it was meaningful to try targeting the average and quiet students."
Reflecting on the day's lesson, Tajima said he was confident that this type of lesson could motivate students to study English. "I wanted to show that immersion education was possible at a typical public high school," he said. "I also found it was possible for Japanese teachers alone to team-teach [an English class]--with full preparation and collaboration."
www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/features/language/20080306TDY14301.htm
I think foreign English teachers become desensitized to Japan's nationalistic English textbooks after being in Japan's public school system for some time. I think we come to Japan more worried about being 'culturally sensitive' than focusing on actually teaching English and our own culture. Within the past year, I can't seem to run away from Japanese people telling me, "When if Rome, do as the Romans." However, I'm under the strong opinion that 'Rome' has no place in the English classroom.
It makes me happy that some teachers are keepin' it real!
Deep topics in English / Biology class experiments with immersion lesson
Yoko Mizui / Daily Yomiuri Staff Writer (Mar. 6, 2008)
Is it possible to provide immersion education at a public high school? Two teachers--Hideharu Tajima, an English-language teacher, and Tomohisa Ono, a biology teacher--took up the challenge at Igusa High School, in Nerima Ward, Tokyo, on Feb. 18.
The theme of the lesson was "the race concept in biology," based on part of a textbook for U.S. high school students. To make students understand how people feel when they are subjected to discrimination, Tajima first selected a few students who were wearing glasses or red rubber wrist bands. He told them to sit down on the floor. Students didn't know why they were made to do this. Later they were told it was simply an introduction to the day's lesson--racial discrimination.
Tajima made a presentation in Power Point, using pictures of African-Americans and words from Martin Luther King, Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech. The pictures shown included U.S. Sen. Barack Obama and golfer Tiger Woods. Tajima explained they were both of mixed race.
This introduction led to the day's theme --the race concept in biology and whether racial discrimination is biologically justified by the difference in genes and physical traits.
Ono followed Tajima's introduction with an explanation about a genetic theory that demonstrated that racial distinctions were not biologically sound, which led to the conclusion that racial discrimination is not right from a scientific point of view. He conducted the lesson entirely in English.
The experimental lesson given to 41 freshmen was open to outside teachers and the press. Ono said he prepared the students with an outline of the subject in Japanese during a previous lesson. "At our school, freshmen study chemistry, not biology. So I don't usually teach them. This is my second lesson with them," said Ono, who is the homeroom teacher for these students.
Although the content and the necessary English for the lesson was fairly difficult for high school students, they seemed to have at least a general understanding of it, thanks to the Japanese preparation. When Ono used difficult English words, he paraphrased them using easier words repeatedly. He also used visual aids such as photos and graphs.
Before the lesson started, students were given a list of vocabulary words, such as "ancestor," "diverse," "evolution," "population" and "underlying."
This project was originally planned by Tajima, who studied bilingual education at graduate school. "I have been wondering if it would be possible to have an immersion class at a public high school by Japanese teachers without the help of a native English speaker," Tajima said. "I found a good partner, so we decided to give it a go."
Ono, who came to the high school two years ago, speaks English well. He also was responsible for selecting the topic. "I know students are interested in ethical concerns such as discrimination. So I picked a chapter about race from a U.S. biology textbook," Ono said.
According to the results of a questionnaire handed out after the class, most of the students enjoyed the class, though some said the English was difficult or too fast. Some were surprised that Ono could speak English so well. Some even said they were able to concentrate on the lesson because it was conducted in English.
As it was a study class, two advisers were invited to observe the lesson--Ryoichi Matsuda, associate professor at Tokyo University's graduate school, and Akihiko Haisa, professor at Sagami Women's University.
"The lesson was interesting and I enjoyed it," Haisa said. "The topic is very important in making an English immersion program successful. I think students are interested in racial discrimination, so even if the English is difficult, they will try to understand the topic if it's interesting."
He said collaboration was very important with this kind of approach. "It's necessary to come at this from two angles--English-wise from an English-language teacher and content-wise from a teacher of the target subject. We really need to think about how to best develop today's experimental lesson," he said.
Matsuda, one of Ono's graduate school professors, first praised the positive attitude of the principal and teachers at Igusa High School. He said the day's subject was suitable for a multiethnic country such as the United States.
"I think it would've been possible to take different approaches to the theme of heredity, such as blood type, which is more familiar for Japanese students," Matsuda said. "The method of first introducing an interesting topic and then developing it to a target subject is also a kind of immersion. This teaching method is commonly used in the United States."
In a question-and-answer session following the lesson, Tetsuo Harada, a professor at Waseda University, commented that it was difficult to strike a balance between his students' English level and the content of immersion education. "The content should be suited to the age level of the students. It is necessary that the students recognize that English is just a tool. The contents of Japanese English textbooks are usually very boring," he said, adding that he, too, was able to concentrate on the day's lesson personally.
The observers included some university students. Kei Koshigoe, from Keio University, said there were too many students for a proper immersion class. "I think this kind of immersion lesson should target students who like English. Immersion classes should be used to present content that students already understand well in Japanese," he said.
As for the comment that the content was too difficult for the students, Ono said he expected students to guess the meaning of unfamiliar words by looking at the graphs and charts.
Ono, who was nervous about giving a lesson in English, said he was relieved when he saw his students paying attention. "I wanted my students to watch my teaching," he said. "I also thought it was meaningful to try targeting the average and quiet students."
Reflecting on the day's lesson, Tajima said he was confident that this type of lesson could motivate students to study English. "I wanted to show that immersion education was possible at a typical public high school," he said. "I also found it was possible for Japanese teachers alone to team-teach [an English class]--with full preparation and collaboration."
www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/features/language/20080306TDY14301.htm