Saturday 6th 2008 Eng-ins Meeting

On Saturday 6th 2008, the Eng-ins group is meeting.  This meeting is open to any and all teachers of English, but this is a group primarily for and ran by Native English Teachers.  The meeting begins at 6pm and ends at 8pm.  The location is the same as last time, we are once again holding the meeting at the Choukominkan.  If you have difficulties finding the location or have further questions please leave a comment and I will answer any questions there.  

Below is a Map and a photo to guide your way.  You can see the building once you cross the tracks.  The building is less than 2 minutes from the station. 

Hope to see some new faces.  Please spread the word.
We are meeting once again at 春日部市中央公民館 (Kasukabe city Chuoukominkan). The station on the map is 八木崎 （Yagisaki station). 

Meeting Update

 

The next Eng-ins meeting is fast approaching. Our next meeting is on the 6^th of December. We are having the meeting in the same place and at the same time. So far, the next meeting is without a theme or a presentation. So it would be nice to hear some of your ideas for the next meeting. If we don’t have anyone presenting that would be fine, because I have a decent back up plan for the meeting. We can create and edit the first Eng-ins podcast. We could make one or two depending on the time.

 

If you have any ideas for the podcast please feel free to leave a comment or e-mail me. I will work up some of the basic formatting for the podcasts and post it latter today or latter this week. I would like to gear the podcast for Jr. High school 2^nd and 3^rd graders, but we can make one for English Teachers in Japan too. Either sounds good to me. And, hopefully this will attract more people to the meetings as well.

 

Well, please brainstorm and let me know what you think. I also welcome the international community at large to provide us with some input. What kinds of things would you like to see or know about English education in Japan? Please leave some comments and provide us with some ideas for the upcoming podcasts.

The Second Eng-ins Meeting Report

The second meeting went extremely well.  At the second meeting five people attended.  So far Eng-ins consists of four "ALT's" and several supporting Japanese English Teachers.  Our primary support is Mr. Okuzumi, without Mr. Okuzumi I think Eng-ins would not be possible or run so smoothly.  We are indebted to Mr. Okuzumi for his support and wealth of experience - or in the very least I am greatly indebted to him. 

At the second meeting we discussed reading and writing exercises.  Mr. Okuzumi and I demonstrated and presented Cosmos.  Most of the time was spent discussing reading and writing exercises and other related discussions.  Unfortunately, there was not enough time to create a podcast.  Perhaps next time we will have extra time.  To conclude the night we ended up at Yakitori pub. 

The next meeting will be held at the same place on the 6th of December.  I hope that more ALT's will show up in the future.  I believe that groups like this can benefit both those who involve themselves and also those whom they teach.  So, please pass the word on.    

Eng-ins Meeting: November 8th at 6pm

This Saturday's meeting will be held at the same place and at the same time.  If you know of anyone that wants to come along bring them or direct them to this Blog.  Here is the general menu for the up coming meeting. 

 

• Round table.  General discussion and current events in everyone's lives. 
• Kei and I will present Cosmos.
• Possible Podcast if we have time.  Please have some ideas ready or simply think about and purpose them at the meeting.  We can do two if we have time, but I would like to do one geared for Jr. High students and one maybe for English Teachers in Japan. 

 

The number of people that show up will determine where we will go after the meeting. 

Please feel free to leave comments below and or contact me for further information.

 

For those who couldn't make it to the last meeting here is the map to the building. We are meeting once again at 春日部市中央公民館 （Kasukabe city Chuouminkan. The station on the map is 八木崎 （Yagisaki station).

 

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Podcast #3 From the Crazy Kids at Tony FM.

Here is the latest podcast from Tony FM and those crazy kids with microphones.
Enjoy the show.

Bunkasai will be here soon!

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Shogakko Writing Activities: Kakitoriing

In Japan, students learn reading and writing skills during their first year of Jr. High.  However, the amount of time spent teaching the basics of writing (hand writing) amounts to two weeks at most.  In two weeks time, not only are the students expected to master printing all the letters but are also expected to learn the pronunciations of certain letter combinations, i.e. the phonics of a foreign language.  Needless to say this is not enough time to acclimate the students to the basics of the writing system as well as the phonetic characteristics of the language.  This is why I believe it is necessary to begin teaching such basic skills at the elementary schools. 

Recently, I have begun teaching reading and writing more at the elementary school.  I have found the 5th and 6th graders more than ready for it, and the majority of the students really enjoy learning how to read and write.  I also have a few games and activities at my disposal, but I will only present one in this post.

I recently used an activity that we use at the Jr. High called Kakitoriing (書取-ing.)  Kakitoriing is a writing activity that assigns the player a mental age when they finish.  It is based on how long it takes for the students to copy text.  For example, you have a set of text ( it can be any text from simple words to full paragraphs) and they have to copy it as fast as they can.  However, the text is on one side of the sheet of paper and they have to write on the opposite side.  They are not allowed to fold the paper, but they are allowed to flip back an forth to look at the words to write them.  You also will write on the board several ages ranging from 20 - 64, as the timer ticks you erase the youngest age off the board at certain intervals.  When the student is finished writing they look up and write the number they see on the board.  This number is their mental age.  The younger the mental age the better the score. 

The objective is to get them to remember  words and sentences without having to constantly look.  Also this speeds up their overall writing ability.   The faster they can physically write the more time they will  have on tests.  Also it helps with remembering what they read and hopefully it helps with reading comprehension.  

Give this activity a try and leave a comment letting me know how it went.  Or if you have any questions or concerns please feel free to contact me. 

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Podcasting on a Budget.

Creating a podcast with your students can be both fun and rewarding.  However, if you don't have a Mac you might be out of luck locating  cheap and effective software for creating podcasts on a PC. 

Luckily, I have found a solution that isn't too terribly annoying. 

First step download either of the following editing software for free.

Expstudio is a decent program to use but it only outputs as a .WAV file.   That is why you need this convertor.   Make sure you download the encoder.  

The second solution is Audacity which is kind of clumsy but works well enough. 

After you have downloaded these programs all you will need is a decent or not so decent microphone and a way you go...

Also you will need a few places to upload and keep your podcasts.  There are several options but Caspeee is a free mobile ready site for podcasts.  The navigation on Caspeee is in Japanese and might prove difficult for some. 

Then there is Podbean which is free and has some nice features, but it is only available in English.  

There are several options out there for hosting, but you will just have to find what works best for you.  And if you have the extra cash and don't mind spending download Garage band.  Of course, if you have a Mac...  I hate you!  

Tony Fm: a Podcast by and for Jr.High kids

Here are the latest podcasts from the Crazy Kids with Microphones. I also encourage everyone to spread the word and share these podcasts with your students and maybe even make your own. If you want any ideas or additional help to get started please feel free to contact me.

Well enjoy the shows.



Summer Vacation
臨時増刊号
Undokai

The First Meeting

  The first meeting of Eng-ins attracted four ALTs and two JETs.  I think this is a wonderful start.  I do hope the word will spread and that we can attract more people. 

 

Here is a basic outline of the meeting:

• We used an activity called "Project I" to introduce ourselves. And, for our amusement we did it in Japanese.  
• We discussed teaching methods and developmental models of achievement.  (The meeting took on a very philosophical tone but the discussions were entertaining and everyone followed one another very well.)
• We decided on when the next meeting should be held.
• We went out for drinks at a local Yakitori pub.

 

The date of the next meeting is set for November 8th at 6pm.  I hope to see more people at the next meeting, so I am hoping everyone will pass on the good word. 

 

At the next meeting, Okuzumi sensei and I will present Cosmos.  Also for next time I would like to create a podcast if we have time. 

 

For those who couldn't make it to the last meeting here is the map to the building.  We are meeting once again at 春日部市中央公民館  （Kasukabe city Chuouminkan.  The station on the map is 八木崎 （Yagisaki station).

Hope to see some new faces there. 

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