Communication Ability in English Classes
NaokoKAGA Minase Junior High School
1. Introduction
In October, 2007, I luckily had a chance to visit Siegburg, Germany as a member of an exchange project between Siegburg and Yuzawa City. In the English classes inside the gymnasium I visited, I was impressed with the amount of English teachers and students used.
Students and teachers were only using English. There were many outlets for both teachers and students to utilize English in English classes. For instance, the vocabulary tests were done in very different way from what I did. The tests were done orally; students explained the meaning in English or said the synonyms or antonyms
in English. Students comprehended textbooks or movies through oral interaction such as summarizing, exchanging ideas about characters, etc. The movie they were watching was about the lives of Muslims. The movie had very unfamiliar background compared to the students' own lives, so that they could discover
(Textbook of 2nd Graders, High School) about cultural differences.
This experience in Siegburg gave me many suggestions for my English lesson. All activities I observed had an explicit goal: communication in English. In other words, English was just a tool in communication.
2. The Daily Exercise
At first, I would like to address the problems I have faced in communicative activities during English classes. It is not easy for junior high school students to accumulate what they have learned because they have only three English classes a week, and because they have no need to use English outside of the classroom.
At the beginning of the class, in the warm-up section, I give students time to review what they have learned through quick reading with pairs, and questions and answers like a drill. This large amount of communicational output makes an active atmosphere in English classes.
Teachers need to balance daily drills and activities through exercises to utilize students' English.
I think the quality and quantity of not only communicative activities, but also the drills are very
-2-
Akita University
important for English proficiency.
Secondly, when students have questions about pronunciation, vocabulary, or meaning, they need to ask questions in English such as "What is - in English?", "How do you pronounce this word?" and "What's this?" when they want to ask questions to teachers, or ask each other "Who goes first?" in pair work. Truthfully, I'm struggling to seek an effective way to increase students' classroom English.
3. Activities in English classes
Before the activities, teachers have to consider:
1 The amount of example or pattern practice before the activities (depending on the level of students and activities)
2 The appropriate method for feedback
ex) evaluation at the middle, and end of the activities
3 The explicit goal of the activities
4 How to enhance not only the ability but also confidence of each student
Before the activities, students have to realize:
1 The goal of the activities
2 The general rule of the activities;
ex) eye contact, no Japanese, volume of the voice, response with each other
Each activity should be enjoyable, challenging, repetitive, authentic, and should include feedback.
However, 1 always wonder whether they can accumulate English knowledge and have the ability to use it in English class and also outside of the class. 1 often feel 1 could do more to facilitate this. 1 hope to find a more efficient way to enhance English abilities in my English curriculum in the future.
-3-
ex 1) Exchanging opinions using "I think"
Class No Name
1 1~jll;lH:.!A(l" ~:St0);i!:J!."'"'I: >OJ:5.
( 1 )l(thinkIdon't think) school is
(2) I (thinkIdon't think) my hometo-wn-C-is- _-_-_-_-_ _~
(3) I (thinkIdon't think) English is _ (4) I (thinkIdon't think)compu"'te,:rs--=ar~e
===-__
( 5) I <thinkIdon't think) I am _
(6) I (think I don't think) _
ThoiBox
linteresting CmiEH",JtJJ*~It\) ffun (~L-1,\) Jbeautiful(~\...1,\) lkind(~!!U',ll!'<Jttl Iwonderful, great(llill'/!"L-H Iuseful(f,tl~
'iL--o) Ibusy (ltL-HIOOring(to,'<--oft) lexciting (b< b<-t<.)
!difficult(in,It\) leasy(fm~t-t) 1cool (ip0::'Pl,') /good<li.p) fdelicious C})l(\L-p)
