Eikaiwa: Teaching People Who Are Probably Smarter Than You

Presenter: Joey Marks

Workshop Overview1. Initial difficulties I faced teaching eikaiwa2. Activities3. Tips / Things I learned as I went along4. Discussion

Quick Audience Poll High or low level? Student ages? Solo, or with another teacher?

Initial Difficulties1. No lesson plan, no set curriculum, no co-

teacher2. Students are serious, averse to games3. Disparate skill levels / experience

Initial Difficulties1. No lesson plan, no set curriculum, no co-

teacher A: Repeatable tasks are good

2. Students are serious, averse to games A: Practical English

3. Disparate skill levels / experience A: Following a textbook would probably not work

well

The Goals of My Class1. Establish an environment where students

freely talk and read natural English as much as possible.

Students are (generally) all there to learn, of their own volition, and the best way to learn a language is to use it as much as possible!

2. Interact with the students as much as possible.

Speaking natural English to students Correcting mistakes

Newspaper articles! BreakingNewsEnglish.com Selectable difficulty levels! You can abbreviate or simplify articles yourself if your students are

having trouble. They use UK English, so if you’re from the US be aware (and point out the

differences!)

Passage Comprehension Activities Allow students to read in groups for a few

minutes Way less boring than being lectured at for x-minutes Actively uses students’ brains Gives them the opportunity to think of questions

Jigsaw reading1. Divide a reading in 2 parts2. Half the class reads 1 part, the other reads the 2nd

part. Students help one another.3. After the groups understand their own parts, they

pair up with a student from the other group and describe the passage to give context to the whole reading.

Activities?

An Example of My Discussion Question Activities

Pair, group and/or class discussion questions Can be optional HW,

too

An Example of My Discussion Question Activities “Scientists believe the spice turmeric could help the brain to heal

itself. This is encouraging news for those affected by degenerative brain diseases. Researchers from the Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine in Germany examined the effects of properties found in turmeric on rats. The researchers injected rats with a compound from turmeric. After scanning the rodents' brains, they found that parts of the brain known for nerve cell growth were more active. They say the spice could lead to new drugs for treating strokes, Alzheimer's and other diseases.”

A question I would not ask: “What parts of rats’ brains were affected by

turmeric?” A question I might ask:

“Does this news make you want to eat more turmeric in the future? Or do you think it's not important?”

Other Activity Ideas Class speeches

3-ish minutes/person Divide the class in as many parts as necessary to

fit in the allotted time, and alternate speakers/week.

Take time to clarify, correct mistakes, and take questions after each speech.

Even More Other Activity Ideas (Wow) Synonym finding

Underline words in your reading passage, have students brainstorm synonyms.

A good teaching opportunity My favorite “Oh no this lesson was slightly too

short” panic button If it’s planned, though, look some synonyms up

beforehand so you aren’t stumped either!

Things I’ve Gone and LearnedMy students are afraid of mistakes, but so am I!

ALT’s are in a weird position of pseudo-authority My policy: Be upfront when you’re not entire sure of

something It can be tempting to act 100% assured as the native

speaker, but I find this hurts their confidence in your abilities rather than helps it.

Adults tend to be fascinated with etymology. Educate yourself! English words are not arbitrary! Helps memorization, and

tells a story. Etymonline, or even just a google search will usually

suffice.

Group Discussion1. Q&A about my presentation / Burning

questions2. Share some activities you use in your eikaiwa.

If you don’t have an eikaiwa activity to share, think of an activity you use in your other classes (JHS, ES, etc.) that could be modified for eikaiwa.

3. What is a difficulty you’re currently facing while teaching eikaiwa? How can you overcome it?

If you’re awesome and everything is good, then a) stop making me feel bad and b) talk about a past difficulty you’ve overcome, and how you did so.

4. (If time:) Let’s be positive! What is the best part of teaching eikaiwa for you?

Conclusion Email: marks.jt@gmail.com Thanks for coming!