I hear a lot of people say so, but what you learned at a jh doesnot make your conversation better than that level. Talking of the poor skill, people who feel poor at their converstion tend to avoid getting further into.....書き方はいろいろ。
I am an English teacher. I teach English in a high school. My students are stupid. So I am free. Do I have any problems? I don't think so. So much for today!
You may think you guys are good at English. But I'm much better. Because I am an English teacher in a high school. I can write many sentences in English. So, I am great!
I used to write in English here, but I gave it up, because I got less replies than I did when I posted in Japanese. Now I think it's quite natural because most of the people here understand Japanese better than English. So it isn't worth doing so. If you ask somebody to write in English, why don't you do it yourself? It's very rude to ask somebody to do what you don't want to do, isn't it??
I can't understand why you have to write both English and Japanese to show your English skills??? Can anybody explain it??
私みたいな者にとって教師のイメージが壊れるのは嫌なものです。
If you think so, it's you who have to show the English skills. You're going to be a teacher some day, and based on YOUR English, your students will decide how good or bad English teachers' skills are as a whole. On top of that, posting in English is a good exercise for you. Don't be afraid of making mistakes. Just try!
Sup, Chris. I think so, too. It's not worth it. So many losers and dickheads are keep coming in and out like 162&163. They can't do shit but fuck around in front of a comp all day. So, fvck them. I just wanted to share something good for prospective English teachers.
You are stupid?(あなた達は馬鹿です。) Because you are poor at English.(なぜならあなた達は英語が苦手ですから。) You need translation, don't you?(あなた達は訳が欲しいんでしょ) My students look like monkeys.(私の生徒は猿みたいです。) So, I am a great English teacher!(だから私は偉大な英語教師です。) That's all.(以上です。)
Sorry, more than 730 of toeic score will be short on fluently communicating with English speaking persons, I suppose. But 730 is a certain standard which should assure he or she handle every English skill at least.
Yeah. I'm an English teacher. But I've never been abroad to raise my English ability. Instead of that, I keep making an effort to take oppotunities of using English and researching of how to use words, phrases, and idioms.
In addtion of that I could improve my own English ability through taking and studying TOEIC and TOEFL, I have been imroving my lessons which I've been ginving my students. I made sure self-improving “is” a must that has good effects on my lessons. I think TOEIC and TOEFL test are good exmas to let English teachers have chances to give them a great deal of hints which they can reveiew their lessons.
>>203 You don't need to appreciate others' mistakes in detail. I think you should show your body-part you are supposing you are puting weight to in your English education or you are thinking be important more than you are doing.
Which is better, communicative or grammar-detailed You're showing in your writing you're kinda geek in English. Maybe you have a prefference of the latter. If you so, you should review yourself.
Criticism which is superficial is very easy. But, if you try to do things others are doing, you should find you to reach their doings. This is one of the task teachers should do on persons like you.
Lapsed time is over 5 min. TOEIC or TOEFL test requires you should answer English questions in a short time. You don't have time to refer to your dictionaries or take your enough time to think. Sorry! Bygones!>>208
I understand you're the one who doesn't take someone's advice affirmatively, which is just like other geeks here. I put B- on your work in 204, but you did very well.
Sir, which is more important, grammatical knowledge or communicative skills when it comes to Japanese English education? Do you think you can do both in your class?
>>200 :実習生さん :2006/02/21(火) 18:54:02 ID:95YHasgn >>Sorry, more than 730 of toeic score will be short on fluently >>communicating with English speaking persons, I suppose.
730点以上じゃ足りないって言いたいの?新しい意見だね。 ところで、short on 〜ing なんて言い方あるかなぁ。手元に辞書がないので判らないが。
>>But 730 is a certain standard which should assure he or she handle every English skill at least.
>>201 :実習生さん :2006/02/21(火) 18:59:50 ID:95YHasgn >>Instead of that, I keep making an effort to take oppotunities of using English and >>researching of how to use words, phrases, and idioms.
>>255 Sorry, as I was watching TV, I didn't connect my PC with the WEB. The important thing is balanced teaching materials or preparation for the lessons. In actuality, however, students' ability often can't reach the lessons they are asked to handle both communicative and grammatical skills. That confusion is an ideal thing of English teachers. Some teachers have less efficiency than they can handle in their lessons. Plus, few students can deal with those tasks that require them to handle communicative and grammatical approach. The problem students and teachers have cause EFL teachers to teach grammar and active communication(including writing and speaking) separately.
>>202 >>I made sure self-improving “is” a must that has good effects on my lessons.
いかにもこなれてない感じだね。日本語で何が言いたいか教えて欲しいところだ。
>>I think TOEIC and TOEFL test are good exmas to let English teachers have chances >>to give them a great deal of hints which they can reveiew their lessons.
えーっと、教師に機会を与えさせるのか?このthem は誰?学生? なんかむちゃくちゃw
>>204 >>You don't need to appreciate others' mistakes in detail.
It seems to me that students should listen and read as much English as they could and in the mean time, it is ideal to get to know some grammatical features of the language.
I agree. The teachers should do their best to improve their English, of course. It is, however,quite impossible for a user of English as a foreign language to be a perfect speaker. The teachers' English is far from without flaws...but the important thing is to set a good example to use the language without being too much afraid of making errors.
>>243 Yeah. Grammar has three aspects, which are form, meaing and use. It's difficult to teach students all the aspects of English grammar. Sometimes emphasize on form, sometimes emphasize on meaning, and sometimes emaphasize on use. Especially, when I'm talking about use, students need kinda discorse anaysis. That asks students enough grammar knowledge, reading ability, and listening ability. In addition, they asked to watch English drama or plays in order to know their discourse patterns. That is difficuty on aqcusition of the second language.
>>247 I don't quite agree with you. I cannnot say that teachers should not be afraid of making mistakes, unless they understand the basic grammertical matters, for instance, the usage of "could". They should afarid of making mistakes, I would say. Teachers should study hard before appearing in front of students as an example.
>>253 I cannnot say that teachers should not be afraid of making mistakes, この表現が間違ってるとは言わないが、不自然 なぜかといえば、二重否定を使うのは英語ができない証拠だから できるだけ二重否定を使わないのがネイティブに近い表現 TOEICやTOEFLをちゃんと勉強してごらん、そんな表現は少ないよw
>>261 OK,OK. In some conversation, drops of functinal words offten happen, and that kinds of mistake don't cause any misunderstanding, tough I don't mean to justify my mistakes.
But your misconception regarding the word "could" could(w) cause a crucial misunderstandign. So you should study hard. I really think so.
Your post is really disgusting, because you don't have your own idea and just complain about others. If you want to say something, don't beat around the bush. I think it's YOU that are afraid of being criticized.
One more to say. Have you ever posted in English here? If you haven't, you are NOT qualified to say anything about this matter.
Warning! Don't criticize. Just do it. Otherwise, nobody will be on you side.
Actually I suspect that very few English teachers understand the usage of "could" correctly. Because this guy→95YHasgn is a typical English teacher in Japan, I suppose.
>>275 You are something like an endless cassete-tape. Whatever you are said, you only repeat the same opinion. You look like having no solutions to improve English education and no serious intention to. What a shame!
Some people here are repeating "Criticism", but this is not quite correct. I just pointed out some of critical mistakes in the sentence an English teacher made. I should not be "criticized" because of this,rather I should be appreciated
>>273 (>>202) ここでは、単なる過去形が最も無難で適切ではないでしょうか。 他のお示しの表現はどれもあまり適切だとは思えません。また、お示しの表現は いつでも交換可能ではありません。一般的には、succeed in doing や manage to do があります。その二つは使えそうですが、過去形より適しているとは思いません。
なお、無生物主語で TOEIC and TOEFL (has) enabled me to improve… とする方が was able to よりは、いいように思います。 native に聞いたわけではないので悪しからず。
Are you satisfied? Then you don't have to come here anymore. Or will you remain to be a jerk?
>>>couldにはできたって意味もあるけどw Teachers should study hard before showing up in the classroom, I should say.(w)
Here is a difinition of COULD in the Cobuild English dictionary. "You use COULD to indicate that someone HAD the ability to do something."
So, it would be quite correct to say that COULD means できた. But, of course, you also have to mention that COULD can be used in many different ways than we Japanese think.
I tell you, even if you insist, you cannot distort the answer of the simple curriculation(Laughter). Why don't you get together and discuss, English teachers? You are goint to teach a wrong thing.
>>282 I could improve my own English ability through taking and studying TOEIC and TOEFL. じゃあ、そろそろ本気だそうか もう一度聞くが、何が致命的なミスなんだろうか 改善できたというのは、気分の問題で、まだまだ改善すべき余地があるけど「できた」とは思うよくらいの意味なんだが それを知らないで君はのべつまくなし自分の主張を繰り返すのか?w
えー? そうですか? むちゃくちゃな英語ですよ。たとえばこれ↓なんかわけわかりません。 >>202 >>I think TOEIC and TOEFL test are good exmas to let English teachers have chances to give them a great deal of hints which they can reveiew their lessons.
I still think some errors are not so important unless they interfere the understanding.
If teachers' English was the only English students get to listen to and read, then, students would have some disadvantages from the errors the teachers might make...
Actually teachers should make sure that their students listen to and read as much native speakers English as possible and they also should make sure that they use as much English as they can in class regardless of some errors they might make.
>>306 I don't agree(w). I think teachers here emphasize too much "some errors are not important". But before excusing themselves, the should think twice about their own mistakes(w). Some of their errors are not a trivial but so significant to cause misunderstanding.
>>306 I'm with you. If we emphasize communicative approach or self-startter in English, we don't have to take care of the details of the English that students or teachers are speaking. Needless to say, we are supposed to speak and write English as exactly as possible, and to be superior to students in every English skill. But there are sometimes students who are from the English-spoken countries. Plus, Japanese teachers are not English speaking persons who learned English as the first language. They will not be perfect English speakers even if they make a good deal of effort to be perfect English speaking persons.
I think it is very important that both students and teachers try to make good lessons with each respect. In the process, students will raise their English abilities and teachers should make more effort to lead them to good goals according to their talents and demand.
When speakers of English as a foreign language have a chat with one another, they might make errors and sometimes that might cause misunderstanding, I imagine, but all they should do is talk more...
If you sense you are not sure what the other wants to say, you can always ask him to make it clear or to say in other words...right?
I think students and teachers can do that in class.
It's OK, if students make mistakes which are significant or not significant, because their mistakes are supposed to be corrected in a classroom. But who corrects the mistakes of teachers in the classroom?
Teachers here always insists that attempts should be highly evaluated. Off course, attempts of the students should be promoted, even if they make mistakes. But teachers are not welcomed to make mistakes in a classroom. It seems that they consider themselves students(w).
Yes, teachers should make more effort to improve their own English skills, that's for sure.
And yes, I imagine it would be difficult if returnees in their class are not co-operative with their teachers... well, I might be too optimisic again, but I think they will start using their "almost" native level English in class, if the teachers keep on using English in class.
>>306 >>If teachers' English was the only English students get to listen to and read, then, >>students would have some disadvantages from the errors the teachers might make... >>Actually teachers should make sure that their students listen to and read as much >>native speakers English as possible and they also should make sure that they use >>as much English as they can in class regardless of some errors they might make.
I think that the structure or style of your sentence is awkward, but I can guess what you have in your mind, because now I am getting used to the way of thinking of teachers here(w).
By the way,everybody think that teachers should not utter their wrong English in the classroom, if students have to seek source of correct English from native speakers. Teachers' wrong English just confusing to the students(w).
>>310 >>When speakers of English as a foreign language have a chat with one another, >>they might make errors and sometimes that might cause misunderstanding, I imagine,
Students should listen to the wrong English of teachers, because even native speakers make mistakes and misunderstanding?? It's funny. Teachers are just trying to forgive themselves.
>>310 Yeah. That's exactly commication!! Communication means daialogue with one's language skills. You will be able to get to communicate with others in exchanging ideas by language. Grammar and pronunciation are very important, but even though you missed those, you can convey your idea as exactly as possible by repeated-revisions.
Language teachers are not teachers in a traditional sense, because they are not like God who knows everything. They should be a facilitator to help language learning happen in their class.
>>309 >>I think it is very important that both students and teachers try to make good lessons with each respect.
I don't quite understand the meaning of this sentece, But if you insist that both should try the same thing, teachers should become student, I guess(w).
Nobody asks teachers to be perfect or GOD!! But teachers are asked to have a command of correct English. But there are a lot of English teachers who don't understand simple matters of English. And moreover most of them don't even notice the lack of ability.
>>317 I have experienced those lessons where teachers made classes and students also made classes. Communication also means cooporation with each other. Teachers should have far better skills in English, of course. But that isn't enough to make good classes.
It's not unusual case in which Japanese teachers of English cannot talk with native speakers, who are invited to the classroom as a supporting teacher. It shows a level of teachers in Japan, whoch is very low. And it shows the amount of efforts they have made so far, which are very little.
What is your native language? Japanese? Though it is your mother tongue, you are still learning new expressions every day. Language learning is a life-long process. You'll never stop doing it. In that sense, you are always a student.
>>318 Refer to the teachers' score of TOEIC. More than half of them is over 730. Are you meanining it is not enough to get over 730 in TOEIC?
Yeah. But it is a good point. Teaching is different from knowing and doing practically. I suppose that is another problem that we should discuss in another thread.
>>319 There should be some comittments of students in the classroom, but nobody think that what teachers should do in the class are the same with that of students.
As I mentioned in 321, teachers who cannnot communicate with native speakers cannot do what they should do in the class.
>>322 >>Language learning is a life-long process. You'll never stop >>doing it. In that sense, you are always a student.
What are you talking about? If we talk about the way of life, waht you said is valid. But we are talking about what teachers should be or shold do, right? This is what we call "overgeneralization"
I don't know how many teachers here, but, by the way, did you find out the correct usage of "could", which we fussed about yesterday. I beg you not to teach wrong things in the classrooms(w).
I have to go. Before I go, I would like to make a point about English learning.
Japanese people should be able to talk not only with native speakers but non-native speakers of English in international conferences. Malasians might use Malasian English and Chinese use Chinese English... Japanese use Japanese English with their accents and sometimes some errors.
No one expects to use perfect English in that circumstance. All you have to do is talk more, paraphrase more, draw more pictures to make communication easier. English teachers should have this goal in their mind.
This opinion summarizes the general idea of those who don't agree to the teacher's mistakes in class. But I want all of you to think again now. IS IT A SHAME TO MAKE MISTAKES?? If it were true, life would always be very hard and full of pain...
I always speak Japanese(my mother tongue) in class and make mistakes very often. But I don't think it's a shame. I just correct them, if I find any. Or my students point out. That's all. Sometimes I don't even correct my mistakes as long as they seem to understand me correctly. This is the nature of language. I mean, as long as the listener understands what the speaker says, it's no problem at all.
You don't understand at all. This has nothing to do with being professional.
The simplest fact is that a non-English speaker CAN'T be an English speaker. And no non-English speakers speak English like English speakers. Can you give me any example that a foreigner living in Japan speaks Japanese quite the same way as we do? I don't know any.
I know a French teacher of Japanese who teaches Japanese to high school students in France. Her Japanese was far from being perfect, but I was really surprised how well she communicated with us in Japanese. And what impressed me most was that she had many students willing to learn Japanese, even if Japanese was not their compulsory subject. This is called "being professional as a teacher." The goal for the teacher is not to be a specialist of the subject, but to encourage the students to study for themselves. In this sense, she was quite professional, I think.
Paku-paku English seems completely different from the communicative approach they are trying to take. It might be just my understanding, but when we talk about "communicative," it's not just greetings, nor formulaic patterns of phrases. In a communicative class, students get to read a lot without putting each word into Japanese, listen a lot of English narrated not only by native speakers but non-native speakers including their teachers, speak a lot without worryin too much about making mistakes, and write a lot in order to think more deeply...
Non-native speakers will never be able to speak like a native speaker. That's obvious. We should make more effort to minimise our mistakes but more importantly we should speak it more. What if the errors you make are so crucial that they interfere with communication? What we should do is just speak more, explain in various different ways, give more examples, etc.
Actually I help my own kid learn English every day. We read several passages together. I make him read them aloud, then I explain what they are about in English...of course I'm afraid I make mistakes of English usage and I have a terrible Japanese accent and all that, he (my kid) seems to understand what I'm trying to say and he gets to figure out the contents of the passages without translating into Japanese. We sometimes talks about the reason certain things happened or what we would do if we were them... It's so much fun.
You are right as far as the entrance exams several years back, but it seems, more and more universities have started to give more communicative exams just like TOEIC test recently. It's a good sign for Japanese English education, isn't it?
The entrance exams are getting better and better especially the exams for prestigious schools are moving to more communicative ones. English education has had a lot to do with the way 18 year-olds are screened by "good universities."
If the university you want to get into asks you to translate English into Japanese, you've got to be able to do it. Then high school teachers feel bound to use grammar-translation method and they might use most of the time teaching students how to translate and they might be using Japanese on and on in class, which is really detrimental to students.
Well, it's me who keeps on talking here tonight. What I'm saying is English education in Japan used to put too much emphasis on grammar, which was detrimental but it's going to the right direction now and people have started to realise that communication should always come first. We should start catching balls, plenty of balls in a short period and exchange our ideas. Producing one correct sentence is not as good as speaking dozens of sentences with some errors.
>>377 ちっとも答えになってないんだよね。 たった今キミの文章の文法的なことを聞かれたわけだけど、 こう指摘されたからって、黙っちゃうのはおかしいでしょ? Thank you for your correction. とかって言ってまた話しを続ければいいだけなんだよ。 ちょっと文法的な間違いを指摘されたからって、気にし過ぎて黙っちゃうほうがおかしいの。 そういう態度を直さないとダメ。
>なぜ、英語なんですか? I'm not trying to make my own kid bilingual, which is impossible and I'm not really interested in doing so. I just enjoy learning English with my kid.
It doesn't have to be English, I'm sure. He studies English at shcool and it's nice if he starts using a bit of English outside of class. Why? Most of the documents on the Internet, for example, are written in English....Did you happen to know that?
Why English?...it's an interesting topic. Since it's my second(foreign?) language, I can put some distance from my own self if I choose to use English on purpose. I can be argumentative when I use it whereas I tend to say, 「そうですねえ。」and I don't really want to argue in Japanese. You might say it is just myself, but I think students might be the same. They can learn how to put down argumentative writing.
>>387 Actually Manekineko speaks quite good English and also he says he is NOT an English teacher.
I think it is good to learn a foreign language and it doesn't have to be English. To learn a language different from your mother tongue takes lots of pushing your own boundaries and gives you new perspectives.
Furthermore, English is not only just a language spoken in the United States, it is Lingua Franca, spoken all over the world as the second language. I am not particularly a great fan of the US, especially at the moment.
We don't need to take TOEIC. Because TOEIC can't cover all English abilities. (普通に英米人はbecause節だけの文を使います) English education system in Japan is not so bad. I proved it. Don't insult us! Could I fuck you?
I heard the same thing at a teachers' conference last year. A university professor who carried out the survey of how his students hand in optional extensive writing essay when he corrected every mistake he found and when he just wrote a comment to what the writer wanted to say. The result was quite interesting: the students started feeling reluctant to hand in and most of them stopped doing so altogether when their mistakes were all corrected, whereas they started to hand in more often and wanted to do it more when only the professor's comments were written.
Non-native speakers make errors. They might be able to reduce their mistakes but we should keep in mind that it is almost impossible to make no mistakes unless they live in a country where the language is spoken for quite some time, say, 15 years or something.
Of course Japanese English teachers should improve their writing skills but I should say there is always room for them to learn and they should keep on practicing writing. In that sense, English teachers should always be students.
It's funny...You don't seem to know anything about language learning. Learning a language is a life-long process, whether it is your native toungue or your second language.
You look at this thread and seem interested in English education in Japan. Then, you should know better than that.
I must give you a big hand, because you do continue using English here. You have the genuine courage and desire to stick to your conviction or principles and realize your belief, in spite of the disagreeable comments. As far as I'm concerned, I don't necessarily enjoy using English as a communicative tool. I cannot speaking or writing it without being influenced by grammar or other verbal rules. These codes will NOT go away from my mind, and always monitor my language performance. That really causes me a lot of stress, and at the same time discourages me to communicate with others in English. I'm intensely eager to concentrate on topics or contents, but my consciousness of the codes never allows me to enjoy "real" communication. Also, I don't like English or the values the English language is always pouring into my mind and heart without me knowing it.
I want to MONITOR the unseen invaders.(w) And I'm far better at Jpanaese … That is why I want to say to you, "Can I use Jpanaese when I communicate with you?" Of course, you are supposed to write English to me. Needless to say, that is perfectly OK.
>>402 You don't have to drive away thoes codes. You have to follow grammertical and verbal? rules anyway, even when you stick to what they call communicative way. It's strange if some people think that new world will show up if you strip off the grammertical rules.
>>402 Probably you are not get used to, if you feel too much stress when you follow thoes cdes. You just need getting used to it. Grammertical or verbal codes are not the treasure which you should keep in a safe, but something like bicycle, which you should pull out from the storage and ride.
>>406 Oh here comes a poor guy. The grammertical stress(w) bring a illusion of invaders to a poor English teacher. Terrible.
First thing you have to do is to identify the cause or the Monster, I suppose. First of all, grammertical rules or other codes of English has failed to permeate into you. It means that you are not invaded by the English(w), you see? So the stress you are suffering is not caused by the "value" or "unseen invader". I mean you haven't met them. You understand?
Therefore your stress is caused by something else. What is that? Maybe it's the fact that you are obliged to master English but cannot, I guess. Your situation of being the English teacher who cannot use English causes the stress, don't you think so? It sounds stressful. It's a terribly twisted and perverted situation. The "invaders" in your mind or in front of your eyes are caused by this strssful situation.
OK. Now we found the real cause of your problem. Next let's try to find solution. We already know that your contradicted or conflicted situation is the cause of your illusion of the "invaders". So we should analyze how your situation is contradicted. As I told you already, your situation is torn between two contradicted facts, that is, staying as the English teacher and inability of using English. Thoes facts are totally contradited.
Now I got through the sentence I just mede and found many spelling mistakes. It's terrible. I apologize for it and thank you for your patience in advance.
ID:ODy0KMJu (intentionally?)seems to misunderstand what Manekineko says, which is supposed to be funny? but actually a bit annoying to me.
He doesn't talk about any monsters but, if my understanding is correct, he wants to use Japanese when he talks with Japanese and he doesn't want to let other values (which come with English languages) sneak into his way of thinking.
Besides, Manekineko is a linguist, not an English teacher. Don't pretend that you don't know.
>>413 It is not necessary to apologize. Your English is great just as it is.
I would like to say something about English skills of Japanese teachers. Their English should be good enough to get more than 730 in TOEIC. IF their scores don't reach 730, they should start doing something about their English and they should know that it's not so difficult if they start reading, writing, speaking, listening to as much English as they can.
People say some of the teachers are lazy. I agree with them. If you are a teacher and your scores are lower than 730, you should start teaching yourself immediately. I might sound too pushy. Sorry about that.
It's sad, isn't it? I hope you are exaggerating things. You sound like you are very stressed out because of the severe situation you are placed now. Please don't be discouraged. You like to teach and you like learning English, don't you?
You're right. English teachers have a lot more to do than just teaching English. I don't think she is sad. Of course, she may not be fully satisfied with her situation, but there's no body 100 percent content with his job, right? You can earn money for fighting stress. The more stress, the more you get. Don't you think so???
I would like to know what you mean by パクパク英語, which sounds rather derogatory to me. Of course you would like to be as fluent as possible when you talk, otherwise it is painful for both you and your partner to go on a conversation.
You would like to give as much information as you can in the shortest time. In that sense you should be able to blah, blah, blah、パクパク、ペラペラ。 When it comes to written language, you don't have to care about spontaneity so much, but you can think in your own language and then put it into English (or whatever language you want to use.)
Our students will not only deal with written language but they will communicate with their counterparts in other countries on TV conference. Fluency does matter.
>>440 It may matter little to YOU whether you say "Fluency does matter" or "Fluency counts for a lot". And it must mean "fluency".
Wise sudents enjoy communicating with others around themselves, irrespective of age, in their daily lives before biginning to converse on TV conferences, with delight.
Teachers of good sense should encourage their students to talk with old men and women rigt around themselves in JAPANESE, without taking pride in using any IT tools.
There is something more important than using English. The first thing for us to do is comunicate appropriately with familiar neighbors in Japanese. We must say "おはよう" at home, at school(at office), and even at the station before smiling to foreigners on TV in English.
You are so proud when you speak English, aren't you? Do your students communicate with neighbors in Japanese, without a cell phone?
And do both you and your students say "おはよう" every morning?
>>447 I’m not quite sure if you answered my question. So, パクパク英語 is just greeting, isn’t it? What we are aiming at is not just how to say “Good morning,” to each other. We would like to let our students develop their four English skills in a good balance. In the period when too much emphasis was put on grammar & translation, speaking and listening comprehension was mostly neglected. Students couldn’t enjoy a conversation using theirtarget language because, of course, there were no native speakers who came to their class, or there were no devices they could be connected to the Internet. Things are different now. Why don’t they take advantage of a real opportunity to use the language with native speakers and non-native speakers(their English teachers)?
>You are so proud when you speak English, aren't you? Why did you say that? I try to use English because “Use it, or lose it” is very true with me. Of course we should say, “Good morning” in Japanese (or in English) to each other. I don’t have any objection to that…
>>461 I express my opinon on the teaching of English at PUBLIC (junior/senior high) school. What do you mean by "our stundents"?
Do many univesity students have any opportunity and desire to chat in English on TV conference? Only a few of them do, I think. And how about high school students?
My question: What do you get your students to communicate in English? What do you expect them to talk about in English after graduating from school? What do you suppose is the purpose of communication in a second language? Is neccessary for the students who don't exchange even greetings in Japanese to say good morning in English by means of IT tools? What can they disccuss then?
It may be important to develop students' basic practical communication abilities such as listening and speaking, but far more important is deepening the understanding of language and culture, and fostering a positive attitude toward others, whteher they are Japanese or not.
By language and culture I mean the Japanese language and cultutre as well as the target language and culture. Your argument doesn't let me konw the essence of language teaching you keep in YOUR mind. Or you have nothing related to it?
Do know before practice. Pakupaku means "know nothing". Communication doesn't enable us to know. Those who know can really communicate.
Communication with Kant or Wittgenshtein demands this kind of assertion. And it cannot be helped in MY mind.
>>463 I don't know what >>461 has in his/her mind to your question, because I'm not >>461.
>>What do you expect them to talk about in English after graduating from school?
What? That's what they have in their mind, I suppose, and everybody will agree.
>>Is neccessary for the students who don't exchange even greetings >>in Japanese to say good morning in English by means of IT tools?
I never seen a Japanese student who cannot say "Good Morning" in Japanese but in English(w).
>>It may be important to develop students' basic practical communication >>abilities such as listening and speaking, but far more important is >>deepening the understanding of language and culture
Let me know who stopped developing the basic practical communication skill, until having deepening the understanding of language and culture??
>>463 >>Your argument doesn't let me konw the essence of language teaching you keep in YOUR mind.
I don't know what you think to be the essence. But you will know what you have in your mind is just one of the opinions about this essence, if you talk out what you are thinking here. You are just trying to avoid the practical things what you cannot be proud of. But unfortuately to you, even if you emphasize your opinion, you will see your opinion is one of the ideas. And what English teachers should do is to let the students acquire the practical tools to express their own ideas.
>>466 >And what English teachers should do is to let the students acquire the practical tools to express their own ideas.
Let me know what "their own ideas" are. And you haven't told about "why and what they communicate in English. You look at the different phase. I wonder if I can expain the logic which will understand what I mean to say.
You keep on telling us how to buy an apple. That is why I have given you a question. Why should they buy an apple?
>>463 >>Do know before practice. Pakupaku means "know nothing". >>Communication doesn't enable us to know. >>Those who know can really communicate.
I don't understand these lines↑.
>>Communication with Kant or Wittgenshtein demands this kind of assertion.
Communication with Kant or Wittgenshtein?? You should just say that "I read their books".(w) I don't hope that you are going to say "Everybody should read their books before developing the communication skill"(w). I see their books are your fvorite. That's all.
You should acquire the communication skill to express what you think about them. And others should acquire the communication skill to express what they have in their minds about their favorite authors, singers, athlete or whatever. OK?
>>467 It isn't an error, is it? The conjunction "that" in that case can be omitted, I think. Of course, "what" disturb the understanding of the sutructure/meaning of the sentence. But it is passable, is't it?
>>463 You just want to talk about your favorit things, which you think you understand(w) just for vanity. And you are kind of jelous or perverted because your attempt to satisfy the vanity was frustrated. That's all. You see?
You have taught me a good lesson. Vanity. Using English fills you with vanity.
It may be one of the aims of learning and using English, as far as you are concerned. Speaking English in itself seems much more valuable than saying something significant in English.
Wow! You guys seemed to have a long chat. Then, Manekineko says,"Paku-paku" means "know nothing." All right. I agree. Just chattering away without knowing anything is nonsense. Since languages are a means of communication, if you have nothing to say, it is meaningless to know a language. Is that what you are saying, isn't it?
By the way, I mean junior(senior) highschool students by "our students," because they are the ones I have a lot to do with. I have a vision (of my students in 15 years' time) that they are speaking English as an international language in trade shows, academic conferences, or staff meatings with native, or non-native speakers of English. They do their job, using English.
Of course not all of them will be like that. Probably only a few of them will use English on a daily basis, but they should be able to do it if they want.
>>487 >Since languages are a means of communication, if you have nothing to say, it is meaningless to >know a language. Is that what you are saying, isn't it?
>>487 How many of the high school students have an opportunity to communicate on TV conferences in English?
>I have a vision (of my students in 15 years' time) that they are speaking English as an international language in trade shows, academic conferences, or staff meatings with native, or non-native speakers of English. They do their job, using English.
A vision?? How many of the students in public high school students are you sure participate in these activities in their daily lives?
By "fluency" I mean "the amount of information you can exchange in a limited time being plenty." And you are right, you don't have to make a fuss about small mistakes.
If misunderstanding happens, you have only to ask what it is that your partner wants to say. That will do usually.
I am not sure how many of them will be actually engaged in those activities in the future. So, in the meantime, I want them to enjoy learning English and let them have a good basis for being a self- learners since learning a language is a life-long procedure and they have to keep on doing it if they want to be good.
>>497 Listening/reading comprehension, writing, and speaking are all closely interwined to each other and should be trained in a good balance.
It is way more easier to learn all these at the same time than learn them separately. In my opinion, teachers should have a reasonable command of English (over 730 TOEIC) to introduce those four skills efficiently.
Hello, I'm back. Well, I've chosen to stay anonymous, so I cannot blame Manekineko, but I've never made excuses nor apologies for my errors, which is not because I don't care about, but I try not to... Manekineko seems to have mistaken me for someone else. It's all right, though.
>>527 1 Are you a junior highschool student in this town? 2 Are you a junior highschool studnt in that town? 3 Are yhou a junior highschool student in Japan? 4 I am a junior highschool student in Japan. 5 I am a soccer fan in Japan.
I used the term "communicative" carelessly, which seems the cause of misunderstanding probably. I would like to speak to my students in English regardless of my limited (sometimes incorrect& unnatural)English and let them use as much English as they can in class. What am I trying to do is... ・I don't spend too much time putting English sentencesinto Japanese. ・I try to make them realize some particular forms of the language not by using grammatical terms but simply giving them lots of examples. ・I let them listen to native narrated English.
I was asked to be an examiner of a famous English proficiency test. Although they passed the preliminary written test, some of them could not answer any questions. It seems like it was their first time to talk with someone in English or something. Practice makes perfect, right? Teachers should talk with their students. It's as simple as that.
You are right. It might be only for self-satisfaction, but it is all natural everyone wants to feel good about themselves, isn't it? You want to be proud of what you are doing and you should.
A science teacher who sits next to me in the staff room recently bought a book (about insects) written in English from A**z*n.com seems to enjoy reading it. He doesn't speak it but he can read it. It's perfectly all right with a science teacher but not enough for English teachers. Don't you all agree?
I' ve finished writing the final test and feel tired, so I'll go. Most teachers are good and try to make a change in whatever subject they teach. There aren't many lazy teachers at least around me.
All right. Mr. Manekineko, you believe grammatical terms should be learned. I still cannot picture how your ideal class will be conducted. If you were an English teacher in a junior/senior highschool, how would you do it?
My opinion is that English teachers should have practical English skills (for example, TOEIC 730 or higher) to use English in their class. If mainly grammar and reading are taught in class, teachers do not really have to be able to speak it, then, someone who teach just like language teachers of Rangaku (teaching Dutch in Yedo era) can teach English.
I stick to this thread because in my opinion English teachers should speak English in class and in order to do it, they should have practical English skills.
In the local community I live, we know that 90% of the junior high students either go to "Juku" or get help from private tutors. I think it is a problem, because it means the parents cannot rely on their children's education and the poor(?) 10% will be left behind.
Some people in this thread seemed to blame "Commuicative method" for being Paku- paku (only excersises of mouth muscles) and say it is the reason more students go to "juku." Well, I don't see it that way. Students today get only three English lessons a week at school, which is not sufficient. The total amount of English lessons are to blame. Besides, students don't seem to study so much at home as students a few decades ago because of probably video games, 24-hour cartoon channels,etc, which is another reason their parents want to send them to "juku."
I don't think I know a lot about the history of English education in Japan but some of the things I remember from university days are those methods once became fashinable and then in a decade or so, they went unfashionable. The merit to live in the present day is that we can use those methods, identifying the weak points and strong points of them. If our students seem confused, we can use "grammar-translation method," and also "repetition practice,"" pattern practice" might sometimes be efficient.
Now the age average of the teachers in my school is around 50 or something. When older teachers were students, practical English skills were regarded as unimportant. Futhermore there were not connected computers or MP3 or anything. Studying abroad was not so common and there weren't many English conversation schools.As a result of it, they are good at analyzes the forms of the language and explaining them to the students. They are also good at reading and understanding English passages and putting them into Japanese, but unfortunately they are not so good at speaking or listening comprehension. That's why their scores for TOEIC or TOEFL are sometimes worse than they should be.
>>In the local community I live, we know that 90% of the junior high students >>either go to "Juku" or get help from private tutors. I think it is a >>problem, because it means the parents cannot rely on their children's >>education and the poor(?) 10% will be left behind.
What kind of English proficiency are you talking about? As I said in >>565 most of public school teachers are good at reading and explaining the forms of the language and not so excellent at listening, speaking,(and writing)
There are various kinds of juku and you can't generalise what juku teachers are like but are they far better than public school teahcers? Probably not that different. Kids don't study at home so the parents want to make sure they study a little other than at shcool. That might be the reason kids got to juku. When your parents were students, there weren't many juku. Children at that time ,who wanted to study further, worked by themselves at home.
>>571 It's a good thing that you respect your teacher, and you are lucky. but...
It's a joke, isn't it? The newest spoken grammar? Well, of course it's an interesting field. Written grammar and spoken grammar have both their characteristics but why does he/she have to return to university to do that?
>>572 It's very true. If you think you are too good for what you are currently doing, you leave the workforce for something better, whcih sometimes means " a better-paid job," in a few years.
>>570 >>There are various kinds of juku and you can't generalise what juku teachers are like >>but are they far better than public school teahcers? Probably not that different. >>Kids don't study at home so the parents want to make sure they study a little >>other than at shcool. That might be the reason kids got to juku.
I have seen a job classified looking for female English tutors who have Step 2 level or higher, which means it seems good enough for them to have that level of English proficiency.
All I want to say is juku teachers are not that different from public school teachers. After all some of the juku teachers sometimes try to be public school teachers later in their life.
Do those monthly journals provide you with some information about "spoken grammar?" To tell the truth, I've never read those books. I'm not at all academic. which must sound outrageous to some of you, I'm sure.
I think you will make a good teacher because teachers should know the outside world in orde to tell what it's like to their students...how rigorous and severe the rat race is and the stuff. Your practical English skills are probably too good..? haha..
>>589 Hmmm... Some gifted people seem to be able to acquire language skills no matter what. You are a living proof of the legitimacy of grammar-translation method, aren't you? Most of my coworkers will agree with you.
In my opinion we can teach grammar to ourselves because there are some very good books such as "F*rest," "Ro*al English Grammar" etc. As for speaking ability, you should go to a country where the language is spoken. That'll do. Wow! Come to think of it, we don't need any English teachers, do we?
>>586 >>All I want to say is juku teachers are not that different from public >>school teachers. After all some of the juku teachers sometimes try to >>be public school teachers later in their life.
I don't want to prove anything by writing English. I'm just an ordinary guy, struggling to teach something meaningful, but the fact is that it sometimes seems too difficult. I'm a public school teacher and English skills are just as are seen here now, but I can say onething: I like to use English as much as I can and have a lot of activities using English with my students in class. My coworkers might have different views and they have their own strong points, which I respect. Some of them are good at explaining grammar. Some others are good at telling their students funny stories so that they make them laugh, and someone like myself wants to use as much English as possible in class. It all depends on each teacher but I can say students seem happy at least they say so in their evaluation sheets.
>>602 You will be able to speak it when it becomes necessary to use it, because you have a very good basis to learn more. You say you like learning English, which I praise as "gifted." If you start enjoying using it, you will be good at it soon.
>>605 There are some excellent teachers and some teachers who can read and know some grammar but don't have practical skills. Those who are not good at practical skills are sometimes very excellent in their own way; they can answer students' grammatical questions, they can explain how to solve the problems of entrance exams of universities, etc. For my part, I think it is better to have better practical skills but those teachers don't speak English so much are sometimes students' favorite teachers. Nowadays quetionairs which ask about teachers' performance are handed out, and students can evaluate their teachers. Most of the students say they are satisfied with their English class in our school. The level of satisfaction doesn't depend on how "communicative" an English class is but sometimes it depends on how "funny" the teacher is.
>>606 It is an interesting possibility now that Japan Rail and Japan Post are privatized and why not public education? Right?
As far as the schools in the metropolitan areas, we will find prospective teachers but what about rural areas? What about those "very low-ranking" schools? Because the schools are all state-run, teachers(including excellent teachers and not so brilliant teachers) move one school to another in 5 years and they have teachers in remote villages, islands, and lowest ranking schools no one wants to know what they are like...
Life isn't that simple. When you have a group of people, you almost always have some odd ones. There's not much you can do about it whatever you do. Forget about those people, and just get on with your life!
The consultants of the Ministry of Education(, Sports & Science) suggested English classes should be done mainly in English and in orde to do so it is advisable for teachers to have practical English skills, at the lowest TOEIC 730, TOEFL 550, or STEP pre 1st level.
What do you guys think? (1) With that level of English(TOEIC 730, TOEFL 550, or STEP pre 1st level,) would teachers feel comfortable to teach English mainly in English?
(2) Do you think that English should be taught best in English?
Hmmm. I wonder what you are talking about. A stupid university professor just can't stop going on and on to make fun of the English teachers who speak English fluently?
What does the professor want to say?? "If you receive a decent university education, you can never say what is absolutely correct.
"You speak English so easily you are easily regarded as an idiot.
"It's typical of someone who graduated from an F-ranking university.
So I would be hired by a temp staff agency and sent to a school to teach? It doesn't sound so attractive to me. And my future co-workers are also temp staff agency with no teaching experience at all? I would say, "No thank you!"
Most of the English teachers are over 50, and when they were still students, it wasn't very popular to take TOEFL tests. TOEIC tests didn't even exist. As for STEP tests, there were no pre-1st level test. STEP level2 was too easy but level 1 was a bit tough. That's why most of them have never sat for TOEIC, TOEFL, STEP pre-1st level.
Recently the Ministry of Education has made sure that all English teachers will sit for one of those tests in 5 years. I would like to know how well they will do. I'm an English teacher myself. I have good scores for TOEIC, TOEFL and passed STEP 1st level. So what? My students don't give a damn about it.
>>638 What do you mean by the"average?" The average scores of junior high school English teachers? I wonder how she got a teaching job in the first place. Don't they give the applicants any exams to screen them?
Anyway that's not sufficient. She should study harder.(It's none of my business though.)
It's shocking how English teachers don't know anything how to improve not only their students' English but their own English. If their English is that rudimentary like in >>638, I don't think they have any idea what they can or cannot do with their English.
She really should learn more to be a good teacher.
One of my coworking English teachers openly criticizes another English teacher from his previous school, who has a degree from an British university and has a very high TOEFL scores of 650(paper-based)
Why did he criticize him? Because he bragged about his excellent scores. According to my coworker, it's just natural for him to get good scores and there is nothing to boast of. He said to him," You have lived abroad. If you live abroad, everyone, anyone will have a better command of English. Stop being snobbish."
Well, what did I think about this comment? I wanted to say to my co-worker, "Stop making excuses for your poor English." Of course I didn't tell him anything though.
This is the time we find out which school we will be transfered to from April. In my school a teacher who has mediocre English skills have got moved to the most prestigeous school around here where we live. The local education board just doesn't know where to put who. Shoudn't it be me to be placed in the big name school?
What is the most important quality to make a good English teacher?
Actually we talked about it in the staff room today. I said excellent command of English comes first and then appropriate method, which allows students to have fun and learn it effectively, and then a good personality to be a role model.
One of my colleague didn't agree. He said "Teachers are generalist, not specialist. His speciality (in this case English skills) isn't that important. His abilities to do things aroud the school are most important.
Probably you have a wrong idea about "Oral Communication." It aims at oral activities, which gives students opportunities to speak English in class. It's not just greetings or set phrases you have to memorize. It aims at strengthening students' oral skills and communication skills.
And you are right. Just two 50minutes lessons might not achieve a lot, but at least students get a chance to use English in a more secure atomosphere, where it's OK to make errors.
>ヒートする I don't think the discussion(?) here gets heated up on weakends. There seems to be only a few people talking the same things again and again.
Teachers have to be able to do heaps of things, one of which is English. I mean a little better English than most of people, which would be TOEFL730 level.
You are right. Step 1st level is the level you can get to if you work hard enough. But to be an interpreter? Gosh. That's totally different. You've got to be really talented in learning a language, or you were brought up in an English speaking country.
Yes, if you cannot do anything but a little English, you are supposed to be useless among teachers.
Your job as a private teacher is to help your student get into the university he wants to study at. What English teachers do at school should not necessarily be the same as you try to do.
Of course that's what most of the students want to do, so teachers shouldn't just ignore that aspect but it's not just that what is important.
I think some very good teachers have only grammatical knowledge and unfortunately they do not seem to have practical English skills.
One of my coleagues is like that. He can explain why certain aspects of the language are as they are (of course in Japanese.) His favorite poet is Keats and he seems to be able to read. Since his practical English skill are poor, I don't think he can pass Step pre-1st.
That's perfectly all right, if you just don't read my postings. As you know they are full of mistakes and it is too much trouble to read them.
Actually it's better this way. I can respond to whatever I find interesting enough to say something about. I seldom get replies but when I do, I am happy. See?
I agree with her in >>672 saying teaching is only a fifth of all the workload as a teacher. The other four out of five have nothing to do with English ability. She seems very smart, good-natured and yeah, good at logical reasoning as >>693 says.
I wonder what the other teachers in her school think of her. As JET says in >>673, probably she is too good for what she does. I wonder if she is happy with it.
Actually I'm glad I have more time than most of you. Don't you guys work for too long hours? That would stress you out and you'd end up being unproductive.
JET, are you sure you are not a teacher? When you started the new thread, which gears at all Englsih teachers, I thought you said you are a teacher. I've got confused.
JET, you don't have to say who you are or what you do. I'm the one who keep calling myself "nobody," and you are positive enough to have meaningful discussion using your nickname "JET."
I respect your attitude and excuse me for being nosy.
Hmmm. It seems there aren't so many public school teachers talking here. Usually we call ourselves JET(Japanese English Teacher), so I seemed to make a wrong assumption.
I'm glad that someone like you, who are not a school teacher is interested in what we should be like and what we should do.
Someone outside should give us more pressure to acquire more practical English skills; otherwise we won't change. We feel very comfortable with our own English skills so we don't dream of starting to do something about them. False idea really.
You are right. Not all teachers with practical English skills are excellent teachers. All teachers with poor practical English skills probably don't know how to improve those skills, though.
I have always been wondering like this. Do English teachers have to know so much about English? It seems like all you have to teach in the classroom is just how to solve the questions in the university admission tests. You should use more of your time & energy for decipline and extra-curricular activities than English. Am I wrong?
Actually I think I know what you mean. >効率的な教育は、どうしても明示的な教授法
I try to use as much English as I can in class but when we are done with a lesson, I give the students Japanese translation of the lesson. I try to make them realize some of the forms of English only when the knowledge helps them to understand the passage better, but I sometimes suggest to the students that they should do some drills in the grammar book.
What is important may be the balance and I Do compromise once in a while.
If we teachers can help the students get into the universities they want to study, and also help them learn how to improve their English skills at the same time, that would be our ideal.
Some people study English only for university admission but not many. I give a questionaire to my students about what they want to do with their English in the future. Most of them say they want to communicate with people from different cultures.
>>775 Wow! Did you get that high score for your first try? You say you are a teacher but are you a (public) school teacher? Do you think having a high score for TOEIC has a lot to do with being a good teacher?
You can't blame the teachers who work at low-ranking high schools. The students in those schools don't want to learn...not only English but also any other subjects.
They walk around, start making up, talk to each other in a loud voice, play games on their cell phone, go out of the class without getting permission. This is the reality of any low- ranking school.
There ARE that kind of teachers. What is bugging me is those teachers whose English skills are apparently poorer than the average but very confident for no reasons. Yeah, complacent...if you know what I mean.
I also agree with you, but which do you think is more probable, A. English teahcers with practical English skills will help the students use the language and end up liking the subject or B. English teachers without any practical English skills teach their students English as a mysterious code to dicipher?
Anyway when I talk about this topic, I always have a specific example in mind; ie. one of my co-working teachers.
He is over fifty and he despises TOEIC or TOEFL only because they are the tests which evaluate practical skills. He respects something more academic, such as literature, essays, grammar interpretation etc. He seems to be able to teach fundamental knowledge of English as a shool subject but there are no activities or anything in his class. His students are there to learn and the way they do it is very passive. He just keeps on talking and the students go on listening or sleeping.
Probably he could use more practical skills to make the students more active.
>>825 Gee! I'm impressed, Mineko. You must be a very kind and discerning teacher; otherwise your students, who are cheaky, would not come to talk to you after school. They are usually very busy and want to leave school for their part-time work as soon as they are finished.
Your students are lucky to have a teacher like you.
>Your students are lucky to have a teacher like you. そういってもらえると嬉しいけど、でも憎まれ役で終わってしまうことも やっぱりあるわね。でもこの仕事をやる以上それは常に覚悟しなきゃ いけないことだと思ってるんだけどね。 教科指導も生活指導も常に研修を重ねて少しずつ 自分なりのやり方を確立していきたいと思ってるわ。
Let me paraphrase what you said first: Students(aged 15-18) are getting mentally(physically also) matured and they would like their teachers to satisfy their desire to learn, which is certainly not just "Hi. How are you?" but more challenging philosophical writing or something...
I understand that... It is all right to read difficult passages once in a while but it's all passive if you just keep on doing that. How do you encourage your students to speak or write English, Mineko?
Yeah, you've made a point. TOEIC 730 is a practical mark. There are various values which should be taken into account when it comes to talking about an ideal English teacher.
My bottom line is; It all depends on the level of the school. If it's a top-ranking school, all you care about is pushing them to a better university. A great teacher in that kind of school is a good trainer to help the students get good score in entrance exams.
If it's an OK school, then, you can try a lot of things. A good teacher will help their students learn practical English...
If it's less academic school, you should "discipline" them. A good teacher will help students build up perseverance to study something in class.
Japan is not a developing country where English plays a vital role in business. Even if you don't speak it, there is no problem. Look at the Philippines. They are excellent speakers of English, but their nation is not economically strong, though I love those people and their country. You should find some other reason than your promotion, for which you devote yourself to English.
What would we do if we fired all the English teachers? The wages which go to them would be spent on social welfare, better roads, and so forth. We might be able to hire better English teachers who are in their twenties and have lived in English speaking countries.
Actually that will happen in twenty years when all the baby-boomers retire. Congratulations!
Usually christian schools (private schools) are good at teaching English, aren't they? They let the children from wealthy families enter their schools. The parents are rich enough to send their children to the schools. Those schools have lots of money and they can hire the teachers who will be better teachers.
You want to give your children better education? You should send them to a private school. That's it.
As for state-run schools, you are moved every 6 or 7 years. There are some very good schools but at least in Tokyo metropolitan area, good schools mean private schools. To*ama, Hi*iya, Shi**uku? They used to be excellent but not as much now. Still, you are lucky if you can send your kids there. There are more schools which are not in the least academic.
The board of education move teachers very often. Probably teachers who change schools so often might not develop their sense of attachment to the school they work at.
State-run schools have more problems than private schools.
Prior to anything, you should question the meaning of English education at school.
In Western countries, students have more oportunities to use English in their daily life than in Japan. They learn and use it as a spoken language.
In Japan, however, English has long been learned for the purpose of getting knowledge from written texts. This purpose of learning English still lives today.
We exchange e-mails. That is, we write or read e-mails. We collect information on the web. That is, we read something on the web. Reading and writing is often our main meanings of communication even today.
So, if you are not taught how to speak English at school, it is okay. You should learn how to read and write in Englsh. English teachers should not be criticized though they could not speak English. What they have to teach at school is reading and writing.
I know you speak very excellent English from your writing. IF someone like you who can speak English say that reading and writing are more important than speaking and listening, then, what you say is very persuasive, isn't it?
So you think English lessons at school should offer a good foundation of the language, that is, reading and writing and you can learn to speak and listen English when it becomes necessary. It might be true because you are the living proof.
You can lean the four skills separately but still I think English is learned better when those four skills are interwined to each other. The balance is very important. When your listening skills are improved, you will find it easier to read a rather long passage in a short time. When you speak English, you will try to remember some of the expressions you learned from a written text and when you read, you will start thinking that you would like to use the way written there next time you talk in English....
In an ideal society, good education comes for free. In the real world, where money talks, good education costs. Sad, but it's true. No much we can do about it. So, send your kids to top private schools, and you will be happy as well as your kids. If you can't afford it, that's just too bad. Be happy with whatever you're worth.
People often criticize English teachers because they failed to learn English in their school days. But I dare say those people does not see an important fact.
"A language can be learned only when its learner try to learn it as a language."
Only try to remember the words, idioms, and model expressions is not enough. You should learn them making the full use of the language part of your brain. But how?
What I did was just use the method that Dr. Toru Matsumoto recommended in his book 'Eigo No Atarashii Manabikata (The New Way of Learning English)'.
Now I often use English in business. I have never lived overseas. My English is all learned at public school in Japan.
I admire your good spirit! I, too, have learned English here in Japan, and I don't have much problem in functioning in various business situations. As you say, it really depends on your motivation and willingness. But I must say, I had good teachers. Some of them were academic and I enjoyed every lesson. I went to private schools all through my education and I appreciate my parents for having sent me there.
>>882 >People often criticize English teachers because they failed to learn English in their school days. >But I dare say those people does not see an important fact. ふーん、で、こう? ↓ >"A language can be learned only when its learner try to learn it as a language."
I don't know. One of my English teachers in high school loved American literature and poetry. I'm sure she didn't have a good command of spoken English, but I really enjoyed her rather academic lectures. I detested an American conversation teacher who didn't even have a clue about what "adacemic" meant.
You didn't get my point, huh? It could be anything academic. We the elete students didn't enjoy a bit about the Disneyland or supefial conversations about American culture. Get it?
I don't think so. Some of my friends in the same class became medical doctors. One of them published a book a while ago from an Amrican publisher and sent me a copy. Lo and behold, he cites various poetry of new and old at the beginning of each chapter. You have NO idea what we eletes do. So just shut up and go to bed.
That word is very alianating to ME because I don't relate to them. Actually I'm just a common English teacher.
So you and your friends graduated from excellent big name private highschool, didn't you? You guys are probably smart enough to lead the state. I would like to ask you what you think about English as a compulsory school subject. Since you will be a leader of this nation one of these days, I wonder what you think. There are a lot MORE public schools than private schools and most of the students there are not so smart except for a limited number of top schools.
Do you think English should be taught to everyone? Or do you think only elite students like yourselves should learn it? And if you say everyone should learn it, then do you think the level of English taught there should be very fundamental?
Learning a second language is important in many ways. One important aspect is to develop a meta-knowledge of your own language. That alone is good enough to make a foreign language (not just English) mandatory at the secondary level onwards.
Let's make a fool of ourselves together by speaking strange English. Actually communication is fun whether it's done in Japanese or in a foreign language.
Yeah! Let's just use it because it's the best way to improve it and feel comfortable in using it.
Teachers' job is to encourage their students to use it. When you understand what your students are trying to say, you'll keep saying, "Excellent. Very good. Superb. Great."
Oh, you are here, Mineko. I wonder if you are a public school teacher or a private school teacher. You said in your workforce there are English teachers who are returnees, or who have got very high scores for TOEIC, etc.
I'm an ordinary (average) public school teacher. There aren't any returnee teachers or anyone with high scores in my workplace.
I think that English teachers in private school usually have higher English skills.