U.S. Citizenship Test Officially Begins This Week

This article is on http://larryferlazzo.edublogs.org/. I am interested in this article because Japan will also have to think about immigration of foreigners in the future. After coming here, I noticed how important teaching English to immigrants is in U.S. This is really major issue here. When reading the article and checking the example of the citizenship test, I wondered how people who lack literacy of English could pass this exam and what the U.S. government wanted the immigrants to know. And the children of immigrants will have a situation in study. I also wonder how schools cope with this situation. Maybe teachers will teach them subjects in English. Who can support their study ? Teachers will be busy in their regular job. This isn't American affairs but will be Japanese affairs. I think Japanese teachers will face this situation in near future.

Social Network

I joined EFL Classroom 2.0 http://eflclassroom.ning.com/index.php. This site has a lot of interesting tips for English learners and teachers. For example, I can find many listening and reading materials depending on student's levels or their interests. I think it is really good because listening conversation is really authentic. Most listening materials I can find in Japan are news or lectures, where clear English is spoken. However, when coming to US, I found the conversation between Americans was different from those materials. I had difficulty in listening to English in a restaurant or shop. If I can use this material in a classroom, I guess students can enjoy a lot because the conversation sounds realistic.

analogy of learners

Some learners of today are like customers who drop at a convenience store to buy necessities. Recently many learners notice the necessities of study and restart studying hard as if customers found something necessary on the way to somewhere, and dropped at a convenience store. They might have been lazy students in school days, but during their job, they recognize the importance of study and are back to the field of learning. They know what kind of knowledge is necessary to acquire. That’s why I assume some principles of connectivism are suitable for the learners of today. Before restarting their study, they have already known what they need to study. They have ability to draw distinctions between important and unimportant information is vital. They will be able to choose significant knowledge and also find some connections between fields, ideas, and concepts because they have an experience of job. They know the world except schools. They can connect the knowledge with real world well.

My doggy, May

May likes sleeping very much. When my daughter can't play with her, she is taking a nap and waiting for the time she can play with my daughter.

The three ways in using a blog

1. Students read a wide range of print and nonprint texts.

On the blog, I can use not only my comments but also video like You Tube. Showing it to students, I will have students write some comments about it. I can use not only Japanese but also American or other countries video. Through the blog, students will discover cultural differences too.

4. Students adjust their use of spoken, written, and visual lauguage to
communicate effectively with a variety of audiences and for different
purposes.

Through interaction with peers or teachers, students can notice
what kind of explanation will be effective to communicate their opinions.
After receiving some comments, they will sometimes find
the person will misunderstand their opinions. In this case,
they will consider their expression and try to use the best way
to convey their feelings or ideas. I think this procedure is really significant
for students to learn how to communicate with others.

10. Students whose first language is not English make use of their first language to develop competency in the English language arts and to develop understanding of content across the curriculum.

I can offer many materials to students on the blog. Not only texts, but also sounds can I give them. They can use the sounds, such as news or TV commercial, as listeningmaterials. They listen to the material at home many times and answer the questions about the contents in their first language. If students writing level in English become advanced, teachers can change it to English. Or, about the content I give to the students they can talk with peers on the website. They will sometimes intake English more easily than just listening to in classroom.

English will be a compulsory in elementary school

Two years later, English will be a compulsory in an elementary school in Japan. I am wondering who will teach English to children. There are English teachers only for junior and senior high schools now. I don't think enough new English teachers will be trained in two years. I am anxious that the current elementary school teachers teach English to children. It is the first stage to learn English for them. If they fail here, a lot of children will dislike English. I really hope that English classes in an elementary school will be enjoyable. I haven't taught English to elementary school children. I want to know what point should be careful in an elementary school because I have a daughter whose age is eight years old.

The reason of coming to America

Hi, I am studying in America. My major is TESOL. I came here because I wanted to learn new methods of teaching English more. I was worrying about my teaching style when I worked in high school. When learning English, students looked unwilling to study it. They studied it because they knew English was important for university exams. I wanted to motivate them more. I knew there were several reasons, but I didn't know them exacly. Now I am on the way to find them gradually.
I would like to exchange opinions or worries in teaching. I am also happy to get something informative.