Language Sensei

A Language Teacher's Journey

Answering those “Start of the Semester” Questions

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This is an edited edition of a previous post just in time for Semester 2…

It’s almost the start of Semester 2 for me and once again I face new classes. I am fortunate that I teach all Japanese classes in Grades 10-12 at my school. It means that the majority of my students are aware of my class, my teaching style and the expectations I have of them. Every year, however, I encounter those who are having me as a teacher for the first time…and hear ‘the questions’….

Will this be hard?  Well…Are you asking me if you have to try? If you have to participate? If you will have to do any work to succeed? If you view that as ‘hard’ then it will be. However if you participate in activities, try your best to complete tasks, work with others when asked to and open your mind to trying something new…it might not be as ‘hard’ as you think.

Will there be homework?  Hmm….are you fearing the dreaded ‘workbook’? What if homework included watching a video, finding things out on the net, recording a conversation with a friend or doing a survey? What if doing some work at home meant less time ‘sitting and listening’ and more time ‘doing’ in class…would that be a fair trade-off?

What will the tests be like? There will be all kinds of ‘tests’ for you but they will ask you to use the skills we practice in class. Yes – we will practice for them everyday so if you participate you are preparing. Your tests will be designed to help you use real life skills of giving and receiving information.

What if I make a mistake?  Um…you made a mistake. Think of the first time you played a video game. Did you make any mistakes? Did you quit because you did? I don’t think so. Did the world end? We all make errors every day. It’s how you handle it. Do you keep going? Do you try to correct yourself? Just know that to make errors means that you are taking risks.

What if I don’t understand someone or they don’t understand me?  Not understanding something is a real-life situation. Relax. The only thing not to do is to resort to English. Let a person know you don’t understand and work together to try to find the meaning. Use gestures, pictures, synonyms or antonyms. If you are asking questions give your own answer. If at first you ‘don’t get it’…try and try again…

Welcome to my class. Any more questions?

Colleen

 

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