Well, it is well past time that I got this blog going. It's not that I have just started thinking about what I am planning, but that I haven't got anything out of my head onto the (electronic) page, so to begin with let me give a brief summary of my ideas so far.
The KTC students already have a certain amount of face-to-face pre-departure learning provided by KTC focusing on situational English and learning about
1) A collective activity perhaps in the form of a wiki, in which the students would compile a personal introduction to their city of
Reasons for choosing this activity include:
- Improve students' English ability– I could moderate the site and add some language notes so that it could become a language-learning activity. Students would be expected to follow up on feedback and make appropriate changes.
- Encourage them to become more familiar with their home town (which many students know surprisingly little about), and provide them with a tool for making conversation with their host families when they arrive.
- Introduce students to online collaborative learning through the wiki tool, and encourage students to see the potential in online learning.
- Give the students an opportunity to use the internet to search for information about their town, and perhaps the chance to critically read about it (because they may not agree with everything they read about their town.).
In addition to online information, I would hope they would be encouraged to go out and photograph some of their own favourite sites, shops etc. to personalise the view of their town. In this way, it would not just be another ‘tourist brochure’, but something that was personal to, and owned by the students. If the students are encouraged to take ownership of the site, it will hopefully give them an introduction to the idea of autonomous learning. At the same time, the wiki might become an information site in itself for young people interested in a different view of a Japanese city.
The aim of this blog would be to:
- help the students reflect on who they are, and how their identity fits / doesn't fit with the wider culture in which they live. Rather than just a simple self-introduction, which is what is provided at present, this activity would encourage the students to explore themselves in a broader context. What aspects of Japanese culture are important to them / do they relate to most? Who has influenced them most?
- Set realistic goals for themselves for their time in
- Take responsibility for reflecting on and measuring their own progress.
I am not sure whether this second activity would be better in English (?Do they have the vocabulary / grammar skills to express themselves??), or in Japanese? Something to think about over the next few weeks!
