Wow, it seems like I have been blogging a lot lately. Actually, it is kind of fun blogging. It is a kind of record of my life and what I have been thinking. Anyway, I have been thinking a lot about my IES class lately, and how I can improve upon my teaching. When I was looking over the feedback sheets again the other day, I noticed that a lot of students said that we could improve the class if we all spoke more English, gave our opinions more often, and if we all asked more questions in class. Hmmmmmmmmm, how do we do that? My first reaction is to think “well, just bloody well do it! It’s up to you! Good God people, just SPEAK!” However, I realize that that kind of reaction is not necessarily the best reaction, because I am sure that if my students could do it, they would do it. So, the question is, how can I create an environment in my classroom in which the students feel they are able to speak English, share their opinions, and ask questions freely. I mean, why don’t they just do it? I wonder if it is because my students are missing many of the little “pieces” of language that are so important in daily conversation. My students all have excellent vocabulary and grammar skills, but they seem to struggle with communication. Something is holding them back. Perhaps it is these little “pieces of language”. Anyway, I am going to start teaching more of these little “pieces of language” to help the students to communicate with each other in a natural way. Naturally, it is also up the students as well to make an effort to only speak English. After all, I can jump around and dance in front of the classroom for hours on end, but I can’t make the students speak. As we say in English “you can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make him drink.” In the end, it is ultimately up to them as to whether or not they wish to actively learn English

I have also noticed that many of my Japanese students seem to be obsessed with finding the “right answer”. Many students in all of my classes want to know when they have the wrong answer. Well, in my academic background (social sciences) no answers are wrong if you can support what you have to say in a logical way (that is why we are learning to write good essays). If you can argue that black is actually white, then you are on your way to being a successful university student. I don’t know if this is a good thing, but that is the way it is in my academic culture. I come from an academic culture where there are no absolutes. Nothing is completely wrong or completely right. I think D.H. Lawrence exemplifies this belief in the following quote from his book Why the Novel Matters:

We should ask for no absolutes, or absolute. Once and for all and forever, let us have done with the ugly imperialism of any absolute. There is no absolute good, there is nothing absolutely right. All things flow and change, and even change is not absolute.

So you see, in my background nothing is right. I guess that is why I praise the students whenever they give me any answer – especially if they can provide some support to their answers. Now, I don’t know if this is a healthy way to think or not. I mean, if I could be more certain about a few things, then maybe I could be a lot happier.

Another comment that I received from one of my students was concerning the use of unfamiliar and difficult words. I agree, unfamiliar and difficult words can be more suitable for what you may want to describe, but if you are trying to communicate with someone, then you need to be prepared to explain what that word means or you will have failed in your attempt to communicate. I want real communication to take place in the classroom. It is through this communication with each other that I hope we will be able to learn. Thus, it is okay to you any word that a student thinks is appropriate, but that student must also take the time out to explain the words that he or she is using so that communicate may take place. I guess this brings me back to the idea I was talking about before with the “little pieces of language”. If you are going to use unfamiliar or difficult words, you need to check the comprehension of the person that you are talking to so that you can be sure that they understand what you are saying. On the other hand, it is also the responsibility of the listener to stop someone when they hear a word they don’t understand and to ask for an explanation. I will give my students some “little pieces of language” to help them do that.

Additionally, if you stop and search for the perfect word and now there is an uncomfortable silence in the conversation – you have failed in your attempt at communication because silence carries a negative message. It is better to use the words you know to describe or approximate what you want to say than to fail in your attempt at communication. A large vocabulary alone is not enough to make a good English speaker. Efforts to increase your vocabulary must go hand in hand with efforts to communicate fluently with your listener.

Anyway, that’s it for now. I hope this all makes sense! Remember, if you don’t understand something in my blog – email me!

Peace and Love!

Scott