English Language Teaching Practices (ELT)

As one component of the Top Global University Project (MEXT), ELT students have been designing and offering the English Village Program on a regular basis, which is a three-day English learning opportunity for young students from across the country. ELT students enjoy the privilege of trying out their own teaching techniques and materials with groups of authentic students.

Looking back on my teaching, I stuck to the textbook and didn’t know how to creatively make my lesson plans. I tended to focus on language features and having students understand the content of the textbook, which made my classes monotonous and lacking in diversity. Furthermore, I struggled with how to engage with students who were shy and hesitant to speak English, and to encourage them to speak out in class. My students were so anxious about making mistakes in class that they remained silent when I asked them to express their own thoughts. I experienced these challenges until I enrolled in AIU for further study. In the ELT program, I acquired valuable insights on how to extend the topics from the textbooks to enhance students’ involvement based on three important principles: authenticity, personalization, and creativity. Additionally, I gained strategies to encourage students to use English in class. As you know, English class is supposed to be conducted in English, but in reality, students encounter some difficulty in understanding English. I learned of a methodology called the “MERRIER Approach,” which is effective in providing comprehensible input to students and encouraging students to speak English step by step. These methodologies helped me develop confidence in analyzing textbooks in a more creative way and increase meaningful interaction with students.

Now, I am teaching at Yokote High School. I usually start my class with teacher talk using various pictures to: connect an unfamiliar topic in the textbook to students’ daily lives, give more comprehensible input to help students understand the outline of a new lesson, and have more interaction with students in English. My students sometimes can’t understand what I say or can’t express their thoughts in English, but it is not a big problem. I can assist them in various ways. That is what I learned in ELT. I appreciate my two-year-long opportunity at AIU.

Keiko OSHUYA (Nationality: Japan)

I had no knowledge of English teaching prior to enrolling in the ELT program at AIU. I thought that since I am a native English speaker, all I needed to do was brush up on the fine details of English grammar, and I would be ready for the classroom. ELT taught me that teaching is not just about having knowledge of the subject that you are teaching but also about knowing effective methods to convey that knowledge to your students. You can not just explain grammar and vocabulary and call it a day; you have to make things interesting to motivate students and keep them engaged in your class. I also learned about obstacles unique to the Japanese education system and Japanese students during my time in ELT. As a foreigner who has not experienced the Japanese education system or learning English as a second language, this was an invaluable experience for me to learn from my instructors and Japanese peers about what problems I would face teaching in Japan, which made my transition into my career as a teacher easier than it would have been without the knowledge I gained in ELT.

Working in a Japanese high school as a foreigner has many challenges, but there is no better place to learn how to face those challenges than ELT. In the ELT program, you get to work with not only Japanese and foreign peers aspiring to be teachers but also in-service teachers studying to level up their skills. The in-service teacher’s insight is invaluable when discussing things like how to make an effective lesson plan or how students would respond to certain activities. There are many opportunities to collaborate with your peers in ELT, which means you get many chances to discuss, share, and exchange knowledge and widen your views on how to teach effectively.

Alaric Edward DAVIS (Nationality: USA)