PIGATE gathering, 2019.06.08

PIGATE's June 2019 session

This month's highlights: Guest Speaker Series (GSS)

Active Learning from Theory to Practice

Dr. Fumi Takegami

Faculty of Letters

The Prefectural University of Kumamoto

Prof. Terry Laskowski

Faculty of Letters, Kumamoto University

Date & time

Saturday, June 8, 2019; 13:30–16:30

• Doors open at 13:00!

Venue

Seminar room 10, 5th floor, Faculty of Administrative Studies office wing; 
Prefectural University of Kumamoto (PUK)

• Please see PIGATE Meeting Locations (https://goo.gl/h5DgbP) for site details.

About the presenters and the program

Fumi Takegami has extensive teaching experience in schools ranging from elementary to secondary levels, mostly at high school. She is now teaching in the Faculty of Letters at the PUK. Terry Laskowski also has extensive teaching experience, in his case at university. He now teaches in the Faculty of Letters at Kumamoto University.

Together Terry and Fumi will talk about the relationship between theory and practice in teaching.  Linking theory to practice helps teachers to better understand why they do what they do in their classrooms. Having this knowledge will better inform teachers regarding their instructional practices. 

During their workshop session, Fumi and Terry will talk about learning theories going from behaviorism to social constructivism and complementary teaching methods. They will focus in particular on social constructivism and related teaching methods and techniques. 

Participants will take part in classroom activities. Through active involvement, i.e., active learning, participants will understand the purpose of the activities by experiencing them themselves. They can expect to take part in a jigsaw activity and a task-based problem solving activity.

Let us know you're coming!

If you would like to take part in this month's session, or to join PIGATE, please fill out one of our short online info. collection forms (https://goo.gl/Hpe9pd). 

• Thank you!

PIGATE's Special Summer Session: August 13, 2016

This post ... includes ... a slideshow introducing PIGATE's Special Summer Session [SSS] at the Prefectural University of Kumamoto, August 13, 2016. [It also may display recent earmarked Tweets about or related to the SSS.]

You can find the working agenda for this year's SSS in the PIGATE calendar on the Calendar of Events page of The PIGATE Blog. Directions to the SSS venue are on the Meeting Location page.

Tweet about it: #higopigateSSS

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PS: Here are a few snapshots from the SSSession.

Thanks to Misato for rounding up delicious boxed lunches from RanTen in Mashiki-machi!

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Flashback: Introducing Hap Palmer to Japan (Yoneoka, 2015.01.09)

This post is a follow on to Prof. Judy Yoneoka's guest speaker presentation last January (2016.01.09). The converted slideshow below includes active links to numerous musical resources that she used to demonstrate classroom activities.

As a newsletter write-up explained:

[She] is a professor in the Department of English and American studies at Kumamoto Gakuen University. Her major research theme is world Englishes.

(PIGATE Newsletter, 268, p. 4)

Introducing Hap Palmer to Japan (Yoneoka, 2015.01.09 [converted])

A few additional musical resources are listed in a previous post, along with a call for more resource suggestions: Music for children: Online resources (2016.01.22).

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April PIGATE meeting

by Joe Tomei.  Another great PIGATE meeting!

First was Nicole Gallagher speaking on her recently completed masters dissertation and her upcoming JALT PanSIG presentation on teacher beliefs and the new Course of Study.

Next up as Fumi Ogata from Kikuyo JHS, talking about using the speech of Malala Yousafzai, the recent recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize and the youngest recipient of the prize. A link to the speech is here.

If you are interested in the topic, you can watch Malala's speech on EnglishCentral.com. It is free to join, and if you join, you can access 2 videos a month, but if you become a member, you can watch and record yourself repeating as many videos as you would like. I have some free one-month memberships, so put your name and email address in the comments, or write to me directly at tomeiter@gmail.com.

Another great meeting, looking forward to seeing all of you next month!

Joe Tomei

April PIGATE meeting: Nicole Gallagher

Hi PIGATE! My name is Nicole Gallagher and I have lived in Kumamoto since 2010 when I joined the JET Programme as an ALT. I spent three great years teaching English at Seiseiko High School, Kumamoto Commercial High School, and Kuroishibaru Special Needs School, and I am now in my second year working at the Kumamoto Prefectural Board of Education as the ALT Prefectural Advisor where I provide work and personal support to the ALTs in Kumamoto. During my time as an ALT, I began and completed a Master’s in TEFL/TESL with the University of Birmingham. My dissertation topic focused on SHS teacher beliefs on conducting classes in English and using communicative language activities in class (the main revisions of the new Course of Study for English in 2013). I am interested in hearing what teachers think about teaching, and I believe that is the first step in understanding how to improve English education. As I continue my journey of teaching in Japan, I look forward to having some great conversations about teaching with all of you! 

Here's what I'll be talking about, I'd love to hear from you before the meeting, so please feel free to add comments below!

Teacher beliefs on conducting classes in English

TEFL trained educators often take it as a given that conducting English classes in English is necessary and appropriate, and indeed, the Senior High School Course of Study for English (MEXT, 2013) has established that English classes be conducted primarily in English. Yet how this mandate is adapted in the classroom is strongly influenced by the beliefs of teachers and their subsequent actions. In this presentation, I would like to have a discussion about your beliefs about conducting classes in English and explore how your beliefs may be shaping how the new Course of Study will be realized in the classroom.