SIU English One – Speaking Practice

Please feel free to contact Toshi. Skype ID = tossy-mikamix

(1) Please pretend you do not speak Japanese at all, and only write in English in the chat, to make sure they talk with you in English.
(2) If they struggle, talk more slowly, repeat with easier words, or type what you said in the chat. When they keep responding in Japanese you can ask the other student, like “What does that mean in English? X-san, can you help Y-san?”.
(3) Share screen when you want to show pictures. Please do not show pictures on your smartphone, because the Zoom background obscures it.
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From the previous semester
Language issues
In terms of Japanese usage or mistakes, I saw teacher XXXXXX messaging students in Japanese, and also sometimes mistyping English. Here is what I wrote down on the day
　* odd questions “how many minutes do you play flute?”, “what do you hit?”
　* wrong word order “why volleyball is more difficult?”
　* missing letters “how is you English speaking skills?”
　* wrong tense “how old are you when you start playing archery?”
　* inaccurate vocab “do you do warm exercise up?”

Worst of all from my perspective, I saw issues with my students asking the teachers questions.
In group 11/21, one of my students called Harumichi asked his teacher “What are your skills?”, and they replied with their favourite Filipino food. He was very disappointed that his question hadn’t been understood, and when I checked it with him, his pronunciation was fine.
Simply responding to questions immediately can confuse the students if the teacher mishears.
Personally, I always recommend a speaking pattern like this:
(4) Repeat the question, stressing the key word “What are my skills?”
(5) Check the meaning “Skill, right?”
(6) Respond “Well, I am really good at…cooking”
(7) Develop the point or return it to the student “How about you, do you like cooking?” / “I love to cook sinigang”

Finally, this Tuesday 7th November I saw a lot of teachers leaving student questions until the very end. In the final minute, I message every breakout room to say “one minute left, folks!”, and some teachers waited until then to ask students for questions. I don’t think that is enough time for a proper conversation, so there should be at least 3~5 minutes at the end just for inviting questions from students.

etc.

Admin: Toshi, AJ and Angeli

*Zoom accounts for Monday and Wednesday are shared with Team C.
Admin: Toshi, AJ and Angeli