These are what I keep in my mind when planning a lesson.
· Clear structure and instruction
The best way of engaging students on track is having a clear structure and instruction. Especially when teaching a big class, I try to make a lesson plan clearly structured and easy to follow.
· Scaffolding
In order to make learning as achievable as possible, I prepare a small step so that students can learn step by step.
· Motivating
If students are motivated, they will engage the learning and learn well. As factors which can motivate students vary one student from another, I investigate students’ preference and keep trying various things.
· Interactive
Interactive teaching is crucial in language learning not only because it enhances students’ learning but also language is a communication tool.
· Fun and interesting
It is important to motivate students. Also, I believe learning a language should be fun and interesting.
· Language plus contexts
When learning language, studying only grammatical rules and language structure is not enough. Students need to know when and how the language is used.
· Language plus culture
I believe language and culture reflect one another, so I need to teach Japanese culture in order to teach Japanese language. I am quite familiar with Japanese traditional culture as well as sub culture (pop culture), and how they connect to Japanese language. Students can also think about their own culture through learning Japanese culture.
· Authentic
I try to employ many authentic materials to present how things students are studying connect to a real world. Also, some research has revealed students will be motivated by authentic materials.
These are what I keep in my mind when teaching.
· Clear and simple
Language is complicated and sometimes unclear, but I try to teach in a clear and simple way, especially with younger students.
· Encourage students
Students need a lot of encouragement to produce foreign language. I try to make a comfortable environment by encouraging them.
· Target language use
I use Japanese quite often for greeting, encouragement, and some instructions. This Japanese should be comprehensible for students.
