Bruce Vorland
vorland [at] ge.aitech.ac.jp
Aichi Institute of Technology, Toyota, Japan
For several years I have been teaching four-day summer classes which are open to the community at a local college. The classes are open to men and women of all ages and all backgrounds. As it turns out, the members of the classes are mostly women of ages spanning over forty years. For each of the four days we have one theme. I have chosen four themes that I think are the most practical: Meeting Someone, Shopping, At A Restaurant and Traveling. Each lesson consists of several segments, most of which are connected to that day's theme. To compensate for the difference in abilities, I explain almost everything first in English and then in Japanese.
Next, I explain that I will introduce myself in English and that they should try to listen for what they can understand. What they can't understand they should guess at and not let bother them. I introduce myself, talk about my family and Minnesota (where I'm from) and include an anecdote or two in Japanese. Afterwards, I pass out the four days of handouts explaining that we probably won't have time to do everything. I have found that handing out all four day's worth is the best because it gives those with the time a chance to prepare for the next day. I point out the introduction Quiz in the Day 1 handout and ask them to fill in as much as they can. I go around the room helping the ones who find it difficult.
I ask the members to pair up with someone who has about the same English ability and we practice the Meeting Someone For The First Time section and the What/Who Is Your Favorite..... section. I try to get everyone to learn to volunteer information before they ask a question and have constructed my pair practices to reinforce this. I explain that it is not only a friendlier way to ask someone a question but it is also easier and less time consuming. With an outgoing group I encourage them to practice with several partners. For advanced students I suggest that they add their own questions.
The amount of time that I spend on Pronunciation depends on the group. I talk about some of the sounds and explain that pronunciation practice is a good way to improve listening abilities. After I have them repeat the sound groups I read one of the minimal word pairs and have them circle the words that they hear. If there are a lot of the mistakes and there seems to be some interest I practice those sounds again.