The basics
Generally speaking lessons will focus on 4 different elements: Reading, Writing, Listening, and Speaking. Unlike some, I disagree that every class should use all 4 of these. Granted you will likely use some of all 4 in every lesson, but that’s semantics, your lesson focus doesn’t have to incorporate all 4.
The students will be doing a lot of reading, writing, and listening with their JTE through the textbook curriculum already. If I had to pick the weak link I would say it’s speaking, along with interactive listening. I tend to focus my lessons on active communication unless otherwise requested. E.g. Sometimes JTEs will want to improve reading test scores so I will prepare a reading test exercise.
I also disagree with my more scholarly colleagues that test prep has to be serious. Anything that isn’t fun is, for me, hard to grind through. I postulate that if the students are enjoying themselves they won’t notice they are learning, well won’t notice as much… Most of my activities and lessons lean heavily on a fun/competitive aspect as well as group learning. Japanese schools and classes use the “block system” so each class is typically further divided into 4-6 student groups with a group leader. Yes, tests are done individually, but group learning is highly advantageous for getting close to 100% classroom participation. So the material I make while challenging is interactive and done in groups so either they all succeed or they all fail. Even when I was teaching elementary school I quickly fell into this method. A single student could be many things, but if one of those things is shy or anxious then what should be a fun lesson could leave a single student in tears. Relying on the block system that the students already understand and know reduces the pressure on an individual student and pools their language ability. While I may require students to answer individually, if they are in a group then the stronger students can model and help coach the others.
Laying out the steps, step-by-step
My favorite sort of lesson will basically run itself after the students understand the guidelines. The first step in this is making sure the JTE understands the guide lines. When you lay out your explanation think long and hard about how you will instruct the class. Don’t use 5 words when 2 would suffice. Don’t rush through all 10 steps of the activity. If it is a new activity then flesh it out. There are 3 methods that I usually use for this.
- Explain in sets of 3. If I have 6 steps to an activity I will explain steps 1-3 first. Then will go back to 1 and check for comprehension. I will ask the class, “Ok. Step 1. What do you do?” And then I or I will ask the JTE to pick a student to explain to the class in Japanese what the first step is. After we solidify the first 3 steps then I will do the same for steps 4, 5, and 6. And so on. It is important that you explain to the JTE that this is how you will check comprehension so they don’t just say everything in Japanese. You’re not checking the JTE’s comprehension. If the students can’t understand you can do one of 2 things. Either go over the steps again. Or give them 1-2 minutes on a timer to talk with the students next to them to try to figure it out.
- Model the steps for the class. This is better for lower level classes. Clearly state, “Step 1” and then do the gesture of what step 1 is. This can also be broken into sets of 3 to back track and again ask the students to explain what they have to do to check the comprehension.
- Written directions. You can put the instructions of your activity on the worksheet. Diagrams and pictures help make it easier to understand. Then go through the steps as a class and check for understanding.
You can of course use other techniques and combine and mix these to suit your own style and the individual classes.
Active communication activities
A typical active communication activity will look like this:
- Ask ALT a question
- Listen to the answer
- Write about the information you learned
- Tell the JTE about that information
- Get points and go back to step 1.
Depending on the level of the class the question could be predetermined by the ALT and checked by the JTE or you can give varying levels of freedom to customize each question.
- For an advanced class I might just say, “You can only use a verb once.”
- For an intermediate class I might give them the verb they must use for each question, but then let them customize the rest of the question. E.g. “What ________ do you play _______________?”
- For a low level class I might give them options they have to pick from. E.g. “What sport/game/instrument do you play?”
- For those classes that you only aim to survive I give no options for the questions.
Point Systems
I typically use a randomized point system for activities. This has multiple utilities. The main reason I use this is to keep the students engaged and competitive. But making the number of points they receive random prevents the smartest group from always being the winning group. Statistically they will still come out on top more often than not, but it gives the rest of the class reason to not resign themselves to always losing. I use 2 main methods for points.
Rock-paper-scissors. This is interactive and the students love it. I do 3 variations of this and 2 different point values systems.
- . Set point value system. This one I write this on the chalkboard:
○=5
△=3
×＝１
A win is worth 5 points, a tie is 3 points, and a loss is 1 point. - Variable point value system. This time I write on the chalkboard:
○=5
×＝3
△=1+
Again, win is worth 5 points, loss is worth 3 points, and a tie is worth one point and you go again. If the students continue to tie then they can keep accumulating points. E.g. three ties and a win would be worth 8 points.
- One on one. The students pick their champion in their group and they play vs the teacher, either ALT or JTE.
- 4 on one. All students in the group go against either the JTE or ALT. (If a group is lacking in members one student can use two hands, i.g. double points. If a group has an extra member then they have to rotate who can play.)
- 2 step check. This method can only be used when the students have to check or ask the ALT something and then show the final answer to the JTE. Typically I do rock-paper-scissors against 3 students and they add their points. Then when they do the final check with the JTE the fourth student will play against the JTE and that will be the point multiplier. E.g. First three stududents all win (5+5+5) and the fourth student also wins 15 x 5 = 75 total points.
Dice roll. The advantages of dice is they’re easy. You can modify it as you like. These are the typical variations I do.
- One die. I make a dice out of cardboard with tape and boxes. It’s not hard. Of course you can just use a normal die.
- Multiple dice. You can tell them to add the numbers. You can also tell them they get x number of bonus points for rolling a double, two doubles, three of a kind, four of a kind. I got some D&D dice in various colors. The smallest is a pyramid that goes from 1-4 and the largest going from 1-20.
- Multiple dice and a multiplier. They roll the dice and add them together, but I might install a multiplier at some point of the activity. Say if they get a certain answer I might write “2x” on their paper so their points then are double. Start simple and you can add a new rule for the points every few months or so.
Downside of dice is it can be too distracting or get the kids worked into a frenzy or you lose time if dice fall on the floor (I made a dice tower to void that issue).
I do use other point methods, like lucky number draw, table-tennis ball draw, and playing cards. The lucky number and table-tennis ball draw are easy, but you have to prepare a box and the pieces of paper or balls with the points on them. It can also make cheating easier or prove too distracting. Playing cards is easy as well, I would remove the face cards or explain their value beforehand. You can also make doubles, two of a kind, three of a kind etc worth extra points. It’s best though if you only do a two card draw for time’s sake and you better be fast at shuffling.
ALT(er)native Teaching 