The 2009 chapter executive will report to the chapter members on maters that occurred during the past year followed by nominations and elections for the 2010 chapter executive. This portion of this month’s meeting is open only to Omiya chapter members.
14:15-15:00 Student-selected Visual Images for Speaking More
By Kyoko Suzuki
This presentation shows the process in which TOEIC Part 1 test takers read pictures and choose one out of four statements they hear. Three phases were found in the process: reading pictures, considering the candidate statements while listening, and selecting one. Ten mutually interwoven factors were observed and were analyzed. When test takers made the final decision, they were often influenced by familiar words. The results of an additional test indicated sentences rather than keywords (the content words) were necessary to construct meanings. When the stories in both visual literacy and listening (language) matched, learners were able to understand the meaning.
本プレゼンは、TOEIC 受験者がパート1において、写真を観て、聞こえてくる4つの文章から写真の説明として最適な1文を選ぶプロセスを探ったものである。プロセスは、写真を読み取り、文章を聞きながら候補となるものを探り、1つ選ぶ、という3段階になっていることがわかった。相互に絡み合った10個の要素が観察され、それらを分析した。最終決定では、受験者は往々にして親しみのある単語に影響されることもみられた。追加テストにより、意味を構築するためには「キーワード」と受験者が表現した内容語(単語)よりも「文(sentence)」が必要であることがわかった。ビジュアル・リテラシー(視覚判別能力)とリスニング(言語)に内在する「物語」が一致した時に学習者は意味を理解する事ができた、と考えられる。
Ms. Suzuki is a MA candidate in TESOL from Teachers College Columbia University. She is currently teaching TOEIC strategic courses and Listening & Reading classes at several companies and university extension classes as a part-time teacher. Her current research interests include visual literacy in relation with language learning and interdisciplinary curriculum.
鈴木氏は現在コロンビア大学テーチャーズカレッジTESOL修士候補である。TOEIC講座、リスニング・リーディング講座などを企業ならびに大学のエクステンション・コースで教えており、関心のある研究領域は言語習得に関連するビジュアル・リテラシーおよび学際的カリキュラムである。
15:10-15:45Let's Delve into the Minds of “BAD” Students: Alternative TESOL
By Jun Harada
In this presentation Jun will discuss how to deal with students who “hate” English. Just like other teachers, Jun was tormented by such students who came to class to daydream, sleep or just fool around. Recently however, he started interviewing and private-teaching a bunch of unmotivated students and found their unique characteristics. Their ways of thinking are so different that teaching them seems to be out of the conventional TESOL wisdom, which he knew.
After studying TESOL in New York, Jun taught ESL at a public school in a poverty-ridden area in the Bronx. Believe it or not, he was a Japanese teaching English to Spanish speaking kids. After returning to Japan, Jun taught at an alternative school for high school dropouts. The students there were mostly two kinds: hyperactive or inactive. Now Jun teaches full time at a Dokkyo Junior and Senior high school and part time at Rikkyo University.