volume 4, issue 2

issn 2185 7822volume 4, issue 2

さいたま市教育家会ジャ

ナル

I

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.

さいたま市教育家会ジャーナル

The

Journal of Saitama City Educators (JSCE)

A さいたま市教育家会 (SCE) Publication

Published in Saitama City, Japan

ISSN: 2185-7822

Volume 4, Issue 2

May 2014

Editor: John Finucane

Issue Editor: Alana Schramm

Translator: Brad Semans

Proofreading: Kira Conley,

Aaron Gilling, Yuko Nakajima &

Emilie Omi

Layout: John Finucane

Find out more at:

http://www.SaitamaCityEducators.org

Foreword

This issue of the JSCE collects five articles

presenting multiple ideas to improve your

classes. Learn how to boost student par-

ticipation and their confidence, employ

music and real world news in classes, and

get your students to check their own work.

While your students are learning English,

why not dabble in a new language your-

self by reading the JSCE’s first article to

be completely written in Irish. Enjoy!

Contents

Ciarán Ó Dufaigh

Using Hip-Hop in the ESL Classroom

Page 1

Die Hu

What We May Have Forgotten to Teach

Page 12

Elisabeth Kress

Utilizing Written Assignments through

a Self-Correction Editing System

Page 19

Alana Schramm

A Guide to Understanding and Resolving

Low-Participation in Japanese Classes

Page 25

Rebecca Quin

Speak all about it Using the News

1

キロン•オダフィー

外国語として英語教育でヒップホップの使用

Die Hu

教えるのを忘れたかも：外国語学習と自尊心の役

イリザベス•クレス

自動修正を通して生徒の作文の使用方法

アラナ•シュラム

日本の教室での生徒の不関与状況を理解•解決する

レベッカ•クゥイン

すべて言うって！ニュースの記事を使った効果的な

口頭伝達活動

1 2

Ó Dufaigh - Hip HopUsing Hip Hop in the ESL Classroom

Ciarán Ó Dufaigh

Abstract

Many ALTs have used music in the class-

room but how many have used hip hop

music? This article gives some insight

into how to go about choosing a suitable

song and how to use it to achieve con-

crete learning outcomes. The methods

found in this article can be applied to

music of almost any genre.

要旨

外国語指導助手の中では音楽を使う方はよく聞

きますが、ヒップホップを使う方は少ないでしょう

か。本記事はふさわしい曲の選び方や使い方の見

識を紹介します。紹介した方法は他のジャンルで

も使えます。

About

Ciarán Ó Dufaigh has been teach-

ing English Debate, Cross-Cultural

Understanding and English Expressions

at Soka-Minami High School and Yashio

High School in Saitama since August

2013. He has previously worked as a mid-

dle and high school English Language

Assistant in Nantes, France. He is pas-

sionate about language learning, cultural

exchange and music.

The American educator and poet Henry

Wadsworth Longfellow once said that

‘music is the universal language of man-

kind’. Thus, it is unsurprising that most, if

not all, assistant language teachers have,

at some point, experimented with music

in the classroom. However, many ALTs

might be surprised to learn that hip-hop

music has a more important role in the

ESL classroom than one would imagine.

A common misconception of hip-hop

music is that it has no real depth or mean-

ing; a belief perpetuated by an abundance

of superficial songs with insipid lyrics

and meaningless choruses. However, if

you begin to scratch beneath the coarse

surface, there is a host of lyrically intel-

ligent and sharp artists out there that will

hearten and inspire students of all levels.

So what makes a hip-hop song suitable for

the classroom and how can it be used?

Many hip-hop and rap songs use African-

American Vernacular English, which will

not always follow the grammatical rules

that your students have learned. One

obvious example is the omission of the

verb ‘to be’ in present tense sentences;

for example, ‘we dancing to the music’;

instead of ‘we are dancing to the music’.

Occasional exposure to this kind of

English will certainly not destroy your stu-

dents’ grammatical understanding of the

English language. In fact, if highlighted

by the teacher, it can become an interest-

ing part of the lesson - a simple ‘correct

the mistake’ exercise packaged in a hip-

hop song. It is also perfectly acceptable to

reword a song to make it more grammati-

cally coherent.

Indeed, pedagogically coherent rap music

is essential but it must also be chosen with

the students’ cultural sensitivities in mind.

JSCE - Volume 4 Issue 2

3 4

Ó Dufaigh - Hip Hop

Students in Japan are not going to read-

ily identify with themes such as the black

struggle or racial discrimination, as they

live in a more homogeneous society. Thus,

Jay-Z’s “99 Problems” or Biggie’s “Things

Done Changed” may not get the reaction

you might expect and are best kept for your

personal iPod. On the contrary, Japanese

students might identify more easily with DJ

Jazzy Jeff and The Fresh Prince’s “Parents

Just Don’t Understand”; a Grammy award-

winning song about annoying and embar-

rassing parents.

The argument that hip-hop has no place

in the classroom is often bolstered by

sensational, over-commercialised exam-

ples of violent or sexually explicit con-

tent which obviously, has no place in any

classroom. However, taking the example

of The Pharcyde’s “Passin’ Me By”, which

uses a more graceful and intelligent man-

ner to allude to sex without making the

classroom feel uncomfortable.

“If I was your man then I would be true,

the only lying I would do is in the bed

with you”

The Pharacyde, Passin’ Me By,

Bizarre Ride II The Pharcyde, 1993.

We can see that there are clearly exam-

ples of hip-hop songs, as with poetry and

other literature, that can allude to sex

whilst sparing us the details. One cannot

ignore an entire literary genre because

of a few sensational examples of violent

or explicit lyrics. It’s worth noting as well

that most hip hop songs will have radio

edits for commercial radio play with virtu-

ally no curse words in them which could

be useful tools for your own classroom.

As we have seen, the choice of song is

very important for hip-hop success in the

ESL classroom. Another thing that must

be considered is how the songs are used.

Using hip-hop in the classroom requires a

little more imagination than just a simple

fill-in-the-blanks exercise.

As we’ve already seen with songs that make

use of African-American Vernacular

English (AAVE), students can rewrite sen-

tences in Standard English. For example:

“A lot of people be saying to us”

– A lot of people say to us

“Ain’t no other place like this”

– There is no other place like this

“We rockin’ too hard”

– We are rocking too hard

“When I’m in L.A. my family there” –

When I’m in L.A. my family is there

People Under the Stairs, The L.A. Song, O.S.T., 2002.

Like poets, rappers also play with words.

Minimal pairs are often a great way for

students to practice their pronunciation.

Japanese students will universally have

difficulty with the “V” sound. KRS-One

is a hip hop artist who uses such a play

on words when he interchanges ‘officer’

and ‘overseer’ in his hit song “Sound of

da Police”. It can be very interesting to

have students practice marking the dif-

ference between these two words. Even if

the words are not strictly minimal pairs,

it can be useful for students to try to pro-

nounce the words.

Similarly, many hip-hop songs have sim-

ple end-rhyming schemes. Having iden-

tified the rhyming words, students can

then practice their pronunciation skills by

repeating the lines stressing the rhyming

words or even simply repeating the last

words of each line.


5 6


“Brakes on a bus brakes on a car,

Brakes to make you a superstar,

Breaks to win and breaks to lose

But these here breaks will rock

your shoes”

Kurtis Blow, The Breaks, Kurtis Blow, 1980.

MF Doom’s songs feature multi-syllable

internal and external rhymes making

them perfect tongue twisters for ESL stu-

dents. Take a small sample of your chosen

song, help students identify the rhymes

and make it a recitation competition.

“Darker than the East river,

Larger than the Empire State,

Where the beasts to guard the barbed

wire gate,

Is on the job not my fate

Tired of the wait till the villain bring

deliverance from the dire straits,

Fire at a higher rate

Why’d they make the liars, fliers scatter,

buy a plate”

M.F. Doom, Kon Karne, Mm..Food, 2004.

Many hip-hop songs have instrumen-

tal versions. Why not have your students

compete in groups to recite the chorus of

your chosen song to the instrumental and

have the rest of the class vote on the best

group? Japanese students love karaoke.

Using a hip-hop song to illustrate a gram-

mar point is also possible given the right

choice of song. The Beastie Boys’ “Fight

For Your Right” is a crossover rock and

hip-hop hit about the boys’ desire to

forget about homework and school and

simply have a good time and party. They

continue to explain how they are tired

of living at home with their parents and

long to be free.

“You wake up late for school man you

don’t wanna go

You ask you mom, “Please?” but she still

says, “No!”

You missed two classes and no homework

But your teacher preaches class like

you’re some kind of jerk

You gotta fight for your right to party”

The Beastie Boys, Fight For Your Right,

Licenced to Ill, 1986.

Taking the chorus line of this song, the

expression ‘got to’ along with its synonyms

‘must’ and ‘have to’ could be introduced

to the class. Similarly, the class could con-

tinue to learn the expression ‘fight for’ as

well as a ‘right to something’. Packaged

inside an exciting and fun song, these

essential grammar points are presented to

students in a fun and memorable context.

In conclusion, hip-hop music can be very

useful in the ESL classroom. Provided you

chose examples that are suitable both the-

matically and grammatically your students

will really enjoy the break from the norms

of English class. Moreover, although fill-

in-the-blank exercises are easy and prac-

tical, there are far better ways to employ

hip-hop music, or any other genre, in

the classroom. If you’re passionate about

learning and enjoy music, keep a playl-

ist of suitable songs to help your students

learn in a fun and unique environment.

7 8

Ó Dufaigh - Hip HopConas úsaid a bhaint as Hip Hop sa rang Béarla

Ciarán Ó Dufaigh

Dúirt an fíle agus an oideachasóir Henry

Ladsworth Longfellow uair amháin gurb

é “ceol teanga uilíoch an chine daonna”.

Ar an gcaoi chéanna, ní h-aon ionadh

go mbaineann an chuid is mó de mhúin-

teoirí Béarla mar theanga iasachta úsaid

as ceol ag pointe amháin nó eile ina gcuid

ranganna. Ar an ábhar sin, b’fheidir

go mbeadh ionadh orthu a fhoglaim

go bhfuil neart áit ag Hip Hop sa rang

Bhéarla, creid é nó ná creid.

Míthuiscint choitianta atá ag baint le ceol

Hip Hop ná nach bhfuil aon doimhneas

nó brí ag baint leis. Ní chabhraíonn na

hamhráin le liricí leadránacha gan brí

atá le cloisteáil ar an raidió na laethanta

seo leis an tuairim seo. Áfach, má chua-

rdaíonn tú níos cúramaí tríd an réimse

seo amhrán atá amach anseo, feicfidh

tú go bhfuil neart amhrán Hip Hop eile

ar fáil le liricí cliste agus le mothúcháin

láidre a spreagfadh dalta ar bith a chuid

bhéarla a chur chun cinn. Cén saghas

amhráin atá oirúineach i gcomhair an

rang Bhéarla mar sin?

Baineann neart amhrán Hip Hop úsaid as

Béarla dúchasach na hAfraice-Mheiriceán-

aigh. Is léir nach leanann an Béarla seo le

gnáth rialacha ghramadach an Bhéarla. Is

é an shampla is soiléire ná nuair a fhág-

tar amach an briathar ‘to be’ in abairtí.

Mar shampla, ‘we dancing to the music’

in ionad ‘we are dancing to the music’. Ní

mhillfeadh an cineál teanga seo an tuis-

cint atá ag daltaí cheana féin, ina áit sin,

is feidir leis a bheith mar cheacht beag do

na daltaí. Is féidir leo na botúin sa ghrai-

méar a cheartú. D’fhéadfá chomh maith

iarraidh ar na daltaí liricí na n-amhrán a

athscríóbh i mBéarla cruinn. É sin ráite,

ní mór don amhrán a bheith intuigthe

agus soiléir i gcónaí.

Chomh maith le sin, caithfear an píósa

ceoil a roghnú le h-íogaireachtaí na ndal-

taí a choiméad i gcuimhne. Ní bheadh

daltaí sa tSeapáin ionannú le téamaí ar

nós streachailt na ndaoine gorma nó

ciníochas toisc go bhfuil said ina gconaí

í sochaí níos aonchiníochaí. Dá bhrí sin,

ní bhfaigheadh 99 Problems le Jay-Z nó

Things Done Changed le Biggie an fhre-

agairt a mbéifeá ag súil leis. Ar an lámh

eile, bheadh áthás an domhain ar dhaltaí

sa tSeapáin amhráin cosúil le Parents Just

Don’t Understand le DJ Jazzy Jeff and The

French Prince a chloisteáil. Amhráin a

bhuaigh gradam Grammy sna nóchaidí le

téamaí ar nós an easpa tuisceana idir tui-

smitheoirí agus déagóirí, tuismitheoirí atá

bearránach agus ciotach i súile na n-óg.

Deir a lán nach bhfuil áit ar bith ag ceol

Hip Hop sa seomra ranga toisc go bhfuil

na liricí foréiganach agus gnéasach go

dearfach. Áfach, ag breathnú ar sham-

pla de Passin’ Me By le The Pharcyde,

a úsaideann slí níos galánta agus cliste

chun tagairt a dhéanamh do ghnéas agus

ag an am céanna, ní bheadh aon mhothú

míchompordach i measc na ndaltaí. Is léir

mar sin gurb fhéidir leis na rappers an

teanga a úsaid í mbealach atá fileata agus

cliste, díreach ar nós filí i mbun filíochta.

Ní feidir linn neamhaird a thabhairt ar

chineál liteartha iomlán mar gheall ar

chúpla sampla de liricí foréiganacha nó

gáirsiúil a bheith i gcuid de na h-amhráin

Hip Hop. Is fiú tabhairt faoi deara freisin

go bhfuil ‘radio edits’ den chuid is mó de

na h-amhráin Hip Hop ar fáil gan dro-

chtheanga ar bith iontu, m’as rud é go

bhfuil amhrán oiriúnach ag teastáil uait

don rang Bhéarla.


9 10


“If I was your man then I would be true,

the only lying I would do is in the bed

with you”

The Pharacyde, Passin’ Me By,

Bizarre Ride II The Pharcyde, 1993.

Mar atá ráite agam cheana féin, tá rogha

an amhráin an-tábhachtach chun toradh

rathúil a dheimhniú, ach tá an bealach

ina n-úsáidtear an t-amhrán sa rang rí-

thábhachtach freisin. Ní ghá a rá go bhfé-

adfaí ceachtanna i bhfad níos suimiúla

a chruthú don rang Bhéarla bunaithe

ar cheol Hip Hop ná ceachtanna simplí

amháin, ar nós ‘líon na bearnaí’.

Mar a luadh cheana, úsáideann neart

amhrán Hip Hop Béarla dúchasach na

hAfraice-Mheiriceánaigh. Is feidir le dal-

taí an Béarla seo a cheartú. Mar shampla:

“A lot of people be saying to us”

– A lot of people say to us

“Ain’t no other place like this”

– There is no other place like this

“We rockin’ too hard”

– We are rocking too hard

“When I’m in L.A. my family there” –

When I’m in L.A. my family is there

People Under the Stairs, The L.A. Song, O.S.T., 2002.

Cosúil le filí, bíonn rappers ag imirt le

focail freisin. Bealach íontach eile do dhal-

taí fuaimniú a chleachtadh ná cleachtadh

a dhéanamh ar phéirí íosta (‘sé sin dhá fho-

cal le rím eatarthu) . Beidh deachtrachtaí

i gconaí ag daltaí Seapánacha leis an

fhuaim V agus B. San amhrán Sound of

da Police úsáideann KRS-One malartú

leis na focail ‘officer’ agus ‘overseer’tríd

síos. Cé nach péire íosta díreach iad na

focail seo, thabharfaidís deis do na daltaí

cleachtadh a dhéanamh ar an fhuaim V

agus F a rá i gceart, rud atá an-deachair

dóibh, i mo thuairim.

Ar an mbealach céanna, úsáideann neart

amhrán Hip Hop scéimeanna rímeanna

deiridh. Tar éis béim a chur faoin na

focail a bhfuil rím eatarthu, is feidir le

daltaí fuaimniú na bhfocal céanna a

chleachtadh. D’fhéadfaí comórtas rap a

eagrú leo!

“Brakes on a bus brakes on a car,

Brakes to make you a superstar,

Breaks to win and breaks to lose

But these here breaks will rock

your shoes”

Kurtis Blow, The Breaks, Kurtis Blow, 1980.

Úsáideann MF Doom neart rím

inmheánacha agus seachtracha il-siolla

freisin, rud a dhéanann a chuid amhrán

oiriúnach mar rabhlóga foirfe do dhaltaí.

Arís, is féidir é seo a bheith mar chomór-

tas óráide do na daltaí.

“Darker than the East river,

Larger than the Empire State,

Where the beasts to guard the barbed

wire gate,

Is on the job not my fate

Tired of the wait till the villain bring

deliverance from the dire straits,

Fire at a higher rate

Why’d they make the liars, fliers scatter,

buy a plate”

M.F. Doom, Kon Karne, Mm..Food, 2004.

Tá leagan uirlise ar fáil don chuid is mó de

na h-amhráin Hip Hop. D’fhéadfaí comór-

tas ‘rap’ a eagrú le í ngrupaí. D’fhéadfadh

na daltaí eile vótaí a thabhairt orthu

sa dheireadh le duais do na buaiteóirí.

Ag deireadh an lae, is bréa le daltaí an

tSeapáin karaoke, mar is eol do chách.


11 12

Is feidir leat poínte gramadaí a mhúineadh

le Hip Hop chomh maith. Is amhrán rac

agus Hip Hop é Fight For Your Right le

The Beastie Boys’ faoi mhian na mbua-

chaillí dearmad a dhéanamh ar obair

bhaile agus spraoi a bheith acu.

“You wake up late for school man you

don’t wanna go.

You ask you mom, “Please?” but she still

says, “No!”

You missed two classes and no homework.

But your teacher preaches class like

you’re some kind of jerk.

You gotta fight for your right to party”

The Beastie Boys, Fight For Your Right,

Licenced to Ill, 1986.

Ag baint úsáide as an líne churfá thuas den

amhrán, is féidir an frása ‘got to’, chomh

maith leis an bhfrása chomhchiallach

‘must’ agus ‘have to’, a mhúineadh. Ar an

mbealach céanna, is féidir leis an rang an

frása ‘fight for’ agus ‘right to something’

a fhoglaim. Curtha i láthair in amhrán

spraoiúil agus spreagúil, foghlaimíonn

daltaí na pointí fíor-riachtanacha seo i

mbealach atá an-spéisiúil, rud a chab-

hróidh an poínte a chur i gcuimhne

dóibh níos déanaí.

Ar deireadh, is léir go bhfuil ceol Hip

Hop fíor-úsáideach san rang Bhéarla. Ar

choinníol go bhfuil na h-amhráin óirún-

ach agus ábhartha, bainfidh na daltaí

an-sult as rang Bhéarla atá difriúil. Ina

theannta sin, cé go bhfuil ceacht ‘líon na

bearnaí’ an-simplí ar fad, tá bealaígh eile

ann atá í bhfád níos fearr chun úsáid a

bhaint as Hip Hop, nó aon saghas ceoil

eile, sa seomra ranga. Má tá suim mhór

agat i gceol, coinnigh playliosta de na

h-amhráin atá óiriúnach chun cabhrú le

do dhaltaí foghlaim í dtimpeallacht atá

spreagúil agus uathúil.

What we may have forgotten to teach: the role of self esteem in foreign language learning

Die Hu

Abstract

There are many aspects that contrib-

ute to successful language learning. e.g

teaching strategy, student engagement,

integration of technology etc. However,

the fundamental factor that contributes

to the learner’s journey lies with his or

her level of self-esteem. Unfortunately,

this area of research is often neglected.

This article aims to explain the role of

self-esteem within the language learning

process, evaluating its effects as well as

suggesting practical approaches teachers

can use in addressing self-esteem issues.

要旨

有効的な外国語教育は側面である：戦術指導、

生徒への引き込み、ICTの取り組み。けれども、

生徒の自尊心が根底的な要因です。残念ながら、

外国語学習での自尊心の研究を不十分です。本

記事はその役をし、その影響を評価して、使える

活動を紹介します。

13 14

Die Hu - Self Esteem

About

Die Hu holds a Bachelor of Education

from the University of Sydney, majoring

in second language teaching as well as

visual arts teaching. During her degree,

she completed two professional experi-

ences with two different high schools.

She is currently an Assistant Language

Teaching at Wako International High

School, teaching debate and communi-

cation. Prior to that, she worked in an

Interpreting and Translating agency, and

also did English tutoring.

Teaching in Japan can be an overwhelm-

ing experience. Many teachers and ALTs

may have experienced difficulties har-

vesting fruitful results from students. For

example, students may be too shy to speak

in class, or they may have poor pronuncia-

tion, or appear detached from the lessons.

In attempting to bridge these gaps, teach-

ers work very hard to assist the class with

pronunciation, cultural understanding,

critical thinking and more. However, while

emphasizing teaching language skills, we

rarely remember to teach the most impor-

tant thing an individual can learn from

school - a sense of self-worth. This article

will discuss the importance of self-esteem

in the language learning process, and

upon analyzing its effects on students, sug-

gest strategies teachers can adopt to foster

self-esteem in the classroom.

Why is self-esteem so important? To

answer this question, we must first define

self-esteem. According to (Branden,

as cited in Rubio 2007), self-esteem is

defined as “the disposition to experience

oneself as being competent to cope with

the basic challenges of life and of being

worthy of happiness.” Self-esteem is a

subjective perception that an individual

holds towards themselves in regards to

how competent and how worthy they are

as human beings. People with high self-

esteem accept who they are, are more

optimistic toward mistakes, and are bet-

ter at managing inter-personal relation-

ships. On the other hand, people with low

self-esteem may experience devastating

effects such as increased anxiety, depres-

sion, mental disorder, substance abuse

and even suicide (Rubio 2007). Overall,

self-esteem is important because it is the

central drive of human beings, influenc-

ing how individuals perceive themselves ,

and in turn how they think and behave

in various contexts; this does not exclude

their attitude towards learning.

In the context of education, various

studies have proven that a positive cor-

relation exists between self-esteem and

academic achievement, especially in the

area of language learning (Rubio, 2007).

Theoretical studies explain that during

the process of language learning, learn-

ers experience a disparity between the

known self and the limited new self (the

limited new self refers to students’ inabil-

ity to express their thoughts fluently in the

new language); learners are less adequate

in using the new language for self-expres-

sion, thus causing the learning process

to provoke anxiety. When faced with this

anxiety, the learner’s self-esteem, in other

words, whether they believe they have

the competence to acquire the language,

directly contributes to their academic

success. According to (Rubio, 2007), the

learner’s belief (“I am capable of learn-

ing the language” or “I can never learn”)

influences how they feel about the learn-

ing process (“enjoyment” or “pain”) and


15 16

Die Hu - Self Esteem

this, in turn, determines their behav-

ior in the classroom (approach or avoid

learning opportunities).

In understanding this effect, we can con-

clude that in order for educators to har-

vest fruitful learning outcomes from

students, we must begin by influencing

their self-esteem.

The issue of low self-esteem is highly

prominent among Japanese youth.

According to a report conducted by

MEXT (Japanese Ministry of Education,

Culture, Sports, Science and Technology)

in August 2012, only 36.1% of Japanese

high school students answered “yes” when

asked if they felt like they are a person of

worth (Rocket News, 2012); in addition,

a survey conducted in 2009 by the Japan

Youth Research Institute found that three

out of five Japanese teenagers feel use-

less or hopeless (Asahi Newspaper, 2012).

These figures should remind us of the

fact that, as educators in Japan, we have

the opportunity to contribute to the per-

sonal development of various individuals;

but at the same time, we need to be sensi-

tive to the real emotional issues students

are experiencing.

How can teachers improve students’ self-

esteems in the classroom? According

to the framework developed by Robert

Reasoner (cited in Tavella 2005), there

are five basic attitudes that influence one’s

level of self-esteem: one’s sense of secu-

rity, one’s sense of identity, one’s sense

of belonging, one’s sense of purpose and

one’s sense of competence. The following

are a number of attitudes and methodolo-

gies teachers can adopt in order to foster

some or all of these attitudes:

Ask students to stop comparing them-

selves to native speakers. When learners

set native level fluency as their goal, they

are inevitably going to feel less competent

in comparison, and this may in turn con-

tribute to anxiety and poor self-esteem

(Rubio, 2007). Teachers should help stu-

dents accept and appreciate their identity

as bilingual speakers who can function in

various cultural environments, instead of

trying to transform students into native

level English speakers. Teachers can

achieve this through emphasizing the

meaning of students’ language responses

rather than their phonetic accuracy.

Including diversity in teaching materials

is also encouraged e.g. showing a range

of accents from different countries to

promote the idea that there is no “cor-

rect English pronunciation.”

Respect and use students’ first language

to teach English. Teachers often make the

mistake of restricting Japanese students

to only speaking English in the classroom

without realizing that students’ first lan-

guage is a part of their identity. Research

confirms that one’s first language can

adequately help one to acquire a sec-

ond language (Rubio, 2007). Teachers

shouldn’t be afraid to make references

to the Japanese language while teaching

English e.g. asking students to teach you

about Japanese culture or compare vocab-

ulary in both English and Japanese.

Fostering a sense of belonging. Research

has shown that the biggest human need is

the desire to be accepted (Tavella, 2005).

In order to foster a sense of self-accep-

tance, the learning environment should

also be comfortable and accepting. One

effective activity for this purpose is called

“snowball encouragement”. Each student

writes their name on a piece of paper and

then proceeds to scrunch it up and throw

it across the room; students then pick up

any random pieces of paper and write a

sentence of encouragement for the person

whose name is on the paper, the encour-

agement should be specific and embrace

the individual’s uniqueness. At the end of

the activity, each student is returned their


17 18

piece of paper listing a number of positive

characteristics that they possess.

Self-esteem is not only the central drive

of human beings, but also a defining fac-

tor that contributes to students’ academic

success in language learning. How compe-

tent a student believes they are will deter-

mine how engaged they become in the

learning process. As educators, if not care-

ful, we may indirectly reinforce students’

negative perceptions about themselves.

In order to foster self-esteem, educators

must not give false beliefs or empty praise

to students regardless of their capabilities;

but instead, we should create a support-

ive learning environment in which stu-

dents can realize their language potential

through working hard and reaching real-

istic goals, followed by teachers’ authentic

feedbacks (Rubio, 2007). Most impor-

tantly, teachers must be consistently aware

of self-esteem issues and be prepared to

integrate elements of self-esteem building

into the daily classroom (Boskelly, 2008).

When planning lessons, designing assign-

ments, marking papers and even prepar-

ing, the seemingly insignificant, warm-up

activity, teachers need to ask themselves:

Am I creating opportunities for my stu-

dents to feel competent? Am I creating

an atmosphere of acceptance and belong-

ing? Am I allowing room for students to

develop a positive attitude towards his or

her abilities? By being persistent in asking

these questions and applying the answers,

teachers can expect to see much more

fruitful learning outcomes in the lan-

guage classroom.

References

Boskelly, L (2008, March 28). How ESL Teachers Can Raise the Self-Esteem of Their

Students. Yahoo Contributor Network. Retrieved from

http://voices.yahoo.com/how-esl-teachers-raise-self-esteem-their-1317881.html?cat=4

Knight, S. (2012, Feb 08).‘Talking Place’ Helps Teenagers Gain Self-Confidence. The Asahi

Shumbun. Retrieved from

http://ajw.asahi.com/article/behind_news/social_affairs/AJ201202080026

Rocket News. (2012, Aug 23). Only 36% of Japanese High School Students Feel ‘Worthy’,

MEXT says. The Rocket News. Retrieved from

http://en.rocketnews24.com/2012/08/23/only-36-of-japanese-high-school-students-feel-

they-have-worth-as-a-person-mext-survey-says/

Rubio, F. (2007). Self-esteem and Foreign Language Learning (Eds), Chapter One,

Self-esteem and foreign language learning: an introduction. (pp. 1-11). Cambridge

Scholars Publishing

Rubio, F. (2007). Self-esteem and Foreign Language Learning (Eds), Chapter two,

Self-concept and affective domain in language learning. (pp. 13-17). Cambridge

Scholars Publishing

Tavella, G. (2005, July). Self-esteem in Young Learners. Humanizing Language Teaching

Magazine and Pilgrims Ltd. Retrieved from: http://www.hltmag.co.uk/jul05/mart01.htm

19 20

Elisabeth Kress - Self-CorrectionUtilizing Written Assignments through a Self-Correction Editing System

Elisabeth Kress

Abstract

An instructor’s feedback on an essay is

of course a valuable part of the learn-

ing process but in actuality the effective-

ness of editing depends on the method.

After recognizing the limitations of edit-

ing written assignments by solely provid-

ing corrections, instructors must consider

how to make better use of their editing.

This article will explore the multiple ben-

efits of implementing an editing system

that requires students to self-correct their

written assignments.

要旨

学習の中では教師からの反響はもちろん大切で

す。けれども、その効果は修正の方法によります。

生徒の過失だけ中心としてするとこの効果が限

られます。本記事は生徒自身が修正するような修

正方法を提案して、その利点を討論します。

About

Elisabeth Kress is now in her third

year of teaching English communica-

tion at Wako International High School.

Her previous work experience as an

instructor includes tutoring of collegiate

Mathematics and French students, men-

toring first year university students and

independent high school math tutoring.

Some of her other interests include litera-

ture and photography.

Introduction

Almost nothing is more anticipated in

English instruction than being handed a

large pack of papers and looking forward

to the hour or two (or twenty) that will be

spent editing them. Finding the monoto-

nous work of editing students’ English

papers deflating is neither unnatural nor

a sign of an exhausted instructor, but the

implications of a bad method. Taking a

“Student Self-Editing” approach to mark-

ing essays not only increases the value of

the red pen but also provides beneficial

learning and growth in students’ gram-

mar and writing capabilities. This more

involved correcting style pushes students

to recognize their own mistakes and self

correct their errors in the aim of enabling

them to understand the power of writing

and proof-reading for themselves.


21 22

Elisabeth Kress - Self-Correction

Problems with the “Correct and

Answer” Approach to Editing

The common approach to correct-

ing essays is to locate the grammatical

errors within a text and fix them for the

students by writing in the correct gram-

matical structure. Whether it be a short

paragraph about a student’s summer holi-

day or an eight page thesis paper, this cor-

recting method is not worthwhile, rather,

it inhibits learning. First, a student is

not required to look through their writ-

ing again. They have found their errors

crossed out and sometimes even unread-

able. So, there is no process for consider-

ing why the structures used in their essay

were incorrect. Second, with no necessity

to read through their work again and hav-

ing the correct answer supplied, students

are not pushed to think through how they

have made a mistake. Instead, the only

lesson that may be learned is that some-

thing was wrong and someone (with bet-

ter English) could write it correctly. The

thought, preparation and work they have

put into their writing is now crossed out

and replaced with something they “should

have” known. Thirdly, by having the cor-

rect answer written for them by a teacher,

assistant or tutor, they have not learned,

through their own effort, the correct way

of fixing their mistakes. Thus, growth in

their essay writing is an impossible out-

come of the assignment and corrections.

Creating a System

Creating an effective, level-appropriate

system of marking essays from the begin-

ning of their work with an instructor will

allow students to understand that a dif-

ferent procedure of essay writing and

editing will be required in their work.

Instead of giving answers through correc-

tions, using a system of marking which

pinpoints the grammatical answers while

only aiding students towards a correct

answer will foster self learning through

writing. The method for self learning

tested the use of abbreviations of gram-

matical errors for common mistakes to

allow students to know what type of prob-

lem they had made. For example, a mis-

take in the agreement of a subject and a

verb was underlined with an “ASV” writ-

ten under the agreement error or an “A”

was used to flag a missing or wrong article

(The complete system used can be found

at the end of the article). This system told

students the nature of their mistake but

did not supply them with the corrections.

Students were given a list of the abbrevi-

ations used in the corrections and their

meaning when they received their first

corrected draft. After repeatedly see-

ing the same abbreviations on multiple

essay assignments and revisions, the list

of abbreviation meanings was no longer

needed by students and a notable change

in the speed of their corrections and

understanding of mistakes was noted.

The Value of Revisions

Revisions are pivotal yet probably the

most difficult step to enforce in a stu-

dent self-editing method of essay writ-

ing. Despite it being the most difficult, it

is still the most worthwhile. Time, flow of

the class, or interest of students are some

of the barriers to self-editing which push

instructors to take the quicker “Correct

and Answer” approach to marking.

However, it is through revision and strug-

gling with a piece of work that teacher’s

corrections are at all beneficial. When

reading a second, third or even fourth

draft of a written assignment, improve-

ment in a student’s grammatical errors

can be clearly noted. Errors may be cor-

rect in the second draft, but more than

often, a student’s correction has been

improved but with new or other errors. By

using the same marking system again, stu-

dents return to the work they have already

reviewed and worked with to again retract

what they already know to improve upon


23 24

Elisabeth Kress - Self-Correction

their last revision. At the end of the writ-

ing process, students have grown through

their own struggle with their work to

have a moderately correct if not “perfect”

English essay entirely of their own.

Effects Outside of Essay Work

When students have correction ques-

tions in class or request out-of-class aid

in essay writing, exam preparation or

contest pieces, a more individualized

interaction utilizes this method of edit-

ing. For students who have been intro-

duced to this type of editing, by orally

giving them the nature of their error or

even just pointing to where a grammati-

cal error has been made, these students

know they will be expected to think of

the corrections for themselves and do not

expect to be given the answer. Many stu-

dents who had been trained to self-edit in

their classes were able to edit speeches or

practice exam essays much more quickly.

Also, when a grammatical error is writ-

ten throughout their work, once they

found the correct grammar structure,

they remembered their error more eas-

ily and could locate the problem later in

their paper on their own. Since they had

thought about the error on their own

while talking through their ideas with an

instructor, they actively understood the

mistake and the necessary corrections.

Conclusion

In conclusion, making use of a stu-

dent’s work on an essay and an instruc-

tor’s time in editing is not necessarily the

easiest option in terms of time or effort.

However, once a worthwhile self-editing

system is introduced, long-term essay

development and growth in grammati-

cal applications are immediate outcomes

of the work of both parties. Students will

find value in their written work when

more than one draft of an essay is exam-

ined and instructors will see the impact

of marking papers as students drastically

improve in their writing.

Symbol Meaning Example

A Missing or wrong Article I think Japanese government should use this plan. a

AG Agreement Japan has much smokers. ag

ASV Subject-verb agreement Japanese people believes that local food is healthier. asv

C Combine two sentences This plan is good. It will help the environment. c

CAP Capitalization Japanese companies value english communication. cap

CONJ Missing or wrong conjunction This problem is difficult and important to solve. conj

I Incomplete sentence For Example, trains, buses, bikes, and so on. i

P Punctuation According to current research ; the problem is getting worse. p

PL Plural Japan has law about riding a bike. pl

PREP Missing or wrong preposition 75% of students sleep at classes. prep

PRON Unclear pronoun Smoking is very bad for them. pron

S Missing subject After agreed on this law, they decided to increase the budget. s

SP Spelling error Now, more children wear grasses. sp

V Missing verb Students who study more hours good grades. v

VT Incorrect verb tense In 2008, the Prime minister makes a new regulation. vt

WC Word choice Many students want to take a part-time job. wc

WF Word form Japanese society will become good. wf

WO Word order The graph shows of students the number in 2012. wo

25 26

A Guide to Understanding and Resolving Low-Participationin Japanese Classes

Alana Scramm

Abstract

We’ve all been there. A question is asked

to the class only to be met with… utter

silence. Why is there such a big difference

between participation in Western classes

and Japanese classes? This article will

examine the Western individualistic men-

tality and the Japanese group-oriented

mentality to show why Japanese students

tend to have a quieter disposition and lack

of desire to volunteer in class, and offer

solutions to bridge the gap between cul-

tures and encourage student participation.

要旨

質問を聞いて、シーンとした教室になる。皆さんは

この経験はあるでしょう。日本と西洋の生徒にな

んでこの違いがあるでしょうか？本記事は西洋の

特徴的な個人考え方と多少的な日本の集団志向

性を討論します。そして、なぜ日本の生徒が抵抗

するのとそれを防ぐための解答を紹介します。

About

Alana Schramm has been teaching at

Wako International High School since

2009 where she teaches debate and

English communication. Prior to that, she

was a French language assistant at Prince

of Wales High School in Vancouver,

Canada. Currently, she is the member-

ship chair and JET liaison for Saitama

City Educators. Her interests include

event planning, semantics and theatre.

Introduction

As an ALT coming to Japan for the first

time, being faced with a class with little

or no participation is quite disconcert-

ing. We may be used to, and therefore

expect to have, classes with an inter-active

environment where students actively vol-

unteer, and wonder what we have done

wrong when it turns out that our class is

quiet, timid and possibly even bored. We

may believe this problem is due to lack-

ing some fundamental skill or personality

trait that draws the students out of their

shells. However, as this article will show,

this classroom atmosphere arises because

of cultural differences between Japanese

and Western cultures, and does not neces-

sarily indicate an unsuccessful class.

One of the main cultural differences that

affect classroom participation is group

mentality. Japanese classes are usually


27 28

Alana Schramm - Participation

quieter and students tend not to ask ques-

tions. Using a Western standard of what

constitutes a successful class, this would

be interpreted as the class not being moti-

vated or interested. Indeed, in Western

culture, quiet equals boring.

In Japan, however, sometimes students

are actually enjoying a class but we may

not be able to see it right away based on

their attitude because there is a differ-

ent standard for success in the classroom.

Participation is not promoted in Japan. In

fact, quite the opposite is true: students

are expected to quietly take notes and

not ask questions, as this would disrupt

the flow of the class. So, for a student to

be quiet in our class does not always show

that they are uninterested. We need to

apply the Japanese standard in order to

see how our classes are perceived. And to

understand Japanese classes we need to

understand the all-pervasive concept of

group mentality in Japan.

Western culture tends to be more indi-

vidualistic. Students want to stand out

and be seen as different from everyone

else. In the classroom this translates as

being somewhat of a “blurting out” cul-

ture. Japanese culture, however, leans

toward a more group-oriented society

and this too translates into the classroom.

Students want to mesh and fit in with the

group. They do not want to stand out and,

in fact, many will do almost anything to

avoid being in this situation. Many ALTs

might even relate to having some students

that have lived abroad for long enough to

have near-native English but who for the

sake of not being different from the rest

of the class pretend to have a Japanese

accent and hide their English skills.

So how do we adapt our ideals of a suc-

cessful classroom to meet the Japanese

perceoption of a successful classroom? If

you can’t beat them, join them. The way

to get students to participate in class is to

ask questions in a way that uses this group

mentality to our advantage. The key is

to start by targeting the whole class for

answers and slowly build their confidence

level so they will be able to participate

individually later on.

First, we can get the whole class to par-

ticipate non-verbally together to get them

warmed up. Asking a question to the class

and getting everyone to choose an answer

by raising their hands is an excellent first

step because it is easy so most students will

feel comfortable enough to join in. The

students who do not would be the ones to

stand out, and, as we have seen, a large

majority wants to avoid this situation.

Example 1: Yes/No Questions

Who likes wearing a school uniform?

Raise your hand. Who doesn’t like wear-

ing a school uniform? Raise your hand.

Example 2: Multiple Choice Questions

What is the capital of Canada? A. Ottawa.

B. Vancouver. C. Tokyo. Ok, who thinks

A? Who thinks B? Who thinks C?

The next step is actually getting them

to speak as a group, and for this the

Japanese expression “sei no” is very use-

ful. The person who says these words sig-

nals to the group that they should answer

at the same time. This expression is often

used out of the class in different situ-

ations as well. For instance, it is the cue

used to communicate to the rest of the

group to start singing a song at the same

time. Used in class, teachers let students

know that they are expected to give an

answer in unison. Students feel comfort-

able because they know what they need to

do and feel they have the support of the

rest of the class since everyone will act the

same in the group.

Name - TitleJSCE - Volume 4 Issue 2

29 30

Example 3: “Sei No”:

What is the opposite of “hot”? Sei no…

After targeting the whole class, the next

step would be to choose a specific student

to answer a question. It is important to

name a student as opposed to throwing

a question out to the whole class. A stu-

dent who is called upon to answer would

not seem to be standing out by choice but

rather because he or she is forced to by

the teacher, this then takes the pressure

off them. This situation, though, is still a

little stressful for that particular student

so it would be a good idea to first pre-

pare all the students for being called on

before calling a name. We can ask a ques-

tion to the class then tell the students to

talk with a partner to check their answers.

This way student can at least verify their

answer and would not feel alone in their

perceived failure if their answer is wrong.

Example 4: Preparing a Student

for Being Called on

What is the answer to question number

1? Okay, please talk with the person sit-

ting next to you for one minute to check

your answer. Go!

One more thing to note is that it is very

important to tell the students how they

are expected to answer. In other words,

they need to have a clear structure for

answering. Open-ended questions are

usually unsuccessful because students are

uncomfortable saying something in front

of the class if they do not know exactly

how they should answer. For example, if

we want them to have a discussion about

something in a pair, we need to give them

a model dialogue.

Example 5: Model Dialogue

Which is better: cafeteria lunch or

your own lunch box? Please talk to your

partner.

Which is better: cafeteria lunches or

your own lunch box? Please talk to your

partner. Look at the board. Here is an

example.

A: I think our own lunch box is better

because they are healthier.

B: I think so, too.

OR I don’t think so because cafeteria

lunches are more delicious.

Finally, we should acknowledge and

reward students for trying, regardless of

the accuracy of their answer. They need

to understand that what is important for

us is not whether or not they are correct

but the fact that they tried to answer. To

do this, we can give motivating feedback

that focuses on their effort instead of

their answers.This would help relieve the

stress of being wrong in front of the rest

of their classmates.

Example 6: Positive Feedback

even for Wrong Answers

That was so close! Good try! Who wants

to try to answer next? How about you,

Takeshi?

Conclusion

Trying to promote student participa-

tion takes extra time and planning both

in and out of class, but the effort is well

worth it as it makes the class more enjoy-

able, not to mention more effective for

both students and for teachers.

31 32

Speak all about it! Using news articles as an effective learning toolfor oral communication

Rebecca Quin

Abstract

News articles are a practical and creative

resource for teaching oral communica-

tion. Despite the perceived difficulty of

news English, useful texts, easily accessed

both in print and online, provide a

thought-provoking platform for student

discussions and in-class presentations.

Articles can be exploited in a variety of

innovative ways, not only to develop stu-

dent’s communication skills but also to

expand their knowledge of international

current affairs. This article offers ideas

on how to use news articles effectively in

the classroom.

要旨

ニュースの記事は口頭伝達の授業に使うことによ

る実践性や独創性があります。難しいと思われて

いるけれども、英語での記事は便利、使用しやす

い、と示唆に富むな教材となります。記事を取り

組みする方法は様々あり、伝達能力の向上にも、

国際知識も膨張します。本記事は記事の取り組

みの在り方をいくつかを紹介します。

About

Rebecca Quin graduated with a degree

in French and English Literature before

moving to Japan to teach English at Wako

International High School in 2012. She

spent a year in France as an English lan-

guage assistant and worked as a Press &

PR Officer for an Edinburgh theatre while

finishing her Masters. In her free time

she writes travel articles and attempts to

play the piano.

Used creatively, news articles can have an

invaluable impact on students’ oral com-

munication abilities both inside and out-

side of the English classroom. Teachers

are often wary of the challenge that news-

based language might present to their stu-

dents, not only in terms of vocabulary but

also regarding the rule-breaking gram-

matical structures used in headlines and

idiomatic turns of phrase.

However, “news” should not necessarily

imply “difficult” given that, as a medium,

it is undoubtedly one of the largest and

most varied resources available for learn-

ing a language. Both teachers and stu-

dents have a wealth of sources in print

and online from which to select articles.

So, at the same time as students could be

given a mind-numbing article condemn-

ing the taxable introduction of import

tariffs; a more appealing source might be


33 34

Rebecca Quinn - Using News Articles

the news that the unconventional-looking

Australian blobfish has recently become

the proud bearer of the first World’s

Ugliest Animal award.

Despite its flippant content, the blob-

fish article below contains several useful

examples of modern English in action

which students can be encouraged to

use in their communication classes.

For higher-level students, words like

“grumpy-looking” and “aesthetically-

challenged” make for an interesting way

of introducing compounds whilst lower-

level students can be taught vocabulary

to do with the environment.

“The grumpy-looking, gelatinous blob-

fish has won a public vote to become

the official mascot of the Ugly Animal

Preservation Society.

The society began as a science-themed

comedy night and devised its mascot

campaign to draw attention to “aestheti-

cally challenged” threatened species. […]

Other animals on the shortlist face simi-

lar threats to their habitats and Mr Watt

hopes that this campaign will highlight

the fact that conservation should focus on

the protection of habitats rather than spe-

cific species.”

(BBC News online, September 2013)

In this way, news articles can also be used

to bring in social topics for debate, broad-

ening students’ views on current affairs

and gearing them towards a more inter-

national perspective. Even a news article

preceded by a picture of a geriatric fish

has the potential to raise students’ aware-

ness of global issues.

At the same time, articles that deal more

overtly with contemporary social prob-

lems need not be rejected in favor of

deliberately funny or shocking news

items. Writing that tackles difficult

subjects will inevitably include more dif-

ficult language, however students should

be prompted to collect what information

they can, linguistic or thematic, without

understanding every single word in the

article. Accordingly, news articles can

target fluency in reading as well as in

speaking by enabling students to practice

deciphering the key ideas of a text for use

in the speaking practice that follows.

The biggest challenge lies in building

effective lesson plans that teach oral com-

munication skills once appropriate news

articles have been sourced. The poten-

tial of news articles is lost if they are used

for tedious comprehension exercises and

grammar case studies that segue into a

related speaking role-play such as ‘Student

A is a member of Greenpeace fighting for

the protection of the blobfish. Student B

is a fisherman that depends on blobfish

hunting for his/her livelihood. Discuss.’

Students become quickly demotivated

with the realization that an entertaining

article is just another textbook-standard

reading passage in disguise.

Instead, news articles can form the basis

of a warm-up quiz, a storytelling or drama

lesson or weekly presentation in class.

Taking the blobfish article as a starting

point, a simple activity to introduce the

story to the class could be to write the

article’s keywords on the board and have

groups of students come up with their

own version of the story. Students present

their different reports to the rest of the

class before being told the real news. As

a follow-up, students could research the

other candidates for Ugliest Animal and

stage their own vote, giving reasons why

they chose their animal.

One of the benefits of news articles is

that several can be used at a time and in

conjunction with each others. ‘Running

dictation’, for example, involves groups


35

From the Editor

of students reading sections of articles

pinned up around the classroom and

relaying the information to the ‘reporter’

of the group who then writes it down in

order to piece together the full story.

News-related communication activities

are also useful for teaching summariz-

ing skills. In pairs, each student selects

a short piece of news and summarizes it

to their partner, changing a certain num-

ber of the details. Partners should try

to guess which facts are true and which

have been changed. Furthermore, as an

individual activity, and to encourage stu-

dents to read news in English on a regular

basis, each student can take turns at the

start of every class to give a short presen-

tation in which they summarize an article

they read that week, explaining why they

chose it. This can tie in neatly with opin-

ion practice and asking questions.

Lastly, news articles can function as

inspiration for extended projects, such

as creating and performing a news pro-

gram. Students work together to pro-

duce a small skit inspired by one or two

news items, including headlines, the

main report and interviews with the pub-

lic. Their skits can be filmed or used as

part of an all-class presentation.

In addition to providing an excellent plat-

form for creative communication among

students, if interesting articles are used in

the right way, students can discover lan-

guage that is practical and up-to-date .

Through this approach, teachers can call

attention to the relevance of English to

students’ everyday lives while highlighting

the importance of active communication

when interacting with people from other

cultures. Students can in turn discover

how language evolves and how its use var-

ies from place to place, people to people,

and in so doing improve their confidence

in oral communication.

A Chara

Issue 2 marks an exciting evolution for

JSCE. In Volume 1, as Editor, I provided

content for each issue as well as recruit-

ing potential Contributors. In Volume 2,

we expanded our pool of Contributors

through joining events with other organi-

zations. In Volume 3, those relationships

led to truly collaborative issues, with Issue

Editors controlling the timescales and

workflow for their issue. In Volume 4, we

can see previous Issue Editors as evange-

lists for JSCE.

Issue 5, was conceived by Alana Scramm

and the other Contributors. They formed

a working group to achieve a professional

goal. JSCE simply provided a forum for

their work. My sincere thanks to Alana,

Kira, Aaron, Ciarán, Butterfly, Elisabeth

and Rebecca for a great issue.

Le Méas

We want your contribution

さいたま市教育家会ジャーナル ( JSCE) is

primarily a forum for professional develop-

ment. Our goal is to help serious (but not

solemn) like-minded people to form work-

ing groups to achieve professional goals.

We do not have a paid membership model.

We also welcome opportunities to collabo-

rate with groups or organizations. If you

have a specific goal, such as finding a uni-

versity teaching position, we want to work

with you to help you achieve it. If you have

a more general interest in professional

development we want to provide you with

varied opportunities. If you have an idea

for a project we want to get involved. We

think that by working together, under the

aegis of an organization, we benefit each

other by association.

To find out more, or get involved, please

contact John at:

[email protected]

volume 4, issue 2

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