Since so much has been written about extensive reading in the last few years, what we really need from now is well-designed research to get us beyond anecdotes and speculation. This will help us to better understand how varying the conditions under which learners engage in ER affects the kinds and degrees of learning which result.[続きを読む]
I recently read Greg Goodmacher’s introduction to his book, Multicultural Perspectives, and his opening comments brought back memories of my own cultural awakenings. When I was about 8, I saw an Indian-looking woman in my hometown. What was that strange dress that she was wearing and where had she come from?! As I grew older I collected stamps from mysterious, exotic, faraway places like Zanzibar, Vanuatu and Japan! Wonderful magazines such as National Geographic and the Family of Man fired my imagination. Experiences like these made me even more determined to escape from my small town and explore the wider world....[続きを読む]
What first influenced you to take an interest in other cultures? I recently asked this question at a Niigata JALT meeting.Our fascination with other parts of the world stemmed mostly from stimulating stories and illustrations, such as those from National Geographic magazines we read as children, or from TV programs about other continents and times, like Roots, which tells the story of a boy taken from Africa to be a slave and his descendants.I can still remember Kunta Kinte’s father in a savannah in Africa holding his newborn, the main character, up to the sky and proclaiming his child’s name to his gods. Recalling that powerful scene, a feeling of wonder awakens again. Images of mahouts riding elephants through the ruins of Ankor Wat are also etched in my memory. Stories of the lifestyles of people in other cultures turned me into a passionate reader.[続きを読む]
My co-authors and I are glad of the opportunity to tell you about the rationale for our textbook Science Reader. We presented the material below at JALT 2008 in Tokyo and hope it will help you find and use materials that your students will find to be interesting and accessible.[続きを読む]
As an EFL teacher in Japan, I know quite well how important it is to have a textbook that is functional, practical and teacher friendly. When I first started teaching English in Japan (nearly twenty years ago), I had a difficult time finding a textbook that incorporated all the components I felt were necessary in giving students a well-rounded course in English conversation...[続きを読む]
TEACHERS AND STUDENTS in Japan are often eager to have a better understanding of American culture. One of the best ways to do this is, of course, to see it rather than read about it. After all, a picture is worth a 1,000 words, as they say. Not everyone, however, has the time or finances to take such a trip...[続きを読む]
Our central idea with Science Reader II was to give students many opportunities to read interesting material, and to then spur them to write a paper or make a presentation based on a topic gleaned from the unit. The articles in the book are taken from the very popular Nature News website, www.nature.com/news, and address contemporary issues in science, including environmental science ("Lizards succumb to global warming"), policy considerations ("Animal rights activists invade Europe"), medical treatment ("Colour blindness corrected by gene therapy"), and brain science ("Brain implant allows mute man to speak"). [続きを読む]
EXPERIENCE has taught many teachers that one of the most challenging tasks of listening material is to capture student interest and then to actually keep students tuned in to what they are listening to. Most teachers are familiar with the standard test-style type of listening textbooks. While there is a need and a place for this kind of material, it is usually very difficult to build an entire lesson around it...[続きを読む]
What is your definition of perfection? Would it have something to do with the idea of being flawless, that no mistakes = perfect? This might be a useful definition if you were making some kind of mechanical product or were following a set of strict instructions correctly. But what if you were speaking about the “perfect partner”?...[続きを読む]
One of the (many) pleasures of teaching businesspeople, engineers and researchers is watching students make the connection between what they learn in class and how they can apply it to their job. An example is when students walk out of a classroom where they have been working on presentations (or meetings, or telephoning, or welcoming a visitor) and later that day they use the language they have practiced in a real business situation...[続きを読む]
I’ve been learning languages most of my life. Long before I became a teacher and author, I was a language student, starting with a five-year study ofSpanish. From my very first Spanish course, I was hooked. I followed with courses in French, German, Chinese, and Japanese. Even vacations were chances to learn new languages. Before traveling to Greece and Russia, I taught myself their writing systems. Phrase books were my teachers in Italy, Malaysia, and elsewhere...[続きを読む]
In our experience teaching students fresh out of University, one of the first tasks we face is in getting speaking and listening skills to catch up with reading and writing skills. The biggest challenge here is changing how the students think about English conversation. We see conversation as a way to communicate and connect with other people. Because they are encountering English in a classroom setting, they see it as a test. That means there is a correct answer. They are hesitant to speak because they don’t know what they are supposed to say or how to say it...[続きを読む」
We appreciate the chance to tell you a bit about the development of English Safari 1.
A major goal of Safari is to help you maintain an “all English” classroom environment.In fact, as students open the book, they will see a collection of 16 cartoons that show students and a teacher using English in the classroom.These cartoons present useful classroom English in context and in action...[続きを読む]
CUBIC LISTENING is a picture-based supplementary listening series that aims to provide regular, enjoyable and success-oriented listening practice. The goal is motivated students who enjoy their listening classes and are confident of understanding English in the real world...[続きを読む]
I’m a t-shirt junkie. My wardrobe cupboard is overflowing with them--in all colors, shapes, sizes and ages, from bright to dark, from plain to colorful, from snug to baggy, from new to almost ancient. Most of them are souvenirs from my travels. Wherever I go, I usually end up buying a souvenir t-shirt that will remind me of that place...[続きを読む]
Macmillan Publishers have just released a new reading series call Essential Reading, of which I had the privilege of being an author of one of the books and the Series Editor. Macmillan Japan has asked me to write a bit about the philosophy of the book series and how we’ve tried to make it an effective book specifically with Asian learners in mind.[続きを読む]
A homestay can and should be a wonderful experience that gives lifelong memories. As more and more high school and university students are going on homestays, we wanted to bring together some materials that will help you help your students prepare themselves emotionally as well as linguistically for their homestay experience.[続きを読む]
By Philip Suthons (Nagoya University of Foreign Studies)
This workshop is about learning how to have discussions in English. Mr. Suthons suggests a variety of lessons which not only help students improve their English but also motivate them to express their opinions freely...[続きを読む]
You know when you go shopping, for say, some tea or butter... and you look at the aisle in the supermarket and you’re faced with fifty varieties of tea, or twenty different types of butter... everywhere you look. It’s really confusing, isn’t it? [Personally, it drives me crazy.] Well, that’s the kind of situation I think we as teachers face these days every time we have to choose a course for our class...[続きを読む]
Helping engineering students make presentations I really enjoyed talking with the teachers who came to my JALT presentation. We had a packed room (admittedly, it was not a huge room, but still we had a great turnout) and the energy level was tremendous...[続きを読む]
The author of Looking Back, Moving Forward: An Environmental Course for the Next Generation
Greetings! I have been trying to integrate global and environmental issues into my language classes for as long as I can remember, starting with a stint at a Chinese university in 1983-84 where I asked students to write argumentative essays for or against nuclear weapons or equal rights for men and women. This was in-between my undergraduate years at U.C Davis, California, where...[続きを読む]
本書は先生方より大変好評を頂いている『Common Errors in English Writing』のSpeaking編です。 Writing編では、文法項目を中心に日本人の英語学習者が間違いやすい誤りを学習していく内容になっていますが、Speaking編では、学生が英語を使用する状況（キャンパスライフや日常生活など）に基づいてUnitを構成しています。[続きを読む]
It has been ten years since I first used Speaking of Speech [SoS], and it still hasn’t grown old for me. I have been a speech and communication teacher for close to 30 years now, and when I came across the SoS text the first time, I fell in love with its playfulness, pair work, and emphasis on non-verbal communication (the "physical message")...[続きを読む]
Do you have students who are taking the Eiken test? How about college students who are going to have an English interview to enter a company? Or students who want to study overseas and the school requires an interview? Do you know that in the near future the TOEIC test will have an interview component?...[続きを読む]
MLH
MLH
@MacmillanJapan
