End of Year Project
For the end of the year the 7th grade students are doing a mini-research project in English class. In groups they need to choose a country other than Japan and then compare that country with Japan in relation to a topic. One group decided to research festivals in Japan and Brazil and found some interesting similarities. Another group decided to think about daily life in Italy and Japan. They were shocked to learn that in Italy you need to pay to use the public restroom.
The students research these countries and topics on the internet in Japanese and then make notes in English. Finally, they write a script and prepare to make a presentation in English in front of the class. I think this is a good example of how a mother tongue can aid learning of a second language. The students can more quickly find and process information in Japanese and by understanding it at a deeper level they can work together to put it into English, using their own level of English. I think too often students try to directly translate into English or they get stuck because they don’t know a word in English. In our 7th grade English class we want to guide the students to realizing that they can use the English they have to say even complicated things. Communication is not only about the vocabulary and grammar you know it’s about using other skills to express yourself.
プロジェクトの流れは、iPadを使ってインターネットからトピックを日本語で調べ、英語でメモをとり、それらをもとに英語でプレゼンテーションするための準備をします。生徒たちは日本語で情報を探すことは容易にできます。また、それを深いレベルで理解することもできます。そして協力し合いながら自分たちのレベルにあった英語にすることができます。コミュニケーションは語彙と文法だけではありません。自分の気持ちは何らかの方法で相手に伝えることができます。
写真:iPadで調べたことを英語でメモします(中1ミニ研究プロジェクト)