This presentation was given at the 2014 ALT Skill Development Conference in Aomori, Japan. The audience consisted of Assistant Language Teachers (ALT) and Japanese Teachers of English (JTE) from around Aomori prefecture. The content is about improving students' confidence in English and provides some suggestions for engaging students in learning activities to instill confidence.
3. Building students’ confidence
in English
Classroom techniques
Technology for English study
4. What is confidence in a foreign language?
Confidence is built through:
- use of authentic materials
- an alert learning situation
- development of communication skills
- students exposed to culture.
(Garcia & DeFeo, 2014)
5. Today’s students need to know
WHY English???
“Engage them or enrage them”
(Prensky, 2009)
6. English: not just another school subject
English is a muscle!
English is like cotton candy.
English is a toy—
PLAY WITH IT!!!
7. Language learning = sociocultural activity
Development must be scaffolded for
maximum effect
(Vygotsky; Lantolf & Thorne, 2007)
Authentic materials provide sociocultural
relevance to lessons
(Brown & Yule, 1983)
13. Storytelling
Students put new words & grammar into
practice about a topic they know about
- Realistic use of the language
- Reinforces vocab & grammar
- Activates learning
Language use= Confidence
14. After teaching the dialog
and practicing the grammar,
have the students create
dialogs of their own.
26. When discussing culturally relevant topics, find
an appropriate YouTube video to show or
recommend.
Halloween
Thanksgiving Day parade
Holiday decorating & parties
Independence Day
celebrations
27. Smartphone Apps to practice English:
Duolingo Hello-Hello
(Free) English
(Lesson 1 Free)
28.
29.
30. Can use in class with the students or suggest
they download them.
As schools get technology, ask them to install
these (or other) apps
THOROUGHLY check out apps before you try
to add them to classes.
Garcia, R., & DeFeo, D. (2014). Finding your “Spanish voice” through popular media: Improving students’ confidence and fluency. Journal of the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, 14(3), 110-131. doi: 10.14434/josotl.vl4i3.5033
Prensky, M. (2009). H. sapiens digital: From digital immigrants and digital natives to digital wisdom. Innovate, 5(3). Retrieved from www.innovateonline.info/index.php?view=article&id=705
Brown, G., & Yule, G. (1983). Teaching the spoken language. Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press.
Lantolf, J. & Thorne, S. L. (2007). Sociocultural theory and second language learning. In. B. van Patten & J. Williams (Eds.), Theories in second language acquisition (pp. 201-224). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
Murphey, T. (2001). Exploring conversational shadowing. Language Teaching Research, 5(2), 128-155.