Saitama JALT:

(1) Putting Truman on Trial: An Academic Speaking Workshop; (2) Teaching Content-Based English Classes

Date: Sunday, April 10th, 2011 Time: 2:00 PM - 5:00 PM

Speaker: (1) Jason White; (2) John Helwig

Description:
Putting Truman on Trial: An Academic Speaking Workshop
Jason White
This workshop provides teachers with the opportunity to get a firsthand look at how an eight-week long academic speaking project got a group of 21 students to step beyond their normal ideas of English speaking and challenge themselves to produce a collaborative final presentation that exceeded everyone's expectations. Putting World War II President Harry Truman on trial for crimes against humanity supplied the role-playing framework for students to learn and develop the essential academic speaking skills of inference, persuasion, and elaboration. Although this project was completed by university students, the framework is flexible enough for its principles to be applied to different levels and circumstances of education. This workshop will put the attendees in the roles of the students, allowing them to discuss and participate in the preliminary activities of the project that led to the final presentation.

Jason White has lived in Japan for 13 years, during which time he has built a large family of six daughters. Starting as an English conversation instructor, he moved into ALT work as he completed his Master's Degree in Humanities. He then held the position of specially-appointed English instructor at Urawa University for six years before taking a position at Saitama University. He is in his fourth year there, teaching not only TOEIC preparation courses but also content-based Academic Lecture and Speaking courses wherein English, instead of being the focus, is used as the vehicle to understanding class subject matter. Jason has published English language teaching articles as well as academic papers on literature.

Teaching Content-Based English Classes
John Helwig
Many people are "stuck with" doing skills-based English classes. Some people are fortunate enough to "be allowed" to teach content-based English classes. It is my contention that content can be added to most skills-based classes. In this talk, I will take you on a survey of what I've done to add (science-based) content to at least some of my skills-based English classes. Formats will be suggested, if you are interested in adding content to your own classes. Your content can/will be whatever you are comfortable with adding. I will also demonstrate/document portions of some of the processes necessary to create your own content-based class, including discussing the Photography 101 class that I created last year.

John Helwig has been teaching English classes at the university level since 2003, most recently at Keio University, Tokyo University of Science and Kanto Gakuin University. He has a MS in Polymer Science and considers himself a "science bum" in that he like to read about all aspects of science. He teaches several science-content classes each semester and tries to insert content in other classes wherever possible.

Organization: Saitama Chapter of the Japan Association for Language Teaching (Saitama JALT)

Cost: JALT Members: free
Non-members: 1000 yen

Venue: Sakuragi Kominkan 5th floor, Shiino Omiya Center Plaza 1-10-18 Sakuragicho, Omiya Saitama 330-0854

Location: Saitama City, Saitama Prefecture, Japan

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