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Overview[]
So far I have done about 7 Self Introduction Lessons in a classroom setting. My first attempt was really bad. But I have improved since.
Details[]
Here are the numbers:
- 3 in Junior High (1st, 2nd and 3rd years) - about 30min plus time for questions,
- 2 in Elementary (5th and 6th years) - about 20 min plus time for quesitons,
- 2 in Pre-School - about 5 min.
My first attempt was to the first years at Junior High and it was really bad. There was no interaction on their side and the first half I was just drawing pictures and writing on the board. I don't think they understood most of it. The second half improved when I put on my slide show (just a pdf).
After this first attempt I ditched the idea of drawing on the blackboard and just kept it all in the presentation (well almost all). Other things that I did to improve:
- wait until I had finished my presentation before handing out the wikipedia:realia. This meant there were less disctracted people in the class (they could listen to me instead of being absorbed by the props).
- Ask more questions:
- What country is this?
- What flag is this?
- What animal is this? What is it doing?
- Talk less about history
My best props were:
- Foreign Money
- My wallet, passport and driver's licence
- Native animal book
Pre-School (Hoikuen)[]
This was really short - just showing pictures really and saying keywords. I could still ask questions to the olders kids (4 and 5 years). It was like reading a story book to them.
Lessons Learnt and Advice[]
- The kids were really eager to answer questions in my self introduction lessons - it was fun.
- The more pictures I could talk about the better.