Site: ETC
Lesson Title: Stuff you see in Portland
Date of Class: Mar 09, 2020
Time of Class: 8:15 AM
MC: AmandaAdventurousTraveler
DJ: ShelleySincereLearner
Assistants/Shadowers/Auditioner:
Module: Kindai Senshu Program
How Many Learners: 7
Materials Status (loyalty cards, alphabet sheets, etc):

Self Evaluation

Preparation: Forgot to Show Up (1) vs. Every Hair In Place (10) = 8
Technique: Completely Incompetent (1) vs. Flawless Delivery (10) = 6
Engagement: Snoring Loudly (1) vs. Absolutely Riveted (10) = 5
Connection: Open Hostility (1) vs. Kumbayah (10) = 5
Poise: Charlie Brown (1) vs. Prince (10) = 6
Reflection: “It was ok.” (1) vs. Life-changing Epiphany (10) = 8

What happened (as short or as long as you like, but be specific): Today was our first day meeting the homestay learners from Kindai Senshu High School. We started with alphabet sheets and yell-and-spell, which went smoothly. There was some expected reticence or shyness about “ready,” but they caught on quickly and got bolder with that sort of stuff as the day went on.

After those initial activities, we moved into a map exercise. We determined that this activity was too difficult and abstract, so we essentially did a 180 and moved into Simon Says. Having everyone stand up and do some moving around seemed to loosen everyone up–learners and facilitators alike–and the learners got to go around and act as Simon, too.

We did a name game round robin where students introduced themselves and said two things about themselves. This went really smoothly, and learners were able to tell each each other about things things about many of their classmates (not just the person they interacted with directly).

Since we knew they’d be exploring Portland after class, we did some dictation related to things you see in Portland. Amanda prepared visuals, which really helped provide context.

There was a campus tour planned with the Roosevelt High second-year Japanese class during our class time, which was a little funky. The tour appeared to be a lesson for the Roosevelt students, and the Kindai students were supposed to participate in some way. It was kind of unclear. We each tagged along with a different group. Amanda was more proactive in leading her group and creating structure. I talked with the learners in my group (which merged with another, so making four English learners in this particular group) and just tried to point out objects and ask questions.

After the tour, we had a little chunk of time left, so we went back to our classroom and did a round robin about what everyone saw on the tour.

Overall, it was a good first day. Not everything worked, but the activities helped us gauge learner levels and rework tomorrow’s activities in advance. Learners were shy about giving things a try if they weren’t certain about the answer, but it seemed like they were catching on to us being totally cool with them being “incorrect”. So hopefully stuff like that will get easier as the week progresses.

Amanda was super well-prepared and has some fun activities planned for the next few days, so I’m eager to see how everything unfolds.