2017/06/11 Dual MyShare - Saitama hosts Gunma

A Short Workshop for Intercultural Relations

by Harry Meyer - Gunma Prefectural Women's University

As the world is becoming more globalized, the importance of intercultural education in Japan continues to increase. This very short workshop focused on something that most of us take for granted - personal space. Participants started with an examination of their own personal space, followed by a look at personal space in different cultures, and finished with a discussion. This presentation:

• Made participants aware of various cultural perspectives regarding personal space.

• Made participants aware that foreigners are not one monolithic block, but are culturally diverse and may seem strange to each other.

• Made Japanese aware that their own behavior may be strange to people of other cultures.

• Had participants consider the importance of their own use of space in the classroom and its impact in intercultural

Using Kobanashi in a Beginner Level English Classroom

by Yoko Kamo - Gunma Language Center

This was a report of a short project to use kobanashi in a beginner level English class of 6th grade students. Kobanashi are short jokes that rakugo performers tell to warm up the audience before launching the main story of rakugo. Performing kobanashi in English was shown to be one of the excellent ways to learn English regardless of age. This presentation explained its educational effects by showing students' performance movies as well as some kobanashi stories.

Self-access Learning in eikaiwa: Attitudes, Reflections and Challenges

by Daniel Hooper - Kanda University of International Studies

This presentation was based upon two recent studies concerned with the need for and viability of self-access language learning among adult students in the under-researched private English conversation school (eikaiwa) sector. Language learning in eikaiwa schools is unique within Japanese ELT in many ways and, therefore, any instructor needs to be aware of these context-specific affordances, constraints and ideological hurdles if they are to create realistic and sustainable provisions for self-access learning that will engage students. This presentation addressed potential contextual constraints, highlight relevant findings, and present practical ideas for teachers interested in promoting self-study in eikaiwa schools.

An Activity Exploiting L1

by Yoko Miyazaki - Takasaki City University of Economics

Miyazaki believes students’ L1 can be positively integrated into teaching methodology for lower-level adult classes in Japan, where often more than 90% of students share the same L1. She shared an activity which utilizes L1, or Japanese, to help learners establish the linkages between pragmatic functions expressed in L1 and those in L2. The learners were encouraged to grasp the meanings of the English sentences by chunking them and applying equivalent Japanese to them. They were also encouraged to be aware of the form of the English sentences through repeating and shadowing exercises.