From Tourist to Teacher

　３年間のＪＥＴ経験で教室の中でも学校の外でも多くの貴重な教訓を得ることができました。例えば授業における学級経営や学力向上の技術などです。生徒の笑顔、笑い、達成感は私にとっての報奨であり教育の連続的な動機です。教師であり続けるということは、常に学び続けるということだと思います。私はこの３年間で理想的な教師像を見つけました。それは生徒に英語の学習を促すだけでなく、自分が英語を楽しく勉強する人です。English translation is within the article.

日本語

　「ＪＥＴの３年間の経験を、小学校専属ＡＬＴの職務にどのように活かしたいか」

勉強の楽しさ、面白さ、やる気は人から人へ伝わります。もしも教師の授業に活気がなければ生徒も授業に魅力を感じることは出来ません。現在私の担当しているあるクラスのテーマは「英語は楽しい！」です。子供は元気いっぱいで何か新しいことを学ぶとき非常に意欲的に取り組みます。授業を刺激的で興味深くすることで生徒に学習を楽しませることが出来ると考えています。教師が自分の仕事に懸命に取り組めば、生徒もそれに応えてくれると思います。
　私は生徒に良い学習環境を作り出す中で個々の可能性を信じて欲しいと思います。ティームティーチングで授業を展開すれば教室でのアクティビティーを扱いやすくなりますし、教師も生徒一人ひとりに目が向けやすくなります。スポーツや芸術のように何か新しいことを始める時でも、時間が経てばやがて技術は身につきます。同様に英語学習にも近道はないのです。私は生徒に勇気を持ってほしいです。そして間違いをすることも学習過程の一部だと分かってほしいのです。間違いを学ぶことは自信になります。間違えることや正しい語彙を知らない為に、しばしばコミュニケーションが出来ないことがあります。しかし微笑んだり、笑ったりというようなコミュニケーションの共通点を示すことで理解につながると思います。
生徒の興味を知ることは面白い英語の授業を作るのに役立ちます。クラスの能力を意識することで正確に彼らの理解と成長を評価できます。生徒の学習の成果をフォルダーに整理しておき、評価表を作成すれば生徒に明らかな学習の記録を示すことが出来ますし、彼らが取り組み続ける刺激を与えることにもなります。グループ決めをして発表リストに継続的に評価をすることで、どの生徒が参加していてどの生徒が参加していないのかを把握できます。またＪＥＴと協力してさまざまな異なったクラスに対応できる段階的な授業を構成することができます。
言語習得の秘訣は、どのようにして彼らの英語が継続的な学習の中で改善されるかにあると思います。キーポイントは、どんな言語も一晩で習得できるものはないということです。そのためには継続的な学習意識と決心が要求されます。ＪＥＴの 3 年間で教えることを学びましたが、それと同時に学び続けることも知りました。ＪＥＴでの私の目標は楽しく、記憶に残る英語を教える教師になることです。 　　　　　　　

English

Three years of living and teaching in Japan has taught me valuable lessons inside and outside of the classroom. I have developed classroom management skills and ability assessment techniques, but more importantly, I developed a passion for teaching. I’m driven to help cultivate my students’ knowledge. Their smiles, laughter, and successes are my reward and continuous motivation. Being a teacher has taught me one never stops learning. Throughout my three years on JET, I’ve discovered the kind of teacher I want to be: one who inspires others to not only like English, but enjoy learning it.

I believe laughter’s an international language. Smiles and laughter are the same in any language. Learning can be fun and exciting, and enthusiasm can be contagious, like laughter. If the teacher is not excited to teach, the students will not be excited to learn. One classroom theme I teach is "English is fun!" Young children have lots of energy and an eagerness to learn and try new things. Making class exciting and interesting allows them to enjoy the learning process. Having fun by playing games or incorporating popular culture into teaching catches the students’ interests. It helps to make learning more interactive. Students respond positively when a teacher is passionate about their work.

I want students to believe in their individual possibility by creating a positive learning environment. By creating a pace that is acceptable but challenging, weaker students become active in class. Awarding small achievements or giving praise for improvements also adds to this motivation. Learning Japanese first is important, but starting English learning at an early age helps. Children need a supportive, nurturing class so they can feel comfortable learning. As elementary school children are still learning Japanese (their native language), they will need extra encouragement to learn English (a second language) so early. The team teaching effort makes classroom activities manageable and students can also receive more individualized attention. Teaching students the value of their individual potential helps them realize their dreams and motivates them to learn. When learning something new, like sports or arts, skills are developed over time. Learning English is the same as there are no short cuts.

I want students to be brave and understand that making mistakes is part of learning. Learn the mistakes, and one can build confidence. Body language/emotions—even at the high school level its encouraged. People can be very shy, especially children. Making mistakes or not knowing the proper vocabulary often prevents people from attempting to communicate. Smiling, laughing, and showing students the similarities in communication helps to link their understanding.

Learning about the students’ interests helps to tailor lessons to make English appealing. An awareness of the class’s abilities helps to gauge comprehension and progress. Keeping folders of the student’s work or making reward charts give the students tangible results and motivates them to keep working. Friendly competition involves the entire class. Determining groups and maintaining a participation list, indicates which students are participating and which students aren’t. Working with JTEs to develop lessons with a ’sliding level’ (can be adapted for multiple levels) for different classes. Reward games or outstanding work with stamps or stickers to encourage participation.

Motivation and progression in my own studies can motivate students to learn. Communicating with teachers and students in Japanese outside of class demonstrated the possibility of how their English can improve with continual study. Students learned a key point: no language is learned overnight. It requires constant vigilance and determination. For elementary school children, using Japanese will help them overcome their shyness. Though surprising, I’ve learned that students make more of an effort in using English when I use Japanese. Elementary school children who learn English make their learning foundation more solid. This prepares them for more advanced English in junior and senior high school.

I have learned many things throughout my three years on the JET Programme. I measure my successes as a teacher through my students’ smiles, laughter, and confidence. Seeing them enjoy English inside and outside the classroom gives me a sense of accomplishment. I learned to teach, but I also that I never stopped learning. I discovered my life’s goal on JET. I want to be a teacher who made English memorable and enjoyable.

Translation assistance and editing provided by Aya Yamane (山根彩先生).