My impressions on Tochigi seminar

On December 14th, we participated in a teacher development seminar held in Tochigi. Let me tell you about it.

We had three sections in the seminar. First, we observed an English class by Ms. T. Second, we took part in a group reflection session by teachers commenting on her class. Third, Dr. Tanabe gave us a mini-talk about her class, together with some tips to improve teaching in general.

There were 35 students in her class. They concentrated their attention on some activities from the beginning to the end. With the grammar point of "can”(asking someone to do something), Ms. T showed her students lifting a box and asked her class assistant to open the door by using "Can I open the door?" Actually, the box was empty and light, but she acted as if it was really heavy. It reminded me of Dr. Tanabe’s advice, “A teacher is an actor, too.” I thought demonstration was important to get them understood and useful to explain when we use grammar in our conversation.

After that, we reviewed what we had learned throughout her class. I took notes as close as possible, but it was not that clear. The English teachers present had sharp eyes, and their opinions were right to the points. I learned a lot from them, and thought I had to think a lot of things logically as they were connected.

I had a wonderful time, and am grateful to everyone who gave me a chance to take part in the seminar. （aqua）