November 5, Planning our Theses!!!!!!

Superman

What: Chants and how children benefit from doing chants

Reasons:

1. Societal needs
2. The need for speaking
3. The Course of Study

Research questions:

1. What are chants?
2. Why do we need chants?
3. Types of chants?

How:

Literature review (Books and internet)

James’s advice: Research questions or graduate theses need to be about topics that we do not know the answer to.

Title: Proposing a chant syllabus for elementary school foriegn language activities.

RQ:

What are the characteristics of chants that can encourage second language acquisition?

How can these chants be incorporated into a syllabus.

Helpful link: http://www.tefl-c.com/online/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/Unit_14_Teaching_Through_Songs_and_Chants-May-2009-B.pdf

Another idea: Comparision of chants in Hi, Friends with ……

Third Idea: Only Hi, Friends!

If you do this, then you need to devise criteria for examining the chants.

By next week, please devise the criteria

Paper:

1) Background research on chants

Lit Review

a) Elementary School English Education in Japan

b) Chants

1. History
2. Genres
3. Types of Uses
4. Effectiveness of

C) The place of chants in elementary school English in Japan

D)Based on 1 to 4, propose criteria for assessing chants in textbooks in Japan

Research Question

What are the major genres of chants oin hi, Friends?

How are chants utlized for learning language in hi, Friends?

Results

Your analysis of the chants in Hi, Friends!

Discussion

Significance of your results

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Bruno

Bruno will teach a class using this song.

By next week give me a proposal for a class. Particularly talk about WHAT you will investigate. Ideas are vocabulary acquisition, grammar rule learning, listening strategies, pronunciation, intonation, learning phrases, catching students’ interest.

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Emo

Effective ways to use picture books.

What: She wants to research picture books that are effective for children and the way that they are effective.

How: Reading

Ideas

– Using Eric Carle’s ((Name of books) to design a language learning module for first and second grade.

Part 1: Research the uses and effectiveness of picture books (By next week, please talk about Part 1)

Part 2: Design a learning module which incorporates the criteria determined in Part 1.

Part 3: Get feedback from 5 teachers about the palusibility of doing this module.

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Ao-chan

Topic: A study about the education for internaional understanding for English classes in Japan

Literature Review:

• History of education for international understanding in the world and Japan
• Japan’s global standing
• Education for international understanding policy in English education in JHS from course of study and official documents.

Research Question
(ideas)

• How is international understanding incorporated into JHS English textbooks?
• Is there a difference in how the textbooks teach international understanding?
• Is there a difference in the way international understanding is incorporated between grades?

Method

• Investigate the topics used in textbooks: Which countries? What kind of customs?

Next Time: Develop your own concept of international understanding.

Teddy

Effective ways to assess JHS students’ communicative abilities

He wants to find out good ways to make communicative tests.

1. Literature Review

1. What are communicative abilities?

2. How are communicative abilities tested?

3. Overview of entrance exams in Japan

4. Background information on English education in Iwate and Akita.

RQ:

1. How does the A and I P HS EEs test communicative abilities?

2. Is there a difference in the way Iwate Prefecture and Akita Prefecture high school entrance exams test communicative abilities?

Method

What communicative skills and subskills do the tests evaluate?

Here is another idea: http://www.ecrproject.com/

Analysis

Compare the Akita and Iwate entrance exams (Reading, listening, reading, and writing)

Discussion

Suggestions

Next time: Ted will work on his literature review