knowing

After a year of teaching elementary schools my company offered me a post at a Jr. high school in Osaka. With high hopes of a new and more serious academic setting I gladly took the post. But soon it became apparent that the infectious melanoma of linguistic teaching in Japan became clear. The first year students were dismayed by their previous experience with ALTs in elementary of fun and games and then thrown into the fray of grammar. I spent many days mentally agreeing with the student about their hatred toward English. Then the day to day arguments between the Japanese English teachers and the student to all out mental zoning out of the second and third year students. After my first month at this school the stress became overwhelming and I was lost. That was until one day when the second year English teacher came to me and asked me to create a week’s curriculum, seeing the distraught in my colleagues I accepted the challenge.

That weekend I reread all of my teaching manuals but I came to no avail, then I came across a DoD (Department of Defense) Instructor’s manual I had buried away. This manual recounted various teaching techniques based in psychology and one system in particular call ARC (Alpha Retention Core). ARC is a techniques for remember specialized information and encrypted materials to be relay to Intel personnel. Out of curiosity I called a friend of mine who still serves in the Army for more information on the topic. He informed me that the ARC was first used by the Soviet Union in the early 70s to train Army and Navy personnel in foreign languages and that it was currently used in the U.S. and British Armed Services in various courses from Navigation to Linguistics. After gaining as much information as my friend could divulge I set to work on a Jr. high English ARC. Using previous games taught by my company and the current curriculum I created a highly effective system that doesn’t degrade or disappoint me and the student retain 75 to 85% or the class. How is this and an example you are looking for? I will get to that in a second. Let me give you the foundation for any effective Second Language Class, you need four things.

Ø  Meaning-focused input

Ø  Meaning-focused output

Ø  Language-focused learning

Ø  Fluency development

Now I will explain the implantation of the game that is not a game or rather the non game that is the game. Example; English battleship were the student write out various words into a alpha-numeric grid. The standard version of this game goes along the same line the normal battleship game, whoever gets the minimum hits wins and gets a prize from the ALT/ELT. ARC version use the words within the textbook, words the students have already seen and learnt. After you sink a word that student must stand and answer in English an English question or translate a sentence from English to Japanese or vice versa (using sentences or questions taught in that days lesson or previous lesson). Continue the game until time runs out or everyone is sunk. Now you ask what the success rate is, right? I have been using this technique and various games based on the model for the last three years and in classes ranging from Jr. high to fifty year old adults and my success rate has been nine out of ten, a 90% ratio. Now I feel self dignity and I know I am doing my job because I can see and hear the results. Don’t believe me? Try it.

Clarification; Genki ALT/ELTs are very high string whether naturally or by career survival (need the money). Mainly master of games and has all the nursery rhyme song memorized and sometime when drinking with co-workers will start to play head, shoulders, knees and toes and singing the Itsy Bitsy Spider. (I was here at one time but I recovered, you can too).

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