Learning Log

As an assignment for one of my classes I have to keep a reflective journal about my learning process and write a letter to a colleague explaining what I'm studying.

I thought I could incorporate this blog into the journal and get some feedback from anyone who reads this, so below I copied & pasted the first email I sent to a teaching liason I worked with in Japan, and in the future I'll try to do more reflective writing about what's happening here in Brattleboro, VT.

Dear Mrs. Keiko,

Long time no see! How are you? Is everything okay at Jyushiyama JHS?

Recently, I have been very busy with graduate school, and I have a homework assignment to write to a colleague about my studies, so I thought it would be a great idea to tell you a little bit about what I'm learning here.

For the past month, my new classmates and I have been getting to know each other and our new surroundings. During school orientation, we played many fun games like: 60 people lining up in alphabetical order without talking! This was a fantastic activity because everyone learned each other’s names while having fun. We also cooked dinner together and went contra dancing! This was great because we had to take responsibility for each other and work together while learning about local culture.

This school puts a lot of emphasis on group work and reflection, so we have been given many group projects. For example, my first group project was to find information about local restaurants and display our findings on a bulletin board for other students. I learned many things about my new town and I got to share the information with others.

The first two weeks of class were very interesting too! I had two classes: Shock Language and Second Language Acquisition (SLA). Shock Language class was very thought provoking because I had to study a language I’ve never spoken before. I learned Korean! It was easy for me because the grammar rules are similar to Japanese, and my teacher was great! She used many games and activities to make the class fun; I learned what it feels like to be in a language class as a student.

My SLA class is much more difficult because I’m studying about language teaching theories. I’m reading about famous linguists like Chomsky, Krashen, Swain, and Vygotsky who changed the way education systems teach languages. Also, there are a lot of new vocabulary terms I have to know, but my teacher is very good and lets me ask lots of questions.

Just recently, I began three new classes: Approaches (a class where I have to analyze myself and my teaching techniques), Four Skills (a class where I learn how to incorporate speaking, listening, reading, and writing into to my own classes), and Language Analysis & Lesson Planning (a class where I study about English grammar and making lesson plans). These classes are new to me, so I can’t write about them yet, but I want to share them with you when I learn more.

I hope you are doing well, and please tell all the students at Jyushiyama JHS I said hello.


Take care,


heyhey

If anyone finds this the least bit interesting, please leave a comment because I can use it in my classes.

Thanx.