JSCE & The Center for English as a Lingua Franca Colloborative Issue

issn 2185 7822volume 4, issue 5

さいたま市教育家会ジャ

ナル

I

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.

さいたま市教育家会ジャーナル

The

Journal of Saitama City Educators (JSCE)

A さいたま市教育家会 (SCE) Publication

Published in Saitama City, Japan

ISSN: 2185-7822

Volume 4, Issue 5

September 2014

Editor: John Finucane

Issue Editors: Brett Milliner and

Travis Cote

Translator: Mitsuko Imai

Proofreading: Brett Milliner and

Travis Cote

Layout: John Finucane

Find out more at:

http://www.SaitamaCityEducators.org

About the Issue Editors

Brett Milliner

[email protected]

Brett Milliner is assistant professor in

the Center for English as a Lingua Franca

(CELF) at Tamagawa University and lec-

turer in the faculty of law at Keio University.

Brett’s research interests include mobile-

assisted language learning (MALL),

self- access learning and student motiva-

tion. Brett is the treasurer of JALT CALL

SIG and Yokohama JALT, as well as being

a regular contribu tor to Digital Mobile

Language Learning (http://dmll.jaltcall.

org). When Brett isn’t working he can be

found surfing or moonlighting as a yoga

teacher in Kamakura.

Travis Cote

[email protected]

Travis Cote is an assistant professor in

the College of Tourism and Hospitality

Management at Tamagawa University and

a faculty member in the Center for English

as a Lingua Franca (CELF). He holds an

MA TESOL degree and his research inter-

ests include teacher induction practices,

computer-mediated language learning,

extensive reading and curriculum develop-

ment. Travis is also a contributing author

to Digital Mobile Language Learning

(http://dmll.jaltcall.org).

Mitsuko Imai

[email protected]

Mitsuko Imai is an assistant professor in

the Center for English as a Lingua Franca

(CELF) at Tamagawa University. She holds

an MA TESOL degree and her research

interests include motivation, autonomy,

learning strategies and extensive reading.

Foreword

In 2013, Tamagawa University launched

a new, campus-wide English as a Lingua

Franca (ELF) program, the first of its kind

in Japan. The ELF program is designed

to enable students to effectively communi-

cate with people all over the world using

English as a lingua franca. Beginning in

2014, the Centre for English as lingua

franca (CELF) was established to house

the English program and a tutor ser-

vice. The Centre will serve approximately

1,800 students, all of whom will be taught

by approximately 50 instructors from

around the globe. Aware of the deep-

rooted, native English speaker bias and

norms common not only in Japan, a con-

scious decision was made by Tamagawa

University to seek qualified, professional

English language teachers from outside

the inner circle (Kachru, 1985) countries.

The collection of articles in this journal

represents the research and work from

a handful of those ELF teachers, each

of whom comes from a different English

speaking background (L1 and L2).

It is the teachers, their personal beliefs

and principles, who determine the suc-

cess of any language program. If teachers

are going to hone their teaching skills,

deepen their knowledge and develop

professionally, they must receive proper

support. To that end, the editors of this

current issue were involved in creating

the ELF Teacher Research Forum on

January 11, 2014. The forum served as a

place for teachers to share teaching ideas,

and secondly, it provided a platform to

present their professional research. In

conjunction with this event, all teachers

in the ELF program were invited to share

their teaching experience and knowledge

in the form of a short article or research

paper. Publication in this journal rep-

resents a chance for part-time teachers

to add to their professional resume, but

more importantly, this journal issue is

an opportunity for ELF teachers to share

ideas and add value to our new Center for

English as a Lingua Franca (CELF).

In this issue, Jason Pipe introduces a cre-

ative way to take advantage of students’

smartphones to increase accuracy in ELF

speaking tasks. Arup Pandey shares his

project-based solutions for overcoming

freshman anxiety in his ELF tourism

classes. Anamaria Sakanoue talks about

two tasks she employs to encourage auton-

omy in her ELF classroom. Paul McBride

and Brett Milliner reflect on a trial

of M-reader, an online system of quiz-

zes based on an extensive reading com-

ponent in their ELF course. And lastly,

Tricia Okada describes the expanding

opportunities for Filipino English teach-

ers in Japan.

It has been a challenging, yet wonder-

ful learning experience for us in put-

ting this second issue together. We hope

that some of these creative ideas will

embolden you to try something new in

your classroom this year.

7

Jason Pipe

Improving Performance in Task-Based

Learning Activities with The Smartphone

Page 1

Arup Pandey

Enhance Classroom Dynamics and Reduce

Freshman Anxiety through Class-projects

Page 8

Anamaria Sakanoue

Autonomy and finding oneself in the

classroom context

Page 13

Paul McBride & Brett Milliner

Managing Extensive Reading:

introduction to M-reader

Page 20

Tricia Okada

Filipinos Teaching English

in the Kanto Area

Page 31

ジェイソン・パイプ

タスク活動におけるさらなる伝達能力の育成

方法

アルップ・パンデイ

ダイナミックスを活用した新入生の不安を和

らげるクラスプロジェクト

アナマリア・サカノウエ

自治と教室のコンテキストで自分を見つける

ポール・マクブライド & ブレット・ミリナー

多読アクティビティの実践：M-reader活用法

トリシャ・岡田

関東におけるフィリピン人英語教師

Contents

1

Improving Performance in Task-Based Learning Activities With the Smartphone

Jason Pipe

Abstract

Task-based learning does not neces-

sarily facilitate L2 acquisition. Students

may fail to participate in much meaning

negotiation or to try and develop their

own interlanguage systems. This paper

looks at how the voice recorder on smart-

phones can assist the learner to become

more engaged in activities which will bet-

ter place them to acquire a second lan-

guage. It will also allow the teacher the

opportunity to provide a more accurate

assessment of task performance. Finally,

this approach provides a genuine source

of data to further research and evaluate

the effectiveness of the pedagogic ratio-

nale of task-based learning.

要旨

タスクベース学習が常に第二言語習得の促進に

繋がるとは限らない。学生は、意義のある話し合

いに参加することができなかったり、中間言語の

発達させることができなかったりする。本稿で

は、スマートフォンのボイスレコーダーが如何に学

生を活発に話し合いに参加させるための役に立

ち、言語習得へと導くかについて考察する。この

方法は学生に役立つだけでなく、教師もより正確

な評価が可能となる。さらに、今後の研究とタス

クベース学習の効果的教育法の改善へとつなが

る豊富なデータを収集することが可能である。

2

Jason Pipe - TBL With the Smartphone

About

Jason Pipe is from England. He has been

teaching ELF in Japan for 16 years where

he has taught at elementary, junior high

and senior high schools. He is currently

a part-time lecturer at several universities

where he teaches academic writing, listen-

ing and speaking, and business skills. His

research interests include sociolinguis-

tics, task-based learning and motivation.

Introduction

It is generally agreed that Task-Based

Learning (TBL) aims to develop and

improve students’ English communi-

cation ability for the outside world by

enabling learners to cultivate their lan-

guage resources to the best of their ability

through TBL. Overall success of the task

depends on the learners’ active involve-

ment with the task. However, each learner

may encounter a wide range of learner dif-

ficulties, which could affect their overall

performance in completing the tasks. This

paper will, therefore, look closer at prob-

lems that may arise in TBL and consider

how using the voice recording function in

smartphones can facilitate greater accu-

racy of performance during in-class tasks.

JSCE - Volume 4 Issue 5

3

Problems/Difficulties of TBL

Although TBL can be a motivating and

rewarding experience for the student by

providing a sense of purpose to acquir-

ing a second language, problems can

occur as a result of this communicative

approach. Learners have limited atten-

tion capabilities (Foster & Skehan, 1999)

and are challenged when attending to

form and meaning at the same time. In

fact, with emphasis on fluency over accu-

racy, some students avoid the opportu-

nity to stretch their interlanguage systems

while others fail to build confidence in

trying out communication strategies or

language (Rahman, 2010). Consequently,

tasks can be successfully completed with-

out the need to participate in much mean-

ing negotiation or the need to attend to

linguistic form. In order to address these

issues, students are introduced to the

voice recorder on their smartphone. It is

hoped that students can more effectively

gauge their effectiveness in negotiating

with a partner by being able to observe

and continuously review their performance

in the task.

The Process: Starting the Task

Using a voice recorder is quite simple.

Once students have become familiar with

this application, the teacher randomly

chooses partners to converse on the main

topic covered in class from the textbook.

Before recording, students are reminded

to carefully place their phone between

one another, so as to avoid recording sur-

rounding conversations. Next, the teacher

instructs the class to record their conver-

sation for three minutes while conduct-

ing the task. Once this time has lapsed or

the task has been completed, the teacher

asks students to stop recording and check

whether their conversation has been suc-

cessfully recorded. In the next stage, for

homework, students create a word-for

word (including Japanese) printout of

their conversation. They are then asked to

use a red pen and correct the sentences

and add more appropriate vocabulary

4


recently learnt in the textbook. Finally,

the teacher reviews each corrected tran-

script in order to ascertain problems that

need attention and/or provide feedback.

This activity can be used at any time but

regular use will encourage students to

constantly review their performance.

Feedback

With availability of smartphones, and

the simplicity of the application, it was

expected that students would immediately

understand the advantages of recording

their own conversations. However, some

learners felt uncomfortable recording

themselves while others seemed unen-

thusiastic about reviewing their recorded

discourse. Only after time, with constant

post-analysis of transcripts by students and

feedback from the teacher did the benefits

become more apparent. Students became

more aware of issues regarding basic

grammar, they took more risks in choos-

ing vocabulary and they developed more

timely strategies to deal with the tasks at

hand. From later task recordings, it was

found that target language taught in previ-

ous classes were still being used, albeit not

very often, and that, according to student

surveys, students felt more satisfied in their

ability to communicate ideas in the tasks.

Regular analysis of recorded conversa-

tions has several advantages. First, it can

raise the bar on feedback as it allows

the teacher the opportunity to provide a

more accurate assessment of task perfor-

mance while highlighting areas of indi-

vidual concern. This activity also develops

‘conscious noticing’ observations as stu-

dents have more time to attend to form

in the recorded tasks and it raises aware-

ness of speaking accurately in future

speaking tasks. Finally, recorded conver-

sations provide more accountability and

transparency in the classroom. Teachers

can better evaluate learner performance

and choose more appropriate classroom


5

activities while students become more

actively involved in tasks as they are aware

of their teacher’s indirect involvement.

Conclusions

Research in spoken discourse could

also greatly profit from such record-

ings. Recently, there have been doubts

cast on whether improvements in abil-

ity to converse in a second language can

be sustained in TBL over the long term

(Sheen, 2003). Also, there are concerns

about whether more attention should be

placed upon language forms (Cullen,

2008; Ellis, 2006). It is generally agreed

that focusing on negotiation of meaning

alone would not be sufficient to ensure

success in acquiring a second language as

there is still insufficient research on how

much attention should be placed on activ-

ities which focus on form (Swan, 2005).

With such questions raised over TBL and

the overall effectiveness of using tasks to

allow second language acquisition, regu-

larly recording conversations over the

semester would be an expedient method

of collecting a comprehensive amount

of data that is vital in providing clearer

assessment of the effectiveness of this

pedagogical approach.

Despite such theoretical concerns, the

introduction of the smartphone in the

classroom has obvious benefits to the

student, the teacher and the researcher.

However, the overall success of TBL will

ultimately depend on the learners’ active

involvement with the task. The introduc-

tion of the smartphone in the classroom

can enhance TBL, although some students

may express concern at the beginning.

Regular analysis of paired recordings

will encourage the learner to be more

involved in the task and to take more risks

when conversing with their partner which,

according to TBL theory, is crucial when

acquiring a second language (Williams,

1995). Transcribed recordings will also

raise awareness over the issues of form,

meaning and lexis while maintaining a

6


learner-centered environment. In fact,

regular use of this phone application can

certainly be a motivating and rewarding

experience for the student. It will provide

an added sense of purpose to the tasks

given which will prepare students for con-

versing effectively in the outside world.

7

References

Cullen, R. (2008). Teaching grammar as a liberating force. ELT Journal, 62(3), 221-230.

Ellis, R. (2006). Current issues in the teaching of grammar: An SLA perspective.

TESOL QUARTERLY, 40(1), 83-107.

Foster, P. & Skehan, P. (1999). The influence of source of planning and focus of planning

on task-based performance. Language Teaching Research, 3(3), 215-247.

Rahman, M. (2010). Teaching oral communication skills: A task-based approach.

ESP World, 1(27). Retrieved from http://www.esp-world.info/Articles_27/Paper.pdf

Sheen, R. (2003). Focus-on-form: a myth in the making. ELT Journal, 57(3), 225-233.

Swan, M. (2005). Legislation by hypothesis: The case of task-based instruction.

Applied Linguistics, 26(3), 376-401.

Williams, J. (1995). Focus on form in communicative language teaching: research findings

and the classroom teacher. TESOL Journal, 4, 12-16.

8

Enhance Classroom Dynamics and Reduce Freshman Anxiety Through Class Projects

Arup Pandey

Abstract

First-year university students in Japan

often grapple with their new surround-

ings, separation from family and friends,

and also the challenges presented by a

more communicative English as a Lingua

Franca (ELF) classroom. It is one of the

responsibilities of the second language

teacher to provide their students with

the tools and support during this tran-

sitional period. This paper will briefly

present three, project-based approaches

that I have employed to enable College

of Tourism and Hospitality Management

students to thrive in their ELF studies.

要旨

大学の新入生は入学時、ホームシックになった

り、新たな環境になじめなかったり、家族や高校

の友人との別れを乗り越えるという状況に置か

れる時期である。更にELFクラス内では、外国語

に対する不安や課題といったものに対処する必

要もある。言語教育者としては、団結力のある環

境を作るだけでなく、機能的に言語を

使用できるようになり、最終的には習得する

という方向へ導くような協力関係を築くことが

求められる。本稿では、こうした新入生が直面す

る問題を克服するために筆者が行った3つのプ

ロジェクトについて紹介する。

9

About

Arup Pandey holds a Master’s degree in

Education and a Bachelor of Liberal Arts

degree. For the past eight years, he has

been teaching, providing standardized

testing support and designing curriculum.

Introduction

As language teachers, we are tasked with

establishing a good working relationship

with the class that will not only foster a

cohesive environment, but also lead to

successful language use and ultimately,

acquisition. I incorporated three class

projects to overcome anxiety and to foster

positive classroom dynamics among first-

year ELF classes at Tamagawa University.

1. Campus Tour Guide

To foster a good working relationship

between ELF class members, the first

project, Campus Tour Guide was imple-

mented. With a goal of making self-intro-

ductions informative and engaging, the

project covered one class period for prep-

aration and another for a campus tour.

All students were expected to speak in

English throughout the tour.

The preparation class began with a photo

slideshow of Tamagawa University cam-

pus to engage and motivate students. The

10

Arup Pandey - Class Projects

project’s objectives and task outline were

then explained to them. Students were

provided with colorful maps of Tamagawa

University campus and asked to choose

an area that they would like to focus on

and make it their presentation topic. One

week was allotted to the students to col-

lect information of interest about their

selected area. Students were assisted in

preparing a talk outline and marking

their tour route on the campus map.

On the presentation day the students

assembled at their regular classroom and

after a brief orientation walked to the first

designated area. The first presenter (or,

“tour guide”) introduced themselves and

then proceeded to describe the area in its

historical and contemporary context. They

were asked pre-planned and impromptu

questions by other students and myself

(or, “tourists”). The activity continued in

the same format for all 15 students and

concluded with a simple picnic.

Beside excellent grades (for speaking),

students gained confidence and familiar-

ity with the campus. The dynamics in the

classroom changed positively from that

time onward and we were able to estab-

lish a good working relationship among

the class members, as was the goal of this

activity. The positive result of this activity

influenced and motivated the students to

show enthusiasm for other class projects.

2. A Travel Itinerary:

video presentation

The goal for the next class project, A

Travel Itinerary, was to encourage stu-

dents to speak English and develop work-

ing relationships outside of the classroom.

Students were given the task of plan-

ning a travel itinerary and then present-

ing the topic in video format. The class

was divided into three groups: the Paris

region, the Brittany region of France, and

the Rome region, as these were the regions


11

I intended to travel to in the upcoming

vacation. The students felt motivated by

the fact that I planned on using the itin-

erary during my holiday travels.

Students from each group interviewed me

about my travel interests and expectations,

and then prepared a holiday itinerary

based on the interviews and independent

research. Once the itinerary was ready,

they prepared a presentation script and

finally videotaped their presentations.

Students submitted edited video presen-

tations on DVDs, which we watched in

class. The itineraries were very detailed,

for example, they included hour-by-hour

activities, hotel and restaurant (I am a

vegetarian) recommendations with prices

and menus, public transportation routes

and fares, opening and closing hours of

museums and shopping centers, and rec-

ommendations and prices for souvenirs.

Beside its practical value for the tourism

majors, the project provided opportunity

for creativity and speaking in English

with classmates outside of class. As a

result, classroom dynamics improved dra-

matically and pair-work and discussion

became more engaging and voluntary.

3. The Best Sights of Tamagawa

University: a written essay

One of the ELF course components is aca-

demic writing and the final essay topic was,

“The Best sights of Tamagawa University”.

This essay project had two parts: collect-

ing data for the essay and writing the

essay. The activity was designed with the

aim of incorporating multiple skills, tools

and media into one project so that it was

both interesting to students and worthy of

the grade requirements.

Students first identified seven popular

sites on the university campus and took

photographs of them. Then they designed

a survey questionnaire with questions

12

Arup Pandey - Class Projects

such as, “Which among these seven sites is

your favorite?”, “Why do you like this site?”

and, “How often do you visit this site?”

Using the survey questionnaires and the

photographs, students interviewed and

collected data from 40 fellow students,

five ELF teachers, and five university staff.

Subsequently, they tabulated their data

to produce a list of three best sights of

Tamagawa University. Students then wrote

an essay describing the three best sights

according to the survey and interviews.

From an ELF teacher’s point of view,

this activity encouraged communication

and discussion opportunities in English

with non-native speakers of English.

Additionally, students learned more about

their campus life and met other students

and teachers. The biggest outcome from

this project, however, was the change in

attitude in students that writing essays

can be made interesting and relevant.

Conclusion

The challenges of a successful classroom

are many, so are the solutions. I was able

to make my freshman ELF class successful

because I expected and prepared for the

challenges. I worked to foster a good work-

ing relationship among the classmates, I

tried to make my students be genuinely

interested in studying English by giving

them projects that go beyond required

coursework and grades, and I was able to

adapt difficult and mundane tasks into

tasks that are creative and interesting for

the students, to motivate and challenge

them. My freshman ELF students are now

looking forward to their sophomore year,

anxiously, and without anxiety.

13

Activities to foster autonomy in university ELF classes

Anamaria Sakanoue

Abstract

This paper will share two activities in

which educators may enhance autonomy

in their classrooms through journals and

a 30-minute communicative workshop.

Autonomy is mainly the “capacity for

detachment, critical reflection, decision-

making, and independent action” (Little,

1991, p.4). Journal writing enables stu-

dents not only to acquire a language nat-

urally but also to evaluate their learning

progress (Oxford, 1996). The 30-minute

workshop gives the students the oppor-

tunity to practice the four skills (read-

ing, writing, speaking and listening) in

groups where the teacher acts as a facil-

itator. These conditions enable students

to be more independent and self-directed

in their learning.

要旨

本稿では、授業内でのウィークリージャーナルと

30分のワークショップを通して、学生が自立性を

高める２つの方法について紹介する。自立性とは

「独立性、批判的思考、決断力、自主的活動」で

ある(Little, 1991, p.4) と定義付けられてい

る。ジャーナルライティングは学生が自然に言語

を獲得することが可能になるだけでなく、学習進

歩状況を評価することにも活用できる (Oxford,

1996)。教師が進行役となるグループでの30分

間のワークショップは、学生が4技能 (reading,

writing, speaking and listening)を練習す

る機会を与える。これらのアクティビティにより、

学生はより独立し、自立した学習が可能になる。

14

About

Anamaria Sakanoue has been teach-

ing in Japan for over ten years. She has

experience teaching at a language school

and two universities in Japan. During her

master’s studies, her main research focus

was on autonomy and writing in second

language acquisition. Ana believes that

autonomy is an innate power that all peo-

ple possess and that it is one of the keys to

successful learning, especially language

learning. Presently Anamaria is a doctoral

candidate at the University of London

Institute of Education (IOE) where she

mainly focuses on multilingualism and

teachers’ reflections on their teachings

and personal growth.

Introduction

Most researchers and educators agree

that we should help learners become

more autonomous (Little, 1991). The

roots of autonomy were inspired from

the early, radical ideas of Dewey, (1916),

Freire (1970), and Illich (1971). These

ideas have been supported by three “ten-

dencies” in language education: “individ-

ualization, learner-centered curriculum

and the political nature of language

learning” (Benson & Voller, 1997, p. 6).

Autonomy is the power to be in control of

our own decisions, learning and teaching.

Littlewood (1996, p. 428) states: “that we

can define an autonomous person as one

who has an independent capacity to make

and carry out choices which govern his or

her actions.” I believe that students have

the ability to be in charge of their own

decisions and they are willing to accept

responsibility for their learning process.


15

Through autonomy students may reflect

on what, why and how they are learn-

ing. This paper will share two activities I

use to promote student autonomy in my

classrooms: weekly journal writing and a

30-minute communicative workshop.

Autonomy in my classroom:

Writing journals

Writing journals enables students to

have more control of their own learning.

Therefore, this gives them the freedom

to determine their goals and purposes

of learning (Benson, 2001). I believe that

through the process of journal writing,

students learn not to be afraid of making

mistakes. Furthermore, writing journals

gives students the opportunity to prac-

tice and master language functions while

they write on topics which are authentic

and real.

At the beginning of the semester, I require

students to bring a note-book to class,

choose some topics of personal interest

and write weekly on their chosen topic.

After I collect the students’ journals, I

give them feedback both on content and

persistent grammar mistakes. I put a lot

of emphasis on the content and on time

devoted to journal writing.

Writing is like a guide leading the learners

towards autonomy. For example, the posi-

tive feedback students receive from teach-

ers can foster students’ positive attitude

towards learning (Duppenthaler, 2002).

According to Sinclair (2000), learners

need to be encouraged to reflect on the

strategies they use and whether they are

successful or unsuccessful. Assuming the

L2 learners are not beginners, journal

writing in the L2 should not, in principle,

be treated differently than when writing

in one’s L1. Less emphasis on grammati-

cal forms may encourage the students to

be more focused on conveying a message.

This enables a more authentic practice

since they are free to write about topics

of personal interest. Learners are able

16

Anamaria Sakanoue - Fostering Autonomy

to make choices about what and how to

write if they are given the opportunity,

and teachers can be the facilitators of

these opportunities.

Autonomy in my classroom:

the 30-minute workshop

Another activity that I implement in my

classrooms to enhance autonomy is the

30-minute communicative workshop. In

this workshop students practice the four

skills (reading, writing, speaking and lis-

tening) in groups. Each group works on

various exercises that help them improve

one of the four skills. For example, in the

reading section, students read a poem or

a passage from a book and answer com-

prehension questions. Then they have

to imagine or predict the ending or out-

come of the story. In the listening sec-

tion, they have to listen to an interview

or a news report, check the key vocabu-

lary and make original sentences. In the

writing section, they have to write a script

or dialogue on a pre-decided topic, and

then they act it out in the next lesson. In

the speaking section, they discuss with

the teacher about the topic of the work-

shop. In order to avoid interfering, the

teacher acts as facilitator, monitoring the

students’ work, promoting a collaborative

atmosphere in the classroom.

“My pedagogic creed”

The activities conducted in my classes

fall under the Freirean concept (1970) of

teaching language as a whole. Through

my research and teaching experience, I

have realized that two elements, motiva-

tion and autonomy, are important in order

to develop students’ desire to learn in any

field. The educator’s job is to motivate and

enhance learning in order to create inde-

pendent learners. Learning a language is

not only about grammar and syntax. It is

the educator’s responsibility to expose stu-

dents to the culture, customs and manner-

isms of the language users. If students are


17

able to understand and use both aspects

of language (cultural and linguistic), then

we may say that they are successful at mas-

tering the target language.

Autonomy is described as the “power” to

take charge of one’s learning (Benson,

2001). This capacity depends on two

main components: ability and willing-

ness. Through autonomous learning stu-

dents are involved cognitively, creatively

and consciously. Educators need to be

aware that learners approach learning

with cultural, ethnic, and gender- related

“baggage”. In addition, our students may

have numerous anxieties towards their

language needs, goals and experiences.

When we approach languages we need to

take into account various aspects of learn-

ers such as cognitive, affective and linguis-

tic (Brown, 2001). Autonomous learning

is one way to recognize these different

aspects of our learners and therefore, I

am suggesting that these activities allow

my students to learn in their own style.

Conclusion

In conclusion, this paper attempted to

show two activities I use in my classes to

help students become more autonomous

learners. Through journal writing and

the 30-minute communicative workshop,

students can acquire a language more

naturally. Being autonomous also gives

the students a sense of ownership and

responsibility over their learning process.

In my case, I will continue using journals

and conducting the 30-minute workshop

as ways to create an autonomous learning

environment where students can express

themselves and acquire a language more

naturally. Autonomy is not only about giv-

ing freedom to students in their learning

process, but it is also about making them

responsible for their decisions.

18

References

Benson, P. (2001). Teaching and researching- autonomy in language learning. Edinburgh:

Pearson Education Limited.

Benson, P. & Voller, P. (Eds.) (1997). Autonomy and independence in language learning.

London: Longman.

Brown, H. D.(2001). Teaching by principles: An interactive approach to language pedagogy.

New York: Longman.

Dewey, J. (1916). Democracy and education. New York: Dover Publications.

Duppenthaler, P. M.(2002). The effect of three types of written feedback on student

motivation. JALT Journal, 24(2), 130-154.

Freire, P. (1970). Pedagogy of the oppressed. New York: Herder & Herder.

Illich, I. (1971). Deschooling society. London: Calder & Boyars.

Little, D. (1991). Learner autonomy 1: Definitions, issues, and problems. Dublin: Authentik.

Littlewood, W.T. (1996). Autonomy: An anatomy and a framework. Systems, 24, 427-435.

Oxford, R.L. (1996). Language learning strategies around the world: Cross-Cultural

Perspectives. Hawaii: University of Hawaii.

19

Sinclair, B. (2000). Learner autonomy: The next phase? In Sinclair, B. McGrath, I. &

Lamb, T. (Eds.) Learner autonomy, teacher autonomy: Future directions (pp. 4-14).

London: Longman.

20

Managing Extensive Reading: introduction to M-reader

Paul McBride & Brett Milliner

Abstract

M-reader is a free online aid which

enables teachers to verify that students

doing extensive reading (ER) have

understood graded reader books. This is

achieved by students taking online quizzes.

Established with the help of the Japanese

Ministry of Education, M-reader is now

used in 26 countries. Additive ER (exten-

sive reading done outside class time) can

only be widely used if effective measures

are taken to ensure student accountability

without overloading teachers or taking too

much class time (Robb and Kano, 2013).

M-reader satisfies these requirements,

while recording the number of books and

the number of words read.

要旨

M-Readerは、学生が多読（ER）を行う際にグレ

イデットリーダーズの内容を理解しているかを、教

師が確認するための無料オンラインプログラムで

ある。その方法は、学生が読んだ本に関するオン

ラインクイズを行うことでなされる。日本の文部

科学省の支援を受けて設立され、現在、26か国で

使用されている。追加的な多読（授業外で行われ

る多読）は、教師の負担になりすぎず、授業時間も

削ることなく、学生の責務を確保できる効果的な

評価方法があってこそ、広く使われうる手法である

(Robb and Kano 2013)。M-Readerは、読んだ

本の数と単語数を記録するだけでなく、これらの

有益な要件を満たしているプログラムである。

21

About

Paul McBride, M. Ed. (TESOL), is an

assistant professor at the Centre for

English as a Lingua Franca. His research

interests include English as a lingua

franca, extensive reading, curriculum

development, critical thinking and auton-

omous learning.

Brett Milliner is assistant professor in the

Center for English as a Lingua Franca

(CELF) at Tamagawa University and

lecturer in the faculty of law at Keio

University. Brett’s research interests

include mobile-assisted language learn-

ing (MALL), self-access learning and stu-

dent motivation. Brett is the treasurer of

JALT CALL SIG and Yokohama JALT,

as well as being a regular contribu tor

to Digital Mobile Language Learning

(http://dmll.jaltcall.org).

Introduction

“Good things happen to students who

read a great deal in the new language.”

(Bamford & Day, 2004, p. 1). M-reader

surmounts some of the problems which

prevent teachers from implementing

additive ER: not being able to ensure stu-

dent accountability, not having enough

time to organize ER programs, and not

having enough class time available. It was

reported that the predecessor of M-reader,

Moodle Reader, encouraged students to

read significantly more and to read regu-

larly during the semester (Robb, 2009).

M-reader, an easier version for teachers

and students to use, and is therefore ben-

eficial from pedagogical, managerial and

motivational standpoints.

Background

Extensive reading is often thought to be

best conducted according to the principles

of Bamford and Day (2004). They suggest

that students should select a variety of rel-

atively easy reading material of their own

22

Paul McBride & Brett Milliner - M-reader

choice, read as much as possible, see read-

ing as its own reward, usually read faster

rather than slower, read individually and

silently, and be guided by the teacher who

acts as a role model. According to Nation

(2009), a graded reader is at an appropri-

ate level of difficulty if 95 to 98 percent of

the words in a text are already familiar to

the reader.

Using M-reader

Students login in at http://mreader.org

to see:

23


They are taken to a personal home page,

accessible by teachers, which shows read-

ing progress by displaying quiz outcomes,

books read, and cumulative word counts:

24


Each book cover represents a quiz passed,

indicating that a book has been read

and comprehended to a sufficient level.

Quizzes are designed not to test memory

but rather understanding of the book’s

plot and characters. Each quiz is drawn

from a bank 20 to 30 questions from

which a student receives 10 questions at

random, usually in the form of multiple

choice (shown below), “who said this?”,

true/ false and event ordering. In March

2014 there were over 3,700 quizzes avail-

able, covering at least 80 percent of the

books in 31 graded reader series. In a

study by Campbell and Weatherford

(2013), comments by students that the

quizzes were too difficult were attributed

mainly to the students selecting books

that were too difficult.

25


Teachers have access to class logs, search-

able by student name or date:

26


Teachers can also, if enabled by their

school administrator, perform the func-

tions as shown:

The check for cheating function is par-

ticularly useful. In cases of suspected

cheating, a teacher can retrieve data

quickly, and label the relevant quizzes as

“pending”, allowing time to approach the

student(s) concerned.

Time delays between quizzes can be

set so that students are not able to com-

plete several quizzes late in the semester.


27

This feature also serves to prevent the

sharing of information about quiz ques-

tion bank items between students.

Campbell and Weatherford (2013) found

that 80 percent of the students reported

feeling that the time delay of 24 hours

between quizzes was too long, yet the

teachers noted that this was probably the

result of students failing to read consis-

tently throughout the semester.

Student Feedback

At the end of second semester 2013, a

student questionnaire was conducted at

Tamagawa University to help evaluate an

M-reader pilot program conducted during

the semester with a group of 141 first year

students. The average number of books

read during the pilot program was five.

Overall, students had a positive impression

of the M-reader component. Seventy-four

percent (104/141) either agreed or strongly

agreed that they were able to understand

the M-reader quizzes. Sixty-five percent

(91/145) also agreed that the system was

easy to use. In the first semester of 2013 stu-

dents were asked to complete written book

reports as part of their graded reading

assessment. Table 1 illustrates which form

of accountability students preferred. Some

students (27%) preferred book reports

to M-reader quizzes. When students were

asked to explain their preference, a num-

ber of students noted1 that they preferred

written book reports because they were

able to practice their writing skills. For

example, 自分で文章を考える力をつけたいから

(I want to improve my composition skills).

Another noted,自分の言葉で表現する事も重要

だと思ったから(I think that it is important

to develop my skill at expressing things

in my own words). Some students experi-

enced technology-related problems: アクセ

スしづらい、難しい (it was difficult to access

M-reader and it was hard) and ネットを開

く手間がかかる (it took time to connect to

the program). Students also had to check

1 Student responses have been translated by the authors from Japanese into English.

28


whether graded readers had M-reader

quizzes available: M-readerにある本を探す

のに時間がかかる (It took time to search for

the books which had M-reader quizzes).

Forty-nine percent of students preferred

M-reader quizzes to book reports. Some

students appeared to like the feedback

they received on their graded reading. For

example, 本の内容を理解してるかがしっかり分

かるから (I was able to learn whether I fully

understood the book’s contents or not)

and 本の内容理解がM-readerを使う事でより

いっそう深まるから (Using M-reader helped

me to understand the content of the book

more deeply). A total of 19 students (13.5%)

commented that they enjoyed the conve-

nience of being able to do the M-reader

quizzes. For example ネットでできるため、気

軽に何度も利用することができた (because the

quizzes were available online, I was able

to work freely at my own pace), 楽な気持ち

で英語の内容を読めるから (M-reader allows

me to read English more freely), and 携

帯から出来るので、短時間で素早く出来るのがよ

Table 1

Student responses to “I prefer M-reader quizzes to writing book reports.” (n=141)

Likert Scale Response Number of Students Percentage of Students

Strongly Agree 29 20.57%

Agree 40 28.37%

Neutral 32 24.11%

Disagree 29 20.57%

Strongly Disagree 9 6.38%


29

かった。また、やりやすかった (As you are able

to answer M-reader quizzes on your cell-

phone, you can take quizzes very quickly.

Furthermore, the quizzes were easy to do).

These findings do not necessarily contra-

dict Campbell and Weatherford’s (2013)

data which revealed that students pre-

ferred book reports. The authors of that

study suspected that their students had

learned how to do book reports without

thoroughly reading the books.

Conclusion

M-reader allows teachers to manage

graded reading activity effectively in

terms of both logistics and pedagogical

principles. ELF students in the Tamagawa

University M-reader pilot program gen-

erally had a very positive impression of

M-reader.

30

References

Bamford, J. & Day, R. R. (eds.) (2004). Extensive reading activities for teaching language.

Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Campbell, J. & Weatherford, Y (2013). Using M-Reader to Motivate Students to Read

Extensively. Second World Congress in Extensive Reading Proceedings (pp.1-12). Retrieved

from, www.er-korea-2013.org/wp-content/uploads/ERWC2-Proceedings.pdf

Nation, I.S.P. (2009). Teaching ESL/EFL Reading and Writing. New York, NY: Routledge.

Robb, T. (2009). The Reader Quiz module for extensive reading. In M. Thomas (Ed.), Selected

proceedings of the thirteenth annual JALT CALL SIG conference 2008 (pp. 109-116). Tokyo:

Japan Association for Language Teaching.

Robb, T. & Kano, M. (2013). Effective extensive reading outside the classroom: A large-scale

experiment. Reading in a Foreign Language, 25(2), 234-247.

31

Filipinos Teaching English in the Kanto Area

Tricia Okada

Abstract

The effects of globalization include the

emergence of greater demand for English

language teaching and the evolution of

the language as it is used among speakers

of different first languages. These changes

have paved the way for many teachers born

and raised in the Philippines to teach the

English language in Japan. This ongion

research on teacher identity and migra-

tion through the narratives of Filipino

English teachers who are transient or per-

manently residing in Japan. The author

interprets her research data mainly gath-

ered through participant observation to

introduce the Filipinos teaching in the

Kanto area.

要旨

グローバリゼーションは、英語教育の需要の増加

と、異なる母語を持つ人々の間で使われる言語の

進化をもたらした。この変化は、生まれも育ちも

フィリピンである多くの教師に、日本で英語を教える

という道を開いた。本稿では、短期もしくは長期に

亘り日本に居住しているフィリピン人英語教師の話

をもとに、教師のアイデンティティと移住について参

与観察から集めた研究データを解釈する。

32

About

Tricia is a Filipino immigrant of Japanese

descent and she is currently an assistant

professor in the Center for English as a

Lingua Franca at Tamagawa University.

She holds a master’s degree in the

Sociology of Communication from Osaka

University. Her research interests are gen-

der studies and migration.

Background

Filipino and English are recognized as

the official languages of the Philippines. In

addition, there are 170 dialects and a mix

of Tagalog and English language, called

Taglish. Since Filipino history dates back

to the early immigrants - Negros, Malays,

Indians and Chinese - a common debate

among scholars tackles the Filipino iden-

tity. Beginning with Ferdinand Magellan,

Spanish became the official language of

the Philippines between 1565 and 1898.

During the American period (1898-1946)

in the Philippines, which was briefly

interrupted by the Japanese occupation,

the English language was introduced

and used in schools for education. If the

Americans had not colonized the coun-

try, Spanish could have remained as the

official language.

Tricia Okada - Fillipinos Teaching English


33

A brief introduction to the

education system in the Philippines

The Philippine education system, which

officially requires 17 years of formal

education, has recently been the focus

of government-led improvements and

development (Department of Education

Republic of the Philippines, 2013). In

2013, President Aquino’s current govern-

ment started implementing a basic K-12

education program (Official Gazette,

2013). Most of the subjects like Math,

Science, History and Social Sciences are

taught in English; thus, most textbooks

are also written in English. Moreover,

Filipinos are trained as early as primary

school to participate in class discussions;

hence, by the time they enter university

they are able to actively interact in class

debates and discourse.

In addition to being taught in schools,

English is used in households and often

spoken on various television shows. Even

though daily conversations are both

in Filipino and English, most public

announcements are in English; thus, chil-

dren in their formative years encounter

English in their daily lives. Still, for oth-

ers who are interested in learning English

more in-depth, there are many oppor-

tunities through English films, music,

and literature to broaden their language

skills. Undeniably, English fluency in the

Philippines, as in other parts of the world,

has become a status symbol of good edu-

cation and upbringing.

Fresh off the Boat

Through participant observation and

interviews, and roughly based on their

background and narratives, I categorized

Filipinos living, working, studying, and

teaching in Japan into four categories: for-

eign students, enthusiasts of Japanese cul-

ture, Filipinos married to Japanese, and

specialists in teaching English as a second

language. The foreign students, who in

some cases are in Japan on scholarships,

often work part-time jobs. They take on a

34

Tricia Okada - Fillipinos Teaching English

part-time job not only to make ends meet

because of the high cost of living in Kanto,

but also to have a break from academic

life. What is also interesting is that most

of them can get part-time jobs teaching

English if their senior Filipino classmate

graduates, leaves Japan, and recommends

them for the job. For these students, they

see teaching English as a temporary posi-

tion, since they intend to pursue a career

related to their studies.

Similar to other foreigners, there are

Filipino fans of Japanese popular culture.

They initially apply as temporary English

teachers to obtain working visas in order

to enjoy life in Japan before returning to

the Philippines. For a select few, teaching

English can be a short-term option that

serves as a stepping-stone to get into jobs

related to their background.

Another category of teachers are those

married to Japanese or foreigners living

in Japan. Since there are numerous jobs

in English teaching, this has become a pri-

mary choice for mothers who want to have

a work-life balance and have more qual-

ity time with their families. Some wives of

Filipino scholars also seek English teach-

ing jobs to get access to social life with

other foreigners living in Japan, while aug-

menting their family income. There are

also some cases wherein Filipino mothers

are invited by other Japanese mothers to

teach English to their children during

playtime with Japanese children.

Filipinos, who have postgraduate degrees

in teaching English as a second language

or related fields, have more opportunities

to work in academia and earn a decent

salary based on their qualifications and

teaching experience. The Filipinos I spoke

to admitted they enjoy teaching, not just

because of its financial security compared

to teaching in the Philippines, but also

because of the cultural diversity it offers


35

in the work environment. Moreover, the

Filipinos can learn more about Japanese

culture and people through their stu-

dents. Thus, it becomes a win-win situa-

tion for both the teacher and the student.

Conclusion

Of course, the journey of every Filipino’s

experience teaching English in Japan

varies. For Filipino students who teach

part-time, they feel they have gained

more from their students, which helps

them understand the culture and adjust

to living as foreigners in Japan. For the

Filipinos who find the job rewarding, they

build a career and excel in it. Depending

on their teaching environment, their edu-

cational background, work experience,

and how they learned English, there are

significant factors to be considered when

measuring how competent they are as

teachers and how well they adjust to the

Japanese school system. An active organi-

zation called Filipino English Teachers in

Japan (FETJ), offers support and training

to Filipino teachers. As one of the effects

of globalization, there is an emergence of

affordable, online English tutorials based

in the Philippines and taught by Filipinos,

yet owned and managed by non-Filipinos

(Mami, 2013). This suggests that the field

of English teaching in Japan is widening

beyond the inner circle (Kachru, 1985),

and as result, strengthening the demand

for Filipino teachers of English.

36

References

Department of Education Republic of the Philippines. (2013). Historical Perspective of the

Philippine Educational System. Retrieved from

http://www.deped.gov.ph/index.php/about-deped/history

Kachru, B.B. (1985). ‘Standards, codification and sociolinguistic realism: the English lan-

guage in the outer circle’ In R. Quick and H.G. Widdowson (Eds.): English in the World:

Teaching and Learning the Languages and Literacies (pp.11-30). Cambridge: Cambridge

University Press.

Mami, M. (2013, January 8). Online English studies benefits Japanese, Filipinos.

The Japan Times. Retrieved from

http://www.japantimes.co.jp/community/2013/01/08/our-lives/online-english-studies-

benefit-japanese-filipinos/#.Ui4S_-BC820

Official Gazette. (2013). The K to 12 Basic Education Program. Retrieved from

http://www.gov.ph/k-12/

Zaide, G. & Zaide, S. (2002). Philippine History and Government. Manila: All-Nations

Publishing Co., Inc.

A Chara

Issue 5 marks an exciting evolution for

JSCE. In Volume 1, as Editor, I provided

content for each issue as well as recruit-

ing potential Contributors. In Volume 2,

we expanded our pool of Contributors

through joining events with other organi-

zations. In Volume 3, those relationships

led to truly collaborative issues, with Issue

Editors controlling the timescales and

workflow for their issue. In Volume 4, we

can see previous Issue Editors as evange-

lists for JSCE.

Issue 5, was conceived by Brett Milliner, in

association with Travis Cote, Mitsuko Imai

and the other Contributors. They formed

a working group to achieve a professional

goal. JSCE simply provided a forum for

their work. My sincere thanks to Brett,

Travis, Mitsuko, Jason, Arup, Anamaria,

Paul and Tricia for a great issue.

Le Méas

From the Editor

We want your contribution

さいたま市教育家会ジャーナル ( JSCE) is

primarily a forum for professional develop-

ment. Our goal is to help serious (but not

solemn) like-minded people to form work-

ing groups to achieve professional goals.

We do not have a paid membership model.

We also welcome opportunities to collabo-

rate with groups or organizations. If you

have a specific goal, such as finding a uni-

versity teaching position, we want to work

with you to help you achieve it. If you have

a more general interest in professional

development we want to provide you with

varied opportunities. If you have an idea

for a project we want to get involved. We

think that by working together, under the

aegis of an organization, we benefit each

other by association.

To find out more, or get involved, please

contact John at:

Contact@SaitamaCityEducators

JSCE & The Center for English as a Lingua Franca Colloborative Issue

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