Day Two: Shimabara TPRS 2011
AWESOME DAY! In the morning I did an embedded reading of yesterday’s French lesson. “Embedded reading” is teaching tool for learning to read that Laurie Clarq invented. Absolutely amazing. Then the teachers worked in groups. Each group had to plan an English lesson to teach the citizens of Shimabara in the afternoon! Martha and Tom had advertised on the radio and everywhere for a free English lesson. In the afternoon, the people showed up to take their English lesson. Some were adults and some were kids. They had a total of three English lessons (Lots of teachers got a turn to teach part of a lesson.) It was fabulous. Teachers all saw that they CAN do it and that the method does work with Japanese students. This is important because they had been a bit hesitant to try it out, thinking it was bit too “American-style” to work with their countrymen. A little old guy claimed to be some Japanese hero who loved sake and beer! It was adorable. Everyone was great. In the evening we had a group dinner at a “viking” (smorgasbord) restaurant. It was fantastic. Everyone was bit giddy with the thrill of the day! Check out the photo of Yuki (the fabulous translator) telling the group in Japanese what I had said in English. Yuki is the reason the workshops in Shimabara are such a big success.