Teaching Practice 💡

Teaching Experience and Reflections

During my time at the school, I had the opportunity to observe Mr. Nakadai's class three times and teach twice, specifically on February 12th and 18th. The school operates on a schedule of two 45-minute periods per subject, separated by a 10-minute break. Mr. Nakadai arranged for me to teach one 45-minute period, preceded by observing his class for the first 45 minutes.

School Schedule

As this was my first experience teaching real students, I was understandably nervous. While the prior observations of Mr. Nakadai's class were helpful, I felt a strong need to better understand the students' characters to effectively tailor my teaching style. To prepare, I dedicated time to rehearse my lessons in the 'Kou-ryu-to' or dormitory, which provides classroom facilities for practice. I practiced diligently, aiming to deliver engaging and informative student sessions.

Practicing my teaching in 'Kou-ryu-to'

Time Management and Lesson Structure

A key challenge was managing the 45-minute time constraint to effectively deliver the material. I was assigned two different sections: "Uniqueness of Ecosystem in Indonesia" and "Environmental Issues Facing Indonesia." It was important to relate these distinct topics to create a cohesive learning experience. Mr. Nakadai suggested connecting them by highlighting Indonesia's abundant tropical rainforests and then exploring the human-caused problems disrupting these ecosystems, such as deforestation and forest fires. This approach allowed me to link environmental issues to specific Indonesian contexts.

Problem-Solving and Continuous Improvement

My first teaching experience revealed several areas for improvement. Mr. Nakadai provided valuable feedback, suggesting that I:

1. Actively solicit feedback from students.

2. Speak more slowly and clearly, considering that the students are not native English speakers.

3. Thoroughly explain important vocabulary.

4. Move around the classroom to engage with students more directly.

5. Incorporate brief, informative videos to overcome language barriers through visual aids.

Because of these points, it encouraged me to improve many things. Starting from me re-evaluating which materials I need to pay attention to and making one thing with another connected so that students can understand better as well as learning becomes more effective, also looking for videos that will help me explain better about the material because of the language barrier between me and the students, because so far Mr. Nakadai's class is almost completely in Japanese so surely students can understand better because their main language is Japanese, so this is my job when there is a difference in language understanding I must be able to understand better because their main language is Japanese. Mr. Nakadai's class is almost entirely in Japanese so I am sure the students can understand better because their main language is Japanese, so it is my job when there is a difference in language understanding I must be able to be slower during teaching, I improve this by practicing continuously because I tend to speak quickly when I feel nervous and considering my teaching time is not much.

I also introduced a simple activity to foster student interaction and gather feedback. Given the topic of environmental issues in Indonesia, I focused on global warming, forest fires, waste management, and air pollution. I decided to use a comparative approach to highlight the issues. Utilizing the IQ AIR website (https://www.iqair.com/us), I tasked the students with comparing air quality in Indonesian cities (e.g., Jakarta, Bandung) with that of Japanese cities (e.g., Sakado, Tokyo). After allowing time for analysis, I invited 3-4 students to share their findings, discussing the air quality differences and potential causes. This activity proved engaging, enabling students to learn about air quality in both countries, share their observations, and develop their analytical skills.

Activity : Comparing Air Quality between Indonesia and Japan

Second Teaching Session and Final Thoughts

Following these improvements, my second teaching session felt considerably more effective. Mr. Nakadai acknowledged the progress and offered further guidance:

1. Emphasize the key teaching materials and manage teaching time effectively.

2. Speak more slowly when explaining the materials.

3. Provide students with ample time to answer questions and participate in activities.

In addition, Mr. Nakadai commended my increased confidence during the second session. Since I finished the lesson with time to spare, I allowed Mr. Nakadai to add some additional information to further enrich the students' understanding. Overall, this experience was invaluable in developing my teaching skills and adapting to the specific needs of the students.

2nd Teaching Session (18 February 2025)