I’m so glad the Fukuoka workshop was so good because today was almost like pulling teeth! I planned a much more advanced workshop with lots of requests from Margit. But in the teaching theory or how education is changing sections most of the teachers were like poor deer caught in headlights!
At one point I asked what the (approx) population of the world was and only one person knew (I checked at lunchtime and they really had no idea…. and half of the teachers were public primary school teachers.)
With no feedback and very few questions that was very tough.
But …. in the songs and games though, actually doing the lessons as a student, they came alive! They were so into it!
I guess they might have just figured at 9,000 yen for 6 hours it’s actually cheaper than English lessons. But that’s not really why I put so much effort into these …..
Anyway, if you want proof that Genki English is the perfect material for your adult classes, check out the videos below…. (hopefully you guys might pick up a few useful ideas!)
(If you are on email and can’t see the videos, click here for the online version)
- Do you like…? + Karuta for big groups!
- Genki Phonics Lesson Plan (I’ll have the video up as soon as I’ve edited it. The workbook is here
- Phonics “o” Song – I am a robot: (Check out the amazing dancing on the second verse!)
- Phonics “ure” Song – Treasure Adventure: ( from the members Beta Test forum)!
- Pronouns Song + He/she + they/we game
They were also fantastic learning the “I like vegetables” song with the ASL gestures.
I also did the needs assessment I mentioned the other week.
Although in this workshop it sort of backfired as I got so many excuses as to why they couldn’t teach well. I had one deputy head teacher swearing me down that her school was just too poor to do Genki English – even after I’d showed her the pictures of the schools I work with in India and Thailand. I felt ashamed for her – especially when I found out that her school has just had brand new LCD TVs put in each classroom.
Thanks to the teachers who were really trying and a big thanks to Margit for organising everything again – I hope you picked up lots of ideas and got to see everything you wanted! And for next time let’s put up the price and make it a 2 or 3 day full on training course where we get more teachers who really are wanting to improve their teaching!
(If you are on email and can’t see the videos, click here for the online version)
Thanks to everybody joining this workshop I was able to learn a lot again. In a different way than I had expected, but learning is learning . Thanks to everybody coming, especially those from pretty far away.
I’ve been thinking the last days how much energy it must have been for you, Richard.
I’ve sometimes had a 45 minute class of 30 kids, who just wouldn’t react to almost anything, and wouldn’t ask questions , but never for an entire day, and it was always so tiring that I had to take a long nap afterwards.
You were so good in keeping patient despite of all that ;
when you started talking about passion for teaching and how the teachers are the stars to light the kid’s their way, I almost started crying, but I happened to look at the group for a tiny moment and realizing that your words hardly reached anybody I was so shocked and couldn’t believe it .
The fact that everybody came was maybe a first step towards a new way of teaching for some. Maybe it was just overwhelming because it was so very different from everything learned so far.
Many of them knew GE in some way, or even had a few CDs to use in class. I think they were probably very wrong thinking that GE is something like any other English learning program for kids.
I hope everybody got at least a tiny bit of an idea from this workshop.
maybe even reading this blog…I’m very thoughtful in how to express myself, I don’t want to sound arrogant, I don’t want to bring anybody down.
But being on the blog and Forum every day, I know how much love and passion Richard and many many members are putting into GE and it just makes me sad if there are a few people who don’t at least acknowledge it to the extend that they express their gratitude at the end of the day.
For all Forum members:
Wow! The phonics course is going to be great. I was always hesitating to teach phonics, it got much much easier with theGE phonics workbook, but in the workshop Richard did a lecture of how to introduce the first 5 letters, and it was not only good and easy, it was completely fun! Not only for the teacher.
AND the pirate song is another thing to be looking forward to. You can see on the video, everybody is doing so good, though we didn’t practice this song (or gestures ) at all. Richard put it on and started the music.!!!
I found a great project idea to go with it and put it on the Forum thread. I think this is much more than one song, it can be used for many things and over a long time and for all ages.
The ROBOT DANCE was BRILLIANT!
Well, I do hope that the coming workshops are going to be great and I am looking forward to hopefully having a 2,3 day intensive workshop next year.
THANK YOU SO MUCH.
I was so surprised to read that a school was too poor to do Genki English. GE works for us even if we don’t have a computer, I print everything at home (A4 cards and worksheets). We don’t even have a blackboard! And the kids just love it. I teach each group one hour a week. We do a lot of games and they learnt so much since September that we managed to do a one-hour show for the parents at the end of the year. It was a big success. GE is not about how much money you have. It is a way to teach that gives pleasure to the kids, they always ask for more. I’m looking forward to go back in September, with a bunch of new kids wanting to be part of it with their friends. Thank you Richard, it is so gratifying to see the kids’ faces at the end of each lesson (and yes, it’s a good way to stay in shape…)
Richard, thank you very much for your enormous work and especially for showing the karuta game for big groups.
Although I’m not a Genki English teacher, I took the liberty of using this game in a lesson at an English summer camp here in Ukraine. Here’s how I played it with my kids (aged 5-7).
I took a hula-hoop and put plastic fruit and vegetables inside. The kids were sitting in a circle with their hands up high. Then I took a microphone and each child asked me “Do you want …?” and, well, I answered. It was so cool! Even the shy students asked the question and participated in the game. Although sometimes I was really worried about the safety (the kids almost bumped their heads try to grab the object wanted by me)the game was a real blast!
So thank you millions of times!
Big hugs from Ukraine!
Hi
Just planning for my Halloween class and saw the Pirate imagination worksheet and also Pirate Mask that could be used for the Treasure Adventure lesson.
Also when I click on the A4 cards it just plays the tune, no cards appear for printing.
Thanks :.)
Great idea! And thanks for picking up the link error, I’ll change it right now!