7.Discussion and Debate for Future English Teachers

Abstract

Despite having experienced at least 6 years of English study, by many standards, the majority of Japanese high school graduates leave school with an inadequate level of English speaking ability. Teachers at junior high school and high school have no incentive to include a speaking element in their curriculum, as most schools do not test students on their speaking ability. It is no wonder that some students entering university cannot hold a conversation with an English speaker confidently. During the Discussion and Debate class students I address the issue of students’ confidence in speaking, ability to communicate their ideas with their classmates and others, and also offer students the opportunity to prepare to use these communication skills as teachers in the classroom. In this paper, I address the issues many university students have with finding the confidence to speak English in front of others, discussing topics in detail, and acquiring the skill set to pass this ability on to students from elementary to high school. I discuss methods to initially improve their basic speaking ability then go on to show methods that can be used to promote discussion in the classroom. The final outcome is for these students to then use their English skills to teach students from elementary to high school. As I have a wealth of specialized teaching experience teaching students of elementary school age, I will focus on methods to teach children in this age range.