1. Active Learning, Pro-Active Teaching
Michael Rost
JALT 2016

2. PART 1 Exploring the Concept
What is…. …?

3. Active Learning: Key Constructs
Interact
Initiate
Connect
Show curiosity
Take the lead
???
Rank: Most “culturally challenging”

4. Implementing “active learning” means 3 things:
Do more ____________
Do less ____________
Emphasize __________
 How can you implement “active learning”
in your classroom?

5. Example from a university class
• student presentations
• out of class explorations
• pair and small group tasks
• strategy development
• collaborative assessment
• in book exercises and individual activities
• lecturing by teacher
• corrections by teacher
• sitting in desks facing front of room
• homework assignments
• praise student presentations
• reward progress
• solicit student ideas for activities
Your own
“do more/do less/emphasize” list

6. Pro-Active Teaching = Installing an active learning
• set a personal example with your own behavior
• recognize students’ efforts and celebrate their
• promote learners’ self-confidence
• create a pleasant and relaxed atmosphere in the classroom
• present tasks clearly
• emphasize attention, intention and effort
• make learning tasks stimulating and “fun
• familiarize students with “21st Century Values”
• promote group cohesiveness and group norms
• advance learner autonomy
Rank: Which come easily to you?

7. PART 2 Looking at the Japanese context
What language education transformations have you witnessed in Japan?
What language education transformations would you like to see in Japan?

8. Some ideas from educators, politicians, and business leaders on transforming English education in Japan

9. Emphasis on “globally-communicative” education
”English education in Japan must produce more ‘globally-minded, globally-communicative and globally-competitive’ workforce to help revive the world’s third-largest economy. ”
Shinzo Abe, Prime Minister

10. Emphasis on creative thinking
“Most university graduates I interview lack English language skills, but more importantly, they seem to lack critical thinking and problem-solving abilities. …The presence or absence of these skills are core elements for me in deciding whether to offer them a position. ”
Hiroshi Mikitani, CEO of Rakuten

11. Emphasis on “multicultural mind”
“We have a major thinking gap in our country today. At a company like ours, a globally active one, people need English, no question about that. But what’s more important is the ability to be independent, self-determining, responsible, communicative, persuasive and multicultural in mind. A lot of the Japanese students I’ve interviewed were smart but many of them didn’t have what I was looking for. ”
Tadashi Yanai, CEO of Uniqlo

12. Emphasis on “functional bilingualism”
“ Japanese graduates just cannot live or do business in today’s world speaking Japanese only, and living just by the Japanese values and culture. Without English language skills and the ability to be more communicative, persuasive, expressive and sometimes assertive, the future of Japan in the global economy is not guaranteed.
But how good is the government’s new educational initiative, if students here learn English without learning how to express themselves better and develop critical thinking and persuasive and empathetic communication skills in their own language? ”
What do you think?
Junko Ashida, Educator

13. PART 3 Illustrating an approach to active learning
The Contemporary Topics series (4th Edition)

14. Learning Path

15. 1: Activation goals: obstacles: get engaged with the topic
express & solicit experiences with the topic
obstacles:
self-efficacy; feeling you don’t know about the topic enough to participate
communication apprehension; feeling uneasy with L2

16. 2: Processing goals: show curiosity/ learn something new
interact with classmates to build understanding
obstacles:
perfectionism, wanting to understand everything perfectly before speaking
competitiveness; initial shyness in group interactions

17. 3: Assessment goals: instill progress orientation
encourage collaboration in review and preparation
obstacles:
other-directedness; uncertainty about role of collaboration
lack of strategies for review, clarification, interaction

18. 4: Expression
goals:
increase self-expression, satisfaction, “ownership”
introduce self-efficacy, instill research mindset and techniques; show empathy
obstacles:
perfectionism; feeling the need to give a mistake-free presentation
other-directedness; uncertainty about how to behave in front of a group

19. SUMMMARY What is your “take away”?
Language education is in transition…globally, and in Japan.
Emphasis is shifting toward pragmatic “empowerment” through language, away from abstract “mastery” of language
Active Learning is a metaphor for this shift
Active Learning requires Pro-Active teaching: teaching with the intent to install “Active Learning Mindsets” in students
Teachers — in their own context — can affect this shift — as appropriate —in specific, practical ways
Content based teaching, using an Activation-Processing-Assessment-Expression approach is one approach to Active Learning
What is your “take away”?

20. REFERENCES
• Amano, Ikuo (2014). Globalization and Higher Education Reforms in Japan: The Obstacles to Greater International Competitiveness. Nippon.com • Ashida, Junko (2016). Japan’s ‘global education’: Learning English is not a magic wand. Asia Times. • Kameda, Masaaki (2013). English to get 2020 push but teachers not on same page. Japan Times. • Kuwamura, Teresa (2014). Acceptance and Transformation of English Educational Theory in Japan: On Student-Centered Education. International Education Studies, 7-12, • Matsuoka, Misato(2015). Transforming IR Education in Japan. E-International Relations Journal. • Matsuoka, Rieko (2015). Willingness to Communicate: The Effect of Conference Participation on Students’ L2 Apprehension. In Sachiko Horiguchi, Yuki Imoto and Gregory S. Poole (Eds.) Foreign Language Education in Japan: Exploring Qualitative Approaches, pp Boston: Sense Publishers. • McVeigh, Brian (2002/2015). Japanese Higher Education As Myth. New York: Routledge. • Shimomura, Hakubun (2015). Japan to transform its education sector for a more globalized world. The Culture Of Japanese Education.

21. THANK YOU! For complimentary copies of Contemporary Topics,
please contact Pearson