OUS Japanese Education Course students held online mock classes with the students at the Mongolian National University of Education
Students taking the Pedagogical Seminar of Japanese Language Education class in the Japanese Education Course held online mock classes with students studying to become Japanese language teachers at the Mongolian National University of Education, an overseas partner university.
In most Japanese teaching courses, trainees taking on teacher and learner roles are classmates. In this activity, trainees are native speakers, international students fluent in Japanese, and students from overseas. By playing the role of learners, they acquire a unique understanding of the kinds of questions real learners would have and the mistakes they would make in class.
The activity benefited the Mongolian students by reinforcing their Japanese language proficiency, as they had taught Japanese without using it as the language of instruction.
There were two mock classes held on May 13th and 20th. Although the Mongolian students were already advanced-level learners of Japanese, they used their own experiences as "beginning-level learners," which allowed OUS students to think of ways to give feedback or correct the learners' mistakes during the class.
During reflection time, OUS students spoke positively of how "Mongolian students taught with a firm policy of what to correct and when to prioritize the flow of the class," and how "the class was structured so that beginning learners had multiple opportunities to practice points they perceived as problem areas.” Mongolian students praised the "easily-understandable slides demonstrating targets and instructions for activities," and the "motivating and enjoyable class atmosphere OUS students created.”
Since the number of teachers teaching Japanese online is increasing, it was also fruitful for both students to experience the "advantages and disadvantages of teaching online."
In the future, we would like to have more learning opportunities with the Japanese language department of the Mongolian National University of Education.
Students taking the Pedagogical Seminar of Japanese Language Education class in the Japanese Education Course held online mock classes with students studying to become Japanese language teachers at the Mongolian National University of Education, an overseas partner university.
In most Japanese teaching courses, trainees taking on teacher and learner roles are classmates. In this activity, trainees are native speakers, international students fluent in Japanese, and students from overseas. By playing the role of learners, they acquire a unique understanding of the kinds of questions real learners would have and the mistakes they would make in class.
The activity benefited the Mongolian students by reinforcing their Japanese language proficiency, as they had taught Japanese without using it as the language of instruction.
There were two mock classes held on May 13th and 20th. Although the Mongolian students were already advanced-level learners of Japanese, they used their own experiences as "beginning-level learners," which allowed OUS students to think of ways to give feedback or correct the learners' mistakes during the class.
During reflection time, OUS students spoke positively of how "Mongolian students taught with a firm policy of what to correct and when to prioritize the flow of the class," and how "the class was structured so that beginning learners had multiple opportunities to practice points they perceived as problem areas.” Mongolian students praised the "easily-understandable slides demonstrating targets and instructions for activities," and the "motivating and enjoyable class atmosphere OUS students created.”
Since the number of teachers teaching Japanese online is increasing, it was also fruitful for both students to experience the "advantages and disadvantages of teaching online."
In the future, we would like to have more learning opportunities with the Japanese language department of the Mongolian National University of Education.