To Myself: “Light from the World” Edition vol.13

My Lesson Content in My 8th Month

Hello. I'm Nina.
Today, I'm journaling about my recent lesson content.

“I wonder what kind of lessons other tutors are doing?”

I sometimes think that too.
But I've come to think that I should just do the lessons I believe are good.
Of course, the goals and methods differ depending on the student.

Basic Lesson Style

Lately, I've been creating curricula tailored to each student's goals.
However, if the main lesson alone is 50 minutes...
I've been feeling more often that sometimes the student's concentration doesn't last...

• Free talk

• Side activities

• Main lesson content

It has become this kind of flow.
Of course, there are students who only do free talk, but
honestly, there are days when the conversation doesn't liven up💦
Since I am a “tutor,” I try my best to liven things up, but
no matter what questions I ask, the reaction is weak, or
the student isn't motivated; we're human, so those times happen.

At times like that, I incorporate activities.
Even though they wouldn't talk at all during free talk,
the atmosphere changes because of the activity, or
they suddenly become talkative.

Actually, this “time to think of activities” is fun for me.
The time I spend thinking, “What should I do next?” is exciting.
And it's also a pleasure to actually try them out and see the students' reactions.

When I first registered on Preply, I was confused about lesson content,
wondering, “What should I do?” and
I just felt I had to teach Japanese seriously, so
I tried various things, and when the students' reactions were poor, I worried.

Now, I've relaxed a bit, and
my motivation has changed to, “Thinking is fun! Seeing their reactions is fun! It's okay to fail!”

Recent Activities

1. Japanese Nickname Quiz
One day, in a conversation with a student, there was an exchange like, “Mac?” “What's that?”
Of course, it meant “McDonald's.”
I got a hint from that and turned unique Japanese nicknames and common names into a quiz format.
These are words that don't appear in textbooks but are often used in native daily conversation.

Even students living in Japan at the N3 level or above
might not know that “Baskin Robbins” is generally called “Thirty-One” in Japan.

That's true, the sign says “Baskin Robbins” (lol).
By the way, the photos used in the slides are copyright-free materials or ones I took myself.
If I didn't have such photos... (I didn't use them in the slides) I shared the screen with images from the website.

2. Onomatopoeia Quiz
When I use onomatopoeia in conversation,
I'm often asked, “What does that mean?”
So I decided to make it into a quiz!
Here is the website I used for reference👇

Japanese onomatopoeia (mimetic and sound-symbolic words) like "fuwa-fuwa" (fluffy) and "pota-pota" (dripping) are truly abundant.
I would be happy if you found them even a little bit interesting.
By the way, students who love manga are often quite knowledgeable about onomatopoeia.
I would be happy if you found them even a little bit interesting.

3. Seasonal Quiz
Topics about the "seasons" often come up in free talk.
Especially if you know about seasonal foods, you can feel the season even at supermarkets, convenience stores, and restaurants.
So, I have prepared a quiz themed around seasonal foods.

Continuing to bring excitement
Of course, the main lesson tailored to the student's goals is important.
But in activities, I want to convey culture and everyday Japanese in a fun way.
What kind of activity should I do next?
I'm excited!