Final Report Conversation Strategies and Peer Interaction: Building … · 2016. 6. 10. · I continued to introduce Conversation Strategies (“Fillers”, “Follow-up Questions”,

Final Report

Conversation Strategies and Peer Interaction:Building Blocks for an OC Proficiency Goal

Level: Senior High School – 1st Grade

Subject: Oral Communication I

Class size: 20

Time: 30 minutes

Textbook: Hello there! Oral Communication I

Problems: a) During conversations, many students rely exclusively on memorized sentences and are not

able to produce original utterances on the spot. This produces interactions with little turn-taking and questionable levels of communication.

b) Many students believe that true oral communication is beyond their abilities as they see it necessary to always perform with high levels of accuracy.

c) The Oral Communication class is often viewed, especially at the institutional level, as being subordinate, or secondary in importance, to other English courses. This often influences the students’ perspective, leading them to believe that speaking and listening activities are less important for their overall proficiency than focused grammar study.

Goals:

a) To give students repeated practice of information-exchange tasks based on familiar and personalized topics with a focus on new content emerging from the conversations themselves;

b) To help students become aware that it is possible to achieve true communication without high levels of accuracy through the use of Conversation Strategies (CSs) that improve fluency and interaction;

c) To implement a respected OC syllabus with clear aims and structure, featuring on-going assessment and half-term exams (Conversation Tests) that aim to demonstrate students' progress in developing their communicative competence.

What I did:

1. At the beginning of each half-semester, I introduced a topic (“My Perfect Meal”, “A Place I Like”, “My Dream for the Future”) to the students by presenting my own personalization of it. Students then personalized it themselves by answering written questions and using these answers as the basis for conversations with classmates.

2. I continued to introduce Conversation Strategies (“Fillers”, “Follow-up Questions”, “Fixing Communication Problems”) as well as recycling previously learnt ones (“Showing

NUFS MA TESOL: Action Research Matthew Schaefer - March, 2012

1

Interest”, “Shadowing”). Each CS was first practiced with activities that specifically focused on its use before being integrated into topic-based timed conversations.

3. Students wrote topic-based Fun Essays, which included draft writing and peer-editing.

4. Students took Conversation Tests, following a similar format to the timed conversations and scored according to a known rubric.

5. Students counted the number of different CSs they used in their conversations and targets were set for CS use.

6. I administered a student survey after the final lesson. This was a 20-item anonymous questionnaire in both English and Japanese. It included the option for students to write additional comments. The sample was three 1st-year classes (121 students) all following the same OC syllabus. There was a total of 102 respondents, of which 88 included written comments.

What I Learned:

[Although the items on the questionnaire I administered in February 2012 were mostly different to those on the questionnaire from June 2011, there was some overlap; in these cases, I made comparisons between the two.]

1. Although the percentage of students who said that they wanted to be able to speak English barely changed between June 2011 and February 2012, there was a shift to a higher percentage who strongly agreed with this statement: from 70% to 94% (see Figure 1). This increase may reflect a stronger awareness of the benefits, enjoyment, and possibility of speaking English. This was also supported by some of the students’ comments: about 28 wrote that they would like to further practice their English conversation skills, including 8 who specifically wanted to continue the OC class in the next school year.

2. 92% of students said that they had improved their conversation ability in the OC class by February 2012; this compares to 75% in June 2011, which is perhaps obvious considering the extra 7 months of studying (see Figure 2). However, such a number still indicates that, overall, students found the activities beneficial for their conversation skills. Over 30 students also wrote about some aspect of their English ability that had improved since the beginning of the course. Reasons they gave for this included: having the opportunity to speak a lot in class, learning and using the CSs, listening to only English from the teachers, listening to a native-speaker’s pronunciation, and using new vocabulary in the conversations.

3. Figures 3, 4, and 5 show the students’ feelings of how well they could use the three target CSs of Showing Interest, Shadowing, and Fillers. All were similar, with over 85% of respondents saying they could use each of them. A similar item about Showing Interest and Shadowing also appeared on the June 2011 questionnaire, and there was a 10% increase from that early survey to the more recent one, probably reflecting the many opportunities students had for conversation practice between the two. The highest percentage of students who strongly agreed that they could use the CS was for Shadowing (40%), possibly as it is not very cognitively challenging.

4. Follow-up Questions was the CS about which students were least confident of their ability, with over 30% saying that they could not use them (see Figure 6). This is predictable as it


2

was the last CS to be introduced and the most difficult to use, linguistically and for other reasons. Students’ comments included:

“When I think about what questions I should ask, I can’t listen to my partners, but if I’m listening, I can’t think about questions. I feel a bit bad when I ask a question because I have to interrupt my partner.”

“It was difficult to use Follow-up Questions without stopping the conversation. In order to not stop the conversation and to have a deeper conversation, I thought I had to guess what my partner was going to say next.”

5. Figure 7 shows how useful students felt practicing the CSs was in June 2011; Figures 8, 9, 10, and 11 show their feelings about the individual target CSs. The most obvious difference is that a majority strongly agreed with the statement in the later survey, indicating a small but significant change in students’ attitude. Again, this is likely due to the continuing conversation practice with integrated CS use that students did, and hopefully the positive effect that it had. Supporting this view is the fact that over 85% of respondents said that they wanted to continue practicing the target CSs and/or to learn more CSs (see Figures 13 and 14). Follow-up Questions were considered, in general, the most useful CS by students - unsurprising, given how integral they are to most interactions.

6. The percentage of students who agreed that they liked communicating with their classmates increased from 72% in June 2011 to 80% in February 2012, including a 6% decrease who strongly disagreed with it (see Figure 12). This is perhaps due to the increased familiarity with, and ability for, peer conversations.

7. Figures 15 and 16 show students’ feelings about the two different methods used to generate ideas about the conversation topic: answering written questions and having conversations with classmates. Both were quite similar, with over 90% saying they were useful. This reflects, perhaps, how both individual reflection and interaction are important for cognition.

8. The percentage of students who found the activity of counting the CSs in their recorded conversations useful was high (over 80%, see Figure 17), although not as high as for other activities. One student pointed out:

“...it’s not that the more CSs you use, the better.”

This is a very reasonable statement. Although my intended purpose for students to count their CSs was to encourage their use, I do not want them to think that it is necessary to always use as many as possible. Another student wrote:

“I prefer to do the test in front of teachers rather than recording because I wanted our expressions and gestures and the atmosphere to be seen so you can see how much effort we are putting in.”

This also reflects that the target CSs introduced into the class are not the only possible markers of a highly communicative interaction. However, as this course was intended as an introduction to oral communication, there was little time to expand beyond what was presented. It is encouraging that some students were able to recognize the limits of what they were taught and could focus on what is truly important for communicative competence.


3

9. Over 90% of students said that they could understand what their conversation partners said (see Figure 18) and almost 80% said that they could communicate what they wanted to say about the topic (see Figure 19). I believe that this shows an overall ability for students to communicate. Similar percentages for the ability and usefulness of the CSs demonstrates a possible link. Certain student comments also revealed an awareness that fluency and communication were not dependent on high levels of accuracy:

“Even if I couldn’t use correct English, I could talk using just a few words. I understood that I could communicate with other people without full sentences.”

“I understood that English is a language so grammar is very important but the most important thing is to enjoy the conversation.”

10.Less than half of the respondents in February 2012 said that they could continue a conversation in English for 3 minutes (see Figure 21). This is somewhat contradicted by the recordings of their conversation tests. This is possibly a sign of either self-doubt or modesty. One sign of improved confidence, however, is that the fraction was much lower - about a quarter - for students who said in June 2011 that they could continue a 2-minute English conversation (see Figure 20).

11.Although the favorite conversation topic of students was fairly well spread out among the four (see Figure 22), Dream for the Future was the most popular, probably because it is the most consequential. Perfect Meal was the second most popular, perhaps reflecting the fact that it relates to very personal tastes.

Future Issues:

I would like to:

• introduce non-verbal CSs, such as gestures.

• have students practice conversations with very short answers in order to encourage more Follow-up Questions. An example activity could be the use of “mentions”.

• continue to revise the conversation test rubric to better reflect the communicative aims of the course.

• provide students with more comprehensible (and compelling) input before they are asked to produce their output.

• develop a clear syllabus for the ordered introduction of CSs.

• creating a system for recording emergent vocabulary from the student conversations.

• create and interview focus groups to obtain better information about students’ feelings about OC lessons.

• connect topics with grammar items that students are studying in their other English classes


4

Lesson Plan

Procedure:

Day One • Students look at the average use of CSs in their previous Conversation Test, and the target

average use for the upcoming Conversation Test.• Students practice using Follow-up Questions (CS#5.5: Follow-up Questions 2 handout),

after looking at some different examples from the previous Conversation Test. They all begin their conversations with the same topic question (How was your winter holiday?), but the rest is based entirely on follow-up questions.

Day Two • Students answer written questions on four different topics about their dreams for the future.• In pairs, students have 2-minute conversations - one for every topic and with a different

partner each time. • HW: students choose a topic that connects to their strongest dream for the future and write

more information about it.

Day Three • In pairs, students have recursive 3-minute conversations about their dream for the future,

beginning with the topic question What's your dream for the future? and followed by follow-up questions. Between conversations, they have time to write down any new information or unanswered questions that emerge from their interactions.

• HW: make a Conversation Card

Day Four • Students look at CS#6: Fixing Communication Problems handout, while AET and JTE

explain and demonstrate.• Students practice using CS#6 by playing "Taboo" in groups of four; they take turns picking

up a card, each with a word written on it connected to Nagoya culture, and trying to explain it to their group-mates.

• Students have practice conversations about their Dream for the Future, using CS#6 if/when necessary.

• HW: write first draft of Fun Essay

Day Five • Peer-editing of first draft of Fun Essay• HW: write second/final draft of Fun Essay

Day Six • In pairs, students do a first practice Conversation Test, unrecorded, during which they can

look at the final draft of their Fun Essay.• In new pairs, students do a second practice Conversation Test, unrecorded, during which

they can only look at their Conversation Card.• In new pairs, students do the Conversation Test.

Day Seven • Students listen to the recordings of their Conversation Tests and 1) count the number of CSs

they used (CS Checklist handout); 2) transcribe their conversations.• HW: make corrections/improvements to their transcribed conversations.


5

Con

vers

atio

n St

rate

gy #

5.5

Follo

w-u

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uest

ions

2

Let's

pra

ctice

som

e m

ore!

For e

xam

ple:

!!

!A:

How

was

you

r win

ter h

olid

ay?!!

!!

!!

!!

!!

B: O

h, it

was

gre

at!

! !A:

Did

you

do

anyt

hing

fun?

!!

!!

!!

!!

!!

B: W

ell,

I wen

t to

the

cinem

a.

!A:

Wow

! Wha

t did

you

see

?

!!

!!

!!

!!

B: U

m, I

saw

Tin

tin.

!A:

Oh,

wha

t kin

d of

mov

ie is

it?

!!

!!

!!

!!

B: L

et's

see,

it's

an a

ctio

n m

ovie

.

!A:

Gre

at! W

as it

goo

d?

!!

!!

!!

!!

B: Y

es, i

t was

won

derfu

l!

!A:

I se

e. H

ow o

ften

do y

ou g

o to

the

cine

ma?

!!

!!

!!

!!

B: U

m, a

bout

onc

e a

mon

th. H

ow a

bout

you

?

!A:

Me

too,

abo

ut o

nce

a m

onth

.

Clas

s:

N

o.:

N

ame:

•Wha

t..?

•Whe

re..?

•Whe

n..?

•Who

..?

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..?

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t kin

d..?

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exa

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man

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muc

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abo

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you

..?

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you

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Con

vers

atio

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rate

gy #

6

Fixi

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onve

rsat

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Prob

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s

Som

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a c

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we

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say

what

we

want

to s

ay. H

ere

are

som

e wa

ys to

fix

thos

e pr

oble

ms:

1.Sp

eaki

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apan

ese

If yo

u re

ally

want

to s

ay s

omet

hing

in y

our c

onve

rsat

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but

you

donʼt

know

the

Engl

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it is

OK

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se th

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donʼt

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p in

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hatʼs

you

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orite

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le?

!!

!!

!!

!!

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ell,

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donʼt

know

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word

in

!!

!!

!!

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ish. I

tʼs n

asu.

!!

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Oh,

nas

u! I

like

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o!!

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plai

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y fa

vorit

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geta

ble

is eg

gpla

nt.

!!

!!

!!

!!

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ggpl

ant?

Wha

t is

that

?

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Wel

l, itʼs

a k

ind

of lo

ng, p

urpl

e ve

geta

ble.

!!

!!

!!

!!

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h, I

see!

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ivin

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etim

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xpla

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to y

our p

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till c

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tʼs O

K to

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love

liste

ning

to p

odca

sts.

!!

!!

!!

!!

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odca

sts?

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t is

that

?

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l, itʼs

a k

ind

of ra

dio

on th

e in

tern

et.

!!

!!

!!

!!

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m, s

orry

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nd.

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Oh,

nev

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ind.

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you

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inte

rnet

?

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ame:

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st S

core

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KIN

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SPEA

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SPEA

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KIL

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FLUE

NT / 流れるように

あなたのパートナーと

3分30秒間、詰まることなく流れるように会話をする。

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Fille

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UNDE

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NDAB

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あなたのパートナーが理解出来るように適切な言葉、文法、発音、身振り等を使う。

UNDE

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UNDE

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INTE

REST

ED / 興味深く

あなたのパートナーの話を興味深く聞き、理解しようと努める。

INTE

REST

ED / 興味深く


INTE

REST

ED / 興味深く


INTE

REST

ED / 興味深く


INTE

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Show

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CURI

OUS

/ 好奇心

あなたのパートナーの話を好奇心を持って聞き、いろいろ質問してみる。

CURI

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/ 好奇心


CURI

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/ 好奇心


CURI

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CURI

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Topi

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____

____

____

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ss:

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ree

Str

on

gly

Ag

ree

36

%4

4%

18

%

2%

22

%

50

%

21

%

8%

Fig

12.

I lik

e co

mm

unic

atin

g w

ith

my

clas

smat

es in

Eng

lish.

0%

25

%

50

%

75

%

10

0%

Str

on

gly

Dis

ag

ree

Dis

ag

ree

Ag

ree

Str

on

gly

Ag

ree

38

.2%

48

.0%

13

.7%

0%

Fig

. 13.

I w

ant

to c

ont

inue

pra

ctic

ing

the

CS

s th

at I

lear

ned

in O

C c

lass

.

0%

25

%

50

%

75

%

10

0%

Str

on

gly

Dis

ag

ree

Dis

ag

ree

Ag

ree

Str

on

gly

Ag

ree

39

.2%

41

.2%

17

.6%

2.0

%

Fig

. 17.

Co

unti

ng t

he C

Ss

in m

y co

nver

sati

on

help

ed m

e re

aliz

e w

hat

I nee

d t

o im

pro

ve.

0%

25

%

50

%

75

%

10

0%

Str

on

gly

Dis

ag

ree

Dis

ag

ree

Ag

ree

Str

on

gly

Ag

ree

41

.2%

51

.0%

7.8

%0

%

Fig

. 16.

Co

nver

sati

ons

wit

h cl

assm

ates

hel

ped

me

thin

k o

f ne

w id

eas

abo

ut t

he t

op

ic.

Ju

ne 2

01

1F

eb

. 2

01

2

0%

25

%

50

%

75

%

10

0%

Str

on

gly

Dis

ag

ree

Dis

ag

ree

Ag

ree

Str

on

gly

Ag

ree

39

.2%

46

.1%

14

.7%

0%

Fig

. 14.

I w

ant

to le

arn

mo

re C

onv

ersa

tio

n S

trat

egie

s in

the

fut

ure.

0%

25

%

50

%

75

%

10

0%

Str

on

gly

Dis

ag

ree

Dis

ag

ree

Ag

ree

Str

on

gly

Ag

ree

45

.5%

46

.5%

6.9

%1

.0%

Fig

15.

Wri

tten

ans

wer

s he

lped

me

thin

k o

f ne

w ie

as a

bo

ut t

he c

onv

ersa

tio

n to

pic

.

0%

25

%

50

%

75

%

10

0%

Str

on

gly

Dis

ag

ree

Dis

ag

ree

Ag

ree

Str

on

gly

Ag

ree

26

%

65

%

9%

0%

40

%

54

%

6%

0%

Fig

. 18.

I ca

n un

der

stan

d w

hat

my

conv

ersa

tio

n p

artn

ers

say.

0%

25

%

50

%

75

%

10

0%

Str

on

gly

Dis

ag

ree

Dis

ag

ree

Ag

ree

Str

on

gly

Ag

ree

17

.6%

60

.8%

20

.6%

1.0

%

Fig

. 19.

I ca

n co

mm

unic

ate

wha

t I w

ant

to s

ay a

bo

ut t

he c

onv

ersa

tio

n to

pic

in E

nglis

h

0%

25

%

50

%

75

%

10

0%

Favo

rite

Mu

sic A

rtis

tP

erf

ect

Meal

A P

lace I L

ike

Dre

am

fo

r th

e F

utu

re

38

.9%

20

.7%

27

.8%

12

.6%Fi

g. 2

2. M

y fa

vori

te c

onv

ersa

tio

n to

pic

was

:

Ju

ne 2

01

1F

eb

. 2

01

2

0%

25

%

50

%

75

%

10

0%

Str

on

gly

Dis

ag

ree

Dis

ag

ree

Ag

ree

Str

on

gly

Ag

ree

15

.7%

31

.4%

46

.1%

6.9

%

Fig

. 21.

I ca

n co

ntin

ue a

co

nver

sati

on

in E

nglis

h fo

r 3

min

utes

.

0%

25

%

50

%

75

%

10

0%

Str

on

gly

Dis

ag

ree

Dis

ag

ree

Ag

ree

Str

on

gly

Ag

ree

6.8

%

18

.8%

61

.5%

12

.8%

Fig

. 20.

I ca

n ha

ve a

co

nver

sati

on

in E

nglis

h fo

r 2

min

utes

Con

vers

atio

n St

rate

gies

•I w

ant t

o le

arn

mor

e CS

s.•

If I h

ave

the

chan

ce to

pra

ctice

mor

e CS

s, I

woul

d lik

e to

do

mor

e Fi

llers

and

Sho

wing

Inte

rest

.•

The

first

few

times

, CSs

wer

e fu

n, b

ut fr

om th

e th

ird ti

me,

I wa

s ge

tting

bor

ed. I

wan

ted

to d

o so

met

hing

else

too.

•

I canʼt

say

what

I wa

nt to

say

, but

CSs

are

bas

ic En

glish

and

you

canʼt

com

mun

icate

with

out t

hem

. I th

ink

itʼs v

ery

good

that

I ca

n le

arn

thes

e in

a S

HS c

lass

.•

I fel

t my

com

mun

icatio

n sk

ills g

ot b

ette

r bec

ause

I le

arne

d CS

s.•

I did

nʼt h

ave

com

mun

icatio

n cla

ss in

JHS

so

I did

nʼt h

ave

a sk

ill fo

r com

mun

icatio

n or

CSs

. But

I le

arne

d a

lot t

his

year

and

I go

t a b

asic

of c

omm

unica

tion

skills

.•

The

CSs

that

I le

arne

d in

the

class

are

defi

nite

ly ve

ry u

sefu

l whe

n I t

alk

in E

nglis

h.•

We

coun

ted

use

of in

divid

ual C

Ss, b

ut I

thin

k itʼs

not

that

the

mor

e yo

u us

e, th

e be

tter.

•I w

ant t

o us

e th

e CS

s in

my

life.

•I e

njoy

pra

ctici

ng th

e CS

s ev

ery

class

. •

Ther

e we

re b

asic

sent

ence

s bu

t Iʼd

nev

er u

sed

the

CSs

befo

re -

I bec

ame

able

to u

se th

em.

Show

ing

Inte

rest

•I d

onʼt

know

whe

n to

use

Sho

wing

Inte

rest

.•

I cou

ld u

se S

howi

ng In

tere

st to

resp

ond

imm

edia

tely.

•I c

ould

use

ʻI s

eeʼ a

lot b

ut n

ot o

ther

Sho

wing

Inte

rest

exp

ress

ions

.•

It wa

s fu

n to

use

Sho

wing

Inte

rest

bec

ause

the

conv

ersa

tion

cont

inue

s a

bit m

ore.

Shad

owin

g•

I thi

nk S

hado

wing

was

ver

y us

eful

.•

I cou

ldnʼ

t use

Sha

dowi

ng w

ell..

.•

Shad

owin

g wa

s go

od to

sho

w ot

her p

eopl

e th

at Iʼ

m lis

teni

ng. T

his

is im

porta

nt a

nd u

sefu

l - if

I ca

n us

e it

mor

e, it

will

be m

ore

inte

rest

ing.

•I w

ant t

o be

com

e be

tter a

t mor

e pr

actic

al c

onve

rsat

ion.

For

that

reas

on, I

wou

ld lik

e to

use

mor

e co

nver

satio

n sk

ills,

like

Shad

owin

gFi

llers

•I d

idnʼ

t use

Fille

rs m

uch.

.. If

I hav

e th

e ch

ance

to p

ract

ice m

ore

CSs,

I wo

uld

like

to d

o m

ore

Fille

rs•

In th

e fin

al re

cord

ing

class

, my

partn

er w

as m

y fri

end,

so

I did

nʼt t

hink

abo

ut S

howi

ng In

tere

st a

nd F

illers

, but

in th

e ne

xt c

lass

, whe

n I l

isten

ed to

the

reco

rded

con

vers

atio

n, I

real

ized

that

I us

ed th

em w

ithou

t thi

nkin

g, s

o I w

as

happ

y. •

Whe

n I s

peak

in E

nglis

h, I

try to

mak

e a

sent

ence

car

eful

ly an

d th

en s

tart

thin

king,

but

if I

use

Fille

rs, t

he

conv

ersa

tion

will b

e m

ore

natu

ral.

Follo

w-u

p Q

uest

ions

•I d

onʼt

know

whe

n to

use

Fol

low-

up Q

uest

ions

. Whe

n I t

hink

abo

ut w

hat I

sho

uld

ask,

I ca

nʼt l

isten

to m

y pa

rtner

s,

but i

f Iʼm

liste

ning

, I c

anʼt

thin

k ab

out q

uest

ions

. I fe

el a

bit

bad

when

I as

k a

ques

tion

beca

use

I hav

e to

inte

rrupt

my

partn

er.

•In

mos

t of t

he c

onve

rsat

ions

, I c

ould

talk

loud

ly an

d I c

ould

use

Fol

low-

up Q

uest

ions

.•

I cou

ld u

se F

ollo

w-up

Que

stio

ns w

ell.

•It

was

diffi

cult

to u

se F

ollo

w-up

Que

stio

ns w

ithou

t sto

ppin

g th

e co

nver

satio

n. In

ord

er to

not

sto

p th

e co

nver

satio

n an

d to

hav

e a

deep

er c

onve

rsat

ion,

I th

ough

t I h

ad to

gue

ss w

hat m

y pa

rtner

was

goi

ng to

say

nex

t.•

I still

canʼt

do F

ollo

w-up

Que

stio

ns y

et s

o Iʼd

like

to u

se th

em.

Con

vers

atio

n To

pics

•It

was

good

that

Mat

t gav

e so

me

topi

cs, s

o I c

ould

sta

rt th

inkin

g ab

out t

he c

onve

rsat

ion.

•Th

e to

pics

wer

e ea

sy to

con

sider

.•

It wa

s in

tere

stin

g to

talk

abou

t man

y di

ffere

nt to

pics

in E

nglis

h.•

I esp

ecia

lly lik

ed th

e co

nver

satio

n to

pic

“Dre

am fo

r the

Fut

ure”

. It w

as in

tere

stin

g to

kno

w ab

out o

ther

cla

ssm

atesʼ

drea

ms.

•Al

l the

topi

cs w

ere

very

goo

d ch

ance

s to

thin

k ab

out m

ysel

f and

of c

ours

e fo

r stu

dyin

g En

glish

but

also

goo

d to

re

flect

on

mys

elf.

•W

hat I

enj

oyed

mos

t was

the

perfe

ct m

eal c

onve

rsat

ion.

Eve

ryon

e wa

s re

ally

excit

ed.

•D

ifficu

lties

•I f

elt i

t is

real

ly di

fficu

lt to

tell a

nd m

ake

my

partn

er u

nder

stan

d, n

ot o

nly

gram

mar

.•

It wa

s ve

ry d

ifficu

lt to

talk

abou

t thi

ngs

that

I do

nʼt k

now

the

word

s fo

r.•

“spe

akin

g” is

mor

e di

fficu

lt th

an “r

eadi

ng” a

nd “w

ritin

g”, b

ut I

thin

k it

is th

e m

ost i

mpo

rtant

.•

I thi

nk itʼs

diffi

cult

to te

ll oth

er p

eopl

e wh

at I

want

to s

ay, b

ut itʼs

very

impo

rtant

so

I wan

t to

prac

tice

mor

e.•

To m

ake

long

Eng

lish

sent

ence

s wa

s ve

ry d

ifficu

lt bu

t fun

.•

It wa

s ve

ry d

ifficu

lt to

talk

for t

hree

min

utes

. •

Itʼs

very

diffi

cult

to ta

lk in

Eng

lish,

but

I wa

s ha

ppy

that

I co

uld

grad

ually

incr

ease

my

voca

bula

ry.

Rec

ordi

ng C

onve

rsat

ions

•It

was

very

use

ful t

o re

cord

mys

elf -

I no

ticed

wha

t I n

eed

to s

tudy

mor

e.•

I donʼt

thin

k I n

eed

to re

cord

my

conv

ersa

tion.

Bec

ause

I wa

nna

spea

k m

ore

Engl

ish.

•In

the

final

reco

rdin

g cla

ss, m

y pa

rtner

was

my

frien

d, s

o I d

idnʼ

t thi

nk a

bout

Sho

wing

Inte

rest

and

Fille

rs, b

ut in

the

next

cla

ss, w

hen

I list

ened

to th

e re

cord

ed c

onve

rsat

ion,

I re

alize

d th

at I

used

them

with

out t

hink

ing,

so

I was

hap

py.

•I t

houg

ht Iʼ

m s

till n

ot g

ood

when

I lis

tene

d to

the

reco

rdin

g of

my

conv

ersa

tion

- som

etim

es th

e gr

amm

ar w

as s

trang

e an

d so

met

imes

bot

h of

us

stop

ped

talki

ng, i

n sil

ence

. But

it w

as g

ood

to k

now

wher

e I h

ave

to c

hang

e an

d ge

t new

id

eas

of h

ow to

say

wha

t I w

ant.

•As

you

sai

d, itʼs

diffi

cult

to ta

lk ve

ry n

atur

ally

in fr

ont o

f tea

cher

s, s

o re

cord

ing

was

a go

od id

ea.

•I t

houg

ht it

was

ver

y fu

n to

reco

rd o

ur c

onve

rsat

ions

and

then

liste

n to

them

.•

I pre

fer t

o do

the

test

in fr

ont o

f tea

cher

s ra

ther

than

reco

rdin

g be

caus

e I w

ante

d ou

r exp

ress

ions

and

ges

ture

s an

d th

e at

mos

pher

e to

be

seen

bec

ause

you

can

see

how

muc

h ef

fort

we a

re p

uttin

g in

.•

Whe

n I l

isten

ed to

the

reco

rdin

g, I

notic

ed th

at I

forg

ot to

use

Sho

wing

Inte

rest

and

was

just

look

ing

at m

y pa

rtner

and

no

ddin

g wi

thou

t say

ing

anyt

hing

, but

I wa

nt to

exp

ress

with

my

voice

to o

ther

peo

ple

and

do c

omm

unica

tion

with

them

.M

isce

llane

ous

•I f

eel a

bit

emba

rrass

ed to

talk

with

cla

ssm

ates

. To

be h

ones

t, I f

eel li

ke Iʼ

m th

e wo

rst E

nglis

h sp

eake

r in

the

class

, so

I fe

el c

lass

mat

es th

ink

Iʼm s

tupi

d.•

I thi

nk a

goo

d th

ing

abou

t tal

king

in E

nglis

h is

that

I be

com

e be

tter a

t list

enin

g to

oth

er p

eopl

e be

caus

e yo

u ha

ve to

re

ally

conc

entra

te o

n th

e co

nver

satio

n - y

ou lis

ten

care

fully

.•

In th

is cla

ss w

e di

dnʼt

take

not

es m

uch

- usu

ally

just

con

vers

atio

n wi

th m

y cla

ssm

ates

. But

I th

ough

t it w

as im

porta

nt to

no

t jus

t rem

embe

r Eng

lish,

but

to u

se E

nglis

h.•

I was

alw

ays

look

ing

forw

ard

to th

is cla

ss b

ecau

se I

alwa

ys th

ink

I wan

t to

be a

ble

to s

peak

Eng

lish,

but

I do

nʼt h

ave

the

chan

ce to

spe

ak it

.•

It wa

s fu

n be

caus

e I c

ould

get

to k

now

my

class

mat

es b

ette

r.•

Even

if I

coul

dnʼt

use

corre

ct E

nglis

h, I

coul

d ta

lk us

ing

just

a fe

w wo

rds.

I un

ders

tood

that

I co

uld

com

mun

icate

with

ot

her p

eopl

e wi

thou

t ful

l sen

tenc

es.

•W

hen

I was

in J

HS, I

just

lear

ned

gram

mar

and

I di

dnʼt

enjo

y th

at. T

here

wer

e st

upid

sen

tenc

es lik

e “T

his

is a

pen”

, but

in

this

class

I le

arne

d ho

w to

tell s

omet

hing

to o

ther

peo

ple

in E

nglis

h. I

thin

k I g

ot th

e wa

y of

tellin

g a

stor

y an

d lis

teni

ng to

a s

tory

and

I co

uld

thin

k th

at E

nglis

h is

fun.

•I u

nder

stoo

d th

at E

nglis

h is

a la

ngua

ge s

o gr

amm

ar is

ver

y im

porta

nt b

ut th

e m

ost i

mpo

rtant

thin

g is

to e

njoy

the

conv

ersa

tion.

•Al

ways

sitt

ing

in d

iffer

ent s

eats

or t

alkin

g to

man

y di

ffere

nt p

eopl

e an

d co

mm

unica

ting

with

them

was

goo

d.•

I thi

nk th

at th

e co

nver

satio

n te

st w

as v

ery

usef

ul. I

tʼs b

ecau

se o

f the

test

that

I ha

ve to

ask

oth

er p

eopl

e, a

nd b

ecau

se

of th

at I

coul

d pr

actic

e co

mm

unica

tion.

Also

, it w

as v

ery

good

that

the

class

was

all i

n En

glish

. In

JHS

and

Engl

ish 1

, th

e cla

ss is

alw

ays

in J

apan

ese,

so

I wan

ted

to ta

ke c

lass

es in

Eng

lish.

Eve

n if

I did

nʼt u

nder

stan

d so

me

word

s, I

coul

d un

ders

tand

the

gene

ral m

eani

ng. I

thin

k th

is is

very

impo

rtant

, not

for o

nly

com

mun

icatio

n bu

t also

for t

ests

, like

un

ivers

ity e

ntra

nce

exam

s.•

I thi

nk th

e po

wer o

f our

favo

rites

is n

ice; i

tʼs im

porta

nt to

be

inte

rest

ed in

man

y kin

ds o

f thi

ngs

beca

use

they

bec

ome

the

powe

r of s

omet

hing

. In

OC

class

I ha

d a

good

tim

e be

caus

e I c

ould

thin

k of

my

favo

rites

and

I co

uld

lear

n fa

vorit

es

of o

ther

s. It

was

a lo

t of f

un to

talk

with

my

class

mat

es.

•I h

ave

to w

rite

an e

ssay

bef

oreh

and

and

thin

k ab

out w

hat Iʼm

goi

ng to

say

- I c

anʼt

talk

with

out i

t.•

I canʼt

say

that

I lik

e En

glish

. I d

onʼt

like

talki

ng in

Eng

lish,

and

I ca

nʼt s

peak

it lik

e I s

peak

Jap

anes

e, I

canʼ

t say

wha

t I

want

to s

ay, b

ut C

Ss a

re b

asic

Engl

ish a

nd y

ou c

anʼt

com

mun

icate

with

out t

hem

. I th

ink

itʼs v

ery

good

that

I ca

n le

arn

thes

e in

a S

HS c

lass

.•

Whe

n m

y pa

rtner

was

read

ing

thei

r ess

ay in

the

conv

ersa

tion,

it w

as d

ifficu

lt to

ask

que

stio

ns, s

o I t

hink

itʼs

bette

r to

answ

er w

ith ju

st o

ne s

ente

nce

and

then

the

conv

ersa

tion

will c

ontin

ue lo

nger

.•

I thi

nk itʼs

good

to ta

lk be

twee

n st

uden

ts, b

ut I

thou

ght t

hat I

wan

ted

to h

ave

conv

ersa

tions

in a

gro

up o

f stu

dent

s an

d te

ache

r.•

The

mos

t use

ful h

int w

as ʻt

ry n

ot to

mak

e sil

ence

dur

ing

the

conv

ersa

tionʼ

.•

I tho

ught

Iʼm

still

not

goo

d wh

en I

liste

ned

to th

e re

cord

ing

of m

y co

nver

satio

n - s

omet

imes

the

gram

mar

was

stra

nge

and

som

etim

es b

oth

of u

s st

oppe

d ta

lking

, in

silen

ce. B

ut it

was

goo

d to

kno

w wh

ere

I hav

e to

cha

nge

and

get n

ew

idea

s of

how

to s

ay w

hat I

wan

t.•

I thi

nk s

tudy

ing

is im

porta

nt to

und

erst

and

Engl

ish; b

ut u

sing

is m

ore

impo

rtant

. Con

vers

atio

ns in

Eng

lish

is th

e be

st

way

to u

se E

nglis

h in

life.

•Th

e te

ache

rsʼ E

nglis

h wa

s ve

ry c

lear

and

eas

y to

und

erst

and;

they

cho

ose

word

s ca

refu

lly s

o we

can

und

erst

and

them

, so

I th

ink

it wa

s a

good

cla

ss. B

ut e

ven

thou

gh th

ey d

id th

at, I

still

did

nʼt k

now

som

e of

the

word

s. I

now

feel

that

I sh

ould

hav

e as

ked

mor

e qu

estio

ns.

•In

the

begi

nnin

g, I

didnʼt

like

it so

muc

h, b

ut in

the

end

I enj

oyed

it a

lot.

I thi

nk itʼs

very

use

ful f

or E

iken

exam

. As

you

said

, itʼs

diffi

cult

to ta

lk ve

ry n

atur

ally

in fr

ont o

f tea

cher

s, s

o re

cord

ing

was

a go

od id

ea. I

gue

ss th

is cla

ss w

as fo

r co

mm

unica

tion

(the

mai

n pu

rpos

e), b

ut I

pers

onal

ly wa

nted

to le

arn

mor

e ab

out p

ronu

ncia

tion.

Hop

es fo

r the

Fut

ure

•29

stu

dent

s wr

ote

abou

t how

they

wou

ld lik

e to

con

tinue

stu

dyin

g O

C an

d/or

CSs

.Im

prov

emen

t•

31 s

tude

nts

wrot

e ab

out h

ow s

ome

aspe

ct o

f the

ir En

glish

skil

ls ha

d im

prov

ed.

Tab

le 2

: S

ele

cte

d S

tud

ent

Co

mm

ents

by

Them

e (so

me t

ransl

ate

d fro

m J

ap

anese

)

Final Report Conversation Strategies and Peer Interaction: Building … · 2016. 6. 10. · I continued to introduce Conversation Strategies (“Fillers”, “Follow-up Questions”,

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