MEMBERS’ VOICESMembers’ Voicesْ٤‫ס٭ف‬㚜Seamus Johnston
Reitaku University
sjohnsto@reitaku-u.ac.jp
Hello everyone. My name is Seamus, and I
come from Dublin, Ireland. I arrived in Japan on
the JET program in 2014, where I was placed ina small town in Fukuoka Prefecture. I intended
to stay for a year and return to Ireland tocomplete a Master’s in medieval history, fromwhich I had been given a leave of absence.
However, when one year didn’t feel like enough,I ended up staying for another and thenanother, and I am still in Japan today. During
this time, I completed my Master’s degree inTESOL and began working at a University in
Chiba. My Master’s thesis, “An investigation into
the acquisition of high-frequency words in a
Japanese high school context”, introduced me
to vocabulary acquisition, word frequency, andcorpus linguistics in general, which have been
the main focus of my research to date. Although
my main research interest has now moved tohistorical corpus linguistics, I am constantly
working on smaller projects related to corpus
linguistics for language acquisition and how it
can benefit learner autonomy.
Recently, I have been trying to bring elementsof DDL (data-driven learning) and inductive
learning into my classroom activities. One
corresponding exercise is the student’s useof corpus data websites to create original
sentences from target vocabulary. Currently,
my students are using websites like COCA (TheCorpus of Contemporary American English)
and Flax (Flexible Language Acquisition) whencreating sentences from target vocabulary
items, as part of a TOEIC preparation class.
Although both websites are essentially corpus
analysis tools, they can easily be used to
introduce vocabulary items in context and in
my class, retrieve common collocations for thetarget words. This adds an element of learnerautonomy to the classroom. Similar approaches
have been attested to by Flowerdew (2015),
amongst others. Although I have yet to conduct
research on the outcome of this (which I intend
to do in the future), students noticeably improvetheir command of particles and prepositions.
Learner autonomy has further made its way
into my professional career through ourUniversity’s self-access center, for which I havecreated a student-led podcast. The onus of
the podcast is to create awareness of eventsand activities happening around the university,and to demonstrate to students the English
abilities of their peers, working on the conceptthat students are more likely to be motivatedby hearing their peers speak English thantheir teachers (Walters, 2020). The podcasts
take the form of 20 to 30-minute interviews,
and each ends with an open question to thelistener. This open question is intended toencourage the listener to engage with thecontent and provide a conversation topic forstudents in our university’s self-access center.
For students partaking in the university’s newTALL (Transformative Autonomous LanguageLearning) course, it also comes with somecomprehension questions that students can get
credit for answering.
My classroom always leans toward studentcentrism. Instruction is kept to a minimum, andpractice to a maximum. As for many students,language learning begins and ends at the startand finish of each class period; I try to provide
as much time as possible for student output andto create a space where students can learn bydoing. Learner autonomy and helping students
to help themselves have long been the coretenet of my teaching philosophy.

REFERENCES

Flowerdew, L. (2015). Data-driven learning andlanguage learning theories. In Studies in corpus
linguistics (pp. 15–36). https://doi.org/10.1075/
scl.69.02flo

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LEARNING LEARNING『学習の学習』30(2)Walters, J. (2020). Senpai: Learner responses
to a near-peer role modeling intervention.
JALT Post-conference Publication, 2019(1), 106.
https://doi.org/10.37546/jaltpcp2019-14

Mart Christine Johnston
martchristinevito2017@gmail.com
I am Mart Christine Johnston, originally fromthe Philippines, and I have resided in Japan
since 2014. Before my relocation, I spent six
years working in Singapore, where I had theopportunity to contribute my communication
skills at both a safari and a retail establishment.
From my time living there, I learned to adapt
to different accents and adjust my grammar
and vocabulary accordingly so that I could
be understood. Because of this, one of the
key principles I have followed since I started
teaching in Japan is prioritizing meaningover accuracy. Understanding that effective
communication is the ultimate goal, I makemy students feel comfortable expressing
themselves without fear of making mistakes.
Aside from this aspect, I share the knowledge
I gained from living in Singapore and thePhilippines with my students particularly when
discussing the benefits of English proficiency
when traveling or working abroad.
I served as an educator in Osaka for six years,specializing in preschool, kindergarten, andeikaiwa instruction. I find that a task-based
language learning approach works wonders
for younger students. I have observed thatchildren will effortlessly absorb new phrases
and words. When they feel ready, they apply
a “replacement method” by using these new
expressions in various contexts. I have also
seen this phenomenon firsthand with my own
three-year-old daughter who is exposed to both
English at home and Japanese at her daycare.
In addition, reading aloud plays a crucial role inexpanding students’ vocabulary and enhancing
their understanding of grammar. However,
one aspect I am not in favor of is testing theproficiency levels of young students. Suchevaluations can easily demotivate them andhinder their natural language learning process.
It is important to create a supportive andencouraging environment where they can freely
explore and express themselves without thepressure of assessments.
It took me some time to discover my passion
for teaching university-level students. While I
recognize the value of a task-based language
learning approach for younger students, myfocus and enthusiasm lie in motivating older
students, particularly by imparting study skills
to help them excel in improving their English,
and I will share with you some of the challenges
that I found recently while teaching universitystudents.
In the wake of the global pandemic, I haveundertaken the role of an online educator. Assuch, my focus has been on how students canachieve more in this format. Within this context,
I often teach students testing strategies,
with a particular emphasis on TOEFL ITP.
Most of these students aim to pursue higher
education abroad or enroll in a university inJapan offering coursework solely in English. In
these classes, I use clear, simple PowerPoint
slides (one target sentence per slide). Wellthought-out PowerPoint slides can be very
effective. They improve student engagement,minimize cognitive load, and enhance focus
regarding teacher-student and studentstudent interaction. I extend this approach
to listening test items, ensuring consistency
in my teaching methodology. Additionally, I
supplement prescribed materials to aid clarityand encourage interaction. I have found that
this practice also elevates students’ motivationlevels, making their class participation moreenthusiastic and purposeful.
I also have students whom I teach in person.
The use of PowerPoint in such situations may
be a topic of debate among teachers as slides
can sometimes be distracting for students,
particularly when they contain excessive text.
However, I have come to realize the importanceof incorporating slides into my lessons.
Regarding reading comprehension, before
implementing slides, I used to simply write

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MEMBERS’ VOICES

notes on the whiteboard. I would primarily use
a read-aloud technique, and offer explanations
where necessary. However, I realized that somestudents struggled with this.
Now, in my slides, I incorporate not only theJapanese translations of the target vocabulary,
but also relevant pictures depicting key
elements from the reading texts we discuss.
I typically use these slides as part of a prereading activity and have noticed that thisapproach enables my students to answer
reading comprehension questions better. I havefound that it is best not to completely dim theclassroom and take my time with each slide.
By using a PowerPoint presentation prior toreading the text, I have gained confidence thatmy students’ comprehension has improved.
Whether I teach online or in-class, when it
comes to class participation, I make an effort
to engage every student in every lesson. In thePhilippines, classes can have as many as 50-60
students, and I recall that only a few students
would have the opportunity to participate orally
during a 50-minute class. However, my classes
typically consist of a maximum of 20 students
each. This allows me to take advantage of thesmaller class size and ensure that every student
has a chance to be heard. The only downsideis that some students may lose focus on otheraspects of the lesson when they are aware it is
not their turn to answer. To mitigate this, I makea conscious effort to maintain a steady pacethroughout the lesson, encouraging students
to stay engaged and focused as much as
possible. Aside from individual participation, I
also use collaborative group activities as muchas possible, allowing students to enhance theirpresentation and writing skills while working
alongside their peers. This dynamic often makes
students feel more comfortable as they rarely
find themselves the focus of the entire class.
A portion of the student body consists ofindividuals from diverse Asian nations, including
Brazil, Russia, Korea, Nepal, China, andBangladesh. One of the challenges of teachingthese students in Japanese universities is thesignificant variation in learning levels among
them. Some of the foreign students exhibit

greater spontaneity than others, which may be
attributed to either their strong study habits orthe extensive language learning opportunities
they had in their home countries. For example,
in the Philippines, even though our local
language is spoken outside the classroom, welearn subjects such as science, world history,
math, and even Physical Education (P.E.) inEnglish.
Because of the wide learning gaps, there
are still some students who need help withreading comprehension and decoding someof the most important academic or commonwords. An important realization emerged fromthis experience: I recognized the need torecalibrate my assessment strategy to caterto the average learner within my cohort rather
than tailoring tests exclusively to the highest or
lowest performers. Specifically, I design tests
in which I incorporate previously assignedmaterials. I also utilize the exact items from their
textbook. In other words, I rarely introduce new
vocabulary items. If I do, I strive to constructsimple sentences and provide context clues orcommon words to assist students in choosing
the correct answers. Having experienced theconfusion of encountering unfamiliar words
during my own Japanese language learning,
I aim to create tests that align closely with thevocabulary they have been taught. Therefore, I
would rely on context clues or familiar words tounderstand the meaning.
My experiences in various educational
institutions have been incredibly enriching.
Interacting with students of varying proficiency
levels has been particularly advantageous, as it
has allowed me to adapt my teaching methods
and discover effective ways to foster motivation.
Whether it is through online or in-person
learning, I am eager to continue exploring new
approaches that inspire and motivate students.

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