I was recently watching Atsueigo’s YouTube channel, a favorite of mine. Much of his content is aimed at higher-level English students. Many of whom are trying to pass a certain test or understand the small details of the language. However, occasionally he offers advice to younger students as well.
Recently he posted a video comparing Korean English textbooks to Japanese English textbooks. I was happy to see that they also agreed with a technique that the Transposed Classroom uses. That technique is learning new vocabulary words while being exposed to their English definitions.
In the Transposed Classroom, students practice flashcards that have the English definition. Along with pictures and sound (beginner students practice with flashcards that have sound and pictures only), the students can immerse themselves. While this can be intimidating at first, once the student lets go of the notion that they need to understand everything, they can be exposed to a lot of language. Often this helps them review words that they know and hear others they don’t.
Getting used to this type of study really helps as you become more advanced. For example, It can help you explain a word that you can’t think of during a conversation. After 12 years of living in Japan, this still happens to me. So of course my students are going to experience this too. Non-native speakers need to be able to explain themselves without having the specific word they want (no matter how annoying that is!).
So let’s get used to not understanding everything. Open our ears and minds and find the words we do know and become curious about the ones we don’t!
The Transposed Classroom
Motivating students to enjoy, work hard, and excel in their English journey! Students can be located anywhere in Japan!
Have a question? Ask devonsenglishclassroom[at]gmail.com