Sweet English Time
今日から3月、
3月になるにふさわしい暖かな陽気でした。
春の訪れが待ち遠しい季節ですね。
本日はIICOkidsのいちご狩りイベントにご参加いただき、誠にありがとうございました。たくさんの子どもたちの笑顔に出会えたことを嬉しく思います。
ここでは、今日の「英語でいちご狩り」の様子とともに、ルメサ先生が大切にしていたことや感じたことをご紹介します。
What we did in the lesson Today
We went to the いちごhouse in Mitaka. We began the lesson in front of the strawberry field and started with greeting each other in English. We took advantage of the instructor’s English skills and listened how to proceed while picking the strawberries. After that it was finally time to go pick them.
I guided the students through different strawberry varieties and supported them while they explored and picked their favourites.The strawberry house had six different kinds of strawberries: Kaorino, Benikaori, Yukizakura, Koi Minori, Mikunoka and Hoshi Urara. We started with the Yukizakura and then moved to the Kaorino strawberries.
After we finished picking the strawberries, we made our way to the cash register to pay. While eating, I encouraged natural English conversation. To end the lesson, we read the picture books “The Bear and the Squirrel” and “Ichigochan” together.
What I taught the student
The goal of this lesson was to visualise English vocabulary through real objects and actions. Main vocabulary was: “red/white/pink/green (colours) ” “big/small” “strawberry” “leaf”、 While my student picked the strawberries, I repeated these words aloud to connect what they were seeing with the English language.
I also tried to ask simple questions such as: “Are you having fun?”、“Do you like white or red strawberries more?”、“Can you find a big strawberry?”。
How did I make it easy to understand
I focused on repetition and visual support, to make basic English conversation easy to understand. Every time my student picked a strawberry, I described it using easy English words.
For example, when the student picked a big white Yukizakura strawberry, I repeatedly said words like “white,” “small,” and “leaf” while pointing at the strawberry. I also tried to use comparison to deepen the understanding.As example: comparing red strawberries to white ones, and big strawberries to small ones.
The students favourite part My student’s favorite part was picking and eating the strawberries. He was especially excited about the Yukizakura strawberries and eagerly started picking them as soon as we stepped in the strawberry house. After we finished the book, he enjoyed playing with his strawberry plushie and the wheelbarrow at the sitting area.
My favourite part
My favorite part of the lesson was watching the student’s excitement while picking the strawberries. Seeing the student happily picking Yukizakura strawberries while listening to my English explanations, brought me a smile.
