Teachers: Lightning Discussion ライトニングディスカッション（短い議論）25 minutes / 25分 English Beyond Textbooks: A Practical Roadmap to Proficiency for University Freshmen more

Sat, Oct 21, 11:05-11:30 Asia/Tokyo

This presentation aims to motivate Japanese university freshmen enrolled in mandatory English courses. It advocates a practical, skills-based class that underscores the real-world importance of English learning. Many students may not realize that even if employed by Japanese companies, fluent English communication may be necessary. This may be daunting to students as achieving fluency can take up to 2,500 hours (Inagaki, 2010). This is especially challenging when most of the students in the class have TOEIC scores below 400. Therefore, students will learn to break this goal into manageable daily increments, by using language-learning apps like Busuu, Memrise, Duolingo, and Lyrics Training on their phones for short daily sessions. In-class demonstrations of these apps will be followed by group exploration, with each student testing an app for approximately 15 minutes and providing feedback to their group, guided by a provided form. Students will then select one app for the semester and deliver two additional reports during designated game days, with points from these reports contributing to their participation scores. This comprehensive strategy may inspire students to see English as a vital tool for future success and equip them with the skills to break down larger goals into achievable tasks.