Teachers: Learning Cafe ラーニング・カフェ 55 minutes / 55分
Teachers and their experiences as language learners
In the past decade studies on adult language learners, including mature students, has received much attention world-wide. However, language teachers focusing on their own language learning seems to be an under-studied area, especially among those who have taught or currently teach in Japan (Simon-Maeda, 2011; Casanave, 2012; Ellis, 2021). In this Learning Café session, I invite language teachers to participate in two activities: one is self-reflective; the other, collaborative. After I provide my language learning history, teachers will first share their own experiences as language learners. Next, participants will be asked to work in small groups by teaching context to come up with ideas on how to incorporate their own language learning experience into their teaching. By the end of this session, it is hoped that teachers will reflect on their own experiences and work collaboratively to explore ways they can successfully weave them into their teaching in order to motivate and enhance student learning.