______________
Copyright (C) 2003.
Maiko Hata.
Students' Challenges in ESL Homestay
Programs
Paper presented at JALT Conference 2000, Shizuoka, Japan
Maiko Hata
maihata@hotmail.com
http://maikosensei.com
Mari Toki maritoki@yahoo.com
Recycled Orientation
1.
Pre-program Orientation in Japan
Session 1:
PowerPoint and Website presentations. Students take either PowerPoint or Website Creation class while in California using what they learned during their stay, e.g. the striking differences between Japanese and American cultures, American customs. The final products will be shown at the pre-program orientation by the students from the previous year.
Session 2-4:
Survival skills incl. phone numbers, money, weather, host family, school, different customs and expectations, logistics incl. insurance, passport, etc.
2. On-going Orientation
Ideally held twice a week with a bi-cultural / lingual coordinator (possibly a
student at a local university / graduate school). This is in addition to the
office hour set aside for the students to drop in.
3.
Post-program Orientation
The students with the products from their PowerPoint or Website Creation class present their work to prepare the students for following year.
Proposed Syllabus
Class One:
ü Ice-breaker
ü Greetings
ü Giving and receiving directions
Class Two:
ü Scavenger hunt in the downtown area
Class Three:
ü Introduction to Language Strategies
ü Strategic competence – when you don’t know the word
ü Asking for clarification
Class Four:
ü Interacting with service personnel
Class Five:
ü Small talk – topics
ü Small talk – opening and closing the conversation
Class Six:
ü Making requests
ü Small talk – interruptions
ü Small talk – compliments
Class Seven:
ü Expressing opinion
ü Agreeing and disagreeing
Class Eight:
ü Describing feelings and moods
Class Nine:
ü Expressing gratitude
ü Class feedback
ü Class evaluation