Tomohisa Machida
Dr. Tomohisa Machida is an associate professor in the Graduate School of Global Communication and Language at Akita International University. He holds an M.A. in TESL and a Ph.D. in Elementary Education, both from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Previously, he taught English at public junior high schools in Tokyo for 12 years. He is currently working with Prefecture and City boards of education in Akita Prefecture to provide in-service teacher training to elementary and junior high school English teachers. His research interests include elementary school English education, foreign language anxiety, and teacher education. His research has been published in journals and books such as JALT Journal, TOEFL Journal, Current Issues in Language Planning, and Teaching Young Learners English (Translation). Email: tmachida@aiu.ac.jp
Sessions
Fostering JHS Teachers’ Confidence to Use English
This workshop will highlight the development of in-service training for fostering JHS teachers’ confidence to teach English in English. To prepare JHS teachers for using English for instruction, hands-on two-day training was conducted to improve teachers’ English instructional skills and to develop their English proficiency. As JHS teachers learned students’ perspectives of learning English in English, they acquired a positive attitude toward using English in class. Findings and implications for training will be discussed.