Abstract: Typically, every class we teach is mixed ability. Some students have high skills and motivation for learning English. In contrast, others are not good at it and need lots of help from teachers. All teachers must acknowledge mixed-ability classes and consider ways to cope with them. I believe one solution is to introduce CLIL (Content and Language Integrated Learning) with the idea that "the more interesting the content is, the faster and easier the students learn language, regardless of their abilities." Also, I am sure that learning a foreign language is useful for raising self-esteem and valuing others. I have been trying to bring back the smiles of my students since the Great East Japan Earthquake.
Speaker Bio: Tomoaki Oono works for Sendai Nika High School. He also serves many English instructors through teacher training seminars inside and outside Miyagi. After the Great East Japan Earthquake, he set up the "英語教師学びの会 (English Teachers Learning Group)" to make students smile through class improvement. The group is developing inside and outside the prefecture, helping instructors at elementary, junior high, senior high, and university levels collaborate and think about English education.
