Ratcliff Esther Helen

年月日（From）

2023/04

年月日（To）

2024/06

件名

-All classes are communicative in style, delivered in English.
-Students work in groups to share ideas, give peer feedback and have group discussions.
-Group and individual presentations with PowerPoint form part of the ongoing assessment for many classes.
-All class notes are projected on the overhead projector and/on the TV screen in the classroom.
-Multimedia resources such as videos, interactive quizzes, real-time team games using smartphones.
-Students are encouraged to make use of the LARECE center and the university library to borrow and consult reference books.
-Students are given guidance about useful online resources to support their learning, such as online dictionaries and websites to practise listening skills. These are distributed via Google Classroom and/or using QR in class.
-Students are expected to do a range of activities, both online tasks through Google Classroom and writing in class.
-Students are kept up-to-date about activities happening on campus through announcements on Google Classroom and/email.

概要

The majority of classes I teach fall under the First Foreign Language department. Classes taught include the following: Critical Reading and Discussion, Listening and Presentation, Discussion Skills, Academic Discussion Skills, Reading II and from 2024, the new Global Citizenship Program. Activities in these classes include giving presentations, having group discussions and extensive reading program using graded readers from the LARECE centre. My students in Discussion Skills also had the chance to attend the guest lecture, the ambassador to Rwanda in November 2023.



I also have two classes in the English Department, which are First Year English Seminar and Second Year English Seminar. In the former, students are preparing to take the IELTS exam, so classes are spent developing skills for the different parts of the exam, such as doing timed readings, improving writing skills and practising for the different parts of the speaking test. Students are also introduced to academic writing later in the year. In SYES, students further develop their academic writing skills and learn about how to use research outside sources and refer to them in their writing.



Lastly, I also have one class in the Career English program, called Total Presentation Workshop 1. Over the course of the year, students learnt two approaches to giving persuasive presentations, including how to use ethos, pathos and logos. This class also focuses a lot on teaching students how to lead discussions.

Contributions I wish to make this year:In the classroom, there are two specific areas I want to work on. Firstly, I would like to focus on showing students how the activities and skills they learn in my classes relate to their future lives. For instance, when students work in groups doing group presentations, teaching them explicitly about how teamwork skills will benefit them in the future. This will help them to see the link between what they learn in class, with skills they can use in their professional life. The second aspect relates to a reflection I have had over the last year. It is related to students being over-reliant on their smartphones. An area I think students need help with is techniques for not relying on their smartphone and/or translation sites to help them express their ideas. An approach to solving this is to help students to use more circumlocution, i.e. using strategies to express themselves even though they might not know the exact word they want to use.


Outside the classroom, I want to focus on making students better autonomous learners. I can do this by showing students where they can access materials and/or extra programs going on at university. Even when teachers tell their students where they can access further resources, students might not necessarily be proactive. One way I can do this is taking my students to the library and LARECE centre to see where they can access materials. In this way, I think students will be more likely to make use of resources, which will help them to take responsibility for their learning.

年月日（From）

2024/06

年月日（To）

2025/06

件名

Teaching Activities:

The majority of the classes I taught last year (2024-2025) and this year (2025-2026) fall under the LARECE First Foreign Language courses. Classes include the following: Critical Reading and Discussion, Exploring Content: Listening and Speaking, Exploring Content: Reading and Writing, Academic Discussion Skills, and Integrated English A class. Activities in these classes include giving presentations, having group discussions, improving writing skills, and improving knowledge of academic vocabulary.

I also have one class in the English Department, which is the Second Year English Seminar (SYES). In this class, students develop their academic writing skills and learn about how to incorporate research from outside sources into their writing. Themes cover Professional English, English studies and English Education.

I also teach a 4th year Career English class called Total Presentation Workshop 1. Throughout the year, these students learn two approaches to giving persuasive presentations, such as how to use ethos, pathos and logos. This class also focuses on teaching students how to lead discussions.

概要

Teaching Activities:

The majority of the classes I taught last year (2024-2025) and this year (2025-2026) fall under the LARECE First Foreign Language courses. Classes include the following: Critical Reading and Discussion, Exploring Content: Listening and Speaking, Exploring Content: Reading and Writing, Academic Discussion Skills, and Integrated English A class. Activities in these classes include giving presentations, having group discussions, improving writing skills, and improving knowledge of academic vocabulary.

I also have one class in the English Department, which is the Second Year English Seminar (SYES). In this class, students develop their academic writing skills and learn about how to incorporate research from outside sources into their writing. Themes cover Professional English, English studies and English Education.

I also teach a 4th year Career English class called Total Presentation Workshop 1. Throughout the year, these students learn two approaches to giving persuasive presentations, such as how to use ethos, pathos and logos. This class also focuses on teaching students how to lead discussions.