Event
HomeETJ Tokyo Workshop: Using Music Videos to Teach Global Issues
Sunday, April 20th, 2014, 1:00 PM - 5:00 PM
Speaker: Damian Lucantonio (University of Electro-Communications)
Pop culture, such as music and movies, can be a rich source of student motivation. It can also be a rich source of global issues. This presentation/workshop will demonstrate how current rock music videos (referred to in this workshop as promotional videos or PVs) from some of English pop culture's most famous and popular artists can be used to help students think critically about global issues. First, a syllabus designed for 1st and 2nd year university students in Japan will be presented. It describes the course goals, the rationale for using music videos (PVs), the songs and PVs used in the course, and the global issues the PVs examine. The teaching approach will also be described, as well as student feedback concerning the course. The next session will focus on workshop-style participation in small groups. Guided by teaching materials prepared by the presenter, participants will analyze and discuss a variety of music videos and the global issues they address, illustrating how the PVs are used within the context of a 90 minute lesson with students of mixed proficiency levels. Topics and artists include child labor (from the bands Muse, Fall Out Boy, Kanye West), gay rights (Macklemore & Lewis), suicide (Pink, Linkin Park, Good Charlotte), domestic violence (Eminem & Rihanna, Kelly Clarkson, Lindsay Lohan, Red Jumpsuit Apparatus); bullying (Fall Out Boy, Eminem & Lil Wayne); peace issues (Linkin Park, Nickelback); terrorism (Green Day, Metallica) and many others, time permitting. Finally, the presentation/workshop will conclude with a Q & A discussion session, focusing on issues raised in the workshop, such as taboo topics, coarse language, ethics, morality, student motivation, teacher scaffolding (or breaking down a task into manageable chunks), designing teaching materials, and syllabus design. Participants will gain a deeper understanding of the role that music and pop culture can play in the classroom, as well as new ideas for teaching global issues and critical thinking.
Dr Damian Lucantonio, PhD is from Sydney, Australia. He is an associate professor in the English department at the University of Electro-Communications, a national science university in Tokyo. He also works part-time in the law department at Keio University. He has worked on InterFM radio in Tokyo, The Japan Times newspaper, and has been a private tutor to some well-known Japanese rock artists. He has a PhD in applied linguistics, focusing on second language development. He has worked as a teacher, teacher trainer, Director of Studies, and researcher in all areas of English language education in Australia, Indonesia and Japan. His research interests focus on the applications of systemic functional linguistics, in particular genre theory, to English language education.
Organization: ETJ Tokyo (English Teachers in Japan) (ETJ Tokyo)
Cost: free
Venue: Tokyo Cosmo Academy, Toy Box Building, 4-9-2 Takadanobaba, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo-to, 169-0075 (map)
Location: Tokyo, Tokyo Metropolis, Japan
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