 Letter
from Tohru Matsuo
Candidate, Master of Arts in Teaching
ESOL Generalist, 2003-04
Before enrolling in the Master of Arts in Teaching, Tohru taught English
as a foreign language to Japanese high school and junior high school students.
Following the completion of his degree requirements this summer, he will
teach in Costa Rica, then return to Japan to continue teaching in secondary
schools. He is especially interested in the applications of Total Physical
Response Storytelling to his classrooms in Japan.
A letter for MAT prospective students
Hello, I'm from Japan. I've just finished all the coursework at SIT.
It is a great pleasure to share my experience and just some of my phenomenal
learning moments at SIT with you.
My major reason why I decided to come to SIT is that I wanted to improve
my teaching, especially my flexibility and adaptability of teaching techniques.
Before I came to SIT, I was insecure and did not feel that I was a professional
teacher. Even though I had taught English for almost seven years in Japan,
I felt my teaching was limited due to the discrepancy between my passion
and my actual ability.
Because of my experience staying in the U.S. for a year, I wanted to
emphasize to my students the communicative aspects of English. Nevertheless,
I did not know how to change my teaching. In order to improve my teaching,
I attended many workshops in Japan, and learned some techniques and activities.
However, I was always frustrated because I was not able to fully integrate
them into my lessons.
Reflecting upon my experience at SIT, I learned three significant things.
The first is exploring and developing my identity as language teacher,
which includes personal beliefs and approaches to teaching English. I
hadn't realized how important this was until I learned it at SIT. I have
realized that it was this identity that enables me to choose adequate
activities or techniques according to the students.
Another important learning I gained at SIT is the ability to improve
my teaching autonomously, which includes the ability to integrate new
methods and techniques into my teaching. I have realized that teaching
is all about the learning process. I have become aware of what I am doing
and why I am doing it. I learn from students and their learning process
about the impact of my teaching on them. I analyze what worked, what didn't,
and why. I modify my teaching based on this analysis and try it out in
the next class. I have realized that this process, called reflective teaching,
is the very skill that I really wanted to acquire most. With my clear
belief as a language teacher and this skill of reflective teaching, I
feel much more secure as a language teacher than before. The experience
of learning at SIT has made me feel more like a professional teacher.
The last aspect of my significant learning is the value of other MAT
students from all over the world, and a strong learning community we have
established through the coursework. I have realized that the importance
of respecting each student's perspective and his or her own unique experience
brought to the class. I cannot tell you how much I have learned from them
through sharing and helping each other. I feel appreciative belonging
to this worldwide network in which we can share our enjoyment and struggle
as teachers.
Now, I have two goals as a language teacher. The first is that I would
like to continue refining my reflective teaching in order to serve my
EFL students' learning. Even though this goal is endless, I have short
term goal. I am planning to go back to Costa Rica teaching English for
about six months. Costa Rica is the place where I taught in my internship
and truly realized the importance of serving students' learning process.
Also, it is the place where I have established my foundation of reflective
teaching. Therefore, it is the ideal place where I continue my professional
development through reflective teaching.
Another goal is sharing my passion and experience with other English
teachers in Japan. I would like to learn from other teachers in Japan
by sharing my experience at SIT. I believe that coming to SIT is the best
decision that I have ever made.
Tohru Matsuo MAT 35
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