The MFWI Education Program
MWU students who are preparing to become teachers may elect to study English intensively and gain cross-cultural experience and knowledge in MFWI’s Education Program. Education students engage in direct observations of elementary school classrooms for five full days during the program. They also complete an eight-day study tour of East Coast cities, including New York City, Boston, and Washington.
The curriculum includes a Conversation block consisting of three oral communication courses plus linguistics; a Reading block of four content courses; and eight additional separate courses. The goals of Conversation class are to improve the students’ listening comprehension of “natural speech” and their ability to converse with native speakers in various content-rich situations.
The Reading course is designed to increase students’ comprehension and reading speed. The course includes texts from a number of content areas: literature, ethnicity, family life and education in the U.S. Special emphasis is placed on texts and activities related to places that will be visited on the East Coast tour. In addition to Conversation and Reading, students complete 7-9 professional courses taught by specialists in the theory and practice of education. Some of the professional education courses are taught in English by MFWI and other local faculty, and other courses are taught in Japanese by visiting faculty.
