This paper is a practical report aimed at making pre-service Japanese teachers aware of transformation of their perceptions about textbooks used in secondary schools by introducing One Page Portfolio Assessment (OPPA) to a “Materials and Methods in ...
This paper is a practical report aimed at making pre-service Japanese teachers aware of transformation of their perceptions about textbooks used in secondary schools by introducing One Page Portfolio Assessment (OPPA) to a “Materials and Methods in Japanese Language Teaching” course. Using the OPP sheets filled out by the pre-service teachers during the period of materials development as analysis materials, the pre-service teachers' perceptions about Japanese textbooks before and after taking the course were compared. The results show that OPPA promoted the transformation of the pre-service teachers’ perceptions, and all the teachers came to have some sort of positive perception of Japanese textbooks after studying. In addition, there were some cases that an image of an ideal teacher and a teacher's view on Japanese language education were formed. According to these results, OPPA is effective in making pre-service teachers aware that they are teachers before actual teaching, and in establishing beliefs about textbooks and teaching Japanese. Furthermore, analysis of post-OPPA interviews shows that the introduction of OPPA improved the quality of learning, deepened self-reflection, and increased motivation to learn. From the standpoint of a teacher who instructs pre-service teachers, the introduction of OPPA has made it possible to visualize the response of the course and the recognition and transformation of each pre-service teacher, and to improve the quality of the course. It can be said that OPPA can be introduced without difficulty in the field of higher education and Japanese language teacher training, and it will function effectively.