Second Entry - DOWN WITH THE COMMUNICATIVE APPROACH

I have been teaching in Japan for 6 years. Currently, I am a EFL teacher-trainer/ EFL instructor. I came to Japan a big proponent of the communicative approach but now I just don't know if it is the appropriate approach for the students I teach. I read a book by a professor at Keio University. He is a Japanese teacher of German writing about foreign language learning in Japan. He wrote that Japanese students are just not the kinds of students who will speak out in class. Thus, the communicative approach is ineffective. His experience has been as an evaluator of Japanese students' foreign language ability is that the students who have undergone a communicative approach to foreign language learning that he has evaluated learned next to nothing in their classes. He comments that teachers should just accept the fact that Japanese students do not speak out much in class and laments the fact that foreign teachers in Japan, particularly Americans, complain so much about the silence that pervades the language learning classroom.
My experience has been that for the most part students' are hesitant to speak in class. To be more exact, terrified. I work with grade school English teachers, aspiring English teachers, and students who have to fufill some university English credits. These traits exisit in all three groups but of course to different degrees. The past few years I have labored to improve my skills as a facilitator, class manager, task-creator, lesson planner, and workshop organizer to create a comfortable classroom environment conducive to communication, discussion, and hands-on learning. I have had mixed results.
I will say though that my students are fantastic listeners. Students seem to learn a lot more in my classes when instead of engaging in "discovery learning", they listen to me speak and take notes. Sometimes I wonder if I have wasted my time the past few years trying to make my classes more dynamic and less teacher-centered. Perhaps, I am an enthocentric American who is trying to push something on his students that they don't need.

My First Blog in Working Hell for the Weblogging Group

Hi, my name is Jamie and I am a university teacher living in Japan. I am sorry for the negative title. I am about to attend a three hour meeting today and another meeting that could last up to 7 hours tomorrow. I like my job but long meetings put me in a bad mood.
Changing the subject, I am really excited to be involved in this study group. I had never heard of a Wiki before yesterday. I am still confused as to what one is. I thought you were supposed to be able to change a wiki w/o a username and login and all that junk but when I went to the course Wiki I had to give a username and lon-on name so maybe my idea of a Wiki is a little off.
i have about 2 more minutes before i prepare for the up and coming meeting. hence, i have quite the punctuation i have lots of ideas for weblogs. how easy is it to create your own weblogging page rather than relying on someone else's programs? well i really have to run.
adios