Testing the ALT system prompt

This is a spread from the textbook one of my students uses. It’s 2nd year JHS.

I scanned it with our printer/scanner on greyscale at 600 dpi. The scan needs to be high enough resolution for the AI to “read” it.

This was the prompt I used:

Let’s look at these two pages from a Japanese 2nd year junior high school textbook together. First, tell me what you think that we need to teach. Then, I’ll give you feedback. Let’s try to figure out what the lesson objective should be.

The AI replied,

Excellent. I have completed my initial analysis of the provided materials, which appear to be from Unit 4, Part 3 of the New Horizon 2 textbook.

This is a classic textbook spread that introduces a key grammatical structure within a situational context and then asks students to apply it. Here is my assessment of what we need to teach.

1. Initial Analysis & Key Teaching Points

Based on my review, there are two primary layers to this lesson: the grammatical tool and the communicative function.

The Grammatical Tool (The ‘What’):
The explicit target grammar is the infinitive used as an adjective (不定詞の形容詞的用法).
- The pattern is: a noun + to + verb.
- Examples from the text:
  - “You need something to cover your shoulders.” (何か / 肩を覆うための)
  - “You can borrow clothes to cover yourself.” (服 / あなた自身を覆うための)
  - “The best place to visit.” (場所 / 訪れるべき)
  - “A nice restaurant to eat curry.” (レストラン / カレーを食べるための)
The Communicative Function (The ‘Why’):
The reason students are learning this grammar is to give advice and make recommendations. They are learning how to describe what something is for.
- In the dialogue, the function is stating a rule or requirement (“You need something to cover your shoulders”).
- In the practice section, the function is making a recommendation to a visitor (“Here is a good place to go,” “This is a delicious thing to eat“).
Secondary Language & Context:
- Supporting Grammar: The phrase “need to ~” is heavily used and essential for the dialogue’s context.
- Vocabulary: Words related to travel, rules, and local attractions (mosque, rules, visitor, cover, borrow, food court, hot spring).
- Thematic Context: The overall theme is “Travel, Cultural Rules, and Introducing Your Hometown.”

2. The Textbook’s Pedagogical Flow

The book follows a very standard Present-Practice-Produce (PPP) model:

Present (Page 54): The dialogue on Arab Street presents the new grammar in a story. Tina has a problem (she can’t enter the mosque), and the new grammar is part of the solution (“something to cover…”). This provides context.
Practice / Produce (Page 55): The “Speak” and “Write” activities ask students to move from understanding the grammar to using it for a personal purpose—recommending things about their own town.

3. My Strategic Recommendation: The Lesson Objective

A weak objective would be: “Students will understand the adjectival use of the infinitive.” This is teacher-focused and only about grammar.

A strong, communicative objective frames the lesson as a mission. Based on the textbook’s ultimate goal in the “Speak” and “Write” sections, I propose the following:

Proposed Lesson Objective:
“Students will be able to give at least three recommendations to a foreign visitor about their hometown, suggesting a place to go, a thing to see, and a food to eat.”

Why this objective works:

It’s Action-Oriented: The goal is a performance—”give recommendations”—not just passive knowledge.
It’s Measurable: We can easily check if a student has provided three distinct recommendations.
It’s Communicative: It requires students to use the grammar as a tool to achieve a realistic purpose.
It’s Student-Centered: It connects directly to their own lives and hometowns, making it more engaging.

Now, I’d like your feedback on this analysis and proposed objective. Do you agree with this direction, or do you see other priorities within these two pages? Once we agree on the objective, I can architect a full lesson plan.

Pardon my French–that is fucking awesome.

My next prompt, because I want to see how well it works on autopilot.

Yes, I agree with your proposed objective. Proceed

I have analyzed the provided textbook pages and your confirmed objective. I am now ready to proceed as The Strategic EFL Architect.

Here is the complete, four-part collaboration package designed to empower you and your teaching partner to deliver a high-impact lesson based on the topic of infinitives for recommendations for a 2nd-year junior high school class.

DELIVERABLE 1: The ALT’s Strategic Plan (English)

Mission Title: Mission: Hometown Ambassador

Core Communicative Objective: Students will be able to recommend things to do, see, and eat in their hometown in order to act as a local tour guide for a visitor.

Target Language:

Key Phrases/Grammar: The infinitive as an adjective (Noun + to + Verb).
- “a good place to visit“
- “a delicious food to eat“
- “something interesting to see“
- “a fun thing to do“
Essential Vocabulary: recommend, visitor, local specialty, famous, delicious, interesting; nouns (place, food, thing); verbs (visit, eat, see, do, buy, try).

Materials: Whiteboard, markers, simple “Hometown Recommendations” worksheet for each student (with three prompts: 1. A place to go: , 2. A food to eat: , 3. A thing to see: __).

Strategic Team Roles:

JTE (Mission Commander): Manages the mission’s structure, explains rules, provides precise grammar clarification, and ensures accuracy.
ALT (Field Agent): Creates the mission context (plays the “tourist”), models authentic language, generates energy, and encourages student fluency.

Lesson Breakdown (45-50 Minutes)

Phase 1: The Mission & Productive Failure (Approx. 10 mins) [TEST 1]

The Hook: The ALT begins class by acting as a lost, confused, but excited tourist. “Hello everyone! I’m a tourist! This is my first time in [Your Town Name]! I have one free day. What should I do? Please help me!”
The Task Attempt: The JTE instructs students to take out their “Hometown Recommendations” worksheet. “Your mission is to help our tourist. In pairs, think of one recommendation for each category and write it down. Then, try to explain your recommendations to your partner in English.” This creates a state of “controlled chaos” where students attempt the task with their existing, limited English. They will likely produce sentences like, “Kiyomizu Temple is famous. You go,” or “Please eat takoyaki.”
Monitoring Roles: JTE patrols, listening specifically for grammatical struggles related to linking nouns and actions. ALT patrols, listening for communication breakdowns and noting where students get frustrated trying to express their ideas.

Phase 2: The Toolkit (Approx. 15 mins) [TEACH]

Debrief & Need-Finding: The JTE stops the activity. “Great effort! But explaining was difficult, right? Let’s learn a powerful tool.” The JTE writes a student’s fragmented attempt on the board (e.g., “Eat ramen.”) and highlights the communication gap. “How can we make this a better recommendation?”
Authentic Modeling (ALT-led): The ALT provides the solution with energy and gestures. “Ramen is a delicious food to eat!” The ALT models the chunk food to eat using gestures (holding a bowl, eating with chopsticks). Drill the key patterns with back-chaining for pronunciation: “visit… to visit… a place to visit… a great place to visit!”
Structure & Clarification (JTE-led): The JTE provides a sharp, focused grammar explanation on the board, writing [名詞] + to + [動詞] which means 「～するための/～すべき名詞」. This directly addresses the errors observed in Phase 1.
- CCQ 1: (Points to “something to drink”) “Do I have the drink now? (No). Is it a thing? (Yes). What is its purpose? (To drink).”
- CCQ 2: (Points to “a place to visit”) “Is it a person? (No). Is it an action? (No). Is it a location? (Yes). What should I do there? (Visit).”

Phase 3: Mission Reboot & Success (Approx. 15 mins) [TEST 2]

Live Demonstration (JTE & ALT): The ALT (Tourist) asks the JTE (Guide) for a recommendation. ALT: “I’m hungry.” JTE: “Ah, okonomiyaki is a famous food to try.” ALT: “Great! And I want to buy a gift.” JTE: “The station has many good shops to visit.” This is a fast, perfect model of the target conversation.
Task Execution: Students re-attempt the task from Phase 1, using their same worksheet. This time, the JTE instructs them to use the new “Toolkit” pattern. “Now, interview your partner again. Ask ‘What’s a good place to visit?’ and answer using our new pattern.” The dynamic will be faster, more confident, and more successful.
Monitoring Roles: JTE focuses on correcting form and accuracy (e.g., “a place to visiting” -> “a place to visit”). ALT focuses on encouraging fluency, praising effort, and asking follow-up questions (“Oh, really? Is it delicious?”).

Phase 4: Debrief & Reinforcement (Approx. 5 mins)

Mission Accomplished: The JTE quickly asks 2-3 students to share their best recommendation with the class. “Tanaka-san, please tell our tourist one good thing to do.” The class applauds the successful recommendations.
Error Spotlight (JTE): The JTE selects the single most common error observed during Phase 3 (e.g., forgetting the to), writes it on the board, and provides a final, clear correction for the whole class.

Strategic Rationale: Why This Plan Works

Motivation: Starting with a communicative challenge (helping the tourist) creates an immediate need for the grammar. The grammar is not a rule to be memorized; it’s a tool to complete a mission.
Memory: The lesson is anchored to a memorable experience—the “tourist mission.” Students will remember the grammar because they will remember using it to solve a problem, which is neurologically more effective than rote memorization for long-term recall and test performance.
Team-Teaching: This structure maximizes partner expertise. The ALT provides the authentic communicative context and model, while the JTE provides the precise linguistic analysis and scaffolding. It is a true partnership, not just turn-taking.

Collaboration Note for the ALT: “Use the bilingual vocabulary sheet below to walk your JTE through this plan in your next meeting. Frame the ‘Productive Failure’ phase as a ‘diagnostic activity’ (診断活動) to gauge student ability first. This framing is highly effective and shows respect for collaborative planning.”

DELIVERABLE 2: JTE’s Collaborative Plan (日本語)

授業案（ALT・JTE協力型）

授業のテーマ: ミッション：私たちの町の観光大使

学習目標（生徒ができるようになること）: 自分の町について、外国人観光客におすすめの「行くべき場所」「見るべきもの」「食べるべき食べ物」を、不定詞を使って３つ以上提案できるようになる。

対象言語:

文法・表現: 不定詞の形容詞的用法 (名詞 + to + 動詞の原形)
- a place to visit (訪れるべき場所)
- something to eat (食べるための何か)
重要語彙: recommend, visitor, local specialty, famous, delicious, place, food, thing, visit, eat, see, buy, try

準備物: ホワイトボード、マーカー、簡単なワークシート（各生徒に１枚）

ALTとJTEの役割分担:

JTE（司令官）: 活動全体の構成管理、ルール説明、的を絞った文法解説、正確さ（Accuracy）の指導。
ALT（エージェント）: 授業の導入で「観光客」役になり、活動の目的を提示。自然な英語のモデルを示し、流暢さ（Fluency）を引き出す。

授業の流れ（45-50分）

1. 導入・課題活動（診断）（約10分）

活動導入: ALTが「町に初めて来た観光客」として登場し、生徒におすすめを尋ねることで、授業の目的（ミッション）を明確にする。
課題への挑戦: まず、生徒たちが現時点で持っている英語力だけで、ペアで町のおすすめを伝え合う活動を行う。これは、生徒たちが「何を言えないのか」「どんな表現が必要か」を自覚するための診断活動と位置づける。

2. 言語ツールの提供（指導）（約15分）

活動の振り返りと課題の明確化: JTEが最初の活動を振り返り、「うまく説明するのが難しかったですね。今日はそのための便利な道具を学びましょう」と、学習内容の必要性を示す。
ALTによるモデル: ALTがジェスチャーを交えながら、”a place to visit” や “a food to eat” のような自然な発音・リズムのモデルを提示する。
JTEによる文法解説: JTEは、診断活動で生徒たちが苦戦していた点を踏まえ、不定詞の形容詞的用法のポイント（名詞 + to + 動詞）を簡潔に解説する。

3. 課題への再挑戦（定着）（約15分）

ALTとJTEによるデモンストレーション: ALT（観光客）とJTE（ガイド）で、学んだ表現を使った完璧なモデル会話を一度見せる。これにより、生徒は活動のゴールを具体的にイメージできる。
活動の実践: 生徒たちは、学んだ「道具」を使って、もう一度ペアでのおすすめ活動に挑戦する。一度目の活動よりも、自信を持って、より正確にコミュニケーションが取れるようになる。

4. まとめ（約5分）

活動の達成確認と振り返り: JTEが数名の生徒を指名し、クラス全体でおすすめを発表してもらう。ミッションが成功したことを確認し、達成感を共有する。活動中に見られた共通の間違いを１点だけ取り上げ、最後に確認する。

DELIVERABLE 3: Collaborative Planning Vocabulary Sheet (日英対照表)

授業計画のための日英単語リスト

A. 生徒が使う目標言語 (Student Target Language)

English	日本語
a place to visit	訪れるべき場所 (おとずれるべきばしょ)
something to eat	何か食べるもの (なにかたべるもの)
a thing to see	見るべきもの (みるべきもの)
recommend	おすすめする
visitor	観光客 (かんこうきゃく) / 訪問者 (ほうもんしゃ)
local specialty	名物 (めいぶつ) / 特産品 (とくさんひん)
famous	有名な (ゆうめいな)

B. 先生が使う指導用語 (Teacher Collaboration Terms)

English	日本語
Lesson Plan	授業案 (じゅぎょうあん)
Objective	目標 (もくひょう)
Communicative	伝達的な (でんたつてきな) / コミュニカティブ
Activity	活動 (かつどう)
Drill	ドリル / 反復練習 (はんぷくれんしゅう)
Role-play	ロールプレイ
Information Gap	インフォメーション・ギャップ / 情報格差 (じょうほうかくさ)
Productive Failure	意図的な失敗体験 (いとてきなしっぱいたいけん) / 診断活動 (しんだんかつどう)
Concept Check Questions (CCQs)	概念チェックの質問 (がいねんチェックのしつもん)
Monitor / Patrol	机間巡視 (きかんじゅんし)
Authentic (language)	自然な / 生きた (しぜんな / いきた)
Fluency	流暢さ (りゅうちょうさ)
Accuracy	正確さ (せいかくさ)

DELIVERABLE 4: The 60-Second Diagnostic (Exit Ticket)

Exit Question (English):
A visitor to your town asks you: “What is one special thing to do here?” Write your one-sentence recommendation using the ... to ... pattern.

終了前の確認質問 (日本語):
あなたの町に来た観光客が「ここでできる特別なことは何ですか？」と聞いています。... to ... の形を使って、あなたのおすすめを英文一文で書いてください。

Instructions for Use (ALT & JTE):
In the last 2 minutes of class, display the question. Students write their answer on a small piece of paper and hand it in as they leave. This is not a test. It is a quick check to help us plan the next lesson.
(授業の最後の2分で、この質問を提示します。生徒は紙に答えを書いて、教室を出るときに提出します。これはテストではありません。次の授業を計画するための、簡単な理解度チェックです。)

Now that you know that the lesson’s grammar point is 不定詞の形容詞的用法 you can search YouTube for videos that explain it. I like watching multiple videos when trying to learn something.

Maybe obnoxiousness works for some kids? This guy teaches like a used car salesman. I’d love to be fluent enough to talk like this guy.

Proceed to page 2.

Page two is the output from version 2 of the prompt which I made on Thurs Nov 6.