Japanese Student Participation
Japanese student participation | Simon Humphries | November 6th, 2003
Hi all,
My name is Simon Humphries, my MET pack has just arrived last week and I'm thinking about reading to do for my Action research. (This is building upon my proposal set out in Portfolio task 2 of the FND- I haven't suddenly picked up the folder and read it at the speed that Neo can read the Matrix!)
I want to boost the participation of my Japanese High School students, basically- more hands up to my questions. I want to find out why they aren't participating more by analyzing my classes and creating a questionnaire for them. I think that I need to compare my style of teaching to what they are used to.
If anyone has any comments on the lack of participation in class from Japanese high school students please let me know. I'm particularly interested in knowing if anyone can recommend some background reading/research on this subject.
Best regards,
Simon
Re: Japanese student participation | Jerry Talandis Jr. | November 6th, 2003
Hello Simon,
My name is Jerry Talandis. I've been living and teaching English in Japan for 10 years now, and I've had a lot of experience with high school students (three years on the JET Programme, mostly). We had a discussion on this list a while back about why Japanese students in general seem to lack confidence. Although this discussion doesn't focus specifically on high school students, a lot of what was said still applies. I basically feel the main reason they don't participate more is a lack of necessary motivation. There is little need for English here. It's not a matter of survival, so the incentive to learn it is low. That, and the very nature of language learning runs counter to the Japanese psyche; it's very difficult for most folks here to take risks (making mistakes in front of others, "losing face") when the payoff is not immediate and direct. If English were critical for the livelihood of your high school students, I'm sure their participation levels would be high.
What do other Japan-based CPs think? Anything to add to the discuss above?
Jerry
Re: Japanese student participation | Maria Leedham | November 7th, 2003
Dear All,
For titles of articles on Japanese learners you can try The Japanese Learner, soon to be revamped as The East Asian Learner.
I'm afraid the website stops at issue 23 - number 30 is now out, but it does give a flavour of the articles. The "best of the first 20 issues" book is worth a look. And if you'd like to subscribe to the new journal, you can email the new editor, Paul Wickens at paulwickens@brookes.ac.uk
I go along with Jerry's point on losing face. There's also a difference in views on speech and silence between Japanese and Westerners. For Japanese people it's normal to have a miniscule gap between utterances whereas we tolerate overlap much more. I think as the teacher it's hard to always bear this in mind and wait for students to speak- I have to restrain myself from filling the gap. Plus the teaching style is much more teacher-dominated in Japan, so students feel they almost need permission to speak. Anyway, hang in there Simon!
Maria,
Oxford, UK (formerly Iwate-ken then Gyosei Daigaku in Reading, UK)
Re: Japanese student participation | Simon Cole | November 8th, 2003
Okay Jerry, you've sucked me in on this one....
Having read your email and discussion archive, here's my contribution: Japanese people are as you say, perfectionists in many ways (and that's one reason I like it here - the service industry is the best in the world because they CARE), but there's a time and place for everything in Japan, including being a complete ning-nong. Herein lies a way to get students to take risks and make mistakes: humor. In a supportive atmosphere where the stakes are low (so that psychological 'complex' your Japanese wife mentioned doesn't kick in) and mistakes can be laughed off, I find my students really enjoy trying out the language.
I once said to a colleague of mine that teaching English in Japan is a matter of mitigating the culture. I still think that's true, because it's a rare animal here that can make mistakes in English regularly without HAVING to laugh it off.
Cei la vie. Eh? Say "La vii.". Oh #@*!, pardon my French!
Simon
Re: Japanese student participation | Jerry Talandis Jr. | November 9th, 2003
Hi Simon,
Thanks for responding, and more importantly for following up on that link I provided. I hope that it was helpful to read about what CPs have said before on this issue. I wondering if Simon Humphries has had a chance to read it, and if so, what his thoughts are?
I like your take on why Japanese students have a hard time responding well in class. I think you are right- it's the dark side of perfectionism! If you can't do it well, do bother (especially with anything done "publicly" like speaking in a foreign language in class). Humor really is a good way to diffuse things. The teacher's personality comes into play here a lot. I also find that really understanding what the students want and expect, then trying to give that to them, helps a lot.
Take care,
Jerry
Re: Japanese student participation | Simon Humphries | November 9th, 2003
Thank you Jerry and Simon C for your opinions, I think that you both make good points. I agree with Simon C in that I think Japanese care too much about things, and like Jerry says - they don't feel the need for English. This is especially true for my students: we live in the inaka (the rural countryside ? or middle of nowhere to those readers outside Japan).
I really enjoyed reading your archive stuff Jerry ? very useful. We are very similar in fact- ? I never planned to become a lifer ? teaching English out in Japan, but a wife, house and two kids later there is no way that I'm leaving. (I also came out originally on the government-run JET programme for temporary English teachers ? but I much prefer the job that I do now).
I like your piano analogy the best: to play the piano, you have to play the piano! That means making TONS of mistakes and sounding TERRIBLE in the process. This is so true, and it is exactly what I'm trying to get my students to do. Well, not play the piano, but actually use the language rather than read about it.
Anyway, you asked for my opinions ? I have wanted to hold back initially, so as not to sway the debate because I want to hear what other people have to say first. However, this is selfish of me. I can think of three main areas why students don't participate more in my classes. Firstly, I think that my classes are a culture-shock. This is something that I want to research as part of my MET. I think that their normal classes don't encourage as much participation- they just copy down what the teacher says without being forced to think and speak in class. Therefore, when they come into my classes it might get a little scary. This is something that I need evidence on, so I will need to make a questionnaire for the students and other teachers to find out what the normal teaching styles are like.
The second point is related to the first- what the students are used to: too much grammar-translation. Jerry has mentioned this point already in the archive. I think that Krashen's filter has a place here and Simon C's point about perfectionism is also true. If the students are constantly trying to think of the correct grammar, it hinders them from spontaneously putting up their hands to answer questions. I have one Chinese student in the same class. She claims that she is weak at grammar, I think that weakness is actually her strength. She's never scared to just have a go, no matter what mistakes she might make.
My third point relates to Japanese culture. I think the Japanese appreciate modesty. I've lost count of the number of times I've heard good students, adults and even English teachers say to me "I can't speak English." These people are usually really good. They are probably fishing for a complement, or trying to hide their ability. I don't know. But I really find it hard to believe that many of these people really believe this when they say it. This kind of modesty- a fear of appearing to be a show-off could be a major factor holding them back.
I basically want them to adapt to a bit of western culture not being scared to express their opinions in class. To do that I think I need to understand their own culture better.
Any other ideas from CPs are welcome. I'll probably quote and reference my favourite ideas from you (that piano quotation is a particularly good one). Also, if you disagree with me please tell me. I want to know if I'm wandering off down the wrong track as early as possible, or at least have different ideas to take on board. Also as before, if anyone can recommend some good reading on this subject, I would really appreciate it.
Best regards,
Simon
Re: Japanese student participation | Jerry Talandis Jr. | November 19th, 2003
Hello Simon,
Here's a response to your earlier message; sorry it took so long. Life is busy...
One thing you said struck me:
"I basically want them to adapt to a bit of western culture- not being scared to express their opinions in class. To do that I think I need to understand their own culture better."
This is a tall order! I think you'll find that it's an ideal you always strive to reach. If you're like most of us, you'll end up with mixed results and a lot of learning experiences under your belt. I think you'll find you learn a lot about the culture in your attempt to bend it. It will take time, so be careful not to get burned out. The cultural habits here are more entrenched and are stronger than you are. You'll end up doing most of the bending, I think. That's what's happened to me.
Good luck with everything!
Jerry
Re: Japanese student participation | Simon Humphries | November 19th, 2003
Hi Jerry,
I understand your exasperation. Getting my students to participate more seems a bit like pushing water up a hill. I've already adapted a great deal to Japanese culture - so much so that I actually find myself being reluctant in many situations to express my own opinion to Japanese! I need to find ways to dodge the students' inhibitions or build up a more enthusiastic class culture.
However, I'm looking forward to the refreshing change when I go to the JALT conference in Shizuoka. It'll be great to have some open and challenging discussions. I really miss that in Japan.
Cheers,
Simon
Re: Japanese student participation | Jerry Talandis Jr. | November 19th, 2003
Hi Simon,
"Pushing water up a hill" feels familiar, but I often wonder if it's worth all the energy to even bother doing that. Why should I expend my life energy pushing water up a hill when it doesn't want to be pushed?
On the other hand, I do believe that most students here DO want to increase their English ability. The question, like you've been asking, is how can we teach them best?
Humor has been mentioned before. I totally agree with that in general, but I wouldn't recommend all teachers just start telling jokes. It's a case of letting the unique gifts of your personality shine forth. Every teacher has certain gifts they can share, so I'd say discover those and apply them as much as possible. It's a different thing for everyone.
We have to teach with the assumption that the students want to learn. If they are shutting down, I think it's too easy to blame it all on the culture or what have you. I find it more productive after a bad lesson to "place the blame" on myself, reflect on what went wrong, and try something else. It's a lot of trial and error.
One thing recently that has worked for me here in Japan has been teaching debate skills. I've been using the text book "Discover Debate" by Lubetsky, LeBeau, and Harrington. It's made for students here, and it provides a VERY structured, step-by-step template for expressing opinions. I've found that once students are given a structure they can understand and use, they are much more willing to express themselves. You don't have to do formal debates with this book- you can use it just to teach the basic format for expressing opinions: Opinion, Reasons, Supporting Evidence, Conclusion. It's so paint by numbers that low-level students can pick it up quickly.
Anyway, this is just to let you know a concrete example of something that has worked for me. My students (mostly recent high school grads) are interested in passing the STEP or TOEIC tests, and knowing this discourse structure really prepares them well for this. That's another lesson I've learned, by the way- find out what motivates your students (something must) and tap into that.
See you at JALT!
Jerry
Re: Japanese student participation | Simon Cole | November 21st, 2003
I just read Julian's piece in IATEFL's Issues (Oct-Nov) #175 on TEFL and international politics.
He ends with the advice: "We need to look again at the ... interactional and learning styles that they foreground..." and it brought to mind our discussion about- to sum it up in a phrase- mitigating the culture in Japanese classrooms to facilitate the acquisition of oral skills. Are we right to try modifying the culture? Perhaps the end result would be better if we accepted it. By that I mean; be the motivated, skilled teachers that we are and give the motivated students their rein, but don't insist. Afterall, English is felt to be an imperative, but many students say they want to be able to speak, so when there's enough of them to form a critical mass, the group dynamic that is characteristic of this culture will carry them forward, in their own Japanese way.
Another article of relevance I've just read comes to mind; Paul Hullah's survey of L2 learner attitudes to EFL textbooks (The Language Teacher 27/9 -JALT) shows that content-based books are more popular and highly regarded than conversation textbooks. I agree with his conclusions that conversation texts need to be more challenging, but isn't it also possible that students fail to understand that they are a springboard to oral skills because they (the students) conceptualize study as a receptive process, i.e. reading and listening. I fail to see the value of giving students (who want to speak) informative, translated reading passages followed by multiple-choice exercises, even if it does appeal to their intellect.
Personally, my solution is to use a conversation text that is challenging and stimulating (I give Headway a plug here) and ask the students which unit they want to start from at the beginning of the course.
Cheers,
Simon
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