Over the Wall of Silence

Getting Students to Talk 29

Chapter 1

enough to rattle a teacher from a Western background). It is difficult to recover from a trying experience like that. But if you have a solid approach and everyone is on board, the class will naturally take on a positive atmosphere. Once students are speaking freely, doing well, and achieving results, the smiles will come. Teachers who manage to create an open classroom atmosphere in which no student is afraid to do their best are those who can create a shared understanding that doing one’s best does not mean that you are putting yourself above the group , but in fact you are contributing to the group’s learning . In the context of Japanese culture, this is extremely difficult to pull off by somehow persuading the class. We’re not saying it’s im possible, especially if you’ve got a bright, mature group and you pos sess the right skills, but this is by no means an easy feat. What we are suggesting is that regular, in-class testing is a sure-fire way to get rid of silences and hesitations, that will work instantly, in any con text. In short, tests don’t negate efforts at creating a “positive, friendly atmosphere” in the classroom. They actually make those ef forts more efficient. But there are certain conditions. A good class dynamic soon emerges if testing is started from the beginning of the course and conducted regularly.