Over the Wall of Silence

Getting the Class Moving 33

Chapter 2

This idea might sound controversial to some. Many foreign teach ers might think that it is their duty as an educator to train their stu dents to be able to react even in the face of uncertainty. They think that university students “ should be able to adapt, or should be able to take responsibility.” It’s the “Just throw them in the pool and they’ll learn to swim” approach. This feels natural to us as Westerners who have been educated in a certain way. We have been exposed to a mix of values and habits which are all now second nature to us, and it’s inevitable that we bring these into our classroom unconsciously. It’s vital to understand this about ourselves, and that our Japanese stu dents do not share this reality. WHAT CAN BE DONE ABOUT IT ? Our basic suggestion is this: instead of fighting against Japanese culture (in this case, the tendency to run away from uncertainty) we should tap into it. However much we want to bring our foreign cul ture into the classroom, we must first understand our students’ cul ture. Then we can think of ways to work with it , not against it . Making the choice to carefully control the learning environment at the outset doesn’t mean that we have to sacrifice our students’ adaptability. Our goal is for our students to become able to have real-time conversations in a foreign language, even when they are going to interact with foreigners “in the wild”. This skill requires improvisation, autonomy, and creativity, all of which need to be practiced. But at the beginning of the process, the most efficient way to get students going on the path to autonomy is to remove as much uncertainty from their learning as you possibly can. You can then guide them step by step towards flexibility, without leaving anyone behind.