OSF3 Textbook

To my mind, not many classes are interactive in Japanese schools. I went to a Japanese OZSNTW MNLM XHMTTQ KTW TSJ ^JFW IZWNSL R^ ƳSFQ ^JFW YMJWJ . ITSY recall any subjects where we interacted with one another, except for English class. In Japanese schools I get the feeling that students simply listen to the teacher and it almost feels rude to interrupt them with questions. &DQDGLDQ -DSDQHVH PDOH VWXGHQW KDV OLYHG LQ -DSDQ 7

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LOOKING FOR PATTERNS

CULTURAL PATTERN C: Silence is OK In some cultures, if a student remains silent after being called upon by the teacher during class, it is usually tolerated. This is perhaps because it is perceived as "the student is looking for the answer" or “the student doesn’t know the answer”. In these cases the teacher will usually move on to another student.

CULTURAL PATTERN D: Silence should be avoided In other cultures, remaining completely silent after being asked a question by the teacher is considered rude, as seen in the French, Australian and Spanish responses to the Ibunka Survey on pages 23-25.

Read through the Ibunka Survey responses below. Highlight in one color the words and phrases that hint at Cultural Pattern C: Silence is OK , and in another color the parts that show Cultural Pattern D: Silence should be avoided. You can work and discuss this in pairs or small groups.

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During teacher training workshops, it is clear that the biggest, most common culture shock that foreign teachers experience when they begin teaching in Japan is the classic ‘stuck in silence’ situation, in which they call on a student to respond, but the student remains completely silent. To them, it feels as if they “threw a ball” to the student, but that student is “keeping the ball”, refusing to LN[J YMJ ƴTTW GFHP to the teacher. In trying to understand the students’ side, I think that what matters most to them is actually the way their classmates look at them. There is an invisible but very strong social pressure to adopt a hesitant way of speaking. )UHQFK PDOH WHDFKHU WUDLQHU OLYHV LQ -DSDQ If a teacher called on me XUJHNƳHFQQ^ during the class, I would try my best to answer the question. Remaining silent is not polite, at least in my opinion. If I didn’t know the answer, I would guess, or tell the teacher that I didn’t know. If this happened in a foreign language class, I guess I would at least use body language to show that I don’t have an answer, like shaking my head or shrugging my shoulders. &KLQHVH IHPDOH VRIWZDUH VDOHVSHUVRQ OLYHV LQ -DSDQ 9

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Write a paragraph on the topic of classroom behavior. Include your opinions and reactions to the cultural patterns you found in these survey responses.

EXPRESSION

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