ibunka TB_U3

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ibunka TB_U3

Unit 3

i - In the Classroom

INTRODUCTION TO TEACHERS This unit is about the cultural variation in teaching and learning styles. Most students who have studied abroad may have experienced a different classroom atmosphere and different expectations of teachers. What is a “good student”? Is it someone who gets high scores on assessment tasks, or someone who actively contributes to the class? Some Japanese students studying in English-speaking countries such as the US or Australia relish the chance to be evaluated on participation as much as grades, while others struggle to adjust. By showing students that even the simplest form of participation (responding to a direct question from the teacher, even if you don’t know the “correct” answer) can have a positive effect on the classroom, we can give them a little heads-up about active participation in their language classes taught by people from different cultural backgrounds.

Part 1 ........................................................................................................50 Part 2 ........................................................................................................52 One Step Further .................................................................................56 Cultural Commentary ........................................................................60

UNIT 3 | INTRODUCTION

Part 1

1 - You and Your Culture

Online Form for WARM-UP SURVEY (textbook p.20)

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Online Form for INTERVIEW (textbook p.21)

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Example Sentences for INTERVIEW (textbook p.21) Q1: If your teacher asks a question to the whole class, do you usually raise your hand? • I sometimes raise my hand, but only when many other people are raising their hands. • No, I usually don't. Because I don't have conLidence in my answers. • I do most of the time, because my teacher encourages us to answer. Q2: When do you Yind it easiest to speak up in class? • I only really speak up when I know most of my classmates, because I don't want to embarrass myself in front of strangers. • I guess I answer when the number of students is small, and when the question is completely clear to me. Q3: What kind of learning style do you enjoy most? Why? • I like the discussion style the most, because It's interesting to hear the opinions of other people. • I enjoy project style the most. I think it's fun to work together to Lind a solution or create something. Q4: If the teacher asks you a question in class and you don’t know the answer, what do you usually do? • I guess at the answer because I think it is better than just saying nothing. • If I have no idea what to say, I look in my textbook for the answer, or ask my neighbor for help. • Usually, I say "I don't know" straight away, or I ask a neighbor for help. Q5: Why do you think students usually remain silent after being asked a question by the teacher? • I think many Japanese students don’t want to make a mistake because that’s considered shameful in this culture. • I think even students who know what to say remain silent because they don’t want to be seen as showing off. • I think most students don’t say anything unless they have conLidence that their answer is 100% right.

UNIT 3 | WARM-UP SURVEY & INTERVIEW

Script for Model INTERVIEW (textbook p.21)

→ Available as audio track “3-00-Interview3” for listening/note-taking practice.

Q1: When your teacher asks a question to the whole class, do you usually raise your hand? Akira: No, almost never. I’m pretty shy. Q2: When do you Yind it easiest to speak up in class?

Akira: I guess it’s easiest when I know my classmates well. It’s hard for me to speak up in front of people I don’t know, like at the start of a new school year. But also, having a friendly teacher makes it easier to speak up. Q3: That’s true. So, what kind of learning style do you enjoy most? Akira: I enjoy learning through discussion. It’s fun, and nice to hear other student’s opinions. Q4: If the teacher asks you a question in class and you don’t know the answer, what do you usually do? Akira: Well, I try to show that I’m making an effort, by looking through the textbook for the answer. Sometimes I whisper to my neighbors for help! Q5: Why do you think students usually remain silent after being asked a question by the teacher? Akira: I think most students are like me, and just don’t want to look stupid by saying the wrong answer. Also, they know that if they wait long enough, the teacher will move onto another student. Q5.1: I guess that’s true. Thanks for your answers!

UNIT 3 | INTERVIEW

Online Form for EXPRESSION 1 & 2 (textbook p.22)

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Example Sentences for EXPRESSION 1 (textbook p.22) • In Japan, I think there is a tendency for shy students to avoid asking questions in class. • In Japan, there is a tendency for girls to study in pairs. Boys tend to work alone, and take more risks. • I feel that in classrooms in Japan, returnees pretend not to understand more than other students do. • I feel that in Japan, shy students pretend not to understand more than conYident students do. Example Sentences for EXPRESSION 2 (textbook p.22) • I might be similar to most students in Japan in that I pretend to understand what is being said, because I feel too embarrassed to ask a question. • I think I am similar to my classmates in that I often remain silent, and ask my neighbor for help in class. • You could say I’m similar to my classmates in that I don’t want to take risks in the classroom.

Part 2

t 2 - People in Other Cultures

Online Form for PART 2 (textbook p.23-p.25)

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Answers to COMPREHENSION 1 (textbook p.23) Highlighted words are those from the VOCABULARY boxes.

UNIT 3 | EXPRESSION & COMPREHENSION

1 Jeremy , American, university professor, lives in Japan In my American high school, sometimes when the teacher asked a question that was too hard or too easy, students hesitated to raise their hands. But overall, much of the class was a dialogue between the teacher and individual students who raised their hands, and sometimes even disagreed with the teacher.

TRUE FALSE

→ In Jeremy’s high school, it was common for students to have conversations with the teacher during class.

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2 Jeremy , American, university professor, lives in Japan Being able to give an opinion was an important part of understanding the material. If the teacher asked a question and no one raised their hand, it seemed rather unfriendly.

TRUE FALSE

→ Jeremy felt that students who disagreed with their teacher were quite rude.

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3 Hayley , Australian, study abroad advisor, lives in the UK Growing up in Australia, classes were always interactive. Students were encouraged to contribute throughout the lesson. I could freely ask my teacher for more information if I needed it.

TRUE FALSE

→ Hayley was too shy to ever ask her teacher for help.

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4 Hayley , Australian, study abroad advisor, lives in the UK Also, students almost always answered when called upon by the teacher. It was very rare for a student to remain silent. If they did, it was usually because they were extremely shy. At that point, the teacher would ask other students to help the student out, and the lesson would move on.

TRUE FALSE

→ In Hayley’s experience, classes did not progress if a student didn’t answer the teacher’s question.

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UNIT 3 | COMPREHENSION

Answers to COMPREHENSION 2 (textbook p.24)

Example Sentences for DISCUSSION (textbook p.24) • I found Hayley’s response to be the most surprising. I think that I would get tired if classes were interactive all the time, because I’m not used to that style. • I found Thierry’s response to be the most relatable. He said that most of his teachers in France did a lot of the talking and students just listened and took notes. I think that’s pretty similar to most classes in Japan. 6 Thierry, French, company employee, lives in France But students are expected to respond when a teacher asks them a question. If there is silence , it’s very short. The student might say something like, “I don't know,” or, “I forgot.” The teacher would then move on to another student. French teachers and students are generally uncomfortable with silence. It feels odd if there is no reply from the student. This may upset the teacher, and they will usually show it. 5 Thierry, French, company employee, lives in France I cannot say that classes in France are interactive, at least not in my experience . Most of my teachers did a lot of the talking and students just listened and took notes .

Answers to CULTURE SHOCK (textbook p.25)

7 Carmen, Spanish, teacher, lives in Japan In Japan, I was faced many times with a difficult situation: a student staying completely silent after I asked them a question in front of the whole class. As a language teacher, that was hard to take. I felt a lot of pressure when it happened to me but I tried to hide it, to show I was in control of the class. I don’t think my students knew I was feeling so stressed.

TRUE FALSE

→ Carmen sometimes felt stress and pressure in Japanese classrooms because students didn’t respond to her questions.

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8 Carmen, Spanish, teacher, lives in Japan In Spain, a student not responding to a direct question would mean that the student is defying the teacher's authority. It's quite embarrassing for everyone.

TRUE FALSE

→ In the culture Carmen grew up in, it’s considered rude for students to say, “I don’t know” directly to their teacher.

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UNIT 3 | COMPREHENSION, DISCUSSION & CULTURE SHOCK

9 Ken , Japanese, employee, has lived in the US I did a one-year study abroad program in the US. The biggest shock I had in class was about how quickly everyone was replying. I remember being surprised when a classmate was put on the spot by the teacher and said, “I’m not sure” without blinking an eye. I wondered why he wasn’t looking a bit harder for the answer. But everyone seemed to be OK with that.

TRUE FALSE

→ Ken was surprised at how hard American students looked for the answers to their teacher’s questions.

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10 Ken , Japanese, employee, has lived in the US Gradually I got into the habit of replying straight away whenever I was asked a question, even if I didn’t know the answer.

TRUE FALSE

→ After some time, Ken became able to respond to his teacher within a few seconds.

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Extra Discussion Questions 1. Have you ever taken classes in a foreign culture (for example, as an exchange student or on a short study tour)? Did you Yind the classes more or less enjoyable than classes in Japan? Why? 2. Why do you think there is so much pressure in some classrooms to only give the “correct” answer?

Extra Activities

UNIT 3 | CULTURE SHOCK

One Step Further rt er

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Suggested Answers for ONE STEP FURTHER Activities (Google Form)

p.78-p.79 | LOOKING FOR PATTERNS Here are some example answers for the Google form.

1 Japanese / female / corporate trainer / has lived in the UK and France Cultural Pattern A: I felt that there was much more interactivity than in Japan Cultural Pattern B:

most of them were one-way lectures by the professor

2 Australian / male / sports coach / lives in Japan Cultural Pattern A: In Australia, students are encouraged to ask questions at all times / expect students to volunteer answers 3 Canadian / male / teacher / lives in Japan Cultural Pattern A: Canadian classrooms tend to be learner-centered and interactive. Students often work together to construct shared ideas concerning how to address a problem. Moreover, there are a lot of discussions and related activities that encourage learners to offer their opinions.

Cultural Pattern B: students are not encouraged to volunteer an answer unless they are directly addressed, and even then some don’t

Cultural Pattern B: none

4 British / female / freelance writer and teacher / lives in Japan Cultural Pattern A: back in England classes were very interactive

Cultural Pattern B: none

UNIT 3 | ONE STEP FURTHER

5 Hungarian / female / research student / lives in Japan Cultural Pattern A: none 6 French / female / language teacher / lives in Japan Cultural Pattern A: in the South of France before, and he said that he was used to a majority of students raising their hands./ After that I went to university in Canada. Classes there were quite interactive / The atmosphere was clearly more relaxed 7 Canadian-Japanese / male / student / has lived in Japan Cultural Pattern A: none 8 French / male / teacher trainer / lives in Japan Cultural Pattern C: they call on a student to respond, but the student remains completely silent / There is an invisible but very strong social pressure to adopt a hesitant way of speaking. 9 Chinese / female / software salesperson/ lives in Japan Cultural Pattern C: none

Cultural Pattern B: University classes are based on listening and taking notes in silence

Cultural Pattern B: no one was raising their hands to answer / what I had experienced in France.

Cultural Pattern B: not many classes are interactive in Japanese schools.

Cultural Pattern D: To them, it feels as if they “threw a ball” to the student, but that student is “keeping the ball”, refusing to give the floor back to the teacher.

Cultural Pattern D: I would try my best to answer the question. Remaining silent is not polite, at least in my opinion

UNIT 3 | ONE STEP FURTHER

3 In the Classroom

One Step Further ACTIVITIES

Here are some more responses from the Ibunka Survey on the topic of classroom behavior. Let’s examine them for underlying cultural trends. We can see that the language in many responses hints at four basic patterns.

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SURVEY

LOOKING FOR PATTERNS

CULTURAL PATTERN A: Classes are interactive In some cultures, much of the class takes place as “a dialogue between the teacher and individual students who raise their hands”, as noted by the American respondent on page 21.

CULTURAL PATTERN B: Classes are teacher-centered

In other cultures, most teachers “do a lot of the talking and students just listen and take notes”, as the French respondent indicated in his response on page 22.

Read through the Ibunka Survey responses below. Highlight in one color the words and phrases that hint at Cultural Pattern A: Classes are interactive, and in another color the parts that are suggestive of Cultural Pattern B: Classes are teacher-centered.

&Y ZSN[JWXNY^ NS /FUFS \J MFI GTYM QJHYZWJ XY^QJ FSI XJRNSFW XY^QJ HQFXXJX GZY most of them were TSJ \F^ lectures by the professor. After that, I attended graduate school in the UK, for only one year so my experience is limited, but I felt that there was much more interactivity than in Japan. -DSDQHVH IHPDOH FRUSRUDWH WUDLQHU KDV OLYHG LQ WKH 8. DQG )UDQFH 1 In Australia, students are encouraged to ask questions at all times. The teacher will also ask questions to the entire class and expect students to volunteer answers. I am led to believe that in Japan students are not encouraged to volunteer an answer unless they are directly addressed, and even then some don’t. $XVWUDOLDQ PDOH VSRUWV FRDFK OLYHV LQ -DSDQ 2 (FSFINFS HQFXXWTTRX YJSI YT GJ QJFWSJW HJSYJWJI and interactive. Students often work together to construct shared ideas concerning how to address a problem. Moreover, there are a lot of discussions and related activities that encourage learners to offer their opinions. &DQDGLDQ PDOH WHDFKHU OLYHV LQ &DQDGD 3 Yes, back in England classes were very interactive 9MJ^ \JWJ YJFHMJW HJSYJWJI FSI obviously it varied from teacher to teacher but in general we were encouraged to answer (and ask) questions, and often praised KTW ITNSL XT . \JSY YT F QTY TK INKKJWJSY XHMTTQX FGTZY and they were all like this. We also often worked in groups and were encouraged to present our work and ƳSINSLX to the rest of the class. %ULWLVK IHPDOH IUHHODQFH ZULWHU DQG WHDFKHU OLYHV LQ -DSDQ 4 In Hungary, the atmosphere in classes varies depending on the type of school. University classes are based on listening and taking notes in silence. It’s not really typical to ask questions, especially in lectures with many other students. +XQJDULDQ IHPDOH UHVHDUFK VWXGHQW OLYHV LQ -DSDQ 5 I grew up in Brittany, in the West of France. And I remember in high school, some language teachers would get really mad because no one was raising their hands to answer. A Spanish teacher once expressed how he felt puzzled, since he had taught in the South of France before, and he said that he was used to a majority of students raising their hands. &KYJW YMFY . \JSY YT ZSN[JWXNY^ NS (FSFIF (QFXXJX YMJWJ \JWJ VZNYJ NSYJWFHYN[J , and I participated along with my classmates. The atmosphere was clearly more relaxed than what I had experienced in France. )UHQFK IHPDOH ODQJXDJH WHDFKHU OLYHV LQ -DSDQ 6

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Ʉ One Step Further Ʉ I Ʉ8QLW Ʉ I ɄΖQ WKH &ODVVURRP 78

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

WR P\ PLQG a WR UHFDOO WR LQWHUUXSW

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.

FODVVLF WR JLYH WKH ȵRRU EDFN

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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VSHFLȴFDOO\ WR VKDNH RQHȇV KHDG WR VKUXJ RQH V VKRXOGHUV

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

...............................................................................................................................................................................................................

Ʉ8QLW Ʉ I ɄΖQ WKH &ODVVURRPɄ I Ʉ One Step Further Ʉ 79

Cultural Commentary lt l Co entary

Classroom styles: the question of silence In this unit, we want students to grasp the following two main points: • In Western countries, remaining silent after being asked a question directly by the teacher is basically a classroom taboo. • However, classroom interaction styles vary considerably among Western countries, and it would be a mistake to assume that all of them follow the interaction patterns students have seen in pop culture, such as Hollywood movies (in which there is constant dialog between the teacher and the class). The classroom is a place where many foreign teachers coming to teach in Japan have their Yirst real culture shock. What seems to be common to a number of cultures outside Japan is this: when the teacher asks a question to a speciYic student in front of the class, that student is expected to say something, or at least to indicate that they have heard the question, within a few seconds. Not doing this would mean that the student is refusing to answer, and contesting the teacher’s authority. In Japan, this kind of behavior - remaining silent after being asked a question- is not rare. Students are known to either (1) freeze, (2) turn to their next-seat classmate and ask them the question, or (3) open their textbook and “look for the answer”. This can be very hard to take for Western teachers, who sometimes unconsciously feel that their authority as an educator is being challenged in front of the whole group. Trying to hide their confusion in order to appear in control of the situation actually adds to their confusion (as respondent Carmen shares on page 25: “I felt a lot of pressure when it happened to me but I tried to hide it, to show I was in control of the class. I don’t think my students knew I was feeling so stressed.”) Only later in their career will most of them have understood that this behavior is based on cultural differences, and that there are some simple strategies that can help unblock the situation. The authors have written a short practical guide on this subject (see below). A simpliYied model would be the following: in “the West”, after being asked individually a question by the teacher, a student is supposed to say something within a few seconds, to “give back the Yloor” to the teacher. In Japan, silence is generally accepted as meaning “I don’t know” or “I am not sure”. * “Pick me, Miss!” A variation of this basic situation is when a teacher poses a question to the whole class, and waits for a volunteer. It is very rare that a student will raise their hand and volunteer a response in Japan. At the risk of generalizing, it seems this basically happens only in small, motivated classes with a good, trusting atmosphere. That will also tend to enrage American teachers, for whom it is unthinkable. It will be much less shocking to European teachers for example, who are used to much less dialog between teacher and class than their American counterparts. Raymonde Carroll, a French ethnologist who has lived for over 40 years in the US, and whose work is one of the key sources of inspiration for this textbook, writes that in the US, much of the duration of class is based on a dialog between the teacher and students. For each question asked, ideally several hands will shoot up. This leads American teachers working in France to experience a culture shock, since that style of interaction is very far from the reality of the French classroom. In France, teachers generally ask fewer questions of class as a whole and expect less spontaneous responses. Many questions are rhetorical, or will be followed by a question to an individual student. In general, it could be said that classes in France are much less interactive than in the US. They are more top-down, with students taking notes of what the teacher says. In this respect, perhaps French culture is nearer the classroom interaction style that prevails in Japan. These differences are important for students to be aware of, especially those who are planning to study abroad. References and further reading Richmond, S. and Vannieu, B. (2019), Over the Wall of Silence - How to overcome cultural barriers when teaching communication in Japan , Kyoto: Alma Publishing Carroll, R. (1988), Cultural Misunderstandings : the French-American experience , Chicago : University of Chicago Press * Many years ago, Bruno Vannieu got angry at a student who announced that she couldn’t do an assignment on time but “refused” to give a speciYic reason (she just said that she “didn’t have time”). However, he realized that the student was not doing this to be rebellious or negative, and this prompted him to reYlect on the cultural assumptions behind this simple situation. The hypothesis that followed is this: in Japan, giving “a reason” for having failed to do something you were supposed to do is tantamount to justifying it: “It wasn’t my fault”. In this

UNIT 3 | CULTURAL COMMENTARY

culture, it is much better to apologize profusely without giving a speciYic reason. The reason can be gently elicited out of the student (or any other person in a similar situation in life) - which is easier to do when one is not too upset. :) In the same line of thinking, it can be hypothesized that saying “I don’t know” can contain different subtexts. In the West, it could mean “I am sorry, I am in the wrong for not knowing, giving you, as teacher, the Yloor back”. In Japan, it could mean “I don’t care, I give up. I will not look for the answer any longer”.

UNIT 3 | CULTURAL COMMENTARY

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