Graduation at my junior high school is next week on Tuesday. The third-year students have been practicing every day so as to perform perfectly when the time comes to stand up in front of their friends and family and officially end their junior high school days. Since I'm at a (relatively) small school, each student will be called to the stage to receive their certificate, just like it would be done in the States. I peeked into the gym during fourth period today and watched for about 15 minutes as a teacher called over the microphone for the students to stand, sit, walk, stop, and of course bow.
The third-year students, equivalent in age to American high school freshmen, have been writing essay after essay reflecting back on their time in junior high school, thanking those who have supported and helped them through this time. As a final assignment for their English class, they had a "speaking test" with me, which sounds way more intimidating that it was. The students would come in one by one to sit down and talk with me about a subject of their choosing.. I chatted with my students about everything from "I'll tell you about the cutest Japanese pop music stars" to "I'll tell you why I want to be a doctor. My grandfather died of cancer two years ago and I couldn't do anything to help."
It was, far and away, my favorite task so far as an ALT. I learned so much about my students that I filled up three separate notebook pages with scribbled notes such as "listen to song 'Let's Be Friends'" and "check out shorinji kenpo." I walked away from each class feeling like I'd learned not just about my students but also about Japan in general.
This week I had my last third-year classes. As as a final activity, I decided on the somewhat lackluster Bingo game. Of course, I doctored it up and added modifications. In each square, I wrote a sentence like "stayed up all night studying" or "was scolded by a teacher." The students had to walk around interview their fellow classmates. "Have you ever stayed up all night studying? Have you ever been scolded by a teacher?" If their partner answered yes, they'd collect their signature and move on. The first one to get a Bingo won, and then I made it more difficult by requiring a triple Bingo or a blackout.
When we first gave it a go on Tuesday morning, it more or less flopped. Although seemingly straight-forward, it took way longer than expected to explain the rules and flow of the game. My JTEs had to jump in every other sentence and clarify things in Japanese. The students eventually got it and had fun playing, but I left feeling a little dissatisfied.
Wednesday's class went a little better. I was able to head off some questions by writing examples on the board and having students repeat after me when I said "Have you ever ___________ in junior high school?" This helped them see how the game worked, though we still had several awkward moments and translation errors.
As things usually go, however, my third class was like a well-oiled machine. I always feel bad for the first class I teach a lesson to, because it's always rough. The last class, however, gets the benefit of trial and error. Today during lunch I went in and wrote out examples and instructions in simple English on the board, arranged the room a bit, and then waited for the bell. I wanted it to be good, because my last class was class 3B. 3B became my favorite even before Christmas break. They have all the All-Star English students -- the captain and co-captain of the English Club, the girl who went to a national English speech contest, and even the boys who MC'ed the English portion of the presentation day last week. They're the first class I have on Monday morning, and they always make it great. Today was no disappointment.
We started off and I hit the ground running. The comprehension of this class is off the charts, so I spoke at an almost-normal pace. They laughed at the jokes (which, I can't stress enough, is exceedingly rare... humor is one of the hardest parts of English to translate), they nodded when they understood, and they gave a hilarious unenthusiastic but unified "yaaaaaaay" when I told them we were playing Bingo. We started the game and finished exactly on time, 15 minutes later. This gave us ten minutes of class time left, so Mrs. Tedoriya had each student, from number 1 in the front row to number 40 in the back corner, stand and say one thing they did in junior high school, using the Bingo squares as an example.
"I stayed up all night studying in junior high school."
"I made many good friends in junior high school."
"I won a sports competition in junior high school"
"I forgot my lunch in junior high school."
"I got influenza in junior high school."
Once we finished all 40 students, it was time for the teachers to give our final comments. Since we usually split the class into alpha level and beta level to better accommodate faster and slower learners, there were two JTEs and myself present. When it as my turn, I smiled at them all and told them how much I'd miss them. "You're my favorite class," I told them, "so thank you for a great first seven months in Japan. I know you'll all do well in high school, and I hope you have a fun and relaxing spring break before you start. Thank you very much."
Japan is really big into official beginnings and endings. Every morning we start our staff meeting with everyone saying "good morning!" in Japanese. We begin each school assembly with a bow and a "welcome!" English classes are no different. We begin by saying "hello class!" and end by saying "see you next time, class!" Today when the ending bell rang, Mrs. Tedoriya had all the students stand up, and then she bowed and said, "so long, everyone."
This is the end for them, but it's only the beginning for Jorden and I. We'll see one more end of the school year here in Japan, and maybe more than that. It's been a great first experience with life and school in Japan, and we'll see what the spring and the new school year holds. It'll be a great time. And I'll have to find my new favorite class.
Thanks for listening.
-The Adventurers
No comments:
Post a Comment