Eduventure: The AR Edition - School Chat

Ok, so storytime.

One of my first year classes (let's call them 1S) is a bit of a mission for me to handle - not because they're rowdy or obnoxious, but because they're so damn shy and quiet that getting them to contribute takes up more time than just giving them a few examples and getting them to choose.

I don't like running classes like that, so I try structure lessons so students get a chance to express their view. My Christmas lesson had a "write a letter to Santa" section, where students could write down something good they did and what they'd like for Christmas. (The level of English at this school is comparatively low, so they can call out suggestions and I write 'em up on the blackboard). This worked great with the more forthcoming classes, but I was anticipating an uphill struggle with 1S. When my co-pilot teacher for that class asked me to do a solo lesson, I was positively dreading it.

Luckily! We talked things through, she had a chat to the class, and I ran a really good lesson. I think it helped that the students relaxed a fuckton when I started speaking Japanese (which I'm allowed to do if I'm running a class by myself). I got lots of suggestions and the class was very animated, although I did field some weirder shit.


This one sprung up quite a few times.




There were three (comparatively) animated kids at the front of the class. One of them apparently had earlobes which were really nice to touch. I declined to verify this, but I feel my classes are about the kids learning to express themselves in English, so I wasn't going to shoot them down if they wanted to learn how to say things.

They were also talking about ゴキブリ all lesson, so I figured I'd teach them a new word. I drew a picture as well, but had to erase it off the blackboard because some people got upset at how realistic it was. I was very flattered.


This was the last activity for the lesson. Again, if the kids come up with an idea to the point they actually want to express it, I make sure to tell them how to say it in English. It's the same reason most of my Japanese vocabulary is biological!

On a less gross note, there were also some kids who　ゴロゴロしたい. So they learned to "relax".