It is the end of the term, exams are finished, kids are restless, teachers are restless, yet you still have one more lesson to do. What do you do?

 I like lessons to connect to something in the kids’ lives as much as possible and one thing kids are often interested in are global sporting events like the Olympics. Though Olympic Fever in Japan is not as strong this year with the Olympics being in Paris rather than Tokyo, people are still excited for it.  So when we asked our students what big sports event is happening this summer, they all said “The Olympics”

I have found that a simple way to get younger students using English related to the Olympics is through the use of pictograms. While the Tokyo pictograms were universally loved, I also really like the look of the Paris games pictograms.  They remind me of the design of the French card game Mille Bornes I used to play as a kid, though sometimes it takes a second or two to recognize what sports they represent.   This video shows how the pictograms reflects the sports they represent:

Our lesson utilizing pictograms for our first year junior high school students was quite simple. First, we created four matching worksheets with about 10 Olympic sports in English in the right column and in Japanese in the left column. We made four different sheets. We used the time that our students were working on the worksheets to check on their English notebooks. Students only needed to complete one worksheet but if they finished early, we gave them a different worksheet.  This was unintentional, as we didn’t explicitly tell students they could complete more than one worksheet, but it did give students differentiated levels of success while also giving everyone something to do while we completed the notebook check.

Once we completed the notebook check, we then started showing the pictograms from the Paris Olympics. We just needed to say “What’s this?” and encourage kids to yell out the answers. Since the students had the answers on their worksheets. they could go through what was on the worksheets to find the answer if they didn’t already know the English or couldn’t guess from the pictogram. Then using choral repetition, we had the students practice complete sentences using the sports.

Our students were quite into it. High level/highly motivated/more outgoing  students would yell out guesses and compete against each other without us having to create a formal competition.  Lower level/less motivated/less outgoing students had the opportunity to listen and hopefully guess on their own while getting to practice speaking and pronunciation through choral repetition.  

I felt it was a really nice way to end the semester with an activity that is not too difficult but connects English and our lessons to the larger world outside of the classroom. 

Header image -- Scholz qualifies in 200 meter run. Then wins!

One of the most difficult parts of debating for both native speakers and ESL students is rebuttal. From my experience the rebuttal part for Japanese ESL learners is especially hard since debating is not something that they commonly do even in Japanese. The most important aspect is providing them with a structure to follow. 

To rebut effectively in English debates, here are some essential tips:

Active Listening: Understand your opponent's arguments by actively listening and taking notes.

Preparation: Anticipate your opponent's points and prepare your arguments in advance.

Signposting: Structure your rebuttal by starting with an acknowledgment of the opponent's point.

Address Key Points: Focus on the most crucial aspects of your opponent's argument in your rebuttal.

Provide Evidence: Support your counterarguments with facts, statistics, or examples.

Expand Vocabulary: Enhance your English vocabulary to express your ideas more effectively.

A while back, while randomly watching YouTube one night, I was recommended a video entitled Big Bird in Japan. Intrigued, I watched it.

This PBS-NHK co-production ended up being quite interesting. It was produced in the late 1980s at the height of US-Japan tensions; not coincidentally, about the time the JET programme began. Big Bird and Barkley somehow join a tour of Japan and immediately get lost in Shinjuku. A friendly stranger of mysterious origins helps them to rejoin their tour in Kyoto while introducing them to Japanese life and culture. In addition to the time capsule aspect of watching something from the late 1980s, I was reminded of my own first day in Japan in 1995.

I was on my way to my study abroad university dorm room outside of Kyoto with my brand new, never-before-used passport and one full year of Japanese language studies at university under my belt. I got on the wrong train line in Osaka at first, but somehow, I made it to my station. I took a bus when I got there, but only way I knew I was at my stop was when the bus driver called "Gaijin-san!" in a friendly voice -- though I felt a bit self-conscious when everyone on the bus looked at me at the same time.

Unsurprisingly, I went in the opposite direction from the dorm I was staying at for the next month. At a loss of what to do, I just walked into one of those local electronics shops that are in neighborhoods around Japan and thrust the paper I had explaining where I was supposed to go towards them. Luckily, the family that owned that shop was just as friendly as the person Big Bird met. They calmed me down and bought me McDonalds for lunch, my first real meal in Japan, which I happily ate while chatting away. So I ended up feeling a strong affinity towards Big Bird and Barkley, watching them become lost and then found while wandering around Shinjuku and the rest of Japan.

When I showed it to my junior high school students, however, I found the visuals interesting enough—Big Bird and Barkley driving through Japan in a car is easy enough to understand while I noticed some students trying to figure out what Shinkansen station Big Bird and Barkley were at— for them to follow along while the language being at a level that can be understood by my mid-to-high level students.

My students English isn't at a level to have the sociological discussions about the video on Japan-US relations in the 1980s or representations of culture that you could have with older, more advanced students. However, I did want them to actively engage with the video. With my colleagues at my junior high school, we decided to make a listening, fill-in-the-blank worksheet based on the pre-school performance of the Japanese folk tale "The Bamboo Princess" that Big Bird and Barkley somehow stumble into watching. It starts at around the 39 minute mark and, spoiler alert, this story is related to the origins of our heroes' magical friend.

I will share two different worksheets here. First is the one we did in class, where we added a few vocabulary words at the beginning and a few review questions at the end. Looking at it again, I decided another way to do it would be to have students only listen for nouns. I hope you can either use these or that they give you some ideas to make materials better suited for your students.

Incorporating cultural materials such as this video is an effective way to help our students with their English. Though often we want to introduce things from our own country that does provide another layer of complexity to their language learning, as they need to learn not only the language but the cultural context, as well. It is always easier to understand something in a foreign language if you know the material well in your own language, so I believe using materials such as Japanese folk tales is one way to help students' confidence in learning languages.

1. Start with Basic Topics

Begin with simple, relatable topics that ESL students can easily understand and express opinions about. Gradually progress to more complex subjects as their language skills improve.

2. Emphasize Vocabulary

Introduce debate-specific vocabulary and phrases, such as "opening statement," "rebuttal," and "counterargument." Encourage students to incorporate these terms into their speeches to enhance their language proficiency.

3. Provide Structured Practice

Break the debate process into manageable steps. Teach students how to outline their arguments, provide evidence, and refute opposing viewpoints. Practice each step separately before combining them into full debates.

4. Foster a Supportive Environment

Create a safe and inclusive classroom environment where ESL students feel comfortable expressing their opinions and making mistakes. Encourage peer feedback and constructive criticism.

5. Incorporate Technology

Use online resources, debate platforms, and multimedia materials to make learning engaging and interactive. ESL students can watch and analyze debates in English, helping them grasp the art of persuasion.

6. Encourage Research

Encourage ESL students to research thoroughly before debates. This not only improves their argumentation skills but also enhances their knowledge of the topic.

7. Practice, Practice, Practice

Regular practice is key to mastering debate skills. Host mock debates, organize debates within the class, or even encourage ESL students to join debate clubs or competitions outside of school.

As we are moving into summer a lot of students might be gearing up to take the Eiken test.

Which means that a lot of times we as foreign teachers might be asked to tutor or assist them with it.

For those who do not know the Eiken test has an in person or online interview test. This interview test consist of a reading comprehension section, picture describing section and two opinion questions. 

While most students can do the reading comprehension with not much issue. The biggest hurdle for them comes from picture describing and opinion questions. One method I like to use to help tutor students on passing these two sections is breaking down what exactly they need to answer in order to hit all the points. 

With the picture description, the best method I tell the students to do is start with the prompt sentence, then describe how many people are in the panel, what actions they are doing and (if there are) stating the dialogue. Repeat this process for each panel. To help the students keep track of these three points I provide them with a checklist, so they can check off if they were able to properly hit all three points. By having the students use this checklist when they are practicing at home, it can put them into the habit of answer like so for the test.

Next the opinion questions. This section is usually the section that most students struggle with. A lot of students will tend to over-complicate the answer to the question. However, if you look at the sample answer that the test gives, it’s very basic. In order to successfully answer these questions again the student has to hit three main points. First, answering yes / no or agree / disagree. Second, their reason. Finally lastly, an example to support their reason. I find that the best way for students to practice this without over-complicating it is to strictly follow a checklist. Also making sure that they use simple English to answer. 

If the student has their cellphone on them, you can have them record themselves answering the opinion question and then having the student listen back on it. This will make pointing out what they did good in and what needs improvement much easier for the student to know.

If you are looking for more information about Eiken and how to teach it at a private secondary school in Japan, please check out these videos by our former Chief of English Services and Senior Advisor Peter Ackerly:

As we are going into the new school term, for any teachers in elementary school an activity I loved doing with the students when I taught at elementary school was business card exchange.

It’s a good way for the students to introduce themselves to each other and to by pass the awkwardness of a new class and new classmates.

For this activity the students need a piece of paper, some colored markers, and scissors. On the teacher’s part you just need to prepare a list of professions and a sample dialogue. Normally I start by teaching the students about different professions. To make it fun I would add in really obscure professions. This can range from normal jobs like doctor, teacher etc to more out there jobs like famous actor, president, astronaut, athlete etc. Be sure to give the Japanese name of these jobs so that the students can easily understand.

First, I would have the students practice the pronunciation of the jobs and to check understanding of what kind of job it is.

Second, give the students time to make their own business card. Their card should have their name, what their job is, and any other information that the student wants to add. Students can also decorate their cards anyway they want.

Third, to get the students to practice the name of the jobs and speaking, I make sure that the students make 3-4 different business cards each with a different job.

Fourth, beforehand I would have a sample self introduction dialogue that would allow the students to say their name, their job, how long they’ve worked at their job, age, and birthday.

Fifth, students would walk around the classroom and using the sample self introduction and their own business cards, speaking and exchanging cards with their classmates.

I was told to be ready to have a self introduction lesson when I first came to Japan. It was 1998, I couldn’t just look up online for some photos to insert into a powerpoint and show that in class. I couldn't google anything that summer of 1998, let alone to get ideas for self introduction lessons. I did, though, go around my hometown and took some snapshots to bring. With the developed photos in my bag I got on the plane with plans to do my best in class. The self introduction lesson I remember most clearly now was the one that failed. I went into the class at this small junior high school in the mountains, one where a few months later would be surrounded by 3 meters of snow. As I started talking I could sense the kids had no idea what I was saying, and maybe not much interest, as well.  Finally, when the class was over, I thought the JTE would give some advice at best or be upset at worst, but all he said was, let's do it again in our next class.

I recently observed a veteran teacher who we just hired and he did this lesson quite well, though I wonder how I would have done with the ability to create a powerpoint and show it to the class. So, yes, even though it is possible to successfully do this kind of self-intro lesson I have known some teachers who think self-introduction lessons are, successful or not, not important and a waste of time. I disagree, however. A mentor of mine once mentioned that the teachers most remembered were those who shared some bit of themselves with their students. So I always think it is good that students know a little bit about me.

But how can I guess what they want to know? Although I know I can do a much better job with a self intro lesson today today than I did in 1998, just like what I found interesting in my hometown probably was not interesting to my students in rural Japan at the time, what I find interesting today might not interest my junior high school students today. I realized the way to ensure students find out something they are actually interested in, and also make this a much more interactive activity, was to have the students ask questions about what they want to know about me rather than me telling them what I think is interesting about me to them.

To me, this has several benefits. First, since it is more interactive it keeps the students in the class more involved. Even if they are only listening, they are much more interested to see how I answer their classmates' questions rather than just talking to them. Second, it lets kids ask questions they are interested in. 

Third, and maybe the most important point, is it allows me to talk to the students at their English level.  One of the disadvantages of asking EFL students to ask questions is they are not going to be able to ask all the questions they may have but if they can’t understand me in English from the start it will be difficult to build a trusting relationship in English. By keeping the first class in English and asking and answering questions at their level lets them make a direct connection with me right away with information they are interested in learning in English 

This lesson also acts as a quick level check for the class as a whole and for individual students.  Depending on the size of the class, I try to get every student  to ask a question, which allows me to quickly learn if they are shy or outgoing, if they are strong at English or weak, etc. If it is a one off substitution that isn’t a major concern, but if I am their new teacher for the year, it lets me learn a lot about the class in a short amount of time.

Although I mainly now do this lesson with junior or senior high school students, I have done it at university classes and even small group adult business English lessons. Below are a few examples of some questions and what I do with the questions.

This is from a high school class where I was the substitute for the day. I made it into a quiz and gave students two choices per question.

This was at a class for university students planning on going abroad, so this activity also doubled as a way to prepare students for small talk when they would meet new people. After I answer the questions I put students into pairs and/or small groups. Each group has a small game board and some dice. They roll the dice and when they land on a number they have to answer the question that corresponds to that number.

This is from the first class of this year with the second year students I teach at my junior high school. I do sometimes tell students, especially older students, that they can't ask Yes/No questions but not this day.

Links to materials and lesson plan below.

Lesson Plan

Model conversation and worksheet