One of our client schools has a class that our teachers really enjoy planning and teaching, but I have never been a fan of, either as an observer or as a substitute teacher. It is a current affairs class for third year high school students. Our teachers choose a topic and prepare texts and vocabulary lists related to the topic. The instructor stands in front of the class lecturing to students who are asked to answer questions or give their opinion from time to time.

In my experience teaching and observing this class I have not seen much engagement beyond a handful of high-level students. I wondered why there wasn’t more engagement.  Was it because the language or topics were too difficult, the students were not interested in the topics, or the students did not have the tools or opportunity to discuss?

Thinking that deeper student engagement with the material was the key to increasing student participation, I suggested in one observation report that our instructor consider  doing a jigsaw activity– breaking up the reading into sections, giving a group one section, then reforming groups so that each student in a group had read a different section and could explain to each other their assigned reading  -- to encourage discussion and increase comprehension. However, I received feedback that the teacher I had observed felt that all I was doing was telling him to have the kids play more games, to be more fun.

Looking back at my report, I probably was too blunt in my general criticism of the class – though over the years I have not  been shy in repeating my thoughts about the class to our teachers at the school -- but I am still at a bit of a loss as to why this activity perceived to be a game.

Games are a touchy subject for some EFL teachers in Japan. There are those, and  I would say I am one of them, who are wary about being associated with the stereotype of the genki English teacher, who doesn’t really teach – or know how to teach -- but just plays games and has fun with the kids while the serious learning occurs elsewhere. Whether a legitimate criticism or not, having that self-image as a teacher can be demotivating for ambitious and motivated professionals.

Games and gamification of learning can, however, be an important part of an English class, whether it is an old school board game like sugoroku  or having all the kids pull out their smart phones or tablets to play Kahoot. Some students are motivated by winning a game, it can encourage language use, and it just adds some variety to the classroom environment.

Teachers, though, should be judicious in their use of competitive games during lessons. Not all kids are motivated by competition, losing can be highly demotivating and in the worst case, though in my experience not a rare case, competition can create unnecessary and unconstructive conflict in the class. The English used in a game can also be completely disassociated from its actual context or meaning, making its usage transactional and ephemeral.

Our client schools are private schools with many of them wanting to have as many of their students as possible accepted into top level universities, which means their students are successfully passing college entrance exams. The incentive for these schools and the instructors they hire is to teach English as a Test Subject, emphasizing teacher fronted lecture courses, devaluing activities that provide opportunities to acquire language within a communicative context. We want our students to succeed in life, of course, and in Japan that means passing exams to get into universities. So, it is important for our teachers to support our clients and students in these goals. But, just like overemphasizing competitive games, teachers who attempt to motivate students solely on the basis of passing exams can also demotivate some students and lessen engagement in the classroom by promoting a way of thinking  that any activity  that is not directly related to explicitly passing exams is a waste of time within a competitive educational and career environment. 

Both competitive games and teaching to the test are similar in that they have easily identifiable outcomes. However, does that mean activities in which students are given the opportunity to engage with each other in an unstructured or lightly structured environment will ultimately have negative outcomes for student learning or development? Professor Laitha Vasudevan of Teachers College Columbia argues instead that it is essential. In an article entitled "Adolescents, Embodiment, and Play" she writes “adolescents need time and space for unfettered opportunities for experimentation and exploration of the changing world in which they live. Free play, or the full freedom to make all the decisions about play from materials to activity to location, is vital for young people’s development and sense-making about the world.” This is “because it is often in play that intertextual connections, imaginations, and other raw materials for literate engagements are sourced and nurtured.” 

How can we as teachers motivate students to use English in a more integrated way beyond just receiving a reward, whether that means becoming the daily champion or getting into their university of choice? Activities like jigsaw discussions are one way to bridge the gap between the two. A jigsaw activity puts the responsibility on students to speak and use English in their own time and their own way. In the context of the current affairs class, students can independently discuss and talk about the topic and come to their own understanding with several different classmates. The act of breaking up the essay into a number of parts and then asking students to summarize their section to other students who haven’t read it ensures that everyone will be required to engage with their classmates and the material in different ways. Understanding is then confirmed by the teacher through a whole class discussion. A jigsaw activity does introduce constraints that unfettered play would not, but, as the famous mid-20^th century designer Charles Eames discussed, how one decides how to  work within constraints is an important aspect of creativity.  This activity provides both students and teachers the space to use English and interact with each other in ways that can not only help them acquire English but also, though a less constrained environment, allow them to more fully identify themselves  as English speakers.

I strongly believe that we can add plus alpha to our client schools by providing opportunities to our students to express themselves and make interpersonal connections through English. Of course it takes time to build such a culture and it is much easier for everyone to fall back on either top down, highly structured lectures or competitive games where there are clear outcomes with winners and losers, correct and incorrect answers, and everyone can rate their success by the amount (rather than quality) of  English spoken in one finite class period and have  our classroom management skills judged by how students quietly stayed in their seats and talked only when spoken to, allowing everyone to quickly and quietly get through our days as teachers and students without much trouble or stress.

By challenging ourselves and our students to do more and be better, we do risk the possibility of failure, and that some chaos and messiness will ensue. But by giving our students more autonomy in lessons in the short term we can challenge them to be better learners and help cultivate more positive attitudes and outcomes in their English-speaking journey outside of class in the long term.

The article I referenced by Prof. Vasudevan was published in the  April/May/June 2023 of LITERACY TODAY, a publication of the International Literacy Association

I took the title from a video by Project Genius’ first Chief of English Services, Peter Ackerly.

Header image "RDECOM presents STEM opportunties at Edgewood High School" by U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command is licensed under CC BY 2.0.

I spent 3.5 years in the Jet Programme in Akita, northern Japan. When I first arrived, I was escaping a corporate job in Australia that I had no desire to return to but no real plan after that. Within my first year as an English teacher, I realised I genuinely enjoyed my work for the first time in my life and since then I’ve continued down that path. That has included working on getting further teaching credentials and moving to Tokyo for better career opportunities, which brought me here.

I work 5 days a week at an elementary school in Tokyo that prioritises English education. This year, we have changed how the curriculum is taught, which has been a collective effort by the English department. Taking part in the process has been eye-opening and a great experience for all involved. The goal is to accelerate learning by having native and non-native teachers teach from the chosen textbooks. This was not the case last year and the change has been positive.

At the elementary school level, we mainly focus on student's communication abilities in grades 1 and 2. However, many students at this school can read English well by grade 2 or 3, with some being native or near-native in their general English ability. As the current 1-4 grade students move up into the higher grades, they shall be moving up a textbook each time, which is in contrast to the previous system, which used 1 textbook for two grades. Hopefully, these new changes will allow our students to pursue more English-focused junior high schools in the future.

I look forward to the year ahead on this adventure and with Project Genius as well. 

Header image by Douglas P. Perkins, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

In the Japanese workplace, conflicts are bound to arise due to differences in culture or language. Efficient conflict resolution is key to maintaining a healthy and productive work environment. Here are some tips:

Open Communication

Establish transparent communication for team members to express thoughts and feelings openly. This is incredibly important in Japan as many people are not too comfortable with expressing their own thoughts and feelings. 

Define the Issue

Clearly articulate the problem to ensure all parties understand the conflict's root cause. Using language that all parties can understand can help bypass the potential language barrier issue. In high schools the JTEs often have a higher level of English compared to those at elementary or junior high schools. So it is important when teaching in elementary or junior high school to use easy English or Japanese when presenting a problem or conflict.

Collaborate

Promote a collaborative approach to conflict resolution, involving team members in brainstorming and solution-building. Clearly state your goal in the lesson and the JTE goals for the lesson and work together to come to a solution that satisfies both parties.

Follow-Up

Make sure to follow up after the fact to make sure that all parties are ok with the new changes to the lesson. If there are still some points of contention, make sure to ask the JTE for their end goal for the lesson once more and work towards making the needed changes.

By embracing these strategies, workplaces can turn conflicts into opportunities for growth and foster stronger team dynamics.

 Image by jannoon028 on Freepik

After being in Japan for nearly 4 years, one key component of Japanese society is the lack of conversation surrounding headspace. So I think it’s important for us to be able to manage our own headspace.

We’ve all had bad days or days where we just don’t feel like doing anything. I know for me, especially after a long break my headspace tends to be in a weird place. In which I physically feel tired, and mentally blocked. 

Some methods I employ to help manage the lack of motivation and the weird headspace during these periods of time are:

1. Slowing getting myself back into the regular routine. Understanding that it’s normal after a long break to want to continue resting. During this period of time what works best for me is taking naps. Allowing myself to rest and to decompress can help with clearing any sort of weird headspace problems.

2.  Division of work. As work is starting back in full swing, it’s normal for teachers to have a lot of upcoming lessons to prepare for. If your motivation is shot, preparing for lessons can feel like a monstrous task. One way to bypass this is to divide the work. What works best for me is to outline the most important tasks to the least important. Then I make sure to give myself a reasonable deadline to finish the important tasks by. Rather than trying to finish it all right away, I make sure to give myself at least 30 minutes of rest for every 2 hours of working. During that 30 minutes I will do something that can allow me to shut my brain off and to refocus.

3. Understanding that you can only do your best if you are motivated enough and are in the right headspace. Forcing yourself to finish something when physically and mentally you are not there will only add more work for you in the future.

I wanted to thank everyone at Project Genius for their hard work this year at their schools, especially considering the many difficulties the world has faced these past few years. I hope our team can enjoy their holidays, whether it is here in Japan or abroad.

For the last several years at the junior high school where I teach we do a crafts activity in the last class junior high school first grade class of the year. I am from California, so I never experienced a "White Christmas" until I came to Japan. The few instructions needed to explain how to make a snowflake using just a pair of scissors and a piece of paper (cut, triangle, fold) is well within our student's English ability. I am also pretty bad at crafts myself, so once students understand what to do they inevitably create much more elaborate snowflakes than I could even imagine.

And while the two instructors from Project Genius at my school are from the west coast of the US, our school's JET instructor from Australia. She described what having Christmas in Australia was like while also having our students listen to an Australian version of Jingle Bells.

I also learned some new words through this lesson, such as ute and swaggie.

We are also entering our recruiting season. If you are interested in working for us please check Craigslist or Gaijinpot for our latest openings or send us your resume directly via this form.

Please have a safe and enjoyable holiday season!