Joshua Liebman
School of International Liberal Studies
Exchange student from Florida State University (USA)
There’s a general feeling in schools here that English education is quite “test-driven” and because of that, speaking is not prioritized as much as it should be. English might even feel like just another subject, such as math or science. On June 26, a group of volunteers got to change that perception, even if just a little.
From the moment we set foot in those classrooms at Waseda Jitsugyo Elementary, we had 36 starstruck eyes trained on us, in awe at these Waseda students from all around the world who were introducing themselves in English. These were some of the brightest kids I have ever met, and they loved trying to guess where each of us were from. Just seeing their enthusiasm to hear us speak about our countries made me smile – how could you not with all the energy these kids had! Of course, upon hearing each of our favorite foods in Japan, the entire classroom would erupt into laughter or sounds of agreement. As expected, it was quite difficult to get all 36 kids to stay silent for more than 15 seconds at a time.
We got to play UNO with the kids as well. It was amazing watching as the kids, on their own, rearranged their desks and brought over chairs so that the volunteers could sit with them. The level of English was quite varied with these kids: some could have whole conversations while others only knew the few phrases needed for UNO, “plus four! You draw four cards!” While these children had innocent and angelic smiles, behind those expressions were calculating, elite UNO players. In my first game, the entire group of six kids I was playing with conspired to give me +12! I think I lost every single game against them!
The best part of the experience though was undoubtedly getting to have lunch with the classes. From the perspective of an American at least, it was so incredible to see how well-behaved these kids were having lunch in their own classrooms. They would clean up after themselves, carefully separate trash, and rearrange their desks. I got to learn some Japanese jokes from the kids I ate with and taught them things about America. For some reason, they were convinced I was friends with Spiderman, so who was I to tell them I wasn’t? After lunch, we got ready to head out, but the kids followed us out of the classrooms, profusely thanking us and crowding around to give us high-fives.
I’d like to think that, however small, we inspired these kids to keep practicing English. By showing them that the same subject they may view as tests and complex grammar actually has real people and fun experiences associated with it, I think the kids at Waseda Jitsugyo Elementary will view English in a totally different way now.
With other participants (author photo)
