It’s 4AM and my 6 Japanese Students Are Tired. What Do I Do?

By CHLOE HYATT

I remember pouring myself yet another cup of coffee at 7 PM and thinking to myself “It can’t be too hard, right? Just follow the preplanned textbook and everything will be fine”. I was right...for the most part. Global English Workshop (Online Zoom edition) wasn’t the most challenging teaching experience per say, but I quickly came to find out it requires being able to adapt to situations fast. Really, really fast. 

When I initially applied for Come On Out’s Global English Workshop for the summer of 2021, nobody was quite sure if the program would be in person or not. As the year progressed and the COVID-19 Delta variant surged, the program shifted (rightfully) online via Zoom. The program condensed into three weekends which happened during Japan’s daytime, meaning I was going to stay up all night and sleep all day given I live in the EST zone. I prepared for this by reading over the textbook, talking with my homeroom leader about expectations, and making sure to get plenty of rest. 

Upon the first class and subsequently my first batch of 6 Japanese highschool students, I found out that any tension or nervousness I had disappeared rather quickly. My students were all incredibly sweet (if a little shy) and we were able to follow along with the textbook just fine. There’s only one issue; I had too much time. We would swift through so many activities planned (such as describing pictures and talking about Sustainable Development Goals) and I could see how tired and bored my students were getting while I would look at my clock and see I still had 40 minutes of allotted time left for an activity we already finished. Since this was my first weekend of the program, I was still trying to figure out the best way to manage my time. I didn’t want to go too slowly as that made students disinterested, but moving too quickly meant a huge chunk of leftover time. I had an icebreaker list provided by Come On Out which proved to be super helpful when times like those arose. Icebreakers like scavenger hunts, stretches/dances, and ‘rock paper scissors’ were all incredibly fun and engaging for students, but I would still end up with a massive block of unused time. 

I had to think quickly. This program allows mentors/teachers a lot of freedom to go off schedule if needed. Thus, if I’d found an activity that I made up on a whim that students really seemed to love, I was encouraged to just keep doing that activity so long as the main material had been covered and students were able to verbally speak English. However, it’s a lot harder to really connect with your students online. I wanted to get to know more about my students personally, and I initially found the online setting to be a huge barrier in making that effective. But then I realized it didn’t have to be a barrier at all and, if utilized properly, could actually be a great advantage. 

I had to think about all the features Zoom allows us to use. Zoom allows a “share screen” feature which I decided to use during our introduction day or if I had left over time after a lesson. Initially, I used the feature to pull up Google Maps and show my students a bit about the city I’m from (which is Atlanta, Georgia if anybody is curious). I was able to physically show students where my school was located, go onto Google street view to give them a better idea of my campus environment, and let them look at my city and visualize it better than me helplessly describing it only with words. Then an idea struck me which I hadn’t remotely considered. I would let my students have this same opportunity as well which would mean I got to have more of a detailed understanding of where my students were from. For example, I had a lot of students from different parts of Tokyo. I would first ask them what part, whether it be Shinjuku, Edogawa, or anything in between. Afterwards, I would share my screen to all my students and zoom into the part of Tokyo/Japan they lived in and ask them about their favorite things to do, their favorite restaurants, where they liked to go for vacation, etc. I noticed quickly that all my students throughout all three weekends of the program really loved this. It kept them engaged, took up a decent amount of time, and enabled students to speak English continuously. Students really loved to talk about themselves and share their lives with both myself and their peers which led to some great discussion all around.

Other mentors/teachers in my homeroom utilized the drawing feature of Zoom which functions a bit like Microsoft paint. I thought it was such a great idea that I tried it myself. I would try to draw my students using my laptop trackpad and have them guess who I was drawing. They LOVED that activity and thought it was really funny (laughter is a huge positive in the Global English Workshop). I also altered some icebreaker activities like the scavenger hunts which led to my students walking into their kitchens to grab their favorite snacks, pets, and objects that were sentimental to them. I also would ask students what music they liked and would play it in the background as they worked which led to a couple of my students bonding over their shared interest in a specific artist. At one point, we were watching KPOP music videos and talking about our favorite outfits the performers were wearing.

I think a big misconception with the Come on Out Global English Workshop program is that it’s main focus is on teaching. I found that wasn’t actually true at all. The program is mainly about getting cross-cultural experiences, getting to know your students (who are super excited to meet you) on a more personal level, and building students' confidence with verbally speaking English. I went into the program believing I needed to stick to the textbook minute-by-minute which left me freaking out trying to find things to keep my students speaking English and engaged for hours on end. My advice for any future GEW mentors is to be prepared to go off schedule and keep the focus on students speaking and having fun. Yes, it’s cliche, but it’s really so much more enjoyable for everyone involved if you can come up with unique activities that keep students excited to be in the program. Like I said, you have a lot more freedom than you realize going into it. Don’t be afraid to use all your Zoom features to create new activities on a whim! Japanese students can be shy at first, but when they get to know you better, they’re an absolute joy and so much fun to talk to! Really get to know them, not just read the textbook to them. Afterall, the program should be as fun for you as it is for your students. If the program is online for 2022, it never hurts to brainstorm some activities you could pull off online to make it the best year they’ve had thus far!