Regardless of the overwhelming amount of times I have heard the song, I just can't seem to "Let It Go!" So recently I had the opportunity to do a presentation for Japanese high school students who will go to Canada in the fall. Basically, I was supposed to talk about Canada and Canadian culture in contrast with Japanese culture because they should know something about it before they travel there. Well, I shouldn't have been surprised that most students were either dozing off or simply not so engaged. And I thought "Was it me? Did they need more explanation in Japanese? Was it too much English? Too much information? All these things ran through my head and continued running through my head throughout the rest of the afternoon. However, there are some other possible reasons it didn't fly like I thought it would:
1. It was too soon- students are not leaving until October, and it was the day just before summer break.
2. They're Japanese teens living in Japan. The whole concept of another culture (or a multi-cultural country, for that matter) is very unfamiliar to them. Perhaps the concept of communicating COMPLETELY in English is new for them, too. And they're in grade ten.
3. They haven't been outside of Japan yet. It's possible they just can't imagine at all. I believe that after they go and experience it, they will understand. Or at least SOME of them will understand. Of course, some of them will remain unchanged forever because they closed the door before they could even see what was on the other side of the wall.
And with that, I will simply say "Oh well! Just roll with it!" Not because I have to, but because it will be less frustrating and less painful to just roll. I will accept that it's also sort of a cultural thing. It's pretty tough to get any reactions from students in the classroom, especially in terms of reacting to or with English.On that note, I do want to share the video I shared (in the class) with you. It kind of focuses more on the town that students will actually visit. Lots of scenes to try to get people excited about going there. Anyway, special thanks to my good friend who was kind enough to make it for me, who you will meet if you watch this vid. Check it out:
1. It was too soon- students are not leaving until October, and it was the day just before summer break.
2. They're Japanese teens living in Japan. The whole concept of another culture (or a multi-cultural country, for that matter) is very unfamiliar to them. Perhaps the concept of communicating COMPLETELY in English is new for them, too. And they're in grade ten.
3. They haven't been outside of Japan yet. It's possible they just can't imagine at all. I believe that after they go and experience it, they will understand. Or at least SOME of them will understand. Of course, some of them will remain unchanged forever because they closed the door before they could even see what was on the other side of the wall.
And with that, I will simply say "Oh well! Just roll with it!" Not because I have to, but because it will be less frustrating and less painful to just roll. I will accept that it's also sort of a cultural thing. It's pretty tough to get any reactions from students in the classroom, especially in terms of reacting to or with English.On that note, I do want to share the video I shared (in the class) with you. It kind of focuses more on the town that students will actually visit. Lots of scenes to try to get people excited about going there. Anyway, special thanks to my good friend who was kind enough to make it for me, who you will meet if you watch this vid. Check it out:
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