This week was packed with chat sessions! My favorite activity is playing games with the elementary school students because they are so energetic and say such funny things. For example, I was playing a word game with the students where you have a barrel with Stitch (from Lilo and Stitch) and you put swords in it until Stitch pops out. To have the students speak English, I chose a category (ex. foods, countries, colors) and they had to say a word from that category before putting a sword in the barrel. One round, I chose the category “bugs,” and, with a confused look on her face, one girl said “baby?” I tried not to crack up laughing! Then I chose a different category…bugs were apparently not very familiar.
Another game I like to play with the elementary school students is Telephone. I whisper a word or short phrase to one student, then they whisper it to the next student, and to the next until it comes back to the beginning. They have to repeat what they heard, and sometimes it is what I whispered, but more often it is some jumbled version of what I said.
One challenge that I have faced with the elementary school students is finding games that are the appropriate level for them. For example, when I brought the barrel game and asked students to say a word from a category, that was very easy for them– maybe too easy for their level. Yet when I brought a more challenging game like Apples to Apples, and explained the rules by showing them examples, they were very confused. I’m not sure if they didn’t understand the rules of the game since I said it in English, or if they would be able to play it if someone told them the rules in Japanese. It is up to me to choose a game from a cabinet of games to bring to the elementary school, so it is difficult to figure out what kind of games are the right level for them, which still involve speaking and listening to English.
Perhaps I could modify games to make them a little more challenging by setting a time limit per round, splitting the group up into teams and making it a competition, or bringing in different games that are more challenging like word repetition games or using a whiteboard and making games with a whiteboard. In the article “Six Key Strategies for Teachers of English-Language Learners,” the fourth strategy is metacognition and authentic assessment, which means paying close attention to who is excelling and who is struggling with a task. When playing Boggle Jr. with my students, they played it as a group, all helping each other figure out the word and how to spell it. Almost all the students were engaged except two boys who were distracted because they were tickling and poking each other, or joking about the game. Upon reflection, if this happens again, I could split the two boys up in the circle. The fact that they were joking about the game signals to me that it was too easy for them, and I should challenge them more. I only have about 15 minutes with each group, though, so the game cannot take more than 15 minutes to explain and play before I rotate groups.
I think it would help me to ask the elementary school teachers more about the students’ abilities and interests to find a game better suited for them. Strategy five of the article mentions capitalizing on students’ interests, and so far I am not very familiar with their interests.
In the chat room, I have started playing more games at the beginning of the session, like a category game where you have to think of a word from a category or telephone (almost the same as with the little kids)! This is a good icebreaker for the students, because especially with the college students and when they are in a larger group of people (max. 6 people), they are hesitant to speak up, unless I ask them a direct question. I want the chat room to be more of a conversation between all the people in the group, instead of interview-style, where I ask one person a question, they answer, I ask the next person a question, they answer, and so on. Playing a game at the beginning takes the pressure off the students, allows them to laugh at themselves and at others and allows me to show that everyone messes up, so they don’t have to be afraid to make a mistake during the chat session. Sometimes I purposefully mess up in the game to show that I make mistakes too, so they don’t have to be nervous to practice speaking.
I am so impressed by the intrinsic motivation of the college students. I often ask students why they want to learn English, and the most common response I hear is, “because I have to.” Learning English is not a fun elective class like Spanish was for me, it is the key to having a successful future and career. Hearing this over and over makes me feel very humbled because I have been able to visit Japan only knowing a small amount of Japanese, but if the roles were reversed, students would not have such an easy time. It seems unfair that they work so hard to learn English, while I can speak English and many people and places accommodate for that here. I really admire my students’ work ethic and am so impressed by all of their English skills.
Something that works well in the chat room with college students is the sixth strategy– modeling, graphic organizers and visuals. Each station has a white board, so I always write down students names so I can refer to them personally (even though I work with so many students and don’t often see the same people). If I say a word that students don’t recognize, I write it down on the whiteboard and sometimes they know the word and just couldn’t understand my pronunciation, or sometimes they don’t know the word and I explain it to them. When explaining new words or ideas, I find it helpful to draw little pictures to explain.
Another difficulty in the chat room is getting quieter students to talk. For example, one student in a group of six was very quiet, and even when I called on her by name to ask a question, she would take a long time to think about her answer and then say a few words of response. In one case, we were talking about smells that people like, and she didn’t know the word for something so I gave her the marker and she drew an orange blossom flower (this worked well, but it did not require much speaking). The other students in the group were very patient, they did not laugh or talk while she was thinking, they looked and waited for her to answer. Perhaps she does not have the tools she needs to communicate her ideas, and maybe I could prepare a list of words on the white board that could be used for the day’s topic. I have learned to be very patient and wait while students are thinking how to translate their answer, and to wait a good few seconds after a student has finished speaking before I speak, because many times they have more to say if I don’t cut them off. I want the students to have as much time as possible to practice speaking, not just one or two turns per session. I use a lot of partner work and a LOT of encouragement.
Exploration: Harajuku
Image 1: The inside of Tokyu Plaza, an extravagant entrance to a mall. This is in Omotesando, which is a $$$$ shopping district. We walked past Chanel, Louis Vuitton, Valentino, etc. Things we can’t afford.
Image 2: Crepes in Harajuku! I had a strawberry, banana, chocolate ice cream crepe for about 600 yen! They had flavors with fruit, ice cream, cheesecake, but also some interesting ones with tuna salad and pizza toppings…
Image 3: Takeshita Dori (Street)! This is the entrance to Harajuku; a street that is famous for its counter-culture, cosplay (or costume play, where people dress up like manga characters), and as a junior high teacher explained it to me, “everything pink, plastic and fantastic.” We didn’t see anyone dressed up in cosplay, but it was still a fun area to explore! We want to go back there later to explore a park nearby called Yoyogi Park, which includes the Meiji shrine inside!
Exploration: Palette Town
We went to a digital art museum called Team Lab: Borderless, which was so fun and unique! This museum uses technology to project art on the walls, floor and ceiling of all the rooms, from waves, to flowers to waterfalls and bamboo shoots. There are no maps, so you wander from room to room on your own. Interestingly, though, the art on the walls change, so you cannot rely on what a room looks like to find your way back. Some of the walls were interactive, for example, there was a hallway with projections of animals made out of flowers, and if you rubbed the wall, the animal would purr!
Other rooms were made of mirrors; the walls, floor and ceiling, so it looked like the exhibit went on forever (like the lamps in image 3 above). There was a climbing wall, but instead of a wall it was all poles that you climbed between, a galaxy trampoline (where the more you jumped, the brighter the projection of the star became that you were jumping on) and swings that moved as you walked on them (they were only about 6 inches off the ground, but there were projections of the galaxy moving on the ground so it was spatially disorienting)!
We went to the museum at 12-3, which was a perfect time because it wasn’t very crowded, then spent the rest of the day exploring the area. We rode a ferris wheel (see image 1 above), went to 2 different malls (one was built to look like an Italian villa), ate matcha ice cream, and called it a day.
Exploration: Naruko Tenjinsha Shrine
We discovered this shrine accidentally after wandering around where we live! The shrine was created in 1894, burned down during the war and rebuilt in 1966. From a pamphlet I picked up at the shrine, it explains,
“Enshrined deity: Michizane Sugawara
Naruko Tenjinsha has over 1,100 years of prosperous history. The area was called Kashiwagimura Naruko, and Daijingu, Grand Shrine precincts… once stood here with magnificent pine and kshiwas trees.
In 903 (Engi 3), during the Heian period, Michizane Sugawara passed away in Dazaifu, on the island of Kyushu.
His vassals Saeki and Saiguu learned about his death while away in the Eastern region of Japan. They were devastated and brought back a statue curved by Michizane from Heiankyo to Kashiwagimura to honor him. In order to show respect for his extraordinary virtue, they created shrine precincts dedicated to Michizane as a Kami of Peace and Scholarship. Thus our shrine was established.”
The shrines seem less about religion or spirituality, and more about respect, good fortune, and peace. For example, the first image above are wishes written out and hung up. The pamphlet also says,
“5. Omikuji
After worshiping, you can make your wishes known to the Kami. While you pray fervently for your wishes, draw your omikuji (fortune slip). You can bring home the fortune if you wish.”
My Japanese teacher at home explained to me that many Japanese people would not consider themselves religious, it is more so that the religious practices are intwined with culture. Therefore, many practices are more of a cultural tradition than they are a religion.
Image 1: Tanuki- good luck animal (this one was placed outside of a restaurant)
Image 2: Shrimp tempura and miso soup!
Exploration: Hama-rikyu Gardens
I was so excited to find some nature! These gardens were actually a recommendation from one of my adult residents who comes to Chat Room. She brought in a map of all of Japan, and then asked me if I like gardens. After I said yes, she gave me a pamphlet for these gardens, saying, “You should go here! Here’s their pamphlet, it’s in English for you!” S/O for the idea, it was so relaxing!
According to the pamphlet from my resident, this garden was the family garden of the Tokugawa Shogun and outer fort of the Edo castle. Built in 1654 by the fourth shogun, it was known as the “Beach Palace,” and was used for duck hunting and relaxation. Parts of the garden (including buildings) had to be rebuilt after wartime, but 300 year old pines and many other parts survived.
Removed from the city– but not too far removed 
Tea house
The price to enter the garden was 300 yen (about $3), and we spent about an hour here, which was not enough time to see the whole garden, but enough time to feel rejuvenated. My favorite part of the garden, though, was the tea ceremony! This is what I had been waiting for! So delicious. It wasn’t the traditional tea ceremony where someone serves you in a very specific way, but it was still amazing. There were rules to eating and drinking, though. See the sheet below.
I am content.
Dan in Japan 