On November 3rd, YGC has held Open School Sessions for elementary school returnee students and junior to senior high school students. An Information Session for the parents/guardians has also been held. The Open School Sessions were held for the following courses:
| Room 1 | Room 2 | |
|---|---|---|
| 10:00〜10:40 | Retention of English as an Additional Language | Global Education (Beginner) |
| 4th 〜6th grade students who wish to maintain and enhance their four English Skills | 7th 〜12th grade students who want to maintain and/or strengthen their four English Skills | |
| 11:00〜11:40 | Supplementary Course | Global Education (Advanced) |
| 7th 〜9th grade students who are currently studying English in schools but seldom have the chance to use English on a daily basis | 7th 〜12th grade students who want to maintain and/or strengthen their four English Skills | |
| 12:00〜12:40 | Pre-YGC | Academic Preparation |
| 7th grade students who have just begun studying English for the first time in schools | 9th〜12th grade students willing to go to foreign high schools and/or universities |
Retention of English as an Additional Language (REAL)
With the 2020 Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games approaching, we gave a lesson on the topic of “sports.” First, the students tried guessing the sports by reading some passages. Second, the teacher led the discussion on some of the unique sports in the countries the students have lived in or have knowledges in. They also talked about the rare games the students participated during sports festivals at their current schools. Lastly, the students were divided into two groups and started a debate on team sports versus individual sports. It transitioned into a heated debate: students of team sports said the beauty of them is that they could share the joy of victory with their teammates, whereas the students of individual sports said that their success would be dependent on their own efforts.Pre-YGC
In breaking the ice among students, they walked around the classroom before the main topic of “Comparison” was discussed with ease. The students were very fast in learning new phrases followed by solving some comprehension practice questions. In the next part of the lesson, students got into pairs and created comparative sentences using adjectives. Students who learned English via English for the first time also seemed to enjoy learning the comparatives.Supplementary Course
The students intensively practiced broadening their conversation skills by using the “Five Ws and One H.” We introduced example sentences that use interrogatives such as who, when, where and how. Next, the students practiced several phrases by projecting their voices after hearing the proper pronunciation of the bilingual teacher. In the last twenty minutes of the class, PowerPoint was used for students to practice citing sentences by using appropriate interrogatives and translate phrases in Japanese into English. This course is designed for students who want to speak out more in English, but it seemed that the students actively took part in voice projection and English composition lessons.Global Education (Beginner)
Our theme of the lesson was “National Holidays in Japan.” The students first read a passage on what “Culture Day” is in Japan and why it has been constituted on November 3rd. They then searched the number of national holidays in Japan and compared it with other countries by using tablet devices. The climax of the lesson was a discussion based on the topic, “Should Japan have more national holidays?” The students also presented their creative ideas on what kind of holidays should exist. Some interesting holidays include ‘Movie Day’ and ‘Olympics Day.’ We believe that the students were able to understand one of the main educational objectives of YGC: fostering a deeper understanding of one’s own culture.Global Education (Advanced)
The theme of the lesson was “Business and Globalization.” We initiated the class with a discussion on the definition of ‘globalization.’ The students also gave their serious thoughts on the question of ‘When did globalization start?’ This may seem like a fairly contemporary topic, but the teacher presented indications of globalization from far back as the 17th century. The students then read a passage on ‘glocalization,’ which has been coined from the words, ‘global’ and ‘local.’ The most interesting part of the lesson was a debate session on global companies versus local companies. The class was completed with a vocabulary time where the students filled the blanks with challenging words and phrases. We believe that this led to strengthening the students’ vocabulary skills.Academic Preparation
When asked what “Business” was as the main topic of the lesson, many students answered its functions as working in an office, manufacturing and selling products, networking around the globe and negotiating. Collectively, that actually is what Business is all about. However, we wanted to take it to the next level, where Business encompasses a broader operation that involves a complex integration politically and socially. In particular, we focused on the issue of ‘women’ and where they stand politically and socially in Japan compared with other nations. Japan is still a developing nation when it comes to empowering women in the business world. Hence, we read a passage on Lady Barbara Judge, a charismatic leader in Europe and in the Americas where she proposes to the Japanese government on some actions to be taken in tackling the issue of female-specific barriers faced in Japan. We then further held a discussion based on this passage. It was promising to know that a male student was extremely against impounding women in society. A tough topic indeed, but the students remained vigilant throughout the whole discussion session and challenged asserting their own opinions.The parents/guardians were able to observe the Open School Sessions after taking part in the Information Session. They gazed with warmth and encouragement by their child/children actively taking part in English lessons.
Feedbacks from the Participants:
- I’ve never heard of the word ‘Glocalization,’ so it was very interesting.
- I want to study overseas. This class was interesting.
- I was very nervous at first, but I was able to enjoy the class and understand it well in the end.
