(Fujita)Hello, everyone watching this online. Welcome to WEEK 4 of our "Interactive Teaching" Skill Sessions series. Today's topic is about relieving tension. From this week onward, I'm going to change the format. Our theatrical company will be showing you a dramatization of a classroom situation, and I would like you to watch and see what you can learn. Is everyone ready? OK. In the first class of a course or a one-off class, students are likely to be nervous, but that happens to instructors like us too. You need to relax as soon as possible, and in order to do so, it's important to involve your students and get as many of them as possible on your side. So what kind of students should you speak to, and how? We're going to perform a scene for you showing the beginning of the first session of a course, and afterward we're going to think about that question. Here are our actors. They're now going to perform a scene set at the start of a new class. Action! (Watanabe)Hello. (Actress 1)Hello. (Watanabe)My name is Shuya Watanabe. Nice to meet you. I'd like to talk about the importance of the theater, and that's because I'm a stage actor. I hope to be able to inspire you to come see one of our performances. First of all, I would like to ask you, sitting in the front row. Thank you for nodding along so much. What's your name? (Actress 1)Tominaga. (Watanabe)Tominaga-san. (Actress 1)Yes. (Watanabe)Tominaga-san, do you often go to the theater? (Actress 1)Yes. (Watanabe)You look like you do. I can tell from your reactions. How often? (Actress 1)Once a month. (Watanabe)Once a month! That's great. Thank you. You must be the real drama lover in the class. Now, let's begin. (Fujita claps his hands.) (Fujita)Let's stop here for a moment. I would like to ask everyone: what type of student do you think this woman is? How about you? (Student)She seems to be good at speaking up. (Fujita)Good at speaking up. What else? Yoshida-san? (Student)She seems highly motivated. (Fujita)Motivated. Good. Kaneko-san? (Student)I think she's probably very active and always engages with things in a positive way. (Fujita)Thank you. To use your words, "highly motivated" students are likely to sit in the front row. There are usually some students sitting in the front, who are eager to absorb as much as they can from your course. If there's no one in the front row, bad luck. No, I'm joking. I'm sure you'll have some students like that, so don't worry. Find a student sitting in the front who's responding to you actively, who meets your eyes when you say, "Nice to meet you", or who nods rapidly, and speak to them. You can just say hello to them. Create a warm atmosphere to make yourself and your students more relaxed. That's the first step when talking to your students. Now, let's see what happens next. (Watanabe)Well, it would be amazing if everyone was like Tominaga-san, but I fear she's probably a rare case. I can hear someone saying, "I can't go to the theater" from somewhere over here. (Actress 2)No, I can't. I can't. (Watanabe)You can't? (Actress 2)It's too hard. Hard. (Watanabe)I see. What's your name? (Actress 2)Kitamura. (Watanabe)Kitamura-san. (Actress 2)Yes. (Watanabe)Could you tell me the reason why you can't go to the theater? (Actress 2)Well, I don't have time. I don't have the money. Do you? (*Talking to the student next to her.) (Watanabe)I see, I see. (Actress 2)No way! Do you? Never. (*Talking to the student next to her.) (Watanabe)You're asking him to back you up. What's your name? (Actress 2)Osuga! He's Osuga. Osuga. (Watanabe)So, Osuga-san, time and money are problems for you, too? (Actress 2)Yes, yes. We're in the same situation. (Watanabe)You two have a lot in common? (Actress 2)It's quite hard for us. (Watanabe)I see. I notice you're the one answering all the time. What do you think, Osuga-san? (Actress 2)No way! It's impossible. (Watanabe)You're answering for him again! (laughing) (Fujita claps his hands.) (Fujita)So, what type of student do you think this second woman is? (Student)She's doing all the talking. (Fujita)Doing all the talking. How about you? (Student)She's cheerful. (Fujita)Cheerful. Good. How about you? (Student)She's very self-assertive. (Fujita)Self-assertive. This second type of student has their own, very firm opinions. They're a kind of leader of the class, the life of the party. You'll come across this type of student quite often, but they're likely to talk only about themselves. They're often chatty and can seem restless, but they tend to be the leader. Therefore, you need to find out who the leader is and speak to them. What you need to do when talking to this type of student is let them express their opinion. That's the way to get a response from them. Ask the student for their opinion instead of just saying hello or asking a simple question. This type of student often has many other students around them in their orbit. By also involving the students around the leader, you can change the whole atmosphere of the class. That's what the instructor in the scene was doing when he was speaking to the second student. Find the student who is the leader or the life of the party. That's the important point. Let's see what happens next. (Watanabe)So, I imagine most people in Japan are like Kitamura-san. You're interested in going and seeing a play, but you don't have the chance or the money. Now we're going to do a quiz. What's your name? (Actress 3)Miyazaki. (Watanabe)Miyazaki-san, what is the name of the genre of play that combines songs, dancing, and drama? (Actress 3)Musical. (Watanabe)Musical. That's right! You might not have much opportunity to go see a play, but musicals are the ones that exert an especially powerful influence on us. I'd like to talk about musicals so that by the end of the course, everyone here is inspired to go see a musical - including you, Miyazaki-san! Let's get started. (Fujita claps his hands.) (Fujita)What type of student was the third person? (Student)At the beginning, she didn't look like she wanted to be spoken to. She didn't look at the instructor and tried not to meet his eyes, but as she answered the instructor's questions and received positive feedback, she gradually started to look at him. (Fujita)Excellent. You noticed how the student changed. Thank you. How about you? What do you think about the third student? (Student)I think she'll get involved if the instructor tries to motivate her. (Fujita)Thank you. I'm sure many of you experienced a moment of dread when you saw the instructor speaking to a student like that. There is always a student like her, sitting there with a rebellious or indifferent attitude. They sit in the back of the classroom, never meeting your eyes, never nodding to you, and looking bored. Those are the characteristics of this type of student. If you find it difficult to deal with them and decide to avoid talking to them, the distance between the two of you will only get wider. Therefore, you need to actively engage with this type of student at the beginning. Here's the most important thing when speaking to them. If you ask a question about the students' lives or personal opinions, all you'll get in reply is "Whatever", or I don't know, so what you should do is to ask a question that is easy to answer and let them speak. Keep that in mind and encourage them to get involved in the class. Also, at the same time, make it a rule that you're going to involve everyone in the class in this way. This is very important. The more difficult you find dealing with a particular student, the more I recommend you talk to them in advance. The scene I showed you today featured a class with a small number of students, but even if the class size was, say, 50, these three types of students are often quite easy to find. Try and identify them when you first say hello or introduce yourself to the class, and speak to them. I'd like you to give it a try. Another effective way of doing it is to identify them before the class, when the students are coming into the classroom. Involve the students in this way and create a relaxed atmosphere that helps you teach more easily as soon as possible. Now I'm going to let the actors unfreeze. Please give a big hand to all of today's performers! That's the end of the session on reducing tension in the classroom. Thank you.
