On this Friday, we practiced a set expression using the following structure:
‘Do you ever wish you had more / a [ ]?
where you insert an appropriate word in the brackets.
How about the following dialogue for you to remember?
[Dialogue]
Takuya: ‘Do you ever wish you had more courage to speak up in our English class?’
Kanako: ‘Yes, I often wish that. If we were to speak up more in the class, the class would become more exciting and stimulating.’
Takuya: ‘Exactly! If only that were to happen…. I am afraid we students are usually too afraid to say something during the lecture because most of us do not want to make any mistakes in front of other students.’
Kanako: ‘That is very ture, isn’t it? I suppose it is a part of Japanese classroom culture. We are simply not used to exchanging our opinions in a dynamic way as they do in some English-speaking countries.’
Takuya: ‘Yes, you are right. And other thing is that traditionally Japanese people tend to be very sensitive to the feelings of other people. Such trait could easily get in the way when trying to have a lively discussion during the English lessons. Because most of the time, most of us become so nervous about how other students are going to think of us if we say something in front of the class!’
Kanako: ‘How true! Also most of us tend to have a stage fright when we become the centre of attention in the class.’
Takuya: ‘Yes, I think so. The best thing we can do now is to try to make a little effort to express our opinions each time we sit in the class.’
Kanako: ‘Yes, there is no shortcut to this cultural problem. We would feel more comfortable if our teacher would make a strict rule of not laughing at a student who makes a mistake in front of the class!’
Takuya: ‘Yes, that would be ideal.’
Kanako: ‘OK. I have to dash off to the next lecture. See you later!’
Takuya: ‘All right. Bye for now!’
Filed under: Class Plans & Notes | Tagged: 情報1年 | Leave a comment »
Hide's English for Life Blog 