I have sought videos of classes taught in Japan, because I am thinking of teaching over there should I manage to attain the credentials I need. Of course, life happens, and plans have a tendency of being overturned by events. Not to mention, there does seem to be plethora of videos of people complaining about teaching rather than there being a whole lot of videos about lessons that I could use.

This video is probably not a great “lesson” as it is merely a recording of a class presentation. Students came up together in pairs, and did a short dialogue for the class. However, I did notice something every teacher probably must face. Shyness in students, which effect these sorts of activities in unforeseen ways.

Some of the students struggled to speak in front of the class. Some had little difficulty. The gulf in difference was fairly wide, and it seemed as though the pairs that struggled brought down the energy from the pairs that breezed through the activity. This is something I will probably face, and it is something I should definitely prepare for.

I am thinking theatre techniques could help with the vocal range. I could not hear some students speak.

Theatre warmups would help with the vocal work, but the first thing to “overcome”—not a great choice in words admittedly, as it is fine for people to be shy—is the bashfulness. For a language class, not speaking would be a detriment to the class, so there is no way such a lesson can be avoided. Otherwise, this ESL class would be pointless.

So, perhaps a teacher needs to do a great deal of foundational work in building an environment in which students feel safe in speaking, and doing so loudly.