Since the start of the second semester, instead of “choosing which country’s people you want to talk to,” the students have been participating in a method where “the visitors choose which students to talk with.” This time, the Meets the World program connected them with people from Sweden and Myanmar.
Then, the students got to experience a bit of a “real” Meets the World! The family of the ALT teacher visited Yumenomori—all the way from Australia!
Since they had already asked about the family’s interests, the students could approach them by saying things like, “You must be Mr./Ms. ◯◯,” and start conversations. 7th grade gave them a tour of Yumenomori, and at the end, everyone took a commemorative photo.
〜Reflections〜
- “I learned from the person from Sweden that the temperature is 4–7°C, which is really cold. Their clothing is similar to Japan’s, but they warm up by exercising. I thought I would just stay under a kotatsu. I also learned that you can see the aurora there, and I want to see it.”
- “This was my first time participating. Talking with someone from Sweden was fun, and I was able to learn new English. I’m looking forward to them visiting Yumenomori next month.”
- “During self-introductions, I said I liked anime, and the person from Sweden said, “I like anime too!” which made me happy. I want to talk to them again when they visit Yumenomori.”
- “I asked and answered questions, and was able to learn a lot of things I was curious about.”
- “I feel like I was able to ask more questions than before. Next time, I want to ask questions in English.”
- “I’m glad I could interact with people from other countries. I learned about Myanmar’s culture, and I was surprised by the tradition of elongating the neck. I want to talk more next time.”
