Wakana writes:

Many guests who are from African countries such as Chad, Senegal, Togo, Cote d'lvoire, Gabon, and so on visited our English communication class on July 12th. I was very excited to see them because I had never seen so many African people before. They were very vigorous. Their power was overwhelming. Many of them have a job that is concerned with education. I had chances to talk with three women among them.

First, I talked with a woman who is from Senegal. Her native language was French, and she was just studying English, so we couldn't communicate well with each other in English. But thanks to Fraysse-sensei and gestures, we could make ourselves understood. I heard she teaches P.E. at a girls' junior high school. She teaches many students, 72 7th grade students, 58 8th grade students, 86 9th grade students and 10th 36 students. The number of students she takes charge of is about twice as many as in Japan. I was surprised to hear that her class size is bigger than what I imagined. Also, she told me one of her teaching styles and methods. Her teaching style is very unique. First, she selects a few students who are good at P.E. and can practice hard among all her students, then teaches only them how to play and gives them some advice. After they learn from her, in turn she tells them to be a model for the other students. They teach the rest of the students what they were taught by their teacher as a teacher.

I thought her teaching method was unusual because few Japanese teachers teach us in the way like her. However, as I began to listen to her explanation in detail, I came to think her teaching method was efficient, particularly for a teacher who has to teach many students at once like her. Also, I thought it was good that students teach other students because the students who teach the rest of the students what they are taught as a teacher could make their comprehension deeper through their experiences of teaching. When I taught the students English at teaching practice, I realized that it was difficult to teach and that I need to understand the contents I teach fairly fixedly. In addition to this, I thought students could learn to cooperate with each other and make their relationship stronger by being involved with many other students in this class. Her problem is that there aren't sufficient facilities for sport such as balls and nets in her school. I think not only Africa but also other places including Japan should consider this problem and solve it as soon as possible.

Next, I talked with women who are from Gabon and Cameroon. I heard both their countries are located close to the equator. Although their native languages were French, they could speak English very well. So we could enjoy communicating with each other in English. They said to me "Your English is very good." I was very glad to hear that. The woman who is from Gabon is an English teacher. She said to me, "I like English very much. Now my English is poor. I have to study English more." I thought her positive attitude is fantastic. I learned from her it is important for an English teacher to enjoy teaching English and keep having the feeling that he/she tries to develop skill without stopping studying English again. I respect her. I aim to be a teacher like her. Her students are positive, too. Their future aims are to be teachers, doctors, in the army and so on. She told me she focused on English communication activity in her class. I agreed with her. I want students to acquire practical English communication skills.

The woman who is from Cameroon teaches geography at high school. She teaches 120 students. She told me we need to emphasize diplomatic presentation and mission in order to make a good relationship between countries in Africa and Japan. I think so. We know little about Africa. In fact, it was not until I met and talked with them that I could know many new things about Africa today. When I will be able to be an English teacher, I want to teach students not only English but also about countries such as those in Africa.

Finally, I had a good time with many wonderful guests. Because I want to be an English teacher in the future it was very beneficial for me to know about other countries' education. I could learn a lot of things from them through this class. Also, this class was a big signal for studying English and understanding about Africa more deeply from now on.