Individual student’s voice is heard! Advantages of Small Group Online International Exchange

Cultivate new knowledge with the World Trivia Quiz

Each WorldClassroom session begins with an ice-breaker activity to help students relax before the exchange begins.

This time, we conducted a world trivia quiz, which the students answered “◯ (yes)” or “✕ (no)” using gestures. The students were surprised to learn facts about the world that they had never heard before, and at the same time, they enjoyed checking their answers with students from the other school, which was very exciting.

By designing classes like this to match the level of the students, not only do the students share an atmosphere and a feeling that is difficult to convey, but they also become more motivated to learn English!

Intercultural exchange and understanding

Students from Yoshikawa Junior High School were divided into groups of about 3 students each for the online international exchange.

Based on the teachers’ request to ensure as much speech per student as possible, a small-group exchange system was adopted. Therefore, careful preparations were made to accommodate a large number of groups, including confirmation of seating arrangements and connection tests in advance.

The advantage of online international exchange in small groups is that each student is able to actively participate and express his or her own opinions and ideas. In addition, the small-group environment allows students to express their opinions and feelings more clearly in a more relaxed atmosphere, as individual voices can be heard more easily.

The students decided in advance what topics they wanted to talk about and prepared their presentations. The Japanese students talked about Oshogatsu and Japanese festivals, while the Turkish students introduced music and famous tourist attractions, and the students seemed to enjoy the conversation with pictures and slides.

The last international exchange before graduation

After the international exchange, the class came to an end. After the representatives from both schools gave their thank-you speeches, everyone took a commemorative photo to remember the event.

A Japanese student said, “It was really good to learn something new about Turkey. Thank you for this wonderful opportunity. I look forward to meeting you again. The Turkish students concluded their thank-you speeches; “I am very happy to have learned something new about Turkey. At the end, the Turkish students said in Japanese, “Sayonara!

This class was the last online international exchange for the students of Yoshikawa Junior High School before graduation, and was a valuable opportunity for them to output all that they had learned during their three years of junior high school. The smiles on the faces of all the participants showed that they had a very meaningful time.

The WorldClassroom classes allow students to connect with their international friends from all over the world as if they were in the classroom next door. I am sure that the students were able to acquire many skills other than English, such as new perspectives, communication skills, and cultural understanding.