A window to the past in an adult multigenerational class

Julia Harper
NHK Culture Center, Kyoto

Introduction

A number of people gathered at the Lifelong Language Learning SIG forum at the 2007 JALT National Conference to share ideas for the teaching of adult learners. In this paper I describe the teaching idea that I shared with forum attendees.

Purpose

The teaching idea, comprising three 80-minute lessons, was developed for use in an NHK Culture Center evening class consisting of 20 students ranging in age from 19 to 73. The purpose of the lesson was to take advantage of the age differences among class members by creating an activity in which learners could discuss lifestyle changes in Japan over the past six decades by comparing their childhood experiences. The lessons were easy to prepare and allowed for a student-centered, collaborative, and enjoyable language learning experience, where learners first could practice asking and answering questions about past experiences and then use extended and reported speech to relate their findings.

Method

Lesson 1

The unit began with a review of expressions and sentence patterns (studied in previous lessons) for talking about the past. Students first reviewed short stories they had written about themselves several weeks earlier.

When you were 10, what did you want to be?
(When I was 10,) I wanted to be a piano teacher. My parents bought me a piano. I used to practice piano very hard. I would give concerts for my parents. I remember listening to records of famous pianists and dreaming about playing very well.

Students then made new (guided) sentences about themselves to check that they remembered how to use various patterns correctly.

When I was 10, I ______________________________.
When I was 10, I used to ______________________________.
When I was 10, I would ______________________________.
When I was 10, I remember ______________________________.

After that, students worked in pairs or small groups to ask and answer questions, later reporting back to the class about their partner.

When you were 10, what did you want to be?
When you were 10, who was your hero?
When you were 10, what was your favorite sport?
When you were 10, who was your favorite teacher?
When you were 10, which club did you belong to?

Finally, students wrote short stories about their childhood and presented these stories in small groups.

At the end of the class, students were given Q&A Sheet #1 as a homework assignment. Please note that the original was an A4 sheet of paper with enough space provided for students to write full answers. Students were encouraged to write as many details as possible.

Q&A Sheet 1
When you were a young child... 　1)　a) Who was the leader of Japan? 　　　b) What stories were in the news? 　　　c) What was the most popular leisure activity for young people? 　　　d) What did you wear to school? 　　　e) What did you do after school? 　　　f) What song was popular? 　　　g) What movie was popular? 　　　h) Who was a famous personality or movie star? 　　　i) What did you watch on TV? 　　　j) What foods were popular? 　2) What other things can you tell me about when you were young?

Lesson 2

Students returned to class the following week with the completed Q&A Sheet #1, at which time they were given a blank version of the same question-and-answer sheet (called Q&A Sheet #2) and arranged in pairs (and one group of three). Using Q&A Sheet #2 as an interview guide, they could ask questions and record their partner’s answers, while using Q&A Sheet #1 for reference when answering questions about themselves. Pairs were arranged along generational lines insofar as possible so that one comparatively younger student worked with someone older although this configuration was not made explicit to students.

Although the question-and-answer portion of the lesson was meant to take approximately forty minutes, it did, in fact, take one entire 80-minute class for pairs to finish the activity. The reason for this was that students became engrossed in the activity by giving lengthy and detailed answers, asking extra questions, and talking across pairs. Indeed, students continued to discuss the questions well beyond the end of the class time.

For homework, students were given another sheet to fill out (see below). The original was an A4-sized sheet with ample space for student responses.

Please tell us about your partner.

What was the most interesting thing you learned about your partner?

What are some similarities and differences you noticed between your childhood and your partner’s childhood?

Lesson 3

Students returned to class the following week with the completed homework sheet and used it as a guide when reporting back to small groups about their partner and about the similarities and differences they had noticed between their childhood and that of their partner. Students who had been paired the previous week were assigned to different partners to ensure that everyone had a chance to hear as many different stories as possible.

Comments from students about this lesson

Female student (24 years old)
I was enjoyed this lesson very much because I talked to different generation person. I learned the different and similar view of thinking. I know Ms. Julia let us talk to person who is different generation on purpose. And I think through this lesson, we will go along with each other better. I want to increase the lesson like this.

Female student (about 30 years old)
At the first it was difficult to remember my childhood. But seeing pictures and listening to others, I enjoyed recalling my dear memories. Besides it was very interesting to discuss about them with people of different generation. I could discover new things and have memories jointly. I thought this lesson was very beneficial.

Female Student (in her 50s ?)
It was interesting to hear the story of personal young ages. Especially, young group’s story was fun. Because I have 2 daughters as the same generation as them. I know the topics when they were young child, through my daughters.

Male Student (in his 60s)
This class have wide generation. This lesson used to exchange over ages. The trouble with different age is that popular singer, movie star and TV program not understand, then does tell smooth each other.

Male student (in his 70s)
This lesson is better. We talk and talk each other.

Conclusion

Handling a multigenerational class may at first seem like a daunting task for a teacher. One may wonder: How will the students talk to one another if they have very little in common? However, the fact that students of different ages have different experiences and memories can, in fact, make classroom conversations enjoyable and fulfilling.

Volume 3, Issue 3 [December, 2007]