7 Typical Japanese High School First-Year Students

After teaching 18 different first-year classes at two Japanese high schools over the course of this past year, I've noticed a few trends that I'd like to share with you all.

Disclaimer: This is based on my experiences as an ALT while teaching at one regular and one technical high school. If you are an ALT, the extent to which this is similar to your situation will be based on the location you are placed and the level of students that you teach. To any Japanese people reading my blog, I don't mean to offend anyone by what is written below. I simply intend to record my experiences for cultural exchange purposes, such that other ALTs can compare/contrast these students to their own experiences with other Japanese high school students or such that other family members and friends back home can compare/contrast these students with typical American ones.

Without further ado...

7 Typical Japanese High School First-Year Students

1. The 2 students in the front row who stare at me the entire lesson

As much as I want them to participate, they never do! I try to give them the benefit of doubt; they may actually be good students. However, this doesn't exactly show in the oral communication class, since they really don't do much other than just sit there and awkwardly stare at me or at their own desks. If they're girls, they sometimes giggle at me...

I often wonder what they're giggling about...

2. The sleeper

There's at least one in every class that I've taught, no matter what time of day or what events have been planned that week. I've heard that most JTEs tend to let them sleep, thinking that they're tired from late-night studying, although mine try to wake them up. With the exception of my visit school JTE, they have very little success with this endeavor.

Some students are such great sleepers that I think I'm more familiar with the top of their heads than their actual faces. Quite impressive...

3. The "yeah, yeah, ok, ok" student

I finish explaining the activity. My JTE makes sure everyone understands, and then the activity begins. I walk around, monitoring to make sure everything's running smoothly. Everyone seems to be doing well...until I come across this student, who is casually talking with (aka: distracting) his or her friends. I smile. Maybe they don't understand?

I begin to explain the activity (again) and try to get him/her to participate. After every sentence I utter, he/she looks at me straight in the eye and confidently says "Yeah, yeah! Ok, ok!" while giving me an ever-so-condescending shoulder-shrug or hand wave.

Oh...so they don't understand AND, better yet, they don't care! :/

Unless the JTE comes around and forces them to do the activity, I've had a 0% success rate in trying to get these little turds to do anything productive. Often times, I'm forced to move on and monitor Student #4, the polar opposite of Student #3.

4. The 5 students who actually raise their hands

These are my best students. Even if their favorite subject isn't English, these students are usually the best in their class...and for good reason. They're the ones who actually try to understand my lecture despite whatever cacophony is erupting around them. When a lesson goes badly or there is poor classroom management, I can always count on these guys to pay attention.

They're absolute godsends in the 50 minute class. I take some solace in the fact that that there are at least some students that I may be making an impact on.

5. The class clown

These students can be annoying, but they mean no harm. These poor students are usually hated by my JTEs since they typically score the worst on the grammar tests. However, I tend to enjoy being around these students because they're very lively, funny, creative, and, more often than not, these students are typically some of the better conversationalists in the class. Maybe they learn a lot from making fun of me and the JTE all the time?

While they may not start out on task, unlike Student #3, these students might actually attempt my activities if prodded to do so (or if candy is offered as an incentive). If the activity is fun or interesting, they will get really into it, making everyone around them laugh with their wacky answers. They have the potential to be motivational forces to be reckoned with in the classroom.

If they start to get off-track though...it can be really tough to regain control of the class.

6. The "I LOVE YOU" student

These ones are very, very similar to Student #1. I sometimes hear love professions when they enter or exit the class, or during various parts of the class...often for no reason at all. These students will tell me that I'm cute every chance they get. What players! The raging hormones are probably to blame...haha Anyways, as creepy as these sudden outbursts may be at times, they can be huge mood-boosters if I'm ever having a bad day. I'll take what I can get in order to push through the work-day! :P

Sidenote: These student could be a combination of Student #1, Student #4, and/or Student #5.

7. The silent one

The completely silent students are, admittedly, one of the rarer specimens of the bunch (at least at my high schools). There are many variants of this one, ranging from shy, but suggestible (meaning that they may volunteer answers from time to time) to others who will give me the cold shoulder. Some won't lift a finger to complete any worksheets in class. Others, even if I commit one of the deadly sins in the high school oral communication classroom and try to help them in Japanese...

...still...nothing...

Maybe these guys have vendettas against English? Maybe they're just shy? Maybe they have some sort of a learning or speech impediment? Maybe they hate my guts. I guess I'll never know because they won't talk to me.

Honorable Mention

Most of my students just come into class, do what they need to do, and leave when the bell rings. While not particularly memorable as individuals, the class as a whole (these ones and all the other special students above) come together to create the "class atmosphere", or "funiki". The group tends to be favored over the individual in Japanese culture, and the classroom is no different. The class atmosphere is crucial factor in how students will individually act. If the class atmosphere is dead, you can forget about anyone raising their hand, even if they are a Student #4. If the atmosphere is loud and crazy, even normally quiet students can turn into Student #3's.

Anyways, that's all I've got for today! Thanks for reading! Please comment below if you have any questions, similar students/experiences, complaints, or have other students that you'd like to share about! :)