An Unexpected Shock at the Zoo

The trickiest parts of learning a language are finding opportunities to use that language, and building confidence to speak freely. While English is a compulsory school subject in Japan, immersive contexts with opportunities to use English are hard to come by. 

Apart from the odd Japanese sentence or word, it is encouraged that Second Family English (SFE) members interact in English. This is easier said than done when it comes to the youngest Japanese members. For them to speak, it takes trust, comfort, and ample opportunities to use language.

We have two rules to help reinforce using English: 

1. Speak English to your SFE Carer unless it's an unknown phrase

2. If a bub babbles in Japanese or neglects a learned phrase, they have to jump 10 times ('Bye-Bye Japanese')

To practice their English, the English-lesson bubs of my (Becca's) Family Circle went to Higashiyama Zoo in Nagoya. 

The aim was simple: get the bubs to use English outside of the classroom environment. 

There were four bubs on the trip: Kota, Sota, Yura, and Yuri. 

Kota is the big brother of the group. His English ability is like a freight train hurtling through snowy tracks; he has the confidence to say what he wants to regardless of whether or not the grammar is correct. His motivation for studying English is at an intrinsic level in which he wants to improve his language skills for personal goals - mainly because he loves being the center of attention as an extrovert. 

Sota is Kota's younger brother, and loves to study. He is the personification of perfectionism, and will hold back on speaking English unless the grammar and vocabulary are perfect. His motivation is both intrinsic and extrinsic, meaning he likes the power of having English knowledge, but also likes to receive rewards from Becca and his family when he shows effort. He is a born introvert, and loses confidence and his temper when he makes errors. Prior to joining Second Family English, Sota and his brother had little to no English knowledge.

Yura is the newest English-lesson bub to SFE, and uses English with a lot of scaffolding (teacher assistance). She relies on extrinsic motivation (rewards) to study English, and only knows what she has been taught through SFE lessons. Although she has extrovert traits, she is shy when using English and needs a lot of prompting.

Yuri is the youngest English-lesson bub, and has the most experience with English. She can communicate effectively with previously-studied grammar, and has intrinsic and extrinsic motivation in that she loves to interact with her teachers in English, and equally loves receiving rewards. She is a very shy introvert.

To start off the zoo trip, the bubs had to feel comfortable and safe using English. We did this by making friends with each other (introductions and finding common interests), wash-and-rinsing simple English grammar ("Hello.", "I like koalas.", "It is red.", "I am sleepy.", etc.), and letting bubs interact with the animal exhibits in their own way instead of teacher-directed instructions. 

As the zoo trip progressed, the bubs felt more inclined to use English with each other, and took turns leading the group to the next exhibit. For the intrinsic motivation bubs (Kota, Sota, and Yuri), leading the group and seizing English opportunities came naturally - they could communicate with each other in English without holding back. For the extrinsic motivation bubs (Yura), it was not an easy task and branching past the wash-rinse English grammar proved to be tricky - she almost solely relied on Japanese to communicate with the other bubs. 

That was until we reached the amphibian exhibit at the end of our trip. Kota, Sota, and Yuri were examining an exhibit together while Yura looked through the glass window of a bigger exhibit, searching for the critter inside.

I almost jumped out of my skin when Yura let out a shriek. 

"Becca, look! I hand... window touch. It big! So scary!" Yura was pointing to a giant salamander resting under a rock near her hand. She was grinning as she called the other bubs over to watch. "Big, scary, yucky! Snake? No. Fish? No. Eyes are white. Yes." 

This was an astonishing break through for Yura and her language acquisition progress. Not only had her mind immediately switched to English in a moment of shock, she had taken the opportunity to express her feelings and observations in English to her Japanese friends. This was something she hadn't done before, nor did I expect her to try  at this stage of language acquisition. 

For the remainder of the trip, Yura tried to speak English at any opportunity. 

It goes to show that with a comfortable environment, trusting bonds of friends, and plenty of opportunities outside of a classroom context to use language, bubs will surprise you with how much they understand and are willing to use.