Opinion and Perspective
Encouraging First-Year University
Students to Embrace an Active
Learning Environment
Claire Ryan
International University of Health and WelfareThis paper explores the challenges that many first-year students face when joining English
classes at universities in Japan. English classes at Japanese high schools tend to take a teachercentric approach, with very little opportunity for students to actively use the English
they are being taught. When students make the move to tertiary education, they may besurprised to learn that they are expected to be active participants in their English classes.
For some students, the fear that they feel about speaking out in English can greatly hinder
their learning progress. There are some factors that educators should take into consideration
which will help make the transition smoother. In this paper, I outline my own experiences
and offer some suggestions for creating a learning environment where students feel confident
and empowered to become active participants.

Ask many Japanese people about their experience with learning English in highschool, and you can almost guarantee the answer will be the same. Most will tell
you that their English classes involved reading and writing silently, rote learningof expressions, and little to no active use of the language. The predominance of
this teaching style is evident both through stories I have heard from students
about their hours of classes spent translating long passages into English, andin previous research published on the topic. Kimura et al. (2001) note that “inJapan the most popular teaching methods have been teacher-centered rather thanlearner-centered” (p. 50), with a focus on a lecture-style class where the instructor
speaks and students listen. This can then lead to confusion among students when
they enter university and find that their English courses take a much more active
approach to learning.
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While there may be students who embrace the change and throw themselves
into the English-speaking environment with enthusiasm, the majority—in myexperience, at least—are hesitant at best and can be completely uncooperative
at worst. Couple this with the fact that many of these students are living awayfrom home for the first time without their parents pushing them out the door toclass each morning. It can be a challenge to get them into the habit of attendingclasses where they are expected to actively and enthusiastically use English everyday. However, there are some steps we can take to make the process flow moresmoothly. Here are some ideas that worked for me.

Set expectations early on“[T]he switch from passive to active learning (AL) cannot happen unless thestudents are prepared by the teacher to participate in learning activities,” notes
Kanduboda (2020; p. 153); therefore, setting the expectations that you have forthe students from the first class onwards is critical. Give students the outline of
the course, including any group projects or assignments that will be required.
Start the first lesson off with ice-breaker activities that put students in groups
to work together or discuss a topic. In my classes, I have found that one great
way to get students working together is to set a competitive group activity as thefirst warm-up. One example that seems to bring students together is “Correctthe Teacher”. I show the students 10 sentences, each one containing an error inspelling or grammar, and they have to work together as a team to identify allof the mistakes. The first group to correct all 10 sentences wins. Another great
option for groups is a version of Scattergories. Choose three topics (for example,fruits, country names, verbs) and one letter. Students must work together to list
as many words that begin with that letter as they can in each of the categories. The
team with the most correct words after three minutes wins. Allowing students tochoose a team name together gives them a shared identity as important membersof the group, and the competitive aspect really helps to bring them out of theirshell in pursuit of victory. There are no prizes for winning or penalties for losing
so it keeps the atmosphere light and fun.
Another option that will help to set expectations is designating your119

Ryanclassroom as an English-only zone with signs if necessary. This helps to reinforce
the speaking expectations you have for students. For example, you may set arule that it’s perfectly fine for them to chat together before and after class but,when they are in your classroom, they must chat in English. However, if they
are completely new to learning English, you may find it easier to allow someconversations in the students’ mother tongue to avoid students feeling likethey can’t express their true feelings at all. I find that it’s helpful to walk aroundthe room and monitor the discussions. Use your best judgement. One student
quickly explaining an instruction to another in their native language will not
be disruptive to class, but a group of students completing the class speaking
task without using any English will. Where necessary, jump in with simple
instructions in English or a gentle reminder to any students speaking Japanese
too frequently. After a few classes, I have found that students in my classes will
start to police themselves and each other, and it becomes unnecessary for me tostep in and remind them to speak English.

Make it easy at first

Spend any amount of time in a classroom in Japan, and you will learn that most
students will be reluctant to speak out or offer an opinion unless specifically called
on to do so by the instructor. And even then, many will hesitate to share what they
really think, worrying that they don’t have the “right answer” even in situations
where there is no “one right answer”. Their fears may range from making mistakes
in English, to “wasting” other students’ time by sharing their own thoughts, togiving an opinion that is out of line with the rest of the class. Questions may
not be asked because “if [students] could not understand something, they would
blame themselves for their lack of understanding, rather than questioning theteacher” (Banks, 2016; p. 71). Students are likely to feel far more comfortablegiving an answer when they have had some time to consult with group members
or prepare what they are going to say ahead of time, rather than being put on thespot and asked to speak spontaneously.
While it may seem a slow and laborious process to allow students toconsult with each other before saying anything, recognizing and embracing this120

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preferred style of communication can have a positive impact on students’ overall
feeling towards speaking up in English in the future. So, for the first few weeks,make things easy for them. Miller (1995) advises that, when teaching Japanese
students in an active communication style of English lesson, “[g]iving learners
rehearsal time and pointers on delivery might help to assuage students’ initialfears about doing poorly. As time passed, opportunities for more spontaneousand unrehearsed talk could be introduced” (p. 47).
I put this technique into practice in almost all of my lessons in the first few
months of the school year. For example, in a lesson where students used new
vocabulary presented in class to complete a gap-fill exercise, I allowed them sometime to work by themselves, then to check their answers with a partner and help
each other with any unknown answers. I walked around the room to monitor
their discussions and when I felt that they had had enough time to complete theexercise, I then called on students to share their answers. The students who werecalled on answered correctly at this point, having felt empowered in their choiceof answer by confirming with another student first. When students understandthat they won’t be put on the spot and pressured to speak without preparation,
they will feel comfortable in the class. As time goes on, this comfort will turninto confidence, to the point where they and feel able to speak up without
needing advance preparation time in the future.

Praise and encourage

The impact of praise on students’ motivation can’t be overstated – especially if
those students are nervous about expressing themselves in English for the firsttime or in a new way. “One way to promote a growth mindset is to use effort
praise to students, including those who are struggling. Teachers should regularly
praise the efforts of their students as this can eventually lead to better… skills,”
write Calingasan and Plata (2022, p. 609). The accuracy or length of speech is notimportant here; the key is the effort that the students are putting in. Recognize thedifficulty that students may feel and how much they may be pushing themselves
out of their comfort zone and embrace any willingness to make an effort at thisearly stage in their English language journey. In my classes, I try to consistently
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monitor students’ use of English and commend their efforts for speaking, nomatter how short the sentence they are able produce is. In this way, I try to create
the feeling that the classroom is a welcoming environment where students canfeel like productive members of the conversation.
The method of error correction used in class can also have an impact at thisstage. Rather than pointing out individual errors directly to the students whomake them, I monitor classroom activities and make a note of the most common
mistakes I hear and give some general feedback about these points to the groupas a whole. For example, if there is a grammatical error that comes up frequently,I will write an example of the error in an incorrect sentence on the whiteboard
and have students help me to correct it. I then follow up by explaining why theoriginal sentence was wrong and how students can avoid making that error infuture. In this way, students can still learn from their mistakes without feelinglike they are being pointed out in front of the group. This will encourage
students to become braver in the future and try more complex utterances safein the knowledge that there is no punishment for failure, rather that they will
be rewarded for trying. As Burden (2004) writes, “If teachers reward successfulcommunication, they send the message to their students that there is more tolanguage learning than just grammatical rules and forms” (p. 14).

Be flexible

Finally, learn to go with the flow. Each class group is made up of different
personalities, with different goals for learning English and different preferredlearning styles. What may work perfectly for one class may go down like alead balloon in another. Be prepared to adapt and adjust your lessons basedon the needs of students, and you will be rewarded with increased interest andinteraction from them. I often advise my students that the best way to learn isby making mistakes, and I feel that the same rule applies to educators as well. Bylearning what does and doesn’t work with our classes, adjusting our lesson plans
to fit the needs of our students, and keeping a flexible attitude, we can create alearning environment where students feel secure and motivated to jump into thisbrave new world of active communication in English.
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Conclusion

As first-year university students are thrust into an active learning classroom forthe first time, it is understandable that they may feel uncertain and nervous about
participating fully. Their fears can be compounded if they feel that they are at alower ability level than others, or if they don’t understand what the teacher isinstructing them to do in class. If this is not recognized and addressed by theinstructor, it can cause some students to shy away completely from speaking
English and result in poor test scores and a complete unwillingness to participate
in speaking activities. “When learners view the classroom as anxiety inducing,
they often feel as if they are swimming among sharks and become less sociallyoriented, less assertive, and more withdrawn” (Burden, 2004, p. 17). In my firstyear university English classes, I have seen students in week one who would only
speak Japanese in group and pair discussions, and who would react with terror
when asked to contribute their opinion to a discussion. By using the techniques
mentioned in this paper, these same students were enthusiastically engaging withtheir classmates in English within a matter of weeks.
With careful action, instructors can create a welcoming classroom
environment where any effort from students is praised, where learners aresupported to feel confident in their abilities, and where every member of theclass can thrive and succeed.

References

Banks, S. (2016). Behind Japanese students’ silence in English classrooms.
Accents Asia, 8(2), 54–75.
Burden, P. (2004). The teacher as facilitator: Reducing anxiety in the EFL
university classroom. JALT Hokkaido Journal, 8, 3–18.
Calingasan, K. A., & Plata, S. M. (2022). Effects of effort praise on struggling
Filipino ESL readers’ motivation and mindset. Indonesian Journal ofApplied Linguistics, 11(3), 601–611.
Kanduboda, P. B. (2020). Fostering active interaction and engagement among
students via translanguaging: The case of students in Japanese universities
from diverse cultural backgrounds, Journal of the Asia-Japan Research123

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Institute of Ritsumeikan University, 2, 151–165.
Kimura, Y., Nakata, Y., & Okumura, T. (2001). Language learning motivationof EFL learners in Japan—A cross-sectional analysis of various learning
milieus. JALT Journal, 23, 47–68.
Miller, T. (1995). Japanese learners’ reactions to communicative English lessons,
JALT Journal, 17(1), 31–52.

Author bio

Claire Ryan is an assistant professor at International University of Health andWelfare, Narita campus. She is from Ireland and has been teaching in Japan since2016. Her research interests include learner autonomy and self-motivation. claire@iuhw.ac.jp
Received: April 26, 2022
Accepted: June 11, 2022

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