First of My Observation in English Class and Theater

School Poster in UTSS

The first day of the program began with a visit by us, the SEA Teacher participants, to Tsukusaka Senior High School. When we arrived, Ms. Bagot and Ms. Regina accompanied us on a tour and introduced us to the teachers. I met with Ms. Arum, teacher from Indonesia that gave food to me and Nabil. The agenda then moved on to a meeting with the supervisor and homeroom teacher. Throughout this program, I was guided by Kato-sensei as my supervisor and Ryo-sensei as my homeroom teacher. The focus of my activities during this first week was observing the English class taught by Kato-sensei.

In the first class, the topic being discussed was Logic and Expression. At that time, each student was presenting their T-GAP (Tsukusaka Global Action Program) project. This program is very interesting because it encourages students to directly design real-world projects aligned with SDG values. They presented their reports in the form of posters, while other students provided written feedback. Afterward, I moved to the second class, which was discussing material on orbits and planets. During the observation, I not only paid attention to the teacher’s teaching methods but also how English was directly applied in the classroom.

There were several interesting findings I observed regarding teaching and learning in Japan. First, the students’ level of focus and discipline is truly impressive. Since the teaching approach remains teacher-centered, the students’ attention is fully focused on the teacher’s explanation at the front of the classroom. However, the teacher’s expressive body language and enthusiasm successfully kept the classroom atmosphere energetic and motivated the students to learn. Another interesting thing is that they still use a chalkboard, combined with printed handouts containing new vocabulary distributed as a learning reference for the students.

English Class by Kato-Sensei

T-GAP Project in English Class by Kato-Sensei

That day, I finished my observation schedule with those two classes. After a break and lunch together, me and my other friends were directed to the theater to watch a drama performance. The play was titled “This is a Test,” a script I had actually seen before during a performance at my university. I must admit that even though the students were still in high school, the quality of their acting was on the same level as my friends in college. From their gestures and vocal intonation to their facial expressions, everything came together to create a theatrical performance that was a treat for the audience’s eyes. Their natural delivery allowed the audience to easily understand the storyline and the emotions they were trying to convey.

"This is a Test" Theater from UTSS Students

The activities at the school finally wrapped up around 4:00 PM. When we arrived at the dormitory, we were given a new assignment: to create a poster presentation comparing the education systems of Indonesia and Japan. We wrapped up this busy day by having dinner while discussing and working on the poster assignment, before finally resting up for our adventure the next day.