Teaching Practicum in UTSS

The most exciting moment had arrived, the teaching practicum in the third week of the program. I was assigned to teach two classes, which is in Class 2B (for three sessions) and Class 2A (for two sessions). Preparations had been made well in advance. Using the Indonesian high school textbook English For Change as a reference, I developed a lesson plan based on that book and tried to use the same approach as in Indonesia, known as GBA. Every afternoon after school, I would consult with Kato-sensei to ensure everything was in place, including preparing printed handouts and PowerPoint slides.

My first day teaching Class 2B was both a new and challenging experience. Although this was my homeroom class, it was my first time teaching English to students in Japan. I opened the class by asking how they were doing and greeting them with a few words in Japanese, which basically meant, “I’ll be teaching here for three sessions. If you’re confused, please raise your hand, call my name, and ask.”

The first topic I covered was “Stating Opinions.” My first impression of the class was that the students were very shy. When I showed a picture and asked for their opinions, the classroom fell silent. Not a single student had the courage to answer. I quickly realized that they might not yet be adapted to my interactive teaching style. As a result, I kept adjusting my approach, always checking their understanding during breaks in the explanation by asking, “Do you understand, or are you confused?” To overcome this awkwardness, I increased the number of group discussion sessions so they could exchange ideas without feeling nervous. The 45-minute session concluded with an assignment to write their opinions, which would be collected next week.

Next, I entered the 2A class for our first session. I began the class by calling their names one by one, introducing myself, and explaining a few things regarding the learning activities for the next two sessions. With the same “Stating Opinion” material, I found a slightly different vibe here. When I asked for their opinions based on an image, two students were brave enough to answer. Even though they stuttered, I could clearly understand their meaning. The courage of these two students seemed to spark the others to speak up as well. The discussion session I had allocated for 3 minutes was even completed in just 2 minutes, with the students answering confidently when asked.

Since the class moved faster than the 45-minute duration, Kato-sensei used the remaining time to open a casual Q&A session. Students were free to ask me anything, ranging from my experiences in Japan, my favorite foods, to the games I’m currently playing. This warm-hearted session concluded with the same assignment as the previous class.

Next journey of my teaching practicum at Tsukusaka Senior High School is becoming increasingly challenging. After getting past the initial awkwardness of the first session, it’s now time to dive into more in-depth material and face direct evaluation from the teachers there.

Moving on to the next teaching session in Class 2B, we focused on word stress—a crucial element when expressing opinions orally. Still using the group discussion method, this time I introduced a context closer to their daily lives: writing opinions in the form of Instagram captions. The students analyzed word stress in the example captions to ensure the message was conveyed accurately. As the final assignment for the session, they were asked to create a caption containing their opinion on a topic to be presented individually during the third session.

The next challenge came when I taught the second (and final) session in 2A class. To be honest, I felt incredibly nervous because this time I was being directly observed by several Tsukusaka teachers, including Bagot-sensei, Arum-sensei, Kato-sensei, Ryo-sensei, and even Mr. Compter, who were there to see how I teach at this school. However, I tried to stay confident. I presented the material on word stress and its application in social media captions. Before I knew it, the class was over. Since this was the final session with Class 2A, I concluded the session by distributing their assignment results along with feedback, expressing my gratitude, and handing out sticky notes so they could write down their impressions, messages, and suggestions regarding my class.

The next day, I held the third session, which also served as a farewell, in Class 2B. Today was entirely dedicated to a feedback session on their caption presentations and their opinions. They enthusiastically compared various things, such as choosing between soccer or basketball, or spring and winter. Just like in the previous class, I handed out sticky notes to gather their impressions and messages about my class, then said goodbye to them.

So many unexpected events occurred during this teaching practice. One of the most memorable moments was when the projector suddenly wouldn’t connect to my laptop. Without panicking, Kato-sensei, assisted by another teacher and the students, together brought a large flat-screen TV into the classroom so that the lesson could continue.

Additionally, since students here are accustomed to teacher-centered methods and printed handouts containing new vocabulary, I had to create special vocabulary sheets to help them better understand the material. Interestingly, when checking assignments, some students answered in Japanese, so I had to translate each word one by one first!

From this entire experience, I gained a very valuable lesson: the teaching approaches or techniques used in Indonesia cannot necessarily be directly implemented in Japan. Differences in conditions, learning habits, and student culture require me to be a highly adaptive teacher. I can’t always immediately determine whether students understand the material just by looking at their facial expressions. That’s why the sticky notes they wrote at the end of class became incredibly valuable evaluation notes for my future pedagogical reflection.

The twists and turns of this teaching practicum were not just a way to fulfill a university requirement, but a real-life classroom that shaped me into a more aware and mature aspiring educator for my future journey. Thank you to Sensei and also the students of Class 2B and 2A at Tsukusaka Senior High School.

Some Pictures of teaching practicum: