American students are very active. They try to share their ideas, ask questions and help each other. Today I went to Eastern Washington University and took a class about Women's Studies. I was so impressed by their attitude during the class.
American students don't leave their question in their mind. At the beginning of the class, the teacher whether students had questions about last lecture or not. A few students raised their hands. Usually, the students who have a question will put down their hands when the other student is asking a question. However, they kept raising their hands while the student was asking the question. I was so surprised because I had never seen this situation. I thought they didn't want to miss this good opportunity. They utilized the teacher's suggestion for learning. I was so impressed by it. I will always ask my question after class when I have questions. Also sometime I will forget asking. I think I want to copy their attitude.
American students always try to learn from a great opportunity. After the time to ask questions, the teacher introduced us to the students. Then the teacher suggested talking to other students about who we were. Also the teacher said that today was the great opportunity to talk with Japanese students. After that, suddenly, two students who sat in front of me and two other students who sat behind me talked to me at the same time. I was so surprised and didn't know which I should choose. At last, I talked to two students who sat behind me. They were very friendly and kind. They asked many questions and answered my questions kindly. They asked many questions about Japan during our conversation. They tried to know about me and Japan in such a short time. We kept talking until the teacher said, "Please stop." At the end of the conversation, they said to me, "Thank you fro giving me such a great opportunity We could learn many things from you." I was so glad because I just talked about me and Japan. Also U was so inspired by their demeanor that they tried to learn from me.
American students help each other to learn and try to use their experience in their leaning. During the lecture, one of the students was confused because the lecture was a little complicated. Then the teacher said, "Please give her an example to help her confusion." Many students raised their hands. One student who raised her hand gave an example from her experience last weekend. Her first sentence to explain was, "I am a lesbian" I was so surprised because it is a really private thing. It was not a shameful thing to her. However, in Japan, students never talk about their private life to explain or give examples, and the teacher doesn't ask the students to give examples. I think it is amazing that students make some examples from their experience for other students. It makes other students understand.. Also the students who give examples can make sure they understand the lecture or not.
American students are totally different from Japanese students. I think all of the differences come from cultural differences. However, I like the American student's learning style. It is so helpful to understand what we learn, such as to share ideas, to try to learn from everything and to participate a lot. Today, I realized American students learn be being active.