Global Issues in Language Education: Issue 31. Jun. 1998. (p. 16)
An EFL Peace Museum Field Trip
by Sabrina and Winston Welch
(Doshisha University, Kyoto, Japan)
For several years now, we have included a student excursion to a
local peace museum as summer homework as part of our content-based "Global
Studies" English course at Kyoto University of Foreign Studies.
Our Global Studies EFL course focusses on English speaking skills,
and the issue of war and peace is a basic part of the course. We came up
with the idea of the peace museum excursion in order to enrich our unit on
peace and war, and to increase student awareness so as to stimulate further
discussion of these issues.
Students were asked to visit the "Peace Osaka" Museum in Osaka City
as their summer homework and were required to turn in a minimum two-page
paper on what they experienced and felt about the exhibition and the museum
itself. The museum proved ideal for our English language learners, since
the displays are bilingual in both English and Japanese. This particular
museum was also chosen for its relatively balanced and objective approach
to this potentially controversial subject. The main focus is on World War
II in Asia and Japan, including information about the Japanese occupation
of Korea and China. The first class period following the summer break was
used to debrief the students and to have them share their experiences (in
English or Japanese) with their classmates. Here are representative
comments from (unedited) student reports:
- The Osaka Peace Museum was interesting and worth going to because we
should know the history whether good or not, also the museum made me think
of consideration for other people who live in other countries.
- I could find new information about World War II that I have never heard
or seen in school textbook before. I felt deceived by my own high school
textbook.
- I think people in Japanese and all governments must visit to such a place
and know about it. We need new world, but we don't need to repeat history.
- Nowadays we live in rich and happy society, but we take it for granted
because a lot of people forget exactly what happened about 50 years ago.
The Osaka Peace Museum was nice and precious place not to forget the
preciousness of peace in Japan.
- Thank you for giving me this assignment. To tell the truth, I don't like
writing a report but to write what I look at and I think is very important.
I could make sure of my emotions and how I felt about it and what I thought
about it before discussion through writing a report.
- It helps me to talk and teach my children or anybody who asks me.
- After my two classmates and I saw the exhibition, we talked a lot about
our children's future, Korean people living in Japan, etc. We seldom talk
about these things in daily life.
The comments given show that the students overwhelmingly found the
field trip a useful and valuable experience. They were able, in most cases,
to gain important knowledge, awareness and personal insight into the topics
at the museum. We also feel they gained critical thinking skills, as well.
They could learn of the historical experience of Japan and its relations
with its Asian neighbours in a balanced way so that they can now comprehend
and deal with the reality of the situation as well as form a good
foundation upon which to pursue further studies on their own. They also
learned about World War II in general, and about other current war and
peace issues which they had largely been unaware of until their visit to
the museum.
These comments show how a museum field trip or similar excursion
can aid in increasing student knowledge, awareness and understanding of
critical global issues such as war and peace of which they may have no
experience or previous knowledge, but which are part of their human
heritage. By vicariously experiencing the war in Osaka, our students can
actively imagine their own aspirations and possible future contributions to
peace in a world still struggling to find it.