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1. What prompted you decide to participate in the "JSPS Science Dialogue" program?
I like teaching and I always think it is a rewarding career. Although I have some experience of teaching to undergraduate students (as I am a lecturer in the Faculty of Engineering, University of Ruhuna) I was interested to have an experience of teaching to Japanese students. I used this opportunity to give a lecture to Japanese students and meet their teachers.
2. To what did you give greatest attention in preparing and giving the lecture?
I used pictures, photos and diagrams and tried to keep slides as simple as possible so as to give students a better understanding of what I want to say. More specific research is too complex to understand by the high school students (I think), so I included cultural aspects of my country to the part of my lecture. Whenever it is possible, I tried to compare my culture with Japanese culture so that the students got a chance to speak during the lecture by giving answers to simple questions. This helped me to keep their attention and interest on the lecture I did.
3. Did you find it difficult to give a lecture in English to Japanese students? Could you give some advice to future lecturers on how to facilitate communication with Japanese students?
No, I did not, perhaps because I tried to talk slowly and clearly. In addition, one of my Japanese colleagues helped to translate technical terms.
4. Could you give your impression with regard to participating in this program?
I enjoyed by visiting a high school little far away from my university. The teachers and students are very polite. Organizing of facilities for the lecture was good.
5. Was it meaningful in terms of your fellowship activities?
Yes. We are doing research to advance knowledge of science and technology so as to provide a better, safe and quality life to public. I think it is always good to meet public and tell them what we are doing for them. Sometimes, their questions can be interesting topics for the future direction of research.
6. In what ways do you think the students benefited from the program?
The students have got an opportunity to learn a few basic topics of current research activities from a foreign researcher. This may motivate them to become researchers in future.
7. Could you give some overall advice or comments to future participants in the program?
I would suggest researchers, who are interested on participating to this programme, to contact teachers before the lecture and get some understanding of the level of students’ back ground on your field of research. This will help you to prepare materials, which will easily be understood by the students.
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