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1. What prompted you decide to participate in the "JSPS Science Dialogue" program?
Three reasons prompted me decide to participate in the "JSPS Science Dialogue" program. First, I like teaching and this was the first opportunity for me to give a lecture to Japanese students. Second, I was really interested in getting feedbacks on my research from high school students because new insights often come from persons who are "naive" about research topic. Third, a former JSPS post-doc fellow in my research institute told me about his very pleasant experience with the "JSPS Science Dialogue" program
2. To what did you give greatest attention in preparing and giving the lecture?
Making the presentation simple but still attractive so that it would be understandable by and interesting for a general audience not necessarily familiar with the research topic.
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?
I did not really find difficult to give a lecture in English to Japanese students since I am quite familiar with giving talks about my research to an international audience. One advice I could give would be to make the talk as interactive as possible (through questions asked to the students or a practical lab related to the research topic).
4. Could you give your impression with regard to participating in this program?
My impression about this program is by all means positive. I was glad I had this chance to participate in it.
5. Was it meaningful in terms of your fellowship activities?
The talk gave the opportunity to explain my research topic a general audience (as opposed to specialists of my field, as I usually do). The practical work, through the participation of the students in an experiment on the social transmission of behaviors, provided me new with new insights into the factors that may influence behavioral innovation and diffusion in primates.
6. In what ways do you think the students benefited from the program?
The high school teacher told me that this was the first intervention of an English-speaking person in the high school. I hope the lecture and practical work gave the students the opportunity and will to practice their English, as well as the desire for more English interventions in the future.
7. Could you give some overall advice or comments to future participants in the program?
My overall advice to future participants in the program are: 1)try to make the lecture as simple as possible but still attractive for a general audience; 2)propose a practical work to illustrate the lecture and have the students directly involved in the research topic; 3)at the end of the intervention, ask the students about their general impression on the lecture and practical work.
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