The SMILE stands for Students Meet Internationally through Language Education, which means the project helps build friendships between international students by facilitating fun communication via the online system.
The SMILE Project is a project that connects Japanese schools with overseas schools via an online conference system to enjoy intercultural communication. Participants communicate on an equal footing, using English as a common language or another language. Activities will be recorded using the Dialogbook system and used for future learning. Teachers from both schools will be responsible for the initiative in carrying out the series of activities, with support from WILL. Learning about different cultures can also lead to reexamining one’s own culture. Gain a global sensibility while enjoying conversation.
Seven Features of the SMILE Project
- Small group work
- Interactions with only learners of the same age
- Programs designed consistently from introduction to reflection
- Learning support systems friendly to ICT beginners
- Clarifying results using data science
- International conferences (SPICE) and training sessions (I-WIT)
- Collaborative communication in English
Small Group Work
At the SMILE project, students usually have three discussions in small groups of four to five people with learners of the same age from overseas.
Generally, our image of “foreign countries” is limited to the shape of the country, as in the map of Japan in the upper left, and we know very little about the people there. When interacting online in groups of several people or more, as in the illustration in the middle, we can form an image of the group, but we don’t become “acquainted” with them. It is through small group activities that we can see that people overseas also have their own unique personalities, and by meeting the same people three times, we can connect as “people.”
Interactions With Only Learners of the Same Age
Students participate in group activities on their own, at the SMILE project. Teachers do not enter the online world but provide support from outside.
Learners sit at a distance from each other and interact online, as shown in the photo on the left.
Topics vary for each project, but we encourage learners to talk about things that are relevant to them. Typically, the first session is about self-introductions (hobbies, school, favorite subjects, etc.), the second is about cultural exchange (anime, manga, K-pop, online games, cooking/sweets, local festivals, etc.), and the third is about their dreams for the future (ideal university life, desired career, places they want to go, etc.).
Learners become engrossed in their learning, often showing sides of themselves that they don’t show in regular classes. The image on the right shows Thai high school students demonstrating Thai boxing. Their gestures show their level of engagement.
Programs Designed Consistently From Introduction to Reflection
Sufficient preparation is required to communicate in English. Also, reviewing the results will lead to increased confidence and motivation to learn further. To achieve this, it is important to manage the program from introduction to reflection.
At the SMILE, as shown above, in the “introduction” stage, teachers and all students share the goals and objectives of this initiative. In the “preparation” stage, students are instructed and confirmed on the English skills necessary for communication and how to use the equipment needed for online group work, and they consider what they will talk about. In the “practice” stage, students actually do three online group work sessions in English. Finally, in the “reflection” stage, they reflect on the whole experience.
In addition to this basic program, some schools also exchange gifts and short videos, or visit partner schools.
Learning Support Systems Friendly to ICT Beginners
WILL has developed a learning support system called Dialogbook specifically for the SMILE project. The following image shows the learner screen.
My Comments on the left allows students to reflect on lessons and can be used by teachers to leave comments. Next Meeting allows the URL required for collaborative lessons to be shared with partner schools. Self Scoring on the right is a system where students answer questions posed by teachers. It can also be used by teachers to share goals with students in advance.
In order to conduct international collaborative lessons, it is essential to share information with partner schools. While it is possible to use services such as Google, using Dialogbook ensures file storage and information sharing and prevents data leaks.
Clarifying Results Using Data Science
Reflection using Dialogbook can be used in a variety of ways. The following figure shows a word cloud that visualizes changes in vocabulary use in comments written by a student (a first-year high school student) in “My Comments,” along with an example of a sentence used in the reflection. The word cloud not only lists the words used, but also shows frequently occurring words in bold, large letters.
The variety of words expands from left to right, and the length and complexity of written sentences change significantly. Regarding the reason for this change, Iio et al. (2021) analyze that the students’ language use has become richer because they have more to share with their teachers.
The SMILE project has a system in place to capture these changes in students using ICT technology, such as Dialogbook.
International Conferences (SPICE) and Training Sessions (I-WIT)
The SMILE project is a new form of English language education, education for international understanding, and intercultural communication education. To allow teachers running SMILE to experience its results, WILL provides an opportunity for them to report on their practices and present their results every February. In 2024, the international conference SPICE2025 (International Conference on the SMILE Project and Intercultural Communication Education, abbreviated as SPICE) was held at Gadjah Mada University in Indonesia, which included 20 practice reports on SMILE and other international online collaborative classes. On the left is a portion of the conference’s website, and on the right is the program. In 2025, the conference will be held at Thammasat University in Bangkok.
Past participants have commented that not only do the presentations at SPICE serve as a summary of the year, but that seeing other practices and meeting teachers also increases their motivation for the next SMILE program.
To coincide with SPICE, we also hold an International Workshop Initiatives for Teachers (I-WIT), which includes school visits and teacher interactions.
Collaborative Communication in English
The final unique feature of SMILE is that the participants in collaborative classes are learners in East Asia and Southeast Asia who are studying English as a foreign language.
For a school to consistently conduct collaborative classes with overseas partners, it is realistic to keep the time difference to within two hours. Collaborative classes are also possible when teachers and students at the partner school are interested in Japan and Japanese learners.
When native English speakers or learners of European languages are involved in group discussions, learners learning English in Japan tend to adopt an attitude of “learning from the other person.” On the other hand, when the other participants are learners from East Asia and Southeast Asia, a desire to help and understand each other naturally develops.
WILL wants both Japanese learners and overseas learners to be satisfied with their participation and to have an exciting experience. SMILE is run with the desire to contribute to the development of young people who work together across borders and regions to create world peace.