I have just finished reading the final essays that my students wrote in class. I asked the students what they thought the most important thing was that they had learned in this course (An Introduction to Global Issues). Here are some quotes from their essays:

I could learn to be active in class was really important to improve my English skills.

. . . the most important thing is to think deeply and to put it into action.

. . . many ideas give me many choices, and I can choose the best one from them.

Putting ideas into action is important, as well as thinking deeply.

. . . the most important thing is that it is important to have a dream.

Talking of global issues, I learned a lot about them, and I realised that I did not know the world.

My way of thinking changed as I learned about global issues.

The most important thing that I learned in this course is that it is up to us whether the future is good or bad.

. . . I have an important role in the solutions and improvement of this situation (global issues).

I also learned the importance of having and telling my own ideas . . . so I could have the confidence to say my own ideas.

I feel that everyone can understand each other even if their mother tongues are different.

By taking this course, my way of thinking has changed. I have started to think about our earth more than before.

Knowledge is power.

We are living on the earth and issues are getting more international as this world is globalized, so it is neccesary for me to know what kinds of issues we are facing, the factors of the issues, the connection between our lives, and some solutions of the issues.

This course gave me both useful knowledge and useful English skills.

. . . the world's future will be great if human beings take action. On the other hand, the world's future will be terrible if no one does anything.

Before I took this course, I didn't think about what was going on in the world, what problems the world has seriously.

In Japanese classes, there are not many chances to think and talk with classmates about what we think. Through this course, I've learned thinking is importnat.

. . . I learned the importance of an active attitude toward English . . .

Before I did not have any knowledge about the world's problems, but now I often think about the world's problems not only in English, but also in Japanese.

This course helped me broaden my horizons.

When you, Scott, came to our group and asked something, somebodyin teh group had to say something or answer of course in English. However, one day, I noticed that a few of us spoke every time. On the other hand, most of us didn't speak in English at all. Instead of English, some of us spoke Japanese. Then, you can you guess what was a result of this trend? A few of us were able to talk and speak English much better than last year. Now, they can speak as fluently as English people. However, people who spoke Japanese could not improve their speaking ability. Maybe it was better than before, but not as great an improvement as people who spoke English a lot.

There were also a lot of other great ideas in the final essays. I wish I could share them all with the world. I am so happy that my students seem to have learned so much. I think they really "got it" and understand what I was trying to do in the class. I'd also like to thank my teacher at the University of Calgary, Dr. Hetty Roessingh for pointing me in the right direction, and teaching me how to teach. Her theory of "learning by design" really works!