There are some teachers I don't like. Not that I hate them, but there's no shared interests and no chemistry, so to speak. So I don't talk to them very often. But I know I should try and make an effort to just stop by for a quick English chat. And here's some nice anecdotal evidence as to why.
Having a Chat
The other day I walked by a class that I hadn't been teaching in that day and decided to say hello. It was after 6th period, school was over so I wasn't too much of a bother. I called out hello to the class and had a pleasant but completely uninteresting (almost to the point of awkwardness) conversation with the teacher.
It went a bit like this:
Hi! How are you?
Did you have a good weekend?
Oh, nice. Well, see you!
A Big Reaction
While we had this mundane small-talk, the 3rd graders were rapt, listening to our back and forth. They remained quiet as I left but as soon as they started peppering the teacher with questions about the meaning of English words they had heard. One girl asked what Sunday (said in English) meant, and then asked if it was Sunday (said in Japanese).
Why it's Worth It
Just this 30 second interaction got such a reaction from the students it was amazing. Not only did they hear and potentially pick up an intuitive understanding of a new word or two, they got to see their role model (their teacher) speak as close to fluently as they understand in English. What a great thing for them to witness.