There are many ways that pupils participate in classes. Considering positive class participation, “offering ideas’” has been emphasized. Attitude for lessons, ideas and actions of pupils which are explicit and observable are meaningful information for teachers to understand pupils, and to conduct lessons. Fujiu(1991) explained the behavior “raising hands and offering ideas” with self-efficacy(Bandura, 1984), but such learning behaviors of pupils are not only decided with personal characteristics, but also with explicit factors. Some pupils may participate without these behavioral indicators of involvement by watching, listening, and thinking (Turner & Patrick, 2004). Fuse et al.(2006) also pointed out as pupils’ positive class participation with quiet behaviors “eye contact and listening”, which is very important to judge whether a pupil is motivated on learning. However, pupils who don’t express their own ideas or thoughts explicitly are difficult to be understood by the class teacher. Is there any alternative way to get their thoughts or ideas and share them with other pupils? That may help other pupils to enhance their learning, and may be good information for the teachers to conduct lessons. Additionally, to “listen to” someone’s thoughts, some other pupils must offer theirs. So listening to others’ ideas and expressing their own ideas are related with each other, and pupils who don’t only listen to others’ ideas but to offer their opinions are desirable in cooperative learning. How can teachers help quiet pupils to offer their ideas without forcing?

I observed one unit of Japanese lessons (10 lessons) for sixth formers at an elementary school, recording 32 pupils and the class teacher’s remarks and actions with video cameras and IC recorder. In the lessons, discussions on the topics which had been proposed by the pupils were held. I checked the teacher’s discourse and actions to share the pupils’ opinions with other classmates. In addition, I picked up some pupils who changed on their class participation from just listening to others’ ideas to offering their own ideas. From these cases, I explored what had triggered their changes and how the teacher could help pupils to tell their opinions.

The class teacher looked on some pupils that participated in classes by listening others’ ideas eagerly and had their own ideas, but didn’t offer them. So she tried them to write the ideas on their notebooks, and made and passed out a view format of thoughts of everyone. She sometimes wrote the opinions took from the notebooks on a blackboard and showed them to other pupils. Those may be the ways to share the ideas of pupils who don’t offer them in the lessons. To support them to offer their thoughts, some ways were conceivable. The teacher talked pupils privately during recesses, and told how wonderful their ideas were. In addition, the teacher sometimes gave them time to talk with friends in the lessons and allowed them to offer the ideas as joint ideas. Such helps might let them be confident and lead them to try to offer their thoughts.