Supporter Demonstration and How to Facilitate

【About how to facilitate】

This video is a demonstration of what World Cafe looks like online. Some points will not apply to in-person World Cafe sessions, but you can still get a general idea for what World Cafe is like. In this demonstration we show how a Supporter can facilitate smoothly when there are shy Japanese students. 

(※The language for this demonstration is English, but the points we would like you to consider apply to World Cafe of any language, so it will be useful for Supporters for languages other than English as well.) 

＜About the video＞

• The video is about as long as World Cafe usually is (40 minutes), so you may skip ahead or fast forward while watching.

• Every week there are students who participate in World Cafe for the first time. There are days when most of the participants are outgoing and talk actively, and there are days when most students are shy and do not speak out unless called on or asked a question. This video is an example of when there are relatively shy participants. 

＜Points in the video we would like you to take note of＞

1. Let’s call participants by their names, and ask if they have questions or comments!
   Some students can be shy, so there are often times where no one will say anything even if you ask ‘‘Do you have any questions?’’ However, in most cases it is not that they do not want to talk; they just do not feel confident enough to do so! Like in this video, most students will have something to say if you call on them by name. Especially in the very beginning many students will wait to be called on, so try calling on them by name until they feel confident and start talking on their own.
   For in-person sessions it is not as important to call on people to talk, since conversation flows more naturally in-person, but you may still find this tip to be useful. 

2. Have the participants talk to each other!
   We would like Supporters to try and make sure each participant gets to talk as much as possible. Like in this video, if participants can ask questions to each other, and not just answer questions from the Supporter, the number of opportunities for each participant to speak increases. The participants should say 'Do you have any questions for me?' after their self-intro and talk about the theme, but you can also ask, 'Does anyone have any questions for __?' 

3. Let’s write out words frequently or use the chat function!
   When words or phrases come up that a participant does not know, if you are in-person you can write on a piece of paper or show on your smartphone or other device, or if you are online you can type them out and send them in the Chat. If it looks like a participant doesn’t understand a word, ask ‘‘Do you know that word?’’  Many students will not have the courage to ask even if they do not know the meaning of something, but students are often satisfied with World Cafe when they can learn new words or phrases! (For reference, see below the section ‘‘Chat used in this video.’’) 

4. Make use of your smartphone or computer, or the screen-sharing function on Zoom!

By using the screen-sharing function on Zoom or using your smartphone or computer in-person to show actual images during your conversation, such as where you are from on a map, or internet search results for foods that you introduce from your country, participants can more easily visualize what is being talked about and it can make the conversation more fun.

5. Other points：

◆There will be times when participating students are quiet because they are nervous, especially if it is their first time, and you might worry if they had fun or not. However, if you do your best to facilitate while taking into account the points above, there is no reason to worry. Most students, even the quiet ones, tell us on the participant surveys that they have fun! 

◆In one group there will typically be one Supporter and up to 4 participants. In this video there were only 2 participants with 1 Supporter for a more relaxed pace, but when there are more participants it may be necessary to speed up a little the time used for self introductions and the theme of the week. 

◆At the beginning of the session, if you would like to try and get a sense for the language level of the participants even just a little, you can try asking simple questions like in this video.

◆In this video the names of the participants do not show, but for in-person World Cafe we provide small papers for everyone to write their names, and on Zoom you will be able to see them on the screen when doing Online World Cafe. 

＜Chat used in this video＞

01:00:09 JACOB BOWDLE: Sorry, could you please say that again? Can you repeat that one more time?

01:00:32 JACOB BOWDLE: Could you please speak a little slower? Could you please speak more slowly?

01:04:51 JACOB BOWDLE: Alternative Rock

01:05:10 JACOB BOWDLE: Coldplay

01:06:08 JACOB BOWDLE: Fortnite

01:09:10 KAZUKO: Sekisei inko

01:09:37 JACOB BOWDLE: parrot

01:11:04 JACOB BOWDLE: Tweet tweet

01:19:24 JACOB BOWDLE: Pesto

01:22:22 Sachiyo: Hiyashi Chuka

01:26:05 Sachiyo: Ajinomoto

01:26:54 KAZUKO: Natto

01:30:21 JACOB BOWDLE: Macaroni and Cheese