The school year in Japan is on a completely different schedule compared to the U.S. The end of the school year is almost here, with the 3rd graders in Junior High Schools (JHS) around the country gearing up to graduate next Tuesday.
This week, the 3rd graders (American 9th Graders) sat for the public high school Admission test on Tuesday and Wednesday. So, at my Favorite school, we had a reward party the whole day for them.
It began at 8:45 with a ceremony, it is Japan you know where ceremonies are a HUGE staple. The ni-nen-seis (2nd graders/American 8th graders) put on the party for the 3rd graders. So, they gave announcements and speeches during the opening ceremony. After that, we all walked to the top of the biggest mountain on Erabu. It's called 大山（おおやま/ooyama). Which means "Big Mountain" in Japanese. But, it's pretty small. So, it only took about 30 minutes to walk up to the top. Once there, we had a beautiful view of the island. I took some pictures: (on the way)
We got there and played Frisbee-style dodgeball. Pretty fun!
Afterwards, there was another ceremony put on by the 2nd graders. They gave out gag gifts to the 3rd graders and talked about how they would miss them once they started high school. Pretty emotional stuff!
Afterwards, we all headed outside to enjoy the sun (with a little chill in the air, thanks to the wind) and ate our bentos (home-made lunches...). I headed off to eat with the teachers. I try and grab whatever opportunity I can to hang out with the teachers. I love the teachers at this school -- we are always laughing at some joke or other. Joking in another language is seriously hard, because you never know if your type of humour is going to work out or not. But, with these teachers we just mesh. So, it's great.
After lunch, we headed back down the mountain. Again, beautiful pictures!!
And then, the students had class vs. class sports off. The girls played volleyball and the boys played soccer. I would guess that volleyball and soccer ... well, and baseball, are the top sports in Japan.
Days like this make me want to stay another year. And, you know, I think if I were at this school more than once a week. Maybe the decision to stay another year or not would have been different. But, for now, I'm happy with my decision!
I hope the nip in the air leaves before the parents arrive. When you don't feel the breeze its warm enough to go sunning. Keep your fingers crossed for good weather!!
~Steph
P.S. T-8 days!!!!
P.S.S. NO SPELLING MISTAKES. Though, grammar is probably another issue. :(
Thursday, March 10, 2011
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
English is Difficult
So, part of this post is inspired by a blogger living in Brazil and teaching English. You can find her blog here. She, I believe, majored in linguistics and a lot of her posts focus on the intricacies of English, Portuguese, and teaching English as a Foreign Language. Really interesting and I highly recommend it!
Anyways, my lovely friend Liz sent me a little moleskin notebook that I can carry around in my purse and record thoughts/sketches (not sure if the sketches will be happening, as I'm a horrible drawer, but we'll see).
Today, during my Eikaiwa (Adult English Conversation Class) my students asked a lot of really good questions. They usually do ask good questions, but I was surprised today. First off, the difference between "former" and "previous". This was really hard for me to answer at first because I couldn't explain why I use it differently. Think about it. The former president Bush (vs.) the previous president was Bush. There is a small difference. I tried to explain it as "former" being something that 'was, but is not anymore'. Like, my former professor. This person was my professor, but isn't anymore. Also, I think former is referring to any period before not just the one just before. While "previous" means more 'the one before this'. Like, the previous book I read. Means the book I read before this. What do you think? Is this totally wrong? I don't know why this was so hard. I think it's the little nuances that can be the hardest to explain.
Another point we discussed was how to say 'a lot of something'. My students (bear in mind, they are both middle-aged mothers) often tease me about different things. Like, when I sometimes buy foreign food online (I live on a tiny island... so foreign food really isn't American foreign food... just not Japanese food) it usually comes in a big size because I don't buy it often. They tease that it's American sized. Anyways, recently, we've been teasing about gokiburi (cockroaches) coming out. Ewwwwww! I killed my first cockroach of the season yesterday (still a little scarred). And they told me the place that has the most cockroaches is the bathroom behind the toilet.
So, one of my students used the bathroom today and I asked her if there were any cockroaches. She responded, "Yes, many, many cockroaches, " jokingly. And then paused and asked me if using "many, many" was correct. I explained that we don't say "many, many" though I've become used to it while living in Japan. And that we say "a lot of". But, then I said... more conversationally, we say "lots of". When they asked me why it changes I explained that I think American English likes one sound to kind of lead into the other. When you say "a lot of" you have to pause between "lot" and "of", but with "lots of" it flows and almost becomes one word. I think we do this with a lot of words. Is this true, or am I making stuff up and teaching my students wrong??
During the lesson, I also found out how amazingly cheaper university is in Japan. They told me the average price for public is about $5,000 a YEAR. WHAT?! I was so surprised. Whereas, private is about $20,000 a year, which makes more sense to me. And also, public university is better than private. Interesting, huh?
Also, the san nen seis (third year students) in both middle school and high school (so American 9th and 12th graders, respectively) are taking their public examination this week. The 9th graders to get into public high school and the 12th graders to get into public university. And, apparently at the high school just ONE student has passed the public university test. I hope my students are just exaggerating. Is education on the islands/inaka (rural) area of Japan really that bad?
Also, my parents come in 9 days!! Can't wait to see them and have our tour of Japan!
~Steph
P.S. I had SEVEN spelling mistakes in this blog. Apparently, I can no longer spell surprised. Kept spelling it suprised. I tell you, I'm losing my English. I forgot the word for crutches and transcript today.
Anyways, my lovely friend Liz sent me a little moleskin notebook that I can carry around in my purse and record thoughts/sketches (not sure if the sketches will be happening, as I'm a horrible drawer, but we'll see).
Today, during my Eikaiwa (Adult English Conversation Class) my students asked a lot of really good questions. They usually do ask good questions, but I was surprised today. First off, the difference between "former" and "previous". This was really hard for me to answer at first because I couldn't explain why I use it differently. Think about it. The former president Bush (vs.) the previous president was Bush. There is a small difference. I tried to explain it as "former" being something that 'was, but is not anymore'. Like, my former professor. This person was my professor, but isn't anymore. Also, I think former is referring to any period before not just the one just before. While "previous" means more 'the one before this'. Like, the previous book I read. Means the book I read before this. What do you think? Is this totally wrong? I don't know why this was so hard. I think it's the little nuances that can be the hardest to explain.
Another point we discussed was how to say 'a lot of something'. My students (bear in mind, they are both middle-aged mothers) often tease me about different things. Like, when I sometimes buy foreign food online (I live on a tiny island... so foreign food really isn't American foreign food... just not Japanese food) it usually comes in a big size because I don't buy it often. They tease that it's American sized. Anyways, recently, we've been teasing about gokiburi (cockroaches) coming out. Ewwwwww! I killed my first cockroach of the season yesterday (still a little scarred). And they told me the place that has the most cockroaches is the bathroom behind the toilet.
So, one of my students used the bathroom today and I asked her if there were any cockroaches. She responded, "Yes, many, many cockroaches, " jokingly. And then paused and asked me if using "many, many" was correct. I explained that we don't say "many, many" though I've become used to it while living in Japan. And that we say "a lot of". But, then I said... more conversationally, we say "lots of". When they asked me why it changes I explained that I think American English likes one sound to kind of lead into the other. When you say "a lot of" you have to pause between "lot" and "of", but with "lots of" it flows and almost becomes one word. I think we do this with a lot of words. Is this true, or am I making stuff up and teaching my students wrong??
During the lesson, I also found out how amazingly cheaper university is in Japan. They told me the average price for public is about $5,000 a YEAR. WHAT?! I was so surprised. Whereas, private is about $20,000 a year, which makes more sense to me. And also, public university is better than private. Interesting, huh?
Also, the san nen seis (third year students) in both middle school and high school (so American 9th and 12th graders, respectively) are taking their public examination this week. The 9th graders to get into public high school and the 12th graders to get into public university. And, apparently at the high school just ONE student has passed the public university test. I hope my students are just exaggerating. Is education on the islands/inaka (rural) area of Japan really that bad?
Also, my parents come in 9 days!! Can't wait to see them and have our tour of Japan!
~Steph
P.S. I had SEVEN spelling mistakes in this blog. Apparently, I can no longer spell surprised. Kept spelling it suprised. I tell you, I'm losing my English. I forgot the word for crutches and transcript today.
Saturday, March 5, 2011
E.T. Phone Home
I believe all across Japan in many JHS Second-Year English classes (American 8th graders) students have been learning about E.T.
It's funny teaching kids words like alien and spaceship. One thing that would be interesting to find out is if all the hype about people seeing spaceships and Area 57 (or is it 51) that is abound in the U.S. occurs in Japan too. That will be an interesting question for my ni-nen-seis (second years) next week.
Like I said, the kids have more or less stopped using their textbooks as the school year is almost finished. Two weeks until graduation. But, the third years (American 9th graders) will graduate and not have to come to school, but the 1st and 2nd years keep coming to school until the 26th. Then they have a week and a half long Spring Break.
Anyways, as the school year is dying down my teacher decided we should reward the students with a fun class day. Imagine my suprise!! So, we took the kids down to the theatre room at school and transformed it into a movie theatre. So cool! He wanted to have the kids watch E.T. My teacher kept asking me about it and I have to say... I haven't watched E.T. in ages. When was the last time you did? I don't think I've even seen it all the way through. So, I kept having to tell him I had no idea what he was talking about when he asked me different questions about the movie.
So, watching the movie was fun. The kids were amazed by how big the house was and that they had a green front yard. And a dog! Oh, I miss Chip!!
The kids enjoyed the movie (and the boys enjoyed sleeping... so naughty!) for the most part and I did too. But, the sound track kept reminding me of Star Wars. I think the kids would have enjoyed that more. I know I would have!
Now, my kids understand why I kept saying "E.T. Phone Home" in a funny voice in class last week. Phew!
Also, T-two weeks til the parents visit. Bought our plane tickets to the mainland. The islander discount (if you live on the island you get a discount on your ticket cuz... it's the only way to get to the mianland if you dont want to take an 18 hour ferry ride) only applied to my ticket. Which sucked. I was hoping to get all the tickets for a discounted price. Still need to reserve a rental car in Okinawa though. Also, checked with almost all my schools and they are excited to have my parents as show-and-tell guests. I'll be teaching 5 classes the two days my parents are here so the rest of the time is free time. But during the classes my parents will give their Jikoushokais (self introductions). In English, though my Mom wants to be able to say it in Japanese! Exciting!!
That's all for now.
Love and Miss you,
Steph
It's funny teaching kids words like alien and spaceship. One thing that would be interesting to find out is if all the hype about people seeing spaceships and Area 57 (or is it 51) that is abound in the U.S. occurs in Japan too. That will be an interesting question for my ni-nen-seis (second years) next week.
Like I said, the kids have more or less stopped using their textbooks as the school year is almost finished. Two weeks until graduation. But, the third years (American 9th graders) will graduate and not have to come to school, but the 1st and 2nd years keep coming to school until the 26th. Then they have a week and a half long Spring Break.
Anyways, as the school year is dying down my teacher decided we should reward the students with a fun class day. Imagine my suprise!! So, we took the kids down to the theatre room at school and transformed it into a movie theatre. So cool! He wanted to have the kids watch E.T. My teacher kept asking me about it and I have to say... I haven't watched E.T. in ages. When was the last time you did? I don't think I've even seen it all the way through. So, I kept having to tell him I had no idea what he was talking about when he asked me different questions about the movie.
So, watching the movie was fun. The kids were amazed by how big the house was and that they had a green front yard. And a dog! Oh, I miss Chip!!
The kids enjoyed the movie (and the boys enjoyed sleeping... so naughty!) for the most part and I did too. But, the sound track kept reminding me of Star Wars. I think the kids would have enjoyed that more. I know I would have!
Now, my kids understand why I kept saying "E.T. Phone Home" in a funny voice in class last week. Phew!
Also, T-two weeks til the parents visit. Bought our plane tickets to the mainland. The islander discount (if you live on the island you get a discount on your ticket cuz... it's the only way to get to the mianland if you dont want to take an 18 hour ferry ride) only applied to my ticket. Which sucked. I was hoping to get all the tickets for a discounted price. Still need to reserve a rental car in Okinawa though. Also, checked with almost all my schools and they are excited to have my parents as show-and-tell guests. I'll be teaching 5 classes the two days my parents are here so the rest of the time is free time. But during the classes my parents will give their Jikoushokais (self introductions). In English, though my Mom wants to be able to say it in Japanese! Exciting!!
That's all for now.
Love and Miss you,
Steph
Thursday, March 3, 2011
Long time gone
Oh, I can't believe it's already been a whole month! Time has flown by.
With the beginning of March, I now have less than half a year in Japan. That's a big turning point! 5 months. It seems like such a short amount of time. I'm happy with the decision to stay a year and looking forward to whatever's next. But, I'll certainly miss the beaches.
Speaking of beaches, while everyone back in the Mid-West and Eastern U.S. were bundling up because of the snow, I was lounging on a beach trying not to get a suntan. I know, horrible for rubbing that one in ;) But, it has been beautiful down here. The sun has been out, and as my neighbors have informed me, soon the gokiburi (cockroaches) will follow. Eeeek!!
This week has been a great one. All the weeks feel like they are going faster.
Was at my favorite school today. My kids have already finished their English Textbooks for the year. So, all the classes are more fun. Except for the third-years, my most favorite group, who are cracking down and studying for their upcoming high school entrance exams next week.
In Japan, students have to take a high school entrance exam, a seperate one each for private and public school. What school you get into can really set up what your life will be like. There are schools for just about anything. You want to work on ships, there's a school for that. Unfortunately, on Erabu we only have one highschool. Because of this, though, it's a pretty high-performing academic high school (or so I'm told). So it's a bit harder to get into. If kids want, they can try to take the entrace exam for a school on the mainland. If they get into a mainland school and can afford it, they'll be living in college-like dormitiories. Sounds pretty interesting! I can understand their desire to get off the island -- island fever, dontchaknow!
But, most of my kids just want to go the high school here. I guess, being there age, I would be afraid to go out on my own too.
The past few days have been a bit cold and dreary, but getting everything set up for my parents visit in two and half weeks has been great. Just bought the tickets and finalized what we will be doing on the island. Super psyched to see them as I haven't seem them for 7 months.
Also, lately I've been thinking about creating a seperate blog. I enjoy blogging about life here and who knows where I will be next! But, it's a great way for family and friends to keep in touch. What do you say, is blogger (what I'm currently on) or wordpress (what my study abroad blog was hosted on) better? Thoughts would be great!!
With the beginning of March, I now have less than half a year in Japan. That's a big turning point! 5 months. It seems like such a short amount of time. I'm happy with the decision to stay a year and looking forward to whatever's next. But, I'll certainly miss the beaches.
Speaking of beaches, while everyone back in the Mid-West and Eastern U.S. were bundling up because of the snow, I was lounging on a beach trying not to get a suntan. I know, horrible for rubbing that one in ;) But, it has been beautiful down here. The sun has been out, and as my neighbors have informed me, soon the gokiburi (cockroaches) will follow. Eeeek!!
This week has been a great one. All the weeks feel like they are going faster.
Was at my favorite school today. My kids have already finished their English Textbooks for the year. So, all the classes are more fun. Except for the third-years, my most favorite group, who are cracking down and studying for their upcoming high school entrance exams next week.
In Japan, students have to take a high school entrance exam, a seperate one each for private and public school. What school you get into can really set up what your life will be like. There are schools for just about anything. You want to work on ships, there's a school for that. Unfortunately, on Erabu we only have one highschool. Because of this, though, it's a pretty high-performing academic high school (or so I'm told). So it's a bit harder to get into. If kids want, they can try to take the entrace exam for a school on the mainland. If they get into a mainland school and can afford it, they'll be living in college-like dormitiories. Sounds pretty interesting! I can understand their desire to get off the island -- island fever, dontchaknow!
But, most of my kids just want to go the high school here. I guess, being there age, I would be afraid to go out on my own too.
The past few days have been a bit cold and dreary, but getting everything set up for my parents visit in two and half weeks has been great. Just bought the tickets and finalized what we will be doing on the island. Super psyched to see them as I haven't seem them for 7 months.
Also, lately I've been thinking about creating a seperate blog. I enjoy blogging about life here and who knows where I will be next! But, it's a great way for family and friends to keep in touch. What do you say, is blogger (what I'm currently on) or wordpress (what my study abroad blog was hosted on) better? Thoughts would be great!!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)