May 4, 2007

Robot Chicken does Star Wars

It's coming out in June. Check out the preview here.

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July 15, 2004

Words About Teaching

During my two years serving as the ALT for Ubuyama-mura, I have written some essays on teaching and compiled other resources. I took an extra interest in learning more about educational theory and how it could be applied to our work, constantly thinking about how English classes could be improved. Below are some of the materials that I was able to find(in MS Word format). I will continue to add others as I find them (I have been working on no less than 4 computers on a regular basis). Unfortunately, I can't post most of my lessons because the files are too large...

Essays and Presentation Material
Death To Engrish!!! Approaches To Improving English Education

Midyear Seminar Presentation: JTE and ALT Relations

Improving your relationship with your ALT/JTE

Things that you need to discuss with your JTE

Interactive Classroom Games And Other Resources

Explanation of Halloween in Japanese and English (used for NHK special, 2002)

Lesson Plans and Materials
Recommended Plan For the 2003-2004 School Year(Yamaga Shogakko)

Directions: How To Get From Here To There (a lesson plan)

Lesson: Family Tree

Cooking (料理をする) French Toast

Emergency English: How To Escape From A Sinking Car

Emergency English: How To Survive An Alligator Attack

Some simple English phrases

Chillin' with Snoop and Parappa

Sports worksheet (the katakana reflects a more genuine pronunciation of English, rather than correct Japanese)


Other Information
Video Games and Education (from Wired)

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Last Lesson Finished

It is 9:30 and I just finished teaching in Ubuyama for the last time. All of my classes are done, and although I still have until the 26th of this month on my contract, my real work here is finished. I spent my last lesson with my 3 nensei chugakkusei students providing guidance on how to translate Japanese sentences into English, and I was impressed by how far they have progressed. There are many bright students in this batch, and I will miss having the chance to chat, share lunch, and to dominate them at ping-pong (sometimes).

The educational system in Ubuyama is something special, as at shogakko and hoikuen I had creative license to create and modify the curriculum as I saw fit. My main priority when teaching at shogakko was to cultivate an interest for foreign cultures and languages in the children, in the hopes that the interests that they have now will kindle a desire to continue learning and to become students unimpeded by geographical or ideological barriers. Mostly I just wanted to show them that learning was fun and to pass out bags and bags of candy and stickers. My classes were designed using tried and true Pavlovian methods and implementing a student centered learning environment whenever possible.

There is a great problem with keeping students enthusiasm about learning English, especially in Junior High School and into higher education. Part of the problem stems from the pressure to focus on technical English to pass tests instead of practical English that can be used to communicate and facilitate the sharing of ideas and common interests. The Japanese educational system is improving, though. Recently, more and more ALTs have been stationed at elementary schools, where they are encouraged to play and teach about culture.

This is a big step towards improving English education in Japan, and it should be recognized that Ubuyama provides their ALT with the opportunity to interact and to influence the children to a very high extent, starting from when they first enter the system in hoikuen (nursery school). No other ALT that I know gets to teach at the same hoikuen four times a month, or for that matter at shogakko four times a month, and some only visit their shogakkos once every two months. I sincerely hope that one day, shogakkusei will have the opportunity to learn English every day, like they do in other countries, in a stimulating environment with lots of support. The children are so smart, and learn so much in the small amount of time that we spend together. I can only imagine how skilled they would become with regular lessons scheduled every day, and hope that this becomes the case in the near future.

Now, I'm off to Osaka in search of another teaching position, in the right school. I have two years under my belt teaching everything from nursery school to high school to adult conversation classes, but I know that I still have much to learn about teaching. All I can say is that I welcome the challenge, and look forward to experiencing a completely different part of Japan and Japanese culture in Kansai from the lens of a person who has lived in the Higo region for two years. Yokka bai, ikko.

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July 5, 2004

Ch-Check It Out

It's really sad walking into class these days, as many of them are "the last lesson" for that particular group of kids. Most of them haven't been told that I am leaving, and so when I break the news they have a look in the eyes that is of desperate sadness/ whipped puppy dog/ betrayed best friend that stabs me in the heard and makes me feel bad for deciding to leave Ubuyama. If Ubuyama was closer to civilization then I might want to teach here forever. The kids in my village are pure and innocent, and remain that way because they live in the middle of some of the most beautiful country land I have ever seen. The culture out here is the foundation of Japanese society- the essence of what people take pride in and draw upon in times of hardship.

When I first got to Ubuyama I taught at three hoikuen (nursery/pre-schools). The classes were so small that I got to know the babies on a really personal level. My favorite class consisted of 5 little boys, all super-hyper and pure fun. This class was able to write romaji (the romanized alphabet) at a 6 grade level (in Japan) when they were 5 years old, and their pronunciation was awesome, but unfortunately I didn't get to teach them more than twice a month after they entered elementary school, and most times I only got to teach them once a month and their English skills (but not enthusiasm for learning English, mind you) deteriorated significantly.

They still remember some of the stuff that I taught them, and I am satisfied with that. My main objective was to stoke their enthusiasm for learning and exploring their interests, regardless of the subject. We studied science, made art, did culture lessons, and I made lessons based on what they expressed interest in learning, but always we learned through play. I found out early on that if you make students study using conventional methods (rote repitition, standard testing, drills) that you can literally fry their impressionable brains and do great harm to their motivation (yes, this is documented and there is some good research material at the ERIC site that explores these issues).

Anyhow, for our last lesson I decided to go out with a day full of games. I taught the whole lesson teaching them how to throw a football (they say American football, but I think that the American part is redundant. Football is football and soccer is soccer) and playing dodgeball, but the part I remember the most is playing musical chairs, the English penilization with candy compensation version. I blasted track one off of To The 5 Boroughs (the new Beastie Boys CD), and they rocked out. As I walked away from our last lesson I heard them rapping out "Check-ch-ch-ch-ch-checkidou! Wha-whu-whu-whussitallabou!". I could not help but feel a happy satisfaction covering over the sadness. I am truly proud of Tomohiro, Naoto, Kodai, Tatsuhiro, and Yukiharu-kun, and will not be surprised to hear of their successes in the future.

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June 22, 2004

Classroom Punishment

What ever happened to time out or setting up conferences with the parents of a kid who is having problems in school? In Japan, you hear many stories of how screwed up the educational system is, and how the pressure on teachers (to get their students to pass tests) and students (to pass the tests) really is. I can say for certain that if one of my teachers told me to write an apology in blood, I would walk past them and go straight to the principal and call my parents to help me sort this out.

I have been lucky enough to have nice teachers in my schools, in an environment where such behavior would most likely be immediately detected and severely dealt with. I have heard accounts of students being smacked by teachers, and even one case of a retarded student being put into a cage for the period because the teacher couldn't control him. What ever happened to humiliating a class clown or smartmouth in front of the class, and trying to get to the ultimate cause of problematic behavior? Hopefully, a teacher's class will be percieved as interesting or at least valuable enough to pressure the students to act in a respectful manner.

It also bothers me how common it is for teachers to have secret relationships with their students. Some teachers have no problem engaging in romantic relations with their students, and this really bothers me. It just doesn't seem to be such a big deal over here for some reason.

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June 3, 2004

Violent Crime in Japan

Is there a higher rate of violent crime and crime in general in the United States than there is in Japan? Yes, I think that's a safe thing to say.

Japan is the model most often used by advocates of the prohibition of firearms. There is no private ownership of handguns, and among 120 million people there are only a little more than half a million privately owned long guns, including air rifles.

Japan's annual homicide rate has been progressively decreasing for a decade and now stands at 1.2 per 100,000. It is reported that 97% of murders are solved - the highest clearance rate in the world.

Japan is one of the most disciplined nations on earth, with an authoritarian and conformist culture that precludes large scale law-breaking. There are few constraints on police powers, especially with respect to search and seizure. Rates of crimes not usually associated with firearms - rape, mugging and assault, are the lowest in the world and are trifling by European and North American standards. Japanese do not kill each other in large numbers because they are, in all respects, extremely law-abiding people. Interestingly, the current Japanese suicide rate of 21 per 100,000 is double the Canadian rate and almost double the rate in the United States. (this study is from 1992)

Japanese frequently and fervently insist that the U.S. is much more dangerous than Japan, but this is almost always based upon what they hear on the news and the movies that they see. I try to explain that only the most sensational news makes international headlines, and that aside from certain locations, the U.S. is a pretty safe place, and some people understand this.

However, the average Japanese violent crime is a hell of a lot more scary than the average violent crime in America. Although the amounts of crimes in which people shoot each other is really low in Japan, a lot of people are slicing and stabbing their victims over here. It makes sense. If there are no guns to kill people with, then you are left with knives. It takes a different kind of killer to weild an edged weapon and to stab and slash someone to death. In comparison, it's pretty easy to kill with a gun. All you have to do is to aim and squeeze the trigger, and the bullet fills the gap between you and your target, driving itself into a body with its own momentum. If you stand far enough away, you won't get any blood on you. With a knife, it's always up close and personal and involves using muscle work and body movements to penetrate flesh (unless you are throwing it, but how many of us would throw a knife at someone we wanted to kill? if you miss, they could pick up the knife and stab you!). You are guarenteed to get blood on your hands. I imagine that killing up close leaves a greater impression on the murderer because it is an intimate act. The greater the physical distance from the victim, the greater the emotional distance can be.

Two days ago, a little girl in the sixth grade used a box cutter to murder a classmate at Okubo Elementary School (in Nagasaki-ken). Lets take a look at an article from the Daily Yomiuri (Thursday, June 3rd, 2004):

"I slashed at her after getting her to sit on a chair. I wanted to kill her," police sources quoted the girl as saying. According to Sasebo Police Station and the Sasebo Municipal Board of Education , the sixth-grade girl and Satomi Mitarai, the 12-year-old victim, liket to play with computers and frequently chatted with another friend on their own homepages. The alleged perpetrator also was quoted as telling the police, "Because her (Satomi's) attitude was cheeky, I called her (to a study room) and slashed her neck. The police are investigating what Satomi wrote to the alleged assailant on the Internet and their conversations before the attack.

She killed her classmate because she was being flamed (teased in a chatroom)! And this wasn't exactly a crime of passion. She planned it out, lured the girl into a room and had her sit down, clicked the box cutter blade out a few notches, and went for the neck! This evil act is so perverted, so unbelievable that it is hard to comprehend how someone, especially an 11 year old Japanese girl, could do it so casually. According to the article, she's pretty calm about the whole situation and doesn't seem to be exhibiting signs of remorse.

I remember my brother telling me about a case a few years back about a boy attending JHS in Kobe who cut off his friend's head and stuck it on a pole in front of the school (mentioned in this article). Seems like a story out of Lord of the Flies, with something far more scary than a pig's head impaled on a stick. So yes, the United States is a violent place compared to Japan, but I would argue that Japan's brand of violence is, on average, committed by a much more emotionally disturbed individual, as most of the attacks in Japan are done with knives (another article from today reported that a cleaver and hammer were found next to the corpses of two Japanese men yesterday) and other close quater weapons.

Battle Royale doesn't seem so much like fiction anymore.

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June 1, 2004

Sannensei Text Bubbles

Today the chugakko third graders were given a picture of two OLs(office ladies) sitting together on a bench, eating lunch together and having a conversation. They were given 20 minutes to write dialogue and I was proud of what they were able to accomplish. Here are a couple of samples from class (No corrections have been made to the original works):


Talkin' Smack About the Boss

O.L. 1: I hear Kacho has only recently begun to losing hair.

O.L. 2: Really?

O.L. 1: Moreover he thinks he's cool. He's a fool.

O.L. 2: Oh, he's a narcist.

O.L. 1: Thats right. And yet his waif ran away!

O.L. 2: that's too bad.

O.L. 1: Oh Kacho is coming.

O.L. 2: Run Away!


Pig Woman

A: How are you?

B: I'm drunk and very dangerous now

A: What did you drink yesterday

B: I drank milk.

A: Are you crazy?

B: No. I'm usually not

A: OK. I know. So do you know pig

B: Yes. I am pig

A: Are you OK? Do you understand

B: No I am sleeping now. I solly

A: I don't want to talk to you anymore bye bye

B: Oh No woooooo


About Relationships

Fumi: Kazuki! How are you?

Kazuki: So so. Fumi! How about you?

Fumi: I'm sad. Because I had a fight with Yasuhiro

Kazuki: That's too bad. Why?

Fumi: Yasuhiro had an affair with Shunichi.

Kazuki: Oh! Fumi is poor.


Shitsukoi

A: I often catch my boyfriend.

B: This lunch is very delicious.

A: I often catch my boyfriend.

B: I have to go to work Bye!

A: I often catch my boyfriend. I must kill you.


Now that's what English class is all about...

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April 13, 2004

Tips On Passing The Driving Test (for converting a Foreign License) In Kumamoto-ken, Japan

Driving in Japan is expensive, complicated, and sometimes frusturating. Following someone who is driving under the (already maddeningly slow) speed limit, cars pulling into the middle of fast moving lanes of traffic (almost) causing accidents, constant roadwork and the workers directing traffic with lightsabres, baffling driving etiquitte, traffic cameras, unmarked Highway Patrollers, and expensive toll roads are just some of the things that irritate me. However, I will gladly put up with these annoyances rather than spend my time trapped on the 405 or 101 during peak traffic hours.

I love driving here in Kumamoto, especially on the country roads. If you like watching WRC Championships (how is Ford doing better than the Citroen, Peugeot, Subaru, and Mitsubishi teams right now???) and playing Gran Turismo 3, then Kyushu is an excellent place to drive. If you are like me, then you need a car in order to commute to work and more importantly to keep your sanity. 103 yen/liter seems a small price to pay for the places that I have been able to explore thanks to my car.

If you are an American, and you spend more than one year in Japan, you must get a Japanese Driver's License in order to drive legally. Why do Canadians, Brits, and other gaijin get to simply have their licenses converted instead of taking a test like Americans? Well, I can understand that the British use the same traffic signs and drive on the wrong side of the road as well, but why Canadians (this has since been answered in the comments, although the answer did not make me feel any less self-righteous)? In any case, it doesn't look like the situation is going to change any time soon, so it's best to just get the license and forget the other bullshit.

Gaijin living in Kumamoto who have to get a license are very lucky. After researching online and talking with friends from different areas in Japan, it seems that most places feel obligated to fail a gaijin at least once despite performance, and to pass Japanese people on their third try even if they are unfit to drive. In Kumamoto, I know of two others who passed on their first try, which is pretty good. People who bitch about Kumamoto's driving test being "really hard" probably do so because they didn't do adequate research on the test, because they have trouble understanding what is expected of them when they are driving, and because they don't know how hard it is to pass the test in other areas of Japan.

However, taking the driving test anywhere in Japan is a pain in the ass because you need to do a lot of stuff before you even go to the center. You need to (aquire and) bring:

1. Your Passport
2. Your Gaijin card
3. Your Inkan
4. Some loot for taking the test, and some more loot for processing after you (hopefully) pass the test..
5. Your license from home along with
6. A translation of your licence from JAF
7. And if nowhere on your liscese says that you have been driving for over a year, you will need a form from the DMV that proves that you have and most likely another translation of this form by JAF.
8. 2 passport photos

In addition, I would also bring along any distractions such as friends, toys, books, homework, etc... You will have a lot of time to kill.

When you are scheduling an appointment, remember to be polite and try to speak in Japanese. If you can't speak Japanese, see if a friend can help you out, or ask for someone who speaks English. When I scheduled my test and went to the Center, there was a very helpful lady named Mrs. Matsumoto. She speaks English well, but appreciates it if you at least try and speak Japanese. Now that I think about it, at least trying to speak in someone else's language before resorting to English almost always brings a friendlier response from the locals along with the willingness to help someone out. Is this manipulating the ethnocentricity of others, or shedding your own? I think it's a little of both, but the bottom line is that it works.

The Written Test
I did too much preparation for this test. I bought a copy of Rules Of The Road from JAF, for 1,000 yen, and read it to prepare. I don't regret doing it because now I better understand the markings on the road and what some of the obscure signs mean.

There are 10 questions on this test and each is accompanied by a picture. If you miss a question on this test, then you should probably be to wearing a helmet at all times, regardless of the situation. It's that easy. For example, one question asks something like this:

"If a police officer is standing in the middle of an intersection in front of your car with his arms spread out horizontally you should:
a. pay attention to the signal only
b. drive past the police officer
c. wait until the police officer signals for you to proceed
d. drive over the police officer

Easy stuff. I'm going to recommend reading Rules Of The Road, or at least familiarizing yourself with the signs and markings, as it makes things a lot clearer.

The written test given in the morning along with an eye exam (if you fail this, you should not be driving), and the driving test is administered after lunch. There is a restaraunt downstairs, but the food is nothing special. During the lunch break period, you are allowed to walk the course. I walked it several times until I could recall where to go and what to do with no problem. Walking the course will help you to visualize what you need to do and where you need to do it.

The Driving Test
The driving test is a pain in the ass. There are no English speaking proctors that I know of, and if you get the same guy as I had he will not speak slowly or repeat anything. Just bank on being prepared and remember basic Japanese directions such as "turn", "right", "left", "go straight", etc... However, if you do everything below that I recommend, you will have a pretty good chance of passing on your first try.

Some Basic Tips
*Always drive on the left hand side of your lane, near the margin of the emergency lane or the curb. If you drive near the center meridian, you will lose points, unless you are making a right turn.
*Drive slowly at all times. If the proctor wants you to go faster he will tell you. If he tells you to slow down, you probably have lost some points.
*Always slow down at crosswalks and look all around for hazards.
*Check your mirrors frequently and make it obvious that you are checking your mirrors. Check your mirrors before you switch lanes, turn corners, or proceed after stopping at signals, stop signs, crosswalks, train crossings, etc...
*Check your blindspots as well whenever you check your mirrors.
*Signal 100 feet before you need to turn and again 20 feet before you turn
*Make sure you do not hit the curb. If you do hit the curb, put the car in reverse and carefully go back. You will not necessarily fail for running over a curb.
*Don't give up unless the proctor tells you explicitly that you failed and that you are to return to the docking station.

This is a diagram of the driving course at the Kumamoto Driving Center:
kumamotodrivingcenter.jpg

The red line indicates the course, and the numbers indicate specific tips for those specific waypoints. I took course 1, and so that is the one which I will be providing tips for. The course starts from the docking station on the bottom and runs clockwise, ending at the same birth in the docking station.

Advice Specific To Course Number One 1. Before you get in your car walk around it and inspect your vehicle. Look under the car (ostensibly to check if there is a young child or some other hazard lurking underneath). Also, it doesn't hurt to look both ways checkihg for traffic before stepping into the street and opening your door.Once inside your car do the following even if you don't need to: A. Buckle your seatbelt. B. Adjust your seat position C. Adjust your mirrors. D. Ask the proctor if you can turn on the ignition E. Make sure the car is in Park and fire it up. F. Make sure that there are no distractions (like the air conditioner on high, etc.) and that none of the malfunction lights are on. G. Put the car into gear, take off the parking break, and signal your departure.

2. Immediately get into the lane, remembering to stay close to the left hand side. Drive slowly and make a point of checking your mirrors and blindspots and look for any pedestrians that may be about to cross (it feels silly looking out for imaginary people, but this is better than having to come spend another full day so you can do it again).

3. Once you round this corner you will be about 100 feet away from your turn. Signal right, check your mirrors and blindspots, and then pull close to the center meridian to make your turn.

4.Signal again when you get 20 feet away and check your mirrors and blindspots again, and turn. I will now assume that you know to signal, check your blindspots, and check your mirrors before you make all of your turns.

5. This is the railroad crossing. Slowly approach it, and stop at the stop line. If you are driving manual, pop the emergency break. Roll down your window to listen for the train, look both ways, check your blindspots, and then slowly proceed. Do not roll your car back down the hill or you will lose points.

6. When approaching this intersection proceed slowly. There are concrete walls on these corners obstructing your view. Come to a complete stop at the intersection, check your mirrors and blindspots, and pull forward slowly to check for traffic. When you determine it is safe, proceed forward.

7.When approaching this intersection proceed slowly. There are concrete walls on these corners obstructing your view. Come to a complete stop at the intersection, check your mirrors and blindspots, and pull forward slowly to check for traffic. When you determine it is safe,pull out slowly and turn left. Signal right away because you are approaching your next turn.

8. Do your turning checks and turn left. Immediately signal for your next right hand turn.

9. This is the part that requires finesse. This road is really small, and the right angle turns will test your driving ability. Remember to drive slowly. As you approach the right turn, stay to the left, and wait until the last moment to cut right (but not too long!). This will ensure that your back tire clears the curb. Immediately get over to the right hand side, so that you can pull the same maneuver for the left turn. After the left turn, stay to the right again, and slowly approach the intersection. Do you turn checks, and drive out close to the center meridian before turning to avoid the last tricky corner.

10. This is an intersection with a traffic signal. Drive slowly and check your mirrors, blindspots, and look for any pedestrians. If the light turns yellow before you reach the crosswalk, you should probably stop, or hit the gas so that you make it through! If you choose to do the latter, let me know how it turns out.

11. The small curvy street is cake compared to #9. Once you turn right at the intersection there is a broken down car on the left side of the road. Check your mirrors and blindspots, signal right, drive around the car and immediately signal left as you check your mirror and blindspot (to the left) and cut over once it's safe. Do this slowly.

12. Here is a construction site. Treat it the same way as the broken down car in #11.

13. Turn into the causeway quickly, and remember to signal, etc. Head back for the same port from which you started.

14. Park within a foot of the left hand curb, put the car in park, engage the parking break, and shut down the ignition. And now its time for some more waiting!

After the test the proctor will tell you what you did wrong. In my case, I didn't drive to the left hand side of the lane enough, and he scolded me for being "abunai" (dangerous). After I showed the appropriate amount of (less than genuine) remorse, he told me that I passed. If you fail, you can go home after you schedule your next appointment. If you pass there will be an hour or two more until you are done.

The next step is taking a photo, forking over some more cash to make the license (I think I paid about 4-5,000 yen in all). For the amount of effort that you put into obtaining a liscense, it is really dissapointing. It's a piece of posterboard laminated on one side, and doesn't even have any holograms! But at least it brings peace of mind, knowing that you don't have to depend solely on being a foreigner to bail you out should you find yourself in a driving related incident involving the cops.

A little advice for those of you who are late getting your liscense converted
If you do not have a valid license (meaning that your International Drivers License has expired, or you don't have one), DO NOT drive to the driving center. If you fail, which you may, they might watch to see how you leave. Have someone drop you off, walk, take the bus, or do something else to get there and back. If not, you risk embarrasing yourself, your employer, and you might even get into serious trouble with the police.

Props
When I was researching how to pass the test, I came upon a very useful site that provided good tips on how to pass the driving test in Japan at globalcompassion.com. It was very helpful to me, and as a form of payback I decided to write an entry similar to theirs, but tailored to Kumamoto. Their site is worth a look to supplement the information on this entry.

Many people contributed to this puddle of knowledge, and so I thank those of you who helped me out with this (Matt, Shige, Tsubasa, Mark, etc...). If this information helps you to pass the test, leave a message and let me know- I'd like to know about it. BTW, if you can think of anything that I have left out, let me know and I will add it to this entry. Good luck.

One last thing...
This entry deals with converting a foreign drivers license to a Japanese license only. If you don't have a foreign drivers license, then I'm sorry to inform you that your test is likely harder and more expensive. In this case, your best bet is to talk to Mrs. Matsumoto.


Comment Q and A:
hey Adam

just a visitor, passing by, but wanted to say thanks for the april 13 2004 post on driving test tips in kumamoto japan.

i do have one small question, in regard to that post... so do you signal twice? i don't get it. you say "signal 100 feet before you need to turn and again 20 feet before you turn"... so what youre saying is... signal - for a second - 100 feet before you need to turn - then turn it off - and again 20 feet before you turn?

very interesting, its new to me, the whole signalling twice thing, if in fact thats what youre suggesting.

two more questions came to mind. in the kumamoto driving test, was parallel parking required? ive never entirely mastered that. and about the course, so they give you the map before the test, but its not expected to be memorized is it? im just a bit concerned about how much of the proctor's commands ill understand... could you post a brief list of useful proctor-driving-commands to listen for.

thanks.

james


James,
I'm glad you found that post useful. As for your questions:

1. Yes, you signal 2 times, once 100 feet before you turn and during your turn (check how I wrote it again, because I don't remember the test so well right now). It's something that you won't do in real life, but they insist on you doing on the course.

2. Parallel parking- there was none when I took it. The closest thing to parallel parking was pulling the car up along the parking station where you start and finish the course. Take it slow, and it's a piece of cake.

3. It is best to remember the course, which is easy if you look at the map and walk through it a few times with map in hand. As for commands, they're pretty easy and go something like:
Ikimasu- go
yukkuri- slow
Migi o magatte- turn right
Hidari o magatte- turn left
Koko ni tomete- stop here

That's about the extent of what I remember. Another piece of advice- take along a dictionary and something to write with and on just in case.

Posted by Adam at 4:44 PM | Comments (9) | TrackBack

February 24, 2004

Nastiness

Today I was eating lunch at the new Hoikuen with the Yuri-gumi (Hoikuen is divided by age groups from oldest to youngest: sakura-gumi, yuri-gumi, and ume-gumi) across from a 4 year old boy, while the 4 year old boy in back of me was chewing on my sweatshirt refusing to stop or to admit that it wasn't "oishii". When I finally got his jaws open and made him sit a safe distance away, the kid in front, mouth full of fried chicken and rice, lets out a monster sneeze, blowing chunks of partially masticated saliva coated food mixed with atomized snot globules. Yup, the post mortem is right there on my tray. But the teachers didn't see it and suggest that I should get a new tray full of sanitary food, so I sucked it up and cleaned my plate. All throughout the meal, the 4 year old had an evil smile on his face, and I couldn't help but wonder if he had done it on purpose. I think that was nastier than involuntarity eating bugs in Thailand.


Today's random link: Kushami Otaku- for people who really dig sneezes.

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February 9, 2004

My Girls

Daiichicamp02.JPG
...Mmmmm... American Football wa cho-umai daro!

This weekend I finally got to meet some of the wonderful girls that I teach (via computer, and check out this description of me. not my best picture or profile, I suppose.) at Daiichi High School. Unfortunately, 5 out of 9 of them were too too sick to make it on Saturday, but we still had a great time together. It's amazing how motivated these students are to learn English, and it always surprises me when they express embarassment in their abilities. They should rightfully be proud of their impressive skillz. I wish I could speak Japanese as well as they speak English!

Saturday was a very unusual day in Kumamoto city. I woke up to find snow covering the ground and my car, and for a minute I thought I was back in Ubuyama. Needless to say, the taikan (gym) at Daiichi High School was freezing, but we all managed to stay warm by playing games and doing activities. I just wish that we had a longer time to chat and hang out. By the time I finally got warmed up and started to get to know everybody, the event came to a close. Thats the way it always seems to happen. If only I could spend a whole year with the students that I teach at these camps...

I would also like to say that my groups once again dominated in all of the contests (although they weren't necessarily recognized for it. ah, who would think that winning too much could have drawbacks?)! Ah, if only all English classes were fun and games, then more people would be speaking English.

And just to pre-emtively answer you: no, I will not hook you up with any phone numbers, dog, so don't even ask. Not on my watch.

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December 16, 2003

The Hoikuen Experience

I love teaching at hoikuen, especially during the holidays. All three that I visit are completely different in regards to individuals, groups, teachers, learning environment, kyushoku (school lunch), etc... Today I went to Ubuyama hoikuen, after not coming for the two previous weeks (they were practicing for their Christmas-kai, a sort of Christmas festival unique to hoikuens as far as I know). This place is sorta like the Apollo theatre in the sense that if I do not give a fantastically entertaining lesson with lots of new games (this is harder than it sounds, as some kids are quite smart, and others can not yet talk or walk), the kids will get out of their seats and cause a ruckus, leaving a trail of detritus in the wake of their innocent wrath. In one memorable case, a kid stood up, got an Evil Ash-grin on his face, and banzai-charged me, socking me with surprising power and speed in the nuts. Constructive criticism noted, and "rebuttal" presented after a painful 5 minute recovery in the fetal position (but to clarify, this was at Nambu Hoikuen). Interestingly enough, the teachers at this hoikuen don't really discipline the kids very much, so the stakes are high to put on a good performance. I know where they are coming from, and it pushes me to give 100 percent effort every day. A half day a week at Ubuyama hoikuen is enough for me, thank you very much. I can understand why some parents choose to put their kids on ridilin, although I think this is a huge failure of in our society on the parts of the parents as well as the educational and medical communities for recommending this drug liberally, in the majority of cases I have encountered. This is probably a reason why I love to frequently hand out candy in class.

It took me a few months to realise that although I was supposedly there to teach "English", my time is better spent engaging the students in activities and games as the primary focus with English playing a supporting role, while creating an environment that encourages interaction. So for over a year now, its been all about having fun and designing an interface to exchange ideas and develop a dialogue between information and education, and in no way forcing the kids to learn but rather helping them to explore their interests and engaging them.

Today I came (un)prepared and it worked perfectly. I find that my muse strikes me with the best hoikuen lessons while I am actively teaching the class. Everyone participated, payed attention, and even remembered almost all of the English that I taught (this is highly uncommon at this large hoikuen, as some kids can't speak Japanese yet), along with the gestures.

Ah, the Christmas lesson... No kids, its not all about a "special cake", its about presents, more specifically toys. But it is important to remember that if you recieve socks, you must let the relative who gave them to you know EXACTLY how you feel. That's right, a big uppercut to the crotchular area (your small hand sinks into the nether-regions, not unlike a phosphorescent blue Sting into Shelob's underbelly). Now that's the essence of cultural education.

Nah, what today's lesson was about was Chrismas greetings, symbols, and presents (candy and stickers). After I leave, I know my kids will forever remember the various American holidays. When someone mentions "Halloween", "Thanksgiving", "Christmas", or "The Fourth of July" to my kids, they will be hearing "CANDY and making toilet paper mummies", "Candy and Turkey", "candy and presents", and "candy and fireworks". And so I know that I have been a great ambassador for the United States through the JET Programme, and through sugar.

Another reason why I love teaching at the hoikuen: Kids love to ask me questions, and I feel obliged to enlighten them whenever possible, as I see fit. Today I was asked:

Hoikuen Kid: Adamu-sensei, unchi de Eigo wa nan desuka (how do you say shit in English)?
Me: Poo.
HK:Adamu-sensei, shikko de Eigo wa nan desuka (how do you say piss in English)?
Me: Pee.
HK:Adamu-sensei, chinko de Eigo wa nan desuka (how do you say penis in English)?
Me: (thinking...hmmm...these kids are damn good parrots when it comes to THIS English. Best to evade the question) Eh, henna shitsumon da. Betsu no sensei ni sonna shitsumon shite kudasai, wakatta (What? That's a strange question. Go ask a different teacher please, understand?)?
HK: Ok, Poo sensei (ah, I am truly proud of you Saki-chan)

The kids are so friggin cute, and they remind me of myself when I was their age. They really didn't want me to leave, and kept on telling me "Adamu dai-suki" (I really like Adam). Although touching, I wasn't going to be late for the Chugakko, and I continued on my way, bulldozing anyone who was getting between me and the exit. Next they tried their usual "swarming fireants" attack (yes they tried to bite me with their mandibles of death, but only got mouthfulls of denim), but they were no match for my tickle and retreat counter-maneuver. So they stole my sweater (which they first stretched out by trying to climb the mountain that is me in order to get a piggy-back ride, and now it can fit Justin perfectly... hmmm... someone is getting a sweater for Christmas this year) and hid it, refusing to tell me where it was. Hahaha! Stupid kids, don't you know that the best way to make an adult stay longer against their will is to steal their car keys and/or wallet?

In order to make sure that they remember that Christmas is not about a stupid cake, I left a pound of candy and a hundred stickers for the teachers to put in their construction paper stockings. I feel a sense of accomplishment somehow, knowing that I will not be around when the sugar rush sweeps over a classroom armed with lots of stickers.

As a fellow Boy Scout Sea Base instructor once told me "teaching kids is the best form of birth control". Words of wisdom that haunt me to this day. I think everyone should be required to take care of other peoples' children before they are allowed to reproduce. STDs are not scary enough to drive the "safe sex is not a bad idea" point and the "is having a kid right now a good idea" question home, but taking care of children, that'll make you think twice about bagging the wang (although with plan will frequently backfire on those estrogen-crazed-white-fanged women who hear the call of the wild).

Posted by Adam at 1:24 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack

December 15, 2003

Tips On Ear Popping

I suspect I will be using one of these techniques on the long flight back.


TIP FOR ALL DIVERS: Practice clearing the night before the first dive of your trip, and immediately before your first dive. It will loosen "things" up.

EAR-CLEARING TECHNIQUES
Valsalva Maneuver: The most common ear-clearing technique, this maneuver involves holdnig the nose, closing the mouth and blowing gently. This raises the pressure in the pharynx, forcing air up the Eustacian tubes into the middle ear. Avoid forcefully performing this maneuver since it can damage the inner ear.
Toynbee Maneuver: Performed by holding the nose and swallowing simultaneously. The Eustacian tubes open momentarily, allowing air to enter the middle ear. This technique will also releive reverse squeezes.
Frenzel Maneuver: This atraumatic method of adding air to the middle ear is accomplished by closing the nose, mouth and glottis voluntarily, then driving the tongue backward, which acts as a piston to compress air into the nasal cavities and through the Eustacian tubes.
Yawn and Swallow: Thrusting the lower jaw forward and slightly opening the jaw, while keeping the lips pursed around the regulator and swallowing accomplish this maneuver.
Head Tilt: Many divers find that one ear clears more easily than the other. By tilting the head so the "bad" ear points upward, the stretchig of the Eustacian tube opening may make it easier to equalize.

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December 2, 2003

Views On Education

I think that education is fascinating. I always have. When I was in class with a burnt out teacher I often thought: I can do a better job than this! I can remember that I frequently got in trouble in science related classes, either for screwing around (usually with the bunsen burner or acids and bases) or not paying attention. Mr. Melstrom in sixth grade always tried to bust me for this by asking me questions the hardest and most technical questions about his lessons which I had stopped listening to, and he NEVER stumped me except when he asked me to parrot back what he had been lecturing us on when I was talking. This resulted in multiple detentions instead of meeting the challenge of stepping up the material of the class and re-engineering his ineffective teaching style. Yes, I often reflected on how I could be a better teacher than him when I sat, waiting for the hour after school doing nothing to pass. Well, now I get to test all of my theories every day at work. I am always thinking:
How can I help my kids think critically?
How can I teach them to try and see things from different perspectives?
How can I maintain their interest?
How can I work together with the JTE to accomplish both of our goals?
How can I help my kids to be creative and to express their honest opinions?
How can I make my kids confident?
What tools can I give my students so that they will be able to pursue what they want to learn about outside of class?
How can I develop them to their fullest potential?
How can we have fun together?
And the list goes on. I think about this every day, and I often gain inspiration outside of the classroom. I also do research on education and teaching methods in my free time. I am not the best teacher, but I am constantly trying to improve with the ultimate goal of helping my kids however I can. I am trying to be like every teacher that ever inspired me, like every teacher who made the extra effort for my class, like every teacher who made learning interesting and fun.
It makes me angry to hear other JETs complain that they have nothing to do at work, and that they are bored. What a f*cking cop out... All of these lazy gaijin can seem to do is to complain about the same old shit. They are letting down their kids bigtime. If they would take the time to set goals in class, make continued efforts to coordinate lessons with their JTEs (I know that this can be hard, but if you stop trying after someone or something discourages you, you are a quitter!!!), and constantly analyze the lessons that they had taught, trying to think of ways to bring out the full potential of their kids, then they would be helping everyone. God forbid you do some research on your own! Or spend your own money to invest in books, or rewards for students who do a wonderful job! Its time for you to start thinking about your kids. If you sit on your ass, little Hiro will become yet another apathetic English-fearing run of the mill Japanese student. Invest the time, and help these kids! If you can't do this do everyone a big favor and quit! After all, you must have at least some qualifications that can get you some money with some other job that better suits your needs!
That being said, to begin your repentance you can start playing games in class and put some thought into your lessons. Below are a few games and resources that I have compiled, to help you reform:

Interactive Classroom Games And Other Resources
The Heist
A lesson on directions is great because it is useful, and only takes minutes to review, lending itself to numerous interactive games. If the students ever go abroad, they will be able to find their way around in English speaking countries because they can understand directions, or maybe they will be able to help a lost gaijin find their way around in Japan. It can be reinforced with other games like scavenger hunts, or by making blindfolded students navigate through a course (to reach various waypoints) and timed.
English skills practiced: Giving and receiving directions, orientation and motor skills.
Equipment needed: A large map, a car magnet, and various other magnets of your choice, a set of smaller maps and directions for every student.
Directions: Break people into groups of three, or any group number divisible by three. One person is a robber, one is a witness, and one is the police officer. Have the police officer leave the room or close their eyes, and instruct the robber to pick a place to rob, and a place to hide with the witness watching. Once this is settled, place the cop car at the scene of the crime, and instuct the witness to give directions to the police officer leading to the hide out. Time how long it takes to complete this task, and have different teams compete against eachother. To make this more difficult, you can pick a place to stash the money, and a different safehouse for the robbers to hide in.

Gesture Racing Game
English skills practiced: Non-verbal communication (gestures), vocabulary review.
(To learn how gestures help in learning a foreign language, you can look here: http://www.medianet-ny.com/research.htm, and search Google for many other interesting studies.)
Directions: Divide your class into two or more teams and have them face the back of the classroom, form a single file line, and sit down. Then tell the first student from each group a word (such as monkey, chicken, and fish). After you say ?go? the student must convey the meaning of the word through gestures to the next student. The student at the end of the line fastest to give a correct answer scores a point for their team. After a match have the students switch places within the same team.

Kanji Drawing Lesson
English skills practiced: listening to directions, drawing, studying the English meaning of kanji
Materials: Paper and pencil
Directions: Teach your class shapes, adjectives, and directions such as:
Line, straight, curved, perpendicular, vertical, horizontal, square, rectangle, long, short, center, up, down, left, right, etc?
Draw a straight line, Draw a curved line, Make a Circle.
Use these directions and words, directing them to draw a kanji, for example:
Draw a vertical line. Draw a horizontal line through the middle of the vertical line. What number is this: It?s ten (ju).

Basketball Games (from The Ultimate Playground & Recess Game Book, by Guy Bailey, p. 38):
Around The World
English skills practiced: Geography, questions and answers, TPS, reading
Materials: Flags, World map (to match the flags to), basketball
Directions: The goal of this game is to make baskets from ten (or however many you want to use) spots in a semicircular pattern around the goal. I play this game using two or more teams using different baskets to compete against each other. The player chosen to shoot first shoots from spot #1 (at the base of the key). If the shot is good, he moves up to the next spot. If he misses, the next player then gets a turn at shooting. Play continues with each player shooting from the current spot.
The first team that first successfully makes all the shots wins.
In this lesson, you can teach about foreign cultures and customs very easily, while practicing questions and answers, or it can just be used to learn the names of different countries. Have the people get into a couple of groups (at different courts) and set up a key. At each spot, I place the flag of a foreign country. The whole team asks the shooter a question about the country (for example, What animal is from Australia?), and then the shooter must answer (example: A kangaroo.) before they can shoot.

Horse
English skills practiced: spelling, Total Physical Response(TPR) type learning, speaking
(to learn more about TPR, check this website: or Search Google for Total Physical Response)
Equipment needed: Basketball
Directions: This game is best played with groups ranging in size from 2 to 6 players, but can be played with more. The game begins when the first player takes a shot from anywhere on the court. If the ball goes in, the second player must make the same shot from the same spot. If the second shooter misses, then he is assigned a letter ?H?. If he makes it, no letter is given, and the third shooter must make the same shot. Whenever a shooter misses a shot, the next shooter gets a chance to make a shot which must be duplicated. As the players make and miss baskets, the opportunity of the first shot will pass quite frequently between all of the players. The letters H-O-R-S-E are assigned to players that miss shots that must be duplicated. Once a person gets all 5 letters they lose but I let them keep playing to maintain interest. You can substitute any word you like instead of ?HORSE? to review vocabulary.

Other resources to explore:
To find ANYTHING on the web do a Google search: http://www.google.com
Basketball Games were modified from: The Ultimate Playground & Recess Game Book, by Guy Bailey
Kip Cates? Global Issues in Language Education Newsletter. For a sample newsletter, contact him at kcates@fed.tottori-u.ac.jp
Innovative Approaches To Early Childhood Education (The Reggio Emilia Method)
I highly recommend researching Active Learning , if you want some excellent ideas on teaching techniques that are tried and true.


Break from the norm and be an inspiration to them, not another disappointment.

Posted by Adam at 11:26 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack

December 1, 2003

Survey Results

In case you were curious, this is what I have been working hard on for the past few weeks in conceptualization, development, collection, processing, and articulation of my survey and the resulting feedback. I was chosen to give a presentation on the relationships between JTEs (Japanese Teachers of English) and ALTs (Assistant Language Teachers), and to distribute the information to the other four presenters who are giving the same lecture at the same time as me this Thursday. I am pretty proud because this work is the result of my efforts, with a little help from my P.A., Brenna Dorrance.
I was happy to learn that most of the ALTs seem to be effectively teaching English, and that there was not too much bitching. Unfortunately the JTEs lived up to my expectations by not participating or by not stating what they really felt on the survey. Where does all of that pent up frustration go? Oh yeah, it goes to the Snack, and the next day your forget about it because you are being scolded by your wife for blowing all of your money on "pachinko"...
I am gonna put the smack down on everyone in my presentation, because everyone needs a solid kick to the pants.
The most common complaint by ALTs was that the JTEs teach us the lesson plans ten minutes before class we are frequently given only the time spent walking from the office to the classroom to come up with an idea to make the lesson interesting, so I am going to switch the tables by giving the JTEs the task of using actual pages from our boring textbooks and give them five minutes per group of four to come up with good ideas for a lesson to present in front of 70 something people. I will randomly pick some victims, to maintain an atmosphere of quiet terror (JTEs) and smug satisfaction (ALTs). Haha, I am giving the gift of empathy by making everyone suffer together!
But to bitch-slap the gaijin teachers, I have a different plan. A common JTE complaint is that they feel uncomfortable talking with foreigners in a non-native language like English, and that they want to talk more but don't know how. So, I am going to give a randomly picked gaijin who doesn't know too much Japanese, a problem such as:
"My kids are always giving me kanchos (a kancho, for ye who don't know, is a term describing some dirty kung-fu. Basically you clasp your hands and extend your index fingers, and ram them into someone's asshole. Kids generally like to do this to gaijin from nursery school and in some cases until middle school. I have even seen a co-worker do it to a waitress when he was really drunk. Many kids have suffered great pain learning that Adam don't play that! The Japanese can just be plain sick sometimes), and I usually don't mind, but I have hemmorhoids. How can I make them stop without resorting to the use of a baseball bat to mitigate this problem?" and I will instruct them to use only Japanese or gestures to convey this meaning to the room.
Hell, I figure if I have to work, so do the members of the audience! Hopefully this presentation will go off well, and I think it will because it is an interesting topic. I will know that I have done a good job if someone has a mental breakdown during my workshop, heh!

Anyways, if you like, take a look below to get a glimpse into the minds of a cross section of the JET community in Kumamoto, Japan.

ALT and JTE Relations: A Litmus Test (Survey Results):
16 ALTs from Kumamoto participated in this survey, and were allowed to pick more than one choice. A Japanese version of The same questionnaire was sent out to JTEs, but their contents are not covered here..

1.In your classroom, which choice best describes your relationship
with your JTE?
a. The JTE is the leader, who gives you orders to be followed. (8 votes)
b. We have a symbiotic relationship. Together we form Voltron! (6 votes)
c. You are in charge of the class, and the JTE plays the part of Robin to your Batman. (5 votes)
d. Other- The ALT is in charge of the classroom (2 votes)

1.1.How would you describe your ideal role as ALT in the classroom? What duties do you think that you should perform?
The ideal ALT should:
*Work in collaboration. Both should be jointly responsible for the planning, content, presentation, and assessment of a lesson. They should feel free to bounce ideas off of each other.
*Cooperate with the JTE in setting goals and discussing problems.
*Support the JTE in working toward collaborative goals, including repetition drills, grammar points, and key sentences, however mundane they may seem to us.
*Become friends with the students, and be energetic in class to motivate them.
*Share 50/50 responsibility for the class including but not limited to research and Prepare useful class materials, and make decisions together.
*Frequently use activities and games to make learning (English) fun.
*Help with correcting tests and homework, or any other class related activities, no matter how small.
*Try out new ideas in class, and not just rely on the textbook for teaching material.

1.2.How would you describe the ideal JTE? What should they do in order to make teaching English fun and effective?
The ideal JTE should:
*Help the ALT to know what is going on in the school, in class, in the lessons, and between the students, since it is difficult for ALTs to know everything that is happening..
*Use other sources than just the textbook to help teach grammar and other parts of the lesson.
*Enjoy teaching children, and use a variety of teaching methods that include aural, oral, written, viewing, hands on, and other interactive methods or activities.
*Not be afraid to make mistakes and to express their true feelings and opinions.
*not be scared of the ALT and not hesitate to talk to ALTs. Make an effort to communicate no matter what.
*Be a teammate who shares responsibility, and trust the ALT as a professional (but this trust must be earned).
*Be a person who is open to experimenting with new games and approaches to teaching the class.
*Play more games in class, and allow the ALT to introduce new games and ideas.
*Effectively teach useful or necessary lesson topics and grammar points.
*Help the ALT build stronger relationships with the kids, because they see the kids all the time.
*Reinforce what the ALT is teaching, and not looking out the window or looking bored when they are speaking (this should be reciprocated!).
*Be a person who is passionate about teaching and English, who inspires students through their actions, not just their words.
*Make time to discuss and prepare for the class on a regular basis, even if they are really busy, in order to make the lesson more effective, complete, and fun.
*Encourage students to use English as much as possible, and continues to challenge the students to their full potential.
*Hopefully be open to becoming a friend.
*Take a more active role in class, and not just watch.

1.3.Do you want a more active role, and how so?
Many people said they were fine with their roles in class already, but some common responses were:
I want to:
Plan, set goals, come up with unorthodox lessons, use more communicative activities, be allowed to do even ?mundane? tasks such as making copies or grading homework, experiment in class with new material and teaching methods or make modifications to the lessons.

1.4.As a team, what are you trying to accomplish in class (What are your ultimate goals and aspirations)?
Many people expressed that they didn?t feel part of a team, and that they were unable to develop goals as a consequence, but there were a number of suggestions:
As a team, our goal is to:
*To help students relax in class, get them moving around, and encouraging participation while having a good time.
*To get students to use English as much as possible and even when they are not in class.
*To have students who are not afraid to speak English, but better yet, to help students become confident speakers of English who are not afraid to make mistakes.
*To get through the material in time. To maintain the scheduled curriculum in order to get them into high school. To learn the textbook vocabulary and target sentences.
*Be able to get students to express their true opinions and feelings.
*To get them to enjoy English and develop a positive view of it.
*Getting the students interested in foreign culture and countries.
*To use English as a tool to consider everyday life situations through conversation and role-playing.
*To expose students minds to global issues, views, problems, and solutions.

2.How well do you get along with your JTE?
a. Stupendously, I want to marry him/her! (7 votes)
b. We have a good relationship. (16 votes)
c. O.K., things could be worse, but they could also be better. (10 votes)
d. Bad. I have trouble communicating with them. (3 votes)

2.1.How can your relationship be improved?
Some people said that their relationships are already really good. Here are some other comments:
*Communicating with each other (notice I didn?t say ?speaking English to each other?)
*Finding time to talk about goals for the class, to evaluate and plan lessons, and to improve the abilities of the students. Meeting face to face with each other more often.
*Actually team teaching, instead of one member teaching and the other watching.
*To have the JTE use the ALT as a resource of English information.
*To treat each other as professionals, with mutual respect and hopefully friendliness and understanding.
*To try to see things from the your partner?s perspective.

2.2.How often do you talk with your JTE?
The answers ranged from never to all the time, but how often you talk with your JTE is a terrific indicator of the health of the relationship. As you would expect to find, those people who talk to their JTE on a frequent basis tend to have fewer problems and complaints.

2.3.How often do you go to their school? Does this affect your relationship?
More time spent with your co-teacher + more communication = a better relationship.

2.4.If you only visit a school once in a while, how do you get the most bang for your buck out of your seldom appearances?
This question did not apply to some people, and others had never thought about it at all.
You should:
*Make the lessons really fun and stimulating, to create motivation and an incentive for the students to learn and remember English.
*Keep the lessons focused on being as interactive as possible and stress speaking and other communication.
*Plan and produce huge lessons, since some people have a lot of free time to conceptualize, build, and implement them.
*Be friendly, don?t get upset about little things, and be understanding.

3. How would you describe your participation in class?
a. I am always doing something, whether it be observing the students, giving one on one help, or talking. (11 votes)
b. I do things occasionally, and feel useful most of the time. (5 votes)
c. I feel that I could be utilized more effectively, but am trying to think of how. (3 votes)
d. I am barely used at all, and when I do speak it is in the manner of a tape recorder. (3 votes)

3.1.How can you be better utilized? How can you improve your effectiveness in the classroom?
Give the ALT more time to help plan the lesson, and ask for their ideas in order to make the lesson special for the kids.
When the ALT is teaching focus the lessons on what they are the best at doing, which is usually speaking, providing fresh ideas, teaching about culture, etc?
Involve them in more collaboration in any activity, with the goal of helping the kids.
Let the ALT give directions in class without the JTE translating right away.

4. Which would best describe the level of Japanese/English used in your classroom?
a. We have created a classroom that immerses our students in English. Japanese is only used when necessary. (4 votes)
b. Japanese is used a little more than necessary, but English is used frequently and effectively. (10 votes)
c. Japanese is used in many unnecessary situations. English should be used much more. (7 votes)

4.1.What are some steps you have taken or that you think you can take to use English as much as possible in your class?
*Both teachers use English as much as possible, using Japanese only when it is really necessary, especially for every day conversation and classroom commands.
*Create an environment in which students are not afraid to make mistakes, and which helps them to gain confidence to express themselves. Get them to say when they don?t understand.
*Have the ALT explain everything in English, and only have the JTE explain in Japanese when all else fails, or because of other problems (such as time constraints, immediate danger, etc?).
*Speak to the kids inside and outside of class in English.
*Teach English through the contexts of foreign countries, cultures, and world issues.
*Play (appropriate) music during the class during non-active activities, such as reading or writing.
*Work together as a team.
*Focus on verbal practice as much as possible to get the kids talking.

5. How much planning and preparation do you do for your class?
a. All or almost all of it. (6 votes)
b. Some of it. I plan together with my JTE. (6 votes)
c. A little of it. My feedback and ideas are valued and considered by my JTE, but more for proof reading and supplementing a lesson than co-planning it. (3 votes)
d. None at all. (5 votes)

5.1.Do you want a more active role in lesson planning and teaching? (Note: many people said ?no?)
a. Yes, I want to actively design and orchestrate lesson plans. (1 votes)
b. I want to plan lessons more. (2 votes)
c. I want to teach more. (1 votes)
d. I want to have a more active role in planning and teaching. (3 votes)

6.Please check or describe some problems you have encountered with your JTE:
a. Like Ma Bell, I got the ill communication. You don?t talk to each other, other than what is absolutely necessary to accomplish the bare requirements. (3 votes)
b. My JTE doesn?t like me. (1 vote)
c. My JTE is scared of me. (2 votes)
d. My JTE tells me the lesson plan only seconds before we teach it. (8 votes)
e. My JTE give me too much work to do. (1 vote)
f. My JTE doesn?t give me too much work to do. (4 votes)
g. We have cultural misunderstandings. (4 votes)
h. I tell my JTE the lesson plan only seconds before we teach it (1 vote)

6.1.Please address any other problems or concerns with regard to your JTE/ALT relationship.
*The lessons should focus on challenging the students in order to help them develop their abilities to their fullest potential.
*The emphasis should stress more learning and less teaching. (Note: If you are interested in this method, please research ?Student Initiated Learning/Student Centered Learning?)
*Many students expect entertainment, games, cuddling from their ALT all the time- is this realistic?
*We don?t drink together enough (Best complaint, hands down!).
*Because the school I work at is so small, I am afraid that if I confront my JTE with our problems that my situation is likely to become very very bad.
*My JTEs don?t want any responsibility for class, and prefer to watch from the back of the class.
*My JTE doesn?t like ALTs (in general), and other JTEs don?t know how to use me in class.
*Don?t be over critical of small mistakes. Be understanding, and I will reciprocate.

7.Who plays the role of disciplinarian in the classroom when things
get out of hand?
a. We both do. We put the smack down tag-team style when necessary. (4 votes)
b. My JTE handles all of the discipline. I am more like the ?good cop?. (10 votes)
c. I handle almost all of the discipline. (1 vote)
d. My classroom is like a zoo. (5 vote)

8.What do you think of this? Who should discipline the students?
a. It is the job of the JTE only. I am just there to supplement English teaching.(6 vote)
b. It is both of our jobs. We should present a united front to face our challenges.(10 vote)
c. It is my job. My JTE doesn?t do it, so I feel that I must.
d. Students should not be confined by rules. Down with the Man! (only 1 vote!!!)

9.Please describe what has worked for you and your JTE in helping to motivate your students to study English.
a. What are effective methods that you use with or without your JTE in teaching English?
The most important is logical staging of lessons. Building on one topic or theme over a month or more to consolidate language points/ vocabulary.
Dividing the class into small groups and do pair work works well.
Making a fun environment by using silly topics and activities works well.
Discussing Pop-culture and teenage lifestyles in foreign countries or from their perspectives is a good way to get and hold the kids' attention.
Using games, repetition, using rewards or incentives is good for motivation.

b. What games/lessons/activities continue to work well in class?
Material should be changed frequently or it loses its appeal.
?smart mouth?, shiritori, JTE and ALT skits, bingo, team games, anything that involves competition, music, and time limits, Karuta, International material.
Everyday or exotic contexts such as detective games, newspaper interviews, shopping, directions, parties, etc?
Bulletin board with quizzes, passport point cards (stamped when the students speak English).
Class diaries. Two students take the diary each week and contribute something in words, with pictures optional. The ALT and JTE writes back each time.

c. Do you have any extracurricular activities that work well outside of class?
Eat lunch with the students and join in a sport or other extracurricular club, spend recess with them.
Visits by other ALTs.
Cooking classes.

d. What English songs do your students like to sing?
Abba (Dancing Queen), Beetles, Carpenters, John Lennon, Tatu, Biggie Smalls, 50 cent, Bob Marley

10.Finally, what are some things that you think should be more carefully covered in class? How can your goals be realized?
a. Vocabulary (4 votes)
b. Pronunciation/ Phonics (14 votes)
c. Gestures and Body Language (4 votes)
d. Slang/Informal English (4 votes)
e. Useful Everyday English (14 votes)
f. Reading (2 votes)
g. Writing (1 votes)
h. Drama (3 votes)
i. World Cultures/ Global Issues (7 votes)
j. Computers and the Internet (6 votes)
k. Grammar (1 vote)

Posted by Adam at 6:02 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack

November 18, 2003

Pain As Humor As An Effective Teaching Tool

My Japanese Teacher of English (JTE), Sato sensei, asks me to come up with stories that relate to the textbook often 5 minutes before we start class. This can be quite challenging because the text is super boring and whenever anyone looks at it you can literally see the glaze build up in their eyes.
Brian's comment made me remember this lesson, and I still feel the roadrash burning my face.
It was like this: The weather was perfect, so of course I had a midterm in an Anthropology course. While biking toward class, I saw Chris, so I pulled up next to him. He got this crazed look in his eyes, and it was understood that we would start racing. What ensued was not mutually understood. We got going at a pretty good speed, when I notice he is veering toward me and POW! He friggin side kicks me, and the next thing I knew I was sprawled out on the bike path in front of the Anthropology building, fellow bikers going around some poor jackass on the tarmac. Roadkill. But it was OK because luckily the right side of my face bore the full impact of the crash. Seeing red, I ignored his apologies, shook off the mental haze, and biked to class. Fucking Ben Hur motherfucker ass shit bitch! Ooooh, I would get payback! I was a minute late, and everyone looked at me, or rather they gawked at my abraised face, as I slipped into a vacant seat. I finished the test, and afterwards I went to the restroom to assess the damage. I had asphalt and dried black blood lodged in my scrapes, which I cleaned out at the apartment with lots of Q-tips and of course, hydrogen peroxide. It was only after I finished my 4 years at UCSB it dawned on me. Bikes are just not for some people, and by "some people" I mean "me".
My story blended seamlessly with that of the textbook, and the students actually paid attention and understood my English. Now if only I had a story to match every one of the the textbook's.

Posted by Adam at 9:14 PM | TrackBack

September 22, 2003

Crikey, Thats A Big Sheila!

What kind of savage beast could possibly do this type of damage to my forearm???

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You are probably picturing this, the mighty T-Rex, in your head! But no, this creature is much more cunning and dangerous.
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She is so dangerous that they keep her behind a reinforced set of iron bars, and use modified supercharged cattleprods to keep her at bay! This is what bit me, and she has since the last chomp, tried to bite me a couple more times!

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However, no beast can match up to the raging fury that lurks within my little sister. I have a scar on my cheek created from when I was 5 years old. She bit down and refused to let go even after drawing blood, a testament to her feral temper.

Posted by Adam at 3:52 PM

September 12, 2003

Rules Of Engagement

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Tiny exploring hands. This is my concise description of what a Hoikuen (nursery school) is. I no longer keep anything on me when I visit because my kids are all pickpockets of varying skills. The mob technique is employed every time I go, with two kids clamping onto each leg, while two apiece grab onto my arms, and everyone else huddles against me. Sometimes the more motivated ones bring chairs or anything else they can step on (i.e. eachother) to jump onto my back. Its a collective effort to make me plummet to the Earth, much like the exploits of groups of primative Neanderthals working as a team to bring down a mighty mammoth! There is no holds barred in this dystopic island of the beasts. I have developed a set of rules to follow to ensure my survival:
1. Cover your crotch and anal areas at ALL times. The boys especially used to love socking me full force in the nuts at unexpected times. I put a stop to this immediately by applying my Vulcan Death Grip, so now it has almost ceased to be a problem. However, the kancho (shoving fingers up your butt) remains a problem. They ALWAYS try this at some point during the day, even if I make them sorry they did it. What is it about these kids? Don't their parents teach them that you shouldn't touch certain things??? I have even seen adults engage in this behavior!
2. Don't fall to the ground. One word sums it up: Dogpile. With 30 plus kids at a time, death by suffocation is not so far fetched a possibility (is this proper English???).
3. Don't duck down to check on the status of a crying child. This seems heartless, but unless you think something is really wrong, chances is that this is just a clever, irresistable ruse. Survey the situation standing completely erect. If you don't understand this, see #2.
4. If you push the kids on the swings, demand reciprocation. This gives you a chance to rest, and its fun to see them try so hard and get absolutely nowhere (hahaha!!!). Really, though, find a good place to avoid detection and rest when you need it.
5. Wear stuff that you wouldn't mind wearing if you were to go wrassle yerself some hogs. Stuff gets stretched out, torn, and really really dirty. Boogers, dirt, food, and many other disgusting forms of contamination will bombard you from the time you arrive until you make it to your car.
6. Bring stuff to bribe them with. When reason fails, use their greed to get them to do what you want! Dealing with a pack of hoikuen kids is probably the same as dealing with the Mongol hordes. Show no fear, and promise them rewards if they cooperate.
7. Think carefully before you do something for anyone. If you do it for one of them, you probably will have to do it for all of them.
8. Think carefully before you talk. They are brilliant at parroting when they want to, so only proper English should be spoken. If rule #1 is forgotten, this can be quite challenging.

Posted by Adam at 12:16 PM | Comments (1)

September 11, 2003

Engrish Lessons!

Lessons are proceeding better than expected, and I have tweaked my lessons to up the game time, introduce a more broad range of cultural content, and reinforce past lessons. This is the culmination of years of observation, cognition, and experimentation: As Hannibal says "I love it when a plan comes together!".
Last night during a private eikaiwa (english conversation class) I learned that Kikuko (the secretary at Yamaga Shogakko) was able to use some English that I taught her four months before. Some of the lessons I have been making deal with trouble shooting in other countries, including: how to protect yourself from scams, what to say in difficult situations, how to find the best places (to eat, shop, party, etc...), how to get around and ask directions, how to give vague answers to dangerous questions, how to get the best prices on stuff, and the use of slang and idioms to name a few. Anyhow Kikuko went to Vietnam two weeks ago, and had a chance to use what I taught her. The maid tried to make her sign a charge sheet stating that she would pay for a TV set that was broken when she was away from her hotel room. Kikuko read the statement, and realized that the maid was trying to pull a fast one, so she busted out with: "I want to talk to your manager!". The maid's bluff called, she quickly said "I'm sorry, there's no problem, let me talk to my manager and I will take care of this" and she was not charged or bothered about it again! I can tell you this much- MY eikaiwa students will not be taken advantage of like your run of the mill Nihonjin! Try and take advantage of them will earn you a "Crazy Fool(in the words of the all mighty B.A. Baracus)! What are you trying to pull? Do you think I'm stupid?!? Whats your name? I want to talk to your boss!". Ah, thats what teaching is all about!

Posted by Adam at 9:48 PM | Comments (1)

September 9, 2003

Ewwwwww...

When people hear that I get to work at 3 hoikuens every week, they generally say either "Awwwww, they must be so cute" or "Wow, that sounds cool". Well these two statements are true, but babies are really disgusting things. They piss all over the tatami, they smell like feces at times, they drool whether excited or comatose, have food caked in their hair, face, clothes, and whatever else they come into contact with, they will put their hands anywhere, they put anything they can into their mouths, and they perpetually have big boogers creeping out of their tiny noses.
Its not like my kids are not well taken care of. After lunch they are cleaned, but it seems like all effort is in vain. In no time, they are once again filthy. Hahaha, my home no longer seems so messy anymore!

Posted by Adam at 4:22 PM | Comments (1)

September 4, 2003

Shifting Gears

Today I decided to change my lessons in all of my classes, increasing the duration and range of games played. I have decided that not all games need to be tied into practice of English, as long as they serve the purpose of motivating the students to develop their language, cognition, social, motor, and various other skills that will be of use in the future. This ties into my plan to create an educational environment which will encourage creative and critical thinking, with the ultimate goal of providing my kids with the tools to learn on their own, and to motivate themselves independently of the curriculum based education.
I am quite happy with most of my shogakko lessons, and the kids still have a spark in their eyes and WANT to learn more English. The Hoikuen kids also like English lessons, but they forget everything rapidly, and many of them can't yet speak Japanese!
I think the best thing I can do for my kids is to support them in enjoying their childhood experiences. I believe that with positive associations, my kids will turn out better in the longrun if I concentrate on important areas and cut down on unnecessary educational activities. This is my way of upping the quality and cutting away the excess quantities. They will have plenty of time to vegetate and to perfect their techniques to deal with rote, mindrotting work when they reach Chugakko.
As for Chugakko, the best I can do (since we have to stick to the text and do boring drills to prepare for the outdated entrance exams) is to concentrate on the students whose interests in English and foreign cultures have not completely collapsed, and hopefully make a small difference. It is discouraging to note that with the jump from Hoikuen to Shogakko and from Shogakko to Chugakko, the rate at which the students pick up English dramatically decreases. This in itself is not necessarily bad, but the plunge in morale as Chugakko progresses is indeed a sad, sad thing to witness.
There is hope at the end of the tunnel, though. After teaching High Schoolers this summer, I found many of them to be highly enthusiastic and hungry to learn English. This is also true of many college students who I have met. I know that my kids have the potential to become truly engaged in the pursuit of real education, and hope that that potential comes to fruition. This years work is indeed cut out for me. I will do my best.

Posted by Adam at 11:04 PM