It Could Be Used For Teaching English

~Saturday is by far my busiest work day. This is because my students don't have school on Saturdays, and are thus free to come to English classes (yay!). Although I've often mentioned the crazy things my students have said or done, I've never really described what exactly it is that I do at my workplace. So today I'm going to describe one of the lessons I taught.

The class consisted of four Junior High School students, all of them girls (normally there's one boy, but he was absent today). They're a fun and genki (energetic) lot, but it's worth noting that I have a major advantage in teaching this class. This advantage is the fact that, by this point in the week, I'd already taught the exact same lesson to two previous classes (on Tuesday and Wednesday). This means that Saturday's students receive a "refined" lesson from me, because I've gotten a chance to analyze what worked and what didn't work in my previous lessons.

The lesson itself is loosely constrained by the company I work for, which issues flexible guidelines on how to run each class. The class textbook is company-produced (and staggeringly low in quality), but I rarely use the teacher's manual. In my opinion, the manual presents a lesson that is often too difficult to fit into a 50-minute class. Here's my lesson:

The class begins with a warmup, which is a fun activity to get the students speaking English that they already know without having to use questions. This break-them-in-gently approach is essential, because in all probability my students haven't spoken any English in the 167 hours since last week's class, aside from dull textbook reading in school.

• Today's warmup was "balloon bop", where they hit a balloon around saying a word for each letter of the alphabet (apple, ball, cat, dog, etc.). Students invariably lose track or can't think of an English word fast enough, which results in much amusement. As a "penalty", if a student lets the balloon touch the ground, they have to do a silly punishmen: to turn their bodies into the letter they missed, ala "Y.M.C.A.", which they all knew. Must be the karaoke.

The warmup lasted for about four minutes. Then it was on to "Opening Questions", which are simple questions to get the students' brains to think in English. I usually try to make the opening questions easy, fun, and unrelated to the textbook lesson. Today I used a very easy question, "What ____ do you like?/I like___.", coupled with a more difficult question: "Why?/Because it's ___".

• I wrote the questions on the board and give a few examples of adjectives they could use after "Because it's ___" (interesting, exciting, cute, funny, etc). I then gave the students paper cups and ping-pong balls and had them ask each other the questions, bouncing the balls to each others' cups across a table. For more chaos, I had them pass the balls diagonally across the table, in each others' paths. Hilarity ensued as the ping-pong balls flew all over the place and students scrambled to recover them.

The warmups and opening questions, all together, took no longer than 10-12 minutes. Then, it was on to a review of last weeks' lesson. Last week, they studied how to differentiate people in a picture by their actions and appearances; for example, "What's that man doing?"/"Which man?"/"The one wearing a blue hat./He's riding a bicycle." Quite difficult.

• Review: The students opened their homework books. Surprise, surprise--none of them had finished the previous assignment. Junior High students rarely do, but it's hard to blame them: they have so much school work, and the company workbook is god-awful boring. I always make sure to quiz them on the previous lesson, to see if they understand even if they didn't do the homework. We spent a few minutes going over the exercises, then put the books away.

With the review complete, it's time for the real lesson. Today's topic was hypotheticals: what an object might or could be used for, or what situation a person might be in based on limited information. It's hard to describe, but I'll show you how I explained it to my students. First, I drew a bizarre machine on the whiteboard (my "artwork" always gets a few laughs). It looked something like this:

^ On the board, I wrote this sentence: "It could be used for _____." I then placed on the table a pile of cards with gerunds (-ing verbs) written on them. I had the students look through the cards and find anything that even remotely worked for my picture, then share it with the class. Some answers in included listening to music, singing karaoke, laughing, and drinking juice.

• With that done, I passed pictures cut out from magazines. I was fortunate to have several issues of BAR, an archaeology magazine. Each issue has a section called, "What is is?" with a picture of an ancient artifact, and choices for what it might be (and the answer in the back). I also cut out pictures of machines from some science magazines that I also have. For the lesson, I passed out some of the pictures to students and had them guess what they were, using the sentence, "It could be a(n) _____.", and "It could be used for ____."
  

• Next, the students opened their textbooks to the lesson page, which had bits of out-of-context dialog in speech bubbles. For example, the words, "She's shaking." and "He said he'd be here at six, and it's already after eight." The challenge for the students was to give me a hypothetical situation for why the person might be shaking, late, or whatever, using the structures "He could be ___." or "He could have ____".

I had them work with a partner and gave them two minutes to come up with two sentences. For example, my students came up with "She could be cold." and "She could be scared." for the dialog "She's shaking."

• Next, I presented today's final structure, "He must be ____./He must have ____.", explaining that this was used if you were sure of something. I gave them more information for the dialog. For "She's shaking.", I said, "There's a big dog nearby barking at her.", prompting the students to confirm that, "She must be scared."
  

• There were about ten minutes left in the lesson by this point, so I hustled them along to the group work page, which had a picture of a bag with ten common items (a telephone, an iron, a roll of tape, a set of chopsticks, etc). The students pretended they were archaeologists from the year 2828, speculating about the purpose of these items, using "It could be used for ____."
  

I encouraged them to come up with bizarre and silly answers, provided that the answers were at least vaguely logical. They worked with a different partner for this project, asking the question, "What could it be used for?"For each sentence they came up with, I acted it out using a real object. When one student said that the tape could be used for making music, I took out a roll of tape and began sticking and unsticking it, pretending to enjoy the sound. My antics usually get this class laughing, which is fun. With only a few minutes left, I had them share their "findings" with the rest of the class.

• The only thing left to do was to briefly go over today's homework assignment, to encourage them to complete it. Then I give out stickers, which are like currency to Japanese students. Normally, they only get a sticker if they do their homework, but they worked so hard in class that I relented and gave out stickers anyway. Besides, I was damn happy that my working week was almost over.
  

It's difficult cramming all of this information into a 50-minute lesson. I feel that the assigned textbook often supplies too many new points in each lesson, and I'm often forced to break it into digestible chunks that my students can learn well, rather than glossing over a large number of questions and answers. Theoretically, students should fanatically study on their own and learn everything...but for most students, that's just not going to happen, and I don't have the heart to inflict that on them.

In the end, I'd rather they learn some English and learn it well, rather than hear a lot of English and not understand most of it. ~Oyasumi!

Street Art

~Some time ago, I mentioned that many commonplace objects in Japan are works of art. For example, I spotted this design on a historical display along a street in Nagaoka:

^ The four sections of this design each have one of the symbols of Nagaoka. On the left is the Chosei bridge, famous for its ridged design and for having the fireworks explode over it. On the top is a fireworks explosion, while on the right is a person skiing. On the bottom is Nagaoka Castle, surrounded the ubiquitous cherry blossoms.

^ Here is one of the sewer manholes in Nagaoka, with a design identical to the previous image. These add a touch of class to otherwise dull streets.

^ Another design from the historical display. This one features cherry blossoms, fireworks, the castle, and one of Nagaoka's famous flame pots:

^ The flame pots (of which this is an oversize reproduction) were created in prehistoric Japan by the Jomon culture, which thrived thousands of years ago. The reason the pots are a symbol of Nagaoka is that a village from the Late Jomon period (~1500-1000 B.C.E.) was discovered an excavated in the Western part of the city several years ago. The village contained huts, fire pits, and several beautiful flame pots.

Today, the village has been reconstructed on the exact archaeological site, which is now Fujihashi History Plaza. I've been meaning to visit for some time now but haven't had the opportunity yet.

^ The corresponding manhole cover for the flame pot design. The number of these and the previous design are split more-or-less evenly throughout the city. About half of the street manholes have one of the two designs, while the rest of them are undecorated.

^ Over in Niigata, they get color! This is a beautiful design for what is, in reality, a simple maintenance hatch. The hirigana writing on the lower-left reads, "Niigata". Why bother decorating such commonplace objects? Perhaps, as this design suggests, we could all stand to slow down the frantic pace of our lives and appreciate the beauty in everyday things. ~Oyasumi!

That Jin Jin Feeling

~Nagaoka is being pummeled by intense windstorms (~41 mph gusts) and sporadic snow flurries. Outside, the wind is howling over the trees. As I'm fond of saying, "Weather such as this is best enjoyed from indoors." Actually, it's best enjoyed indoors, in front of a fire, while sitting in a reclining chair with a blanket and a purring cat on your lap, with a mug of hot chocolate and a good book or movie, and the phone turned off.

But that's just me.

Anyway, here are some more of the "Word Play" cartoons that I've been collecting from The Japan Times newspaper. If you missed the last blog, each of these cartoons illustrates a different onomatope, which is a usage of onomatopoeia (words that sound like sounds). Every Tuesday, the newspaper runs two "Word Play" cartoons displaying two similar onomatopes:

jin jin
Having sat on the floor for a long time, my legs started to tingle and I couldn't stand up.

So in Japanese, jin jin is the "pins and needles" feeling you get when your muscles are cramped. Most Japanese are used to the kneeling position, but for the few times that I tried it in formal Japanese ceremonies, I had major jin jin.

shin shin
The snow falls steadily and silently and gathers on the ground in the ancient capital.

The ancient capital described here is most likely Kyoto (translates to "Western Capital"), which was the capital of Japan for centuries until it was moved to Tokyo ("Eastern Capital") in 1868. The snow falling outside of my window at the moment is definitely not doing so in a shin shin fashion.

bishitt
The earthquake severely cracked the wall.

Thankfully, I wasn't around here for the big earthquake that struck in 2004. I'm sure there were plenty of structures that were bishitt back then, although most of the damage has been cleaned up by now.

pishitt
The teacher who is usually kind, sternly scolded the boy who caused trouble during class.

A person who is very strict could be described as being pishitt. Usually, I'm quite laid back in class, but sometimes I have to be pishitt with my students when they behave like petulant little monkeys or (in the case of certain high-school students) lazy sloths. ~Oyasumi!

Happy ♥ Day

~To all of you out there with a Special Someone, allow me to say Happy St. Valentine's Day! To everyone else, I hope you survive the "Most Hated Holiday" with your ego intact. Anyway, the celebration of Valentine's Day is quite different in Japan. The most obvious difference is that February 14th is a day for women to give chocolate to men...not the other way around.

That's right, guys--on Valentine's Day in Japan, you don't have to do anything: no flowers, no chocolate, no expensive dinner...but women will give you chocolate. It's great.

There are two categories of chocolate that women give to men: giri choco (obligatory chocolate) and honmei choco (chocolate for the man the woman is serious about). For example, male coworkers often receive giri choco from their female counterparts. Fortunately for me, male teachers also sometimes get giri choco from female students (or at least, I *assume* it's giri choco):

^ Luckyyyy D♥vid! This is one example of the chocolate I got from my students. Cute, isn't it? Not to mention delicious.

Valentine's Day was originally imported into Japan in 1958 by candy companies, who heavily marketed this Western tradition with candy sales and advertisements. Nowadays, supermarkets and departments stores set up huge candy displays in the month leading up to Valentine's Day, with dozens of different kinds of chocolate in a wide range of prices. The ubiquitous convenience stores are also well-stocked should you need some chocolate at the last minute. There is no set division between giri choco and honmei choco, although chocolate a woman buys as honmei choco will invariably be of the more expensive variety.

When, you might ask, do men get around to buying chocolate for the girls? This is done on a unique Japanese holiday called White Day, which is celebrated on March 14th, exactly one month after Valentine's Day. White Day was originally created in 1965 by a marshmallow company to increase sales. The idea behind White Day is that men are supposed to "repay" women who got them chocolate, by buying them something white.

Traditionally, chocolate bought for White Day comes in white boxes, which, for the next month, you can find at any store in Japan that sells candy. However, the variety of "repayment" gifts for White Day is much broader than just chocolate, and may include cards, cookies, flowers, and of course marshmallows. Remember, nothing says lovin' like s'mores over a campfire. ~Oyasumi!

Just Scrin and Bear It

~Humanity had its chance. We managed to survive for three whole games. But now [switch to Dan Williams voice] it's over! It's OOOVVEERRRR!!!


^ The above video shows gameplay and video footage of the "Scrin" faction from the upcoming PC game "Command and Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars" (For a much better version of the video, click here). Clearly, the designers drew inspiration from "War of the Worlds" and its laser-wielding mechanical tripods. By the way, "Laser-Wielding Mechanical Tripods" would be a good name for a rock band.

Despite the overall strategic inferiority of the C&C interface (which hasn't really changed in well over a decade),the series nevertheless holds a special place in my heart. The idea of a doomed alternate Earth slowly being covered by green crystals that offer unlimited wealth yet result in utter environmental destruction is just too compelling to pass up. Throw in some mutants, the requisite fanatic militant terrorists, the last remnants of civilization, and an hostile insectoid alien race bent on the total destruction of humanity, and you really can't go wrong.

At any rate, our civilization looks just about doomed in this latest installment of the "Command and Conquer" series. According to one of the main game designers of C&C 3, if you're playing as one of the other factions and find that you're fighting the Scrin...you may as well hit ALT-F4 and call it a day. Which is what I'm going right now, after I make plans for a Tiberium-proof bunker. ~Oyasu-freakin'-mi-out.

A Grand Party

~Today I went to an international party at the Nagaoka Grand Hotel(長岡グランドホテル), the finest hotel in the city. There were people from many different countries there, including Japanese, Americans, Brazilians, Germans, Swiss, Malaysians, Australians, and even a group of Jordanians.

The party started with a speech from the President of the Harashin company, a chain of supermarkets which serve as my primary food source. I had no clue what his speech was about; for all I know, he could have been describing his most recent poker game.

However, after him a group of students spoke, and I learned what this was all about. The Harashin company had provided scholarships for the students to travel to Fort Worth, Texas, which is a sister city of Nagaoka. They went there on a homestay program and experienced American culture (by which I mean "rodeos").

Once the speeches were done, it was time for the food!

^ Fitting with the international theme of the party, there were foods from all over the world. Each section of the buffet line was marked with a flag indicating the country of origin for the type of food. I noted with amusement that the Tex-Mex food was marked with an American flag and the word "Texas", which may as well be an independent nation.

While people were eating, an official from Bamberg, Germany (Nagaoka's other sister city) received some sort of award or commendation from the mayor. I half-expected him to say, "Ich bin ein Bamberger!".

^ National origin issues aside, the food was oishii (delicious). There were about 300 people there, and I'd estimate that between 1/2 and 2/3 were Japanese. Everyone ate at round tables, and served themselves from the buffet line. Drinks were provided by the hotel staff. Unlike some of the other city events I went to, this party wasn't cheap (~$35)...but there was food!

^...and entertainment! Some of my Brazilian friends sang on the stage. After them, the Jordanians did some kind of traditional Arab dance which involved much clapping and making yipping noises. Everyone joined in and it was great fun.

^ There was also a collection of objects from the sister cities on display; I think they were gifts to the people of Nagaoka. This plaque is obviously from Bamberg.

^ A model house from Bamberg. Interestingly, the figurine on the right side of the building appears to be Japanese.

^ I'm not entirely sure what this gift from Fort Worth is. Perhaps it's a giant rodeo cowbell? Or a saddle strap? A commemorative toy from Taco Bell? The bell itself is engraved with the words "Nagaoka 2006" and "Fort Worth", with pictures representing both cities.

^ Another community that Nagaoka maintains links with is the Taiarapu-Ouest Commune in French Polynesia. The word "commune" in this case designates the lowest administrative level in French territories (there are 36,568 in mainland France); the Taiarapu-Ouest Commune is located on the island of Tahiti in the South Pacific, and these canoe oars were a gift from the people there.

I enjoyed the party a lot, and talked to many interesting people. It's always fun to go to international gatherings like these, and it broadens your horizons, too. ~Oyasumi!

It's Alive...IT'S ALIIIIIIVE!!

~Here's some more Japanglish, from a local supermarket:

Found on a set of kitchen towels:

Sweet
Kitchen
-------------
We'll advise you about your
"stickiness" about your daily life.

Please, I'd rather you didn't. Really.

Seen on the side of a paper bag:

CAKE BAG
We cheer everybody who
Communicates with all the heart
That's the reason why our products are alive

This company channels the emotional power of other people to power a hideous unlife for its confections. Presumably if people didn't communicate using their circulatory systems, the products would be merely inanimate objects. I like how the final sentence reads like a disclaimer. ~Oyasumi!