Test Time!

SO!

I think I've told you before, in Japan, students' grade number start over when they come to Jr High. Elementary school is 1-6, then when they get to 7th grade they move to a different school and start back at grade 1. When I refer to 1st graders, I actually mean 7th graders. 3rd graders at 9th graders. =)

Quick thought before I start how my classes went this month - WHY is February spelled the way it is? There's an unnecessary 'r' in there that I've never heard anyone pronounce, and yet there's no gramatical rule that explains why it's left out. It's terribly confusing to my students... They can't spell the month if they say it correctly, and they can't say it correctly if they spell it right. =)

1st and 2nd grade had to give speeches as a test for the month of February. This is a big deal because for the 1st graders it's their first speech. They did very well - usually Japanese students are very quiet and afraid of making mistakes. The teacher must have emphasized the importance of speaking loudly and clearly. I've told them countless times, if a student speaks loudly, even if their grammar isn't 100% correct, a foreigner can understand them most of the time. But, if they mumble, there's little chance for conversation. The 1st graders did a speech introducing their friend. The speech had to have 5 original sentences and went something like this "Hello everyone. I talk about my family. Her name is Yuki. She is my sister. She likes tennis. She is very cute. Thank you" Only one of the teachers taught the speech correctly, every other one just photo copied a layout that forgot the words "going to". =) It was too late to correct the problem, so I just let it go. I think it's more important to encourage the students to try than to point out their failures! Anyway, native english speakers know what they mean. The kids are only 7th graders!

The 2nd graders gave a speech on what their dreams were. It was really interesting to hear what everyone wanted to be. Many of the boys' speeches went something like this "Hello Everyone, I talk about my dream. I have no idea about my future, but I am interested in baseball. I hope that someday I will have a job in baseball. I will study baseball very hard. Thank you" Many of the girls wanted to be Nursery School Teachers, but there were quite a few designers as well. Also, there was a nail artist, a fashion model, a make up artist, and one boy who wanted to be a hair stylist. =) He had cool anime hair. It's amazing to me that boys here spend the same amount of time, if not more time, on their hair as the girls. They mold it to look just like the hair in Japanese anime - straight ironed to be very dramatic, or hair sprayed to stand up all over the place. =) I love it. Mike always says that he wants hair like that, but I'm thinking he'll never get his chance. Maybe I should get him a wig!

The 3rd graders did not have a speech. They had given several speeches throughout the school year, and were supposed to have a solid vocabulary by now. Their end of the year test was to have "free conversation" with me. I had to sit out in the cold hallway as the students came out, one by one, and had a 1-2 minute "conversation" with me. I have conversation in quotes because you can't have a real conversation in only 1 minute and a half... To add to the hilarity, almost all the students asked the same questions. By the end of only 2 class periods with the 3rd grade classes I had my answers memorized.

They would sit down and ask
"What sports do you like?"
I would reply "well, I cannot throw, I cannot catch, and I cannot run fast... so I like swimming. What sports do you like"
"I like baseball/basketball/soccer" (pick one)
"what position do you play?"
Confused look....
"Pitcher, catcher, 1st base 3rd base...."
"Oh, short-stop"
BEEP BEEP BEEP conversation finished.

OR
"what japanese food do you like?"
"I like pasta, so I like Oodon, Ramon, and Soba noodles. I also like Sushi"
"oh! I like sushi too"
"that's great - I like salmon, tuna, and shrimp. What do you like?"
"I like salmon."
"oh. =) What kind of food do you like best? Italian? Japanese? Indian?"
"I like Japanese food."
BEEP BEEP BEEP conversation finished.

The other top questions were "have you been to Tokyo Disneyland?" "What Disney character do you like" "What Disney attraction do you like" There were a handful of conversations that were REALLY interesting and I didn't want to end. I got to find out what Japanese places I should visit, and the various places the students have visited around the world. One girl was visiting Guam in March, while another was going to Hawaii. Several have visited the States, california or the east coast. It was amazing to me how much improvement there was in the students that had visited the states, or an English speaking country. Even just 2 weeks of being immersed in the language improves their pronunciation and conversation flow. I love it. =)

I know this is already a long long blog - but I have one more thing to share. One of the 3rd grade classes made me a poem book. They learned about 5 line poems (the kind we wrote in elementary school) and each student wrote out a poem about English class.

Here's one from a girl who LOVES the Jonas Brothers and Hannah Montana - her english is top notch for her age... She actually came on her own to talk to me about Jonas Brothers on my first day at school in October. How brave!

Hello!
Talking, Listening
America, JonasBrothers, Miley Cyrus
You made me happy
Thank you!

Here's another that I like...

English
Cute Smile
Very interesting time
Very happy laughing time
thank you

My kind of speller!

Teaching
Teaching in English
Tenk you
I interested in English
Tank you (LOVE IT!!! )


This last one is my favorite... It's by Emi Tsushima

Jessica
Jessica love
love love love
You like very much
Bye <3


So, on that note,

Bye <3