Why I Prefer Nagahama
Topic 2 Bridging the Gap with Shodo
Koka Junior High School: Joshua Clay McMillen
In the past year, I have taken up a new hobby,
which feeds directly into my study of the Japanese language, Shodo (Japanese Caligraphy). My growing interest in Shodo has also sparked the interest of both teachers and students.
When I have free time in the teacher’s room, I take out my brush pen and start to practice writing characters. Teachers that pass by my desk take an interest in what I am doing
and stop to compliment my work.
I also share some of the characters that I have practiced with students before class starts. They are amazed at what I have done. They are able to see that I am learning just like them. Many times, I write what I am learning on the black board and ask them to critique my work. They can really see my level (which is very low) by my stroke order and because of the small mistakes that I make. Honestly, it’s good that I make mistakes in front of them when I write new kanji on the board. This helps me to show them that they should not fear making mistakes.
書道 異文化 架け橋
甲賀中学校： ョ ュ ミッ ミ ン
今年度 始まっ 新しい趣味 始 まし そ 書道 日本 カ フ 私 日 本語 勉強 直接役立っ います 私 書道 興味 持 始 先生や生徒 興味 持っ く
う まし
空 時間 職員室 筆 ン 漢字 書く練習 始 ます 私 机 そ 通 先生方 私 姿 見 興味 持 褒 く ます
授業 前 生徒 一緒 練習し 漢字 黒板 書くこ し います 生徒 私 し い こ 見 びっく します 私 彼 う 学 い いうこ 見せ ます 何 度 練習し い 字 黒板 書い います そし そ ほ 出来 評価し っ います 彼 筆順や っ し 間違い 私 ＝ 低い 判断 ます 正直 言っ 黒板 新しい漢字 書い 彼 前 間違うこ 良いこ 思います 間違い 恐 い いうこ 示せ す
Speaking English as a Teacher
Shigaraki Junior High School: Rachel Boyle
One day at my desk this year, I stumbled upon an article from the BBC titled “Native English Speakers are the World’s Worst Communicators”. As a native English speaker working to teach my mother tongue, it seemed worthwhile to read it. To very briefly summarize the article: monolingual English speakers don’t realize that their speech is difficult to understand, so they don’t make adjustments; non-native speakers understand each other better than they do Brits or Americans. After two years of teaching English here, I think I can say I’ve changed the way I speak English for the better.
When I first arrived, I wasn’t totally unaware of my speech. I did my best to speak slowly and clearly, carefully pronouncing each word and avoiding contractions. As time went on, though, I realized that my idea of “easily understandable” speech was more tuned to America than to Japan. I started learning the way my students learned English, subconsciously building up a list of things they’d learned versus things they hadn’t. I learned how to phrase things more simply, and how to fragment my sentences when speaking slowly to keep important phrases together.
(For example, “Do you like. Apples?” is better than “Do. You. Like. Apples?”, because the familiar
“do you like” stays together.) All of this speaking style change happened in the background as I slowly grew used to teaching English.
But truly, I didn’t realize how much I’d learned until I took a trip to Morocco. I had a chance to speak with a friend of a friend, who had barely spoken any English the last time I’d seen him four years ago. He’d learned a lot, and we spoke for a while one evening. My friend approached me later, saying she was surprised at how well we’d communicated in English, since she usually struggled to keep her speech simple. “Teaching English has taught me a lot,” I laughed in response. And it’s true – I think anyone who’s taught English as a foreign language can testify to that.
教師 し 話す いう
信楽中学校 チェ ボ 今年 あ 日 英語 ネ テ ブスピーカー 世界 最 コミュニケーション 下手 あ いう 記事 出くわし 母国語 あ 英語 ネ テ ブスピーカー し 読 い 思 い 目 通し 記事 簡単 う あ 英語し 話さ い人 自 言 語 理解し い 気付 い 言葉 相手 合わ 調節し う し い 英語 母国 語 し い人 ギ ス人や カ人同士 場合 比 互い く理解し合え 私 日 本 ２年間英語 教え 以前 相手 伝わ う 英語 話し方 変え う
初 日本 来 私 自 話し方 気 い わ い 限 語
語 ゆ く 寧 発音し 短縮形 使わ い う し い し し時 経
私 考え い 理解しやすい 話し方 日本人 く カ人 いう
気付い 私 生徒 英語 う し 学ぶ 考え始 彼 習
習 い スト 無意識 作 う う 物事 簡潔 言う 大事
言い回し ゆ く 話す う 文 区 考え 例え Do you
like. Apples? Do. You. Like. Apples? やすい do you like 形 頻
繁 使う 私 英語 教え ゆ く 慣 いく中 変わ 思う
し し実 ッコ 旅行す 自 ほ 学 いう 気付い い
私 友人 友人 話す機会 あ 彼 ４年前 会 時 ほ 英語 話 彼
Topic 1
英語 勉強し あ 私 あ 夜 し く会話 続 友人 私 英語 コミュニケーション い 驚い い 彼女 簡単 英語 彼 話 う 頑張
い う くい 私 英語 教え いう 私 多く 教え く
笑 返事 し 真実 外国語 し 英語 教え あ 人 誰 通 証言す 思う
(訳 信楽中学校 藤田小夜美)
Coincidences: A Journey to Obama
Shin-Asahi Kita Elementary School: Brittany Ekejiuba
January 19th, 2017 was the end of an era: it was the last day of Barack Obama’s presidency. For 8 years, President Obama had represented the USA with a poise and dignity that I could not be more thankful for. Before his 2nd term was up, I wanted to celebrate America’s first black president.
As luck would have it, 1 hour away from me in Fukui
Prefecture is Obama City (the shared name is a mere coincidence). Two
other JETs and I decided we NEEDED to go, and soon. The three of us wanted to take pictures with the city signs, go to the local attractions, and maybe buy a few Obama manju (a Japanese style dessert with Obama’s face and ‘‘I ❤ Obama’’ stamped on).
So on January 14th, we drove through the snow to Obama City. Totally by chance, there was an event in town that very day thanking President Obama and honoring his achievements over the past 8 years. Not only were there Obama manju, there were ‘‘I ❤ Obama’’ T-shirts, stickers, vending machines, and even haori (a traditional Japanese jacket). On stage was a huge banner that read, ‘‘Thanks, Obama’’ and cardboard cutouts of Mr. and Mrs. Obama.
It’s amazing how small coincidences can make such big changes in the lives of so many. A shared name with a president an ocean away brought this city international fame, and changed the scope of its tourism for almost a decade now. Obama’s Hawaiian birthplace provided
inspiration for the Obama Girls, an all-ages hula dancing group that has performed from
Okinawa to Hawaii. These people knew more about Obama than I did as a US citizen. And on that day, this coincidence brought us all together.
小浜へ 旅
新旭 小学校: ニ ウ
年 日 一 時代 終わ 日 マ大統領 最後 日
年間 マ大統領 落 着 威厳 持 アメ 象徴 アメ 初 黒人 大統領 期目 終え 時 祝い う 思い
巡 合わせ う ここ 時間ほ こ 福井 小浜市 あ 前 いう せ 他 人 JET 私 小浜市へ行こう 決 私 人
市 板 写真 撮 地元 所 行 マ う 少 買 い
思 い マ大統領 顔 I love Obama いう焼 印 あ 日本流
日 私 雪 中 車 小浜市 向 い 幸運 こ 市内 マ大 統領 年間 業績 え 感謝 イベン 行わ い マ う
I love Obama T ャ 自動販売機 羽織 伝統的 日本 ャ さえ あ
会場 あ う マ大統領 書 旗 マ夫妻 段ボ 切 抜 あ
こ 驚 う 小さ 一致 暮 中 こ 大 変 海 隔
大統領 前 繋 こ こ 市 世界的 ここ 年間 観光旅行 所
変え こ マ大統領 ワイ産 あ 年齢 女性 ン
誕生 沖縄 ワイ マン あ そ 人 アメ 国民
あ 私 マ大統領 こ 知 い そ こ 一致 私 一
( 翻訳 高島市立新旭 小学校 青谷 夏奈 )
2
The Significance of Japanese Self Study □,1 Takashima Junior High School: Brixton Sandhals
While preparing for life as an ALT, I came across many an anecdote stressing the importance of an exclusive use of English in the Japanese classroom. In order to ensure my students had ample opportunity to be fully immersed in English, I would need to use English with them and English alone. Of course, while I would like to stress the significance of having exposure to one’s target language via native speakers, I believe the value of communication with Japanese students in Japanese has been grossly underestimated. An honest effort to learn Japanese on the ALT’s part provides students a means of empathy with you regarding the struggles of language acquisition.
It also shows your coworkers that you are interested in and respect
their culture, and it assists in creating English sentences more easily understood by your Japanese-speaking students.
Above all though, and perhaps most simply, the use of Japanese where applicable dissolves a thick wall of apprehension between you and your students. Although I will use English exclusively when in front of my class as a whole, when students are working individually I am more than happy to assist them in Japanese. Since implementing this, students have felt more comfortable requesting my help both in and out of the classroom, and the one-on-one work with students shared by me and my JTE has become more evenly distributed. Moreover, a student’s ability to converse with their ALT in Japanese does not necessitate an invariable pursuit of Japanese conversation alone. Conversely, students will often, if able, ask their questions to me in English, but do so with the comfort and knowledge that they will not be backed into a corner wherein they do not have the linguistic fortitude to articulate their point or question. It is the cushioning of the option of Japanese which enables them to ask in English in the first place.
日本語自学自習の重要性について
高島中学校 ブ クス ン・サン ハ ス
ALT し 仕事 準備中 日本 教室 中 英語 け 話さ け いけ い く聞い そう 教師 し 生徒達 英語漬け し い 私 必 英語し 使わ け い け い いうこ あ 勿論 ネ テ ブ 通し 目標言語 触 こ 重要性 強調し い 日本語 日本人 生徒 話 こ 価値 極 過小評価さ い 思う 自 一生懸命 日 本語 勉強し こ 伝え 語学学習 い 生徒 ALT 共感 日本 文化 興味 あ
こ え 私 日本語 文法 理解 日本 人 し 英語学習 手助け 簡単
中 簡単 こ 日本語 使うべ 理由 適 日本語 使うこ 教師 生徒 間 厚 い不安 壁 崩 概し 教室 前 い 時 私 英語 使う 生徒個人 英文 書い
い 時 日本語 手伝 良い 思う そうし い 生徒 教室 内外 私 安心し 頼 く し 私 JTE 生徒 一対一 教え 時間 均等 ALT 生徒 日本語 会
話 い 生徒 日本語 け 会話 こ 限 い そ こ
生徒 聞 いこ 英語 話 英語 話 状況 作 日本語 手助け 簡単 英語 話そう 思い 生徒 く相手 英語 聞くこ 最初 段階 日本語 使
うこ 英語 質問 う 思う
翻訳 高島市立高島中学校 ＡＬＴ ブ クス ン・サン ハ ス
[ 出典
Reflection of Reality
Imazu Junior High School: Caroline Wright
T.V. between America and Japan is surprisingly different. Our dramas are more intense and our comedies can be darker and our variety shows are almost non-existent. Our cartoons and anime are easily the most comparable. Even our dramas are often easier to compare in content to anime than Japanese dramas.
But nowhere is the contrast more evident than in what these two countries consider reality T.V. I think this is because Japanese reality T.V. is actually reality, while ours is more about watching people getting ready to have a fight, fighting, or reflecting/recovering from the fight. Which, while in small doses can be entertaining – that is why people like dramas after all – becomes so tiresome when that’s all that is happening. It’s also very unrealistic.
When I first came here, one of the most popular shows was about a guy in his sixties who was biking through all of Japan. The show pretty much had four parts: 1) fan letter, 2) bike around, 3) meal and smoke 4) fans/random people chatting. The end. All done in neat little 15 minute segments.
Another that is still popular is Cats Around the World. It’s literally just a small crew traveling around the world filming cats in beautiful locations with pleasant music in the background. There is another about different trains and, of course, the many, many shows about food. While we have an entire network devoted to food, I wish this could be an area where we would take the hint from the Japanese and learn to just relax.
現実の反映
高島市立今津中学校 : キャロライン・ライ
トカ 日本 ビ番組 驚 ほ 違います カ ド マ 日本 比べ 強烈 内容 コ 番組 い内容 す そし 日本 う バ エ 番組 ほ あ ませ カ 漫画 日本 ニ 一番比較し易い す
し し 国 現実 近い番組 作 う 努力し い 確 す 日本 番組 実生活 即し 現実的 内容 あ カ 実生活 大袈裟 見せ あ ます 結 果 す わ う 短編 綴 い 面白い す 結局 そういう理由 人々 ド マ 好 思います 過剰 事件 起 続 飽 ます そし や そ
非現実的 す
私 初 日本 来 一番人気 ビ番組 日本中 自転車 旅す 60代男性 ドキュ ンタ 番組 し そ 番組 フ ン タ 読 自転車 旅 食事や 彼 フ タ
滞在先 地元 人々 語 い ４部門 構成さ いまし
他 人気番組 あ 世界猫歩 文字通 少人数 撮影ク 世界中 旅し 心地良い音楽 BGM 美しい景色 中 猫 撮影し 周 ます 他 様々 電車 紹 し
食べ物 料理 取 扱 す 番組 さ あ ます 放送局 食事や料理 取 上
います 日本 番組 ックス 多い カ 番組 そう ほしい
す
( 翻訳 高島市立 津中学校 海東 美幸 )
2
A True Culture Exchange ３
We get to work with many different types of teachers through our JET career and there seems to be very little knowledge on what exposure foreigners already have with Japanese culture. I would often wish if teachers could experience a taste of what life is like in an English speaking country that they wouldn’t be viewed as foreigners or even travelers until they said so. My wishes were heard, as last year I was lucky enough to have four of my good friends and coworkers ask if they could visit me in my home city of Toronto, Canada over the summer vacation.
After they enjoyed a few days in Disneyland, I met my four friends at the Toronto airport.
Although I spoke to them in English as I always do, they gave their immediate appreciation and relief that they were not only happy to see me, but also relief that they could understand my English. We only had a couple of days together in Toronto before heading back to Japan, so I took them to Niagara Falls on one day and shopping around Toronto on the next. I cooked them meals, took them to restaurants, and showed them all the different food available in Toronto. We did some people-watching and some board games, and on the last day, one of my Japanese friends, my dad and I together did some jamming on the piano, guitar, and bass. I hope they were able to experience a little of what it is like for JETs to live in Japan through this trip to North America.
Sometimes we will have a friend help out, translate or guide us. Sometimes we have to rely on our own abilities to get around. It’s not only important for Japanese teachers to continue to offer guidance when JETs are lost, but it should be acknowledged that JETs live and survive in Japan on our own, by picking up the language and culture over our time here. Those teachers and I have a special bond now and I value their friendship immensely. Wishing that more teachers would be able to experience a similar trip, I was recently asked by another two teachers if they could visit me next summer in Toronto. I am so ready!
本物 交流
ＪＥＴ ＡＬＴ し くさ 先生 事 し 日本文 も親し し そし 日本 先生 も外国人 立場 英語圏 国 経験し ほしい 思い し 幸運 こ 同僚 四人 夏
休 利用し 私 故郷 あ ロン 来 く し 彼 ー ン 楽
し 後 ロン 空港 私 待 合わせ し し 私 い も通 英語 彼 話 し し 彼 私 会え け く 私 英語 理解 もう しそう し ロン ほ 数日 在 し 見物し 買い物 し し 彼 食事 作 ロン い い 食材 紹介し し 最終日 友人 ひ 私 私 父 一緒 ピ ノ ギ ー ベー 即興 ッション 楽し し こ メ へ 旅行 日本 生活す ＪＥＴ
こ 少しわ く い 思 い す
手伝 通訳や案内 し く 人 い す 自 自身 や い く
いこ くさ あ す ＪＥＴ 授業 す け 大 く 時間 も 言葉や文 身 け い い 私 ＪＥＴ 生活もも 理解し も い い す
こ 先生 私 非常 強い し 私 も こ 経験 し も い く こ 夏 ロン 来 い 先生 誘 も す