A few more Japan based rambles
My first week of teaching went well. Some of my classes on Saturday were cancelled by all the students. This included the class I get most nervous about- the one with two 6year olds. It was a relief but it means I have to wait another full week to teach them and get over my nerves! I had one class with three 7/8 year old boys and they are kind of known for being a difficult class to control- that class has a reputation! However I think I managed pretty well! I did quite a few games with them including a variation of "Captains Coming" which tired them out a bit and they loved a Hangman style game on the board- they love spelling English words!
My fellow teachers said they are impressed by my name learning ability. I told them that I have a good short term memory so during each 50 minute class I can learn and remember the names of my students (I tend to have a bit of a mind block if there's more than 5 though!) However I have to learn their names all over again at the next class because I've forgotten! I have about 90 students in my own classes whose names I need to learn, and then the other students who are not in my classes also want to talk to me. That's over 200 names!
I'm completely in awe of these kids who can spell English words when they are only 7 or younger! Also I'm amazed by my adult students who can talk for 50 minutes in English, sometimes about pretty complicated topics! My headteacher took D and I to a University yesterday to watch a Japanese lesson and sign up for a course if we liked what we saw. Unfortunately the lesson we observed was Intermediate level and everything went completely over my head! It was about the speaking difference between Polite form and Plain form in Japanese- there are different words that are used depending on the status of the person you are talking to. The whole lesson was in Japanese- I didn't understand much at all. D's listening ability and reading ability is better than mine so he understood but couldn't answer correctly because his speaking ability isn't up to scratch. So we've signed up for 10 lessons in "Survival Japanese" which sounds like my level, but might be too easy for him! The lessons are every Sunday at 11am and it's 2,000 yen for 10 lessons (bargain!) They start on 26th July but I was told that I have to learn my Japanese alphabets by then. I've worked out that I roughly have to learn 50 symbols a day in order to be ready on the 26th. Eeek, it's going to be hard work! I've found the English language section of the local bookshop so I'm going there after the internet cafe to see if they have any flashcards of the alphabets to help me learn!
On Saturday I went out to "celebrate" Independence Day. We let off fireworks in one of the little parks and had sparklers. Some of our students came along and they tried to sing the "Star Spangled Banner" with D. I didn't know the words so I just La'd along. Then the Japanese sang their national anthem and so I didn't feel left out I did a rousing rendition of God Save the Queen. I got a big round of applause afterwards! We then went to a few bars and had a McDonalds before heading home.