Better Book? Better look!
As I`m sure everyone has seen now, Our Kure Amity school has an excellent little library of English storybooks for our students to look at before and after class.
What many might not know is that some of these books are much more difficult than others, The most difficult of these perhaps is our copy of Enid Blyton`s `The Magic Treacle Jug`
This story is 20 pages long, with almost 100 words on every page!
Despite how difficult this story is to read, it is very funny and teaches good lessons, not to mention the beautiful art on every page!
Just this week, one of my Mid-Level P5 students chose this book to add to her reading practice seminar.
I was very impressed as she sounded her way through 8 of the 20 pages. She did not know many of the words, but she carefully sounded them out syllable by syllable, and then we found words that she knew that meant the same thing.
Seeing students practicing reading stories that I also used to practice reading when I was younger made me feel so warm and wonderful inside!
-Jordan Sensei
This week a student posed an interesting question to me after her class, she asked me "What is the difference between learning and learning about something?"
This question stumped me for a moment, I hadn`t thought of it before, In the end though we came to an agreement about their meanings.
To Learn something is to practice and do it, you learn crafts, skills and languages, Our students Learn English when they come to their lessons and see new words,
To Learn About something is to understand its history, its meaning, and its place in culture, we learn about art, we learn about people and we learn about stories.
It was so interesting to watch the gears in her head turn as she thought about what she knew, and what she knew about.
I`m always excited when students ask questions like this because it leads to us thinking about parts of language that we might otherwise never consider, so Everyone, Keep Being Curious!
みなさんこんにちは！
今日は、英検2級に向けた対策レッスンのお話をいたします。
現在英検2級取得に向けて頑張っているHちゃん。
今回から、ライティングの要約問題が追加されるため、練習をしています。
大きく3段落あり、それぞれより大事な個所を選ぶこと、そして要約する際に便利なフレーズを伝えました。
最初はどこまで文章に含めなければいけないのか、考えるのに時間を使いましたが、少しずつ重要な点をしぼれるようになりました。
引き続き一緒に頑張っていきましょう！
福田
Two of my Baby C students have started to really make progress in their English lessons!
From being far more active, they are now talking and singing in their classes.
Baby "W" is now far more comfortable saying words in English.
Apple, Banana, Green and black are just some of the words she is now saying.
She is moving and dancing to chants and always wanting to show her dad how far she can throw a ball.
Baby "W" is filled with so much energy.
Baby "A", is also showing great progress, as she now sings along with the chants, especially the counting section.
She is saying things like Hat, apple, banana, cherries, green, hat and black.
She also said "knock Knock" for the first time on Wednesday. This left me and mom so excited.
Baby "A" was knocking on every available surface in the classroom, saying knock knock!
It was simply the cutest thing ever!
- Khanya (Kay) Sensei
Last weekend we teachers had the pleasure of travelling to Kyoto and doing some sightseeing together,
After coming back and sharing about all of our weekend, My Tuesday P6 class got to talking about all the cool places wed travelled to.
One student, `G` told us about his trip to Kyoto as well and how he saw the Golden Pagoda and the Gardens, everyone was excited by how beautiful they sounded.
Next `R` told us about her trip to the Tokyo skytree and we got to laugh about how we would all react if we were standing on the Glass Deck and looking down. It was so interesting to hear about Everyone`s experiences.
Even though travel isn`t something that everyone has had the chance to experience yet, I think that talking about the places we have been in our lives is an excellent way to understand eachother better!
-Jordan Sensei
It's always hard to say goodbye to students! especially when they have such a
positive impact on the class and even on the teacher.
Today was the last day for three of our students and it was really sad to see them go.
Two I had just had the pleasure of getting to teach them, the sweetest, bubbliest pair of P3 students!
Due to schedule and personal matters they had to make the shift.
The last one was one of my previous students, who recently entered HighSchool. His schedule has become so busy!
From club activities, studying and everything else just simply couldn't anyway.
But I was so glad to have met him! What an amazing student!
This student leaving was particularly sad because of how well we had bonded
since I taught them last year and a bit of the year before.
I hope all the students do their best learning English in the future!
May they keep moving onwards and upwards!
- Khanya (Kay) Sensei
This week our new school books have started to arrive, seeing them all in their colorful stacks with their shiny covers makes me so excited!
One of my students saw them through an open door at the start of our lesson and asked me "is it mine?"
I love seeing our students get excited to have their books, so I`m looking forward to handing out the books soon!
-Jordan Sensei
There are certain students who just bring an incredible energy to the classes every week!
It is part of the reason the classes are so enjoybale to teach! There is a vibe about them that gets both
me and the rest of the students in class in a great mood! I have two such students who make every week so much fun!
Student "K" and Student "Y". Both in different highschool classes but they manage to make the atmosphere lively. From sharing jokes,
being silly or just having interesting things to say that spark conversations. They really know how to create a great vibe!
I am impressed every week with how positive their impact is in their classes!
They definitely passed and scored high on the vibe check!
Thanks guys!
- Khanya (Kay) Sensei
The Time for Eiken tests is almost upon us now, All of our students have been working so hard to get ready.
While studying and preparing for tests is important, we also have to manage our stress levels.
Last week I noticed one of my superstar students, who is always so calm and happy, looked rather upset.
I asked her if she was okay and she told me "I have so many tests, I have to study all night!"
It is important to study for our tests, but if we do not sleep, then we won`t be able to remember anything anyway!
so Everyone, Please make sure that you take care of yourselves and your friends in these stressful times!
-Jordan Sensei
みなさんこんにちは！
今日は、小学校低学年クラスのお話をいたします。
小1～小3が集まったこのクラス。
はじめましてのお友達もいて、最初は緊張していましたが、今ではみんな仲良くお話をしています！
前回は、"What's this/that?" "It's a ～." の構文を練習しました。
レッスン中は、みんなで立って動いたり、座ったりしながらお互いに質問をしてもらいました。
きちんとお友達の顔を見てお話してくれるので、『英会話』がとてもよくできています！
保護者の皆様、"What's this/that?"はご自宅でも、お外でも練習できるので、たくさん質問してください！
生徒のみんな、知っているものは"It's a ～."と教えてあげてくださいね！
わからないものはいつでも先生方に聞いてください！
福田
