🔥 南山大学 英語教育センター 目からウロコラム

Sometimes first names and middle names are combined as if they were one name. One child would inevitably look up and see me. What many Japanese people misunderstand is that, because American businessmen often use their first names, there must be no or little hierarchical difference between them. When I drove in Tokyo I did feel that the roads were quite narrow so I was extra careful in suburban areas. One of the first differences I noticed between Japanese and Canadian classes was that not only did students sleep in class but that teachers let them! Whenever she was upset with me, she would say in a slow but powerful voice "JOHN DAVID HOWREY". My daughter loves doing 'Spot the difference' puzzles, and I discovered that in Japanese they are called 間違い探し: Find the mistake. Thank you, Kayoko! He said that with a pencil you can make a thin line or a thicker line by changing the angle at which you hold it, just like you can with a brush when doing calligraphy. In Nagoya, I am extra watchful of my rear view mirror when stopping at a yellow light. This was just my interpretation of what I was seeing. I soon decided that mistakes are a big deal for people in Japan. We all have choices when it comes to deciphering the realities presented to us, and I am always grateful that the second teacher could recognize the intent of the children and not simply the meaning of the word. Yet, even after living here for almost eight years now and having adapted in my humble opinion rather nicely on the whole, I still feel it is quite impolite when one of my students dozes in my class. There were a lot of cars but people were patient and waited their turn. It seems that in Aichi for some people that yellow means accelerate. I learned how to drive in Brisbane, Australia where the roads are quite wide and where the general speed limit is about 10 kilometers faster than in Japan. But because of this cars in Osaka would slow down on yellow lights. When I recorded the incident, he approached me about it after class claiming that if I penalize him for sleeping then I should also reward him for the more positive things he does! Aha, I thought, here it is again - mistakes really are a big deal for Japanese people. The chain reaction would then begin. Actually, some of the students were quite surprised when I explained this. In Japan middle names sometimes cause problems. If she did that, I knew immediately that I was in trouble and that I should either apologize quickly or run away as fast as I could. Well, it depends. There was an effective slogan for the TH! In my area of research, sociolinguistics, many studies have been conducted on how people address others, and how that reveals the power relations among them. The reality is the opposite. To me this makes no sense at all. They just did what I asked them to do without thinking. Just recently, however, I have a new piece of evidence to support my idea. Sarah Do students know what they are doing? In the past, people have honked their horns at me angrily. So, since then I always try to explain why I am doing what I am doing in class. Dale Mellow Yellow年05月24日 How drivers drive can show their character and I suppose in most cases their culture as well. Why is the difference called a mistake? If someone is full of the milk of human kindness it means that they are caring and have compassion towards others. The players throw a ball in a circle and call out words in a particular category. More than that, something you study in week four may be important in week nine! Walking past rice fields on my way to one-room cram schools, I often encountered young school children on their way home from class. And I realised that something obvious to me as a teacher is not always obvious to my students. Some people thought that Masumi was his Japanese name and that Jonah was just his English name, so they started calling him Masumi instead of Jonah.

You may call me Bob. I learned the hard way that it is unwise to ride a bike very fast downhill, in the dark, with a jacket in the basket.

My son also had another problem because his first and middle names are Jonah Masumi. The students reviewed lots of animal names, so when they got to the last activity they were better prepared. So far I have never had a traffic accident but have come close to being rear-ended on occasions because of my conscious driving. I suppose in Japan it is still a common name but only for dogs! Among the theories as to this phenomenon is that the wider lanes encourage people to drive at higher speeds than in other areas of Japan. The others, unaware, would continue on their way. The little girl or boy would stop dead in their tracks, staring at me as I walked towards the group. Maybe you have figured this out already, but can you see the connection between the first and the last parts of the lesson? Unfortunately, Aichi Prefecture has the dishonorable title of having the most annual traffic fatalities 5 years running in Japan. catch apple throw catch orange It is an easy way to warm up and practice some simple vocabulary. I have heard that the people from Osaka are always in a hurry to get to someplace. The only time I ever really remember anyone using my middle name was my mother. What about this one? Mauro Perspectives On a Word年06月14日 My first three years in Japan were in the Gifu countryside. The second teacher came forward and sat beside me. Organise your papers, and look back at the end of each class to find the links. He explained that people use pencils because they are better for writing Chinese characters. But the good news is now his friends know what to call him , and he never hears anyone use his middle name, unless of course his mother or I get angry at him… John Sleeping in Class年06月28日 When I first came to Japan, I taught at high schools in Nishi Mikawa. Charlie My full name is My first name, John, used to be one of the most popular names for boys in the US, but not anymore. Since I could not get a straight answer, I simply assumed that sleeping was culturally acceptable as I sometimes noticed it in meetings as well. America-jin desu ka? I asked a few of my co-workers about this phenomenon and some told me that it was natural because younger people need more sleep, while others understood what I was insinuating and replied that it should not be tolerated. My message to you, as good learners, is that you should think about that too! Her English may have not been perfect, but she taught me a valuable lesson in language that I know I will never forget. Now, two students would be standing still, mouths wide open, giving me their full attention. The Importance of Mistakes年05月31日 When I first came to Japan, one thing that struck me was that almost all my students used pencils to write with - back in Britain, nearly everyone uses pens, and pencils are typically used only for drawing. A typical reaction went something like this… The group of students approaching me would be chatting and playing as they walked. However there are human traits that are the same no matter what nationality a person may be and one of these is the ability to be caring and kind towards strangers. There have been talks of stricter fines for drivers who commit infringements and tougher regulations for driving schools to make it more difficult for people to get licenses. Although it was a shocking way to be introduced to driving I survived and it gave me the confidence to drive. Ken The Milk of Human Kindness年05月18日 All countries have their own specific cultural traits that make them unique. So I was very excited to get a chance to work on a course for university students who wanted to become English teachers too. Watching my Japanese students writing with their pencils, I soon noticed if they made a mistake, they would always erase it and re-write it - back in Britain, people typically just cross out a mistake. NK campaign in England recently that helped British road deaths to fall under three thousand, the lowest in eighty years. This also indicates the power relations among the employees. But one thing you soon learn when you live in another country is that some of the ideas you have are wrong. Just two weeks ago, in fact, one of my third year English majors at another university where I work part-time fell asleep during one of my lectures. The one child, left behind, would run to catch up to the group, grabbing one of his or her friends by the sleeve while pointing at me. But after living in the Chubu area for over fourteen years and being a driver for over eighteen years I think I can safely say that people have to slow down when the light is yellow. My middle name is David but I rarely use my middle name except for when filling out government papers. I explained to him that middle names are a tradition in the US. I decided to teach a simple lesson, and then discuss it with the students to help them understand the process. In Osaka I had to be cautious of people who would step out into the street before the pedestrian light turns green. In fact I may even have become a better driver here because of the many narrow streets that I have to navigate. I have even been overtaken because I stepped on the brakes at a yellow light. Next we sat down and I introduced the grammar point of the day, we practised a little, and finished off by playing a game of twenty questions. At some point, I told a Japanese colleague about my idea, and he said I was wrong. Happy studying! Keep in mind that calling your teacher by their first name follows the same logic! First, we tried fruit. The students each had an animal picture stuck on their back, and asked their partner questions to guess what it was. This custom of addressing supervisors makes the power differences in the workplace very clear.