So what does Jim do at the weekends when he isn't teaching?

BYOD solution to get SEs talking!

Last weekend I was looking after the Certification of speaking examiners for one of our fellow Cambridge Centres in Tokyo. This is a part of my job I really enjoy a lot, as I am working with professional teachers who are dedicated to the role they have chosen to pursue in their spare time - doing more teachery stuff! Speaking Examiners do not grow on trees; they need looking after, nurturing, and occasionally patting on the back! They need to know when they are doing a good job, and every year they need to freshen up their skills in delivering the speaking tests and to show that their assessment is in tune...matching Cambridge's worldwide benchmark.

We were fortunate last weekend to have half a dozen young CEFR B2 (FCE) level kids studying in the school, who were keen to have a couple of free practice 'goes'. One of the teachers was surprised one of the boys didn't start crying - so well done my team for not being scary & insensitive! Yes, it's a test, but you can still smile and be 'normal'. One thing I really do not want 'my' cadre to do is get all serious and high & mighty. Our job is to provide the candidates with the opportunity to display all that they can do....

This year I have been throwing my examiners into Quizlet Live games, competing with & against each other to tackle tricky topics like feedback commentaries. Rather than me stand there & bemoan this or that, the examiners themselves have to come to some sort of agreement as to how certain behaviour or outcomes should be considered. That in itself generates a lot of discussion - and consensus - and reinforces the message that regardless of location or circumstances, each & every candidate must have the same opportunity to be successful.

Ayako, Jim & Hiroshi - champions!

So I was delighted to be able to introduce the team later to Ayako & Hiroshi Nishizawa, both former Luna students now running a fabulous restaurant in Naka-Meguro ("Yakitori Champion"). Ayako took YLE while at Luna & has since home-stayed & studied in Warwick; Hiroshi was cool throughout our first 10-day farm-stay to Whangarei in New Zealand, 15 years ago. The food? Fabulous lamb, lots of lamb, and then more lamb. Excellent value, if a bit smoky!

For me, this was a 10 out of ten weekend. What do you think?

Old Flames!

I try to avoid going to the office as much as I can on Sundays...I spend enough working Sundays away from home with exams & JALT.

But, I would drop everything for Ayako if asked - and she asked. As she came up the stairs with her big sister - last taught by Anna-sensei - we found her YLE Starters certificate on the wall. 2004??? Blimey! I need to get a new speil for my YLE training courses, as I often cite Ayako in them. She is profoundly deaf, yet trampled the listening & speaking parts of that test (you'll have to delve into this blog's archives for more). She is one of my heroes.

Already at uni, Aya-chan wants to study English again - overseas. I could help her easily if the British government had not started this ridiculous visa restriction that any potential English language learners have to already have at least KET. OK, so I am also one of the few school owners who knows what that is...and I also know that Cambridge English Language Assessment (formerly the artist known as ESOL) will enable her to take the test alongside fully-hearing candidates.

I am very excited that 'little' Ayako is going to bite off another massive chunk off "Can Do", and tackle a totally foreign country. Once again, this brave chick is doing a Captain Kirk, and boldly going...so inspiring!

Loosing Ayako - spread your wings!

I've been in this game long enough to know that this afternoon is not the last time I will ever see Ayako, who had her last class with Luna today after about eight years. The next time I do see her though, she is likely to have found herself a place at uni, had her hair done and look nothing like the super-shy elementary school girl I first taught from ABC, and still remember her as. I guess she'd pass PET (CEFR B1) fairly easily now, but she wouldn't volunteer for yet another test!


Today she muttered dark things about her reader (Tutankhamen) being 'too hard' - but that her favourite character was King Tut himself. We were drawing lines under bits & bobs we hadn't finished off before.Ayako has read countless books from the Story Tree series (OUP) into Dominoes & Bookworms - she prefers Dominoes with the quizzes at the end of each chapter. She has consistently & steadily done everything she has been asked to try, and has come such a long way she can only continue to 'use her English' from now on. She leaves us ready to blossom.



Ayako has stolen the hearts of all her teachers over the years she has been coming to us for English classes. Going to have to find another way to make Saturday afternoons fun now...



Best of luck getting into the FE course you want, Ayako. Very sad to see you go, but more excited to see what you achieve next.

xxx Jim

The Real McCoy and other ghost stories

I see you have just read a book about ghost stories. Which one was your favourite?
I like "Strange Messages". It`s about the ghost of an astronaut. The ghost is in the computer.
That sounds very interesting! What happened in the story?
The girl wants to be an astronaut and her dream is a secret.
How did that make her feel?
It didn't say in the book about this.
OK. So what happened? How did she discover the ghost?
One day,she got a old computer by her uncle.
What did the ghost do?
The ghost sent her a message and the ghost knew her dream. She thought the message was from her uncle, but it wasn't from him.
What did the ghost say?
Follow your dream.
Isn't that difficult to do sometimes?
But the ghost still said follow your dreams. Everyday sent a message.
Did she speak to her parents?
No she didn't, but she talked to her friend. She surprised.
Did the girl follow her dream?
Yes, she did!

Rescue (with paragraphs)

Last June,a boy fell into the river.He liked to see the river,he walked by riverbank everyday.One day,it was raining but he went to the river.

The boy could swim, but the river was very fast.He screamed and a man heard him.The man found the boy in the river.Soon he phoned the police.Two policemen came to the river 3 minutes later.The boy caught a rope.

"I was surprised and I thought I must help the boy quickly", a man said. "The boy never gave up", a policeman said.

After the accident, the boy didn't go to the river. But it did not change that the boy likes the river.


Ayako

A confession - high school cat burglar

A career of crime comes crashing to a close: Ayako willingly confesses!

"I stole a million-dollar necklace because I wanted it. It was bright and beautiful.

I stole it from a jewellery shop on EkiMae Street, at two o'clock in the morning, yesterday. I am a robber so I picked the locks. It was quite easy.

My big brother Hiroshi helped me. He drove the get away car.

The police discovered my identity because Hiroshi was speeding."

Ayako is not helping police with their enquiries - she's gone shopping.

My best friend.

My best friend is Mai (since elementary school). We’re really different. Mai has got dark hair, but I have light hair – I dyed it. I am active but Mai is a little graceful. We’ve both got dark brown eyes. Mai is a bit taller than me.

We’ve got the same interests. We both like playing tennis. Mai plays tennis very well, but I don’t play tennis so well. We really enjoy it. Also, we both like playing the piano. We started playing the piano at the elementary school. She plays better than me. She plays in concerts.

Mai is good-looking. We both have a boyfriend. We sometimes have a good time hanging out together. We like shopping and love talking. We don’t like studying but a year ago studied hard in the library.

Ayako

G'day Matt

Today we welcome Matt to our ranks. I have known Matt for several years, and it's about time he joined Luna's teaching staff. I should thank Jon for reminding me.

Matt will be teaching most of our Saturday classes for us; we are hoping he'll be able to do so for a good while. Like Yuki & I, Matt also has a young child to look after. Unlike Jim, Matt can actually speak Japanese. However, Matt is an Aussie...

Matt has already met our Saturday roll-call of stars - here he is with Ayako and Mai-chan. Ayako is deaf, which is why she's covering her eye! (Actually, it was funny; these two are old-time buddies but studying independently. They wanted to gossip about their new teacher but couldn't - Matt & I were listening. What did they do? Bloody sign language!)

Saturday at Luna - looks good!