Postcard from...Nikko, Tochigi Prefecture

I'm watching you...

Nikko is one of my very favourite places in Japan - it's historic, but not overrun with tourists & their selfie sticks. There are a lot of international visitors taking their time to stroll around on their own & explore the place slowly, which is different!

It is also just a little bit eerie - tucked away in the forest, still a bit chilly at this time of year. Amazing architecture & woodwork panelling, gold detail everywhere, and heavy eyebrows following you around!

This was a flying visit with Damian-sensei; we had driven over very early in the morning to give Cambridge YLE speaking tests to one of our venues in Tochigi (the children were very good and the staff extremely helpful & cheerful)...but we felt we had earned a bit of tourism time after such a long drive & took a little detour 'on the way home'!

We really recommend making the effort to visit this incredible place - one of Japan's better kept & unspoilt secrets.

Postcard from...Kagoshima, Kyushu.

Sakurajima (volcano) from Kagoshima Port

Hi everybody!

I visited a very nice school here to give speaking tests to some very nervous children taking their Cambridge Young Learners exams. Although they were nervous, we did have a lot of fun.

When I had a spare moment, I walked around the historic part of the town and found the site of the old castle, as well as a couple of shrines and statues. I found out about the Namamugi Incident & the subsequent Anglo-Satsuma War in 1863...you know I like my history?!

I also managed to pop down to the port & catch a glimpse of Sakurajima. Fortunately, it was not erupting!

See you all soon :)

Killing time with a jigsaw & YLE Starters practice!

As I have written in the description, this was not a planned practice - we were waiting for her study-buddy to arrive and had already put the massive jigsaw together and talked about the things we could see.

The smaller cards I'm holding would be larger in an actual Cambridge YLE Starters speaking test (and the picture a lot simpler!); there would be eight to choose from, and at most the candidate would be asked to place only three into the picture (so we overdid it a bit here!). Note though, we've never done this before and were coming across new words (which we have not learned eg frog, kite) which we might not know, but we do know they were not apples or fish! Not all the vocabulary is in the Starters word list either - never mind!

My students have not come across prepositions before, so we were learning (and teaching each other) as we went. You can see the dynamic changes instantly with the boy joining us? The girl assumes the role of explainer & intermediary, supporter etc. This would not happen in an actual test - one at a time please! The examiner would have a script & time-plan to follow, too. We would be sat at angle like this, or next to each other. I think it is clear that young learners CAN DO if given time & a fair chance; they don't need translations or super-genki distractions!

We are going to be adding more Cambridge English speaking test practice videos on our Youtube channel this year; you can already find loads of examples of our learners making/singing/doing/giggling (a lot)...mostly fun & games at Luna but this I think the proof of the pudding: a serious CAN DO pay off.

November came & went pretty quickly - here's what happened!

We finished planting loads of bulbs along the car park, so that we might get a dash of colour in spring - already some shoots showing but we think the sub-zero temperatures will slow everything down significantly now. Last count we had 20+ pushing through, but it already started snowing?!



Very importantly, our YLE exam results came back (very quickly, thank you Cambridge) and we were able to give the cool newly-designed Certificates to all the children who tried very hard in October. The new certificates have several security features embedded in them - which means they are impossible to copy or fake. Well done kids, you own your English achievements!

We are already preparing the Christmas party, everyone is invited! This year, we will be using the local kominkan - we do not have the space, obviously! New Luna is easy to keep warm, but we cannot have a party in 3 different rooms!

Hope you like the slideshow? Please download it, share with friends & relatives, and tell us what you think :)  We would love to share your photos too!

Cambridge English YLE in Matsumoto - the most valuable English qualifications in the world.

Last Sunday saw our annual Cambridge Young Learners exams take place in Matsumoto - held this year at the spacious Kinroysha Centre (spell?!) nearby. It was nice not to have take down all our classroom posters and hump furniture about the night before!

Ironically, there was another organisation holding an English test in another building there...it was easy to spot the candidates as they were children, of course, but also looking very glum. Contrast that with the cheery interaction we had to try & prevent our candidates from carrying on into the exam room! Struck me quite clearly as we were waiting for people to arrive that our YLs have a ton of fun, and that manifests itself in behaviour as well as language. They enjoy being with each other, always do things together in class, and are comfortable hanging out together outside as well. Tick that box!

I spent a few seconds in the lobby as one of their staff when we arrived early - "You're an English teacher?" she said, as though she'd never met one in the flesh before and had only heard rumours...think she might have run off shouting "I met one! I met one!"

Anyway, our unfazed kids - and well-organised Yukari - got started with Starters bang on time. Invigilating was hard, as I had a great view of some comedy car-parking below; good job there were three of us keeping a careful eye on proceedings. Luna's sessions are always 'open', by the way, so we accept candidates from any school or area. This session no different, with candidates from Okaya, Nara and Tokyo making the trip to excel.

Older candidates get stressed about the speaking parts of their Cambridge exams - I think they over-think the whole deal. Children don't, especially when you distract them until the last possible minute - play a game, chat, anything. In you go, pay attention to the other person in the room & enjoy the nice colourful pictures. And "Thank you, that is the end of the test. Goodbye." I've finished?

Watch an example of a Starters Speaking test:


As usual with Movers, we had some of our students stepping up the ladder and being ambitious. I will tell students and parents till I am blue in the face, just try! I honestly believe a lot of the "I can't do English" syndrome here in Japan comes from being battered into submission all through school with the prospect of very hard English and constantly failing complex & convoluted Englishes in test after test (all conducted in the Japanese medium). I could not pass a Japanese test of English. Make any sense? In taking a Cambridge YLE exam (or any other) you are assessed on what you CAN do, and what you  are trying to do. There is no such thing as the 'wrong answer' in any assessment scales I have ever seen, and certainly not in the speaking test. Consideration is given to whether or not the child understood the question or not, had the word(s) to make an (any) answer, and pronounced anything they did say in English intelligibly. Can an experienced teacher of children, who is the examiner, make sense of the response? Bingo!

Follow the link for a Movers speaking test here

So I should thank our examiners Magnus & Rico for making themselves available not only on the day, but in advance of the session to certify with me in person and to meet Cambridge's stringent assessment benchmarks online. Thank you both very much for your time and professionalism.

I think all of our candidates taking Flyers were only warming up for much greater things - 'easy' they all said?! Can't wait to see the results and fast-track these go-getters towards FCE before they enter JHS. Possible? With the raw talent they showed today (no prepping) and intelligence I have enjoyed in class...as Stone Cold Steve Austin would say, "Hell Yeah!"

See a Flyers speaking test here

Looking forward to the results coming back, and seeing lots of faces light up with smiles again. Yukari deserves a very big thank you, as the new online system for the YLE exams is far from perfect and she has had to figure it out pretty much on her own. Proud of her :)

January review - warm glow of success!

Professional English teachers in Okayama = ESOL examiners

If it’s Sunday, this must be Okayama? And it isn’t raining?

I am extremely grateful that Malcolm and JP176 put me up NOT in the Tokyu Inn; and that I could travel up yesterday and relax last night rather take the overnight sleeper (fun, but not preceding a serious day’s work!). Observant readers may recall that my last visit included a night in casualty?

I wanted to get to know my examiners better; and they are mine, no matter which Centre they are affiliated to, if I do the training. Their bad habits (heaven forbid) are mine; their interpretations of the Gospel according to ESOL are coached in “but Jim said…” It really annoys me when people forget my name – indicates examiners are likely to forget to use candidate’s names appropriately. First impressions count for a lot, don’t they?

Paul, Tom, Jim, Zack, Malcolm, Simon in Ruoen Thai

So, last night I found myself in the very good company of examiners known, and an English home-brewer I need to get to know, in a superb Thai restaurant “Ruoen Thai”. I love good Thai food, and this was a love affair. Why can’t I combine coriander, basil & squid like that? This a group of people I would happily want to meet up with for a pint more than once a year…

Last minute arrangements had left the make up of this morning’s YLE development meeting hanging until 8pm last night; this afternoon’s contingent only finalised during lunch. At least that meant examiners were demonstrating a desire to stay on the books?

I was delighted to meet Reiko again, who has been working so hard to promote the exams  hereabouts for JP176, a lovely person who has a lot to offer the organisation. I have the sneaking suspicion HG might be the best kept teaching secret west of Osaka. Joan again showed she has actually sat down and read the materials and was the go-to girl with the rude awakening of a revamped quiz.

Brainstorming

In the morning we tackled various aspects of YLE examining, departing from the usual video/material log-jam to have a look at managing problems, controlling timing, avoiding obvious (but easily fallen into) man-traps. I like this format, as once examiners have set out their fierce criticism of performances on view, they really do not have anywhere to hide when the same criteria have to be applied to their own participation. Likewise this afternoon, looking at adult levels we took a hard look at the interlocutor’s role and in particular timing (with a pair of candidates we have previously studied to assess in detail…) I was privately delighted that this apparently ‘easy; just watch” exercise produced wildly different answers. “Pay attention: watch the clock!” Likewise, the ‘now give me a score for performance – you’ve got 10 seconds’ produced gasps of protest but…on the job, that’s what you have to be doing. Want to wander off for a coffee half way through? Keep going…

A new distraction!

I impressed on my examiners today the need to consider, and make arrangements for, the unexpected, the unusual, and the uncooked arrangements. Acts of God cannot be mitigated for, but good examiners (all of mine) are expected to be able to think and respond on their toes without dropping the ball. Under pressure, manage a group of three. You have a deaf candidate; deliver the listening test with your colleague (how can you examine the speaking test at whatever level if you are not familiar with other papers at this level?) twice through, without messing up, so that you can be lip-read. Brainstorm what could possibly go wrong if you were asked to examine a Braille-based speaking test? Work out a ‘to do’ list, come that day.

Okayama team: Malcolm, Tom,Joan, Billy, Paul, with  Jim

As unusual as it is to enjoy a fabulous Thai salad in Japan, I hope my Western Nippon team got more than they bargained for out of today’s re-scripted professional development workshop. My intention is that our ESOL examiners are adding ‘can do’ strings to their bows and taking fresh ideas into their classrooms tomorrow morning, and hopefully influencing their peers in turn with good practice, positive analysis of candidate/examiner (as teacher with another ‘hat’ on) performance.

Thank you, Malcolm, for having me over this weekend. Thank you dedicated examiners for your (glorious) day stuck in doors. Looking forward to applying YOUR monitoring template to YOUR performances soon!

Examiner training dates announced

I am delighted to be able to announce that we have been able to confirm all dates & venues for training at all levels of Cambridge ESOL examinations this autumn. Training will be conducted by Jim, in his capacity as 'Team Leader' for Luna International (JP004).

Young Learners - Starters, Movers and Flyers:

• Okayama - Sept 23
• Osaka - Oct 8
• Tokyo - Oct 16

Lower Main Suite - KET (Key - A2) and PET (Preliminary - B1):

• Okayama - Sept 24
• Osaka - Oct 9
• Tokyo - Oct 15

Upper Main Suite - FCE (First - B2), CAE (Advanced - C1) and CPE (Proficiency - C2)

• Tokyo - Sept 17
• Nagoya - Sept 18

In order to qualify to participate,  experienced English teachers should be in full time employment and be a university graduate/EFL certified. You should be available to examine, be reliable and display sound interpersonal skills. Non-native speakers are welcome to apply, but do need to demonstrate a good working use of English appropriate for the level to be trained for. Anyone interested in taking part should get in touch with Jim by email and request a Nomination form by submitting their CV.

Young Learners - in Fukushima, Niigata, Yamagata

We are delighted to announce that children will be taking their Young Learners examinations in the above prefectures on September 11th

Last month we hosted a YLE training session at Luna, with teachers coming from very far and wide to make sure this event would be viable. Hats off to Mario from Sendai, Ryan from Yamagata, Stephen from Aizuwakamatsu, Mike from Sakata, Alan from Ojiya, Anna from Ueda for the miles you covered. They will be on the road again to conduct the speaking tests...

So, which are the very good schools where these exams are on offer?

Image via Wikipedia
• Windmill English Centre in Aizuwakamatsu, Fukushima-ken.
• MY English School in Yamagata city and Sakata, Yamagata-ken
• Sunshine Learning Center in Ojiya, Niigata-ken

What is the connection with all these schools? Well, they all have very committed, professional owners who recognise the importance of internationally bench-marked examinations which are suitable for their young students. Jim knows these owners pretty well too, having met them here and there at JALT/ETJ/publisher events over the years. So, if you teach kids up north and want to prove how well your students are doing, why not get in touch with the nearest venue - they are still accepting external entries. Hurry, hurry!

(Want to become a venue? Want to become an examiner? Drop Jim an email)

Bad witches - excellent warlocks

 My lads are startlingly good at recognising patterns...because I have given them time to see them, and argue about them (and these lads DO argue!) and been consistent. Sean Gallagher (Happy English Club) in Nagoya has meetings with his teachers to keep them consistent (phonetically) which I think is tremendous.

In the course of our text book enquiries (English Time 3), we came across the way we need to add a syllable to some words when they get an 's' on the end.No real need to explain the 'why' (as usual) just "That's the way it is" (sorry Bruce Hornsby)

They key to any learning is making it your own - shifting it from your book into your head, from your classroom into your bedroom etc. I still don't think OUP have realised what a Titanic-sized contribution the Story Tree (yes, that's right, the Story Tree, not the relaunched Reading Tree) has to offer EFL. It so kicks ass for me!

Consider this wonderful "coincidence". At the exact same time my chaps have stumbled across this extra /IZ/ sound in our class books, we are reading "Castle Adventure" featuring some nasty pasty witches and a wicked collection of extra /IZ/ sounds. Believe in coincidences?!

No, me neither! Colour-coding certain grammatical highlights is something I occasionally ask my students to do (a 2D version of Cuisenaires if you like), but it also works for contrastive sounds. Today, blue for no extra sound (no matter /s/ or /z/) or red if the word got longer (an /IZ/ sound). They'd been asked to listen to the CD and get familiar with the story. Yes, extra to homework assignment; when we have only an hour together  every week...we won't pick up much English 48hrs a year. Anyway, today read the story back again with red & blue pencils primed. Weaker students, we'll do this with the CD and stop a lot! Then, we read it together.

Follow up? Subliminal of course (but we can always go back to our red/blue page/reader!) To finish off before the Golden Week Holiday, and to motivate them to finish the last book in the bundled pack in one go...we jumped onto Quizlet and bettered each others' "scatter" times with vocab from the last unit we had finished (find all our work there "lunateacher" or "lunajim")

Wake up OUP - we adopted Story Tree to because our YLE candidates were not doing as well as we wanted in their reading/writing paper. Reading Tree is fun, but aimed at native speakers - the Story Tree is already there. And so are my students :)

Testing children - a day in "How to"

 On Sunday I was in the delightful company of some very dedicated teachers of children, for an entire day of teacher talk and child-focused assessment. I reckon I can tell within five minutes of practicing with materials/script if a trainee is going to be a good examiner or not...it's all about how they can/can't chew gum and walk at the same time - in this case read a script accurately and manipulate a few flashcards.

OK, so that sounds easy, doesn't it?!

Without a lot of classroom experience, a teacher as examiner will fumble the cards every time, guaranteed. It is crucial that examiners get into a good routine, so that they are able to maintain their teacherly, cheerful, encouraging personality with the (young, nervous, non-native) candidate. The candidate does not need to see the strings the examiner is pulling, but be put into a relaxing, smooth, flowing little mini-lesson. Remember the child's name & use it; don't repeat answers (so take off the 'teacher hat') or make judgmental comments; don't panic or speak too fast; smile, nod, keep your elbows in etc.

Every new examiner comes to training expecting to be shown how to assess; few actually realise the key role of the examiner is to actually set up the candidate to perform. "The script, Michael, it's all in the script" (with apologies to Kenny Everett). In YLE, particularly Starters, candidates are most likely taking their very first genuine English test - certainly the first one with an 'unknown' person assessing their speaking. This is truly intimidating, isn't it? A good examiner will have a child in and out of the examining room an a wave of positive vibes and chuffed with "Can do" vibes. And why not? Seriously, why shouldn't a child enjoy showing off their skills?

So a large part of a regular morning, for me, training new YLE examiners is a bit of boot camp - stripping back the teachers' habits and tics until we get to polished rubric delivery. Nothing more, nothing less. Pictures in the right place, at the right time. Heads up focus on candidate, know what you are going to do next. Have the back up question at your finger tips if necessary, and use it appropriately. If you are not looking at the candidate, you will miss their facial reactions to questions. As an experienced teacher, these are the signs we recognise day in, day out, about perception/reception. This is what our examiners bring to the table.

The 'other half' of the examiner's role is the assessment bit. Importantly, examiners must get into the routine of couching their assessment, comments, interpretations of performances to Cambridge ESOL's assessment scales.

"I think that boy had a bad accent" or "That girl was so sweet", "That boy couldn't say 'elephant' " or "That girl wasn't very good"....and similar reactions to sample videos have no place in our "Can do" analysis. Candidates are not penalised for mistakes they are making if they try to extend an answer, they are not penalised for offering a different answer than the one scripted (which is merely a suggested answer), they are not penalised for 'sounding French' or not 'looking as cute as the Italian girl' etc.

On Sunday my new team coped with the ridiculous situation where the school we were expecting to conduct training at was locked up. The school was completely unaware of the plan. Not good. Thankfully, after a subway ride to Lesley Ito's school in the city and a late start, we did  eventually manage to tackle our three levels (Starters, Movers & Flyers). Thank you all for keeping the faith, and for accepting the cramped facilities for viewing the DVDs - Kim was half in the fridge! I was very happy with my new team's performance...they took in what they were asked to do, and accepted my (mostly) constructive tips! Experience will out, and today we had a fine talent pool to draw from.

Well done Kim, Bonnie, Alex, Andrew, Cora and Lesley. Thank you all for making your journeys and for being flexible; thank you Lesley for taking us in and for lighting the YLE flame in Nagoya. Who's next?!

A very brave YLE examiner

I was planning to send this to you sooner but I've been tied up with a few projects and didn't find time... sorry about that.

I just wanted to share this with you hoping Cambridge ESOL makes a sensible decision in a timely manner in the future and no other OEs feel the same way as I did.
 
Firstly I was glad to receive an email from you a week before the exam asking me how I feel about going up north in this situation. At that time, I was quite optimistic about the situation concerning the radiation leak and didn't think about canceling it. However as the time got closer to the day, the situation got worse with the radiation leak and an announcement of the Fukushima nuclear plant crisis being ranked as level 6 by INES. I was desperately hoping C. ESOL would call to cancel even though the school was willing to hold the exams.
 
As an employee of ### myself,  I couldn't refuse to go. (Yes, you could, with no hard feelings - Jim)

The shinkansen was not on a regular operation due to the shortage of electricity on that day.
Looking back to the day now, I wonder what C. ESOL could've done for me if a worst case scenario happened in Fukushima prefecture, right next to Tochigi prefecture where I did a YLE OE that day. (I wonder too - I emailed them to ask, and have still not had a reply. My responsibility to you on the day = go and find you)

Doing OE is really fun for me and a good experience to keep having a right picture of each YLE level. I do enjoy every time I do the speaking tests with kids, but this time in this crisis, I wonder if this was the right judgement.
I really hope Cambridge ESOL could have made a more sensible decision in a timely manner. In future I hope no more OEs have the same terrible experience as I did. (I understand your feelings; I asked the venue who insisted their situation was safe.)

Please feel free to share this with C.ESOL if this message changes things any better. (Shared)

 
Posted for TK

Hibiki-chan tonks her test

Well done Hibiki!

She didn't just pass this test, but kicked it into the long grass : )

We did do a little bit of prep for it, but mostly all her own hard work. Thanks for making our Saturday afternoons so much fun, too!





(Sister Ayane also passed her Eiken 2 a couple of weeks previously. Congratulations to you as well!)

This year you'll both do well in YLE, won't you?!

Romance fills the air - Luna's little Valentine's party

l Luna's re-jigged Christmas Party y was a great success! Thank you Yukari for organising all the food and generally being organised!

We had a super turn out, but no way filled our nice new classroom. Students and parents had a good search around our building, looking for hearts to mend their broken big hearts - great way to make random pairs! Quite a search was required, as they were deviously hidden in drawers, on table-tennis bats, under tables & chairs, behind flowerpots etc! Sho & Rui won this little game. They obviously know Jim quite well!
Once we had plenty of love in the room, we tried to pin our hearts on Cupid - more romantic than a tail on a donkey? There was a lot of interference/unhelpful 'help' from friends as all the boys and girls took turns. Michiyo refereed the final outcome - Rei got the chocolate winner's prize.

Actually, chocolate featured a lot during the party. Too much, perhaps, as I am sure someone barfed (on my painstakingly laid nice new carpet!). Smarties for bingo tokens, as we got to know each other better - everyone was asked to sign everyone elses' cards. Everyone was a winner; eat the game when you finish!

Gorgeous Nanako won the cup race for her team - twice. Daddy Twister was a dead-heat between two of our doctor dads, who proved to be very flexible. Well done dads!

A full-participation reading of the Farmer & the Beat had everyone trying to pull up a very big beat indeed. With a well-earned hunger, Yukari's catering choices proved very popular.

We made sure Daiya & Masanori had clean hands after wards, as Jim presented them with their Cambridge YLE certificates. Both boys took Starters for the first time late last year, and got a big round of applause from everyone for their achievements. Well done boys, and well done all our YLE candidates who will be getting their certificates in class this week. Proud of all of you.

Find all the photos from the party on Flickr
http://www.flickr.com/photos/saint_george/sets/72157625912404359/

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Successful YLE candidates

Kyoto - Examiner Training

A dozen of the nation's finest EFL teachers gathered in Kyoto today to participate in Cambridge ESOL Oral Examiner (OE) training.

Today's attendees had already been tasked with a certain amount of pre-training which meant we were able to get cracking at a decent pace. I have found that providing recruits with as much info as possible beforehand saves a lot of aggro on the day, as examiners have a lot to process/manage/do, and digesting a 50+ page booklet at the same time has proved to be too much in the past. I love Dropbox!

We gathered from Okayama, Osaka, Nagoya, Matsumoto (our Tana) as well as locals based in Kyoto & Shiga.In all  would say there was over 150 years of English teaching experience in the room; quite a lot of experienced examiners (other levels) too. Great to see motivated and capable teachers pushing themselves professionally and being open to guidance/a bit of tweaking even with all that experience. It is rare that we teachers are challenged to justify our opinions and have a common framework with which to discuss student/candidate performances.Very few teachers (in Japan) are experienced enough/qualified to deliver & assess these levels (CEFR B2/C1).

Personally it was great to see OEs I have previously trained at other levels (YLE, KET, PET) in three different cities (Okayama, Kobe, Nagoya) get down to business very much "on the same page". I was even happier to hear myself quoted as OEs collaborated during the day on rubric delivery (interlocuting) & assessment. I find it very rewarding personally to see & hear teachers/trainers I respect 're-tweeting' my suggestions/sharing their experiences moulded in consistent "Cambridge-speak".

I tried a few new things before & during this session, which I hope added value. I have given up reading commentaries to the room; the 'mana from heaven' approach falls on barren ground too often :)  Today I asked trainees to assess performances alone & then discuss their scores together, before giving them commentaries without scores to fine tune their ideas against the analytical criteria. This stops everyone arguing with me! At the end of the day, here is Cambridge's mark. "Move your scoring to this benchmark!"

Tomorrow the Himalaya of EFL - CPE... The absolute pinnacle of a student's ambitions. Very rare air at this level.

We are all super-pleased to be able to celebrate Haruka's champion results from her YLE Movers exam, which she took towards the end of last year.

Ha-chan got the maximum number of shields possible - 5 each for reading/writing, listening, and speaking - and I am sure will be very successful this year when she tries Flyers. She works very hard with Jim every Friday evening, and deserves a big round of applause for her great result.

Was I ever worried about her result? No, not at all. I said she'd do the biz! Here she is after being presented with her certificate by Yuki, Luna's ever-popular manager (and the one responsible for all the hard work getting the exams to take place on time!)

Well done Haruka

Chirpy chappy - YLE Starter star

Takuro is in my favourite 'noisy boys' class on Wednesdays...and Takuro is the noisy one. I like that though. He's got a tongue in his head and a spark of mischief, a good sense of humour and he's brave (well, he's always challenging me!). My job is to try and focus that energy, chip off the rough edges and point him in the right direction

I am delighted he managed to stay quiet for 20 minutes at the end of October when he took YLE Starters. He obviously charmed his way through the speaking test - maximum points there.

Next mission with these lads is making sure they can all spell their long vowel sounds consistently. Already most of the way there, so Movers this autumn boys?! Well done Takuro - proud of you!

Cambridge YLE Exams at Luna International

While Jim's away.... there's lots of hard work to be done!

Congratulations to all the students who took part in today's exams. I'm sure you all did very well - at least, it looked that way from all the studious scribbling that was going on.

Yuki, our Centre Manager, did a sterling job of all the official stuff, while Shizue and I took care of the Speaking Exams.

As I'm sure our students will agree, Learning and Exams are FUN! Especially at Luna!

Until next time,
Tana