Letter for Mr. and Mrs. Walsh

Matty Doolin

Dear Mr. and Mrs. Walsh,

It has been 6 months since our son, Matty started working on your farm. Hope he works hard and to be a good farmer.

When we allow him to go camping with his friends, it’s because we felt sorry for him due to death of his dearest dog. We thought we could forget his painful memory after spending holiday for camping in the field and he would work in the town like his father.
When you called us that Matty was rescued on the mountain while storming and raining heavily, we rushed to go to your house. On the way to your house, we decided one thing, that we would allow him everything he want to do if he was fine.

Now we think it was the goods decision for him to work on the farm. We much appreciate for both of your love for our sun from the bottom of our heart.

Sincerely yours,

Frank and Jenny Doolin

Boss - Reiko's favourite Japanese detective TV show

The Japanese TV series, Boss is my favorite detective stories.

They are 2 seasons as below:
1st season is started from 2009 April to June, 11 stories in total
2nd season is started from 2011 April to June, 11 stories in total

There are 5 team members and 1 boss, and 1 upper management reported from the boss. (in 2nd season, it would be increased to 7 members)

The leading character is called “Boss” who is a woman bureaucrat in Japanese police but relegated to USA in the name of studying profiling for 5 years. When she came back to Japan, upper managements of police made new team for her, which is for special criminals because there is no department they wanted her to go back.

Although the team is made under no expectation, they resolve many important cases every time through special characters of every member, strong leadership and help by the upper management without being seen.

The upper management entered police at the same time of the boss and he got promoted smoothly but she could not be promoted because she tend not to follow the instruction of upper managements.

The inserted song is also good. It is sung by “Superfly” who is one of Japanese pop artist. The strong voice of the song matches with the strong character of the boss very much. Superfly provide their song for the both of series.

Posted for Reiko

Whitechapel - review of Episode One

The TV series is about an ambitious police officer investigating a murder case. It is set in Whitechapel in 2008.

The story starts with a murder scene. A man with a funny hat brutally killed a lady. A young police officer, who wants to be promoted, is in charge of this crime. However, he has never worked in the field, so he clashed with the cops who usually do. Back to the incident, the victim's name is Cathy and she is married to Bob, a butcher, who is suspected by the cops. However, he had a cast-iron alibi that he had already been arrested at the time of the murder. He couldn't be the killer. Moreover, the incident is extremely similar to the crime which Jack the Ripper committed exactly 120 years before.

What's similar? Of course the gender, the way of killing, the place, and even the date & time! In the last scene, the cops knew the crime was a copycat criminal.

I only watched the first part, so I don't know what the story be like, but I'm really curious about it. If I have an opportunity I'd like to watch the next episode.

Posted for Yuya

Kimi no na wa (Your Name) - a film review

'Your Name' is a film that you must see. It was directed by Matoko Shinkai, a popular animation
movie director. It stars no one because it is an animation film. This film should win the Japanese Academy Prize for Best Animation film.

This contemporary film is set in Tokyo and Hide-Takeyama, in rural Gifu.

The film is about two high school students, a boy called Taki and a girl called Mitsuha. They had never met each other, but they started to reverse roles in their dreams. They come to know each other, and one day Taki decides to see her, but she wasn't there...

I totally recommend 'Your Name'. The animation is spectacular and it makes you laugh a lot. The story is a bit complicated, thus I would recommend you watch it twice. The soundtrack was made by a Japanese popular rock band 'Radwimps', and it is captivating.

Posted for....Yuya

Invisible writing - get those reluctant scribblers going

In September 2010, Peter Ross made a presentation at Shinshu JALT here in Matsumoto on Invisible Writing. It remains one of the most practical & helpful learning tips I have come across over the years of workshops & conferences I have attended. It is a technique I have occasionally deployed with my learners aiming for exam success.

Keep that plan handy - or you'll get lost!

A never-ending frustration with my learners - and I suspect a nationwide issue at least here in Japan - is how slowly ideas are formulated into words, and how slowly those words are organised/connected/embellished/collocated/contrasted/developed...brainstorming is not a concept familiar to very many students I have taught over the years, and certainly not as a communal effort after primary school age.

An observation as well, from hours and hours spent invigilating Cambridge exams, is how poorly (if at all) candidates plot out their writing. Time is critical in an examination especially, but skipping the thinking & planning stage is a massive mistake - which writing invisibly illustrates beautifully!

So let's assume we have focused on the writing task and identified:

• The audience - who are we writing to and why? 
• The format - is this a letter? an email? a memo? a report? an essay etc?
• The voice - formal or informal? Contractions, abbreviations & emojis going to be suitable?

Let's also assume we have determined the time we have available for this - after the planning stage (please give that about 10 mins if you are at FCE level), and the target word count. Let's also assume we have written on A4 before & know approximately how many words we can get on a line so we know approximately how many lines we need to write (and not count every word back every two minutes?!)...

What stops writers even starting?

• Blank paper panic
• allergy to writing joined up ideas
• lack of muscle memory - how often does anybody use a pen these days?
• lack of confidence in vocabulary range, grammatical accuracy, spelling, my own voice
• time stress

Familiarity with the task & a checklist of how the writing will be assessed helps enormously. Small steps first, and build on what you CAN do. Get those hands & brains trained!

What slows the writer down?

• erasers
• re-reading or editing on the go
• re-thinking the plan
• winging it
• word counting

When you are planning or blitzing ideas, making a mess is part of the gig. Scribble everything down as it comes to mind & don't stop. Scrap paper is literally that - it goes in the shredder. Once you have blurted ideas onto paper, organise quickly with arrows & numbers. Add extra words or replace repetitions, order logically into paragraphs. Contemplate spelling at this stage & use another word if you are stuck - don't rub stuff out or compose fully fledged sentences.

So far, this invisible writing is kind of invisible! You will need a thin plastic 'wallet' for loose leaf papers, that a pen will be able to make an impression through, within which a sheet of carbon paper sandwiched between a sheet of lined paper (top) & a sheet of plain paper below. Make sure the carbon paper is the right way up. A pen that doesn't work - I prefer a pen the students will usually use (no not a pencil) or even the wrong end of a paint brush! The whole point is that the writer will not be able to see what they have written.

Can you see what we just wrote?

I promise this exercise will transform the way your writers will think about & approach writing tasks. As they are unable to see what they have done/are doing, the following tends to happen:

• focus carefully on what they are actually doing & where they are on the paper, physically. This stops day-dreaming dead!
• extra care in writing neatly
• careful adherence & constant referral to the plan - get everything 'in'
• maintain a flow (stopping to do anything else means you lose your place)
• no editing or re-reading
• erasers are out of the equation
• writers 'see' their writing in their heads & concentrate hard to keep it there

When your writers have finished, ask them what they were doing. Let them identify what has changed in their writing process. One thing my writers never do - yours too? - is re-read their work afterwards critically. Invisible writers can't wait to review their work...spelling, missing punctuation, word order, grammar. You will never see your students keener, and you may even have to let them do a re-write (that precious second draft!) if they ask. 

I love invisible writing - does it work for you?

Website review - Twitter

Twitter is a social networking service site (SNS) or an application aimed at people who uses PC or smartphones frequently. Launched about a decade ago, it already boasts in excess of few million users world wide for it's ease and cost.

Twitter is mostly described as a blue bird, or a white bird drawn in a blue box. It comes from the word 'Tweet' which is bird's chirping, and as the word says, it's a tool to comment what you feel at the moment.

There wouldn't be such a thing as an instruction, therefore you only need to remember a few things. "Tweet', 'ReTweet', 'DM'. 'Rtweet' is to have someone's 'Tweet' in your page and 'DM' is to directly chat with friends.

You could change your profile picture and a background picture as well, also you can edit your profile and birthday. All in all, if you keep rules according to the Twitter guide line, it is one of the easiest SNS.

Posted for Shimei

A report - Leisure facilities in Matukawa

Matukawa station

Introduction
   The aim of this report is to give an honest description of the leisure facilities, including recommendations for improvements.

Facilities
Sports  
   There is a park in the town. It's huge and quiet, but there's not much you can do there. Thus children   overtake the place on weekends so that you can't jog around. Also the fountain in the park is          dilapidated.
Eating out
   There are many restaurants in the town. Each of them serves different kinds of foods and it's well    cooked, but unfortunately restaurants with good quality foods are extortionate for the youth while the  other two restaurant's food is greasy and they are always empty.
Entertainment
   There's a lack of entertainment in this town. The town believes that climbing mountains is the the  entertainment of the town. However, it is said that climbing mountains is very difficult and possibly  dangerous.

Conclusion
Matukawa would be greatly improved by building new entertainment facilities, such as a shopping centre or a game centre. Also, the town should make a new park for limited ages, it's a shame that the park is taken over by children. For me, the priority would be making fast-food restaurants in the town, so it will be affordable for teenagers and we don't have to eat in dreary restaurants.

Musical postcard - imagined & illustrated by Takuro

Hi Jim,

I'm having a trip to China. I never been to China before so I am really exciting. It took 4 hours in plane to get here which was really uncomfortable. I can't believe that the quality of the seat is low compaired to Japanese one. It's been a bad start, but I experienced and learned many things about China.

First I went to an enormous castle near to the Great Wall of China. It was interesting to see the difference between the Japanese one. The scenery from there was fantastic. What's more, the sunset was so beautiful that I was watching it for a long time, which made me miss the bus, but fortunately I was able to see an endangered bird.

When I got to a lodge, I watched a famous SF movie which was crap.

What I'm going to do tomorrow is visiting the Mexican City, meeting a man who can play music with bins and go to a disco at night, which is the most exciting event for me.

I especially request China for you to visit. It's a good fun.

Takuro

Batman Begins - Film Review

Cover of Batman Begins

This is a a film disclosing how the "Dark Knight " was born.I enjoyed this breathtaking film by Christopher Nolan.

Wayne Bruce, who is the son of a noble, was an orphan. Feeling discouraged, he leaves his city Gotham and travels all over the world. Seven years later, he returns and with his mates, he over comes his fear. With strength,  brains and high tech weapons, he fight for justice.

The action in this film is just spectacular. Especially in the last scene which is breathtaking. Incidentally the car is just too cool. Also, there is a lot of special effects used and I was impressed with them as well.

I have seen some of this Batman series and think this is the best out of those. It is the beginning of the story the prequel, so anyone can enjoy watching this even if you don't know anything about Batman.

Posted by Kanro

Armageddon - film review

Armageddon (1998 film) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

My dad suggested that I watch Armageddon when I was about ten. Before that I wasn't a great fan of science fiction and special effects in adventure films. I was impressed by the stars' brave hearts.

An enormous asteroid, about as big as Texas , is coming towards Earth at 35000km/h. If it impacts, no living species, even bacteria, will survive. 14 guys were chosen to save the Earth by using a nuclear bomb.

The music is fantastic, the stars are cool and there's a beautiful actress in it (Liv Tyler). The special effects are spectacular . Also Bruce Willis's acting is superb.

This film teaches us bravey and love. It's one of Michael Bay's most popular films. You should see this!

Posted by Takuro

Story Generator: Takuro's Pants - The Musical

There was one superhero. He's called "Happy Hikoro". Everyone thought that Happy Hikoro is the best superhero, but there were villains called "SKE 48".

SKE 48 eats too much junk food, everyday like hamburgers, crisps, coca cola. Happy Hikoro is a superman doctor. He can do surgical operations. one day, all of the members of SKE 48 (48 people!) got a very bad illness. Happy Hikoro had to do the operations in White City.

underpants (Photo credit: lucy and her dent)

The operation started. Happy Hikoro had to do 48 people, but he couldn't, so he put his hand into his pocket & took out Takuro's pants. Happy Hikoro put on Takuro's pants & he became a super muscle-man. he took the knife & started the operation again. Two minutes later he finished the operation - Takuro's pants can make him powerful.

The operation finished very nicely. Happy Hikoro was thinking "Let's drink beer", so he went to the underground to get on the Tube, but one member of the public fell onto the track. Happy Hikoro wanted to help, so he got onto the track, put on takuro's pants again and punched the tube train to stop it.

Happy Hikoro went to the pub & drank a lot of beer, and he lived happily ever after.

Cast:

Written & Directed by Tomoro, with creative contributions from Tak, Kan & Alex.

Analogue Story Generator - a dice & a homestay visitor

This is a fun activity which worked very nicely in class with my returnee brothers and their English homestay guest in a one hour class last week.

I was expecting them to not be in the mood for a regular class, prepping for FCE, and also that our native-speaking guest would probably have a lot of raw language I could use more creatively...

Column 1: Superhero - think of silly name for the six rows, brainstorming eg people we know & admire, sports stars, anything silly...
Column 2: Villain - maybe a baddy we don't like from school or the news...
Column 3: Location - somewhere local, or a place we like or want to visit...
Column 4: An object - a favourite toy or super-power delivering tool...
Column 5: Main event - more dramatic/mundane the better...
Column 6: Ending - obvious? Challenged mine to come up with a sticky end, a twist, comic book, science fiction, sporty & surprising finishes.

Materials = piece of paper with 6 rows x 6 columns, and a dice. Pencils would be handy!

The brain storming actually took quite a while as I needed to filter suggestions a bit so we would end up with an interesting variety of outcomes (and publishable ones!).

Selection phase = students throw the dice in turn to choose a superhero from column one. Repeat for the other 5 columns: each student now has a very eclectic set of characters & bizarre storyline to concoct!

Embellishing = decide on a cast list for the main characters (Mum featured as did the teacher), a narrator, supporting cast, a title.

Homework - write a summary of the plot (rough draft). Aim = second draft with more detail, structure/organisation, Hollywood moment etc!

Immediate feedback = very entertaining interaction & entertaining suggestions - only told them the 'story' aim after we'd brainstormed all the 36 components (otherwise the'd have been filtering their own ideas - as it was they guessed they were going to make a story - but a horizontal one eg all #4s - and had tried to make things 'fit')

This activity would never work with my usual junior high school/high school crowd; it did work splendidly with noisy, energetic, imaginative, competitive teens. One-upmanship added a lot to the storyboard, and I for once was not 'the expert' - all I had to do was pass the dice around...and moderate the input!

A funny thing happened...original story

A funny thing happened during a lesson at school. We were in a history class in the fourth period and that day it was the last class because school finished at one o’clock in the afternoon.

The dopey kid sitting in front of me was snoring. He seemed to be absolutely exhausted and had fallen asleep on his desk. When the bell rang at the end of the class, he was still sleeping deeply. Our teacher, who was totally furious, hid the boy’s shoes on top of the blackboard. 

We didn’t want to wake him up, so we all left the classroom on tip toes and left him with his dreams.  Next morning, he had to apologize to us and he was extremely embarrassed. The funniest thing was that he couldn’t find his shoes. We all wondered what his mother had said to him when he got home that night!

By Takuro