Hikaru Utada - a biography

 Utada Hikaru is one of the most famous singers in Japan.

She was born in New York in 1983, and lives in London now. She debuted in 1998 when she was only fifteen years old. She became quickly popular because of her beautiful & unique voice. So her first single "Automatic" sold more than two million copies and her first album "First Love" topped the Japanese album sales chart.

Hikaru Utada

Her songs were were getting more & more famous. Therefore, "Flavor of Life", which was released in 2007, recorded first place of degital songs sales in the world. She also received a prize named 'Artist of the Year' in japan Gold Disc Grand Prize. However, in 2010, she suddenly declared a pause. Nobody knew the reasons. It made many people sad and they though she might not come back. 

Then, in 2016, she suddenly started her activities again. Actually, she married and gave birth to her baby. "Fantome, which was first released when she came back was recorded first place in Billboard Japan. It show how she is loved by many Japanese people. 

Today, Utada Hikaru's songs are used by many daramas, animes, and movies. She and her songs are loved by many people all over the world.

Posted for Akane

Eleanor's favourite song - Inochi no namae"

 To begin with, my favorite song's name is "Inochi no namae" (The Name of Life), which is the song used in Ghibli's movie "Sen to Chihiro no Kamikakushi" (Spirited Away). This song was written in 2001 by Hiroshi Joe, Kimura Yumi and Kaku Wakako.

 Following this, the message of this song is words that express simple feelings we feel every day I think. This song's lyrics and melody makes me relaxed and cheerful. The songs lyrics is not exactly thing, but this abstract words gives us inspiration, and I feel like I understand it somehow. What's your opinion?

The song has got the "Orikon" 43rd in 2001 and 136th in 2002. Also, the song has got gold medal in 43rd Japan Record Award. This is amazing thing, don't you think so too? 

I recommend you watch Ghibli, "Sen to Chihiro no Kamikakushi" at first, and I want you to listen carefully of BGM. You can hear this song too.

Posted for Eleanor

Hinata's musical postcard

 

Dear Jim,

I went to a big music festival in this weekend. First day, I enjoyed my favorite artist live. I like this artist more.

Today I went to the world Natural Heritage in this city. That's place is one of Japan's most beautiful and unspoiled national parks. I enjoyed the view and take many picture.

I will do my homework tomorrow. Because I have a lot of homework but I didn't do my homework in today and yesterday. I want do that tomorrow.

Thank you

Yurina's musical postcard

Dear Jim,

Today I went to a live house in Italy. A man, whose hair is curling, was playing drums and other instruments were played. I really enjoyed the music.

I'll go to eat pizza tomorrow. Eating pizza in Italy was my hope for long years, so I can't wait!!

See you next time.

Yurina

Moeka's musical postcard

Dear Jim,

I'm travelling in the United States. I'm in New York now.

I saw the Statue of Liberty yesterday. I was surprised that is was bigger than I imagined.

Today I see a circus. Animals like lions and monkeys were performing. It was very pretty and exciting.

I'm going to listen to jazz. That will be cool!

I will talk a lot when I get back.

Your student, Moeka
 

Ueda Nishi High School Speaking Competition!

Was given the opportunity to judge an amazing selection of topics from students of Ueda Nishi High School! 

Now, this was my first time ever in Ueda and I can say the drive there was immaculate! It was breathtaking! The mountains were screaming with their golden amber leaves! I truly enjoyed that 2-hour drive back and forth! 

Back to the competition! We were given a list of topics from the presenters! The topics varied from traveling to storytelling! I thought I had an idea when I arrived but was I wrong, these students blew me off my seat! They were amazing! 

The first speaker told us about his favourite places in Nagano (and me being new here! took notes!) He had great and clean slideshows with pictures that definitely drew me in more! 

The 2nd topic was presented by a pair of students! This was interesting and the topic was unique! They reimagined the 12 Chinese zodiacs and retold the story if it began in America! Creative and definitely a good laugh! The students changed the animals to animals found in North America (kudos for doing your research well!) 

I would say the topics varied in this competition, it was split between Japan and its' culture to storytelling and fables with a modern twist! It was hard for us as judges to choose who was the best but with help from all of us, we decided on a student who talked about Flowers unique to Japan! Was a beautiful speech with a creative slideshow! Congratulations! 

To all the other students! Good job! Truly an amazing competition! Great job to the teachers for helping to prepare the students! 

Elementary, my dear Taisei: digital native "Can Do"

 I can totally talk about my family, and manage all the #edtech AND make a load of creative + editorial decisions on the fly, under time pressure...give me a job!

Unfortunately, Taisei is still at elementary school, but he could do a hell of a job for any number of businesses locally & trample any staffroom of high school teachers that I know of!

A young man's presentation that uni students would stuggle to beat (time taken, artwork - no eraser! -, diction and confidence, editing skills)...

Try to have fun!

Currently entering my 2 months of teaching at Luna International School set in the beautiful mountains of Nagano. Coming from a background teaching teenagers and only teenagers. When I got an offer to start teaching younger students, it definitely scared me. I always thought I could do it, it won't be that different from teaching high school (so I said!). Boy, was I wrong!

Barely a week in and I cracked. It was hard! I learned that kids especially younger ones had the attention span of a fly. I felt like a clown put to show and begged the kids for attention. My balloon tricks weren't doing the work here. Had to talk to Jim (my boss) on how to make the kids pay attention and what is too hard and too easy for them. Basically, his advice was to go back to the basics, alphabets, song, singing, and dancing. Acting silly with them. Try to have fun! 2 months in and he still reminds me of that, have fun with the kids and I do agree with that. Once I start enjoying my time with the kids, I start to relax and understand their needs better. 

I learned a lot, to be honest, I noticed how students pick up languages differently. Most kids require a hands-on approach while others are okay with learning by textbook. I felt a mix of emotions, more patience definitely. I learned different methods in approaching kids with help from Jim. I do want to be better for my students because I know they are silently struggling to understand a foreign language too. My heart cares for these kids a lot and I do agree that they deserve the best education possible and hopefully, with more guidance and learning on my side. I'm able to help them. l I still have a long road ahead and I am excited to see what else I learn! 

School trip to England - Yuya's report

I went to England for about 2 weeks in April.It was my school trip. The flight took about 12 hours and I didn't sleep so I was exhausted.

White Cliffs of Dover

First, I went to Cambridge. The main event at there was to learn from the students of Cambridge University. The program is called Blue Bridge Education and I had a great time because the students were very funny and clever. They told us the importance of body languages, eye contacts and big voice. It is quite hard for me, but I'm trying to do them when I take communications, even in Japanese. We also did a shopping with the Cambridge students and I bought many teas.

Next, we went to Dover, where we were really lucky because there weren't any clouds in the sky. Dover is at the south end of the UK, and it is near France. We saw a gravel beach, blue sky and the white cliffs all at once, so it was awesome & beautiful.

After that, we went for a sightseeing trip in Canterbury. I bought many things there, like T-shirts, chocolates, and some drinks, because they were so cheap!

Canterbury Cathedral

The final place we went to was the capital city, London. I stayed there for about a week, and I felt the difference of the scenery between it an Tokyo. In Tokyo, there are many kinds of tall buildings, but in London, of course, there are also tall buildings but not only that. There were also many kinds of old-fashioned buildings. Because of that, we could easily feel at home there.

The food in the UK was very delicious. Before this trip, I heard that British food is not tasty. So I was a bit nervous. However, we didn't have any problems. The best food was fish and chips, which I ate at a restaurant called "Garfunkel's Restaurant". The fried fish, with some fresh lemon, was absolutely fabulous.

Traditional Fish 'n' Chips 

Finally, I will talk about where I stayed. First in Cambridge, I had a home stay for the first time in my life. The host family were very kind, but the food was a bit oily. In London, I also had a home stay. The host mother's food was delicious but she was very strict. For example, when we went for a drive, she shouted at any driver who didn't give way to her. Nevertheless, while I was staying there I was touched by her kindness, so in the end I was very sad to say goodbye. So where did we stay on the rest of the days? Of course, we stayed at a hotel. We were very free during the hotel stay, so it was a lot of fun and I really wanted to stay there.

A school project about Shinano no Kuni

When I was a high school student, I belonged to a broadcasting committee. We participated in the broadcasting competitions outside of the school.

There were two competitions for high school students every year and the bigger one was NHK broadcasting competition. If we win at local convention, we can go to the national convention.

When I was the third year, my team made a radio program and won in Nagano’s convention. The title was “The Greatest Hits of Nagano”. We dealt with “Shinano no kuni” that was the song of Nagano prefecture. The song was born one hundred years ago at that time. It was popular in Nagano and elementary and junior high school students sang a lot in the schools. I believed that the other prefectures had also their own prefecture songs, but we found that there were few prefectures that had their own songs or the songs were known and sung by people.

 Nagano prefectural symbol  (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

We interviewed the experts to research the reason. There were two main reasons. The one was the melody was rhythmical and approachable. The other one was that the people weren't forced to sing, but sang to solve the conflict between north and south of Nagano old days.

For your information, the program was No. 1 in the national convention in 2000!!

posted for Chinasa

About my school - an informative poster

Remi has been covering the topic of school and education, learning a lot about different education systems in place all around the world. I asked Remi what she enjoys about the high school she attends, probably an unfathomable concept for many students, and why she would encourage other high schoolers to study there. To get the word out, or at the very least attempt to convince me, about how awesome Remi’s school is, we set about making an informative poster through Glogster.

I gave Remi all the necessary tools for her project to make her poster as informative, appealing and fun as she saw fit. She even added photos of some of her school events, which was a nice touch. I must confess though that I would have liked to have seen a much more eye catching poster with a bit of snazzy editing. Also including her school’s name may have been useful.

Please tell us what you think as Remi would love to hear your feedback. Would you think about attending or sending your kids there? I think the 8 exams a year would throw me off!

Facebook in the classroom

ZZZzzzz

I whinged a while back about the situation I found myself in which resulted in the dismal classroom experience which the image (left) illustrates...not much happening. Nothing to see here. Move along. Bell will ring in 45 minutes. Avoid getting noticed or saying anything. Just scribble in the spaces, it won't get checked or corrected - or even read. This is the before picture.

It was explained to me that the students here were 'all failures', so don't expect much. For a moment that shocked me, but then I remembered my context. There are other schools around with bigger reputations, and there is a definite pecking order in this country. This is reinforced by the ridiculous nature of the entrance exams system, and the 'educational' infrastructure of jukus etc that hover around the honey pot. What an awful realisation to be presented with before you even start HS that your prospects are in tatters. Not very hard to understand the "Why bother?" mood in the room then.

Breaking the ice

I went to a really crap school in Worksop (Nottinghamshire) in terms of academic results - mostly as a result I'd say of the socio-economic background of the catchment area. The two other schools which shared our playing fields were worse. I had good teachers who gave a rat's arse though, who had not given up on us. They certainly didn't fob us off with the helper (there wasn't one). The PE teacher helped me overcome the bullying and gave me opportunities I'd never had before.

So, I don't think schools are crap here...I just think they are stuck in the slow lane, hazard lights on with a flat tyre and a dodgy radiator. Is this going to change anytime soon? Well, it hasn't done so yet in the 20+ years I've been here, so why be optimistic? The system does not motivate teachers, after all. To continue the banger analogy, keep to the kerb, don't do anything sudden and you'll get there in the end.

Now we're talking

Unfortunately, teachers have never been given any specialised pre-service (or in service) training to teach English professionally/competently. Plenty is available, I hasten to add, through workshops constantly put on by publishers, ETJ & JALT etc, but this is not formal and given short shrift. It is also too late. Modern EFL instruction should be dealt with in colleges & universities by default, and preferably with a work experience in industry or even better, overseas. And while you are at it, promote a formal qualification to prove competence in core skills. And why not boost those English language skills too? Win win? Re-boot the AET/JET program to be a formal job exchange for novice foreign language teachers with study time & performance improvement expected. Come back culturally aware, linguistically competent and professionally fit for purpose.

In the last few weeks I have been 'left to myself' in my particular classrooms. This actually means my oppo has relinquished all responsibility, but that is a separate (and serious) issue. From a practical point of view, I am unencumbered and the students likewise freer to express themselves a bit.

This is the 'after' photo

• We have managed to (mostly) escape from from 'eraser hell'
• standing up does not induce vertigo-like chair clutching
• boys actually talk to girls, and vice versa
• sleeping is no longer 'a hobby'
• Japanese is not L1 teacher talk

Our last classes together this term (I am not invited to the school festival, school trip, etc) was a rewarding break through kind of a day. The maths teacher was still in his chair in the teachers' room five minutes after his class should have started with 'my' lot...I'd already said 'Cheerio' and formally left the room (no team bow, at last), but I wandered back in because they were still on task, working hard and having a giggle.

The idea came from a couple of sources, including the frustration that we are not allowed to use mobile devices...for example, I am thinking that a 140 character limitation is an excellent 'ceiling' for shy/unconfident learners. Previous classes had revealed that some 'surfed the internet' as a hobby (besides generic 'sleeping', for crying out loud!). One student nearly fell over when I said I did know what 'twitter' was. The actual plan comes from Cambridge University Press, the excellent multi-level photocopiable resource "Teen World" - 2.1 'Teenspace'. Not very achievable in 45 minutes but worth a dab. As I said, we ran over (mostly because getting started with hangman took forever). By the end, the students were very keen to see what their friends had produced as an analog 'Facebook' page, and were jostling to get their comments scribbled and glued up on each others' 'message boards' (they had 8 slips to get rid of, signed, one per page). They were tasked to react to something different, so first come first served. eg "I live in Hata too", "I hate AKB48 and shopping too", "I'm also hungry".

On task, motivated and achievable

Useful teacher tip regarding the 'friends' section - suggest banning names of people in same class or even school - makes it less cliquey/room to upset those less popular.

Given the chance, I would like to continue this exchange on a 'safe' SM site such as Edmodo...

One flew over the Cuckoo's Nest

The ridiculous irony of the previous blog posting about a really hopeless learning environment for teens, is that the delightful Sayaka (with some old guy pictured left) was a graduate of the very same school earlier this year. However, the inane reality was that she was obliged to go back to the school for the grad certificate even though she had already graduated high school in Canada.

Sayaka is the (charming) worm that turned. All on her own, she realised there was more to education than the sterile offerings up the road, and applied for a scholarship to escape to BC. I helped her home room teacher write the letter, as I have known her since she was three and applauded her 'get me outta here' chutzpah. And go she did, extending her year into a second. End product, an FCE from Cambridge ESOL and an invitation to study at Waseda from next week. A very well-rounded young lady indeed, and not at all your average uni intake.

(However, this is the second successful FCE candidate we have produced from young learners - Saya took her fisrt YLE Starters exam in 2000 - that has gone on to Waseda. I currently have three more 'on the go'). Anyone in the Matsumoto/Shinshu area want to get a powerful leg up, look no further.

So, anyway, whinge whinge about a derelict school system, and the contradiction which proves the rule.
It also proves that HS kids are not to be underestimated - they can see through "I've been teaching here for 24 years you know" in 10 minutes. And it is about the kids, isn't it?

Personally, I'm really hoping the Tohoku earthquake and the dreadful tsunami will eventually have an effect here in the hills of Nagano too. As they rebuild 'over there', will they be able to do so with a broader vision than just the bricks and mortar (OK, wood & tatami) & inspire the rest of this country to stop dragging its heels - for me, particularly in education?

I'll have to try to remember that each of the 26 victims in the writing class at the HS next Wednesday could be a Sayaka II...which means I have 26 reasons to get bolshy.

A really rubbish class: defective teacher/school/system

Image via WikipediaMy blood was boiling first period Wednesday morning. Had time to cool off, but now I sound vindictive and holier than thou.

Team-teaching not my favourite classroom set-up; seen it done well occasionally,  but known it to be horrible/dysfunctional/lame/boring/trite/unplanned etc etc most of the time. I have been there, and done that too often to be surprised too much...nor to have overly ambitious expectations.

But, being asked to help with the 'good' group, who want to go to uni and who have a genuine need to improve their English in a local HS, I figured would be an interesting proposition. how could I have allowed myself to be so deluded...again.

I know the school, and have experienced working with the lead teacher. Unimpressive, but maybe changed his ways? The high school kids' very first class of their HS career was their new English class. There was no lesson plan that I was aware of, and no sign of 'the grand plan' which we'd asked for (again, every year the same). Instead, the first golden 15 minutes were wasted with an utterly dreary, rushed, monologue in Japanese about God knows what because I tuned out just about the same time as all but the most nervous newbies.

Then that truly shite 'self-introduction' moment...a total cop out from JT (Japanese teacher) (used when they have run out of steam), pointless for kids as serves no function/is no purpose behind it. Now, had this been sat down and talked about, a host of quick & easy ways to make this 'phase' enjoyable & interactive could have been conjured up. Jimmy on the spot? Nope.

 The students hate me already for being part of this transparently unplanned sideshow. Reinforced as JT sets a blank piece of paper exercise for class to 'write self-introductions', tells me to monitor, and pops out (first of a couple of instances) of the class. Erm. What are we supposed to be trying to achieve here? The limited 'instructions' they were given were in L1, and there was no 'teaching'. The monitoring goals have not been established, nor has the end-product been defined (apart from "100 words"). Holy shit. I wanted to push this lazy-assed 'teacher' out of the third floor window - except he'd buggered off again.

So now I discovered this was the writing class - and the children were going to be doing just that - writing. Not learning how to, what to, when to...I think there's a book from the monologue at the start mentioning something or other, but no sign of that being cracked open today. "One kid won't speak - mental condition. Don't go near" was the only direction to me from JT. Which was alot more than the students got.

Any luck, Fawlty?

No pre-writing tasks, like a warmer upper? Nothing to get the juices going like a quick team brainstorm? A couple of fast & loose tips? Any suggestion of format, or tone, who the reader will be? How about a sample, or a template, or topic sentences for paragraphs (what are they?) Will this be assessed? What are the criteria - spelling? Grammar? Interesting? Number of words?

I wanted to curl up like Basil Fawlty and hop around the floor with my head between my knees. Can I let the rest of the year ahead go like this? I am just 'the help', after all. How on earth can the school, and this veteran JT think they can get away with this gross dereliction of their moral & and professional responsibilities to actually provide their charges with an education? Do I leave my integrity at the entrance with my shoes, and the euphemism of the cheap slippers that don't fit becomes obvious?

Me? The end product should be just that. At the end. Give the kids all the tools, scaffolding, safety harnesses, inspiration, examples and bite-sized chunks to snack on, bit by bit. Show them what is going to be expected of them, explain where the goal posts are, and reassure them that by the end of the year, they will know have been given all the input they will need to be able to murder the dreaded blank sheet of paper. In fact, they'll be chomping at the bit to do so much with it, they will have serious time-management issues. The only time management issue they all had in class 1:1 today was "can that minute-hand go any slower?"

"Jim sensei, in 3rd period I want you to correct and mark the "assignments". Oh yeah? Based on what criteria if you don't mind my asking? Didn't do much of that, but made notes on what I could see they were capable of, where we might go with topics (JT "What shall we write about next week?" as I was leaving an hour late) and a few ideas about how to come up with a skeleton for them to flesh out.

And I felt very guilty, professionally shamed to be a part of this scam. How do I reconcile situation 'as is', with need to turn the JT out & replace any concept of curriculum he might have with a back to front product recall? Spend half a tree every week on photocopying? Give up on the job (and therefore, the kids?).

Hopefully my beer-drinking PLN will have a few ideas at our Ohanami Party tomorrow afternoon. Dreading Wednesday. This is why I used to puke up before my University classes.

Student profile - meet (another!) Misaki

My name is Misaki.`Misaki` means spring because my birthday is spring.

I live in Matumoto city and live with my parents.I don't have any brother and sister. I'm 16 years old,and I'm a student of Agatagaoka High School. My class is like girl's school because we have 38 girls and 3 boys. But I love my class very much.

I'm going to tell you about myself.I have medium hair and black eyes. When I meet someone first time,I speak polite language and look like shy but that can't be true because I love talking with friends.

I have two dreams.One is to become a kindergarten's teacher because I love children. So I want to learn about children in university. Next is to live in UK.I went to there when I was 13 years old and I became love there.

My favorite thing is to dance.I had learned ballet and Japanese dancing. Now,I go to jazz hip hop's lessons on Wednesday night and I also go to English classes on Saturday evening.I love English too.

I hope I can see you again sometime soon

Sincerely

Misaki

Meet Yukiko - student profile

My name’s Yukiko. I’m from Japan. I was born in Matsumoto, Nagano.

After high school, I went moved to Tokyo for school. I was staying in Tokyo for 5 years, first 2 years for school and other 3 years for work, and then I came back to home town.

In 2000, I have been to Brisbane, Australia as working holiday for 1 year. First I could not speak and catch the English word, so I was really stress and I thought that this stay is mistake choice for me. But I could make a lot of friends there so it was getting better my English and could enjoy in Australian life.  

After working holiday, I have been to Brisbane again many times. If possible, I would like to visit Brisbane again next year.

Sayaka returns - Canada's loss!

New podcast episode - Sayaka tells us about her Canadian high school & homestay

Sayaka joined my class when she was about three - she has just come back from High School in Canada. She changed a bit! Today, I got a little revenge back, asking her to help out with our current crop of nearly threes in pre-school. Into the bargain I grabbed fifteen minutes to ask about her experience living & studying in British Columbia over the last two years, while Tana held the fort (making bugs!)

I have always had a big soft spot for Saya-chan; I think you can hear the personality and warmth of the girl very easily in this podcast? She obviously enjoyed herself very much in Canada - I am sure ever so much more than she would have done through the drudgery of the local high school she attended her in town (I qualify to have an opinion - taught there!). She might not have been in school so much, but she sure learned an awful lot more about life & relationships, the world she is a citizen of.

 

Please listen to what she has to say* - she answers Patrick's question from Dublin, by the way - and please leave any comments below.

And pre-school? They loved her!

(*Podcast player now lives on the "Easy Listening" page - see tab at the top)

FAQs - High School & homestay in Canada

What would YOU like to know about living in studying in Canada, as an overseas student? Thinking about sending your kids?

Now is your chance to find out - leave your question(s) as comments to this posting.

One of our ex-students is popping in to Luna on Friday to 'say hello' - she has just come back to Matsumoto after spending two tears in British Colombia, graduating high school last month. I will be interviewing her for a podcast, and will put your questions to her. Podcast will be published over the weekend - subscribe on the Easy Listening page (tab above) so you don't miss it!

I love it when our extended family come back as all grown-up friends!

MATILDA

Q. Write a list of some of the rules at your school.

There were a lot of strict rules at my junior high school. Some of them are below.

First, boy had to be clean-shaven head. We were checked our head at the morning meeting by teacher. If a teacher found a pupil who went against this rule, a teacher shaved his head.

Next, all pupils had to wear uniform. There were two type of uniforms. One type was, as we say, 'the uniform'. Another one was 'jersey'. We usually used to wear 'jersey'. We wore so-called uniform only when we had a ceremony.

Third, there were some rules when we rode bicycle. We had to wear a helmet and we had to apply a registration plate that indicated class to bicycle.

Finally, we had to belong to any club activity. I belonged to a baseball club.