Luna's Open Week

A flipped classroom this month with Jim and Damian coming under the microscope for a change. Luna was open for eager parents, sleepy siblings and any other family members who were curious enough to sit in in classes or watch via webcam in the waiting room.

Quizzing mum

Luna holds an annual 'Open Week' to give an opportunity for busy parents to have a peek, see what goes on in our classrooms and sit down and have a good old chat with the teacher. A full-on week (for students, parents and the Luna team!) where our younger learners show that they are CAN DO students and are using English as an effective communicative tool in the classroom. Of course not everything goes perfectly swimmingly or according to plan, but we did get through the week with minimal tears, tantrums and mishaps. More importantly, however,  there were smiles all round and plenty of fun was had! Even mums and dad feeling the pressure when thier kids are asking them questions in English!!

Big smiles!

A few parents did express their concerns over the lack of exposure or opportunities to use English at home, so for some mums and dads it was an eye-opening experience to see their children really enjoying themselves and being right in the thick of it in an English speaking environment. We do put an emphasis on what our learners can do, and strive for our students to build their confidence and feel comfortable taking on challenging tasks. I'm sure returning mums and dads can vouch for us when I say there has been progresss in their children's linguistical ability, self-confidence and social skills.

Lovely

We do have a few ideas on the backburner to further improve our Open Weeks in the future. The parking congestion we suffer definitely needs sorting, especially since many over our classes overlap so we have 2 sets of parents in a rather tight space. We're also looking at spreading out the Open Week into an observation period. It can be extremely draining for teachers when they have to be on their A-game class after class after
consecutive class for an entire week. Extending our Open Week to 2 weeks would take the pressure off a bit and allow us to take a breath and collect ourselves in between our observed classes.

Janken race in full flow

A huge thank you for each and every one of you who came to view your children, nieces/ nephews etc. We appreciate all of your feedback, which allows us to change and adapt to provide a better education for our learners. Also don't forget to thank Yukari for all of her hard work she was involved in leading up to and during the observations. See you all next September, but hopefully sooner!

Rationale for using AR in school

School owner Jim George explains what he wanted to achieve in his language school's waiting room, that would really impress visitors and parents - by having a roomful of cheerful learners hanging around on the walls 24/7, introducing themselves and singing songs etc.

Passing Cambridge P.E.T. Our success story with JP004

My students in a Business English class were finally persuaded to prove to themselves how good their skills have become. They were obviously delighted to be presented with their certificates, and more than happy to share the secrets of their success.

I suggested they brainstorm ideas & map out a general plan on the board, and the video is the outcome. I think they're making superb progress, and passing P.E.T. (Cambridge Preliminary) a very solid milestone for them to chalk up.

Looking forward to them updating their profiles on LinkedIn! Comments very welcome - and why not subscribe to Luna's YouTube channel?

Better results from Cambridge English - at Luna

 Take your exam in 2015 at Luna JP004

Did you know Luna International, JP004, is Japan's longest established Cambridge English Language Assessment Centre in Japan?

Did you know Jim is the longest-serving & most active Speaking Examiner in the country?

Did you know JP004 offers exams all over Eastern Japan?

Want to be a better teacher? Become a Speaking Examiner...

Delighted to report that Luna's most recent Speaking Examiner training events in Tokyo were a resounding success. This makes sure we are able to have a good rotation of top-class examiners for the coming sessions and beyond, at all adult levels (we are offering all levels of Cambridge English Language Assessment exams for adults - KET, PET, FCE, CAE, & CPE - this autumn, at various locations which can be found via our exams-specific website ).

Experienced teachers prepared to listen & learn

Big slap on the back to the team, giving up two Sundays in succession to tackle some very demanding professional development, and a fairly demanding trainer to boot!

Thanks always to Trevor at King's Road, for hosting us & rearranging classes.. Actually pretty pleased he didn't thump me, after nominating him for the A.L.S. ice bucket challenge!

Certification for all examiners will be taking place on October 19th in Tokyo. Anyone considering becoming an examiner should contact Jim directly.

Luna's 2012 Ohanami BBQ

Luna's 2012 Ohanami BBQ, a set on Flickr.

Well, I had a great time (until the hay fever attacked me). It was so good to see so many students past and present come and join us for a lazy afternnon by the river!

I was delighted Soichi could drop by & say hi - I used to teach him back in 1990! Anna-chan I taught when she was in elementary school, now asking about mummy & kids classes with her little sisters! Do I feel old?!

Yuki-chan couldn't eat anything because everyone wanted to catch up with her - meantime all the children ran themselves into the ground exploring river & rocks...one or two grazed knees!

Yet again we were blessed with lovely weather, a mountain of food and a small lake of ale. I hope everyone had enough?

Thank you all for coming, for sharing a great day out with us and for making it feel like spring has finally arrived :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=30ppTu2UEMM&feature=youtube_gdata

Apostcard from...Indonesia

Yukari, Simon & Tomoko & all our students!

I've had a very quick trip to Indonesia - I spent more time flying than actually in the country! I enjoyed my presentation but had to sing. Indonesian people are lovely - always cheerful, just like me. The language is easy, and I can read more Bahasa than Nihongo. I'm transitting in Singapore, and I arrive in Osaka tomorrow morning.

I am sure you are not missing me?!

Do your homework, play nicely and share the toys!

Jim

Speaking in Sapporo

I was very happy to be asked to present at Hokkaido JALT's Teaching Children Mini-Conference over the weekend. Organiser Peter Schinkel, asked me if I would do it, the last time I was in Sapporo (last October) to train OEs. Of course I agreed, but the last week has been rather stressful actually putting the presentation together & figuring out how to get the most from Power Point without overdoing it.

Unfortunately, I presented in the graveyard slot - first thing on Sunday morning, so my audience wasn't huge. However, I think it went down well enough, despite the speakers I was given being as useful as bacon at a barmitvah...my audience couldn't hear a thing. Also unfortunately, I couldn't stick around to see many other presentations which looked really interesting - couldn't afford to miss my flight again or miss classes today.

I did get the chance to catch up with a couple of colleagues in Sapporo, which is always nice, and to make a few new connections; the Hokkaido EFL scene seems to be very healthy and enthusiatic, and I am really looking forward to going back again in July. With any luck, this will coincide with the Beer Festival (or is that such a good idea?) ! And I am really hoping I'll be able to give my presentation elsewhere too, after fine tuning it a bit and making sure I have louder speakers next time.

I should thank OUP for sponsoring my presentation, btw. Thank you Colin & Kayo for your help.

Jim