Why YLE?

Hi there.  I own English Adventure, a one teacher school in Okaya, Nagano Prefecture.  For the first time two of my students took the YLE Starters exam at Luna International last October.  

They were a little nervous on the day of the exam, but the friendly atmosphere at Luna soon made them feel better.  Afterwards they both smiled and said, “Fun!” (even though the Reading & Writing section was challenging). 

When they got their results, they looked really excited, and their mums were very pleased too!  One of these students sometimes lacked confidence in his English ability, but it was great to see how much taking this exam boosted his confidence and made him realise what he could do.

I think this is one of the best things about YLE – students can have fun AND improve their English.  The YLE is well-designed, too, and children can understand the point of the questions.  Even though it has lots of pictures and fun activities, it is a reliable, high quality exam that is also suitable for children who are not suited to taking more traditional exams yet. 

Moreover, unlike Jido Eiken (Junior Step) or lower levels of Eiken (STEP), it examines all the four skills of Speaking, Listening, Reading and Writing, and it contains more natural English.

Like Jim, I hope that more school owners in Japan will embrace it and realise that integrating it into your school can make it more special and eye-catching.

Magnus

Get the stressed in speaking - and get successful!

As a speaking examiner and examiner trainer for Cambridge ESOL, I can't tell you how important it is to speak clearly. That does not mean speaking quickly or sounding like the Queen...far from it! When you learn new words, you need to remember where the stress is. If you are from a country which does not have a very "bouncy" language, like Japan, then you really have to do something 'strange' to sound 'right'!



Don't worry about "accent" - I don't...

Pronounce the words nicely (last sounds are important - like the /t/ in important!) but remember they are not individual units; they need to join up. The words that give information will probably need to be stressed; the "grammar" ones inbetween less so.  My Japanese is terrible, and when I am not sure about a particle or something, I say my thing really quickly and hope any mistakes get lost  in the message. eg Party....9pm...beer...girls. Message understood?!

How to use Quizlet? Look no further than Sandy Millin

A lot of people ask me what the point of twitter is. Very simply, I have met teachers worldwide and learned so much from them, as a result of twitter, that I really can't imagine not using it. I love finding stuff, and the remarkable (ever growing) like-minded teachers I come across on twitter are constantly coming up with great ideas, games, tips, flops, success stories, inspiration...and sharing them.

My students know I love Quizlet. A lot of them need a lot of help 'getting' it. Imagine my unconfined delight when I was pointed to this unbeatable explanation by @sandymillin  As I read, I was nodding like mad muttering Yes, Yes, Yes! Please follow this link to Quizlet explained. When you are finished, remember we have created a TON of materials for Luna's students (and therefor the planet as well) as "LunaTeacher". Sign up, join our classes, and enjoy learning even more.

http://independentenglish.wordpress.com/2012/03/13/quizlet/

On twitter, Jim is @oyajimbo. Luna International is @lunaIntnl

What did we do in January?

Mostly tried to keep warm - lots of singing & dancing, and quizzes to make Jim think hard!



And already February - is spring coming already (we hope so - we hate the paraffin heaters!)

Luna YLE Certificates - lots of happy faces

I am delighted to report that Luna's Young Learners took Cambridge ESOL Young Learners (YLE) exams at the end of October, and that everyone really enjoyed themselves (bar one - bit of a crayon tantrum...) and even surprised themselves with what they COULD do!

Some students were taking Starters for the very first time, and were understandably nervous/not quite sure what was going to happen. Of course, we had had a run through of various tasks leading up to their big day (without making it a big deal - see no point in exam prep for the exam's sake) but that had always been co-operative & familiar. On the day, no looking around, peeping, surruptitious pencil dropping, reading out loud, putting hands up, gawping at the teacher etc!

Other students had done it before, and were quite aware (from mum, not us!) that they needed to improve on last year's scores...and I think by and large we all achieved that. Phew!!! Some of our older students moved up a level to have a go at Movers or Flyers, and they could see the difference. They had more time, for sure, but needed to be able to eg spell more, read longer passages, match vocabulary, tell a story...a big step up, and quite different to other tests they may take here in Japan (which, in my honest opinion, are basically exercises in translation/death by grammar and not worth the time/money wasted on them - purely intended to trick test-takers and pile on stress...not fair).

I was very happy that my students remembered 'how to' tips such as ignoring a question if they could not figure it out quickly. Always half a chance a light will go off later; if not, they have still answered all the other questions in time. What I also really like about the assessment of YLE (as in all other ESOL exams) is that the candidates are given the benefit of the doubt eg if their meaning is discernable but spelling a bit off, no real drama (unless spelling in eg listening is actually being tested).

We were very glad this year to welcome some candidates from Magnus' school in Okaya, and Rico's Organic English School in town. Thanks both of you for that, and for your help on the day.

You can see more happy YLE certificate holders on flickr, click here

Now we are busy pusing ahead, full of confidence and thinking about how much better we can do this year!

Postcard from...Beijing, China

Dear Jim,

I'm in Beigin, China, on Biz trip. After Beigin had snow, it;s turned quite cold since 30 years.

All of Chinese food I have is nice.

I enjoy my staying in China 0 have a nice X'mas.

From Yumi

Examinations dates & venues for May, June, July

We are very excited to announce that we are offering ALL adult levels of Cambridge ESOL examinations in the first half of 2013.

Any and all enquiries should be made to Yukari, our Centre Examinations Manager here
All entries can be made online here , where you will also find schedules, fees etc

May 11th: Certificate of Proficiency in English (C.P.E./"Proficiency") at Luna - Matsumoto (map)

• Deadline for CPE entries is March 31st 

May 18th: morning. Preliminary English Test (P.E.T.) in Tokyo (map) and at Luna - Matsumoto (map)

and

May 18th: afternoon. Key English Test (K.E.T.) in Tokyo (map) and at Luna - Matsumoto (map)

•  Deadline for KET & PET entries is April 13th 

  June 8th: First Certificate in English (F.C.E./"First") in Tokyo (map) and in Nagoya (map)

•  Deadline for FCE entries is April 21st

 July 13th: Certificate in Advanced English (C.A.E./"Advanced") in Tokyo (map)

• Deadline for CAE entries is June 9th

 We are very grateful to our friends at King's Road School of English for their help and support.

Postcard from ...Sri Lanka

Happy New Year from Sri Lanka!

I arrived in Colombo on 24th Dec, then I attended mass with my friends & friend's family. The next day, I went to Galle and stayed one night there. Now I am in Kandy. Here I am going to tea plantations and Sigiriya.

Have a wonderful year 2013

Atsuko K

We're Back!

 

HAPPY NEW YEAR

to all our students, parents and friends

We are really looking forward to 2013, and to teaching you loads of cool stuff!

And now, that Christmas party with some blues!

I have been buzzing since our end of year Christmas party on Sunday; the room was bulging with children - many of them them very young and dangling off mummy or older sisters! Two or three were so little they managed to sleep through the entire afternoon - the innocence of youth (but absolutely wonderful to see Miki-chan, Anna-chan, Fumi-chan as mummies again!). Not everything went to plan - hope you didn't notice! Main thing was that everyone was involved and everyone seemed to win something!

For the first time we "dressed" the tree - a new idea I came across through twitter last week as an alternative to musical chairs (we don't have enough!) and pass the parcel. We had an enormous alphabet soup which took a while to figure out, and then tackled Naomi's wonderful Christmas picture montage. Yukari & Mayumi delivered a delicious Christmas lunch, before a surprise guest in a red suit arrived to give everyone a present.

Enjoy the show, as we enjoyed the day!



You can find all the photos on flickr right here

ijiwaru jimbo's photostream

ijiwaru jimbo's photostream on Flickr.

A very hot edit of the fun and games we had this afternoon at Luna! If you have your own photos, please do share them with us here, on Facebook or on Flickr!

A massive party which we must say thank you to Sho, Naomi, Misuzu & Michael for making things go so well. Backstage Mayumi got us out of jail, and Yukari was unbelievably strong. Thank you so much. Oh, Father Christmas too - good job, big guy!

Children - you were very good today and we all had a lot of fun with you! Thank you for being so well behaved, and to the bigger ones for looking after the smaller ones!

We especially love seeing old friends come back - you know who you are...really makes us feel that we are 'a family'. Mums who were once students are starting to make @oyajim feel old - but also really proud that you trust us to teach your children.

We are now talking a break for the holidays - classes start again January 7th. If you don't have enough homework, make your own and show us!

We wish you a very Merry Christmas - whichever way you celebrate the holiday all the very best from us xxxx

How many arms do you have? (We need ten!)

Four students is a very nice number to be working with. Ever noticed how most board games & activities are designed for four players?!

We have heard this song a few times now in class and at home, and have pointed/stabbed numbers on the table. Thought we'd warm ourselves up the other afternoon, and get physical with our numbers from one to ten. The song is one of the delightful tunes found in the Everybody Up (Starter) book from OUP - haven't really come across a bad chant yet in it. What I do like especially about the songs is that they are long enough (and repeat the same verse) that we can change around in the middle ie assume a different 'role' - in this case two new numbers. This does mean children are adapting quickly/being more flexible with the vocabulary, and putting it 'in order' in their heads.Catchy music gives them 'hooks' to hang this all on, and as long as it is a mutual giggle and not a command performance, everyone will try; brave ones might even sing.

I know a lot of inexperienced YL teachers panic about 'losing control'...a class out of control is a nightmare, to be sure. The key I find is to know what you are trying to do and have a number of options handy; plan A might not be suitable if the children arrive tired or hyper; plan B might not work because the cheerleader in the group is absent or 'the monster' is on form; plan C might not work due to missing CD or xyz malfunction. Whatever. The children will give you a break if you give them a break! If they can laugh with you and about themselves, then you can be the focal point of mayhem rather than one of them, which gives you time for transitions/finding the CD track, flashcards etc. Involve them in your problem eg "Where's my book?"

Compare that with "Sit down. Next we are going to talk about animals. This is a cat. Repeat. This is a cat. Do you like cats? Yes I do. You say that. Yes I do. What's this....."

Another thing children love to do is test the teacher (linguistically, rather than emotionally!). Using numbers is important, but one of the easier things for learners to pick up I think. The question bit is what they need to use just as much!  Gang up on the teacher? Even better! After they have exhausted a picture with each other asking eg "How many.......s?" and you are happy with the monitoring you have done gently - challenge the teacher. Make a big deal of being confident, and get the answers wrong :) This will generate plenty of student talk ha ha!

What games do you like to play with numbers? Love to hear about them!

The Adventure Capital of the World - review

The book I read title is "The Adventure Capital of the World".

In this book, it tells you about extreme activities in New Zealand. The activities are bungee jumping, jetboat, helicopter and hiking. I would like to do the jetboat and the bungee jumping, because the jetboat looks so fast, and it's cool! I love fast boats. Bungee jumping looks fun! I think it's very fightening and scary. You might think that you flew in the sky!

I will be in Queenstown for a week. I will do bungee jumping, ride a jetboat, get on the helicopter and skydive.

I would like to go to a farm. On the farm, I'd like to ride a horse, feed the animals, milk the cows and eat steak.

I would like to go to New Zealand when I get bigger.

Tomoro

Reading to write - boardwalking (running!)

We had an end of term kind of feel yesterday, and playing one if our favourite 'race' games went down well. Re-reading an old reader is never a waste of time, but my copy seemed to have lots of mistakes in it as I read it aloud!

When the children noticed a "mistake" they ran to the board to spell out the proper word. Lots of giggles and rethinking/double-checking. Silly teacher can't read - but the students can, and they can spell!

The Best Resources For Helping Teens Learn About The Importance Of Sleep

The Best Resources For Helping Teens Learn About The Importance Of Sleep

Postcard from Barcelona, Spain

Hola, Jim & NHK members

I'm writing this card in an Euromed left Barcelona for Alicante. The Meditarranean Sea from the window is so calm like a mirror. I visited Sagrada Familia and Casa Batllo yesterday. The impact was beyond description. I enjoyed Jamon Iberico & Cava, Que bueno! You can imagine how excited I an here in Spain, can't you?

Chisato

Christmas ninja? Take the test!

Christmas Quiz (Questions)

Sherlock Holmes and the Sport of Kings

After reading 5.

I found the fourteen words in the word search.

1. HORSE
2. TRACK
3. TRAINER
4. OWNER
5. TASTE
6. SCARF
7. SAFE
8. KICK
9. SHEEP
10. OWN
11. LAME
12. BET
13. MUD
14. WIN

I think the words in 1. to 4. can be make a headline for the hewspaper report.

Where in the world are our readers?

 

The above word cloud was generated from the clustr maps widget on this blog, showing us roughly where our readership is based.

Thank you readers - we'd love to hear your international comments too!

The Phantom of the Opera

In November, I read "The Phantom of the Opera". Here is my answer to After Reading #1. >>> To the Persian I am leaving this letter for you, because one you were my friend. Now, of course, I have only enemies. People scream when they see my face. I am clever, it is true, but no woman can ever love me. And how can a man live without love? When I was a child, I was very unhappy. My mother never kissed me. She didn’t want to look at me because I was so ugly. And years letter, when I was a man, I did many terrible things. I know that, and I am sorry now. But I did one good thing in my life. Christine is free. She can marry the Vicomte and be happy. But I can never forget her wonderful voice, and I cannot live without her. And so, goodbye. Erik