学期最後はクリスマスレッスンーーーエマ先生

I can’t believe it’s already almost the end of the semester! It went by very quickly, and I enjoyed it very much. It was really fun to get to know the unique personalities of all of my students. For our final classes, we had a special Christmas-themed lessons. Jared Sensei and I found a fake Christmas tree in the school, so we set it up in an extra classroom. First, we had the girls listen to “All I want for Christmas is You,” a famous American Christmas songs. Then, the students made and decorated Christmas tree ornaments. The students wrote what they wanted for Christmas on the ornaments. We surprised the girls by taking them to the extra classroom and letting them decorate the tree. It was really fun, and a great way to wrap up classes for the semester!

初めての学期末（来日4ヶ月)－－－マーレン先生

It’s almost finals week and I am excited to be helping give the exams. It is very different than what I am used to in the United States. I am still trying to adjust to the fact that teachers go from room to room instead of the students. I really love grading writing though, so I am happy that the process here is the same.

 

It was my last day teaching some of the third year students today and I am so sad they will no longer be my students! At the end of the lesson they lined up and gave me cards, which was so sweet! I will miss them and hope they take my elective course next semester. When I first got to Japan I did not know what to expect, but the students and JTE’s have won me over here. I am glad to be at Fujimura!

日本語の学習ーーーエマ先生

My Experience Learning Japanese

Before coming to Japan, I didn’t know any Japanese. I knew how to say kon’nichiwa and arigatō, and that was about it. Dealing with the language barrier has been difficult, but it hasn’t been impossible. Thanks to the kindness of the Japanese people, the power of non-verbal communication, and my willingness to laugh at myself, I’ve been able to get by. It’s amazing how much you can communicate with pointing, hand gestures, and a smile.

I’ve also been making every effort I can to learn Japanese. I am determined to not just deal with the language barrier, but to actually break it. So, as soon as I arrived in Japan, I started studying. I bought myself a textbook, started learning to read hiragana and katakana, and signed up for a Japanese language class. Learning Japanese was really, really difficult for me at first! Studying Japanese has really made me sympathize with my students who are learning English. The two languages are extremely different, and I really struggled to understand Japanese.

One of the hardest things for me about Japanese is the writing system. Compared to English, it is very complex. It took me a while just for me to understand around how the writing system works, let alone actually use it. In English, you only have one alphabet, whereas in Japanese, you have hiragana, katakana, and kanji.
I’ve learned to read hiragana and katakana, which are simple enough, but I have not even started with kanji yet. I’m always so impressed when I see how quickly Japanese people can write in kanji – the characters are so complex! I’m also surprised by how many different characters there are. I’ve heard that to be able to read a newspaper, you need to know at least 2,000 kanji. Wow! Compare that to English, where you only need to know different combinations of the same 26 letters.

Learning Japanese has been difficult, but I have noticed myself slowly progressing. It’s a really rewarding feeling, to finally be able to read characters, and understand when I hear people talking. I can now give a self-introduction in Japanese, and understand some basic words and phrases. I still have so much to learn, but I’m making progress, and it feels great!

日本でのThanksgiving と 初雪 －－－マーレン先生

A few days ago I had my first Thanksgiving in Japan. About forty people from America, Japan, and Australia all came together to celebrate. We had so many different dishes! It was fun to see traditional American holiday food like a turkey, mashed potatoes, and bread rolls next to other cultures foods like sushi, white rice, vegemite, and mashed radish. It truly was a mixing of cultures! I talked about the experiences in my classes and my students said that American Thanksgiving sounded a lot like the Japanese New Year Feast. I’m looking forward to comparing the two!

 

Today it snowed in November for the first time in 52 years! I am from a state that does not get a lot of snow, so this weather is very different! It is exciting to see the bright red leaves against the white of the snow. I can imagine how beautiful it will be in a few months. It also really felt like Christmas, which is perfect for the end of Thanksgiving celebrations.

日本でのハロウィーンーーーエマ先生

A few weeks ago, I celebrated my first Halloween in Japan. I know that Halloween has only become popular in Japan in recent years, so I was quite surprised by what a big deal it was. So many stores and restaurants had Halloween decorations – more than in America! Halloween is one of my favorite holidays, so I was very excited to celebrate and share my experiences with my students. The week before the holiday, Jared and I taught special Halloween lessons in all of our classes. I gave presentations on Halloween in the United States, we played games, and students learned special vocabulary words about scary things. In American schools, all of the students and teachers dress up on Halloween. Wearing a costume is my favorite part about the holiday, so I dressed up for my classes on Halloween. In International Club, we had a Halloween Party. It was so much fun! We made our own decorations and decorated the classroom. We watched American Halloween movies and listened to Halloween songs – for example “This is Halloween” and “The Monster Mash.” We played games, and I talked with my students about my favorite parts of celebrating Halloween in America. I wore my costume, and brought hats and masks for the students to wear. All of the girls were very excited and took lots of pictures. It was a great Halloween, and I enjoyed it very much!

 

 

もうクリスマス？－－－－マーレン先生

　　It is November in Tokyo and I have noticed that there are Christmas decorations everywhere! I was very surprised to see the tree outside Kichijoji station and hear the Christmas music playing on Sun Road. In my hometown, people don’t start decorating until the beginning of December because in America we have another holiday called Thanksgiving. Japan doesn’t have this holiday, but I had not realized it meant Christmas would come early here! I hope this means there will be a lot of sales and interesting gifts in stores. I’m excited to see how else this holiday will surprise me during my time in Japan.

日本とアメリカの学校の相違点ーーーエマ先生

21 October 2016

Differences between American and Japanese schools

While settling into my job at Fujimura, I have been taking note of some differences between schools in America and schools in Japan. In some ways American and Japanese schools are quite similar, and in other ways they are very different. Here are a few of the biggest differences that I have noticed so far:

·         In American schools, the teachers stay in one classroom, and the students move around from classroom to classroom. Because of this, there is no teacher’s room in American schools. Personally, I like the community aspect of the teacher’s room. But, I would have liked to have my own classroom, just so that I could decorate it!

·         There are no school chores for students in America -all of the cleaning is done by janitors. I think it’s great that Japanese students take ownership in their school and help clean.

·         Clubs are more serious and time-intensive in Japan, compared to school clubs in America. All the clubs that I was in in high school only met once a week. I’m very impressed with students who have club practice every single day!

·         Most schools in America use whiteboards instead of blackboards.

·         Students at Fujimura are responsible for getting to school by themselves, but in America most students get to school by school bus.

·         In America, High School is required for everyone, and there are no entrance exams.

·         There is no Bunkasai at schools in America! I think this is a shame, because I thought that Bunkasai was very fun.  

It is very interesting to work in a school system that is so different from what I’m used to. I think that there are pluses and minuses to each system. I am excited to learn more about the Japanese school system, and hopefully take some good ideas back to America with me.