Let's see...
This week I went into school for three days. I worked more specifically on making my self intro lesson. I will have a worksheet for students to follow along with and fill in. And candy if they answer some of the questions in front of the class...I just bought notecards so they can fill in some info about themselves and I will try to use these in future classes to call on students (like pull the notecards out of a bag). I also worked on lesson 4 of the Oral Communications book which is Phone Conversations so after talking to the JTE (Japanese Teacher of English) who I will be team teaching with...I hope we can play the Telephone game and listen to No Doubt "Spiderwebs". I also created a worksheet like a flow chart that gives sample dialogues for what to do in certain instances...like if the answering machine comes on, or if the person they are calling is there/not there, etc. Hopefully these are useful. I am not exactly sure what they are looking for but this week I should be able to talk more specifically with the JTEs about the specific lessons.
I have a desk in one of the teachers room. At this school, and I think through Japan, the teachers in senior high school move from room to room so there is a teachers room(s) where teachers all have their desks together. I like this because if I need to ask a teacher something there is usually someone there, although they are very busy. Also in that room is a lot of information from class lists, class numbers, schedule of the week, fridge, coffee/tea, etc.
The students wear uniforms. The boys wear black pants and white shirts. The girls wear dark blue uniform skirts, white shirts and bow ties. Each class (there are three classes in Junior High and three in High School - that makes 10th, 11th and 12th grade equivalent for SHS) wears different color sandals. They are specifically indoor shoes...red, blue or green. It seems like people switch outdoor to indoor and vice versa shoes in homes and schools. It seems like most stores and offices you just wear the same shoes.
It looks like I will have 18 classes to teach. There are 9 ichi-nenseii classes (1st year) and 9 ni-nenseii classes (2nd year). There are around 32-41 students in each. I will see the 1st year classes (Oral Communication) each once a week and the 2nd year (Writing) each once every other week. I will also help supervise the English Speaking Society (ESS Club).
I checked out a hip hop class...it was fun! And a great workout. The class is under the International English school so part of the purpose is to have Japanese speakers and non-Japanese people interact. So hopefully I will be able to keep attending and get to know some locals. I haven't really worked out since I have been here so my sides hurt for two days after...but the good kind of pain ;-)
Last summer I did the UESS program and two girls from that program, May and Kelina happen to also be on the JET Program this week. I talked/chatted with both of them this week and it was great to catch up with them. It has been great having them on this journey with me...before we left we discussed our fears, hopes, etc. Now that we are here we can talk about our experiences and visit each other. And hopefully when we go back we can have someone to talk about our experiences with after the fact and to figure out the reverse culture shock.
This week I went into school for three days. I worked more specifically on making my self intro lesson. I will have a worksheet for students to follow along with and fill in. And candy if they answer some of the questions in front of the class...I just bought notecards so they can fill in some info about themselves and I will try to use these in future classes to call on students (like pull the notecards out of a bag). I also worked on lesson 4 of the Oral Communications book which is Phone Conversations so after talking to the JTE (Japanese Teacher of English) who I will be team teaching with...I hope we can play the Telephone game and listen to No Doubt "Spiderwebs". I also created a worksheet like a flow chart that gives sample dialogues for what to do in certain instances...like if the answering machine comes on, or if the person they are calling is there/not there, etc. Hopefully these are useful. I am not exactly sure what they are looking for but this week I should be able to talk more specifically with the JTEs about the specific lessons.
I have a desk in one of the teachers room. At this school, and I think through Japan, the teachers in senior high school move from room to room so there is a teachers room(s) where teachers all have their desks together. I like this because if I need to ask a teacher something there is usually someone there, although they are very busy. Also in that room is a lot of information from class lists, class numbers, schedule of the week, fridge, coffee/tea, etc.
The students wear uniforms. The boys wear black pants and white shirts. The girls wear dark blue uniform skirts, white shirts and bow ties. Each class (there are three classes in Junior High and three in High School - that makes 10th, 11th and 12th grade equivalent for SHS) wears different color sandals. They are specifically indoor shoes...red, blue or green. It seems like people switch outdoor to indoor and vice versa shoes in homes and schools. It seems like most stores and offices you just wear the same shoes.
It looks like I will have 18 classes to teach. There are 9 ichi-nenseii classes (1st year) and 9 ni-nenseii classes (2nd year). There are around 32-41 students in each. I will see the 1st year classes (Oral Communication) each once a week and the 2nd year (Writing) each once every other week. I will also help supervise the English Speaking Society (ESS Club).
I checked out a hip hop class...it was fun! And a great workout. The class is under the International English school so part of the purpose is to have Japanese speakers and non-Japanese people interact. So hopefully I will be able to keep attending and get to know some locals. I haven't really worked out since I have been here so my sides hurt for two days after...but the good kind of pain ;-)
Last summer I did the UESS program and two girls from that program, May and Kelina happen to also be on the JET Program this week. I talked/chatted with both of them this week and it was great to catch up with them. It has been great having them on this journey with me...before we left we discussed our fears, hopes, etc. Now that we are here we can talk about our experiences and visit each other. And hopefully when we go back we can have someone to talk about our experiences with after the fact and to figure out the reverse culture shock.
I have been trying to follow the US Democratic National Convention, but it is hard to get exactly what is going on when it is dubbed over in Japanese...and in all my Japanese classes we didn't study political language...so I try to read the mouths of the news reporters and critics on CNN.
Last night a few of us checked out a jazz and swing bar. I ordered a random dessert off of the menu...I didn't know what it was...but it ended up being some yummy ice cream so I might try to do this more often (order random things and try new things) although it might not always turn out so tasty.
Today I cleaned my apartment so that felt good. And I met up with the JET who is my closest neighbor and she showed me a little coffee/cake shop that I never would've found by myself in our neighborhood. So I am glad I got to know her a little bit...and that there is someone close by.
Tomorrow we have our school opening ceremony...yes, on a Sunday. I will give a speech for the whole school...all 900+ students and staff...in Japanese. I will let you know how that goes...
Last night a few of us checked out a jazz and swing bar. I ordered a random dessert off of the menu...I didn't know what it was...but it ended up being some yummy ice cream so I might try to do this more often (order random things and try new things) although it might not always turn out so tasty.
Today I cleaned my apartment so that felt good. And I met up with the JET who is my closest neighbor and she showed me a little coffee/cake shop that I never would've found by myself in our neighborhood. So I am glad I got to know her a little bit...and that there is someone close by.
Tomorrow we have our school opening ceremony...yes, on a Sunday. I will give a speech for the whole school...all 900+ students and staff...in Japanese. I will let you know how that goes...
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