Presentation in an assotiation

I gave an presentation with a first presenter in a section of JALT yesterday. It was great experience. Thanks to the first presenter, I had such an wonderful experience. Moreover, I met some teachers who put comments on what we talked, and teaching English in a college and a high school in Hokkaido. I would like to visit the JALT CALL Local conference held in Hokkaido in the near future.
The picture above is an statue of Shigenobu Okuma, creator of Waseda University where the association was held, and the building behind the statue is a symbol of this university, Okuma Auditorium.
Below is the precise info about the presentation run by this association, so feel free to visit it!

http://jaltcall.org/conferences/call2007/
http://jaltcall.org/conferences/call2007/mod/resource/view.php?id=148

Tokyo Stay

I am now putting this message in Tokyo Haneda Airport. I've arrived here to give a presentation tomorrow. Though I did not have sufficient time to prepare for the presenation, and still have not yet completed it, I am looking forward to immersing myself in Academic atomosphere in the place where the presentations will be given.

40 students I'm in charge of in Hokkaido are now taking tests. Now is a period of First Semester Mid Term Exam in the school I work for. I took a day off today. Studetns are really good not only for their skills and knowledge to deal with subjects, but also for their humanity, humor, brightness, and seriousness. I got a lot of power from them, though I have to work about 14 hours every week day, and 3 hours at almost every weekend.

As for my private life, I began new life as a husband from this April. We sometimes have a quarell, but I am sure I love her. Even while haveing a quarell, I can feel the fact.

Hokkaido is covered with lots of nature, and really quiet place especially around the place I live. I can see a lot of running horses and great view of horizen behind the Pacific Ocean. The wonderful nature seems to make me calm to students. I seldom get angry with them compared to my previous life when I taught English to high school students several years ago.

I would like to put comments about more academic stuff, but I do not read articles recently. Oh, well.. See you around!

First message from Hokkaido

I have not visited my site to put my comments because i could not have access to internet from home, and was too busy to do Internet. I restarted teaching in high school. Though i have to work from 7:00 to 21:00(14hours a day!), woking in a high school is really attractive for me because i can see various aspects of high school student's lives, and help them to be brought up.

As a TESOL learner, I have not yet read any article from April. But i will give a presentation with a lecturer teaching at Tokyo. Presentation in such kind of official session is my first experiece, so i am looking forward to doing it.

I expect that working hours will be reduced from now on gradually as i get used to working in a high school, and i hope to have some time to put myself into learning English and English education.

Anyway, i would like to keep a diary in this site.

Last Message in Tokyo Life

This is the last post in my Tokyo life.

I almost finished taking all classes needed to graduate from TUJ. Though it will take several months to get a master degree officially, I was done what i needed to do.

Maybe, because i felt relieved, i got a cold, and was sick in bed for two days. But I've got better now.

From April, my new life will start as a high school teacher teaching English. I think it is not easy to apply what i learned in TUJ into teaching, but i would like to enjoy overall process including the struggiling within myself and between others.

Thanks to my blog, i could have reflect myself, and reorganize what i learned in Tokyo. I would like to keep on blogging, and i would be happy if this could help you somehow.

An Inconvenient Truth

I went to see the movie "An Innonvenient Truth" by Gore, previous vice president in U.S. There is no up and down personal story, not love romance, no crime, what was featured in the film is mainly from his lecture using Power Point and Video someimes inserted into the lecture. But the fact that earth is hurt, and the earth is our precious place we live moved me. The last picture introduced by him taken by a spacecraft named "Cassini" is really touch for me. It is taken from as far as Saturn, so the earth is really tiny, but... it really moved me.

Meeting my Relatives

My father has stayed in Tokyo on business, and He and I went to Kawasaki-city to meet my relatives, his aunt and her husband. They are so impressive. They laugh lightheartedly, have lots of humor, but enbrace clear believes and perspectives toward their lives. After enjoying the visiting and saying good-by to them, my father went to an airport to go back to Hokkaido, and I stayed a short time in an area around Kawasaki-station. The pictures are the ones in the area, which has a flavor of, how do you say, post-modernism, or surrealism, though they cannot reflect the flavor because of my lack of technique to take pictures.

After that, i went to Shinjuku to eat a tasty ramen with my friend, and went to Temple to join editing committee. That is for collecting, editting, and publishing great grammar activities collected from ideas by Graduate students. Well i have to held a meeting one more, but the next one will be the last one before the anthology's publishing.

Thank you, Sidney Sheldon

Thank you, Sidney Sheldon


One of the most favorite author passed away today.
http://www.accesshollywood.com/television/ah3796.shtml

I started reading translated version of his books since junior high. It appeals a lot because of lots of up-down story telling. And then, i started reading his original books which are for ESL/EFL learners. Such books are on my father's shelf because he already give up improving his English. Luckily, i took his books there, and read it while listening their script. It was amazing to know such a wonderful way of learning English! It is just opposite of a way of learning it in a classroom!Gradually, i was able to read his original books. His intriguing story telling compensate my luck of English proficiency, to finish those books. About one month before, i read his last book, "The other side of me". I was moved a lot by his exciting and respectful life. His real life is so up-down as characters in his books, but i was tremendously impressed by his risk-taking, and sincere way of living.

I would like to express my condolence to him. Thank you Sidney Sheldon for giving me a chance to know such a wonderful world.

Happy New Year

1/1~1/3 I had wonderful time with my family. I am given much energy to restart my teaching career at Hokkaido from April. Thanks for them, I could grow up and keep on living in 2007. I cannot stop having gratitude toward people supporting me. The weather have been shiny, so I can clearly see Hidaka mountains and Daisetsuzan Mountains from home.

1/4~1/5 I did a final check test items that will be on the graduation test. I went to a Pasta restaurant i often went when i was living in this city.

Star Wars

12/31
I cleaned living room of our family house today, and watched “Star Wars Episode 3” after that. I was really surprised to see the scene and scenery of space, city, stars, and characters. It really inspired me a lot and makes me think of how it is to live in such a world. As Episode 2, it told me a lot of lesson about how well to live, using the concept of “Force”.
1) To be modest.
2) To differentiate what is good and what is bad.
3) We can sense the differentiation of the two hearing our inner voice.
4) We can focus on other interests not only our interests.
5) We can stop admiring power too much. Power is to aid the aspect of the goods.
6) We can let situation go. We should not focus on loss of our important things too much, because fear of loss connects to our dark side.
7) We can stop increasing our angers, because it also connects to our dark side.
The film helped me to have a clear vision of connection between inner-self and real
world. I would like to live while sensing our situation in my heart, and the connection next year.

Movies and a book...indoor day!

12/30 I watched two movies, “Star Wars Episode 2” and “National Treasure”, and finished reading a book called “Mono-Kuu Hitobito” meaning people eating something around the world. I went outside to borrow the two movies. Though outside is incredibly cold, I feel it somehow comfortable. The movies was entertaining, I enjoyed the screen with highly developed technique, and exciting story. The book I read was on food and various topics around eating around the world. The content was much more than exciting and insightful than I had expected. The book give me an important fact that all of us keep on eating whether or not we enjoy it, and various topics around our lives are directly connected with the action of eating itself. Though it was published 12 years ago, and the social political situation was a bit different from that now, it told me significant truth.

Drink with my friend

12/29 I went for some drink with my previous colleague in the center of my hometown. Though daytime is quiet in the middle of my hometown, the night time is full with lots of people. I hope the place is in prosper with various kind of people at both of day and night time. The colleague, he is also my great friend, have not changed in a good way. He is a music teacher, and have wide and deep perspective, and highly cultural person. He is also kind and calm, so popular from all students. My sister joined the drink, and had a enjoyable time. I hope we keep in touch with each other for our future, because I feel our relationship has great possibility to do something contributable to community and society.

Library

12/26

I went to new library in my hometown built　up this year. It has good design, sophisticated facility, and inspiring books including authors born or lived here. The study room is so quiet that I was able to concentrate on preparation for the graduation test. Outside the building was incredibly cold! I felt somewhat hurt from the cold air!

Merry Christmas!

12/24
I flew back to Hokkaido! I directly came back to my hometown. The scenery is totally different from that in Tokyo, lots of trees, fields, wide roads, and snow. After putting baggage in my sleeping, I discussed various things with my father in living room, from our favorite authors to world economics. My father is always really inspiring because he knows a lot. Form my childhood, he tell me various things happened in world wide, and let me love books. Thanks to him, I like reading books and learning English through reading.

Came back to Tokyo

I went back to Hokkaido in this weekend, and i came back to Tokyo today. This picture is where i stayed. There was nothing special i did there, but i really enjoyed the stay, and felt relaxed so much.

Hokkaido is now preparing for the severe winter. i felt it from the changing color of woods. The green of woods became much deeper than it was in summer.

A Day Off

I relaxed a lot today. There has been something i had to for a long time, so i could enjoy today. it was a completely day off. After strong rainy days, sunny days have lasted for three days. this picture is the senery before my apartment. it was just a picture, nothing special, but a sunny day in fall is what i like the most all over the year.

I watched a movie today, World Trade Center by Oliver Stone. It focused much more on personal story around two family, than i had expected, i mean i though it was more political one. I cried a lot actually than i expected, not to let others know. It was a great movie, and i swore that i had to think more seriously about what i should do to stop war. After i came back home, i heard news that North Korea have done nuclear power experimentation. That country seems to walk the same way as Japan did from WW1 two WW2. I'm really worried that country got more and more isolated from international society as Japan did by leaving the League of Nations in 1920's.

i have concentrated on writing a paper about project on Applied Linguistics recently. Though i was messy about what i should do about that at first, i zoomed my theme into reading assessment using my data i got from my colleague on scores of reading tests of students. I've read several books and articles about reading and validity, and put what i got from them into the paper. but i have to stop writing it and doing research 'cause i have to prepare for the test of this class next monday. I have not yet prepared for it at all!! Oh well, i know what i can do is taking my time to study for it not to wing it.