Long Time No See!

Hi, everyone. It has been more than one year since I graduated from my grad school in Tokyo. During this period, I have been absorbed in not only teaching English, but also helping students get their own decipline in their daily lives, facilitating them to select their own career after their graduation, and so forth. As you know being a teacher in public high school in Japan equals helping students at all aspects!
During this period, I got 1st grade at STEP test, but I could not find big improvements in my research project. Though I will have two presentation in August and November both in Tokyo, I have no plan to get my work published. I do not have enough motivation to do that at least now.
During this period, my interest moves from studying on TESOL and English education to studying on self-help, work-life-balance, and economy. I have been motivated by those stuffs base on deep relationshipes between those and my daily life's needs. In the long view, however, I know committing studying on TESOL and English education will bear big fruits.

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.

Reflect myself in 2006 and and set goals in 2007

12/28 Today is not rainy, though I don’t know exactly what it is because I have stayed all day home. I spent a lot of time to reflect myself and what happened around myself during this year, and set a kind of agenda about what I should do next year in terms of myself, working, and family. It is my custom to do that at the end of a year. It is meaningful time to organize my past and future before the dawn of a new year.

Experience or theory

I have noticed my contradiction within myself recently.

During five years i worked as an English teacher, I did not like teachers who heavily focused on their own experiences. Experience, not supported by theory or more borader shared experiences, is not meaningful, i thought then.

However, during the two years in Temple grad school, i have not been for the classmates who focuses only on theory. I am tempted to be against them with my own experiences.

That's my contradiction.

What i need is balance between theory and experience. In other words, practical theory that are likely to be tuned to thoughts of individual teachers, and inter-subjective experiences that are likely to be beefed up into publicable level.

Interview

I recently have three interviews.

One is from my classmate who write some reports to journals on English learning, second is from company related TOEIC company, and final is from a write writing reports to STEP(Eiken).

Through those experiences, i could have chances to reflect my self. Interactions is really meaningful for not only offering some information to them, but also specify and systematize what i am now thinking.

Through lifes in this grad school,

1) i could increase my pockets from which i elicit approaches and methods based on different students' needs.

2) i could expand networks with various people related English education, like teachers in university level, conversation school, publishing company, whether or not they are native or non-native.

3) i could gain basic skills of how i do research in classroom and one school level. When i have a problem in classroom, i would analyze more deeply than before and take some steps base on data i got.

All three are not perfect one, but would be in the middle of development, but they are what i got during my two years in Tokyo.
Anyway, i would like to thank them to give a chance of reflexing my experience, learning, and teaching.

Easy-Going English Learner

I had a really good night today with TUJ friends. We went to Izakaya near TUJ and enjoyed beer and conversation. We talked a lot about Japanese and American culture, politics, tradition, subculture like music, cooking TV shows... I could not even imagin i could enjoy that way in my L2 English, when i was a child. Even one year ago, i did not like so much to go for drinking becaue English everyone speaks was fast and slippery for my ear, but i have gradually been used to it.

I hardly get lost during conversation in that situation, but i still got in trouble to speak what i wanna say. Everytime after i joined casual conversation, i thought i need to polish my English.
Especially conversation with several people, native speaker do not do "teacher talk", so it become more challenging for me.

However, on my way home, i noticed the fact that i felt i need to polish my English is just the way many japanese think. I mean apprehention, anxiety, or some kinda inferiority is the strong driving forse to push Japanese learners of English toward learning English more and more.

I read some articles and attended lectures at TUJ that told me that strong factors for leanrers to study or learn English is different from culture to culture. One doctor said the extent to which they are laid-back and relaxed is the stimulating factor to learn English for Brazilian, while the degree to which they are anxious is in Japan.

If someone from some country who is at the level of proficiency as me are in the situation above like at Izakaya for beer and conversation, he/she may be feel different. I feel that there is much room i should give it a try to reach to higher proficiency.. But i realized that the way i felt is just that typical Japanese learners feel.

Oh, well, i am now at the point of graduating from studying English for just English. It is good time to study something through English. My learning style is kinda test-driven one. I used to be learning English for TOEIC, TOEFL, and Eiken. But i got bored with it. Fortunately, i found the content i get intereted in. One of them is TESOL. TESOL study is practical for me as a teacher and as a learner. I wanna be more reflective learner/teacher.

Anyway, thank you so much for you guys for wonderful time tonight!

These days

These days, My brain has been too activated to keeping in good shape!! When i got up, i feel my self exausted. Moreover, i got sort of chiken pox, like shingles. Once i saw the movies "Super Size Me" i decided to keep in good shape, and began to drink vinegar for my health, but i ended up to get chiken pox. That's miserable.. Oh well, i have to see a doctor, tomorrow.

These days, i have been too focusing on TESOL-related learning and studying. It is perhaps the reason to make me sick. But i cannot stop! because it is intersting! Well, I'm already in the situation of "runners high".

I'm now taking two courses with lots of assignment. And hopefully, i would like to write some paper about topic i am now interested in by i graduate this grad school. I know after i go back to workplace to restart my teaching, i cannot spend lots of time for studying as now, so i would like to read what i got interested in, and write a paper about it. I cannot get a clear picture about what kind of paper would be emerged, but it would include students' reading proficiency, and how to assess it.

i'm now reading this book above. It is really systematically written, but it is also one of reasons to make my brain activated.

Fall Semester

Fall semester started. I take New Grammar and Applied Linguistics. This semester will be most tough one than others i have gone through. I joined the first class of Applied Linguistics. It had three tests and two presentation, lots of stuffs i have to read to before class, and course paper. Clearly it is hardest course among TUJ TESOL courses. Dr. C's vocaburaly saids lots of terminology modified by difficult adjectives, many of which i could not understand. He also mambuls something important, many of which i could not grasp. Anyway "Applied Linguistics" is the name of department which has various items and stuffs, not just the name of one course i think. but i will have to absorb what he will teach.. within only one course..huu... The only thing i am looking forward to is the pizza party at the last class of grammar corse. Until then, i will keep on learning TESOL.

The closer the day i come back to Hokkaido, the more realistic i become. The days i can have a dream about my teaching and my career development have gone, and the days i endure with high pressure from constrains on my life and teaching began. But the very condition itself help me ponder what i should teach, and what i could develop my career. The best way i guess about my life is keep on teaching at high school and working for BOE in several years. It meets my academical, financial and professional needs. But through my days at TUJ, i found myself enjoying studying TESOL. If i have a chance i would like to have a position at colleges. Also as a learner, i would like to go abroad for myself being exposed with English. As a domestic learner, i have maximize the chane of llearning English only in here in Japan. Without experience of living outside Japan, i could be considered one of miracles as a proficient learner. But i am about to hitting the ceiling. To gain condidence and speaking ability, i would like to go outside Japan. Oh, well i got lost in woods. i tottaly forgot what i would like to note down here.At least my days at TUJ will last for 6 months, so i will do my best. I would like be cooperative as much as possible with classmates, and also i want to be more strict for myself phisically and mentally. Phisically means i gradually gain weight, so i will jog around my neighborhood a few times a week. Mentally means i tend to indulge in some unproductive activity like internet surfing lately, so i want to be more stoic. Oh i got lost depper in the huge forest. Where am i ? Okay i go back to real world. Today is the first class of New Grammer.New Semester began!

What on earth is Master degree?

One year and four months have passed since i entered the grad school. I studied a lot from this program. My major at undergraduate program was sociology and educational sociology. What i learned then and what i'm learning is not the same and also not totally different. What i learned at undergraduate,and was impressed is philosophical paradigm shift, especially modernism and postmodernism. Thanks to them,i tend to perceive and think what i see from this two perspectives. it is broader fundemental divice to think anything while i live in this world. On the other hand, what i am studying is more practical stuff. Even in theoretical one, i can find their orientation on how teachers apply the theories into practical phases. That is what i expected before entering this grad school. So i am satisfied with it.But at the same time, i cannot be satisfied with lack of common background we think we should have. I felt that at the class of Applied Linguistics. Most of learnerw attending the class was close to their graduation. From the handout the professor passed us out about what students would like to get from the class, i could not find any common perspective we have. it is not the knowlege about TESOL. We already can share varioius knowlege about TESOL, like CPH, SLA, TBL, and so on. But i felt at that time, we are not sharing perspectives about language, teaching and learning. it does not mean i think we should teach or teach in the same way. but i felt the lack we cannot share. how can i say? it is hard to express what i am thinking. If the other professor asks us to note down about what we would like to get from this master course, say, at the class of Intro to TESOL, by Dr,E, what do you think we would jot down? i guees we would write simillar stuff we write at the class of applied linguistics. Maybe the term we write is different, but i doubt it is not different, rather simillar. i think what is important is to get perspective with which we clearly and deeply see and think about the world than knowledge itself. I felt i got it at undergraduate program. but i still can not get it at this grad school. i guess it is not the matter of language(English) through which instruction is done, but the matter of characteriscics of this field. Ironically i got the perspective most is from classes from Dr.B. it is ironic because i feel the "philosphy" about how we should think about language and language learning from statistics which is the most "scientific" one. From many classes, i could not the get that philosophy which back up the various knowlege that are taught. i think it even unfair to hide such perspectives that sustain each knowlege. if we learn such perspecives and paradigm shift to support each knowledge, we can learn it more enthusiastically.But it is the fact that master's program is just a threshold. i know a lot about that. perhaps it will took at least several years to get the perspectives after i graduate this grad school. i would like to say myself now iam at the stage where i have to learn a lot of stuffs by which i can deepen my thought.