This year has already been an improvement on last year in terms of students. All the new first-years (seventh graders) are friendly and unafraid of speaking English. It helps that I am better at Japanese this year, so often I can translate words for them and help them translate for me more successfully. The second-years (eigth graders) are still a rowdy bunch. The teachers are starting to split them into leveled groups, so some can do the "challenge" course and some can go a bit slower. It's nice for both students and teachers. I don't think as many students will be "left behind," if you'll pardon the reference to current American doctrine. The third years (ninth graders) are certainly the most morose of the school, having toned down the antics and tantrums from last year. They're all in new groups now, so the "bad" kids can't be bad together, and they're all losing their thunder.
Today I helped with a second-year "challenge" course. It was their first time as a challenge course, and it was very fun to start them off. I helped them write mini diaries, and after class I checked them for spelling and grammar. This one is by far the cutest (all errors are sic):
Sunday, April 8th
Sunday was mothers day.
I cooked cake with my sister.
I gave it to my mother.
My mother looked very happy.
After that we had cake.
Comments
Post a Comment