I remember my years of teaching Engrish in Japan... as if it were yesterday! The whiteboard markers the kids would run across my dress shirts, how they would slide their hands up my shorts and grab my bum when I was reading to them (yikes!), and of course, the wearing of the jockstrap to prevent doubling over in pain as some curious boy or girl would come up and punch straight out at their eye level...
You may laugh when you see this... but the guy on the video trying to study engrish? A HUGE number of students are really like this! One of the big reasons is that they study to perfect the written sentence, and expect the students to be able to speak. The way of teaching when I was an AET on the JET Programme was totally in conflict with what the Board of Education said they wanted to do. In conversation, even in native language, we ALL make mistakes! That is part of the language, but we keep pushing forward because getting the message across is more important than getting a perfectly formed coalition of grammar out of your lips. Unfortunately, that's not quite how it worked...
I love you!
Cam
Why do they use such violence???
ReplyDeleteIs it a game or do they really try to learn this way?
I guess not since you didn't mention swatting YOUR students with a paddle.... YIKES!
It's a TV comedy show, and the "students" are comedians. The comedians are not supposed to laugh, and if they laugh, they are OUT. And then they get hit. But yes, in comedy shows being hit like that or being hit in various other ways, is quite common, and apparently, to the Japanese, quite funny.
ReplyDeleteThe graphics indicated that the "comedian" wasn't "acting," but if he's a performer and if he's aware that a camera was pointed at him (and he was) then he was acting, for certain.
ReplyDeleteI can't take anoymore, man.
TC - You cracked after minutes... imagine what has happened to my brain after 20 years of this shit!
ReplyDeleteDid I ever send you a message about a high school friend of mine being in Japan right now? I do believe that he is with the JET program teaching high school English. Sometimes they ask about American Cultures and the day after I got in touch with him and reminded him about his prom, he told them about the American Youth Tradition of Prom. He said the girls were all giggly and kept asking questions because the girls and boys aren't allowed to be together and such and they were intrigued.
ReplyDeleteThat would be a fantastic tradition to talk about, for the exact reason you wrote about, yes! Also, kids aren't officially allowed to have boyfriends or girlfriends until they graduate from highschool. So they have to keep the hand holding and riding together on the same bike to the train station clandestine. I hope your friend enjoys his time!
ReplyDeleteHe absolutely LOVES Japan!!
ReplyDeleteHere's his blog site: http://anoddexperiment.blogspot.com/
Ugh. Japanese programming sometimes boggles my mind... but the counting was amusing. "Ten ten" for twenty? I could so see someone saying that. ;o)
ReplyDeleteYes, because in Japanese it is nijuu, or two ten.
ReplyDeleteSmall Thing asked why we call it "twenty" instead of "two tens" a few weeks ago. *giggles*
ReplyDeleteShe's too smart for her age.... I love that! I wish I was too smart for my age... think I'm getting dumber as the years progress.... Small Thing is going to cause a lot of hair loss with her teachers over the years as they try to keep up to her! I love you!
ReplyDeletelol..painful..i remeber teaching english in trkey and they picked up on my northern accent lol..strange english.. i realised how funny my voice must be lol
ReplyDeleteOh my god... I don't get this.
ReplyDeleteAt all.
I can't focus... and... the hitting?
I don't understand what's funny.....
Neither do I. But you see what I have had to live with for 20 years? Oh my god! My brain has turned to mush! Help!! Take me away from all this! I'd even go and live in... kansas!
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