Another wonderful EFL lesson in Japan

English in the Japanese classroom version 2.

Ah yes, once again, a funny vocabulary drill exercise. This year, the junior high school textbook Sunshine was revised. Each grade level has a new revised text. This article covers the Second year book.

The first unit covers the aspect of the students returning back to school after their spring holidays.

The vocabulary which the teacher used consisted of was/science/were/at home/all day/hour/anywhere/hot/Seoul/exciting/Korea/wasn’t/the Korean Folk Village/farmer/band/dance

I just find it very funny how the teacher doesn’t double check how the words are sequenced.

So as I’m going through the word list in front of the students, I read them off and find myself in a fit of giggles.

I mean Was Science at home?

Were at home all day.

Anywhere?

Hot Seoul, exciting Korea.

Korea wasn’t the Korean Folk Village.

(Really, then why the hell is the name the Korean folk village if it wasn’t Korean?)

Farmer band dance, (which to be fair, is a traditional Korean cultural music group. Not to be confused with a country hoe down in the midwest.

So the dialogue works like this.

Ms. Wood: Did you go anywhere, Yuki?

Yuki: I went to Korea with my family in early April. We visited the Korean Folk Village near Seoul.

Ms. Wood: What did you see there?

Yuki: We saw the farmer’s band dance.

Ms. Wood: Oh, did you? How was it?

Yuki: It was really good. Their music and dances were exciting.

Ms. Wood: Did you try any traditional Korean dishes?

Yuki: Yes. They were hot but really good. I enjoyed them very much.

After we had gone through these, I then told the students my experiences when I was an English teacher in Korea from 1996-99. For me, the answer to the “traditional Korean dishes” question caused many students to freak out when I told them I had eaten Dogmeat soup twice. I explained that for me it was ok, as I don’t like dogs. And it’s not like I was eating fluffy.

As well, on one of my mountain hikes, I came across some Korean shamanism. Mugyo is the Korean term which wikipedia uses the quaint term eclectic to refer to it. Nothing makes you stand up and take notice like some old lady (who would be a shaman,) standing in a mountain clearing screaming her head off while banging a gong with a pig’s leg!

Then there was the pigs head worship. This was where a pig had been slaughtered, then the head was cleaned up, and was placed on it’s own altar whereby people would stuff money notes into the pigs snout and mouth. They would then give offerings of soju. Different, but I wouldn’t say strange. When I checked wikipedia, the current policy in Korea is to try and give Korean shamans into mental health professions, or help.

Nerf fighting, Daddy's revenge!

My pistol held 2 shots, his only one! HAAA HAAA HAAAA. Later on this Golden week, more of same. He's now asking for the double barrelled one.

Ians evil chuckle

Once again, he won and he was giggling like mad as he then realised that the Scots Raiders could pillage to their hearts content, even the English farmer's wife was taken with the Scottish leader and rode off with him.

Are you ok daddy? It's only a game!

Here I am trying to figure out how my 6 year old son has beaten me again! Maybe he's using loaded dice, yeah that's it. That, and my musketeers kept either misfiring or were crap shots!

The livestock in the fields

Livestock in the field. Some English farmers armed with matchlocks try to drive off some Scots raiders

English farm

The interior courtyard of the farm. Loaded with loot for the Scots Raiders

Scottish market day

The English farmers escort their last wagonloads into the strong farm. The storehouse/windmill is packed with grain, whiskey, and livestock in the fields.

Scottish border action

This scenario is from Wargammes Illustrated. It's set in the Scottish/English borders. In this action, a Scottish Raiding party have decided to raid an English farm just before market day

Bicycle built for four

I haven't figured out the zoom in function so well on my phone camera. Ian rode with our family friends around a course. These cars were all bicycled powered. The day was great as the weather was wonderfully balmy at 25c and nice sunshine. The park was crowded with thousands of people in families. Litterally hundreds of children all running around having fun in a park. Many Japanese people love to get out in green places. Too bad we have to pay a bundle to get in. But it's money well spent.

Dont let me fall daddy

I took this shot under the rope bridge. Leena was suprised. She didn't freak out which was good.