Did you know...?

Did you know...

Today October 5th is World Teachers' Day. According to the UN -

World Teachers' Day provides the opportunity to draw public attention to the
important role of teachers within society. This year's celebration is
particularly significant as it marks the 40th anniversary of the adoption of
the UNESCO/ILO Recommendation on the Status of Teachers.

It is an opportunity to recognize the importance of striving for quality
education across the globe. It is a time for the world to tell its teachers
"We appreciate you!" (1)

I basically just want to toot my horn as my first year as a teacher =)

Did you know...

Beware of heard, a dreadful word,
That looks like beard and sounds like bird,
And dead: it's said like bed, not bead,
For Goodness' sake, don't call it deed!
Watch out for meat and great and threat,
They rhyme with suite and straight and debt.
(anon)

Why are so many English words pronounced differently from they way the are spelt?

English spelling is unpredictable at the best of times, and occasionally totally chaotic - an opinion no doubt shared by British schoolchildren and those studying English around the world alike. However, studies of the language claim that there are only 400 words in English whose spelly is wholly irregular. Unfortunately, many of them are among the most frequently used in the language.

The problems with the English spelling system came about as the language developed over a period of 1,000 years. Some complications arose early on, when the Romans tried to write down old English using the 23 letter Latin alphabet. Old English contained nearly 40 vowels and consonants.

The influence of French after the Norman Conquest also made an impact on English spelling. French scribes introduced "qu" where Old English had use "cw" e.g. queen, and "gh" instead of "h" e.g. night, amongst other changes.

The introduction of the printing press in 1476 meant that a standard spelling system began to emerge. The system reflected the speech of the London area. The pronunciation of vowels underwent further changes during the 15th century, but because of the advent of the printing press, spelling never caught up.

Previously, scribes would have simply written down a new spelling to reflect the new pronunciation. Thus modern spelling in many ways reflects outmoded pronunciation of words dating back to the Middle Ages.

Despite many attempts to reform the English spelling system, so far no changes have been made since the 16th century - mainly because nobody can agree on what the best alternative may be!

...and I thought learning Japanese was hard.

How many people speak English?

English is one of the most widely used languages in the world. Recent estimates suggest that around 375 million people speak English as their first language, with possibly another 375 million speaking it as a second language. The United States has the largest number of English speakers - over 226 million speak the language as a mother tongue. English is the favored language of the world's major airlines and international commerce. Over 80% of the world's electronically stored information is in English and 2/3 of the world's scientists read in English. Of the estimated 40 million users of the Internet, some 80% currently communicate in English. English is an official language, or has a special status, in over 75 of the world's territories.

If the rest of the world isn't talking English, they're borrowing English words to add to their own language; the Japanese go on a pikunikku (picnic), Italians program their computer with "il software", Germans talk about "ein Image Problem" and Czechs say "ahoy!" for "hello" - a greeting traditionally used by English sailors, which is interesting as the Czech Republic has no coast!

(2)

....now you can understand why I have a job here in Japan teaching English...


Want some funny business?

My 8th graders had to talk about their dream. Here are some examples - what is in parentheses are my edits to help you understand:

"I want to be a clothe shop (fashion designer). I want to make clothe(s). So (I) practice make (ing) clothe(s)."

"I want to be a tennis player. I want to be like Hingisu (a Japanese tennis player - maybe?). I want to play in Winburudon (Wimbledon). So I play tennis."

"I want to be a bird. I want to fly in (the) sky. I want to be like Taka (a hawk)."

" I want to be a carpenter. I want to build nice houses everyone (will) love. I want to study math and science."

"I want to be a(n) anpanman. I want to (be a ) HERO. So I watch anpanman at six every Sunday." (I think Anpanman is a cartoon superhero).

AND MY ALL TIME FAVORITES - both written by the same boy"

"I want to be a Maoi. I want to looking (up in the) sky. I want to give my name on (in) the world historying (history)." (3)

"I want to an umeboshi. I want to be a very very very very very very very delicious umeboshi." (4)

Other things Japanese 8th graders want to be if they could:

• hypnotist
• pirahna
• beautiful bride
• rich man like the Arabian King

In my 7th graders class - we play a game called Whisper. I take the kids outside of the classroom tell them one sentence and it has to be whispered up to the kid in front of them all the way up to the kid sitting in the first seat. That kid then goes to the board and tries to write the sentence. Of course, this is just like the game telephone - so it gets easily confused.
Here is my sentence and two of my favorite "answers".

I sing songs with Emi.

Answers:
I king of Emi
I think Song Emi

I love this game!

Alright then that's it for now . Hope you enjoyed this different blog! English convo class with adults time. I prepared to play 2 lies and 1 truth and finish the evening with tongue twisters! Should be hilarious. Ja ne.


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(1)to read more see the UNESCO website:
http://portal.unesco.org/education/en/ev.php-URL_ID=44202&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html
(2) both questions researched and written by Alex Praill, and printed and published by the foreign & commonwealth office in London, UK. It states on the book - "Although it is copyrighted, the text may be freely reproduced outside Britain, with or without acknowledgment"
(3) according to wikipedia.com - Moai are statues carved from compressed volcanic ash on Rapa Nui (Easter Island). The statues are all monolithic, that is, carved in one piece. The largest moai erected, "Paro", was almost 10 metres (33 feet) high and weighed 75 tonnes (74 Imperial tons, 83 American tons).^[1] One unfinished sculpture has been found that would have been 21 metres (69 ft) tall and would have weighed about 270 tons. We teach about it in one of our english lessons. Where he got the vocab from.
(4) An umeboshi is a very salty, sour pickled plum. I eat them all the time. According to wikipedia, a single umeboshi is often placed in the centre of the rice, resulting in what looks like the flag of Japan. It is also a common ingredient in onigiri, rice balls wrapped in nori. I eat onigiri every single day for lunch.