Learnt My Lesson Well

Part 1.

Do you remember the textbooks you used in high school? I remember the name of the French book we used ('Tapis Volant' for those interested) and if I saw the other textbooks I might recognise them but despite the big role they play in our education they're pretty much forgettable... except the French book apparently.

(Remember this? NO! Because this is the newer version... I can't find a picture of the older one)

I mention this as now that I'm in my second year of education I have already become bored of the textbook. This does not bode well for my future as an educator, but perhaps with a little explanation you will understand the problem. As I stated earlier, I don't really remember much from the text books and I certainly don't have pictures of them here to reminisce. So to make things a little more interesting I'm going to show you pictures of the English textbook here.

Before we go any further let me introduce you to the characters of the books. The same students progress through all three books of junior high school which is convenient. Firstly, meet Kumi and Ken, the archetypal bilingual Japanese female and male of the group.

(possibly the same person)

Next, Emma. Emma hails from Australia as is apparently indicated by her red hair and blue eyes. She also appears to have a full on American accent in the CD's accompanying the text books. She likes to play netball and eat lunch outside with her friends.

(Julia Gillard?)

This is Ming. He is from China. In one lesson everyone goes to his house and we see a kite in the shape of a bat and we learn about his father's old cup. Not to be confused with Ming's cup... which is new.

(I BET he's good at math, and bad at driving)

Paul's blonde locks and freckled face sure does lend him well to his home country of, you guessed it, The USA. He plays football every weekend. His Father at one stage offers Kumi a drink and shows her some African music. What a riot.

(omg it's Matt Damon)

Finally we have Ratna from India who also falls victim to stereotypes. We meet her sari loving sister and learn that Ratna in fact speaks THREE languages. English, Hindi and Marathi. What's Marathi you ask? She never really explains but she does like talking to her friends in it.

(Ratna probably ate the cat behind her, hahaha... racist)

The book is interspersed with various characters that provide new topics of conversation. Such as Ms. Kileo from Africa who is studying biotechnology to make better crops for her home country. She's also interested in Tinga Tinga. A style of African art.

Then there's Mary from Wales who visits the lake district with her family and craps on about Peter Rabbit.

Or some random talking about Ainu culture (Ainu = Native people of Japan).

Or some other douchebag teachers that suck.

These are the characters that guide us through the sub-par Japanese English education. Let's delve head first and get an idea of each of the year levels and the veritable learning landscapes they traverse. Let's start with the basics and visit first year.

First year

We begin with various greetings and phrases including the ubiquitous

A: How are you

B: I'm fine thank you, and you?

A: I'm fine, too. Thank you.

And then progress onto the alphabet. No learning mnemonics. Just practice. This is fine because in Japanese they practice their multiple alphabets by sheer repetition so don't worry about them - They manage. Then we move onto things such as plurals (which don't really exist in Japanese), to he vs. she, various tenses, vocabulary and question sentences. All pretty standard, no? Here's an excerpt.

(Kumi making Paul feel stupid. Bitch)

Second year

After a year of English education the kids pretty much have the alphabet down and should theoretically be able to hold a general conversation. Even if said conversation consists of things such as 'do you like potato?', 'do you like soccer?', 'Do you like apple?' or 'I'm fine thank you, and you?'. Of course, being Japanese they refuse to raise their hand in class or think freely so the structure remains pretty much the same into the second year. Teach the granmmar, read the text, do a brief test and move on. Classic.

This book starts to venture out among the world with a chapter about India, a chapter about the native Japanese people and even a chapter about heat islands! The textbook begins with Emma talking about Australia and how the seasons are different blah blah blah. I will give the book kudos for talking about spring/autumn when it is actually spring/autumn according to the school year but I'm not such a fan of the book suggesting that ALL Australians say 'ta' instead of 'thank you'. No Emma, no.

(Not actually the 'ta' page but you get the idea)

This book spends a loooot of time on the comparative form. Today is hotter than yesterday, or Kris is the most awesome etc. That is until we reach chapter 8, entitled - Landmines and Children. Which is were I should bring up the morbidity of this series of textbooks. Here's a line from the book.

" Cambodia children like to play in forests and fields, just like you and me. But some of them are killed and others are injured. Landmines do this. "

Accompanied by this photo.

(You'd think he'd learn his lesson from the LAST time he walked to school)

Nice.

Third year

The final book of the series and the last book these kids see before they venture off into the world of secondary education or farming. Their last chance to gain a positive view on English so as to want to learn it in the future. We teach them about Sasaki Sadako and how the atomic bomb eventually killed her; About Martin Luther King Jr. and racism in America (including his death); Famine and war in Sudan including this heart warming Pulitzer Prize winning photo; and also about Human Rights in Kosovo.

(Sadako folding a banana)

Did YOU know that the Atomic bomb over Hiroshima killed 130,000 people? I sure didn't! The grammar point for this part was '~~ makes me ~~' , in other words 'The atomic bomb makes me sad'. Subtle. But having said all of that I should point out the book also covers things like hand signing, guide dogs, future careers, World Heritage Sites and such. It all just seems a bit serious...

By the end of the third year some students have a general grasp on English and know lots of useful words, and some not so useful words... such as boycott, highland and refugee. It's a start.

Then they grow to monstrous proportions and crush the world with their gigantic feet)

I like teaching English. I like the teachers I work with, the teachers I don't work with and I love my students. The text book isn't amazing but if it's what I have to use to do what I do then it's worth it. Many of my friends use different text books and so I can really only speculate on them. I don't care. That's all for tonight.


Tomorrow's topic?

I haven't actually written it yet.