The Bridge: Summer 2013 English by Rainbow Bridges English Academy

Volume 9 Issue 2 Number 23 Spring 2013-2014

Academy News Summer Camp This year’s Summer Camp took place in Yame at the Ikenoyama Campground in Hoshino. Campers got the opportunity to experience the natural world with hikes around the forested lake and playing in a

Summer from Saturn taken at almost the same time). The campers also helped prepare foods and cooked over open fires. We tried new foods, such as blueberry pancakes, Mediterranean wraps, mountain pies, and more. Other highlights included the campfire under the stars, singing along

Summer Camp Near the Observatory

David is playing the guitar on the bus

mountain stream, swimming in a nearby river, and seeing the Moon and Saturn through the largest telescope in Kyushu (see our Facebook page for a stunning comparative view of Earth and the Moon

A beautiful campsite next to the lake

including all of the four main skills (reading, writing, speaking, and listening) in a variety of environments and activities. It all made for a full-on, power-packed two days of summer fun!

What is it? (They are at Ikenoyama Campground)

with the guitar on the bus, playing soccer, football, and Frisbee, and running races. We even constructed our own candle-lit lanterns and raced boats we made from the forest’s natural materials. The staff was

most impressed with how the campers, most of whom did not know each other, not only cooperated but went out of their way to be inclusive of both boys and girls of various ages. All of the campers used a considerable amount of English in real, natural, and communicative situations,

Using English at Home If you are a non-native speaker and you’d like to use English at home with your child, keep the following hints in mind. If your child is learning another language besides English, just substitute English with the language she or he is learning. 1 Keep the language very, very simple a Try for ultimate simplification—not broken English, but simplified English 2 Encourage, but don’t force your child

a Speaking a foreign language to a parent or in front of them is very awkward for most children b It helps to inspire children rather than make them feel tested 3 Take a brief look at the textbook syllabus to find out what language they know a We are distributing syllabuses with each textbook set b Language targets are listed on the syllabus (and inside the front cover of the www.rainbow-bridges.com

textbook) c Vocabulary will vary, but categories and themes are mentioned on the syllabus 4 The language should be meaningful and personal—rather than mechanical— and fun a Personalize the language; let the child talk about things that interest him or her (their friends, family, and favorite famous people rather than just textbook characters)

Examples “What is it?” is an extremely useful phrase that all students in the academy learn. It can be used any time: at home, in the car, walking down the street. Ask your children about things they might know, but ask them as if you are really appealing to them to teach you. They will gain confidence if they feel they are teaching you. At the same

Simplification Use the simplest forms of nouns and verbs 1 It’s a tree, rather than maple tree or Look over there at that incredibly humungous white pine! 2 It’s running rather than That Labrador retriever over there is moving like the wind.

Tales of Language Learning My first memory of foreign language learning Article: Tristan Scholze

Living in the United States when I was 8, my best friend was Italian. He lived across the street and I often had dinner at his house. His family only Tristan (Biscut) is 8 spoke Italian at home, in this picture so I didn’t understand the conversations. I just enjoyed the fantastic home-cooked pasta and listened. One day at my house, he tried to teach me the language. For this first lesson I had to memorize, “Mother, may I please read a book before I go to bed tonight?” He spoke it for me and made me repeat it many times as I began to feel very nervous. Then, he pulled me into the living room where my mother was. Sweating at this point, and after much hesitation and fidgeting by me and nagging by him, I blurted out

a vague approximation of the words as quick as I could, then fell on the floor from embarrassment. My mother looked back at me totally confused. I never had a second Italian lesson. Keeping some of the above points in mind, another child’s first steps in a new language can be much more promising. Simply put, I was motivated to learn, but the language was too complex for my level. My mother wasn’t expecting to be spoken to in Italian by her son. And there was too much pressure on me. My mother had expressed her own interest in learning another language, Spanish, and this helped me to value the idea of learning a foreign language. I remember we had cats when I was a child, and I recall looking through a dictionary with my mother in order to choose cat names in Spanish. We also used to play a game to learn Spanish words, asking, for example, ¿Como se dice “cat” en español? or How do you say “cat” in

Spanish? (This is a language tool equivalent to “What is it?” in English.) With this support for other languages in mind and the good opportunity to with my friend living across the street, I could have gotten a lot further in Italian had my friend started teaching me simpler, more useful phrases. The Italian equivalents of “Hello!” “What is it?” “How are you?” and a few common vocabulary words useable during dinner, like pasta, apple, table, and water would have been useful and achievable. Of course my friend was only nine at the time, so I can forgive him. Even though that was my last Italian lesson, I never forgot the experience. As I grew up, I think it motivated me to try again to learn other languages and to find a better way of teaching and learning. Many, many years later, it ultimately contributed to my decision to become a teacher and explore learning, languages, and communication for my career.

Famous Quotations [We are] star stuff contemplating the stars. CARL SAGAN (1934-1996) American scientist We: humanity stuff: things star stuff: products of stars; elements contemplating: to think about

English Quiz How well do you know the English language? 1. What is the shortest complete sentence in English? 2. What is the only word with a double “i”? 3. What is the only word that ends in “mt”? 4. What are the only 2 words with three consecutive double letters? 5. What’s the longest word with only one vowel? 6. What’s the longest one-syllable word? 7. What’s the most common letter used? 8. What letter is the least used?

English Quiz 1. I am. 2. skiing 3. dreamt 4. bookkeeper, bookkeepping 5. strengths 6. screeched 7. E 8. Q What is it? 1. It’s a dragonfly. 2. It’s a purple flower. (It’s a hydrangea.) 3. It’s a turtle. 4. It’s a mushroom.

time, they can learn from you by asking you “What is it?” when they want to know about something. If you don’t know—that’s actually even better! You can discover it together by researching it or asking your teacher at the next class.