Friday, May 19, 2006

English in Japan

This is a scenario of how my students speak & write English in the classroom. It's not a true representation of the order in which it happened, but a compilation of separate incidents.

In the classroom. Students (2 nensei) were doing their writing exercise, while the JTE & I walked around to give help.

Student A waved me over. I stayed put, stared at him while shaking my head. Thinking to myself that there's no way I'm going over to his side until he at least calls my name! He got the point and called me.

Student A: Sensei, nihongo wakarimasuka? (Teacher, do you understand Japanese?)
Me thinking to myself: Duh, stupid boy. How many times have you asked me that? How many times have I spoken Japanese to you?!!
Student A: ******** no superu ha nandesuka? (What's the spelling of *****?)
Later....
Student B: Shinshia, Shinshia!
I walked over.
Student B: Anou......aisu kurimu no superu onegaishimasu! (Please tell me the spelling of ice-cream!)
Me: Ok. I.C.E........
Student B: Eh? Pauses to think how to write the letters. Then writes A.S.I.
Me: No, no! I.C.E. Not A.S.I!
Student B: Huh? Erases them and writes down something entirely different.
Spent 5 minutes with her until she got it right.
Student B: Hahaha.....watashi ha baka desune!! (I'm stupid, ain't I?) Kurezi da! (I'm crazy!)

Back to the staff room with the papers. Sat down to start marking them. Many corrections and big question marks from me.

Me: ******** sensei, look at this.
The JTE reads what a student has written: I studyed English yestaday. It was terrible! Notobuku faife peG exercizu.
JTE: Eh? Nanda kore ha?! (What's this?!)
Me: Hmm.......ah! I think he's trying to say that he studied 5 pages from his notebook.
JTE: Laughs. You're a goodo teecha (good teacher)! Wakaranakatta! (I didn't understand what he wrote!)

It is no wonder that my English has been affected because of the environment that I'm in. I sometimes can't differentiate between good & bad English because Japlish seems so natural to me now! It's bad enough that I was surrounded by Singlish at home and now I have to sift out the Japlish and try not to become influenced.

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