Today I was on working around the classrooms at the Kyobashi School when one of the coaches came out and asked if he could have a word. I said “sure however I am waiting for my four year old daughter to arrive with Mum from pre-school and then I will need to get going and take her out for dinner.”
With this is mind he replied. “Sure this is just a quick question, we teach one point English everyday at the beginning of each lesson. I think the students like this and enjoy doing them myself however I wonder about the actual appropriateness of some”
I asked for an example. And the reply was “well take this one, ‘please don’t copy me’, how often would anyone really use this in everyday conversation.”
For a moment he had me thinking! I was stumped and rolling back eighteen years to when I lived in an English speaking country. While I was considering the phrase my four year old daughter arrived with Mum. One of the head office secretaries came out to say hello and my daughter quipped “isn’t my hair lovely” To this the secretary replied in jest “Oh, isn’t MY hair lovely” which brought a very rapid “Please don’t copy me” from my daughter.
I looked into the coaches’ eyes, handed the one point file back and he walked away shaking his head with just the hint of a chuckle and mumbling “out of the mouth of babes.”
I think, that sometimes when we coach communicate confidence in English everyday, in Japan, in the classroom, we can tend to forget the everyday usage of our own language. It’s nice to know the guys who thought out the curriculum were on the ball.
Thanks Craig and Co.
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