New Horizon: Grade 3, Unit 3

[Otaku]

UNIT 3: OUR SISTER CITY IN NEPAL

--“BAZAAR”: Do JHS students really need to know this word? I can count the number of times I’ve actually written this word in English on one hand.

--UNIT’S TOPIC: Nepal? English isn’t even one of the formal languages in Nepal? I’m confused how the English language and that particular country relates? Of course, if everything ‘Japanese’ in crammed into the English textbooks, the logic starts to make sense. Man, I'm going to need a lot of therapy by the time I'm finished with my critique....

--LISTENING SCRIPT: The listening script on page 20 goes like this:
Aya: Tom, have you ever visited Asahi Zoo?
Tom: Yes. I visited there last Sunday.
Aya: How about Lake Asahi?
Tom: The big lake? No. I’ve never visited there. But I’m more interested in Asahi Fun Park…”

Tom’s “But” in this second line is really weird. Drop the 'but' and it fixes everything.

--READING FOR COMMUNICATION: Remember, the focus of page 22 is for ‘reading’. Look at the Q&A section, specifically #2. The textbook writes, “To get water for her family.” That is a fragmented sentence. Do you really want the kids to be reading/writing incorrect English?

--A MOTHER’S LULLABY: Don’t get me started on this one. There is another thread dedicated solely to this MEXTin' lameass story.

--SPEAKING PLUS 2: If you changed “Would you like…” to “Do you want…”, you could do away with this whole page because the students have already learned the latter.

[moolooman]

■　Bazaar
This is a parent organized Sunday in October where various stalls and fund raising events raise funds for the school.　It is a fun day for everyone and students from grade 4 also have stalls and raise funds for classroom materials.

From the website of an International School.

FYI

[sonofobed]

We had a Bazaar at our school festival in the fall. I got some blinged out notebooks for 30 yen each. These things are mind-searingly shiny and demand attention.

[Richard_BenoitEnglipedia Drone]

I thought BAZAAR was a strange thing to be saying too, when I first arrived and was teaching Eikawa. Everyone knew it and it was a mystery to me. When we talked about shopping overseas like in China. They would always mention a BAZAAR.

But we will have to let it in the text book because, they borrowed the word, and it has since become a J-cultural phenomenon. "Spring Bazaar" in the shopping malls etc.. And as they mentioned above almost every JHS here does one.

[moolooman]

Otaku,

In reference to your initial post about "I can count the number of times I’ve actually written this word in English on one hand."
Was that on the front of the one hand, or the front and back of the one hand? How far up the wrist can you go?

[Otaku]

@moolooman,

Sorry, the word "bazaar" is not in my lexicon. I don't use it. Neither do my friends. I have even gone as far as defriending anybody who verbally uses this word on a regular basis.

How bazaar is that?

[Richard_BenoitEnglipedia Drone]

Neither do my friends. I have even gone as far as defriending anybody who verbally uses this word on a regular basis.

[peet]

Speaking Plus 2:
I did this lesson recently, and there's two points we're supposed to get across: 1) "Would you like ~" - ok, fine, whatever, then 2) containers for uncountables - like a glass of water, a slice of bread, and the dialogue example "a piece of cake".

Does anyone else agree that cakes are in fact countable? They can used as an uncountable when you mean a sweet spongey edible substance, but in common usage, people are usually talking about a birthday cake, two wedding cakes, etc.. My JTE told the class that you can never say "cakes" (with the plural 's'), which I told her later is not correct in common American usage.

They need to change the textbook to something other than cake to get their point across without confusing/misinforming.

[moolooman]

Countable

[jeisensei]

My English teachers love to use the word "cakes." They use it at least once on every worksheet. (I want to eat the cakes that Kumi bakes etc etc)

[moolooman]

That takes the cake.

[jeisensei]

Or it could take many cakes

[peet]

Just finished the lesson again with another class, but same JTE. She fixed her cake comments.

But this time, she was writing various nouns on the blackboard for students to differentiate between countable and uncountable. As she was writing "fish," she asked me, "Are fish countable?", and I said "Yes, but we don't use the plural 's' to count them." Two minutes later she tells the class fish are uncountable

There's no such thing as 2 fish

[sum1wholikesengliped]

I've heard the word BAZAAR here more than in the U.S. When the students were first saying it, I thought they were trying to be bad by saying 'Brazeer' (however you spell it) which women wear, but it turned out to be different.

[jeisensei]

Just finished the lesson again with another class, but same JTE. She fixed her cake comments.

But this time, she was writing various nouns on the blackboard for students to differentiate between countable and uncountable. As she was writing "fish," she asked me, "Are fish countable?", and I said "Yes, but we don't use the plural 's' to count them." Two minutes later she tells the class fish are uncountable

There's no such thing as 2 fish

But we do say fishes when talking about different types of fish. -> I caught many fishes (meaning I caught many different species of fish). I ate many fish (meaning I ate many of the same species of fish...maybe those tiny dried ones that are mixed in with the nuts Mmmmm...).

[peet]

But we do say fishes when talking about different types of fish. -> I caught many fishes (meaning I caught many different species of fish). I ate many fish (meaning I ate many of the same species of fish...maybe those tiny dried ones that are mixed in with the nuts Mmmmm...).

Yeah, good point. I didn't want to blow her mind with that in the middle of class though. But turns out my simple answer baffled her anyways (or she just didn't believe me).

[gsuiris]

I've heard the word BAZAAR here more than in the U.S. When the students were first saying it, I thought they were trying to be bad by saying 'Brazeer' (however you spell it) which women wear, but it turned out to be different.

I had students ask me if I had a brassiere, but to me it sounded like brother. Needless to say they were shocked when I said I have one and that he is 25.


As for cakes - they are countable, but I always tell them that if you say you want a cake (or 2 cakes), we will give you giant ones, not the single-serving sizes they get here. The same is true with pizza.

[Paul]

There's no such thing as 2 fish

What?!?! I go to fish almost every weekend.

I had students ask me if I had a brassiere,........

There are just so many things going through my mind right now that I would love to respond with here, but seeing as how I am a nice guy I'll pass with only asking you this one question.....

Was it the boys or girls that asked?

[gsuiris]

There are just so many things going through my mind right now that I would love to respond with here, but seeing as how I am a nice guy I'll pass with only asking you this one question.....

Was it the boys or girls that asked?

It was a boy who asked me. He had a bit of a crush on me.
OK, not a bit, a big crush on me.

And that was certainly one of the more innocent perverted questions. He didn't cross the line..... like some of my other students.




In other, thread related comments, I am doing Speaking Plus 2 right now. In past years it always went OK (although its a lot to cover in one class), but this year it feels impossible. There is so much going on there, and when the students are low level everything goes over their head.
For example: when to use Would you like to and Would you like.
When to use some and when to use a.
Why do we say another, another piece, another cup, etc.,.

Has anyone else run into this problem? It's been there every year, but for whatever reason this year just seems to be the worst.

[Richard_BenoitEnglipedia Drone]

I just did the blanket "some (food)" and avoided any other countable thing.

It was smooth. Some cake, some tea, some pizza, some salad...etc

I made a worksheet (should send it soon) which basically focused on the meaning of "May" I for a request vs "Would you like" for an offer.

Forget another. If it must be addressed try "some more (food item)"


Then when the lesson is done just clutch your books and run out of the class room making sure to avoid any and all eye contact!

[jeisensei]

Then when the lesson is done just clutch your books and run out of the class room making sure to avoid any and all eye contact!

That's what I do at the end of every lesson

[Paul]

This whole thing is truly bizzare!

( Ok....oyaji joku )

[Jess]

I know this question's a little off topic, but I've been dying to ask: What is this form of poetry that the children are supposed to learn? It doesn't make any sense to me, and why are the students learning poetry anyway? They don't know near enough vocabulary for this assignment, IMHO.

Textbook
Sadly wrong
Hurts my soul
MEXT

[Otaku]

I completely agree, without some meaningful thought behind poetry-writing in general, the poetry in this Unit is simply another metaphorical bat to beat the kids with to make them not like English even more.

[moolooman]

There was once a man called Otaku
Who was filled with rage against MEXT
Whenever he posted he stuck to
messages filled with vitriolic text.

Ooh yeah. I'm a poet and I didn't know it.

[Jess]

When I asked my JTE, she just said, "Maybe it's good just to repeat the sentences." THEY'RE NOT MEXTING SENTENCES!

[Otaku]

...it looks like I'm not the only one filled with rage.

[Paul]

They are all nucking futs!