Monthly Archives: December 2011

How Do I Teach the Difference Between Ketchup and Catsup?

Several years ago we had a student who was confused about ketchup and catsup. This took the staff by surprise. Being native English speakers ourselves, we had never put ourselves in the shoes of the student. We had all assumed … Continue reading

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Why Do Pencils In Japan Not Have Erasers?

In Japan, it is rare to have a pencil with an attached eraser. An eraser company by the name of Momo has successfully lobbied the Japanese government to make it illegal based on safety concerns. Other countries are little behind … Continue reading

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How Do I Teach Proper Usage of “See”, “Look At”, and “Watch”?

Since the Japanese language has only one word to represent the English words “see”, “look at”, and “watch”, a great deal of confusion arises from their use. At first glance, these words to represent sight are interchangable, but at second … Continue reading

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How Can I Teach Proper Pronunciation of the Word “One”?

Pronunciation of the word “one” is as important as it is vital. Therefore, a great degree of teaching is required. As most students revert to lesser pronunciations such as “wun”, “wuhn”, or “won”, it is the duty of the teacher … Continue reading

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How Can I Make the Student Accept the Teacher’s Touch?

Japanese English learners are a unique group of people in that there is very little student-teacher touching within the classroom. If the students travel abroad, they are often shocked at the amount of touching and embracing that occurs in other … Continue reading

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What Do I Do When a Student Hides Their Mouth Behind a Mask?

Face-to-face communication has been determined to be at least three times as effective as non-face-to-face communication, which may be one of the contributing factors as to why humans engage in such conversations on almost a daily basis. This degree of … Continue reading

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What Do I Do If I Accidentally Steal From a Student?

In Japan, there are many instances where the students have considerable wealth and choose to show their wealth through means of expensive watches, pens, pencil cases, and laptops. As teachers, one of the most important things to remember is not … Continue reading

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What Do I Do When the Student Won’t Stop Crying?

We’ve all had multiple instances of students crying in classrooms, and it never gets any easier to deal with. Crying is a selfish, one-sided behavior that the students resort to when they no longer wish to express themselves with words. … Continue reading

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