Hello there! In this week’s newsletter, I’d like to talk about some changes I need to make in my school.
Fun and educational
Running a small English language school in Japan is quite a challenge. Most of my students are children, and so it’s important to strike a balance between education and enjoyment.
Textbook time in one of my lessons.
If a class isn’t fun, the students quit. They have so many other choices for after-school activities, such as sports clubs, music lessons, cram schools. and other English schools.
Likewise, if a class is too difficult, they quit. The children don’t understand the homework, and the parents are unhappy.
So, to keep my English school afloat (above water), lessons need to be fun, and easy enough for all the children to follow.
Considering Changes
It’s clear to me now, that I need to change the textbook I use in class to something simpler, and either cut out homework altogether (completely), or give the children a simple worksheet with words they can trace.
This will mean that my students probably won’t reach the level necessary to pass the Eiken exams. That would make my school less appealing (attractive) to parents who have high hopes for their children. But there’s too much competition in that field anyway, especially from cram schools.
Instead, I will focus on having fun with my students and teaching them basic English conversation. If they enjoy it, maybe their friends will join them in my classroom. 🙂
British English
Here are some common phrases that all mean “making changes”:
- Shaking things up
- Switching things around
- Mixing it up
- Tweaking
- Revamping
- Reworking
- Overhauling
- Revising
- Rejigging
- Modifying
Number 5, revamping, is probably my favorite to describe updating a school curriculum. Tweaking is another good one, but usually describes small changes.
New Worksheets and Videos
Before I finish my cup of tea, I want to show you what I’ve made since the last newsletter:
Videos:
- Speaking Skills – Past Perfect in Conversation | Active Grammar 5
Worksheets:
- Speaking Skills: Active Grammar: I hadn’t seen him in years
- News: Parcel found in garden two years after delivery
- True Story: The story of the Hollywood Bandit
Private Lessons
I’ve just launched the “Monthly Subscription” package, which gives you four 50-minute lessons per month for $100. See my private lessons page for details.
Facebook Group
Our Nick’s English Group on Facebook now has 59 members! Please check it out!
Surprisingly, the Facebook Page has soared (flown) over 1,000 followers this week. Wow! 😮
What’s the difference between them?
Well, the Group is more fun! I feel like I’m making friends there, and anyone can make a post. I try to post there regularly.
The Page, on the the other hand, is where I upload full videos, usually six weeks after they go on YouTube. I upload a video once a week.
Behind the Scenes
June has been a busy month for me. My brother was here for nearly two weeks, and now I have an old school friend visiting from England. They love how cheap Japan has become! 😂
Learning Chinese!
A few years ago, I studied Chinese on the Duolingo app for about six months before giving up. But I’m trying again using an app called “Hello Chinese”. I’m still a beginner but it’s fascinating (very interesting) to see how my knowledge of English and Japanese come together to learn Chinese. The grammar is similar to English, but the writing is, of course, similar to Japanese. I really hope I can make better progress this time. Are you learning any other languages?
Wrap-up
And that’s it! Thank you for joining me for tea! If you’re enjoying my blog and would like to get new posts in your email, please subscribe. If you have friends who might like these posts, please share this link with them. I really appreciate it!
All the best,
Nick
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