Hashi Game

I haven`t terribly much to add to my last post here- but here`s a bit about English teaching. specifically, getting overcrammed, overworked middle school students to enjoy English again. Generally speaking, well, you can`t. The kids are massively indifferent and have way to much on their plates.

One thing that I have found works, however, is an adaptation of the American card game spoons. Remember spoons? You pass cards around until you have 4 of a kind in your hand, and make a desperate grab at the spoons (or in this case hashi- chopsticks) in the middle. The person who doesn`t get a spoon is out, and the game continues. Change playing cards to vocabulary cards with English words and pictures, and hey presto! you`ve got a room of suddenly interested students. The 1nens still didn`t get into it (in America they would be 7th graders), but the 3nens liked it well enough to request to borrow the game during recess. This is a spike in interest which, if you`ll recall middle school, is pretty remarkable. I was very pleased- I`ll probably be making more decks of cards for more vocab sets as time goes by.

That`s all for now- sorry it hasn`t got more zing and sparkle, but education`s what`s on my brain. This weekend is practice for the musical, as well as a poorly-defined event I will evidently be helping to usher on Friday night. Remember the guy with the sake shop about a million posts back? He invited a few of us to come up and help with...whatever this is. All I know is to show up by 5:30 wearing a suit.
何ですかかな...