JUNE 2019

EEC NEWSLETTERVOLUME 38

ENGLISH EDUCATION CENTERTopics■ Hello Ehime University! - Messages from New EEC Teachers■ Now On - “Letʻs Enjoy English!“■ Vacation in Arles, Salute to van Gogh (Article by Zhou)■ Spring SEA Program Report

Hello Ehime University! - Messages from New EEC Teachers
Andrew Strange

Ian Downer

Hello, my name is Andrew Strange. My familyname is very unique so I don’t think you’ll forget it. In old French, estrange was a nickname meaning “the foreigner” so my ancestors
must have liked to travel as well. I’m originally from a cityclose to Brisbane, Australia. It is a beautiful part of theworld, with many different areas! Please go and explore therainforest, dry forests, mangroves, coral reefs and sandy
beaches! All in one location! Before I studied language andlearning, I started off in zoology and ecology so nature is apassion of mine.

Hello, my name is Ian Downer from New Zealand. Before moving to Japan with my wifeand young daughter, I taught English as an
ALT in Ehime and as a university teacher inNew Zealand. It is really great to be back in Matsuyama andto have the opportunity to revisit some of the wonderfulsights of this diverse region.

I have been living in Japan for a long time now. I first cameto Imabari as an ALT and moved to Matsuyama to work at an
English school. I have met so many nice people and students
in Japan, I don’t want to leave Ehime. Besides the people,
the nature of Ehime is amazing. The mountains and forests
around Ishizuchi are so beautiful. I also love
the islands in the inland sea. I think Oshima
and Omishima are very special.
I also have a young daughter, so I spend mostof my free time doing things with my family. If you see mearound campus, or outside, please say an Australian greeting, “G’day”, to me.

Cynthia Gonzalez
Hi everyone. It's nice to meet you. My name is
Cynthia, and I'm from Los Angeles, California.
It's my first time to be in Shikoku, but I've
been living in Japan for awhile. I lived in Saitama for 1 year,
Kobe for 2 years, and Tokyo for 10 years. Even though I lovethe city life, I also love being by the sea.
Although I have lived in Japan for a long time, my favorite
hobby is sightseeing. There is always something new to see,do, or eat in Japan. I love taking pictures of shrines, temples, Japanesefestivals, and other traditional
things. Japanese culture is so different from mine and I find that extremely interesting.

My research interests include the use of metaphor analysis tounderstand teacher and learner beliefs and role of reflectionin teaching and learning. It is my firm belief thatsystematic reflection is a very important tool for
helping language learners and educators to unlock their potential.
Regarding my hobbies, I am passionate about music production and performance. In the past, I have recorded and performed regularly as a member of various music ensembles
and have even played on T.V from time to time back in New
Zealand. I have played the drums for many years and love tocommunicate, as best as I can, through the instrument.
I am looking forward to meeting you.
Best regards
Ian

I am Mexican-American. My parents are from Mexico, but I
was born in the United States. Do you know anything about
Mexican culture? It's known for its food (tacos, burritos, nachos, etc.), music (salsa and mariachi), and big families. Myfamily is a little small, but I have a big extended family. I haveabout 30 cousins!! My favorite Mexican holiday is Dia de losMuertos. It's on November 1. It is VERY similar to Obon inJapan. We celebrate the passing of our loved ones by having aparty for their spirits.
It's nice to be here, and I'm looking forward to seeing more andlearning more about Shikoku.
If you have any recommendations, please let me know.
Catch you later,Cynthia

Now On - “Letʼs Enjoy English!”M
1

Do you know “Let‘s Enjoy English”? It is an English conversation classwith a native English speaker and (maximum) 6 students. You can getto know teacher(s) closely out of general English classes, and enjoy talking in English in a casual and friendly atmosphere for 45 minutes.

3Sign up at the EEC office. First come, first served!

5TW

Andrew

Scott

2TF
Cynthia

AdrianDanielle

Kristin

4IanZhou

Lexi

Vacation in Arles, Salute to van Gogh- by Zhou Wei

This first golden week in Reiwa reminds me of the vacation inArles in another GW more than 10 years ago. Arles is a citywith a long history located in southern France. The reason I
visited Arles was because of Vincent van Gogh. He had lived in
Arles from 1888 ~ 1889, where hedeveloped a new painting style andbroadened his subject matter range
with tremendous productivity of187 paintings during his time
there, including the masterpieces“Vincent’s bedroom in Arles”,“Starry night”, “Cafe terrace atnight” and “Self-portrait with bandaged ear”, followed by amental breakdown and the famous incident when van Goghcut off his own ear. When I got to Arles, more than 200 years
passed after van Gogh left. Many things have changed greatly,
but some still remain unchanged, such as the air, the sunshine, the river Rhone, and Roman remnants. I walked aroundthe town to see how this place gave van Gogh his marvelous
inspiration and imagination.

up to show that it was a wedding party.
That was all. But there were many people
coming from every direction and gatheringin the square, smiling and blessing theyoung couple. The two were standing in
the center, with shy and happy expressions on their faces.
Sudden gaieties of laughter were heard here and there.

When I arrived in Arles by TGV from Paris, it was a brightly
sunny afternoon. The river Rhone ran across the city quietly
beside us, real and modest. Van Goghshowed a strangling fantasy world of
the river in his painting “The Starry
Night over the Rhone”. Through hiseyes, the light and color were sensed ina completely different way from us dueto the psychosis he was suffering from.
Inside of TGV
In the square Place de la République, I luckily saw people celebrating a new wedding party. The party was not gorgeous,even very simple compared with Japanese ones. A car wasdecorated with flowers and the wedding couple were dressed

One of my favorites among van Gogh’s paintings is “Vincent’s
bedroom in Arles”. I chose a small hotel room with similarSouth France taste. In the day time, the garden deep inside
the hotel was filled with warm and brightsunshine. We spent a lazy time sitting
and enjoying lunch and coffee undertrees and a big sun parasol. Each evening after the sunset, the sky outside ofthe window turned into a clean andtransparent blue, a sky I had never seenelsewhere. The last and best memory
was the warm-hearted hotel manager.
He was busy all the time to make guests
feel comfortable and always greeted us with a smile like thesunshine in Arles.
After a heavy and exhausting journey of visiting numerous
museums in Paris, Arles welcomed us andsoothed us with warm sunshine, quiet andpeaceful air, the vibrant colors of SouthFrance, and nice people. I began to unconditionally love this place after a short staywhere van Gogh left his legend behind. Maybe a long time ago, van Gogh came to Arles
and found endless inspiration in this poetic
city for the same reasons.

In a restaurant where servesbull meat (not beef!)

Spring SEA (Study English Abroad) Program Report
Moeka participated in a short spring program at Dublin City University (DCU), Ireland, from Feb 23 to Mar 24.

SEA program in Ireland- by Moeka Sato (Faculty of Law and Letters)

It was first time for me to leave Japan. I was nervous, but now
I want to visit outside of Japan again. Three weeks were too
short to improve my English skills, but I became courageous
through this experience. I didn’t have to make friends with any
Japanese students in Ireland, which means I didn’t have tospeak Japanese. I used to explain some difficult English words
in Japanese when I studied with my classmates. However, allI could speak and listen to wasEnglish in Ireland. In the first few
days, I had difficulty managing tocommunicate with classmates andexplain what I want to say. But
later I was able to communicate
with them smoothly.

I got many amazing friends from all over the world. They mademe motivated because all of them are conscientious. We enjoyed lectures and after school activities together. We talked
about many topics like languages, culture, problems of theworld and so on. I was satisfied
to know a lot of different
thoughts and opinions of people
in different cultures.
In addition, I stayed with a wonderful host family. They werevery kind, and I was happy to be with them. I learned that it’s
important to get used to English dialects of many people in a
globalized world .

ENGLISH EDUCATION CENTER @EHIME UNIVERSITY
2nd floor, Aidai Muse, 3 Bunkyo-cho, Matsuyama, Ehime
Phone : 089-927-8340

E-mail : eec@stu.ehime-u.ac.jp

Webpage : http://web.eec.ehime-u.ac.jp/