VOLUME 21

NEWSLETTER
November 2012English Education CenterTopics■TALK! TALK! TALK! to Start Up! ■‘Summer’Vacation in Australia■Yarinaoshi Eigo Juku Begin ■Reports From Hawaii 1,2- International English Experience -Yarinaoshi Eigo Juku Begin

TALK! TALK! TALK! to Start Up!
TALK! TALK! TALK! will
begin from October 29.
You can enjoy talking
with a native English
speaker and Aidai students. Why don’t you
try this program? Signup at the EEC office.

Yarinaoshi Eigo Juku is a
remedial program for students who want to brush up
their English. The teacher ofthis program is Japanese, so
you don’t have to worry
about your English skill.
More information at the EEC
office.

Class Schedule
17:00-18:00(Every Tuesday)
From October 16@Aidai Muse 24‘Summer’ Vacation in Australia Kristin Armitage
Hi everyone and welcome back from your summer vacation. I had a great time back in Australia
escaping the heat of Japan (it was winter) and doing some fun things. First we went to Tasmania tovisit my mum. It’s a great place to see, with amazing wilderness, wild animals like the Tasmaniandevil and beautiful views. There are many World Heritage Sites so if you’re an adventurer checkout www.tasmania.com/ and start planning your trip.
After Tassie we headed to Melbourne and stayed on Phillip Island, a 2-hour drive from the city
center. Phillip Island is home to my 93-year-old grandmother and also the cutest little fairy
penguins that you’ll ever see. They come out of the water at the end of a day fishing and head totheir nests. We spoke to many Japanese tourists who were having a wonderful time so go to (me and my grandmother, Margaret Armitage)
www.visitphillipisland.com.au to get more information.
Lastly we headed to Sydney … one of the most beautiful cities in the world. We got a bird’s eye view of it when we climbed theSydney Harbour Bridge. (www.bridgeclimb.com.au) It wasn’t even scary. It’s expensive but one of those unforgettable experiences.
So save up your money for the climb and also dinner at one of the top 10 Australian restaurants, Tetsuya’s. Tetsuya Wakuda is known
for his innovative cooking and the clever fusion of Australian produce and Japanese flavors. www.tetsuyas.com/
Most websites have information in Japanese and if you want to chat about Australia come and see me anytime.

Reports From Hawaii 1
My Homestay Experience- International English Experience Tomoki Mita

I did a homestay in Hawaii for three weeks this summer, and I had many
valuable experiences. My host family let me use a room with a bed and adesk. Also, they told me some rules at the beginning of my stay. For example,
after I finished eating dinner, I had to wash my dishes by myself. And I must
not eat in my room, because that attracts some bugs like cockroaches. Thesethings may sound that my host family were quite strict, but
actually they were nice and made me have an exciting
experience. For instance, they took me to various places onweekends. One of the places I liked the most was Hanauma Bay.
It is one of the most beautiful beaches in Hawaii and I was able to see many tropical fish andturtles swimming just around my legs. Compared with staying in hotels, there are many
opportunities to talk with someone in English during your homestay. It is very good for English
learners. If you want to improve your English skills, I recommend you to do a homestay.

Reports From Hawaii 2Studying Abroad Opens a New View

Tomoki Mita

I went to Hawaii and stayed
there for almost three weeks thissummer. And after that, I thought
studying abroad is one of the best
ways to open a new view to theworld.
First, I had many opportunities
to encounter people who havedifferent customs or ideas andbelieve in different religions. For
example, there is a custom ofgiving tips in Hawaii and otherforeign countries as well. In many
situations, such as having meals inrestaurants or taking a taxi, wehave to tip to clerks or drivers atleast 15 percent of the fee. At thebeginning of my stay, tipping was quite confusing to me, because
Japanese people don’t have this custom. So most Japanese travelers
don’t know about tips well and some of them don’t even give tips. I
think this is a bad manner and this sometimes leads to problems inHawaii. But I was able to learn how to hand tips and when I should
give it through my experiences I actually gave tips during my stay inHawaii. Now I understand that tipping is a common and ordinarycustom in Hawaii, which is not in Japan, and that tipping is deeply
rooted into everyday lives for Hawaiian people. By doing things thatI never did before, like tipping to clerks and drivers, I am able to lookat things occurring around me differently.
Second, I found the difference of the lifestyle between Japan andHawaii. For instance, Hawaiian people did not think punctuality is soimportant. When I went to university or went back home, I used thebus in Hawaii. And the bus usually didn’t come to the bus stop ontime. So I always aimed to get an earlier bus. In addition, the bus
stops didn’t have names, so I wasn’t able to know exact time the bus
will come. In Japan, every bus stop has its own name and the buses
always come on time, but I found out that what is ordinary in Japanis not always so in other countries.
Third, I was surprised at the low quality level of customer service
in shops in Hawaii. I went shopping and bought some clothes. After I
finished payment, the clerks put my items into a plastic bag without
folding them up. It was like throwing the items into a bag. It wasunbelievable in Japan. When I buy clothes in Japan, clerks always
fold them up neatly and put into bags. I think most Japanese don’t
like this Hawaiian behavior.
Certainly, putting items into bags
without folding them up is notgood at a first glance. But during
my three week stay in Hawaii, I
gradually got used to this, because
I was able to get my items earlier
and consequently I was able tosave my time.
In conclusion, I was able to have many experiences that I had
never had in Japan through my studying abroad in Hawaii and theseexperiences gave me a new view to the world. I think it helped me
to think something from various angles and it is important for myfuture. Finally, three weeks I spent in Hawaii are very valuable time
for me.

- International English Experience My Summer Vacation in Hawaii
Kie Nakano
This Summer I had many unforgettable experiences in Hawaii. Thiswas my first trip to go studying abroad. I learned many things throughthis trip.
First, I learned that it was important to be curious when I talked topeople. I was the only Japanese person in my homestay. Most of myfriends had two or three Japanese people in their house, so they could
speak Japanese in their house. But I couldn’t communicate withpeople without English. This situation was good for me. Every day I
tried hard to tell my thoughts, opinions, and feelings in English. My
host family talked about many things especially during dinner time,for example, today’s news and social problems. I was surprised at thewide variety of topics they could talk about. At first, I didn’t like dinnertime because I couldn’t keep up with their conversation. Especially,
the topic of social problems was difficult for me, so I couldn’t
comment on this topic. When my host family asked me whether
Okinawa was a part of Japan or not, I really didn’t know what I shouldsay. It was because I thought this topic wasvery delicate and I didn’t have enough
vocabulary to explain about this. I regretted
that I couldn’t express my opinions wellenough. I wanted to join their conversation.
So, I tried to understand what they talkedabout. When I found difficult words in theconversation, I memorized and checked them in my dictionary afterdinner. I often nodded and smiled to show that I was listening tothem. And, I asked them questions frequently. My behavior waseffective. I could talk to my host family little by little. If I stayed longer
in Hawaii, I could tell not only agreements but also my opinions. I
wanted to talk to my host family more. I know it is difficult to be able
to speak English fluently in only three weeks. But I want to speak English well. I have to study English harder in Japan. And, someday I wantto discuss many things with them.
Second, I learned how to doeffective presentations. I was in a
High Intermediate class. I had todo my presentations three times.
My first presentation was bad. I
couldn’t tell information well. I justspoke with looking at my notes allthe time. I didn’t look at myclassmates’ faces during my presentation because I was very nervous.
I had a classmate who was an office worker. His presentation was very
good. It was easy to understand because he used a blackboard
effectively. I was surprised. I didn’t know such a way of presentation. Ioften use Power Point in Japan, but in this class, we didn’t use it. So, it
was difficult for me to think about how to show my presentation. In
my final presentation, I wrote key words on a blackboard with chalklike him and made eye contact with my classmates and the teacher.
Of course, I was nervous, but it was my best presentation I have everdone. Finally, my efforts were highly recognized by my teacher. She
said to me “You gained confidence in presentations.” I was happy tohear it.
This summer vacation was wonderful. I
have never spent such fruitful days. I spoke
English every day. Sometimes I felt it washard to use English more than Japanese,but I think my English was improved. If I
have a chance, I want to go to study
abroad again.

ENGLISH EDUCATION CENTER @EHIME UNIVERSITY
2nd floor, Aidai Muse, 3 Bunkyo-cho, Matsuyama TEL: 089-927-8340 E-mail: eec@stu.ehime-u.ac.jp
HP: http://web.eec.ehime-u.ac.jp/