VOLUME 22NEWSLETTER

English Education CenterMarch 2013

Topics■Good Bye Ehime University■A Message from Sam■A Christmas Cracker: Hats, surprises and bad jokes.
■Reports from Intensive Class S2Good Bye Ehime University

Glen Campbell

Hi everyone. It`s time to go home, so here is my final message for the newsletter. I
wanted to write an uplifting message (to those handful of students I have met who
showed some spark) to sustain you through the bleak Winter days, but I thought it would be easier tojust write generic pablum, so here goes! 3 years has gone really fast, and I have enjoyed meeting you
all and teaching the basics of English. I`m not sure where it will lead you or if you`ll ever need it, butremember; learning a language isn`t just a bunch of adjectives and verbs held together by somegrammar, it`s also a way of thinking and like all learning, requires discipline, time and effort to improve.
I`ll be returning to New Zealand with happy memories and hope you have gained as much from theclasses as I have. I think I`ll miss Japanese food most of all, but willconsole myself with the fact that I will be able to indulge in a high fat,high calorie diet which will dull my sense of loss. Thanks to the staff ofthe EEC and to my fellow foreign lecturers. I have genuinely enjoyedworking with you and have learned some things along the way. Bestwishes to the permanent faculty, I hope everything works out! For anyone coming to New Zealand in the future, you`ll find me on a green,
grassy sports field, or in a music room jamming away, or in front of acomputer somewhere, so feel free to say hello! My final words of advice
are even though you are pretty much the same as everyone else and nothing special, "Follow yourdreams, never give up and get your Gangnam Style on!"A Message from Sam

Sam will be starting to teachat the Faculty of Engineeringfrom April.

Dear students,
Sadly, I’m leaving the English Education Center in March, but
before I go I’d like to say thank you. I have thoroughly enjoyed
my work here and a large part of that is thanks to you.
I hope you also enjoyed our classes, and found them useful andengaging. Also, I hope you realized that English is not just aclassroom subject you need to study for tests, but a real tool forcommunication that I hope and expect to be important in yourfuture.
Thanks again and all the bestSam

A Christmas Cracker: Hats, surprises and bad jokes.
Mike Delve
For the first time in three years I was able to celebrate Christmas with my family during thewinter holiday. There are good reasons for not going back sooner, but one Christmas custom that I
really enjoy is pulling a Christmas cracker.
A few of you may be wondering “What is a Christmas cracker?” which is the type of question I
would expect a curious university student to ask. A Christmas cracker looks like a big sweet and ismade using a cardboard tube wrapped in brightly coloured paper, but the best aspect of a cracker iswhat you find inside. This includes a strip of paper treated with silver fulminate to create a mini
My father sporting a cracker hat
explosion, a paper hat, a small toy and most importantly a terrible joke.
thOn 25 December many families sit around the table to eat Christmas dinner together. Each person has a cracker and pulls itwith the person next to them. After pulling the cracker we put on the colourful hat, play with the toy (if you can find it) and tell thejoke. Telling the joke is, perhaps, the highlight of Christmas dinner in England.
Christmas cracker jokes are based on puns, which are a form of word play using words that have two or more meanings. The
best cracker jokes are always awful. Do you want to hear some? (You may need to use a dictionary to understand the pun)
What do you call a reindeer
with no eyes?
→ No eye deer (No idea)

Pulling a Christmas cracker

What kind of paper likes
music?
→ (W)rapping paper

What do you call a man wearing
brown paper trousers?
→ Russell (rustle)

No-one really knows why cracker jokes are so bad, but one theory suggests that they are badbecause bad jokes bring people closer together. For instance, a ‘funny’ joke for one person is notalways ‘funny’ for everyone so this type of joke might result in half the table laughing and half not. In
other words, the family is divided. However, when someone tells a terrible joke everybody can join inby groaning at it.
In summary, pulling Christmas crackers is a custom that gives people a surprise, makes themgroan and brings families closer together. Why don’t you try pulling a cracker next Christmas?
Glossarywrap ～を包む aspect 側面、様子 silver fulminate 雷酸銀 highlight

ハイライト、主要部

pun 語呂合わせ theory 説、論理 groan うめく

Reports from Intensive Class S2
We have 2 types of English S2 courses in February. S2 courses are for students who want to study more practical English. Let’s look atthese S2 courses!
20945/20939
English S2/TOEIC Intensive
Theme: Preparation for TOEIC test

20946
English S2 (Everyday English)
Theme: Preparation for travel and livingin a foreign country

A Comment from Kristin

A Comment from Sarah

5 days of studying TOEIC. Does thatsound like a dream or a nightmare?
Sixteen students accepted the challenge
and studied diligently in class doing 5
TOEIC tests in four days and anassortment of TOEIC inspired exercises.

This February, a small number ofstudents gathered to participate in the“Everyday English” Intensive Course. Over 5days, we talked about many topics including
politics, healthy living, university, and job
applications. At the end of the course, thestudents made some fantastic presentations
comparing Japanese culture and overseas
culture. Thank you to the students for theireffort and enthusiasm all week, even on
Saturday morning!

Thanks for your hard workand good luck in the future.
XX Kristin

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/