       !(!# &"#$(! !!( #$$%$!" !$'!"

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If winter comes in Queens…
Fumitake Kato, National Institute of Technology, Ibaraki College !  Winter has come in Queens,
finally.

studying again as a student.

I’m really

When I was writing this script, theimpressed the style and approach of teaching it.

temperature outside was 41  (still in theI think it might be quite different from Japanese

beginning of November!).

style. But every class was very informative andBy the way, on

July 4th the day we GFD members arrived in
JFK airport, it was about 77.

inspiring.

Literally the!  $#  $temperature dropped 36, while we have been
spending three seasons in New York.

Let usAfter the arrival in Queens College, I

look back the days in New York.

realized Queens often appears in films. For
example, Men in Black (1997) is famous one of!  them. As shown in the photo below, Flushing

We eagerly studied English at English

Meadow Corona Park might remind you theLanguage Institute (ELI) of Queens College,

scene of a UFO crashed in the middle of thefrom morning to evening.

park.

The classes wereAnotheroneis"SpiderMan:

divided into writing, listening, reading, andHomecoming". Watching the film, some scenes

speaking. Each class was quite tough for me,

reminded

especially writing class was very “impressive”.

Borough.

methedowntowninQueens

Once in a week, we had to write an essay about
a specified topic, such as working mother,education, jobs, and other social topics.

The

evaluations’ criteria were strict, and it was very
difficult to take “A”.
it,

Professor

DebbieEvery time I submitted
Horowitz

gavemecomments and advices in grammar, vocabulary,
and the structure. Her class and advices werevery strong and strict, but they were very  ! " significant and had strong impact to me. I felt
her teaching style was traditional but intrinsic.

In addition, the campus of Queens College is

It was quite a fresh air for me to think about

often used for the filming for several movies. I

teaching style in the future.

am not sure what film they are taking, but I saw  !

filming crews were working. Unfortunately I
could not see the actors.

From the end of August, fall semester has
started.

Using the English skills we learned in

the summer semester, we have been attending

!$classes we chose. “Unexpectedly” I had to takefinish our training in New York.

Electromagnetism and now I have beensummer to winter, thanks to the many supports
2We have about 40 days left toFrom theby professors and staff in QC and TUT, wecomes in Queens, can Training in Malaysia be

could keep training well and learn many things

far behind?

inand do our best.

Englishlanguage,

Americanlifestyle,

We always appreciate everybody

education, science, and technology. If winterClasses in fall at Queens College
Tamio Iida, National Institute of Technology, Gifu College
1.

Introduction

were traditional style using white boards andAlmost four months have passed since wepower points, but I felt a big difference fromcame to New York. Our faculty developmentclasses in Japan because there were a lot ofprogram has less than half the time remaining.

questions from the students during the class,

When we arrived here, I felt that the day was

and the teacher answered them quickly andvery long because it was bright outside fromaccurately. I also wanted to take classes otheraround 5 am until 9 pm. However, recently thethan my special subjects. Therefore, I attended

day has gotten shorter. I feel the cycle of thepsycholinguistics classes taught by Prof. Eva

seasons is the same as in Japan.

Fernandez, who is one of the coordinators ofThere

weremany

record-scale

naturalour program. Of course, since special subjects

disasters in the US this summer. I often heard

are different, there are a lot of words andnews about hurricanes, floods, wildfire and socontents which I heard for the first time.

on during the summer, and I just hope that

However, her classes are structured very clearly,extreme weather such as a deep freeze or heavy

because she prepares a lot of examples, pictures,

snow will not continue in the fall and winter.

diagrams, sounds, and movies. From theviewpoint of doing classes which are easy to2.

Classes in fall semester

understand,I have taken four classes so far since the falltheseclasses

wereavery

meaningful opportunity for me.

semester began. One of them is an English
communication skills class credit. In everyclass, the students prepare a summary ofnewspaper articles and contents of TV program,and discuss about them. Also, the students will
makepresentations.

Especially,itisemphasized to identify issues and to have
opinions and critical thinking in this class.
Therefore, the teacher repeatedly asks thestudents, "What is the problem?” and "Why do
A psycholinguistics class by Prof. Eva

you think so?" A class which focuses on
discussion was not familiar to me, so I've learnta lot.

On the whole, in my case, it has still been

Moreover, I observed Electromagnetics anddifficult to listen and understand in detail whatOptics as my special subjects. These classes

the teacher said, but I am enjoying the classes
3with the feeling of returning as a college

Donut shop, very uncanny color donuts are soldstudent.

for Halloween version. Of course, there are a
lot of Halloween decorations in the Summit and3.

TiE and ALS

the QC campus as well. The QC campus is full

We are taking two special classes which areof pumpkins. In the Summit, many events forcalled Teaching in English(TiE) and Academic

decorating and drawing pictures of Halloween

Language Support Course(ALS) apart fromwere held, and I feel that it is a very cheerfulclasses of QC. In the TiE class, we discussatmosphere.

problems and solutions about case study ofvarious students when teachers give the class.
Topics in this class make me think very muchabout not only English, but also student
education and learning styles. In addition, wemainly learn the pronunciation of technicalterms and grammar in the ALS class.
4.

ELI evening classes

From the weekday evening, I have ELI
A lot of pumpkins on QC campus

evening classes which are Reading, Writing,
Listening and Speaking as well as in thesummer program. In the evening classes, the6.

Summary

age group is high, and the text is also for adults

I think that acts of collecting my own

if anything. Therefore, I enjoy the class withthoughts using different languages and acts offresh feelings since the atmosphere of thereviewing my own thoughts objectively isclasses are very different from summer classes.

common, in a sense. Furthermore, there is no
doubt that it would be an important skill when I

5.

Daily life

want to explain clearly the course material to

The people of New York are lively andstudents in the class or write academic papers. I

excited at every season event. Now, the whole

only have two months remaining, I would like

NY is in full Halloween mode. In the Dunkin

to learn that skill as much as I can.

Toyohashi University of Technology
Institute for Global Network Innovation in Technology Education
Center for International Education
1-1, Hibarigaoka, Tempaku-cho, Toyohashi, Aichi, Japan
Tel: +81-532-81-5161
Mail: unireform@office.tut.ac.jp

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