ALTS Can Make a Difference!

A Letter From A Student


I recently received this email from one of my old students who graduated from junior high on March 11th.

Dear Melissa,

Hello,Melissa!¡¡How are you?¡¡Of course I'm fine!
Tank you for giving a e-mail. I was very glad!

I graduated from Kita Chuu,but I'll nevre forget a lot of things that I learnd from you.

I came to like learning English since you came to Kita Chuu. It is very interesteing for me to read, listen, and speak English.

You were always cheeful and kind. You always talked me kindly. I was glad to talked with you. And you tought me a lot. About songs, foods, places, and world problems... All was interesting for me. I always looked forward your English class. You came to Kita Chuu as ALT, so I was interested in International Relations. You gave me an oppotunity that I want to know many more things.

I don't have specal talent(*_*;) But I want to know a lot, so I studied hard.Only this.

Through studying English,I learned language. But I learned much more.
If I use only Japanese, I can't communicate wiht English-Speaking people. Now I can speak English a little, so I can communicate with many more people. I'm glad of it! So I want to study foreign language and culture more.

I'll enter Chukyo high school's International course. I can study English more. And I can go to Canada to study. I look forward to it very much!
My dream is to help people who suffer from war, hunger and ill... Therefore I must study more. I do my best for my dream!


May I send an e-mail again? You are my best teacher! I want you to teach me many things! And I want to teach you recent situation(^^)

Thank you for reading. See you again!

Love,
Mari

See! ALT's can make a difference!

Ayumi's Letter

Ayumi is one of the "bad girls" of the "ghetto" school. When I say "bad", I mean she never raises her hand or participates in class, carries on conversations with other classmates during lessons and basically ignores the teacher altogether, except for when she has something disrespectful to say. She's always been sweet to me, and I've often enjoyed talking to her and her friends during "silent" soji (cleaning time) or in between classes, which are basically the only chance I have to actually speak to the kids, since I do almost nothing in class. Be that as it may, I never thought she was even remotely interested in English, especially considering her behavior in class. You can imagine my suprise, then, when she handed me this letter after class on Monday. It almost makes all the time I've spent at the ghetto school, standing at the back of the classroom trying to keep myself awake, worth it.

Almost.

Thank you, Ayumi!

I've Got Mail

From the first and sencond year students at my Beautiful Mountain School.

Ena Update: Fall has Arrived!

Beautiful! Lovery!

Dusk in the mountain top town of Akechi, a newly acquired tributary of Empire Ena.

I am much more than a geisha chaser. I am an Assistant English teacher. Behold, the fruits of my labor!

Kana is a third year junior high school student, which is the equivalent of 9th grade in the US. If you can't read it, click on the image and a larger version will pop up. (^-^)

KAWAII! How cute is this? Written by a second year (8th grade) student who does not like a lovery boy named Kazunori (^_<)

These are just a few of the smile-inducing journal letters my Beautiful Mountain School students write me every week. Although it is optional, most of them try to write at least once a week, and many even write three times a week. I'm always excited to see a huge stack of letters waiting in my mailbox when I visit, and spend more time writing back then I do preparing for class (>o<). I've learned so much about my kids through these little letters, and they've learned a lot about writing! The improvement we've seen is incredible, both in their vocabulary and sentence structure (although is obviously still far from perfect). Having the opportunity to write about anything they want, without the pressure of being graded, keeps the students motivated and keeps me up to date on everything about them, especially since I don't get to visit as much as I used to. This connection to my students, and the relationships that it has fostered, is what makes being an ALT worth all the hours of absolute, brain-numbing boredom.

The Joys of Teaching

I love you, too, Beautiful Mountain School!