8/9/2019

Promises and Pins

During my time teaching in Imazu on the Global English Camp program, there was a student named Jiefei. She wasn’t in my group, but the class quickly came to know her for her confident speaking voice and excellent English skills. 

When it came time to do life mission speeches on the final day, Jiefei gave her presentation on wanting to study marketing and commercial science. After her presentation, I asked where she wanted to go to university. She replied, “UCLA,” without missing a beat. It was clear Global English Camp has spurred that passion within her to go abroad.

Mark and I, who are both UCLA students, wanted to give her something so that she would remember that dream. Mark went into his bag to grab some UCLA merchandise he brought from America; however, he realized he had none left. While we were both scrambling for some UCLA swag, I remembered I had one “True Bruin pin” on my backpack. For UCLA students, this pin is given to you once at orientation before your freshman year. For me, this special pin symbolized all the hard work I had done to get into my dream school and my immense appreciation for UCLA. 

SoI decided to give Jiefei the pin. If this pin could motivate her to study at UCLA, or even help her remember her dreams of studying abroad, then giving up the pin I cherished so much was worth it. I took the pin off my bag and walked over to give it to her. She immediately burst out into tears, and we took a picture together (attached below). Then I said: “I’ll see you at UCLA.” It was clear Jiefei was never going to forget Global English Camp or her dream.

Although it’s tough to look at my bag and not see the pin anymore, I know my pin is in good hands now.

Written by Marisa Sashti, 2019 Intern, UCLA

Edited by Paige Goetz, Director of Communications

We don’t teach English.

Yokohama. It’s Friday, and all the interns are at the front of the room. For the last few hours, we’ve listened to our students deliver their prepared life mission speeches to the whole class. They’ve told us their dreams, their aspirations, and what they want to do with their lives. Now, we’re standing here, as we do every week, to say our goodbyes.

Far from the intense, rote learning-focused lessons they’re used to, they’ve just spent five days speaking a language they’ve only spent, at most, an hour or two speaking at a time – and in the process, they’ve discovered entirely new ways to express who they are. For some of them, they’ve realised things that just five days ago they’d never even thought about.

Standing at the front of the room, one by one, each of us speaks. There is so much to unpack, so much to share in our parting statements! The grinning recollection of passing on a +8 in UNO by turning it into a +10 for Hiroki, who started it all. The vexing memory of having to define “desertification” for the UN Sustainable Development Goals (again). The emotional moment of Yumiko declaring that she wanted to become a doctor in honour of her mother. We’ve all been touched, moved and inspired by everything that our students have accomplished.

Aakriti has a heartfelt moment as she tells her group how proud she is with just how far they’ve come, going from the silence of Day 1 to the bright energy of today. Jennifer recites her prepared Japanese phrase, drawing soft laughter and applause from our students. Then, Alex speaks, only to set the room on fire as they reveal their secret, advanced Japanese skills that has just about every student in the room loudly exclaiming.

Now it’s my turn.

There are so many things I could say, and so many things that have already been said. Yet, as I raise the microphone, if there is anything that I want students in the room to remember, it’s one thing:

 “In the last five days, you’ve found a new confidence to speak English. But it’s more than just that. This ability to give your opinion, to express yourself, and to be who you are, is now yours, in any language.”

What is being an English teacher really about? It’s not about teaching vocabulary or grammar – the amount of times I’ve had students pull out words like “pre-industrialisation” and “macroeconomics” have taught me that. 

Being an English teacher is about bringing out the best in our students, and having them see just how articulate, just how thoughtful and just how brilliant they really are.

What is Global English Camp really about? It’s more than the speaking exercises we do, the Tokyo 2020 posters we draw or even the life mission speeches we help bring to life. 

Global English Camp is about creating a place for our students where they can step into who they are and who they will become.

What do students really get out of our five days together? It’s more than just fond memories of games, presentations and conversations.

It’s a newfound courage to express themselves in any language. Anywhere.

By Robert Vilkelis, UCL, 2018 and 2019 Intern

The Global English Camp textbook includes discussions on the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic games, United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, and other valuable world topics. But what should you talk about during lunch and break time?

Here are some of last year’s popular conversation topics:

1. Tapioca

   1. Fun fact: In English, tapioca describes the black bubbles in boba or bubble tea, but in Japanese, tapioca means bubble tea in general. High school students loved tapioca last year. Whether it was drawing tapioca cups on presentation posters, discussing famous tapioca joints around the city, or going out to buy tapioca during lunch as a group, it was a hit among all students.

2. TikTok

   1. I know. But it’s true. Watching funny TikToks together is a great way to bond! It’s also interesting to see what TikToks are popular in Japan versus the ones in your home country.

3. K-Pop and J-Pop

   1. The most popular groups were TWICE and BTS, though there were also many more favorites. Your students may light up if you ask who their favorite group or bias is!

4. Anime / Manga

   1. The most popular anime were Naruto, Pokémon, and One Piece.

   2. Tip: If your students are too shy to namedrop their favorite titles at the table, try telling them your favorite anime or manga first. One time, I mentioned that I was reading Bungou Stray Dogs, and three girls at my table instantly said that it was their favorite manga, too. The next day, they all surprised me by bringing in a stack of Bungou Stray Dogs manga for us to read during lunchtime. At the end of the week, they even drew me a portrait of my favorite character from the series.

5. Phone Games

   1. Unfortunately, I can’t remember any specific game titles that were loved by students last year, but if you ask them what games they have on their phone, they’ll likely want to tell you. One game that was popular last year was similar to Guitar Hero. When I downloaded the game and played alongside my students, they thought it was the funniest thing in the world. They hovered over my shoulder and cheered me on throughout lunch!

Next year’s popular topics might change, as trends tend to do. If all else fails, ask your students what their hobbies are outside of school. You’ll learn a lot, and so will they!

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Written by Paige Goetz, Director of Communications