Miso Happy!

High Beginner I taught a lesson on directions last week. The pre-written lesson plan that we were handed suggested using model conversations to teach directions and language when arriving for appointments ("Who is your appointment with?", "What time is your appointment?", etc.). Instead of following the lesson plan, I essentially rewrote the lesson to make it more communicative for my high beginner students in an English communication course. Present : First, since the students have learned direction language before (verb phrases like "go straight", "turn left", and "cross the _____", as well as prepositional phrases of place like "next to" and "between"), so we did a quick review of that language.  I handed out a sheet with the directional phrases matched with pictures which clearly demonstrated those words. I physically demonstrated the directions through actions and the students had to guess which direction I

Japanese food is renowned for many things, but one aspect it is renowned for actually takes place behind the scene: the care and attention that its cooks and chefs put into the cuisine's preparation and presentation. This idea extends to two locations that celebrate two particular examples of Japanese cuisine: the Cup Noodles Museum and the Ramen Museum. Both places have prepared and presented an interactive (former) and immersive (latter) experience to celebrate two well-known examples of Japanese food. The Cup Noodles, located in Yokohama, is a slightly surreal experience. One might think there is something ironic or kitschy about a museum about instant noodles, but my impression is that museum's intention is earnest and that the Japanese are immensely proud of their invention. In fact, the Japanese voted it as their best invention  of the 20th century (though it's worth mentioning that the poll was non-scientific). We started our time at the Cup Noodles Museum by mak

My first week of teaching was good, but utterly exhausting! As a GTA during my Masters program, I only had to teach for two hours a day for 4 or 5 days a week. Now, I'm teaching three or four and a half hours a day. Although, I know that the first weeks of starting a new semester anywhere are a little exhausting. For the most part, my classes are great. Most classes are relatively high level and full of energy! It's just a matter of harnessing that energy into successful classrooms! There is a standardized curriculum with pre-made lesson plans. Each pre-made lesson plan consists of suggestions and a few items that must be taught, but most of the lesson plan is optional. However, this has been both a blessing and a curse. When I was writing my own lesson plans from scratch, I could picture the entire progression of the lesson in my head. But now that I'm using a mix of some elements of the pre-made lesson plans, some supplementary materials created by other teachers, and s