15. The Alchemist

And, when someone was in such pursuit, the entire universe made an effort to help him succeed (p.95).

The quotation above is my belief when I try to achieve something. The story begins with a shepherd boy who dreams of traveling the world to seek wonderful treasures that anyone has never found. He decides to make a long journey from Andalusia to the Pyramid in Egypt. On his way, he has lots of encounters with those who struggle to make each dream achieve or are in the middle of finding themselves. Among them, an old king's words can be memorable the most. Of course, the status of "a king" has numerous possibilities of everything, therefore he must have faced some crisis during his time. Therefore, the words can be richer and meaningful when I received them from "the king."

Every single day is a crucial time for me to move forward now. I am dedicating most of my time to doing job-hunting right now. So far I believe what I have done at university around for 3 years is right and promising. However, when I notice my weaknesses there, it saddens me, and might lose confidence. In such time, I feel the old king's remark is rooting on me and can recharge energy for it again. 

Coelho, Paulo. (1988). The Alchemist. Croydon: Thorsons. 

英語教育講義⑮ Our final class

We discussed what we remember in the class. Immersion education sticks in my mind and my members of a small group did so. The very first immersion education was implemented in Canada and further developed there. In Canada, there are some children who are raised up in both English and Canada, and it is said that a gap in comprehending subjects in class between those who speak French as a mother tongue and not. Then, one of my members cast a question to us that how can students approach the contents which are not easy to understand. We contemplated and answered that it is important to have a positive attitude and effort toward cutting through the fog between a mother tongue and a foreign language. In addition, the facilitators require to keeping students' motivation stable if students take some to answer the right. 

英語教育講義⑭ CALL

 Today's topic was CALL, which means utilizing computers and other devices for learning languages. In conception, the computer plays the role of tool, tutor, and medium. In the breakout room session, we discussed what devices we use for study, and then when and where to be helped by that. My members take advantage of a smartphone application for studying English qualifications. Some are taking electric dictionaries for a quick and short review. In both tools, they're effective in that some functions coordinate the learners' process and remind them of the appropriate time to go back to the parts they've done before. Personally, I often use "HelloChinese" to learn Chinese. One of my favorite function is to provide us situation videos which have practical words. Once you find an application met with your demand, your exciting learning will start!!

14. Think back over 2020: Japan times alpha

 Happy New Year to all of you! I hope 2021 is likely to be a better year and you keep staying safe. I read the compilation newspaper of Japan times alpha past week, so today I will share the news.

 

In 2020, a lot of news occurred around the COVID-19 situation. At the start of 2020, a novel coronavirus emerged in Wuhan, China, and soon after the breaking news, it spread all over the world. At the same time, it makes us visualize our long-term issues such as discrimination, racism, and political confrontation. They can be applied to all nations and brought us lots of commotion... Among them, I felt being at stake in matters of job hunting. As older students did traditionally, I partook in face-to-face and online internship many times and deepen my knowledge about education and employment industries. In regard to the education industry, I am interested in cram schools originated in Kyushu region and English conversation schools. Then, I realized my experience and knowledge of second language acquisition are helpful for students who have concerns about learning English. If my wish is realized, I want to tell the importance of balancing input and output and being honest with themselves. Amid the spread, some students had no choice to lose some promising opportunities to be educated. However, I learned from 2020, it is possible to proceed with the learning at their pace regardless of the linguistic environment. Now, I look forward to meeting with those students and working well.