ブログ

After I started working at Dogo School about 2 and a half years ago, I noticed a musical sound coming from outside. I was surprised, because it was a garbage truck playing the tune. In the Dogo area, Thursday is burnable garbage day. In America, we can hear music coming from ice cream trucks, and not garbage trucks.

When I was a little kid, especially in the summer, an ice cream truck would drive around the neighborhood a couple times a week. It was usually sometime during the afternoon. As soon as we heard the truck, we would run outside with change (coins) in hand. We would then chase the truck until it stopped.

The ice cream person would walk back to a window in the side of the truck and take orders. They usually had popsicles (like Japanese ice candy) and ice cream sandwiches. All the neighborhood kids would talk while we ate our ice cream.   I don’t know if ice cream trucks are around anymore, but they were a magical part of my childhood summers.  

What is your favorite ice cream?

重信校に飾ってある、小学生の生徒さんの作品です✨☺️

五感を使った表現を、英語で書いています。

We hosted two events back-to-back 「続けて」 on the last Saturday and Sunday of June. On Saturday, we had a small event where we taught students how to play board games in English and practice cooperating with a team.

The board game we used was Pandemic. Originally released in 2008, I first had the chance to enjoy the game in a cafe in Hong Kong in 2014 and it quickly became a favorite. Board games aren’t just for kids. In the last twenty years, there has been a massive growth in tabletop games designed for older children and adults that are more complex and engaging. In many countries, it is not uncommon to enjoy a coffee and game with friends in a Board Game cafe. There are even two excellent Board Game cafes here in Matsuyama!

Pandemic 「伝染病」「パンデミック」 is a bit of a scary word nowadays, but the game itself is very fun! Each player takes the role of a Doctor or other medical professional, and must work together to stop the spread of a virus around the world.

Players need to discuss what to do and offer suggestions to the other players as they plan their moves. For this reason, it is helpful when teaching modal expressions! We also had a lot of time to practice talking about different cities and countries around the world in English.

We also got to use a lot of new vocabulary like Laboratory「ラボ」 and Quarantine 「隔離」. Below, you can see me explaining how to build new laboratories to help us discover medicine.

We had enough time to play the game twice, and had a lot of fun using English to work together! In the end, we weren’t able to save the world, but hopefully we can solve the puzzle next time!

-Alex

6月26日(日)に、松山城にて、スカベンジャーハントを行いました！

30人近い小学生が参加をしてくれました❣️
皆さん、教室外で英語を使って、様々なアイテムを探しました💪✨
英語に興味をお持ちの方は、ぜひお近くのアミックまでお問い合わせ下さい🙆‍♀️✨

英語でドラム作りと、皆での演奏、とても楽しかったようです☺️🥁✨

中高生も忙しい合間をぬって、英語を学んでいます😊✨

Hello everyone,

Meet my dog, Laurence! 
He is a Jack Russell Terrier and about 19 months old.
He loves to chew on things so I often buy him chewy treats and toys so he doesn’t chew on other things in the house!
Laurence is a very energetic and rowdy boy so it’s important that he gets a lot of exercise everyday. We go on long walks in my neighborhood and play catch ball and tug-of-war at home. 
When he’s not running around and being active he enjoys taking naps on the sofa especially when laying next to me.
I love him very much.

-Joe

Hello, Everyone.

I really love a good historical mystery.  I often spend my free time watching documentaries on the Internet.  I especially enjoy watching ones about the ancient world.  Not too long ago, I found out about the Yonaguni Mystery.

Off of Yonaguni Island, there is a mysterious rock formation 26 meters under the surface.  What makes this formation interesting, is that there is a ongoing debate about the origins of this formation.  Some people believe it to be the remains of an ancient structure, while others believe it to be just a freak natural occurrence.  There are many unique natural formations around the world, like the Giant’s Causeway in Northern Ireland.  

I’m not sure which I believe, but finds like this one help keep our imaginations alive.  I also think it’s great for getting more people interested in the past, enjoying the outdoors, and encouraging people to do some sleuth work of their own.  Which do you think it is, man-made or natural?  If you ever have the chance to go to Yonaguni and are interested in diving, please check it out!

Shane