After school today interviews were held to see which kids get to go to Canada on the Ashbury Exchange Program. 23 students applied for 12 spots, so the interviews lasted a pretty long time, and were very stressful for all the students. Basically it was all the English teachers and I interviewing the students in groups of 4 or 5, only using English. Some of the students did very well (actually much better than they are ever able to speak in class), while others completely froze (Hugh Wickham style, which those who were in MMEDIA something will know is not a good way to freeze). They had to start off with a one minute speech about themselves in English (no cue cards or anything). One girl said her whole speech (nearly flawlessly) without ever looking away from me, or blinking, which was nice but also a bit awkward because it is a challenge for me to smile for an entire minute. Anyway, they said some funny things, so here are some examples:
“My big sister is very smart. My little sister is… not smart, but my big sister and me are trying to help her.”
Nohmi sensei: “Pretend I am your host mother, what would you say to me when you first meet me?”
Student: “Hello”
“It is 13 years old. It likes English very much, and it wants to visit Canada.”
Me: “What kind of present do you want to get on your birthday?” then “A book? A game? Anything is ok”
Student: “I want a pencil”
Kakio sensei: “You can see your best friend is crying, what would you do for her?”
Student: “Stand… by” (she is ni nen sei, so this was actually a really good answer)
Kakio sensei: “What would you say to her?”
Student: “Nothing, just stand by”
Me: “What two languages do we speak in Canada?”
Student: “English and Spanish?”
Me: “No”
Student: “English and Japanese?”
Me: “Um, no”
Student: “English and Mexican?”
Me: “Mexican is not a language. Here’s a hint: ‘bonjour’”
Student: “English and Chinese?”
Me: “Well, not the right answer”
Student: “English and France? I mean Furansugo, I mean French?”
Me: “Very good”
