Foreign Friday

English-speaking Competition Officials
Autumn 1979
Misawa, Japan
The first year I was in Japan, I had the honor of judging an English-speaking competition at an off-base high school. The students recited and/or read selections of literature in English. Some students were highly proficient, and others painfully struggled with the simple readings. The contest took most of the day, and the school officials were most gracious and presented each volunteer judge with a gift.

Americans were commonly approached off base by Japanese teenagers and young adults, wanting to improve their English skills.


Comments

  1. I admire people who are able to speak more than one language. That's something I never learned. It would be helpful where I live, to be able to speak Spanish.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I was asked but never did teach English in Japan. I had too many other irons in the fire, lol.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Neat!! I can read Latin, French and some Spanish, but I speak only Southern English. ;)

    ReplyDelete
  4. That's so admirable. I always approach Spanish speaking patients with the same interest...

    ReplyDelete
  5. So interesting! The schools were doing something similar when we were in Germany. They urged the children to approach Americans and start conversations in English. Most of them, even the very young, spoke excellent English.

    ReplyDelete
  6. What great experiences you had!!

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

I love comments!

If you are going to ask a question make sure you have your profile set to allow me to respond back by email or email me directly - my address is in upper right hand column.