JAPAN NEWS AND DISCUSSION
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To be healthy, live in the big city
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Japan's nuclear safety standards flawed, says commission chief
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Teacher nabbed for using miror to peek up girl's skirt
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From carnivores to herbivores: how men are defined in Japan
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Why do Japanese change their attitude when they communicate with foreigners?
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- English Instructor (Osaka, Kyoto, Kobe)
- Berlitz Japan, Inc. (ベルリッツ・ジャパン株式会社), Kansai
- Salary: ¥125,000 ~ ¥250,000 / Month
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- FT English Teachers for Kids - Osaka
- Kohgakusha Co., Ltd. （株式会社興学社）, Osaka
- Salary: ¥255,000 ~ ¥275,000 / Month Travel Expenses, Encouragement of Japanese learning*
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- Translator
- ZAIHON, Inc. (日本財務翻訳株式会社), Tokyo
- Salary: ¥6.0M / Year Negotiable
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blvtzpk
Just highlights the irony of this Onion article:
http://www.theonion.com/content/news/japanpledgestohaltproduction
Posted in: Amazon yanks Japanese rape simulation computer game
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blvtzpk
Oh, something's not right here.
Posted in: Mother and child die after birth in toilet in Aichi apartment
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blvtzpk
"exposed his lower reagions"
Maps of Okinawa?
Posted in: 83-yr-old man arrested for exposing himself to junior high school boys in Saitama
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blvtzpk
Yes, being a celeb is a career-preventing pursuit. Keep thinking. Can't hurt.
Posted in: Megumi Yasu serves as poster girl for female firefighter recruitment drive
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blvtzpk
And I think Benny Hill would have added a comma...
How do you know when you are really in, love?
Posted in: How do you know when you are really in love?
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blvtzpk
@timorborder at 01:38 PM JST - 11th February
Well, you know what Woody Allen said! ;)
Posted in: How do you know when you are really in love?
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blvtzpk
Squishy, gooey feeling. I think.
Posted in: How do you know when you are really in love?
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blvtzpk
Wada seems a bit more OK with an African American like Will Smith than she was with Bob 'The Beast' Sapp when he tried to give a kiss on TV a few years ago. The degree of the recoil she exhibited when he approached her was terribly embarrassing, and it showed very clearly on his face. Ouch.
Posted in: Akiko Wada gives Will Smith 40-kg chocolate for Valentine's Day
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blvtzpk
Oh Rosario! SWOON!
Posted in: 7 Pounds
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blvtzpk
I've got to give a nod to hokkaidoguy - English in Japan is treated by most like a 'foreign' language - teachers and students alike - it's just not approached by many as a serious mode of communication becuase it simply does not need to be - at least at this point in time.
The ongoing issue is, though, that it's an ersatz compulsory subject, and LOTS of money (e.g. the JET Programme) is thrown at it (OK, JET is for 'cultural exchange', but greater focus is placed on its English input role these days). Given the expenditure, the number of people involved in its teaching, there is this general sense of 'why aren't things improving with English proficiency in Japan?' Japan, as a leading industrial/economic/technologicl nation is somehow expected to be more English friendly, which is just isn't. And people regularly do chest-beating and soul-searching about it.
The main thing is that there's very little social or economic reason to become proficient here, and that's the reason it's not taken onboard by the popualtion. We might doubt realist's 'statistics', but xenophobia and cultural superiority undoubtedly plays a part as well, as it does in many English speaking countries. In short, unless English proficiency becomes necessary in this relatively comfortable country, it will be approached and taught in the same way, and the chest-beating will continue on a regular basis.
Posted in: What's wrong with the way English is taught in Japan?
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blvtzpk
As posters like Cleo have noted, English is taught as a subject not a language, an object of theory, not of practical use. There are a number of reasons for this tendency including a reliance on traditional teaching practices; the vicious cycle of low expectations of teachers of English entering the system who do not have a firm grasp of English or communicative langauge teaching approaches; the pressure of the exam/testing systems which (although improving) still don't focus on communicative skills. The major problem is that Japan believes (rightly or wrongly - I'm not going to debate this issue here) that English is not important to learn for communicative purposes. If it were serious, Japanese people would become fluent in great numbers, very quickly. While the necessity is not there, 'English as a subject' will continue. If a time comes when proficiency in English becomes more important for maintaining a decent life in Japan, I'm sure we would see a rapid change. So, while English proficiency continues to be a nice accoutrement for some rather than the majority, it'll be taught about, and will be taught not for communication.
Posted in: What's wrong with the way English is taught in Japan?
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blvtzpk
Marysville, where I once spent a romantic interlude with an old girlfriend, was apparently wiped from the map. :(
Posted in: Australian fire zone declared a crime scene; death toll 130
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blvtzpk
Flakes!!!
Posted in: USA Swimming suspends Phelps for 3 months; Kellogg drops him
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blvtzpk
"Do you believe she had the temerity to ask me to shake hands with her dog? Laughable, isn't it?!"
Posted in: Emperor and empress on holiday
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blvtzpk
Congrats to them all, and compliments on their health sense.
Everyone needs a good, hard blog first thing in the morning to start the day well.
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blvtzpk
Plans to do some moonwalking after the gig.
And because no one's written this yet...
"Best bloggists???"
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blvtzpk
@ nessie
Done! Thanks for the creamy goodness! And the chocolate as well!
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blvtzpk
I like her.
My wife likes her.
I can see a threesome in the future. ;)
Posted in: Eiko Koike promotes cotton industry
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blvtzpk
Correction:
I like the fact there's a 'February theme' in this poster.
Isn't the woman giving the man heart-shaped treats for Valentine's Day?
Posted in: Tokyo Metro
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blvtzpk
I like the fact that with a 'February theme' in this poster.
Isn't the woman giving the man heart-shaped treats for Valentine's Day?
Posted in: Tokyo Metro