Tim’s Cycle Trip To Teach English In Land Of The Rising Sun
24 July 2008
Tim Stevens will be cycling around schools in rural Japan
I’m going to have to get used to the American English vocabulary, in a year’s time there’ll be all these Japanese kids with strange Buxton American accents.
”Tim Stevens, BA (Hons)Outdoor Activities Management student.
‘Irashaimasu’ (Japanese for welcome) is a word Derby student and martial artist Tim Stevens will quickly learn as he cycles around rural Japan teaching English to village children.
Tim, who’s just completed a BA (Hons) degree in Outdoor Activities Management, at the University of Derby Buxton, begins his journey on July 26, 2008. The 22-year-old from Buxton will spend a year in the Kagoshima Prefecture which is located at the southwest tip of Japan’s KyūshūIsland, a place renowned for its volcanoes, hot springs and pumice stone beaches.
He’s won a highly sought after place on the Japan Exchange and Teaching (JET) programme, an official Japanese government scheme which aims to improve foreign language teaching in schools and to promote international understanding.
During his year away Tim will be working as an Assistant Language Teacher (ALT), helping Japanese teachers plan and run their English language classes. His work will be spread across eight different schools in the area, working with children from six to 18-years-old. But with no local bus or train service he’ll be using a bicycle to get from school to school.
Tim’s interest in Japanese culture stems from his involvement in the martial arts, specifically karate which he started when he was just four years old. During his time at the University of Derby Buxton he was the President of the Martial Arts Club.
Whilst in Japan Tim’s hoping to do some karate training but he’s been told he may be in for a surprise: “When I spoke to my instructors about my plans to find a place to train in Japan, they wished me luck but told me I’d be more likely to see kids playing baseball than practising karate.”
Thinking he’d have a head start with the Japanese language Tim had a bit of a wake-up call when he attended the two-day introduction to the JET programme in London last month: “I realised pretty quickly that my Japanese needs some major improvement. The terms we use in karate are from an ancient dialect, so I’m going to be stuck when I want to buy a sandwich or ask for directions.”
JET mentors say that at school Tim’s lack of Japanese won’t be a problem. Japanese school children begin studying English at the age of 12 in their first year at Junior High School. Tim will be working with children as young as six to help them build a foundation in the language.
Generally American English is taught, which Tim expects to be interesting: “I’m going to have to get used to the American English vocabulary, in a year’s time there’ll be all these Japanese kids with strange Buxton American accents.”
Tim said he was looking forward to the adventure: “I can’t wait to immerse myself in the culture and the lifestyle. The area I’ll be living in is very rural and I think it will be a shock at first but I’m really looking forward to experiencing a new way of life, and being able to apply my skills and of course learn some new ones whilst I’m out there”.
No stranger to exercise, Tim’s course included learning to lead activities such as climbing, canoeing, kayaking and caving.
Degree course leader, Paul Jakubowski, said: “We saw the real Tim after his second year placement at the White Hall Outdoor Education Centre in Buxton. He was excellent with the kids there. He has a great awareness of peoples’ needs, which is so necessary in the field he’s training in.”
-ends-
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