cha-ren-gee
::: you don't have to be a japanese linguist to notice that there are several foreign words that are infused with potency...in my limited experience, one such word with japanese learners of all ages is the word "challenge" (read: cha-ren-gee)...whenever i say cha-ren-gee to my younger learners, i seem to put a spell on them: their eyes bulge, postures stiffen up like boards, countenances transform...some appear electrocuted by excitement...
...to the spellbound, cha-ren-gee signifies a (usually fun) game or competition of some sort...and my japanese learners love -- absolutely LOVE -- to play and compete, esp. in teams...you name it, they love it: old maid, uno, timed drills, shooting baskets or darts, snakes and ladders, memory, board games like scrabble and candyland, and, of course, the universal favorite -- rocks-scissors-paper (called janken in japan)...
...for me, teaching young japanese learners at the ymca has gotten off to a promising start...
...this week, though, it was me (and fellow teachers) who faced the cha-ren-gee...every three months at the ymca, there is "parents observation week"...just imagine: a row of parents, each one holding a clipboard (to rate the teacher) and sitting like stone-faced jurors behind their respective children...okay, so i'm exaggerating a bit, but you get the picture...the students, quite naturally, freeze up...
...frozen students are the last thing a scrutinzed teacher needs...
...by God's grace, however, my students thawed relatively quickly and things went better than i expected this week...having received rewarding feedback from parents and students alike, i am reminded that in japan, of all places, excellence in the workplace is a cha-ren-gee in every way...having said that, the tasks of preparing and striving for workplace excellence are worth doing and facilitate one of many effective doorways to evangelism...
...to the spellbound, cha-ren-gee signifies a (usually fun) game or competition of some sort...and my japanese learners love -- absolutely LOVE -- to play and compete, esp. in teams...you name it, they love it: old maid, uno, timed drills, shooting baskets or darts, snakes and ladders, memory, board games like scrabble and candyland, and, of course, the universal favorite -- rocks-scissors-paper (called janken in japan)...
...for me, teaching young japanese learners at the ymca has gotten off to a promising start...
...this week, though, it was me (and fellow teachers) who faced the cha-ren-gee...every three months at the ymca, there is "parents observation week"...just imagine: a row of parents, each one holding a clipboard (to rate the teacher) and sitting like stone-faced jurors behind their respective children...okay, so i'm exaggerating a bit, but you get the picture...the students, quite naturally, freeze up...
...frozen students are the last thing a scrutinzed teacher needs...
...by God's grace, however, my students thawed relatively quickly and things went better than i expected this week...having received rewarding feedback from parents and students alike, i am reminded that in japan, of all places, excellence in the workplace is a cha-ren-gee in every way...having said that, the tasks of preparing and striving for workplace excellence are worth doing and facilitate one of many effective doorways to evangelism...
:::
posted by B & C at
8:30 PM
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