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Special Report |
LAST UPDATE July 19, 2006
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| site design imagesparkle.com |
| June 21, 2006 |
Global English and Espanol Training Programme |
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| Peace Boat's 53rd Voyage GET Team |
“In Yacht Club yesterday I was talking to Essam. I asked him if he had a girlfriend, and then Carmen jumped in and said, ‘He’s a playboy.’ So we started calling him ‘Casanova Boy.’” Hironori Adachi, a banker, laughed as he recalled his experiences joking with Topaz waitstaff. “Then I wrote his name in Japanese characters and gave it to him. He asked me what it meant, and I told him, ‘Over make dream,’ like, to get better and better. He thought it was really cool. I think he’s showing that paper to everyone.” Hironori, a student of the Global English and Espanol Training Programme (GET), said that in his regular life in Aichi, Japan, he didn’t have a chance to use English. “Now everyday I can, and since I’m taking GET, I feel like I really want to use the language I’ve learned.”
On the 53rd voyage, 222 students studied with fifteen English teachers and two Spanish teachers. The GET program aims to prepare students to communicate with people from around the world, including ship crew and people who the students meet in ports. Another goal is to educate about peace and global issues. Audrey Howatson, third time GET Coordinator, believes that these two goals are a natural combination. “Communication is a tool for peace. By speaking to people and expressing yourself, you can prevent conflict and increase peace,” she said.
In the classroom, teachers create student-centered classes, with discussions that focus on communication and learning from each other, often incorporating music, visuals, newspaper articles and other media.“What I really dig,” Howatson said, “is using peaceful educational philosophy, where the students are also the teachers. Not telling students ‘These are the rules,’ but asking, ‘What do you think?’” Outside the classroom, GET teachers also organize events to promote friendship and communication, including dance parties, a game night and, most recently, a Language Olympics, which Hironori said he liked the best.“It was really fun,” he said. “I’m interested in English games, because even if there are things I can’t exactly understand, I can still communicate with other people.” |
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| Teacher Meredith Wutz assigned her students to make a new friend in each country |
The GET teachers also hold 'jishukikaku', or self-planned events, sharing their skills and knowledge. Past jishukikaku have included introductions to pants making, country line dancing and wine tasting, as well as more serious discussions about gender minorities and the meaning of life.“It’s amazing,” said Keiko Kawashima, a nurse from Tokyo, “The GET program is not only about English education, it’s about the teacher’s personality. We can see their personality in their workshops and by talking with them. Levi’s philosophy discussions, Dannette’s vegetarianism introduction, Chris’ Amnesty International talk, Sunita’s Indian dancing workshop… All the teachers are so passionate.” Cruise director Nao Inoue also said that the teachers’ individuality accounts for the success of the program. “It’s all about the people, not the language. After class, you can eat together and become friends, and I think that’s great.” Ai Kato, a bank teller from Yokohama, said that the program has indeed allowed her to connect with people. “Before I got on board, I thought I couldn’t make friends with foreigners, because we had different language and different thinking. Now I think, different language is not a big problem. Foreigners, Japanese – it’s the same.” |
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| GET Student gives a presentation in Derek Gallant's advanced level class |
Of course, there are still ways to expand and improve the program. Akira Kawasaki, director of the boat’s international division, said that he hopes the GET program and the Global University will become more closely connected, and that he’d like to include teachers from developing countries—as well as Japanese teachers of English.
Expansion of the Espanol program seems to be one of the more pressing concerns. “It’s too short,” said Natsumi Valerga, an Espanol teacher. While the English program included 35 intensive classes of 80 minutes each, the Espanol intensive program consisted of 15 classes of 60 minutes each. “A lot of the students were motivated. They wanted to go to ports and practice. But they can only learn so much in 15 classes,” Natsumi said.
Former TV director Maki Minamoto, who took both English and Espanol intensive classes, agreed that the Espanol program was too short, but said that it gave her a valuable chance to study a language she hadn’t had much chance to practice. “I was studying Spanish before the cruise, but I couldn’t speak with other people and I couldn’t say the words. It was very good to speak the language. I enjoyed it.” Maki was even able to arrange homestays in Mexico and Canada with the two Espanol teachers’ friends and family—another example of how personal connections between students and teachers can enrich the Peace Boat experience. “I enjoyed it so much,” Maki said. “Before the homestay, I thought ‘It will be okay.’ But when I spent two days in Gonzalo’s family’s house, I couldn’t explain my feelings exactly. I noticed I have little vocabulary, and I wanted to improve.” |
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| GET Teacher David Allen takes his class out of the classroom and on to the top deck to enjoy the Alaskan Fjords. |
Second time GET teacher Meredith Wutz expressed pride about having this kind of influence on students. “I feel that GET teachers are making a difference in peoples’ lives, and helping people to attain some sort of goal.” For Keiko, that goal is not just to improve her English, but to learn about the world. “Knowledge is very important for our life and the English language is one tool for that. Japanese media is controlled by many companies and the government, but to hear other voices is important. If we can understand English, then we can know other peoples’ opinions more.” Yumiko Eda, a homemaker from Toyama prefecture, said that she has gained knowledge too—about herself. “In Japan, we don’t say our opinion. But in GET, I’m always asked, ‘What do you think?’ So it’s become normal to talk about myself. In Japan, you can easily carry on without talking about your opinion. But I don’t think that makes for a very happy life.” |
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