 between his two new students at the Downtown International Bar. |
A Fukushima JET reached new heights of intercultural exchange when he achieved an almost miraculous three-way nommuication (a cross between the Japanese word nomu, to drink, and the English word communication) with two unidentified Japanese women at the Downtown International Bar last week. Slurring together a mishmash of English, Japanese, and something like Spanish, Kevin Krieg managed to reel in two willing subjects for an impromptu oral administration.
The lesson began with some introductory warm-up exercises including multiple trips to the bar. Then krieg initiated some eye contact practice. This led to some oral work, and then some gesturing and fingering in the body of the lesson. But the main thrust of his work was in the finale, where he presented solutions to which all three of them could come.
Krieg claims his methods are simple but effective. "The warm-up is the most important step. You can’t get what you want if everyone isn’t properly loosened up first. You have to get them in the mood [for English]," he said. According to Krieg, the best kinds of warm-ups are the physical kind. "English isn’t just in the head, it’s in the whole body. Once their bodies are willing, their minds will follow. They become more receptive, and the teacher can penetrate more easily," he said.
Simple though they may be, Krieg’s techniques continue to impress his colleagues, succeeding with almost no preparation or materials. When Krieg first approached the women, the general consensus at the bar was, "no way."
"I didn’t think he was going to make it with those two, but somehow he got them hooked. I usually have to have props or even a costume to really get going, and I can’t work on more than one student at a time. I guess there was English in the air for him," fellow JET Doug Williams said.
Krieg agreed that there are lots of ways to add spice to a lesson, like a digital camera or topical videos, but he says that in general, and especially in a first encounter or a "one-shot," the simple methods are the best. "Don’t spring anything too wild on them on the first try. The best is a game that’s fun and lets everybody score," he said.
Unfortunately, the two budding anglophones could not be reached for comment because nobody bothered to get their names.
