グローバル教育〔 地球的規模で考える 〕
海外留学レポート
留学便り第2便 ① ーThe second report in Seattle
昨年の末からシアトルに短期留学している生徒からのレポートが届きました。
学校には、幅広い年齢層と様々な人種の方が一緒に勉強しているので、生きた英語を勉強できているようです。
英語だけでなくスペイン語などにも触れるなど学ぶ言語も多様で、貴重な体験ができることが毎日の生活が充実して楽しい様子がうかがえます。
The second report in Seattle
Kaplan, where I study English, is a language school founded in 1938 in New York and now operates in over 30 countries.One of them is located in Downtown Seattle, on Seattle's famous tourist area, the waterfront.
Kaplan has many nationalities and a wide age range of students.I'm currently the youngest student among them, but my classmates are all very kind and interesting, and I enjoy my classes every day regardless of the age difference. The focus of the course is on speaking English rather than writing English, and we discuss social issues using the vocabulary and grammar we have learned that day. It's a little difficult because we have to tell our opinion to the other person quickly. My school has a lot of Spanish speakers, and I sometimes learn Spanish from them.In addition to Spanish speakers, my classmates from different countries would sometimes teach me their first language, and I found it interesting to learn words and sayings that don't exist in Japan. One of the best things about choosing a language school to learn English is that I can learn many different English accents.
At first, I couldn't get used to the Spanish accent in particular, and it was difficult to listen, but recently I've been trying to listen better and I'm getting better.I think it's a good opportunity to learn the difference in pronunciation between each other and see if the other person understands the pronunciation of the words I use.
Kaplan has after-school activities that anyone can participate in.I participates in an activity the other day which I learned about Dr.Martin Luther King Jr.Day. Most students have afternoon classes such as English Debate, which can be taken according to their goals, but I came to Seattle with tourist visa, so I can't take afternoon classes due to study hour restrictions, but I can use the empty classrooms as I please, so I do self-studying in those classrooms until my bus time.I go to a café near the school to buy coffee with my friends and spend time talking with them during break.Kaplan is located in the center of the tourist district, so there are many good restaurants. I usually bring a sandwich which I make to school for lunch, but I sometimes go there with my friends for lunch.
