September 11th 2006 – Digital Whiteboards Regular readers will know I’m fascinated with using Digital Whiteboards in Japanese schools. With so many teachers afraid of using computers ( or mice!), the thought of simply touching a picture on the wall and hear it talk is very appealing. The market is still wide open as, unlike…

OK, another new rule, no Genki English shows in the gym in August nor September! Today’s school was in the mountains and was really, really old with a corrugated tin roof that made things sweltering inside. It was sooo hot! The school had paid for my hotel last night so initially asked for 4 hours…

Last year I taught all the grades here in the “Show” format, which basically means all the Genki English rules and all the basics at a breakneck speed. So that meant today I could simply do a straightforward, by the book, demo lesson that any of the teachers could copy. Of course things don’t always…

After the Summer rush of workshops ( as teachers have no classes and can take the time to train) September is usually a quiet time for me. Last year I even managed a few days off! No such luck this year as after just a couple of days to sort out newsletters ( great new…

After the hustle and bustle ( and 3 or 4 Starbucks per block ) of Tokyo it was a shinkansen and two hours of local trains to get to the heart of Nara prefecture for a full three day workshop. My favourite type, with lots of time to get the teachers not just taking fish,…

One of the things I’ve found over the years is that if you just make a few changes to all the motivational skits, jokes and paradigm changing stuff that I do with teachers, they are just as, if not more so, effective with your average businessman or woman. And even better than that, most of…