It's that time of year when the ETJ expos set up shop across the length and breadth of Japan.
So if you're looking for presentations on teaching adults, children, junior/senior high, reading, communication, the Internet, business, exam preparation etc then this is a must do event. You'll also find displays from all the major ELT publishers as well as having tyhe chance to purchase ELT materials at discount.

The venues and dates for the expos are as follows:

Chugoku ELT Expo Oct. 19th (Sun) 9:30~18:00
Machizukuri Shimin Koryu Plaza (Hiroshima)

Chubu ELT Expo Oct. 26th (Sun) 9:30~18:00
Chukyo University (Nagoya)

Kansai ELT Expo Nov. 16th (Sun) 9:00~18:00
Seifu High School (Osaka)

Tohoku ELT Expo Nov. 23rd (Sun) 9:00~18:00
Tohoku Bunka Gakuen University (Sendai)

Tokyo ELT Expo + TEL Book Fair Nov. 29th (Sat) 9:00~18:30 & Nov. 30th (Sun) 9:00~18:30
Toyo Gakuen University (Bunkyo-ku)

Kyushu ELT Expo Dec. 7th (Sun) 9:00~18:00
Seinan Gakuin University (Fukuoka)

For more details visit the Expo website at:
www.eltnews.com/ETJ

Time just seems to slip through my hands...hence the lack of updates to this blog over the summer months, apologies.

Well there's no mistaking Halloween is just around the corner. I swear that Japan seems to be going in more and more for Halloween with each passing year.

Although it's not just Japan I read an article last year the spending on Halloween had increased exponentially in the last five years or so. Which figures because when I was a child growing up in the UK Halloween barely registered on the event calendar. We were all much more interested in Bonfire Night, as that meant we could let off fireworks in the weeks leading up to November 5th. It also meant taking part in trying to build the biggest bonfire in the neighbourhood. The only elements of Halloween I can remember are carving out a swede (kind of hard turnip) sticking a candle in it and having the smell of burning turnip fill the air; I'd never saw a real pumpkin until I was in my late teens!

Anyway I digress, reluctantly I've come to accept Halloween as an important event that our students seem really keen to celebrate. And, hey, if more kids in the UK now celebrate Halloween over Bonfire Night, then I suppose I'd better move with the times.

So over on our Halloween page you'll find some games and activities for your lessons. Also today I put together a really simple Halloween Dominoes game for you to print-out, cut and play with your students. The great thing with dominoes is that the game play is so simple that it can be used with students aged 3 to 10 and needs very little explanation.

You can download Halloween Dominoes here.

Halloween Dominoes (PDF 356KB)

Recently I've become very interested in e-learning or to put it more simply 'using computers to study English'. While the role of a teacher is irreplaceable, in my opinion, for practising the language, it's the time outside of lessons that I'd like to see students using English more. Of course in a setting such as Japan the chances to use English outside of their 45 minute lesson per week are extremely limited.
So if you're going to encourage students to do something that uses English outside of class time it better be fun. Hence here at englishpool I'm forever creating dices/ spinners/ cut and paste sheets etc. for our younger learners to take home and play with.
As computers, or multiple computers, become more commonplace in our students homes I'd like to direct the students towards various educational programs that may complement their studies with us.
One such site, as shown in the screen shot above, is Mingoville. It revolves around a community of flamingoes and has a list of tasks, dictionary, notebook facility etc. While some of the reading may be beyond our students abilities it seems that most instructions/ games include voiced dialogue.
I've only played with it briefly but my first impression is that it looks like a lot of fun!

And best of all, it's free!


Get Mingoville

If you're a foreign national living in Japan, or even if you're just visiting it's recommended that you register with your local embassy in the event of any emergencies.
Of course the main threats to safety in Japan are from natural disasters. The recent earthquake to hit Iwate prefecture and the north of Japan at the weekend demonstrate that we are at constant risk and should be prepared for emergencies.
I recently had to received an e-mail asking me to renew my registration on the British Embassy's database. It seems they have changed their system to a more automated system effectively allowing you to update your details at will. You can find full details at the British Embassy's website at www.uknow.or.jp, but the main gist is that your contact details will be held on a database system called LOCATE. In the event of a emergency the Embassy will endeavour to determine the whereabouts of British citizens in the affected area. The Embassy will then be able to offer assistance or inform next of kin in the UK of your welfare.
Of course by registering on the LOCATE database you can help greatly reduce the time taken to, well, locate you in the event of an emergency.

You can register directly at www.locate.fco.gov.uk/locateportal

Aside for squabbling over North Korea between the respective governments and Rudd's diplomatic meeting with Prime Minister Fukuda it was fairly quiet on the news front last week. The press did it's best at hounding down those connected to the suspect in last weeks Akihababra stabbing, including an almost bizarre interview with the man's mother and father. The interview ended with the father picking his wife off the floor and carrying her back into the house...no restraint or help shown by the press as they kept the cameras rolling.

Anyway...on a lighter note here are some of the other stories that happened in Japan in last week.

Japn News Quiz June 16th[\url]

Enjoy!