6 posts tagged “king's education”
Here is a short video clip that shows a bit of what it was like to study English at King's Education. Overall the curriculum was quite challenging for our students, as they were required to use English all the time, both in and out of class. Our students were grouped by level into three different classes, and each week on Friday they had to prepare and present a short public speech on that week's given topic. Also on Fridays, all the King's students gathered in the cafeteria for a short school assembly. Usually at this time all of the teachers gave out "student of the week" awards to a particular student who had worked especially hard. It was interesting to see such a focus on publicly acknowledging student work, something that is not done at TCFL.
Friday, March 7th was the final day of classes for our group at King's Education. During the weekly student assembly, each of our students received a graduation certificate from their teacher. Afterwords, we took them out to Oxford on Avon, a great all-you-can-eat buffet place right on the Avon river. It was a sumptuous meal, and good times were had by all. This also gave us an occasion to offer up some appreciation to Beth Pettigrew, the King's administrator who was in charge of our group. She worked really hard to make sure we were well taken care of, and everyone was really happy with her efforts. The fact that she had spend a year in Toyama as an exchange student in high school and could speak fluent Japanese also helped!
On the 2nd Saturday of our study trip, our group went out to the Banks Peninsula near Christchurch for a day trip in Akaroa, a small tourist town. This was our big chance to get more acquainted with the famous natural scenery of New Zealand, and while it was indeed spectacular, the weather on that day we went was terrible! It was cold, wet, and cloudy, and this really affected what we were able to do. Still, we made the best of it, and despite the less than idea conditions, we managed to have a good time.
On the 2nd Wednesday of our trip, we drove out to the Waimak River Adventures horse ranch on the outskirts of Christchurch and spent a leisurely afternoon riding horses around the countryside. After getting outfitted with helmets, we watched a demonstration on how to get on and control a horse. For most students, this was their first time riding, so I'm sure everyone appreciated having the instructions translated into Japanese by a Japanese farm hand. The ride was very slow and controlled. About 10 staff walked along side of us as we poked along in a long line. The terrain was very flat, and for those of us who had ridden a lot previously, perhaps a bit boring. Still, for the absolute beginners in our group, all went well. Click here to see some photos of this experience.
For our third afternoon activity, our Toyama group joined the entire student body of King's Education on a trip to the Willowbank Wildlife Center on the outskirts of Christchurch. This center is quite a unique place- not only can you see local flora and fauna, but you can catch a glimpse into Maori culture through the innovative and interactive program they have there. All in all it was an exciting educational and cultural experience, as the accompanying photos and video clip demonstrate. It's safe to say that everyone learned a lot on this day.
After a smooth but very very long journey from Toyama, our group of 17 students and two chaperones from the Toyama College of Foreign Languages finally arrived in Christchurch, New Zealand for our annual study trip abroad. On the first day, February 17th, we were met at the airport by Beth Pettigrew, the King's Education staff person in charge of taking care of our group. We were taken to King's in downtown Christchruch straight away, where students heard an orientation lecture and were able to meet their host families. Here is an interactive Google Map that shows where our students are studying as well as the chaperone's hotel. Just click on the blue pins to get more info, or move the +/- sliders to zoom in and out:
