English
日本語
简体中文
繁體中文
한국어
Italiano
español
Deutsch
Русский
Dear Cafetalk Community,
How are you? I heard there is another impending typhoon coming towards the Kansai area in Japan... again. I hope the typhoon passes by Japan and you remain safe and sound with minimal damage.
To all of my repeating students, I want to emphasize that each and every one of you are very dear and special to me. I give my full attention to all of my students, so they can get the best possible outcome for all of their endeavors and aspirations (eg: English job interviews, promotions, speech contests, cram school assignments, Eiken, TOEFL, TOEIC exams, hobby, personal improvement, etc.)
At the same time, I am so proud of one of my students that I have to introduce her! I think it's safe to say that one young lady stands out as a tangible and measurable example of my teaching. The student is Yafang Funaki. She is 18 years old and a high school student living in Obihiro, Hokkaido in Japan. She is a very capable, competent, and intelligent young lady, not to mention her super sweet, lovely, and charming personality!
First, Yafang recently took the Eiken Pre 1 examination and she not only passed the exam but got the highest possible score! For the speaking part of the exam, she was required to describe a series of pictures and create stories for each one. In order to prepare for the Eiken exam, she took many of my "Picto Chat" lessons where she was required to describe the pictures in as much detail as possible.
Of course, Yafang came to my lesson already speaking English very well and I don't want to take away from her natural and innate talent, but I was happy to give her some pointers to improve her English-speaking skills for the exam. Again, I am so proud, happy, and excited to announce that she got the best possible score!
Second, Yafang entered a competition for an English speech contest in her prefecture. I translated her brilliant Japanese script into English for her and edited her work until it became a powerful and heartfelt speech. Again, I am overjoyed to announce that over countless other students that tried out for the speech contest, Yafang won the 2nd Prize in the English speech contest!
Next, she is moving forward to the next level and traveling to Sapporo, Japan for the regional English speech contest. Yafang still has a chance to win the regional contest and we are working very hard for her to give a superb speech.
Yafang's next endeavor is the entrance exam for an International University in northern Japan. Needless to say, her parents are tickled pink about their daughter's achievements at such a young age. Since her mother is Chinese and her father is Japanese, Yafang speaks three languages. Due to the fact that Yafang is multilingual, it would be ideal for her to enter an International University. We are working on the written essay and interview section of the entrance exam.
I have no doubt that this responsible, rational, and ambitious young lady will go far in life whatever she puts her mind to doing. It makes me very happy to learn that I was able to help her improve her examination scores. All the effort, energy, and hard work I put into teaching English are worthwhile when I know that I was able to make a difference and help my students grow. I am so happy for Yafang for continuing to do so well. Congratulations from my heart!
To all my other regular students, you are all also making tremendous progress as well! Although I am unable to measure your progress tangibly because there is no medal at the end of your pursuit, please know that you should feel extremely good about yourselves and feel confident in your English-speaking abilities. I wish all of you (even those I haven't met yet) all the best with your endeavors!
PS: To Yafang, thank you very much for allowing me to mention you in my Tutor Column! I'm just so proud of you!
Warmest regards,
Lady Ayame
(Patricia Ayame Thomson)
