開校して９年ですが、FAST英会話教室では就学前の小さなお子様も教えてきました。During
the nine years that Mimi Fujiwara and Brad Fast have been at
学習には最も大切な時期です。多種多様な学習の場を見つけるのは簡単です。でもこれらの場所は歌のみ、ダンスのみ、綴りのみ、書き方のみ、聞き取りのみに焦点を置いています。しかし、私達は最適な教授法を再発見しました。私達は生徒さんが他を一人の人間として尊重します。子供さん達は可愛いですが、年齢に伴い学習意欲が高まりますので、可愛がるばかりは子供さんの成長の助けにはなりません。Truly, this is the most important time for children to learn. Now, it is easy to find schools offering different kinds of "study". Those involve focusing on singing ONLY (jazz or chant), or dancing ONLY (rhythmic), spelling ONLY (phonics), or writing ONLY (printed test), or listening ONLY (audio tape). However, Mimi and I believe that we have rediscovered the oldest and best way to teach. We treat children as human beings. Children are cute, but they have a desire to learn that gets stronger as they get older. Focusing on the cuteness and ignoring the person does not help the child.
方法論より、子ども中心に考えています。人により学び方やタイミングはそれぞれ異なります。学習継続に快適でない環境は、特に小さなお子様には良くありません。もし生徒さんが「つまらない」と言うのでしたら、教師に違う教授法の必要性を告げているのです。私達の目標は生徒さん達を楽しませるのではなく、学習さえ楽しければ、それが全ての子供さんにとって学習・成長する良い方法だと考えています。Focusing on the method and not the child is risky. We believe that different children learn in different ways at different times. Forcing a child to continue learning in a way that is unpleasant can be bad, especially for young children. When a student says, "This is boring.", the student is telling the teacher that a different method is necessary. Our goal is not to entertain the student, but we believe that since learning is fun, there is an interesting way for every child to learn and grow.
学年ごとに区切った教え方はよくないと考えています。幼稚園や低学年の生徒さんは文法は分かりにくいですし綴り（読み書き）は難しすぎます。この時期には、教育は歌、発音、簡単な文章、色、ことば、数、シンプルな考えに的を絞ります。高学年の生徒さんは簡単な文法と書き方を理解し始めます。この時期、語彙を広め言語発話学習が最適です。５・６年生及び中学生は基本的には大差ないです。この時期は速いペースで学習を進めるのが効果的です。Usually, schools teach children the same way regardless of age. This is also wrong. Very young children (5-8) cannot understand grammar, and usually even lettering (reading and writing) is too difficult. During this time, education should focus on songs, pronunciation (Phonics), simple phrases, colors, words, numbers, and simple ideas. Older children (9-10) can begin to understand simple grammar and writing. For them, the best use of time is assembling a large vocabulary and learning phonics and speaking. Developmentally, there is no significant difference between fifth and sixth graders and junior high school students. They should be taught at a very fast pace because they can learn very quickly and they want to.
初級･中級･上級に分けたクラス編成を行います。また途中入学者のための「追いつくための」クラスもあります。「追いつくための」クラスは新入生に語彙や文法を教えます。全ての生徒さんに勉強にトライしてもらいたいと考えています。もちろん教室に長く通っている生徒さんはより自信を持つでしょうが、最近入学された方に他の生徒さん同様楽しく学習して欲しいのです。Because of differences in age, we have made three groups of students. Advanced, Intermediate, and Beginning. We also have "catch-up" classes that can help students join in with their friends who may have been learning for a longer period of time. The catch - up classes give a new student vocabulary and grammar of the class, but little depth that comes from studying over time. We encourage all students to try and learn. Of course students who learn longer will have better depth and confidence, but even late learners can enjoy a class and build confidence with others.
上級クラス
平均７名
学習歴３〜４年の生徒さんたちは、スピーディに学んでいきます。These classes move quickly because most students have been studying with us for 3-4 years. The students use their vocabulary to learn more grammar, and their new grammar to learn new vocabulary. Last year, fifth grade students studied and remembered grammar from the junior high school second grade curriculum. Our students enjoyed taking EIKEN and JIDOUEIKEN tests and were very competitive in spelling contests, skits, etc. Achievement gives the students confidence in other areas, too, and it is exciting to watch them become strong leaders at school and in the community.
高校･大学向けの教材で学ぶ、すごい生徒さんばかりです。Mimi and I are most proud of these classes. We have developed students who can read, write and speak as well as or beyond junior high third grade level. In one class, we use a book that was written for high school or college speakers. Students develop poise, creativity and maturity.
パーティでは企画に参加し、一般レベルの歌も歌います。For parties, these students usually create their own skits and activities, and attempt adult level songs.
中級クラス
平均７名
３〜４年生の生徒さんが、歌･ゲーム･パズル、ソフトウェアを使って、楽しく学んでいます。Third and fourth year elementary students are difficult to teach because they have short attention spans. To develop, they need to have many tools, such as simple grammar, vocabulary, and reading and writing skills. By the end of fourth grade, our students can read simple sentences aloud. Usually, spoken vocabulary is about 500 words with a reading/writing vocabulary of about 200/100. Frankly, we are very proud of these students because most students at this age hate learning at other classrooms, but love to learn here. We use songs, games and puzzles, as well as interactive computer software to keep students interested in learning.
初級クラス
平均７名
家庭的な雰囲気の中で、学習の楽しさを教えています。We point children in the right direction in these early years. All children know that fun is fun, but we show children that learning is fun, too. Solving problems and being with other children in an active and safe atmosphere shows them that there is a place between "warm home" and "cold school" where the temperature is just right for learning. The classrooms are arranged in "home-like" houses in Yakata and Kitanakayama, with Brad Fast and a Japanese assistant for each class. Songs, games, puzzles, colored pencils, stories, workbooks, and textbooks all help show students about using English. We show students pronunciation, simple words, some writing, and simple phrases. The goal is not to pressure children to produce geniuses. The goal of this class is to show children that learning is a good and fun way to spend time.
年長の生徒さんより、パソコンの使い方が上手です。Increasingly, we find that young children can use computers with more confidence than older students and adults. We use computers and show children that they can take control of part of their learning to explore an English world.
補講クラス
平均２名
学習開始に最適なのは今！です。The best time to begin learning English is RIGHT NOW. Children show growth and improvement every single day. One day of learning can be a lifetime of benefits. Strangely, many schools discourage parents from enrolling their children ... advising them to wait until the next enrollment period. More commonly, they pressure parents to pay high "enrollment fees" in March and October. At FAST English Conversation, we want to make it easy for you, so we designed CATCH-UP classes just for your child.
テキストやパソコン使用のありきたりの授業ではありません。We do not teach only from a textbook, or according to a computer program. Our goal is to show children many different words, grammar, phrases, etc. in a realistic way. Although a student who has been studying for 3 years will have much more knowledge, it is possible for another student to study the textbook intensely for a short period of time and participate in a class. For instance, it is entirely possible to study the whole junior high school curriculum in one year. However, it would be difficult to pass an entrance examination for high school with that knowledge.
This is not true for all children, but Mimi and Brad have found that it is true in most cases.
補講なしにいきなり始めるのは大変です。Putting a student in a class that is too hard with no assistance will discourage the new student. Putting a student in a class that is too easy will lead to boredom. Since our job is to give the student what the student needs, we have created this special program for special students.
帰国子女や他の英語学校で学習していた方も歓迎します。We have several students who have lived in other countries and many who have visited other countries. Other students have learned at other schools before coming here. We want to encourage those students to learn with us.
お知らせ：補講に関しては日本人教師が担当し、これまでは無料で行ってきました。
TEL 022-379-5227（9時〜17時）022-376-8977(13時〜21時）
教室の中にある英語のビデオ
