Readers’ Corner: Goodbye to my Mentor
Kitahara Nobuaki, the number one junior high school English teacher in Japan, passed away on Sunday. He made his school the most successful of any public school in English education. Eiken recognized him because so many of his students passed the STEP tests. He created the Kitahara Method because he wanted students to learn to use English instead of just passing vocabulary tests and translating everything into Japanese. He taught them good pronunciation, used authentic materials for listening and reading, and he used pairwork for speaking. The students were always active. Many teachers came to his seminars, and study groups were formed all across Japan. I am one of those teachers, and I use his method at my own English juku in Kanagawa. I’d like to dedicate my flute performance to my late mentor, Kitahara-sensei. (135 words) The flute performance https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iMiI9wsLdHE Jaremaga now comes out online on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. To become a paid subscriber and read it 5 days a week, go to “Support Jaremaga” below for more information. You can