Cricket, if you didn’t know, is a bat and ball game which originated in England centuries ago. It’s still being played now and is more popular in the Commonwealth countries. Sano International Cricket Ground is in, unsurprisingly, Sano, Tochigi; what’s that to do with learning English? Nothing. However, what happened the other day is relevant to that place, the people there, and the personal achievements of some of the English learners we help.
Tea, scones, and English
Masami and I live not too far from Sano International Cricket Ground which is convenient for us, if we want to watch a cricket match. We have also used the ground’s Tea Room as a place for our students to practice their English communication skills; a real environment where you would drink, eat some food, and have a chat.
Building bridges
Recently, the CEO of the Japan Cricket Association, Naoki Alex Miyaji, asked if Masami, myself and some of our students could help out for an event. The event was the South West Asia Cup for 2022, hosted by the Japan Cricket Association and co-hosted by Sano City; we were asked to help Japanese speakers communicate with English speaking foreigners, bridging the language barrier.
Starting a conversation with a complete stranger in a second language can be scary: How will they react? Will they understand me? Will I understand them? What will I talk about? What happens if I make a mistake? S-C-A-R-Y.
Students’ success
It was very pleasing to see the people we help, mingling and chatting with people of different nationalities. It was interesting to listen in on some of the conversations; sometimes it was in English, sometimes it was in Japanese, and other times a mix of both to communicate! Most of the non-Japanese people could speak Japanese, although, some couldn’t, but that didn’t stop our students.
Everyone said they enjoyed themselves and were pleased they came; not only did they experience a sport they didn’t know of, they also “did” what they have been learning, communication, either in English or Japanese!
Learnt, practiced, did. Well done.
Cricket in Japan
A big thank you to Alex (Japan Cricket Association), all the people we spoke to (from Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, India, Nepal, Pakistan, and Japan), and our students for a memorable day.
For more information about cricket in Sano and the rest of Japan, please take a look at the Japan Cricket Association website http://www.cricket.or.jp/
ー オンライン英語コミュニケーションプログラム ー
【あなたの心が伝わるあなただけの英語】
英語でのコミュニケーションをあなたらしい英語で。一人一人のレベル、能力、
興味に合った教材や方法を用いたテイラーメイドの英語コミュニケーションプログラムです。
”あなたの英語”でコミュニケートしたい方は、まずは無料カウンセリングをご予約ください。
