t was the summer of 1978. I was a freshman at the senior high, and I was being bombarded by Trevor and Randy with English every day.
I sometimes suspect that being exposed to the unrestrained and spontaneous way kids speak might be a necessary process for one's language to mature. When you start learning a foreign language in the restrained and orderly manner typical to an adult, the music of language might remain stagnant.
It then befell on me somehow to cope with the free and dynamic conversation style of Trevor and Randy. After some while, I invented some strategies to counter the dynamo, and make the conversation flow.
I coined some own expressions to impress the kids. Kids respect people with their own words, you know. So I would go, for example, "I'll beat you up", and then follow, "I'll heat you up", and then say, "I'll eat you up", so that the verbs would rhyme.
"I'll beat you up, heat you up, and eat you up!" Trevor and Randy, especially Trevor, got a kick out of my clumsy invention and started to imitate me.
7 comments:
Great.
You coined some own expressions to impress the kids so that the verbs would rhyme.
I have just recalled 'kagome kagome' and another nursery rhyme, "煮えたかどうか食べてみよう. むしゃ、むしゃ、むしゃ" that we used to sing and enjoy together almost every day when I was a kid.
in additon, I could say the evidence has been shown in your essay that one's knowledge can help for successful adaptation to the world. You excellently create, you adapt to the new world.
Dr.Mogi
You had wonderful experiences when you were also a teenager!
I remembered what Mr.Peter Frankl said in a interview. When he learn foreign languages that he hasn't still aｃquired, he always play with the local kids.
I'd like to try to do this by finding opportunities.
Dear:Mr.Mogi
Before I read your books, I tend to respect everything which have very special originality and identity. But you told originality and identity which everything comes from somewhere or someone and making up each one. Each one can not not make by one-self. Nothing can make from Zero. Everything, everyone have many reasons in each environment.
Now I respect originality and identity with that back born also very much.
After I read your books, I recognize metacognitive ability, intuition and scent in the brain.
I respect your life very special much.
It was the summer of 1978. I was a freshman at the senior high, and I was attending the English summer class at Kawai-juku in Higashikitazawa. (Sounds exciting...)
If my memory is correct, we were reading teenagers' novel called "Fifteen"(although I was already sixteen because I was born in April), in a plain colourless classroom in the long tedious afternoons.
Two boys in front of me were always whispering to each other, and although I was distracted by this subtle noise, I was too shy to tell them to stop. One day however, one of the boys picked up the eraser which I accidentally dropped on the floor and handed it to me saying,"Here you're."
Suddenly then, something in me had sparked. How kind and nice he sounded! I couldn't even say "Thank you." to him properly as I was too overwhelmed by the situation. The other boy was sort of giggling to his friend meaningfully and glanced at me.
Since that incident, their whispering had stopped bothering me, and I felt my mind was always somewhere up in the air.
On the last day of the summer class, I went back to the classroom to get my English dictionary which I absent-mindedly had left there, and unexpectedly, there "He" was, holding my dictionally in his hand and gave it to me saying, "Here you're."
I cannot remember if I said "thank you very much", to him this time or not. All I can remember was me standing there for a while looking at my favorite photo of the "Neu Schwanstein Schloss" quietly emerging from the hazy mist, that I used for covering my dictionary.
Dear, Mr. Mogi,
Thank you very much for your very enlightening talk today!
Very interesting to listen to you.
>>I sometimes suspect that being exposed to the unrestrained and spontaneous way kids speak might be a necessary process for one's language to mature.
Exactly the same as what I've thought these days!
I'm going to find a thing I really want to express in English, and shape it during the rest of the year.
Dear Mr Mogi,
I am confused. I am wondering whether it can be called knowledge or not.
I thought that in fact you excellently created and adapted to the new world, however, this type of creativity ability in children may not be one’s knowledge.
Please tell me your knowledge on this.
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