RisingSunofNihon - an exclusive interview with Bill Belew: why his posts should be at an ESL school near you..

On September 15, 2007 in Interviews

If you were here yesterday, I, one of the evil editors of this blog, forced you to read about why Bill Belew is my hero (my introduction to this interview). Muhahaha *evil laugh*

Bill’s posts need no forcing, they go down easy and smooth. My writing on the other hand could probably use some more work, maybe when I get to 450 posts a month I’ll be smooth too (*Just nod to appease my ego* ).

Anyway, today we are diving into the world RisingSunofNihon, plunging beneath the surface and discovering something interesting that some might not expect from the site that covers the economic and industrial might of Japan:

English Lessons

I asked Bill how readers could get the most from his site. I fully expected to hear about economics, but here’s what he had to say:

One minute mind-prods/posts about something going on in/around with Japan…that require some thought. I like to think that my posts are ideal for the second language learner…kind of wish all the ESL classes in Japan would start by the teacher and students grabbing a post..reading/understanding it, then addressing the question at the end.

Daily J: What is your favourite economy/industrial topic to cover? Is there a particular post that you would name as your favourite? (See me trying to steer toward economics? But…)

Bill: This is a tough question…to be honest…economy, industry and such are NOT my favorite subjects. I don’t mind writing about them because I know something, but if I had a choice, I would write about the culture of Japan, the differences, and how the Japanese mindset influences business practices.

I started a series on teaching ESL in Japan….

I got as far as question # 32….I have 69 more questions…101 altogether.

I am also working with an aspiring manga artist who is Japanese/American.

The posts are in English and Japanese -

http://www.risingsunofnihon.com/ello_bello/

I think this idea is great if it will catch on……

ESL is certainly close to his heart. And he definitely has the credentials to teach you about it:

Daily J: Who would love your site and why? You mentioned you “kind of wish all the ESL classes in Japan would start by the teacher and students grabbing a post..reading/understanding it, then addressing the question at the end.” That is a great idea for language teachers who teach salarymen and women! Have you tried to get some of the ESL sites that are out there to recommend your content as lessons?

I taught ESL, owned a language school that grew to 5 branches in Niigata, Toyama and on Hokkaido. I know ESL. My PhD is in education and language acquisition…. I have done teacher training in the past…brought many many teachers to Japan to work at my school….one of the keys is to get the lessons started off….on a topic that interests the learners.

I am absolutely confident that students in Japan - salarymen, students would be interested in my content. It is written at a level they can understand, with an idiom or two thrown in to challenge them and I ALWAYS end my posts with a question for discussion purposes. These elements are foundational to any good ESL class.

By the way, I told Bill that we will be interviewing some ESL-related sites in the future and that I will be sure to put a good word in for him. Here’s what he had to say:

“I would dance at your wedding or any other appropriate social gathering were you to introduce my site to ESL schools and teachers.”

Excellent…! That brings us back to the question in the title of this post:

Why should Bill’s posts be at a language school near you?

Simple: I want to see Bill Belew dance! (maybe we could put it on Youtube, hehehe)

So this is a call to all of you Eikaiwa (ESL) teachers out there: Use RishingSunofNihon’s posts! They are FREE ESL materials! Help me out! I want Bill Belew dancing at my wedding!

Better yet, tell your school to use them and maybe Bill will dance at your wedding too (Let’s see if we can get him to do a “Dancing Bill World Tour”)!

And, my ESL friends, read his series about teaching English in Japan. You’ll thank yourself if you do, as it is excellent.

That’s all for today,

More tomorrow

On Daily J

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