i英単語 (ieitango)

Last August, I had an idea to develop an iPhone application to help Japanese people with their Eiken (英検) vocabulary. Not having done any programming since graduating college, I had to relearn the basics, then teach myself Objective-C, then learn how to combine it all to create a simple flash card study program.

My app made its iTunes Store debut last week. (sounds of jubilation)

The app is called i英単語 (ieitango), which means English vocabulary, and the website can be found here. There are a couple of Eiken apps on iTunes, but all of them are aimed at the advance level. Mine is the first for the beginner level.

The easiest Eiken level is Grade 5, which is suppose to reflect the English skill of someone in the 7th grade (or 5th grade if you go to MY school). My girlfriend, who speaks excellent English, has passed Grade 2, but based on my experience, the average Japanese student seems to only get up to Grade 3. That is why I decided to start my ieitango series from the beginning.

Only time will tell how many 7th graders carry around iPhones in Japan, though. Based on my sales so far, the answer is: 1.

My sister.

Open House

Last week, Ogimi Elementary had its 村学力向上実践報告会, which is the, uh...village academic improvement practice information session...thing. In America, we just call it 'Open House'. The big difference here is that the parents come to watch an actual class. On a Sunday!

It wasn't just parents who came, but teachers from other schools and important people from the school board. Because of this, the day became a 'big deal', and my teachers spent many hours trying to turn a normal class into a super class.

This year, I was asked to do an English lesson. I didn't think anything of it, because I assumed I would just be doing a normal class in front of an audience. But no, the two months leading up to this had me in meetings with the home room teacher going over every detail with a fine-tooth comb.

The class went off without a hitch, with the exception of my attire. When I am told, "Oh, it's just a normal school day.", I don't think to bring a suit. Yet, 5 minutes before class, the homeroom teacher comes up to me in her newly changed outfit, looks at my track suit, and asks me where my suit was.

Anyway, when the classes were finished, all the visitors headed towards the gym for some English songs the kids performed. After that, there was some 2 hour meeting (that I snuck out of), followed by dinner.

I did some killer piano arrangements for Bingo and If You're Happy and You Know It, and it turns out we made the Okinawa paper (me in casual attire)!

(I got a lot of comments of how 'small' the piano looks with me next to it)