An afternoon in Ueno Park (Part 4)

Tadashi Ishida

This is the third in a series of articles in which Mr. Tadashi Ishida, an English teacher at a community center in Taito Ward in Tokyo, describes a language learning activity that he conducted with his class. After having done considerable research and preparation, the learners toured Ueno Park with a foreign visitor, Mrs. Fitzwater, explaining to her the highlights of the park and answering her questions. After the tour, the learners wrote their own combination text and guidebook based on this experience.

Mr. Ishida points out that, although older learners might not always be able to speak English as well as young people, they may know a lot about Japan and Japanese things. This knowledge was put to use during the Ueno Park tour as seen in the excerpts below.

高齢者は若い人ほど英語を流暢に話せませんが、日本のことについては知識が豊富で、外国人がよく聞く質問に答えることができます。

Next, we arrived at the gate in front of Toshogu Shrine. Mrs. Fitzwater asked Mrs. Ichikawa (75) about the shrine.
F: Can I ask a question? What is this shrine for? I mean, in whose honor is this shrine?
I: Tokugawa Ieyasu, the first shogun

Mrs. Fitzwater saw somebody ringing the bell.
F: Why are they ringing the bell? To pray for what?
I: They pray for success.
F: Success? I see. So why do they ring the bell?
I: They ring the bell to get the attention of gods. We throw some coins and we ring the bell when we pray for success and prosperity.
F: Oh, I see.

Mrs. Ichikawa pointed to a tall building.
I: Can you see the five-storied pagoda over there? In Japan, most of the pagodas were built in Chinese style, but only this one is in the Japanese style. It looks more elegant than the others, I think.
F: What does the number five mean? I�fve seen five-storied pagodas and five-lined fences. Does the number five have a special meaning?
I: In Japan, five and seven are very lucky numbers.
F: Oh, I see.

Mrs. Fitzwater pointed to a number of signs leaning against a wall.
F: What are the signs, and what do they mean? Are they flags or banners?
I: They are a menu for a restaurant.
F: Oh, I see.

Mrs. Fitzwater was surprised to find trash near the shrine. She had never seen trash in Japan. She asked Mrs. Ichikawa about the trash.
F: Do you often see trash or litter like this in Japan?
I: Not often, but sometimes.
F: Japan is a very clean country, in my opinion.
I: Thank you, but that is not always true.