English Essay by Brian Southwick, Niigata City ALT

63 The Last Essay ＲＥＡＤＩＮＧ (slow) (fast)

I wrote my first essay for junior high school students and teachers in April, 2006, almost 7 years ago. Since then I have written more than 60 essays on many subjects. Today I am writing my last one, The Last Essay.

Have you ever read the first essay, An ALT in Niigata City? In the essay I introduce myself and talk about living and teaching in Niigata City. It seems a long time ago that I wrote the essay, and many things in my life have changed since then. The essay project has changed, too: at first I worked on the essays every week, but recently I have had less time to write them, only on one Friday a month.

The main purpose of the essays is to introduce students to something new and to help them improve their reading and understanding. I hope that I have been able to do this. For me the hardest thing about writing an essay is choosing a topic. I try to choose one that is interesting to me and will be interesting to the reader. Over the years it became harder and harder for me to do this.
　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　ＲＥＡＤＩＮＧ (slow) (fast)

One of my favorite essays to write is about Sado Island which I visited with a friend in October, 2011. We took our bikes and enjoyed riding by the sea and visiting interesting places. Another essay I enjoyed writing is about petanque, a French game that my friends and I sometimes play at Nishi Ohata Park when the weather is good. The essay I wrote about a trip to Galveston, Texas, with some students and teachers from Niigata City, is another favorite. Galveston is Niigata’s US sister city, and the essay tells about the nice people we met and the interesting things we did during our visit there.

This is my last essay because I have different plans for next year. However, I will always remember the times I spent on Fridays writing the English Essay. I hope the essays I wrote were useful to students and teachers. I hope they will continue to be useful in the future. As for the future, from April a different teacher will write for the essay project. I think you will like the new version.

＜注＞
have written（ずっと書いてきた），more than（〜以上），on many subjects（多くの話題について）
Have you ever read~（〜を今までに読んだことがあるか？），introduce myself（自己紹介する）
seem(s)〜（〜のように思われる），that〜（〜ということ＜接続詞＞）
have changed since then（その時からずっと変化してきた），The essay project（エッセイの企画）
recently（最近），have had less time to write them（エッセイを書く時間が本当に少なくなった）
The main purpose（一番の目的），to help them improve~（生徒に~の力を付ける手助けをするために）
have been able to~（ずっと~できる），the hardest thing（最も大変なこと）
try to choose（選ぼうとする）
that~（~である＜話題＞one < = topic >【直前のoneを関係代名詞thatが説明する】）
the reader（読者），Over the years（数年に渡って）
became harder and harder（段々難しくなった）
which~（~である＜佐渡島＞【直前のSado Islandを関係代名詞whichが説明する】）
Another essay I enjoyed writing（私が楽しんで書いた別のエッセイ）
petanque（ペタンク＜フランス発祥の球技＞），sister city（姉妹都市）
continue to~（~することを続ける），As for the future（これからについて）
the new version（新しい版＜= the new essay＞）





Questions and Answers: Answer the questions in a complete sentence in English.


Q1. How many essays has Brian written?
A1.

Q2. When was the first essay written?
A2.

Q3. What is the purpose of the essays?
A3.

Q4. Where do Brian and his friends play petanque?
A4.

Q5. Who will write the essays from April?
A5.




＜解答例＞

A1.　He has written more than 60.

A2. It was written in April, 2006.

A3. It is to introduce students something new and to help them improve their reading and understanding.

A4 They play at Nishi Ohata Park.

A5. A different teacher will.