http://abc.com.au/news/stories/2008/11/06/2411546.htm?section=justin
Someone please tell me these weren't Holmesglen students.
On another tack I have found that learning to read katakana is a bit of a revelation. A lot of words in Japan are loan words, that is they are essentially english but appropriated for use. You find these mostly in areas of new technology, where a traditional word didn't previously exist in Japanese, and in restaurants. So when I'm reading a menu I often sound out the words and realise that it says something like "bacon and mushroom cheeseburger", but spelled out phonetically in katakana.
When I first got to Gunma one of the ALTs was recommending washing detergent, she said she liked the one called "Attack". I assumed that it was a Japanese word with a similar meaning to the english and she was translating. But yesterday in the supermarket I saw the box and it actually says "Attack" but written in Katakan (so it's more like "atakku'). Weird, but convenient, I can now read most of the menu in KFC and Mcdonalds, but obviously real Japanese restaurants are more of a problem.
Still, I'm slowly getting there.
