Today we had a school trip to Nara (where I've already been, but it was still ok!) and there some kids also there on a school trip came up to me and started asking me some questions about where I am from and such, and then telling me where they were from (Gifu-ken apparently).
They had a really good accent, and were seemingly wellspoken in English, atleast it seemed to at first. But the more they spoke the more apparent it became obvious that they were only reciting from a script. They were speaking like robots and they all took their well rehearsed turns to talk to me.
There was no life in their voices, and had I started talking to them about something completely different they probably would've stood there dumbfounded without being able to say anything in return.
When they had said all they wanted to say to me they gave me two small origami birds and I was allowed to take off. I should've tried their real English ability, I wish I had, but it was just such a weird experience to talk to these robots that my brain just stood still. Like "wtf just happened?".
Those kids weren't the only ones trying to get foreigners to speak to them in English (it also seems to be a common thing to give foreigners that do talk to you origami stuff), it looks like a lot of schools have this as a sort of English assignment. Now this would sound like a good idea, but when they do it like this the kids aren't learning anything! They just have to remember a few phrases and when who is going to say what, then when it's done they might as well forget those phrases again.
No more English speaking robots please! ...
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