Introduction video for Stephanie's Blog

Small update!

I recently made a small video for my friend Stephanie's blog named 'Hammer? Not for this Nail'. The blog, made for her students, features several videos from ALTs in Kagawa, who talk a little about themselves and their countries. This blog also inspired my own English blog for student's (which is in need of a little update, I must admit!).

I decided to get in on the video action. It was a fun little thing to make, and I thought I'd include it here for you to see what I made.

You can check out the video on Stephanie's page here: http://no-hammer-nail.blogspot.jp/2012/07/gavin.html

Check out my contribution to Stephanie's blog here!

Enjoy!

New Blog for Students: "Gavin's English Blog"

A fellow ALT of mine named Stephanie Creel impressed me recently with her fantastic blog that she'd made for students. As a way of keeping regular contact with her students whilst moving between different schools, she'd created a blog filled with articles written in English and Japanese for her students to read inbetween their class time together. Her blog 'Hammer? Not For This Nail', can be found here, and it really is a terrific idea!

Inspired by this, I decided to emulate her blog and put my own spin on it. This is what I've come up with!

Gavin's English Blog

http://gavin-english-blog.blogspot.jp/

The blog will primarily be targeted at kids of a Chugakkou (Junior High School) age. The hope is that it'll give students something to read inbetween our classes together, which can occasionally be infrequently due to the ever-changing and flexible schedule! Although I doubt I'll be able to include videos for all of the entries (or else it'll be way too heavy a commitment), I'll try and keep a steady flow of content coming. Shooting these videos will be a great way to utilise my passion for filmmaking, though, in a way which is relevant to my work.

I'm  including some activities for students to try, too, in order to offer some optional additional study - nothing too extensive, but just a way to gauge which students are interested, and potentially incrementally increasing in difficulty as the weeks go by.

I'm planning to continue to add many updates mostly focussing on cultural aspects of Scotland and things outwith Japan, to try and give students exposure to things they wouldn't normally be able to see. This introductory entry is mostly just a prototype to show to and get the support of my teachers; future blog posts should hopefully be a little less dull to encourage participation! They certainly shouldn't all just be me in a classroom talking in a suit!

I'm also planning to give rewards to those who participate, though I haven't decided exactly what those rewards will be yet.

Anyway, let me know what you think! Comments and feedback would be greatly appreciated.

My Film Work

First published: 13 Oct 2011

For those of you who don't know, you can follow my film blog here at; http://gavinhughfilm.blogspot.jp

As an independent filmmaker in my free time, this is where I discuss my ongoing film projects. Please take a look and (hopefully) enjoy.

Here's a preview of some of the projects I've directed and worked on.

Fatal Attractions.

Random Text.

Turnip Head.

The Morning After.

You can also follow my Twitter feed; @Gavros88

A little bit about me...

First published: 14 Oct 2011

So... who am I?

I haven't properly introduced myself here yet. As such, let me tell you a little bit about myself.

Me (aged 18) wearing a kilt. I'm a proud Scotsman, after all!

My name is Gavin Hugh. At the time of writing, I'm 23 years old, with a BA (Hons) in 'English & Film and Media' from Stirling University. Born and raised in Kirkcaldy on the East Coast of Scotland.

 Och aye...

My interests include films, classic literature, video-games, and creative writing (and Facebook, obviously!). My favourite sports are football, golf, badminton and tennis. I'm currently single, and I try to go to the gym at least twice a week... but it's hard to keep up, what with the crazy demands of being a teacher in Japan!

I fulfil the stereotypical requirements of a Scotsman: I love drinking in pubs; I'm proud of my local football team - the Raith Rovers; and I have a constant craving for haggis. I have a lot of fantastic and amazing friends that I love - far too many of them to list here. I'm an atheist, and I also have a pet cat called Smudge (though sadly, she's had to stay in Scotland with my parents).

The thing I miss most about home...

My real passion, though, is filmmaking. As I mentioned in the post before this one, you can find all the information on my ongoing film projects on my Tumblr page at; gavros88.tumblr.com

Edit: I no longer use my Tumblr page for film updates. Please check out my Film Blog at http://gavinhughfilm.blogspot.jp/.

 

My true, undying love.

So, that's just a little bit about me, to help you all get to know me a little better. I reckon I'm a nice enough guy (or at least I try to be). Hopefully I wont offend too many of you!

And now, back to the subject of Japan...

PS. If you're interested, you can find out a little bit more about my hometown at this great website run by my friend Neil; About Kirkcaldy.com!