By Haruo Akino

Professor Harry E. Creagen has recently joined the Faculty of Languages as an Associate Professor of English at Sapporo University. He is teaching Writing, English Conversation Skills, and Pronunciation classes. He has been teaching at several other colleges and universities in Hokkaido for the past ten years.

Originally from Toronto, Ontario in Canada, he grew up in a number of locations, including Germany, moving quite a few times because his father was a soldier in the Canadian army. He said, ”it was a happy and interesting childhood and it sowed the seeds of my desire to travel.”

However, Professor Creagen didnﾕt enjoy high school. After graduation he went to work for about two years, working in the pipeline, mining and shipping industries. He then entered Queenﾕs University in Kingston, Ontario to study geology. He also worked at the school newspaper for three years, mainly as a photographer and sports writer. He learned newspaper layout as part of the work, and said with a smile, ”If you have any trouble with layout, maybe I can help you.”

One of his hobbies is to travel. He has travelled or worked in every province and territory of Canada. He has also been to Argentina, Nepal and China, as well as Antarctica and Europe. Regarding the future, he said, ”I feel it will be ok if I can continue to be healthy, to travel, to teach and study. It doesnﾕt matter where I live in the world, as long as Iﾕm with my family and have a happy life.”

Professor Creagen came to Japan for one month when he was 20 years old, visiting Tokyo, Kyoto, and his motherﾕs hometown in Yamaguchi-ken. It was from that experience that he developed a desire to live in Japan. In 1989 he did come back to Japan through The Japan Exchange and Teaching (JET) Program. In that program, the Japanese Government selects university graduates from various countries to become assistants to Japanese teachers in elementary, junior high and high schools. He spent three years working in Asahikawa, Hokkaido. The JET Program was a wonderful experience for him, and after finishing he began to think seriously about upgrading his qualification as a teacher. He completed his Masters of Arts in Education in 2002.

Professor Creagen says he would like to see students to assume more responsibility for their learning and have a more active role in how they study, as well as to question teachers about whatever they donﾕt understand. He also says, ”The most important thing for me is to be more aware of the students and ask them often if they understand or are enjoying lesson so that everyone can learn from whatever I teach.” He insisted that students should try to carry out all those things to develop themselves.

Professor Creagen is enjoying teaching at Sapporo University. He commented that to improve English ability, students must be self motivated. So he just wants to provide the opportunity for students to improve their English by using it as much as possible. He also said, ”Well, it may be simple but, I expect the students to ﾔbe themselves.ﾕ” While listening to his comments, I was deeply impressed by his passion for teaching.