- 2008/05/17 09:58Responsibilities, that which always annoys us...
- I am working for an institution that provides English language trainin
gs for many cooperations.I think these institutions responsiblities fo
r:1) companies paying for training 2) students taking lessons3) ins
tructors teaching lessons 4) the quality of English provided 5) its
employees as a corporation.1)-5) should be balanced, but sometimes i
n most institutions 1) should be emphasized too much, whi... [続きを読む]
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- 2008/05/10 19:52Secret
- Everybody has a secret. And I believe that any secret will be revealed
in the end.If you notice somebody's secret against your will, you'll
have to keep your mouth shut. It should be another secret. ... [続きを読む]
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- 2008/05/04 21:41How disparate Japan is!
- Today I went to Shiroganedai, which is a upscale residential area in J
apan. And we found a BOOKOFF. The BOOKOFF is totally different than ot
her BOOKOFF stores. It has a coffee shop like STARBUCKS. Although the
BOOKOFF really suited Shiroganedai, knowing the existing of this store
gave me a bad feeling. I thought that BOOKOFF is for people who aren'
t rich. As a matter of fact, though, they are givi... [続きを読む]
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- 2008/04/27 18:02I've just come back from Kyoto!
- I've just come back from Kyoto, where there was a wedding of my old fr
iend. While walking around Kyoto, I felt that it is not as packed as T
okyo and it is very clean.Although I like Tokyo because I was born the
re, I wish it could be clearner and less crowded.... [続きを読む]
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- 2008/04/20 00:49The Japanese like comparison!?
- If you take a look at grammar textbooks written in Japanese, you will
be surprised that a lot of space is occupied with explanation about co
mparison. Even the book I'm using for a beginners' class has more than
10 pages for it and there is a list of idioms related to comparison,
which will be shown below. I don' t think that some of them should be
called idioms.According to "新ＴＯＥＩＣテス... [続きを読む]
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- 2008/04/13 18:00"Whale Sentence Structure" or "Whale Sentence Pattern"
- A whale is no more a fish than a horse is.This sentence is used to exp
lain the concept of "comparison" in English grammar and it v
ery very famous among only English learners in Japan.I think that teac
hing comparison is good. But, learners need to master sentences like t
hese below before the sentence above:Her hands were as cold as ice.My
wife earns as much money as you.My boyfriend is mu... [続きを読む]
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- 2008/03/30 13:42Five Sentence Pattens? I've never heard of it!
- In Japan, mastering "five sentence patterns" is centerned on
not only grammar classes but also English education. Do native speake
rs of English know "five sentence patterns," though? Accord
ing to Grammar & Sentence Patterns (Tomonaoabe, TS Kikaku):1st Sente
nce Pattern S(Subject) + Vi (IntransitiveVerb)God exists.She is in
that room2nd Sentence Pattern S + Vi + C(Complement)The ... [続きを読む]
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- 2008/03/29 16:23Time needed.
- I have to work on something else recently, and I had been away from he
re for a while. What've I been up to? Hmm... I'm drinking coffee and
despising people who think money always comes first.... [続きを読む]
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- 2008/03/21 22:47Jammy Bastard
- One of my Japanese colleague regarded an email account that contained
"jammy bastard" as a male's name. As a matter of fact, thoug
h, it's a British slang item. In American English, people say "lu
cky bastard."Are you dating Scarlett Johansson? You're a lucky b
astard! ... [続きを読む]
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- 2008/03/15 09:03Listening CNN might not be always good.
- Although I know that my English is not that good, I often wonder what
is good English. If you are a serious English learner, you often try t
o speak good English as I do.This time I don't want to include people
who have lived in English speaking countries and who acquired native-l
ike fluency without any conscious efforts. Anyway, their English is no
t always good as you think. I'm working with two A... [続きを読む]
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- 2008/03/07 21:25Those who are good at the TOEIC can't speak English, while Americans are not good at English grammar
- If you are an English teacher in Japan, you can't stay away from the e
xistence of the TOEIC test. It is widely believed that if you have a T
OEIC score of over 900, you are really good at English. However, if yo
u live in Japan, you may come across a lot of Japanese who have gotten
scores of over 900 and who can't speak English good enough.Talking ab
out myself, my latest score is over 900. But, I su... [続きを読む]
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- 2008/03/02 18:48Higuchi and Higashino
- I'm reading One-way Love by Keigo Higashino. When I read his other boo
k for the first time, I felt that his style was very monotone and kind
of boring. Now, I feel his style is just fine.I've also felt that the
style of Yusuke Higuchi is n't satisfying any more. Maybe my preferen
ce has changed unless their styles have changed.... [続きを読む]
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- 2008/03/02 14:08Surprised and...
- Recently, I noticed that Beni Arashiro has got it going on in an adver
tising poster hung in a train. I am kind of surprised by the fact. I t
hink she is attractive, but she's not that famous.Another thing that s
urprised me is that an American, who is teaching English at the same p
lace, told me that he liked a group called "AKB48." Actually
, I didn't know those people. And then, I checked ... [続きを読む]
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- 2008/02/25 21:55makeup and retake
- A makeup (test/exam) is a test taken in school because you were not
able to take a previous test. But, I wondered how you call an exam tha
t you take again because you failed it the first time.My American coll
eague told me that it should be called a "retake." He also s
aid, though, "it's very rare." In Japan, it's not uncommon.
I have taken a retake a couple of times. And one of ... [続きを読む]
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- 2008/02/18 21:49Do you want to be a lackey? Nope.
- Today I learned this word.A lackey or lacquey is a term for a uniforme
d manservant, in its original meaning (attested 1529, according to th
e OED).The modern connotation of "servile follower" appeare
d later, in 1588 (OED).http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lackey_%28manser
vant%29... [続きを読む]
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- 2008/02/17 17:54Goober?
- Sometimes Hajime looks like a goober, you know. I learned this slang f
rom my colleague.goober: a goober is someone who looks/ is a bit silly
, not as harsh as stupid or dumb Example: My father in lay looked like
a bit of a goober at theweddinghttp://www.slangsite.com/slang/G.html.
.. [続きを読む]
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- 2008/02/15 23:08realize vs recognize
- I know an American who is teaching in Tokyo. He believes that he is on
e of the best ESL teachers. But, I heard that when one of his students
asked him about the difference between to "realize" and to
"recognize," he said "English is sometimes very difficu
lt."A dictionary explains this way:realize: to understand a situa
tion, sometimes suddenlyrecognize: to accept that ... [続きを読む]
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- 2008/02/07 22:43mop vs map
- I taught English pronunciation today. It included the difference betwe
en "map" and "mop." This reminds me of my experien
ce.When I lived in Missouri, one of my friends visited my house. He we
nt to the gas station near my house. He wanted to have a map of Missou
ri. And he said, "Can I have a map of Missouri?"But, his &q
uot;map" sounded like "mop." Therefo... [続きを読む]
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- 2008/02/02 10:25Chime
- My boss showed me a book and asked me to make up a plan using the idea
of the book. The book contains a lot of phrases used as a chime or re
sponse. I looked over the book and find it funny. But, I felt it diffi
cult to make a program of English conversation course. Probably, most
native speakers don't want to hear the phrases below from Japanese Eng
lish learners in business:A: See you later alligat... [続きを読む]
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- 2008/01/27 00:05How those who can't speak English would think of those who can speak English
- I'm not talking about Americans or any English speaking people. I'm ta
lking about Japanese people.There are some Japanese people who speak E
nglish. And there are many people who don't speak English. It's not st
range, is it? Recently, I've recognized that some of those who belong
to the latter group are miunderstanding the former group.For example,
even Japanese who speak English with native-like f... [続きを読む]
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- 2008/01/21 19:42Are writing skills a gift?
- Recently you can find many writers with little experience. Probably,
you'd say that writing can't be learned. But, I kind of doubt that ide
a. I believe writing must be skills and anybody can learn them. Howeve
r, it takes lots of time. That's why nobody can't be successful in wri
ting.... [続きを読む]
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- 2008/01/16 20:15If you always listen to too good English,...
- Today I spoke with a native speaker of English. I understood what he s
aid, but I felt that his English wasn't enough clear. He was from Ohio
, which is not a place where people speak English with a strong accent
. What made me think that his English wasn't clear enough is that I am
always surrounded by native speakers whose articulation was pretty go
od. Therefore, it may not be good for you to try t... [続きを読む]
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- 2008/01/09 23:25a simple but important tip
- Which do you prefer, Diet
Coke or Diet Pepsi?What's the difference between these two questions
?1) Where do you live?2) Which do you like better, New York or San
Francisco?1) is asking a fact. So, your answer should be simple. (e
x. I live in Iowa.) However, 2) is asking your opinion, and you have
to tell "why". So, the answer should be like:I li... [続きを読む]
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- 2008/01/01 19:28You don't want to use such words...
- This year, in a gesture of humanitarian relief, the committee restores
"truthiness," banned on last year's list, to formal use. Th
is comes after comedians and late-night hosts were thrown under the bu
s and rendered speechless by a nationwide professional writers' strike
. The silence is deafening.PERFECT STORM-- "Overused by the pundi
ts on evening TV shows to mean just about any coin... [続きを読む]
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