Sale!!
Maruzen's got cheap English books! Not in the normal English section, but by the entrance in the "bargain" section, on the left. There are a lot more than I expected- many many nice kids books. Some are only 500yen.
Check it out.
Tuesday, February 28, 2012
Friday, February 24, 2012
Why?
Why study English?
There are several reasons. Too many too list here. But one of the most important ones is...Opportunity. If you speak English you will have far far more opportunities in life that if you only speak Japanese.
Jobs. Maybe you have already have a full time job you love. But maybe you don’t. Maybe you are disgusted with your career options. Maybe you have a job, but aren’t happy with it. Maybe you don’t want to work for a traditional Japanese company. Young people these days do not want to work 14 hours a day, only to spend their evenings entertaining their boring elderly customers, or singing karaoke with their boss until 2 am on a Friday night. They’d rather spend time with friends, spouses, and children- like people in America or Europe. They want time to play sports or sit at home and relax. Some people are not happy being transferred all around Japan every few years- they want to be transferred to Australia, or America. Possibly you found a great company in Japan, but are hoping for travel opportunities. You want to attend conferences and seminars abroad. Maybe you want a promotion, but need English to get it. Maybe you just can’t find a job to begin with (the economy isn’t so good these days).
Friends and lovers. Japanese friends are lovely. But if you speak English you can make friends of other nationalities. People everywhere speak English. You can not only find lifelong buddies, you can learn about other cultures and customs. You can learn more about yourself and your own culture. Having a hard time finding a mate? Not satisfied with the girls or boys in your town? If you speak English, your options will quadruple. You can find a boyfriend or girlfriend anywhere in the world. About 127 million people speak Japanese. About 510 million people speak English.*
School. If you speak English well in high school, you can go to a foreign university. If you are not satisfied with your options in Japan, maybe you can find something more appealing abroad. Perhaps you want to go to an American university, with small classes, lots of hands on experience, and a broad range of choices. American schools are challenging, but fun and relaxed. Maybe you want to go to college in Europe and travel around or study new languages. If you speak English, you can do this- and more. If you graduate from a university abroad, it will look great on your resume if you decide to come back to Japan. A foreign school offers wonderful experiences and benefits that will change your life.
Japan is a wonderful country and Japanese is a wonderful language. But a lot of people are not satisfied with the options available here. They feel stifled or stuck in a dead end situation. They yearn for freedom and more choices. Especially small towns in rural areas don’t seem to offer much these days.
Study English, and your opportunities will be far greater.
*http://www.vistawide.com/languages/top_30_languages.htm
There are several reasons. Too many too list here. But one of the most important ones is...Opportunity. If you speak English you will have far far more opportunities in life that if you only speak Japanese.
Jobs. Maybe you have already have a full time job you love. But maybe you don’t. Maybe you are disgusted with your career options. Maybe you have a job, but aren’t happy with it. Maybe you don’t want to work for a traditional Japanese company. Young people these days do not want to work 14 hours a day, only to spend their evenings entertaining their boring elderly customers, or singing karaoke with their boss until 2 am on a Friday night. They’d rather spend time with friends, spouses, and children- like people in America or Europe. They want time to play sports or sit at home and relax. Some people are not happy being transferred all around Japan every few years- they want to be transferred to Australia, or America. Possibly you found a great company in Japan, but are hoping for travel opportunities. You want to attend conferences and seminars abroad. Maybe you want a promotion, but need English to get it. Maybe you just can’t find a job to begin with (the economy isn’t so good these days).
Friends and lovers. Japanese friends are lovely. But if you speak English you can make friends of other nationalities. People everywhere speak English. You can not only find lifelong buddies, you can learn about other cultures and customs. You can learn more about yourself and your own culture. Having a hard time finding a mate? Not satisfied with the girls or boys in your town? If you speak English, your options will quadruple. You can find a boyfriend or girlfriend anywhere in the world. About 127 million people speak Japanese. About 510 million people speak English.*
School. If you speak English well in high school, you can go to a foreign university. If you are not satisfied with your options in Japan, maybe you can find something more appealing abroad. Perhaps you want to go to an American university, with small classes, lots of hands on experience, and a broad range of choices. American schools are challenging, but fun and relaxed. Maybe you want to go to college in Europe and travel around or study new languages. If you speak English, you can do this- and more. If you graduate from a university abroad, it will look great on your resume if you decide to come back to Japan. A foreign school offers wonderful experiences and benefits that will change your life.
Japan is a wonderful country and Japanese is a wonderful language. But a lot of people are not satisfied with the options available here. They feel stifled or stuck in a dead end situation. They yearn for freedom and more choices. Especially small towns in rural areas don’t seem to offer much these days.
Study English, and your opportunities will be far greater.
*http://www.vistawide.com/languages/top_30_languages.htm
Junior High School Text Books: Inexcusably Morbid
Junior High English text books should be fun and entertaining, right? The reading sections should be interesting, and intended for young kids, RIGHT?!
Apparently not. I recently looked through a text book for junior high kids, and was highly disappointed in the chosen subject matter for the reading sections. Among the pages of grammar points, dialogues, and fill-in-the-blank exercises which make up most of this text, there are 3 passages for reading. The first was about....The nuclear bomb dropped on Hiroshima and death. The second was about.... just death. Two out of three were about death!
There is no reason for this whatsoever. Hiroshima and bomb-dropping belong in history class! Or perhaps in a different kind of story where they can be properly discussed. But this was not even a historical passage. This was a sob-story (pure dramatized fiction) told from the point of view of A TREE. A tree under which two young people came to die. A young girl who comforted a little boy, and then died herself. This is not educating kids about history- if it was, I wouldn’t be so outraged. Kids should enjoy English. They should have fun stories to read. Something they want to talk about with their friends or teachers. Not bombs and death. This is sad. This is ridiculous. Kids do not like this stuff. Of course literature can be inspiring or beautiful and ALSO sad, violent, and depressing, but that is with a good plot and characters. That is for literature class. This text book “story” is not literature meant for pondering, philosophy, or literary critique in the way that kids read stories in their native language and then analyze it. This story is for teaching English. It should be FUN!
Story number two- the classic, “Freddy the Leaf.” Now, I like Freddy the Leaf. I read it as a kid with my mom. We cried. Great story to teach kids about life and death. Not a great story to teach kids English. It’s very sad. Out of all the fun, cool, interesting topics to choose from, why Freddy the Leaf?!
All this makes me wonder...who put this text book together?! I can only imagine- a bunch of old Japanese men. Perhaps war survivors themselves. Possibly very nice old guys. But they apparently know nothing about what kids these days enjoy. About what motivates them and makes them want to read more and study more. It’s really pathetic and unfortunate that kids have to study this when there are so many more interesting things out there.
And one more thing guys...take out the bit about the young girls waiting in line for the Shamisen concert. This is 2012!!!
Junior High English text books should be fun and entertaining, right? The reading sections should be interesting, and intended for young kids, RIGHT?!
Apparently not. I recently looked through a text book for junior high kids, and was highly disappointed in the chosen subject matter for the reading sections. Among the pages of grammar points, dialogues, and fill-in-the-blank exercises which make up most of this text, there are 3 passages for reading. The first was about....The nuclear bomb dropped on Hiroshima and death. The second was about.... just death. Two out of three were about death!
There is no reason for this whatsoever. Hiroshima and bomb-dropping belong in history class! Or perhaps in a different kind of story where they can be properly discussed. But this was not even a historical passage. This was a sob-story (pure dramatized fiction) told from the point of view of A TREE. A tree under which two young people came to die. A young girl who comforted a little boy, and then died herself. This is not educating kids about history- if it was, I wouldn’t be so outraged. Kids should enjoy English. They should have fun stories to read. Something they want to talk about with their friends or teachers. Not bombs and death. This is sad. This is ridiculous. Kids do not like this stuff. Of course literature can be inspiring or beautiful and ALSO sad, violent, and depressing, but that is with a good plot and characters. That is for literature class. This text book “story” is not literature meant for pondering, philosophy, or literary critique in the way that kids read stories in their native language and then analyze it. This story is for teaching English. It should be FUN!
Story number two- the classic, “Freddy the Leaf.” Now, I like Freddy the Leaf. I read it as a kid with my mom. We cried. Great story to teach kids about life and death. Not a great story to teach kids English. It’s very sad. Out of all the fun, cool, interesting topics to choose from, why Freddy the Leaf?!
All this makes me wonder...who put this text book together?! I can only imagine- a bunch of old Japanese men. Perhaps war survivors themselves. Possibly very nice old guys. But they apparently know nothing about what kids these days enjoy. About what motivates them and makes them want to read more and study more. It’s really pathetic and unfortunate that kids have to study this when there are so many more interesting things out there.
And one more thing guys...take out the bit about the young girls waiting in line for the Shamisen concert. This is 2012!!!
Sendai Koffee
Come to Sendai Koffee
We're having fun!!
*group lessons on Thursdays at 7:00. *2500yen (includes one drink)
*beginner/intermediate level English
We talk. We study grammar, vocabulary, and more from the text book. And then we talk some more!
Join us!
Thursday, February 23, 2012
Nice Idea
My student (Japanese) and her husband (also Japanese) are low level English speakers. But...once a week they have "English day." They speak only English to each other on that day. No Japanese allowed. Even though it is difficult, they try hard to communicate.
Impressive!!
Impressive!!
Wednesday, February 22, 2012
Teachers?
Today I learned...
Many junior high English teachers...
Don’t speak English?
Can’t speak English?
Refuse to speak English?
That’s...
Shocking.
Appalling.
Outrageous.
If they can’t speak English, they shouldn’t be teaching. There are plenty of people in this country, both Japanese and foreign who are fluent in English and can teach. Someone (with board of education connections, but no longer teaching) told me today that many teachers do not want to speak English in class. Don’t want to?! And I asked him if the teachers ask questions to the students in English. He said “No. Never.” He laughed, as if they would never think to ask a question in English.
And I asked him if the teachers give explanations in English. Again, he said, “No.”
I was thoroughly disgusted. Thankfully my acquaintance is working to improve the situation.These teachers are educators. It is their responsibility to...
＊speak as much English as possible
＊not only teach grammar, but to converse and to question- in English
＊make class interesting and fun
＊insist that the text book they use is actually useful and contains correct, natural, up-to-date English
If they don’t do at least these things, then they are a disgrace to the profession.
hmph.
Many junior high English teachers...
Don’t speak English?
Can’t speak English?
Refuse to speak English?
That’s...
Shocking.
Appalling.
Outrageous.
If they can’t speak English, they shouldn’t be teaching. There are plenty of people in this country, both Japanese and foreign who are fluent in English and can teach. Someone (with board of education connections, but no longer teaching) told me today that many teachers do not want to speak English in class. Don’t want to?! And I asked him if the teachers ask questions to the students in English. He said “No. Never.” He laughed, as if they would never think to ask a question in English.
And I asked him if the teachers give explanations in English. Again, he said, “No.”
I was thoroughly disgusted. Thankfully my acquaintance is working to improve the situation.These teachers are educators. It is their responsibility to...
＊speak as much English as possible
＊not only teach grammar, but to converse and to question- in English
＊make class interesting and fun
＊insist that the text book they use is actually useful and contains correct, natural, up-to-date English
If they don’t do at least these things, then they are a disgrace to the profession.
hmph.
But I'm Not Improving!
Student: Why am I not improving?
Teacher: How much do you speak English outside of this class?
Student: Never.
Teacher: Do you review the text or notes you have taken?
Student: No. Never.
This conversation actually takes place occasionally between various students and teachers I know. A lot of the students don't even take notes in class. No notes at all. The students often blame the teacher because their English is not getting any better.
Take notes in class. Do something at home. Something...anything!! If you do not put some effort into it, then you WILL NOT improve.
Good luck.
Teacher: How much do you speak English outside of this class?
Student: Never.
Teacher: Do you review the text or notes you have taken?
Student: No. Never.
This conversation actually takes place occasionally between various students and teachers I know. A lot of the students don't even take notes in class. No notes at all. The students often blame the teacher because their English is not getting any better.
Take notes in class. Do something at home. Something...anything!! If you do not put some effort into it, then you WILL NOT improve.
Good luck.
Thursday, February 16, 2012
That's just fabulous!!
They've been at it again....those old guys that write text books and English learning material. More unnatural, weird English.
"Adore. Fabulous." I have heard from several Japanese male friends over the years that these are words for women. Well...women in 2012 do NOT use these words! Maybe they did back in the 40's or 50's but not anymore. These words and others like it should not be included in English books if they are trying to teach up to date, modern, casual English as spoken in America.
I just saw "adore" in an NHK book the other day. And the book explains in Japanese that it is a word women use. I asked my female acquaintance (Canadian girl in her 20's) just to make sure I'm not going crazy. She said "No," she doesn't use it. And she doesn't use "fabulous" either. These are words you hear rich old ladies saying in movies. Or maybe a TV show mocking the rich or British.
"That dress is just fabulous, darling! Fabulous. I adore that color! Absolutely adore it!" You will rarely hear this in a natural, normal setting from a man or woman.
The Japanese language has a bunch of words for men and for women- words which are rarely, if ever spoken by the opposite sex. English is different. We do not have words for just women or just men- not anymore. Not any that I can think of off hand at least...
It's hard enough to learn a second language without a bunch of out-dated nonsense thrown in. Good luck sorting the trash.
"Adore. Fabulous." I have heard from several Japanese male friends over the years that these are words for women. Well...women in 2012 do NOT use these words! Maybe they did back in the 40's or 50's but not anymore. These words and others like it should not be included in English books if they are trying to teach up to date, modern, casual English as spoken in America.
I just saw "adore" in an NHK book the other day. And the book explains in Japanese that it is a word women use. I asked my female acquaintance (Canadian girl in her 20's) just to make sure I'm not going crazy. She said "No," she doesn't use it. And she doesn't use "fabulous" either. These are words you hear rich old ladies saying in movies. Or maybe a TV show mocking the rich or British.
"That dress is just fabulous, darling! Fabulous. I adore that color! Absolutely adore it!" You will rarely hear this in a natural, normal setting from a man or woman.
The Japanese language has a bunch of words for men and for women- words which are rarely, if ever spoken by the opposite sex. English is different. We do not have words for just women or just men- not anymore. Not any that I can think of off hand at least...
It's hard enough to learn a second language without a bunch of out-dated nonsense thrown in. Good luck sorting the trash.
＊注意＊enjoy＊注意＊
Enjoy: Many Japanese people use this word way too much.
For example:
I ask "What did you do last weekend?"
they say "I enjoyed pasta at an Italian restaurant." or "I enjoyed a movie with my friends."
Just say: "I had pasta at an Italian restaurant." or "I saw a movie with my friends."
If you really want to express your enjoyment, you can add:
"The tomato sauce was really good." or "It was really funny."
We don't really use enjoy in natural conversation. It's very "junior high school text book."
Also with hobbies:
"I play soccer." not "I enjoy soccer."
"I like drawing." not "I enjoy drawing."
We do use enjoy sometimes. For example, if my student is going to France this week, I might say: "Enjoy your trip!" Or if she is going to the movie theater, "Enjoy the movie this weekend!"
...and about that tomato sauce I mentioned. Notice how I didn't say "delicious." Another word we rarely use in conversation. Just say: It was good. (or so good, or great, or wonderful...)
For example:
I ask "What did you do last weekend?"
they say "I enjoyed pasta at an Italian restaurant." or "I enjoyed a movie with my friends."
Just say: "I had pasta at an Italian restaurant." or "I saw a movie with my friends."
If you really want to express your enjoyment, you can add:
"The tomato sauce was really good." or "It was really funny."
We don't really use enjoy in natural conversation. It's very "junior high school text book."
Also with hobbies:
"I play soccer." not "I enjoy soccer."
"I like drawing." not "I enjoy drawing."
We do use enjoy sometimes. For example, if my student is going to France this week, I might say: "Enjoy your trip!" Or if she is going to the movie theater, "Enjoy the movie this weekend!"
...and about that tomato sauce I mentioned. Notice how I didn't say "delicious." Another word we rarely use in conversation. Just say: It was good. (or so good, or great, or wonderful...)
Tuesday, February 14, 2012
Happy Valentine's Day
Happy Valentine's Day!
And there's an "s" in there (it's not Valentine Day).Anyway, a lot of people don't seem to understand what Valentine's Day actually means outside of Japan. I'm not too sure about England or European countries, so I'll stick with America. But first- the history. The name "Valentine" comes from a couple of Christian martyrs who lived way back in about 200AD. Both are called Saint Valentine. It was Chaucer in the middle ages who associated St. Valentine's Day with love (he mentioned it in a poem in the 1300's). In the 1600's Shakespeare also mentioned Valentine's Day. By the time the 1900's arrived Valentines Day was the day to give cards (often handmade). By this time Valentine's Day had become a day for lovers. And by 2000, Valentine's Day had become: cards, candy, roses, balloons, jewelry, underwear, and other gifts. Those couple of poor martyrs are forgotten...
In America, Valentine's Day is not just for lovers. And certainly not just for women giving to men (or male co-workers they don't even like). Many of the cards bought in the US are from parents to their children. My parents always gave me chocolates and sometimes balloons or flowers for Valentine's Day. And I made cards or drew pictures for them. Elementary kids in America give little cards and sometimes candies to each other, and of course their teacher. There's not a lot of home-made stuff going on. People rarely make their own chocolate or cakes. Usually chocolate is store-bought. Some people spend a lot of money- jewelry, expensive dinners, etc. Adult women might give chocolate, but usually buy a gift or something he actually likes. Men are more often then not expected to do something (anything) romantic. Many women are not looking for expensive gifts, but they definitely want something- even if it's a rose or card with something nice written in it.
Card and candy companies make a lot of money, and a lot of Americans complain about "greed" and "commercialism." And a lot of people who are single complain that they "hate Valentine's Day," because they are lonely and bitter. Personally, I think it's nice to celebrate my feelings for loved ones and to let them know that they are important to me. So now I'm going to e-mail my Mom and tell her "Happy Valentine's Day."
～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～
*nicest Valentine's Day gift I've received: In the 3rd grade, the boy that liked me came to my house with a big heart-shaped box of chocolate. Very sweet, especially for a 9-year old boy.
“Idioms and Slang- Why I don’t teach them”
Down
in the dumps, pull your leg, nincompoop, hit the sack...These are all
idioms found in my American idiom book. None of them are used anymore
(at least by young people). If you use them, people will either laugh,
look at your strangely, or be reminded of their mother. Idioms become
outdated. Fast. Same with slang, but faster.
Japanese text books love to throw in some idioms. They’re fun, colorful ways to make a natural conversation, right? Probably not...
I don’t teach idioms and slang for three reasons:
#1. As mentioned above, they come and go out of style really fast. Example: The party was a blast. This is no longer used. The party was da bomb. Used in the 90’s. The party was sick. Used currently. Avoid problems and just stick with: The party was fun. Fun is always in. Cool is also pretty safe.
#2. Unfortunately, they often sound awkward coming from a lower level English speaker. You may want to sound “natural,” but end up sounding like you’ve been...studying an idiom book. Native speakers hear them from friends, on TV, and read them in books all our lives, so we know how to use them properly. If you try too hard to insert them into your sentences, it will sound forced and unnatural.
#3. They should not be “taught.” If you go to school abroad or watch foreign TV shows, you will pick them up yourself. Really, it’s better that way.
Of course if you have any questions about slang or idioms, I would love to answer them and give some examples (if I can). But you won’t see me teaching any “Slang Lessons” anytime soon.
Japanese text books love to throw in some idioms. They’re fun, colorful ways to make a natural conversation, right? Probably not...
I don’t teach idioms and slang for three reasons:
#1. As mentioned above, they come and go out of style really fast. Example: The party was a blast. This is no longer used. The party was da bomb. Used in the 90’s. The party was sick. Used currently. Avoid problems and just stick with: The party was fun. Fun is always in. Cool is also pretty safe.
#2. Unfortunately, they often sound awkward coming from a lower level English speaker. You may want to sound “natural,” but end up sounding like you’ve been...studying an idiom book. Native speakers hear them from friends, on TV, and read them in books all our lives, so we know how to use them properly. If you try too hard to insert them into your sentences, it will sound forced and unnatural.
#3. They should not be “taught.” If you go to school abroad or watch foreign TV shows, you will pick them up yourself. Really, it’s better that way.
Of course if you have any questions about slang or idioms, I would love to answer them and give some examples (if I can). But you won’t see me teaching any “Slang Lessons” anytime soon.
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