Wear is a Verb

Wear. 動詞ですね。

We use wear with MANY things. I wear: a shirt, shoes, a hat, underwear. Wear earrings. Wear glasses or contacts. Wear a jacket. Wear a beard. And wear make-up. 

But wear (by itself) is not a noun meaning clothes/clothing. "I bought new wear," or "He has nice wear," is incorrect. You can add another noun and make "ski wear" or "summer wear." But otherwise, wear is a verb.

And clothes is pronounced "close." Not "closes."

TOEIC on the Rise!!

Look at this: http://headlines.yahoo.co.jp/hl?a=20120414-00000417-yom-soci

Apparently the TOEIC test is rapidly gaining popularity, while the Eiken is in steady decline. Interesting. My first thought was, "Great! People are studying English. People care about English."

But does more people taking TOEIC mean more people interested in English? Are or they just trying to get promotions? Is it just more bosses insisting on high TOEIC test results? I know of several managers who encourage their subordinates to take the TOEIC. A high TOEIC score means a higher salary. More money. More opportunities. But does it mean higher English skill?

Before you accuse me of TOEIC bashing, I will say that the test has good vocabulary and grammar questions. It's great for those who want to do business abroad- people who are already good at English and want to focus more on the business aspect of the language. But a high score does not mean high English skill. It says nothing about speaking. It says nothing about everyday communication ability. Or understanding a native speaker. The TOEIC totally ignores these important skills. (At least the Eiken has an interview where speaking is required.) People who study TOEIC are often focused on published-in-Japan "TOEIC 900 in 10 Days!!" type of books filled with vocabulary lists and business articles. Do they actually remember the stuff that they study? Or is it so boring and tedious that they forget it immediately after getting that high score?

Now check these sentences:

※Notice.
This page will be transit to Rakuten Auction.
We are sorry that you can not buy it on this page.
If you want buy or bit it, You can do it on Rakuten Auction.

This is from the Rakuten website. A company that is known for having workers use English. It is full of mistakes. It makes no sense. Doesn't someone who works for Rakuten speak English? Why does this look like it was put through Google translate? It's embarrassing.

As for TOEIC, what about the woman who wants to be a kindergarten teacher in Canada? The boy who wants to study jazz music in the US? Or the guy who wants to go to beauty school in England? TOEIC is not going to help them much. Japan is putting way too much focus on TOEIC and not enough on speaking or understanding foreign culture. The teacher, the guitarist, and the beautician will not need much "business English" when talking to students or customers.

If you speak excellent English already and want to master the language, or if you love business and economy jargon,  then great- Take the TOEIC! If not, forget it! Go watch a Hollywood movie or read a novel instead.

Happy Easter

I hope everybody had a nice Easter. I think there should be more Easter and less Valentine's in Japan. Easter is much more fun! When I was a kid, my dad would hide Easter eggs in the backyard every year, and I would find them. Those were plastic eggs. We also dyed hard boiled eggs and ate them for breakfast. And my brothers and grandparents came over for dinner (lots of ham). Or sometimes we would go for brunch (breakfast+lunch). I always had an "Easter dress," and had fun getting all dressed up. I was a girly girl! Lots of chocolate, spring flowers, and bunnies. So nice.

Easter Candy- chocolate bunnies!

And hey....Sendai is STILL cold?! But getting warmer....finally.

Animals!

Animal cards- complete!

animal cards for games

Easter is Coming!

Peeps!!

Easter Candy!

Why is Sendai so cold?! In America (in the south) is it about 27 degrees this week. Spring has come. Flowers are blooming. And Easter will be April 8th this year. When I was a kid, I hated Santa. But I loved the Easter Bunny. He was cool. A giant rabbit who would bring me chocolate and presents in a big basket every year. Very cool indeed.

Headway 3 Girls!

For those using Headway 3 for independent study:

The CD is not necessary. If you have the money, you can buy it, but it's expensive! The CD is only dialogues of people talking- there are no answers to regular questions.

If you don't have the CD you will have to skip somethings. For example: p10 #2 (CD1 15). For this one, you must listen first and answer the questions about what the people are saying. You can skip this.

BUT...you can do most "listen and check" things. For example: p11 #1 and #2. First answer the questions then go to the back of the book (p 116). You can read the CD dialogue to check your answers.

ALL dialogues from the CD are in the back of the book- p114.


Any questions- please ask me. ^-^ Good luck!

not English words...

salaryman
babycar
ballpen
airkon
remokon
pasokon

These are all Japanese words. When speaking English, forget them. =P