Category Archives: English School Articles

スミス英会話岡本校の町岡本は生き生きしてる Okamoto Rocks!

I really like Okamoto. There are so many great restaurants near my school where I can meet students for coffee or just have a great lunch or dinner. One such place is La Post. They serve a great lunch for around 1000 Yen. Great salad with proscuitto, pickles and dressing, great [...]

Japanese Patience 忍耐は美徳である

Yesterday I read a nice posting by Carol McBride from Smith’s School of English in Kamishinjo praising the generosity of Japanese people and I have to agree with her 100%! 
http://www.sse-franchise.com/soapbox/200807/01/japanese-generosity/
 
I have been shown generosity in this country so many times I have lost count! 
There are some people here in Japan who have done [...]

My “Self-Appointed Advertising Manager(s)”

This is the title which one of my students used for herself recently when I thanked her for recommending my school to her friends!
She said “I am your self-appointed advertising manager!”

I guess I should order some business cards for her immediately!
I am always so happy and honored when one of my students recommends my [...]

Student Starts a Restaurant

One of my previous students recently started up a restaurant near the JR ROKKO MICHI Station. It’s a very new and clean place with a nice bright atmosphere. I have taken some students there a few times and we always have a good time. If you are ever out and about in [...]

Japanese Generosity

This was my first soapbox entry. At the time, I decided not to post it, but I saved it. I have decided to go ahead and post it as is, because it describes how I feel about the generosity that Japanese people so often show. It also expresses that shiny new feeling [...]

What’s fun about Japan? What’s not?

As everyone knows manga is very popular in Japan and is gaining popularity around the world. Some people are so much into manga and anime that they want to look like one of their favorite characters. So in the spirit of having fun, enjoy this one and then get serious about coaching your [...]

Phrase Lessons (Second Response to Ed’s Request for a STAG)

As a second stab at working up some sentences to add to those posted by Ed of the Otsu Smith’s School and those added by me earlier. Here are five more sets of sentences. I hope they will be

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a little extra help

some students come for chat while others really have a serious goal in mind. One such student wanted to pass a tour guide test which had an English section, another was hoping to get a promotion at their company and yet another student wanted to prepare for their study abroad trip. Today one student came [...]

スミス英会話岡本校 Thoughts on Owning and Teaching English in Japan

The post by Chiharu of the Otsu Smith’s School of English brought into focus the fact that owning and teaching at your own franchise English school does not have to be only for native speakers. And this fact might someday be one thing that will drive more Japanese students to work harder to master [...]

Day Trip to Asuka Mura (明日香村)and Yoshino Yama (吉野山) in Nara Prefecture (奈良県)

I have to admit that I really prefer the rural areas in Japan to the urban areas and I love how quickly and conveniently one can move between these two using the railway system in Japan!
Recently, thanks to a couple of my students and friends, I had the chance to discover some absolutely stunning areas [...]

スミス英会話大津校:Let me introduce myself!

Hello everyone! This is Chiharu from SSE Ohtsu.

I have been coaching since April 2008 and enjoying interacting with our students very much. As my partner Edward has posted in May, I was very nervous at the begginning; however, I quickly felt very comfortable being in a classroom with our students. Thanks to the SSE system [...]

Coconut Cookies and English Conversation

At Kamishinjo, we decided to combine Yuichi’s English skills with his skills as a patisserie , so we invited our students to make coconut cookies. Interest exceeded our expectations and we had to have a second day in order to fit everyone in!! We were very encouraged by the great turnout. [...]

Going to Starbucks Coffee in Japan

The following is based on Smith’s School of English curriculum Routine 4 Lawson’s text and questions.
Going to Starbucks Coffee in Japan

I stand outside Starbucks Coffee thinking about having something to eat and drink for breakfast. I decide to have breakfast there so I go into the shop. I look for an available table. I find [...]

Inspirational Story

A few days ago a friend of mine back in the states sent me an email that he was forwarding to several friends as he was inspired by it and felt the need to share it. I don’t usually appreciate such emails as they

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R8- Shopping (for a weekend fishing)

The Eagle
For students…… based on R8 Shopping Questions.
Last week I received a phone call from my friend, Alex. He invited me to spend a weekend with him at his cabin. I decided to go! Before leaving, I went to the store and bought food and a new fishing rod. Then I caught a train to [...]

スミス英会話 高円寺 MID YEAR PARTY 2008

It is already one week since 25 students and friends of Smith’s School of English Koenji got together at Izakaya Don Bei in Koenji to catch up with their fellow students and meet some new like minded ESL friends.

I have received numerous sms and email messages telling me how [...]

A student helps me out

I wanted to go to the hospital and speak to an English speaking doctor, so I asked a student of mine, who is a nurse at Itami City Hospital in Hyogo Prefecture, if she knew any English speaking doctors. She said that a doctor who she works with studied in the U.S.A. and probably speaks [...]

俊徳道 居酒屋 Having dinner at my student’s place recently…

One of my students runs her own izakaya at a station near Smith’s School of English Fuse School and recently I decided to check it out.
I had been finishing up some office work at Smith’s School of English in Fuse on a Monday night when my flyer assistant called me up and asked if I [...]

At the grocery store

One thing I really enjoy is helping my students discover new places right in their own towns which they have never been to.
I have lived in Osaka for about 4 years now and do most of my commuting by bicycle. It’s by far the most convenient mode of transportation. Cycling combined with my curiosity [...]

give and take

One of the best thing about seeing your own students improve is that once they reach a certain level they can actually use their English to help me understand more about Japan, the language and the culture. Today during the conversation with one of my higher level students we started talking about the differences in [...]

Phrase Lessons (Response to Ed’s Request for a STAG)

In response to the STAG request from Ed of the Otsu school, below are 4 paragraphs to be used with the phrase cards whose numbers are shown. For a great explanation of how to

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Thank you!

Yesterday we attended the conference for franchise owners. We are still relatively new here at Smith’s Kamishinjo, so it’s nice to attend the conferences and meet some other franchisees. Yuichi and I have been reading everyone’s Soapbox posts and have been inspired and impressed by how well everyone is doing. After having a [...]

making new friends

You never know when and where you’re going to make new friends; on the train, at a party or even in your building. The other day as I was just getting ready to head home I was surprised to hear a knock at the door and my student popped in as she was just going [...]

celebration

A few weeks ago I asked out a few students as well as some teachers for dinner at a local restaurant. Over the past 13 years I’ve gotten to know Hirakata pretty well and found some fantastic restaurants so it’s always nice to introduce my students to them. One such place is just a stone’s [...]

スミス英会話 高円寺 June Mid Year Gathering

This is a reminder to Smith School of English students, friends and family that tomorrow (Sunday June 15th) at Izakaya Don Bei, in Koenji (03 3330 6382) from 5pm, 25 plus students along with their family and friends will gather to relax and enjoy each others company while welcoming Tokyo’s unwanted humid rainy season. I [...]

Students and English

Ever since I came to Japan back in 1994 I was amazed at how interested the Japanese people were in English. It seems to transcend all age groups. Students in junior high school and high school are forced to learn English but unfortunately the focus is on grammar and reading rather than communication. Here in [...]

What’s so hard about speaking English?

I often wonder why Japanese students have so much trouble to speak and understand spoken English. When I eat lunch at Cafe DECO, which is just below my school, and I can’t help but be required to listen to some conversations of young college girls. The cafe is not large and [...]

dvds / youtube / google

Students always ask me what’s the best way to learn English…

and I always give them the same answer - study.
However in this day and age with new technology appearing daily we have some amazing tools at our disposal to master English - youtube / dvds / google (just to name a few).
With DVDs students are [...]

How to Build a Good School and Provide Good Service for Your Students

So if you are thinking about what it takes to build a school, take a look at this video. It shows an example of what I have done after taking over an existing school. The Okamoto school has been open since August 2004 and is currently operating well on the KISS principle and [...]

Three new signups so far in June at Smith’s School of English Tsukaguchi!

Things are rolling at Smith’s School of English Tsukaguchi in Amagasaki City, Hyogo Prefecture! Not even halfway through June, I’ve already given 3 trial lessons, and all three trial lesson students have joined my school! That’s three for three! Two people found Smith’s on the internet and the other person received a flyer years ago and checked out the [...]