In the English business in Japan, we sometimes need to use a PC to create some additional lesson materials for students. Smith’s school has great materials that open the door to student’s learning at many levels. They are created with Japanese students in mind and address areas that are often weak among Japanese students. But [...]
Hello everyone, I got a very nice email from an old student who moved to Tokyo from Kobe last year. He shared a very funny story about conducting business in China so I asked his permission to share his email and he agreed. What makes this student so very special is his great effort to [...]
Yesterday, one of my long-time students showed up with a short essay she wrote about her experience the past weekend. I want to share it because it is quite impressive. There wasn’t much to correct. It was nearly perfect. Wow! Very impressive! I like to think that several years of studying with me has helped [...]
My student over the past year and half wrote a nice comment and I thought I would share it with you all.We recently covered a topic about Mr. Kikuchi who was written about in the Japan Times. Mr. Kikuchi is known as the ‘English Monster’ because he has taken the TOEIC 50 times and never [...]
Having used facebook (yes, they spell it without a capital “f”) and especially its use, and recent growth in Japan, as a subject for lessons in my English school, Smith’s School of English, Kawanishi, I thought that it might prove to be a useful tool for my students in improving their English. Blogging regularly in English [...]
As an English teacher in Japan, students often ask me why they can’t seem to become better at speaking English or cannot improve more quickly. There are many obstacles but the most important reason is
Life in Japan is actually very good. I can’t imagine a safer and better place to live. Since the major earthquake and tsunami in March 2011, I have gotten so many emails from friends in the U.S. And they worry so much about me and my family. It is heartening. But actually, Japan is a [...]
Sometimes when I teach English here at Smith School of English in Ikoma, students ask if there is a special way to be polite in English, like there is in Japanese. I used to have trouble answering them. I started to mention ‘would’ or ‘could’ but they say those are not only for politeness. And [...]
Every day I see thousands of young people here in Japan, near the station and near my school (many are university students). Some of them are studying English or other foreign languages with the intent to become good communicators. I think that these young people are very wise because more than at any time in [...]
This week’s TOEIC video (TOEIC+ Lesson 35) and related lesson have been fun for my students. It is about a young woman from Kyoto who recently moved to Tokyo. She is a Japanese language teacher but what has really caught the attention of many people are her two YouTube channels “thatjapanesegirl” and “thisjapanesegirl” on which [...]
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