A few months ago one of my students mentioned to me that she would be traveling to America in a few months and asked me if I would help her to finalize all of the reservations with the hotel, tour bus and rental car by phone.
She would gather all of the information by herself [...]
Tag Archives: 東大阪市英会話
Bringing the “Travel Course” to life!
July 18, 2008 – 6:01 pm
“Time Battleship” at Smith’s School of English
July 11, 2008 – 11:50 pm
Today I had a really fun lesson with my “Very Eager Student!”
Recently we had just finished studying the various ways of telling time and what we each do at certain times on certain days so today I decided to use the game of battleship to have some fun and review these two points.
The grid [...]
My Macrobiotic Lunch in Osaka
July 11, 2008 – 12:01 am
Sounds pretty cool, doesn’t it? What is it?
Well, as it turns out, it’s a very healthy diet consisting of grains, vegetables and beans and avoiding highly processed or refined foods. It also seems to be very popular with many Hollywood celebrities including Gwyneth Paltrow, Madonna, and Joe Pesci.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macrobiotic_diet and we can enjoy it right here [...]
Japanese Patience 忍耐は美徳である
July 2, 2008 – 4:50 pm
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)”
July 1, 2008 – 6:58 pm
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 [...]
Day Trip to Asuka Mura (明日香村)and Yoshino Yama (吉野山) in Nara Prefecture (奈良県)
June 25, 2008 – 10:17 pm
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 [...]
At the grocery store
June 16, 2008 – 6:33 pm
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 [...]
Got time for lunch?
June 5, 2008 – 11:41 pm
My students are used to me asking this question from time to time in class.
I have made it known to all of my students that I am always interested in meeting them for lunch if they have time and our schedules match.
Generally Tuesdays and Thursdays are not good for me because I have a pretty [...]
Update! スミス英会話 大阪城公園でのお花見 2008 年
June 1, 2008 – 9:42 pm
Smith’s School of English 2008 Cherry Blossom Viewing Party.
Just a quick update to my earlier posting about our fun cherry blossom viewing party at Osaka Castle Park on April 6th, 2008!
If you click on this link you can see many pictures and comments about this event
http://www.smithweb.co.jp/sub/horie/sub6.shtml or….. check out our video!
This video was a lot [...]
大阪城公園でのお花見 2008 年 2008 Osaka Castle Park Cherry Blossom Viewing Party
May 25, 2008 – 11:29 pm
On April 6th, 2008 we had our 2008 Cherry Blossom Viewing Party at Osaka Castle Park.
This event was organized by 5 schools and it was a huge success! I think we had about 100 people attend this event.
The weather could not have been more perfect!
Good food, interesting chats, fun games and overall a very pleasant [...]
スミス英会話布施 My very eager student at Smith’s School of English in Fuse
April 9, 2008 – 9:13 pm
I would like to write about a certain very special new student of mine at Smith’s School of English in Fuse who is an absolute pleasure to teach!
She is so focused on the lesson, she asks for time to write down everything on the board, especially the new vocabulary words, she does her best to [...]
My International Pen Pals
March 14, 2008 – 2:32 am
Just earlier today I received an email from a former student of mine who is currently living and working in New Zealand and she absolutely loves it!
I keep in touch by email with countless numbers of students but just today I realized how many “international” pen pals I have developed while teaching at Smith’s School [...]
My International classrooms at Smith’s School of English
March 1, 2008 – 1:44 am
I don’t know if this has been mentioned on the soapbox before but it just occurred to me this afternoon while teaching a class at Smith’s School of English in Fuse.
I guess when people read about teaching English at Smith’s School of English, or anywhere else in Japan for that matter, we just assume that [...]
New Zealand (ニュージーランド 海外旅行)
March 1, 2008 – 12:53 am
This is a country which I have not had the pleasure to visit yet though I know several of my fellow franchisees have visited, especially given the amount of holidays we have here at Smith’s School of English, and it seems to be a very popular destination for Japanese people as well.
Just today at Smith’s [...]
Begin with the end in mind
February 24, 2008 – 10:39 pm
Yesterday we had our first Osaka regional franchisee seminar of 2008.
It was nice to see some older familiar faces of franchisees that have been around for years and also to meet a couple of new franchisees who joined us recently by purchasing developed schools!
A big welcome to:
Smith’s School of English in Kamishinjo and
Smith’s School of [...]
3 “birds” with one flyer
February 24, 2008 – 9:52 pm
I recently had my first experience at a triple trial in Horie! Talk about a full house!
I was a bit nervous not knowing what to expect or how I would conduct this lesson and gauge their levels within the allotted time.
In they came at 8pm, three young ladies, obviously long time friends who were quite [...]
Student finds soapbox!
February 23, 2008 – 3:57 am
I am a bit slow sometimes to update my soapbox here, though I always have a list of things to write about; however I recently received a big motivator to log on here and write.
A few days ago at a trial lesson at Smith’s School of English in Fuse I asked my student how she [...]
I am Mr. Smith
February 12, 2008 – 12:40 am
And maybe you are too…
And I’ll bet there are numerous other franchisees out there who have acquired this same name in their areas too.
It seems that after being seen in my school area for years now, passing out flyers, shopping, etc… many of the locals greet me by the name
“スミスさん”
They just assume I am Mr. [...]
Getting Rewarded
January 31, 2008 – 4:50 am
I was getting the lesson plan and picture cards ready for my 7pm class when the door bell rang once and in came the cheerful lady.
“Hey, how is everything going?” I gestured her in and moved to the fridge to get her usual glass of orange juice.
“Pretty good! I had a very rewarding afternoon!” She [...]
Great Posting by a Fellow Franchisee
January 4, 2008 – 2:10 am
In a recent posting by Al Bartle at Smith’s School of English in Okamoto he made reference to some of the challenges all of us face in the classroom in helping our students to improve their English and specifically he mentioned pronunciation which is definitely a challenge, especially when trying to change the sometimes deeply [...]
I have no idea!
January 4, 2008 – 1:14 am
ちっとも見当がつかないよ。
全然［さっぱり］分かりません。／見当もつきません。／全く考え付きません。
Here at Smith’s School of English we use a loop type lesson format which includes teaching our students what we call a “One-point” at the end of every lesson. It’s basically a useful expression which they can memorize and immediately begin using.
http://www.sse-franchise.com/soapbox/category/english-lesson-plans/
I always encourage my students to use what they have learned as much as [...]
My Web at Smith Web
November 1, 2007 – 1:27 am
It’s been a while since I’ve posted anything here; I’ve been a bit busy these days.
I guess running three schools will do that to you, but all is going well and I’m enjoying watching each of the three schools grow.
http://www.smithweb.co.jp/school/horie.shtml
http://www.smithweb.co.jp/school/kamishinjyo.shtml
http://www.smithweb.co.jp/school/fuse.shtml
October was a great month for each location!
The weather was great for handing out flyers and [...]
Losing a student at Smith’s School of English Horie
September 27, 2007 – 12:38 am
Two days ago I lost a student but…Smith’s School of English Kyobashi gained one!
Two days ago I walked into Smith’s School of English Horie and began checking my faxes which arrive on a nightly basis from head office.
Typically it’s only the following days schedule but from time to time there is a “Student Status Update” [...]
Smith’s School of English Summer 2007 BBQ Party
August 31, 2007 – 1:42 am
After recently reading a posting about a BBQ event with students by a fellow teacher at Smith’s English school in Kyobashi I realized that I had neglected to write about my own BBQ event!
http://www.sse-franchise.com/soapbox/200708/31/pic-a-nic-time/
This event, unbeknownst to most of the students, also happened to fall on my birthday!
Well, if no one was going to throw [...]
All Work and No Play…
August 15, 2007 – 7:55 pm
Not for us here at Smith’s School of English!
We all believe in working hard in order to achieve positive results but finding a balance between work and play is equally important, and we take our play time very seriously here at Smith’s School of English! http://www.sse-franchise.com/calendar2007.shtml
I have been looking forward to this year’s Obon vacation [...]
Happy Birthday to me at Smith’s School of English
July 18, 2007 – 5:46 pm
Well I guess it’s about time for an update to my testimonial here.
I am now 33 years old and I am running three schools.
http://www.sse-franchise.com/testimonials/t27.shtml
Smith’s School of English Horie http://www.smithweb.co.jp/school/horie.shtml
Smith’s School of English Kamishinjo http://www.smithweb.co.jp/school/kamishinjyo.shtml
Smith’s School of English Fuse http://www.smithweb.co.jp/school/fuse.shtml
I just wanted to post a short story here about something really special which one of my [...]
Working at Smith’s School of English Horie School
July 17, 2007 – 12:48 am
I first started helping Alex at his Smith’s School of English Horie School last Christmas.
http://www.smithweb.co.jp/school/horie.shtml
As I am terrible with directions, I am always a bit nervous about going to a franchise school for the first time. It turned out that my worry was absolutely unnecessary because Smith’s School of English Horie School was probably one [...]
Smith’s School of English 1, Smith’s School of English 2, Smith’s School of English…3!
July 13, 2007 – 6:14 pm
That’s right! I’ve achieved my goal of having three Smith’s School of English schools!
http://www.smithweb.co.jp/school/horie.shtml
http://www.smithweb.co.jp/school/kamishinjyo.shtml
http://www.smithweb.co.jp/school/fuse.shtml
If you’ve read any of my former postings here you are already aware that I have been working toward this goal for some time now.
http://www.sse-franchise.com/testimonials/t27.shtml
Well, on July 1st, 2007 I officially accepted the challenge at Smith’s School of English Fuse and I [...]