In a previous post I gave some advice for students who read the Smith’s School of English Soapbox. The TOEIC test requires a lot of concentration. In general the more that you prepare yourself by using English for longer periods of time, the easier it becomes to concentrate for the two hours required for the [...]
Today my student and her husband came to my house for lunch. We enjoyed English conversation, cheese fondue, beef TATAKI and pineapple, chicken and shrimp gratin along with some fine Italian wines and cake and coffee from Kobe. This was the second time we had lunch together. The first time was at my student’s house in Kobe. [...]
I started receiving emails from Participant Media. I began receiving their newsletter after I saw the movie, An Inconvenient Truth, on global warming. It has information on very interesting matters. This month the newsletter introduced several movies and books which touch on socially important issues that we as human beings need to be aware of. [...]
Wow! That was fun! I just finished making and setting up a new sign on the street in front of my school. My school is on the 2nd floor above a crepe shop called L’air de Temps and a coffee house named Cafe Deco in Okamoto. It is a popular spot as it is about [...]
I think that one of the best lessons in the Intermediate level is the lesson on “Making Requests”. The students really cannot get too much practice at doing this. The number and variety of such requests is limitless and makes for a great lesson. The example list using “verb + topic” is very useful and [...]
Often it is good to challenge your higher level students to form and express an opinion. To do this you can start with the question, “What do you think about (something such a current event, state of affairs in Japan or the world or anything)”. Then you demonstrate by showing them how you would answer [...]
For those who are not familiar with the way Valentine’s Day works in Japan, let me say it is so much better than in the states where the guys have to go out and get chocolates and/or flowers for their wives and girlfreinds. In Japan the girls give the guys in their lives (almost all [...]
Hi Everyone, I subscribe to the SHUUKAN ST, a weekly newspaper for Japanese students of English. It has a variety of articles for students of various levels from beginners to advanced. There is always a section there called “Odds & Ends”. It is written by James Tschudy, writer and translator. He has a knack for [...]
On Friday a few weeks ago, an older Japanese couple who have been studying English with me for over a year together, went to Kyoto and found out, despite their continuous assertions to the contrary, that they could really speak English. The weekend before they were sitting in a hotel lobby and the husband noticed [...]
Last week on Sunday my wife and I went to the Kitano area of Kobe where we stayed overnight with her parents in a nice hotel and enjoyed a fine meal of Kobe steak. There is nothing like Kobe steak. It practically melts in your mouth and the service during the meal was superb. In [...]
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