Hello everyone,

Do you remember me? I don’t think I have posted a blog for over a year.  I guess I was English burnt-out…..and…..lazy.  Anyway, I have some very BIG news. I have return to Australia.  I have been back in Melbourne for two months now. It is great to be back in Australia.However, I do miss my many good friends and my wonderful students in Japan. The last week before leaving Japan I have experienced many emotions. I had lived in Japan for 10 years. Japan is a big part of my life.

Life in Melbourne is fantatsic. I will tell you all about it in this blog.

I will blog soon,

Nick

先日8月17日に、「中央教育審議会が、基本方針を「ゆとり教育」から「確かな学力の向上」に転換した上で、自分の考えを文章や言葉で表現する「言語力」を全教科で育成していく方針を固めた」というニュース
http://headlines.yahoo.co.jp/hl?a=20070817-00000001-yom-soci

についてブログ記事
http://www.suisuieikaiwa.com/member/modules/wordpress/archives/2007/08/17/37/
を書いたが、その中で子供の読書離れとゲームやテレビなどの問題について触れた。

すると、昨日はこんなニュースが。
http://headlines.yahoo.co.jp/hl?a=20070821-00000009-nnp-l40

朝ごはん抜きとテレビやゲームへの接触時間の長さが学力低下に関係しているという調査結果。

いやはや、自分の言っていたことは間違いではなかったということで一安心。ちょっと厳しく極端に書いたし、反論があっても認めなかったので、気分を害した人もいると思って気にしていたのだ実は。でも、自分の考えをはっきり言い、間違っていれば素直に認め、正しければ決して動じないという姿勢は何があってもくずせません。

だから反論を期待してあえてもう一度言う。政府は子供の教育を妨げていると考えられるゲーム会社やTV局などに教育費のための重い税を課すべきだ。

これを読んで不快感を覚える人もいるだろうなあ・・・

ニュース英語レッスン

First Magnus Files for Bankruptcy

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/08/21/AR2007082101743.html

ファーストマグナス倒産手続き（直訳）

http://headlines.yahoo.co.jp/hl?a=20070822-00000204-yom-bus_all

file　は　書類一式のファイルという意味以外に　「提出をする」　「手続きをする」といういみがあります。

Bankruptcyは　倒産　破産

ニュース英語レッスン〜ヘッドライン

Paramount opts for Toshiba HD DVD ahead of Blu-ray

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/money/main.jhtml?xml=/money/2007/08/22/cnhd122.xml

バラマウントはBlu-rayより東芝のHD　DVDを選んだ。（直訳）

http://headlines.yahoo.co.jp/hl?a=20070821-00000402-yom-bus_all

opt はどちらかを選ぶという意味です。

Agead of は　〜より　〜より前に　〜にまさって　という意味があります。

一言コメント

　これは標準規格となる争いです。ディズニーなど他にいくつかの映画会社はBlu-rayを採用することを決めています。
どちらが勝つのか楽しみですね。でも、結果が出ないと買いたくても買うのを控えてしまいますよね。

昔ビデオの規格でVHSとベータが争い、ソニーのベータのほうが性能では勝っていたにも関わらず負けてしまいましたね。
だからBlu-rayのほうが性能は優れていても勝てるかどうかは分かりません。パラマウントは価格の低いという理由でHD　DVDを採用したのですし。

まあ、しばらく争っていただいて、どちらも価格が下がってくれることがユーザーには一番うれしいことですね。

それにしてもビデオからDVDそしてBlu-Rayと技術は進歩しますね。Blu-Rayは1枚で100Gの保存も可能になるといううわさ。
それじゃあ私のPCとそんなに変わらないじゃないか。

In a class today I was talking about “family”.  I was teaching my students some new terms. I have a “half brother” and a “step mother”.  Do you understand these terms?

Half brother - my parents divorced and my father remarried. He had a son with his second wife, Andrew. Andrew is my “half brother”. My father’s second wife, Colleen, is my step mother.  In the case of “half”, we are related by blood. In the case of “step”, there is no blood relationship. 

It is very common in Australia, America and other western countries to have half brothers and sisters and step brothers, step sisters, step parents and step children. I think Japan will see an explosion of half and step family members. divorce rates are increasing and more people are having second marriages.

In countries like Australia, people are very honest and open with family. There generally is no shame or secrecy associated with divorce or 2nd marriages. I think Japan will have trouble as divorce rates increase and we see more broken families and 2nd marriages.

The destruction of a family is a terrible thing. It can really devastate lives. Children usually pay the price. If you have children please never get divorced. My parents’ divorce was very painful for me. I am still dealing with it now. I am married and have a beautiful son. I will never get divorced. No way. Never, never.

Love and protect you family.

Nick

報道官の給与では生きていけないという彼の英語表現に注目してみました。

http://headlines.yahoo.co.jp/hl?a=20070818-00000019-jij-int

http://www.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/08/17/whitehouse.snow/index.html

“I’m not going to be able to go the distance, but that’s primarily for financial reasons.”

私は最後まで出来そうにない、しかしそれは主に経済的理由のためだ。

　*　go the distance 最後まで行う、目的を達成する
　*　Primaly 主に
　*　Finacial　経済的

　ポイント：なぜ途中でButが使われているのでしょう。
           I’m not going to go the distance を最後まで出来そうにないと訳しましたが、実際にこれが良く使われるのは、自分の能力や経験が不足しているとか、健康問題などの理由がある場合ですので、このButはそれらを否定して、本当の理由を述べる意図があるのです。

“I’ve told people when my money runs out, then I’ve got to go.”

金が底をついたら私は辞めると言ってあった。

Hello everyone,

It has indeed been a long while. Sorry for not writing my blog. I have no excuse. I have just been very lazy. However, I do have some interesting news.  Are you ready for it?

On Sunday a student of mine took me away for a two day trip with my business partner and friend, Masa. We had a wonderful time. We went to “Hirugano”, "Bokka no Sato” and “Shirogawa-Go”. On the Sunday night we stayed at a lovely “members” only hotel in Hiragano. The atmosphere and weather was very relaxing. It was very cool. We enjoyed a “hot bath” and an amazing 7 cousre French dinner with red wine. I was able to eat “Hidagyu” steak. I love steak. I was very impressed. The meat was tender and juicy. 

The next day we visited Bokka na Sato. We were able to see lots of lavender. My mothers’ favorite. It brought back memroies of my mother’s garden. My wife also love lavender. Did you know that Lavender flowers yield abundant nectar which yields a high quality honey for beekeepers? Whan are eating honey you are eating lavender. Lavender can also be used for headaches.  Lavender is frequently used as an aid to sleep and relaxation: Seeds and flowers of the plant are added to pillows. I bought my wife a lavender pillow. she was very happy.

In the afternoon we when to Shirogawa-go. It was a wonderful place. It was like going back in time. The “gasshou” houses were amazing. Their  design and beauty really impressed me. The “yui” volunteer system is something very typical of Japan. I think the modern Japan is forgetting the source of it’s great traditional culture - a deep love and  respect for people and places. I strongly urge you to visit “Shirogawa-go and rediscover Japan.

Nick Kemp

多治見に私たちの英会話スクールがあるのだからこの話題は気になってしょうがない。
多治見にいれば暑くて大変なのだが、いっそこの際、記録更新すればいいとヤケになっていた。

http://headlines.yahoo.co.jp/hl?a=20070817-00000919-san-soci

実際外に出てみると昨日ほど暑くない。0.1度の差とは感じない。風があるからか。

いずれにしても、昨日も書いたように、コンクリートジャングルの都会のほうが実際は暑いのだ。
夕方になれば多治見は涼しくなるし。

日本で最も夜が暑いのは東京らしい。夜でも30度近くあるのだから寝られたものじゃない。
それなら日中の数時間だけ暑い多治見のほうがまだましか。

中央教育審議会（文部科学相の諮問機関）は１６日、基本方針を「ゆとり教育」から「確かな学力の向上」に転換した上で、自分の考えを文章や言葉で表現する「言語力」を全教科で育成していく方針を固めた。

http://headlines.yahoo.co.jp/hl?a=20070817-00000001-yom-soci

　言語力は学力向上の基本だ。英語の習得もも日本語力が基本になるので、日本語の読解力や理解力が高い人のほうが早く話せるようになる。

　小中学生に勉強を教えるとわかることは、本をよく読む子は勉強もできる。
算数や理科といった一見読解力に関係がなさそうな教科でも、本をあまり読まない子は問題が解けなかったり、時間がかかったりする。

算数の問題が出来ない子がなぜ出来ないのかじっくり観てみると、問題の意味が解っていないことが多い。
また、計算問題の解き方を教えても、普段本を読まない子は理解力にかけているため、理解に時間がかかったり完全に理解できないことが多い。

　文章を読んで理解できるかどうかと、話を聞いて理解できるかどうかという基本的な能力が備わっているかどうかで、全ての科目に共通して出来るかどうかが決まってきてしまうのだ。それは勉強に対する楽しさを感じられるかどうかにも関わってくる。
単純に考えても普段本を読む子は学校の教科書を読んで簡単に理解できるのだから、読まない子より楽に勉強が出来るのはあたりまえである。

　だから、学校の勉強依然に、本を読むことは大切なことなのだが、子供の本離れは深刻らしい。そのくせ塾には行かせる。

　最近の子供を見ているとTVゲームやTVに長い時間を使うことが当たり前のようだ。
また、不審者への警戒心や車社会による事故の心配から最近は外で遊ぶことも限られているらしい。

　親が子供に読書の楽しさを教えるべきだが、共働きの忙しい両親にとって子供は家でおとなしくゲームでもやっていてくれれば楽だという気持ちもわからないでもない。

　多くの親は子供にゲームをさせたくないと思っているみたいだが、子供の友達みんながやっているのに、自分の子供だけやらせてあげないと、じめられたり阻害されるのではないかと考えて、しかたなくやらせてあげる人が多い。

　こどもが学校から帰ったら友達が集まって外で体を動かして遊び、好んで読書をするという健全な世の中は二度と来ないのかと思うと残念でしかたがない。

　ゲーム会社がやたらと儲かっているようだが、子供の健全な教育を妨げていると考えられる企業に対して、教育費として特別に課税し、学校の図書室を充実させたり、放課後に安全に校庭で遊べる環境を作ってはどうか。例え課税に耐えられなくてゲーム会社が全て倒産しても構わない。極端な考え方だと自分でも思うが、それくらいゲームは悪と考えている。

　ゲームをやりたいがために小学生の頃から不登校の子供を知っている。いじめがあったわけでも無いし、学校が嫌いなわけでもも無いのに。
それを許す親が問題だとも言えるが、1日中でなくとも１日1時間でもTVゲームを行うことが子供にとって良いことはほとんど無いのだから、TVゲーム自体が無くたって良いのだ。ましてや人を殺しあうゲームで、子供の心が育つだろうか。

20年30年後の、大人も子供もコンピューターゲームを楽しむ世の中など想像したくも無い。

子供も大人もゲームやTVの代わりに読書を

多治見と熊谷で４０・９度…７４年ぶり国内最高気温

http://headlines.yahoo.co.jp/hl?a=20070816-00000005-yom-soci

8月16日15時54分配信 

 多治見市土岐川

　英会話とは何の関係もありませんが、私たちの英会話スクールが多治見市にあるので、気になってしかたがありません。

　多治見は山に囲まれた町にもかかわらず、なぜか日中は暑くなります。盆地の為、熱い空気が外に抜けにくいと言われています。

　しかし、本当に他の市ましてや都市に比べて暑いのかどうか疑問です。すぐ近くのコンクリートジャングル名古屋のほうがうよっぽど暑いような気がします。

　多治見市の気温計測地は中央高速道路の多治見インターの近くの国道沿いで、常に交通量が多く、高速と国道に挟まれた場所なので、多治見では最も暑い場所ではないかと言われています。

　名古屋は名古屋城の公園のあたりで計測されていると聞きました。名古屋の中では涼しいほうの場所ではないでしょうか。なんだか、気温計測の場所によって多治見は損をしている気がします。日本で最も暑い場所と思われては、多治見に越してくる人も少なくなってしまうのではないかと思うからです。

　毎年、多治見は夏の間の数日は全国最高気温を記録しますが、毎日ではなく時々です。他の市のほうが暑い時のほうが多いのです。日本一暑い町と多治見市民が思い込んで余計に毎日暑く感じて過ごしている気がするので、声を大にしてそのことを言いたいです。

　観測史上最高気温を記録されてしまっては説得力に欠けてしまうのですが、いずれにしても、多治見は他の市に比べて日中は暑いとしても、夜はかなり涼しくなります。山にかこまれているだけあります。

　それにしてもとにかく暑い・・・

Hello my students,

I hope you are well. Summer has finely come. I hope you take care of youself over the summer. Remember to drink lots of water and don’t stay in the sun too long.

Questions, Questions and more Questions!

Questions are everything in conversations. Most Japanese students wait to be spoken to, rather than ask questions in the classroom. I often have thought why this is so. I know in a school classroom enviroment that Japanese students just listen and would never interupt or challenge their teacher. In the real world you must ask questions. A question can change your life.  Lots of questions have changed my life.

Questions that have changed my life

Will you marry me?

Do you want to do business together?

Do you need some help?

Do you play guitar?

Questions are important!

I am going to give you a list of conversation questions you can use in your classes or when you meet someone from another country.

Conversation questions -  Likes and Dislikes

The more questions you ask the better speaker you become.

I hope this helps,

Nick 

Hello everyone,

It has been a while - Long time no blog. I have been pretty busy. My son just start going to kindergarten. He really is enjoying himself. I walk him to kindergarten everyday. When I get there many of the children greet me in English. If I say something in English they will repeat it and run around laughing. Children are the best learners. The don’t care about making mistakes and they don’t worry about their own abiltity.

My University students on the other had are totally different. When I walk into class they won’t greet me. Even if I say hello, they usually won’t say anything back. My students never smile, rarely ask questions and don’t seem to be enjoying themseleves. They do worry about their ability. They don’t want to make mistakes in front of other students.

Do you know where I am going with this? When learning English, smile, make mkistakes, ask your teacher questions and have a good time.

Now let’s get into our lesson

PAST TENSE

Try answering these questions

Did you work yesterday?

What time did you finish work last night?

What time did you get home last night?

What did you have for dinner last night?

What did you do after dinner last night?

Did you watch TV?

What did you watch?

What time did you go to bed?

Did you sleep well?

What time did you get up this morning?

What did you have for breakfast?

We will have a look at the answers tomorrow.

Take it easy,

Nick

Time to learn some more vocabulary.　英単語を学びましょう！

Please read the following words and sentences aloud. It is very important to understand words in context.　Below are 18 words for describing how you “feel”.

　以下の18の単語を発音してみてください。感情を表す単語です。欧米人は日本人より感情を言葉で表現すると言われます。確かに日本人は感情表現が苦手ですよね。英語を話したいなら、英語の文化を理解し、英語で感情表現が出来るようになることはとても重要です。しっかりと覚えましょうね。

Afraid - I am afraid of spiders. I was bitten by one when I was a child.
恐い—　蜘蛛が恐い。子供のときに噛まれた。

Angry - I am really angry with my brother. He borrowed money from me without asking.
怒る—　兄（弟）に本当に怒っている。彼はお願いもなしに僕からお金を借りたんだ。

Bored - I so bored with my job. I am going to quit.
つまらない—　仕事がつまらない。辞めるつもりだ。

Confident - I wish I was more confident. I never have the courage to say what I want.
自信—　もっと自信があったらいいのに。自分が何をしたいか言う度胸がないんだ。

Disappointed - I saw Star Wars 3 last night. I was really disappionted. It was really boring
失望—　スターウォーズ３を昨夜見た。本当にがっかりした。とてもつまらなかった。

Disgusted -  I was disgusted when heared  about the NOVA teacher being murdered.

Embarrassed - I embarrassed my self this morning. I was walking around the office with my shoes on the wrong way.

Excited - I am really excited about going to America. I leave in two days.

Exhausted - I have been working since five this morning. I am so exhausted. I think I skip dinner and just go to bed.

Frustrated - I am frustrated with my English. I wish I could speak better.

Happy - I am so happy. I got my bonus yesterday. It was much more then I expected.

Jealous -  It is silly to compare yourself to other people, but sometimes I get jealous of sucessful people.

Nervous - I often get nervous before making speeches.

Relieved - I thought I lost my wallet this morning on the train. I found it at work. I was so relieved.

Sad - I feel sad but I don’t know why. I could be depressed.

Satisfied - I am never satisfied. I always want more out of life

Surprised -  I bumped into an old friend yesterday. He used to be shy, but now he seems really confident and happy. I was really surprized.

READ THEM AGAIN

The more words you know and understand the better speaker you will become!

I hope this lesson helps,

Nick

English Conversation Schools in Japan

LADO bites the dust

日本の英会話スクール「ラド」が倒れ死に

I have just heard that a Eikaiwa school I worked for three years ago went bankrupt - LADO International College.  I have friends at this school who have not been paid and are now out of a job. These friends have no family or close friends in Japan who can help them during this time.  Also, the students of these schools will be losing a lot of money - up to 600000 yen. Every year, I hear about Eikaiwa schools going bankrupt.

　私が3年前に働いていた英会話スクール「ラド・インターナショナル・カレッジ」が自己破産、事実上の倒産となった。ラドで働く友人らは給料を支払われずして、突然仕事を失った。彼らは日本に家族もいなければ助けてくれるほど親しい友人もいない。また、ラドの生徒らは最大で60万円ものお金を失うことになる…..毎年のように英会話スクールが倒産するニュースを耳にする。

What should you be careful of when looking for an Eikaiwa school?
英会話学校を探す際に気をつけることは？

If you are looking for a “safe” and “good” eikaiwa school I recommend you take lessons at smaller local schools. Be careful of large commercial schools. First of all,  fees are very expensive at large commercial . Staff turn-over at large commercial schools is often a problem because conditions are usually bad for teachers.  I strongly suggest you don’t join any school that doesn’t offer a monthly payment system. It is now just too risky to pay out large amounts of money for 1 or 2 year contracts. I also wouldn’t recommend you to join any school that charges you expensive joining fees. These fees could indicate the school or company is in the red.  Aggressive sales staff is also something to be careful of. LADO had very aggressive sales staff and used pressure tactics to get customers to sign contracts.
Above all,  remember that you are the customer. Any business or  Eikaiwa school should be serving your interests and offering good quality teaching at an affordable price. Don’t fall some “miracle” school system that promises that you be speaking English in a couple of month.

　もし、あなたが安全で良い英会話スクールを探しているなら、地元の小さな英会話教室でレッスンを受けることをお勧めします。大手の英会話スクールは気をつけてください。まず何と言っても大手スクールは学費が高い。頻繁に講師が入れ替わるような学校は、しばしば講師の待遇の悪さゆえの問題を抱えていることがある。私が強く提案すること、それは、月謝制を取り入れていない学校には入学しないことです。このご時世、1年または2年の契約に大きなお金を払うのはリスクが高すぎます。また、高額な入会金を請求するところもお薦めできません。押しの強いセールススタッフのいる学校も気をつけてください。ラドも非常に押しの強いセールスとプレッシャーで契約させるやり方をしていました。

　生徒はお客様です。英会話スクールはお客様に質の良い教育を適正な価格で提供しなければいけません。数ヶ月で英語が話せるようになることを約束する「奇跡のスクールシステム」などに騙されないように。

I hope none of you have been affected by the LADO bankruptcy. Choose carefully where you study!

あなたが、ラドの倒産により被害を被っていないことを望みます。どこで勉強するか、注意深く選びましょうね。

Nick

One great way to learn new vocabulary and expressions is to study the lyrics of songs.
英単語や英語表現を歌詞から学ぶのもいい方法です。

One of my favorite bands is U2. Not only is their music great, but the lyrics of their songs usually express something important, personal or unusual. The lead singer of U2 is a great writer. His name is Bono

ということで、今回はU２の歌詞を取り上げます。
U2ボーカリストであり作詞家のボノは、よく重要な事柄を歌詞にしています。

One song I often teach in my own classes is “Sometimes you can’t make it on your own”. This song is about Bono’s father. Bono’s father died of cancer. It was a very painful experience for Bono for several reasons. From reading the lyrics you can discover his relationship with his father wasn’t always good. They had problems. However, you discover how important his father is and how he didn’t want his father to die. I think this is very special that Bono was willing to share something so personal.

今回の曲は癌で亡くなったボノの父親について歌っているものです。この歌詞を読めばボノとその父親が決して良い関係ではなかったことを読み取るでしょう。しかしながら、ボノは父親が重要な存在であり、死ぬことを望んでなかったことも読み取るでしょう。

I have highlighted some lyrics. Please think about what these lyrics could mean.
いくつかの歌詞に色付けしました。どんな意味なのか考えてみてください。

Tough -  たくましい

Tough, you think you’ve got the stuff
You’re telling me and anyone
You’re hard enough

You don’t have to put up a fight  - 
You don’t have to always be right
Let me take some of the punches
For you tonight

We fight all the time
You and I…that’s alright
We’re the same soul
I don’t need…I don’t need to hear you say
That if we weren’t so alike
You’d like me a whole lot more

Listen to me now
I need to let you know
You don’t have to go it alone

And it’s you when I look in the mirror
And it’s you when I don’t pick up the phone
Sometimes you can’t make it on your own

I know that we don’t talk
I’m sick of it all
Can - you - hear - me - when - I -
Sing, you’re the reason I sing
You’re the reason why the opera is in me…

Where are we now?
I’ve got to let you know
A house still doesn’t make a home
Don’t leave me here alone…

———————————————–
Start listening to a lot of Western music and think about the meanings of the words.

A few days ago I saw a great movie. It was called Deja Vu. It was pretty good.  People often love to talk about movies, movie stars, their favorite actors or actresses. In this blog I have decided to give you a list of questions and answers to learn and to refer to.

Conversation

Have you seen a good movie recently?

 Yes, I have.

What did you see?

I saw Deja Vu

Who’s in it?

Denzel Washington

Was it good?

Yes, it was pretty good.

What is it about?

Denzel Washington plays an ATF ( alochol, tabacco and firearms) agent who travels back in time to stop a terrorist attack.

Here are some more questions you can use to talk about movies.

What kind of movies do you like?

I like action movies

How often do you go to the movies?

I go to the movies about once a month

How often do you rent videos?

I rent videos every week

Who is your favorite actor?

My favorite actor is Denzel Washington

Who is your favorite actress?

My favorite actress is Nicloe Kidman

Who is your favorite  director?

My favorite director is Michale Mann

What was the last movies you saw? Who was in it?

Deja Vu. Denzel Washington was in it

What is the best movies you have ever seen?

Aliens

Which movie do you want to see?

I want to see Spiderman 3

Have you seen …….(Star Wars)..?

Yes, I have

No, I haven’t

Watching movies is a great way to study English. Watch your favorite movies over and over until you can recite most of the lines form the movie.

I hope this helps,

Nick

自己を表現する英単語を覚えよう

Hello,
today we are going to learn some new words, vocabulary.  There more words you know the better you can express yourself. In this blog you will learn vocabulary for describing personality.
How would you describe yourself?
What kind of personality do you have?
 
Here are some antonyms (Antonym -  A word which has the opposite meaning to another)

calm - emotional
giving - stingy
hard-working - lazy
honest - dishonest
interesting - boring
organized - disorganized
outgoing - shy
patient - impatient
polite - impolite
smart - stupid
talkative - quite

Do any of these words describe your personality?

I am outgoing and talkative. I like meeting people and making friends. I try to be polite because I think it is important. Sometimes I can get a little emotional and impatient. I often take things ( comments or constructive criticism)  personally. I don’t like waiting for people or waiting in lines.

I like people who are honest, talkative and outgoing

Shy – Japanese tend to describe themselves as shy. Generally, most native speakers wouldn’t describe themselves as “shy”.  Calling yourself shy is pretty strange. In fact, I think Japanese misunderstand the meaning of “shy”. If you are shy you are the type of person who doesn’t really have friends and feels uncomfortable with people. Shy could mean you have problems and aren’t a good communicator. If you are learning English my guess is that you are not shy. If you are learning English, then you are probably not shy. Children are usually shy. If you are a little nervous when you meet people for the first time this does NOT mean you are shy.

それではこれらの単語を使って自分自身の事を英語で表現してみましょうね。

早口言葉で英語の発音練習

英語の早口言葉で発音のトレーニングをしましょう。音声をダウンロードページで聴くことができます。
ダウンロードページへのアクセスには無料会員登録が必要です。

Studying English – if you don’t enjoy it then you most likely don’t do it.

Studying English can be lots of fun. If you don’t Enjoy studying English then I encourage you to find a way. The Sandwich Eikaiwa CD were designed with this in mind. Here are some points to make your study more enjoyable and productive.

Reading: when reading always read aloud. Read with emotion (feeling) and conviction.

Questions: If you are taking Eikaiwa lessons ASK QUESTIONS. Your teachers want you to ask questions. It helps them to help you. If you don’t understand something always ask for help. Your teachers will help you. Don’t ask another students, ask your teacher.

Listening: I recommend listening to Talk back radio. When listening to radio or study CDs you really need to concentrate. Most people switch off after a few minutes of listening. They start thinking about other stuff. To stay focused I always recommend you write the words you understand or can catch. Next time you are listening to the radio or to a CD grab a pen a piece of paper. As you are listen write as much as you can understand down as quickly as possible. Don’t worry about spelling. Just write what you hear. Do this without stopping for about 5 to 10 minutes. This a great exercise because it very focused and builds and reinforces you vocabulary. It reminds you of words you know but have forgotten to use. You know what they say - If you don’t use it you lose it. This is very true for English. So speak more, ask questions,  read aloud and focus your listening. If you do this for 6 months your English will greatly improve.

One more thing;  Be positive about your English and your abilities. Negative thoughts will slow you down.

Now, time for some fun. Tongue Twisters

■早口言葉
Tongue twisters are great for pronunciation and vocabulary building. It really gives the muscles in your mouth and your tongue a work out.

Listen to the following and repeat after me.

Red lorry, yellow lorry, red lorry, yellow lorry.

A big black bug bit a big black bear,
made the big black bear bleed blood.

Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers.
Did Peter Piper pick a peck of pickled peppers?

She sells sea shells by the sea shore.
The shells she sells are surely seashells.
So if she sells shells on the seashore,
I’m sure she sells seashore shells.

Hello,

What’s up? How is life treating you? Today we are going to look at some well know or famous quotations that you can use in every day conversation. It’s 英語名言　time.

英語の名言の中でも、日々の会話の中で使える表現を取り上げて解説します。

“Today is the first day of the rest of your life.”

This a great quote. You can use it to say to friends or people who are unhappy or having “bad day” to motivate them. The quotation highlights the importance of living NOW and not in the past. Today really is the first day of the rest of your life so make the most of it. Enjoy life, live your dreams and see how far you push yourself. See what you can achieve. Yesterday is yesterday. It is gone. Don’t live in the past. Live NOW!.

“You are what you eat”

This quotation is so true. You are what you eat.  If you are eating junk food, then you most likely look or feel like junk. If you are eating well then I bet you are looking and feeling healthy. There are no short cuts or magical diets ( as in weight loss diet) or health products that can give you what a healthy diet ( as in your daily food) and lifestyle can. Be careful of what you eat because you will become what you eat. If you have a friend who is unhappy with their body and eats like a pig use this quotation.

Another one of my favorite quotations is by Henry Drummond. It is very easy to understand and speaks for itself. I often use this quotation when giving peaches at weddings or engagement parties.

“There is no happiness in having or in getting, but only in giving.”

Finally I would like to leave you with this quote about wealth. When we think of wealth we think of material things like houses, cars, money and so on. Is this true wealth?

“A man’s true wealth is the good he does in this world”

Go out and do some good. Help people, spend time with your children or parents, listen to someone, call a friend and tell them you are thinking about them. Do things like this and you’ll have all the wealth you need.

Have a great day,

Nick

英語の挨拶表現パーフェクトガイド

Hello,

I have learnt the way you greet someone in Japanese is very important. Age and social status determine the way you greet someone often requiring you to use keigo. English, however, is not the same. Generally English speakers greet everyone the same way regardless of age and social status. Also, English has many casual greetings.  Let’s learn them in this blog.

英語の挨拶には多くの表現方法がありますが、おおまかに2通りの種類に分けることができます。
ここでは「あいさつパターン１」と「あいさつパターン２」に分けて説明します。

あいさつパターン１

「元気ですか」「調子はどうですか」などの一般的な表現です。
いくつかの表現がありますので、どれを言われても答えられるようにしておくとよいでしょう。

　How are you? 
　How have you been? 
　How’s it going? 　(How is it going?)
　How’s life?
　How’s life treating you?

・調子が良い場合の返事

 　Pretty good.        　 = いいですよ
 　Not bad.           　  = まあいいよ　
 　Couldn’t be better.     = とても元気
 　Fine.  　　　　　   　　　　= いいですよ
 　I’m OK.            　　= 大丈夫ですよ
 　So so.             　 = まあまあですね
 　Not too bad. 　　    　　= まあいいよ
 　Pretty good actually.   = 元気と言えば元気
 　Great.  　　　　　   　　　= すごくいいよ
 　Things are really good. 　=調子良いよ

・調子が悪い場合の返事　

 　Not so good.           =あまり良くないです
 　Not good.             =良くないです
 　Bad.                  =悪いです

☆この場合は相手が以下のように理由を尋ねてきます。
　Why not?  　
　What’s wrong?

⇒この質問に対する受け答えの例
　I lost my wallet.
　I had car accident yesterday.
　I have a cold.
　I have to work on the weekend.

あいさつパターン２

「何かあった？」「何か良いことあった？」「最近どう？」などの意味が含まれたあいさつ表現です。
答え方がパターン１と異なりますので気をつけましょう。

 　What’s up? 　　　
 　What’s new?　
 　What’s news?
 　What’s happening?

※What’s happening?には挨拶以外に「どうかした？」「どうなってるの？」「どうなるの？」「何するの？」という意味で使われることがあります。挨拶のつもりで言っても言い方によって意味を取り違えられるので気をつけましょう。

・ 最近特別な出来事が無い場合　
 　Nothing much. 
 　Nothing new. 
 　Not much. 
 　Nothing really.

・最近特別な出来事があった場合の例文

例文）
I saw a good movie last night.
I’m going to Hawaii for the weekend.　
My brother got married last week.
I got a new job.
I got a new car.
My wife is pissing me off.
Works keeping me busy.

久しぶりに会った場合

 Long time no see.　久しぶり
 Yes. How are you?　そうだね。元気？（パターン１と同じ）

■あとがき

Not Bad.を「悪くない」と訳されることがありますが、実は正確ではありません。というより間違いと言っても良いです。

日本語で「悪くない」とは、「良くはないけれど悪いことはない」という意味が含まれていると考えられますが、
英語でNot Bad.はそのような意味合いは少しも含まれていません。
Not Bad.は「良い」を意味しています。

例えば、食事中に「美味しい」という表現を”Not Bad."と言うことはよくあります。

TV番組の通訳または翻訳が「Not Bad」を「悪くない」とされていることには、問題がありますね。

I hope this helps and remember to enjoy your study!