Monday Sunshine Class Notes 11/25/13

Today we discussed change. Can you think of something that has changed completely in the past 10 years? I think cell phones have changed so much in the past 10 years. Ten years ago, people didn't have smart phones, now nearly everyone has one!
We also went over the lyrics for "Rudolf the red-nosed reindeer". Do you know the words? Here is a link in case you don't.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tQpP9Ippfps&feature=youtube_gdata_player

Hello!

Hello, hello,
Hello, how are you?
I'm fine, I'm fine,
I hope that you are, too!

These kids are awesome and super-cute!

Everyday English Class Notes, November 21, 2013

What time is it? 1630? 0200? 1501?
In my country, we call this "military time".
X 1630 sixteen half o'clock
O 1630 sixteen thirty

0200 oh-two-hundred
1501 fifteen-oh-one 

Usually, only military people read time this way. Everyone else uses A.M.or P.M.

Over and out!

Eiken 3 Class Notes, Nov 21, 2013

Do you often get into an argument with someone? If it is a big argument, you can say that it is a fight. But don't say "fight, fight! "  at your son's baseball game, or someone may ask you to settle things "man to man".

argument 争論
fight ケンカ
settle things man to man 戦う
ファイト！Do your best!

 

Why is English so hard?

Taken from " Asylum for the Verbally Insane"

We'll begin with a box, and the plural is boxes,
But the plural of ox becomes oxen, not oxes.
One fowl is a goose, but two are called geese,
Yet the plural of moose should never be meese.
You may find a lone mouse or a nest full of mice,
Yet the plural of house is houses, not hice.

If the plural of man is always called men,
Why shouldn't the plural of pan be called pen?
If I speak of my foot and show you my feet,
And I give you a boot, would a pair be called beet?
If one is a tooth and a whole set are teeth,
Why shouldn't the plural of booth be called beeth?

Then one may be that, and three would be those,
Yet hat in the plural would never be hose,
And the plural of cat is cats, not cose.
We speak of a brother and also of brethren,
But though we say mother, we never say methren.
Then the masculine pronouns are he, his and him,
But imagine the feminine: she, shis and shim!

Let's face it - English is a crazy language.
There is no egg in eggplant nor ham in hamburger;
neither apple nor pine in pineapple.
English muffins weren't invented in England .
We take English for granted,
but if we explore its paradoxes, we find that
quicksand can work slowly, boxing rings are square,
and a guinea pig is neither from Guinea nor is it a pig.

And why is it that writers write but fingers don't fing,
grocers don't groce and hammers don't ham?

If teachers taught, why didn't preachers praught?
If a vegetarian eats vegetables, what does a humanitarian eat?
Sometimes I think all the folks
who grew up speaking English should be committed
to an asylum for the verbally insane.

In what other language do people
recite at a play and play at a recital?
We ship by truck but send cargo by ship.
We have noses that run and feet that smell.
We park in a driveway and drive in a parkway.
And how can a slim chance and a fat chance be the
same, while a wise man and a wise guy are opposites?

You have to marvel at the unique lunacy of a language
in which your house can burn up as it burns down,
in which you fill in a form by filling it out,
and in which an alarm goes off by going on.

And, in closing, if Father is Pop,
how come Mother's not Mop?

*** Note : Teacher wanted for new "Broken English School"

Happy Veterans Day!

Today is a holiday in the U.S. called Veterans Day. It is a day when Americans thank and show support for veterans. Veterans Day is a federal holiday held on November 11th. It began as "Armistice Day" in 1919 for the veterans of WWI. WWI ended on the 11th hour on the 11th day of the 11th month in 1918.  The name was later changed to "Veterans Day" to include all veterans.

Many stores put up signs saying thank-you to military members. I also noticed today many messages on Facebook to show support for the military.

veteran - any person who has been, or is in the military.

federal holiday-a public holiday in all 50 states

* veterans who have been involved in certain wars are called by the name of the war. For example, Vietnam veteran, WWII veteran, Iraq war veteran, etc.

Eiken Class Notes - Nov 7

This month is Thanksgiving. We will be discussing gratitude... 感謝

I appreciate your hard work and dedication to studying English! I am grateful and I think that I am lucky to have so many wonderful and interesting students. I am very thankful for the kindness I have received from everyone.Thank-you very much!

A Hard Day's Night

Tonight I had a great class! I had everyone take a grammar test, and then we went over some vocabulary. Finally, we learned the words to the song, "A Hard Day's Night". I am looking forward to hearing everyone sing it at our next party!

Halloween Fun

今年のハロウィンはとても楽しかった！子供達は皆、仮装でいろいろなゲーム遊んだり、ダンス踊ったり、お菓子も沢山食べました。また来年楽しみにしています。

I really enjoyed Halloween this year! Most of my students wore costumes and the children were so cute! Since I had parties everyday this past week, I wore many different costumes. I was a pig, Dracula, a skeleton, a werewolf, and Stitch.  We danced, played games and ate a lot of sweets. For some of the children, I used toilet paper and turned them into mummies!
At the pre-school, all the kids dressed up as skeletons and witches. We danced the Thriller dance together and then had omelet rice with ketchup for lunch. I didn't want to eat the broccoli, but I thought I had to set a good example for the kids, so I pretended to like it.
We turned one room into a kind of haunted house. I thought it was funny that the kids that are usually tough were the ones that cried, and the usual crybabies were laughing and having fun!
I am looking forward to Halloween again next year!