Class notes 2/10 - 2/14

Recently we have been having so much snow! I enjoyed it and even made a snowman!

Class notes 2/3 - 2/6

This week was a great week! It started off nice, sunny and warm, but now it's freezing again!  I hope everyone is ok. Don't catch the flu!

Class Notes 1/27-1/30

It has been an exciting week! We discussed politics in my advanced class, and we also played a game called "The $25,000 pyramid. If you wanna see some of the actual game from a real TV game show, then check-out this link ☞ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xEV_yR9Hlmk&feature=youtube_gdata_player

It was so much fun!

Handing out fliers

Today I walked the streets of Kamioooka handing out fliers to advertise my new classes. It was challenging at first, but then I got used to it. Some people ignored me, some people ran away from me, some people smiled at me, and a few people showed interest! I was happy that some people even stopped and chatted with me a little!

If you see me on the street, say hello!

advertise - 宣伝する
ignore - 無視をする
interest - 興味
flier - チラシ

Class Notes 1/20 - 1/23

It is so cold! Are you keeping warm? It seems that the flu is going around now, so be sure to wash your hands and gargle often!

This week I taught lessons on travel and crime. Do you have any travel plans for this year? I want to go to Hawaii where it is nice and warm!

Class Notes 1/10/14

Happy New Year everyone! Did you enjoy the holiday season? Did you make a new year's resolution?
I am looking forward to teaching English again this year!

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas everyone! Did you get a nice present? If you didn't then it is because you didn't study enough, so try harder next year!

Class Notes 12/19

Last classes of the year. I hope everyone has a merry christmas and a happy new year!

-Santa John

Class Notes 12/16 Twelve Days of Christmas

Do you know the words to the twelve days of Christmas? You should try to learn it! It is fun! Here is a link to a video... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b7cSZD1GPuU&feature=youtube_gdata_player

Christmas Lunch 12/12

Today I had a Christmas lunch with my students at a restaurant in Kamioooka. While eating lunch, one of them did some magic tricks. It was very interesting. After that, we played a game and exchanged presents. Thank-you everyone for an enjoyable lunch!

Class Notes 12/11, 12/12

Christmas Party 12/11

Last night was the last lesson this year for one of my classes. During the class, I discussed what Christmas is like in my country. I think it is very different from Christmas in Japan.
After the class, we all went to okonomiyaki together for a Christmas party. We ate lots of food, drank lots of beer, exchanged presents and sang songs. It was a blast! Thank-you everyone for coming and for the wonderful gifts! See you next year!

Answers to the Christmas Quiz

ANSWERS
1. At the north pole.
2. Under the Christmas tree.
3. A list of who's naughty or nice
4. 8 + 1
5. Dasher, Dancer, Prance, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner, Blitzen + Rudolph
6. Elves
7. The chimney
8. Christmas Eve
9. Saint Nicholas
10. Yes! Always say yes!

How did you do? Is Santa coming to your house?

Monday Sunshine Christmas Party Photo 12/2/13

Here is a picture from our Christmas party the other day.  I really enjoyed it. It was so much fun, and I ate lots of delicious food. What a nice group of students they are!

Class Notes 12/9

Here are the answers from today's test.

1.There is a hospital.
2. There isn't a swimming pool.
3. There are 2 movie theaters.
4. Excuse me, is there a bank near here?
5. How many students are there in the class?
6. Is it too expensive?
7. There is something in my eye.
8. Yes, there is a movie at 8:00.
9. How many letters are there in English?
10. There are mangos on the table.

Good job!

Christmas Quiz

1. Where does Santa live?
2. Where does Santa leave the presents?
3. What does Santa check twice?
4. How many reindeer does Santa have?
5. What are their names?
6. What are Santa's helpers called?
7. How does Santa get inside your house?
8. When does Santa come?
9. What is Santa's other name?
10. Have you been a good girl or boy?

The answers will be posted next week. Good luck!

If you get this many correct answers.....

7-10 Santa is coming. Don't worry! 4-6 Maybe Santa will come. You better start being on your best behavior! 1-3 He's not coming. Just forget about Christmas this year and wait until next year.

Class Notes - 12/4, 12/5

Class Notes - 12/2 & Party!

On Monday, we studied English hard together. I taught a grammar lesson on "There is/there are", and we made sentences and questions together. After the lesson, we all went to a nearby restaurant together and had a Christmas party. We ate so much food and exchanged presents. I got a cute little horse! Everybody was so friendly and it was so much fun! Thank-you everyone for coming to the party!

Black Friday

Do you know how to say 赤字 in English? "In the red",  On the Friday after Thanksgiving, many stores go from being "in the red" to "in the black".  That is the reason it is called "Black Friday". Read more about Black Friday by clicking on the link here - - - ☞ http://mrjohntaro.blogspot.com/2011/11/black-friday.html

Class Notes - 11/27, 11/28

The past two days have been interesting. We went over many things including prepositions, Eiken 3 test questions, and advanced grammar.
Next month I am looking forward to the Christmas parties with my students! I will post a schedule of the parties and the class dates on my home page soon.

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!

Halloween Week

This week I will have a Halloween party everyday with my students. It is so much fun. Today I had a Halloween party at the pre-school. First I danced the Thriller dance with everyone. At that time I was dressed as a pig. After that I changed my costume and became a skeleton. Then, we turned a dark room into a haunted house.  We scared the kids and then gave them candy. The kids who are always strong were crying and the kids who are usually cry babies were laughing.  It was strange..

今週は毎日生徒さんと一緒にハロウィンパーティーをします。とても楽しい。今日は保育園でハロウィンパーティーをしました。まず、皆とスリラーダンスを踊りました。その時は豚の仮装です。そして、仮装を着替えて、骸骨になりました。暗い部屋でハンテドマンションにしました。子供を怖がって、お菓子を渡しました。いつもの強い子供が泣いて、いつものなきむしの子供が笑いました。おかしい。