New Term at E-Style!

Hi everyone,

As a new fiscal year (新年度) has already (既に) started and a new school year (新学年) is scheduled to begin next week, a new term (新クール) at E-Style is set to start, as well. It will be a ten-lesson term (with one week off for Golden Week) running from this coming Monday, April 7th to Saturday, June 21st. Please be sure to check out the LESSONS/FEES page of this website for a detailed explanation (詳しい説明) of our classes and prices if you are interested in studying English conversation with us this fiscal/school year.

Jack and I hope to see you at E-Style next week!

Sincerely,

Alan

Happy Valentine's Day!

Hello to all the green onion and coffee lovers around the world,

Happy Valentine's Day! 

I would like to thank all of the students who have kindly brought a variety of (色々な) treats to E-Style this week not only for Jack and me, but for their classmates, as well. I hope that the green onions (ネギ) in your udon are as heartwarming as the loving bubbles in your morning cup of joe (朝のコーヒー). 

Your chocoholic teacher,

Alan

Happy New Year (and Hanukkah, too)!

Happy New Year! 

And Happy Hanukkah, too!

Hi everyone,

Just a quick blog entry to wish all of you a Happy New Year and some of you a Happy Hanukkah, too. For (なぜなら), the first day of 2025 is also the eighth and final night of Hanukkah, which started at sundown (日の入) on December 23rd. It is extremely rare (極めて珍しい) for the Festival of Lights to continue into the New Year.

Jack先生 and I are looking forward to (楽しみにしている) hearing all about your New Year's holiday when we see you back at E-Style next week. Until then, take care, stay warm, and enjoy all of your favorite traditional Japanese New Year dishes (おせち料理), especially Sanuki-style rice-cake soup (お雑煮), with white miso and sweet-bean-paste (餡) mochi!

Happy holidays,

Alan

 

As we wrap up 2024, . . .

Hi students,

Please remember that E-Style will be closed for the next two weeks. Lessons will resume (再び始まる) on Monday, January 6, 2025.

As we wrap up (終わりにする・締めくくる) 2024, Jack and I want to thank all of you for studying English by taking classes at E-Style and/or by reading this blog. We are looking forward to seeing (and teaching) you in 2025, also known as (～としても知られている) Reiwa 7 or "The Year of the Snake." 🐍

Wishing you all the best for the New Year, I remain

Your devoted teacher,

Alan

🐍🐍🐍🐍🐍🐍🐍🐍🐍🐍🐍🐍🐍

60s Psychedelic Junior High School Student!

Hi Music Lovers,

I would like to introduce (紹介する) you to a brand new (真新しい) YouTube channel called "60sサイケ中学生."

As the name implies (示すように), the site is run by a junior high school student who loves psychedelic rock and roll. He plays a mean guitar (ギターを上手に弾く) and even introduces the songs. 

If you have a chance, click on the following link to check out one of his first videos: "If Jimi Hendrix had played Jumpin' Jack Flash."

In tune,

Alan

P.S. Can you guess what the connection is between "60s Psychedelic Junior High School Student" and E-Style?

和十 do?

Hi again fellow linguists,

In May, I told you about how the students in my beginner (入門) classes learned to pronounce (発音する) "Where did you go?" like a native speaker. Actually, along with "Where 十五？" I have also written the following on the whiteboard at E-Style from time to time (時々): "和十 do?" 

Just like with "Where 十五？",  after a little practice (練習) my students have been able to pronounce "What did you do?" (あなたは何をしましたか) like someone born and raised (生まれ育ち) in the U.S.A. We have also practiced the same pattern using other verbs. Here are some examples:

• 和十 eat? (何を食べましたか)
• 和十 buy? (何を買いましたか)
• 和十 study? (何を勉強しましたか) 

Of course, everyone's answer to the last question is always "English communication!" (Ha-ha). Anyway (とにかく), once again, mixing kanji with English has enabled my students to improve (上達する) their skills in a fun way.

蛾打五、

Alan

P.S. I have got to go. → I've gotta go. → Gotta go. → 蛾打五

P.P.S. Generally speaking (一般と言えば), Americans pronounce the letter "t" like "d." That's why I translated (翻訳した) "Gotta go" as 「蛾打五」and not 「蛾多五」.

Autumn/Fall is the season for studying English!

Hi students,

There are several expressions (表現) used to describe autumn/fall (秋) here in Japan. For example, we say 食欲の秋, 収穫の秋, 芸術の秋, スポーツの秋, and, of course, 読書の秋. But because of cultural differences, these expressions can be a little difficult to translate/interpret (少し翻訳・通訳し難い) into English. Perhaps the easiest way is to use the sentence pattern "Autumn/Fall is the season for 〜." Here are some examples:

• Autumn/Fall is the season for eating.
• Autumn/Fall is the season for the harvest.
• Autumn/Fall is the season for art.
• Autumn/Fall is the season for (playing) sports.
• Autumn/Fall is the season for reading.

By the way (ところで), a new term at E-Style will start this coming Monday, September 9th. So, perhaps another useful expression using the above pattern might be the following:

Autumn/Fall is the season for studying English!

Jack and I hope to teach you English conversation this autumn/fall.

See you at E-Style,

Alan