Showing posts with label Jack. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Jack. Show all posts

Tuesday, 18 May 2010

UK vs US


It is not only the students who (hopefully!) learn something new each week at E-Style. One of the advantages of working with American teachers like Alan and R.T. is that I also learn new words each week.

As you may know there are many small differences between British and American English, especially with vocabulary, and if possible I try to teach my students both (usually after checking with Alan!).

Here are some common examples of different vocabulary used in the US and UK:

US: Apartment, UK: Flat (アパート)
US: Candy, UK: Sweets  (お菓子)
US: Chips, UK: Crisps  (ポテトチップス)
US: Cookie, UK: Biscuit (ビスケット)
US: First floor, UK: Ground floor (一階)
US: Fries, UK: Chips  (ポテト)
US: Line, UK: Queue  (待ち行列)
US: Movie theater, UK: Cinema (映画館)
US: Pants, UK: Trousers (ズボン)
US: Soccer, UK: Football (サッカー)
US: Trash, UK: Rubbish  (ごみ、くず)
US: Truck, UK: Lorry (トラック)

There are of course many other differences including differences in spelling and also grammar. I will introduce some more in a future post.

Tuesday, 16 March 2010

A World of Artists in Kagawa


I was recently invited to take part in a group exhibition called "A World of Artists in Kagawa". The exhibition was designed to showcase the work of foreign residents of Kagawa, Japan.

There will be a wide range of work on display and I think it is a very interesting concept for a show. The show will run from March 16th-27th in the ground floor plaza of I-PAL international centre in Takamatsu.

If you are around please feel free to pop in any time.
For more details click the poster image above.

There is also an official blog for the exhibition with artist profiles etc.:
http://foreignartkagawa.wordpress.com/

Wednesday, 27 January 2010

The Future of Films


Last week Alan, R.T. and I went to see the new hit movie "Avatar". The film was directed by James Cameron famous for directing one of the most successful films of all time Titanic.

As many of you may know, what is so special about Avatar is that it uses the latest 3D technology. I didn't know what to expect, but I can now say that is was one of the most exciting cinema experiences that I have ever had.

The 3D effects used in Avatar are very natural and after 30 minutes or so you forget that you are wearing 3D glasses. Though the story is not that original, the visual effects are stunning and Cameron creates a truly beautiful and original alien world.

Avatar has been incredibly popular all over the world and is now the biggest grossing film of all time (史上最高の興行収入を上げた映画). I am looking forward to more 3D movies like this.

I also have a film-related website recommendation. Rotten Tomatoes collects together many different film reviews (映画批評) and tells you an average score (平均点) for the movie. It is a very good way to find out if a film is good or not before you see it (and good English practice too!).

Saturday, 2 January 2010

Happy New Year!


We would like to wish all of our students a very Happy New Year.
We hope you had an enjoyable holiday and wish you all the best for 2010.

At the new year we often make a "New Year's Resolution" (新年の誓い). I think the resolution for the E-Style teachers must be to write on this blog more often! We are sorry that we haven't been posting so often but we promise to try harder this year.

Lessons start again tomorrow (January 4th) and we look forward to teaching you all again this year.

Wednesday, 11 November 2009

Halloween

This is a little late, but a few weeks ago my wife and I had a Halloween party for her students (she teaches elementary school kids). We do this every year and the children really seem to enjoy it.

We played games based around Halloween characters and gave out sweets (candy). My wife also came up with the idea of a Halloween piñata (pictured above). The piñata is originally from Mexico and is a paper shape usually filled with candy. The children hit the piñata to break it and the sweets fall out. You can read more about piñata here.

Halloween is a big event in America but is actually not that popular in the UK. My wife and I only started celebrating the event since coming to Japan. The roots of Halloween are however from the UK. It is a pretty interesting history and you can read more about it here.

Click here to read a full report about our party from my wife's blog.

Saturday, 17 October 2009

Keep It Simple

Something I always tell students is that in English you don't need to know "big words" to make interesting phrases. Using very small and simple words you can make many different expressions.

One good example of this is the phrasal verb (句動詞).
We usually make phrasal verbs using a verb (動詞)and a preposition (前置詞) or an adverb (副詞).

Here are some examples using the verb to go:

go out - 出掛ける、付き合う、消える、人気がなくなる などなど...
go on - 進み続ける、起こる、時間がたつ、しゃべり続ける などなど...
go off - 立ち去る、~に興味を失う、腐る、爆発する などなど...

As you can see, using 2 very short words we can make many different phrases with many different meanings.

Saturday, 5 September 2009

Scrabble

The other week I introduced my intermediate class to a popular English board game called Scrabble. In the game you have to make words from a limited number of letter tiles. Each letter has a different score with unusual letters like "x" scoring the highest.

The rules are not that complicated but would be difficult to explain without looking at the board, so please follow the link below for an explanation of the game and its rules in Japanese:

http://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/スクラブル

After reading that if you feel like giving it a go, click the link below for an online Scrabble game:

http://macsinfarlands.com/scrabble.htm

I think that Scrabble is a fun game both for native and non-native English speakers and is a great way to build your vocabulary (and test your brain!). My class certainly seemed to enjoy it and I highly recommend it to all English learners.

If you are interested in buying the real game, it is available from Amazon Japan with both English and Japanese instructions:

Thursday, 13 August 2009

上級クラス復習(8月7日)


Last week in my advanced class we discussed an article called "Movie stars bring sparkle to gaming", which talks about how many film stars are now appearing in video games. Games are big business and are starting to appeal to a much wider audience than before. Companies often put in as much time and money into producing games as movies these days, and the appearance of real world stars in their games is a useful selling point.

The article can be found here:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/click_online/8176894.stm

Useful vocabulary:
  • blockbuster - 大ヒット
  • spin-off - 副産物、テレビの続編番組
  • wunderkind - 〈ドイツ語〉神童 (wonder child)
  • avatar - アバター、ネット上での仮の像
    例、掲示板に書き込むときいつもその人が自画像のように使うアイコン
  • first-person shooter - 主観視点のシューティング・ゲーム
  • vanguard - 文化や活動の先駆者、先導者
  • potty-mouthed - 口汚い
  • become de rigueur - 絶対条件となる
  • kudos - 名声、栄光、栄誉、称賛、賛辞、褒賞、威信
  • bragging rights - 自慢する権利、得意げに話す権利
  • Tinseltown - 〈米俗〉金ピカの町、ハリウッドのこと
  • Hollywood A-lister - ハリウッドの大物

Saturday, 8 August 2009

Art and English

As some of you may know, in my free time I like to do art and design. I have my own art blog where I introduce my artwork and other interesting topics from around the world. I write my blog in both English and Japanese to help with my studies. If you are interested please take a look at my blog; I think it could help with your studies too:

http://horrorwood.info/blog

My main interest at the moment is papercraft. I have made many paper toys that you can download free from my papercraft website. I think it is a fun activity for all ages:

http://horrorwood.info/horrorwoodhills

Next month I will have an art exhibition with 7 other artists in a small gallery in Kitahama. There will be many different kinds of art to see, including papercraft, illustration, photography, jewellery, bags and sculpture. Please come along if you have time. For more information about the exhibition please look at the poster below or visit my art group's homepage -> The Art of Gravity

Tuesday, 21 July 2009

Vocab Builder - At School

Every week at the start of my beginners' class we play a vocabulary building game. One of the students picks a card, and then everyone has to say one word connected to the picture on the card.

This week's card is "At school" (学校で)
Here are some useful school words for you:
  • Biology - 生物
  • Chemistry - 化学
  • Physics - 物理
  • Art - 美術
  • Craft - 図工
  • History - 歴史
  • Geography - 地理
  • Mathematics (maths) - 数学
  • Music - 音楽
  • Physical Education (P.E.) - 体育
  • Social Studies - 社会
  • Home Economics - 家庭科
  • Calligraphy - 書写
  • Ethics - 道徳

Tuesday, 7 July 2009

上級クラス復習(6月26日)

This is a little late but I'd like to review the article we looked at in my advanced class 2 weeks ago. The article is titled "Would you work for nothing?" and is about workers at British Airways(英国航空) being asked to work for nothing for a short time to help the company survive the economic crisis(経済危機を克服する):

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/magazine/8104924.stm

Here as usual is a list of useful phrases featured in the article:
  • economic meltdown - 経済的メルトダウン、経済破綻
  • feel the pinch - ~の苦しみを味わう、~の厳しい影響を受ける
  • mire - 沼地、泥沼、ぬかる、窮地、苦境
  • lowly worker - 平社員
  • juggle -
    何とか帳尻を合わせる、うまく調整する
  • in someone's good books -
    (人)に気に入られて
  • step up to the plate -
    進んで物事に取り組む
  • onus - 負担、重荷、義務、責任
  • axe - ~を解雇する、首にする、(人員を)削減{さくげん}する
  • two-way street - 相互的なもの、相互的関係、相恵的関係
  • casual employment - 一時雇用
  • high turnover of staff - 離職率が高い
  • dust off - 引っ張り出してくる、探し出してもう一度利用する
  • spur - ~を刺激する、~を促進させる、~を励ます
  • economic turmoil - 経済混乱
  • altruism - 利他主義、利他的行為
  • belt-tightening - 金融引き締め、倹約、減量経営

Sunday, 21 June 2009

上級クラス復習(6月19日)

Last week in my advanced class we looked at an article about Iran called:
Iran: Rap, blogs and the political mix.
It is about how young people are fighting against the oppressive religious regime (圧政的な宗教体制)through fashion, music and the internet etc.
You can see the article here:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/8088042.stm

Here is a list of vocabulary that you may find useful:
  • make overtures -
    ~に提案する、~に対して有利な申し入れをする
  • savvy - 実際的知識、手腕、機転、常識
  • push the limits - 限界を押し広げる、現状を打破する
  • lurking - 潜んでいる
  • religious decree - 宗教令
  • keep a tight lid on -
    ~を厳重に取り締まる、~をひた隠しにしておく
  • decadent - 退廃的な、衰退期
  • stoning - 投石による死刑
  • bear fruit - 実を結ぶ、成果をもたらす

Tuesday, 16 June 2009

Basic Grammar Words


I have been teaching in Japan for a few years now, but I still have trouble remembering some basic grammatical terms (文法用語).
Therefore I have decided to introduce a few useful words here to help you (and me!) in class:
  • Noun - 名詞
  • Verb - 動詞
  • Adjective - 形容詞
  • Adverb - 副詞
  • Preposition - 前置詞
  • Subject - 主語
  • Object - 目的語
  • Sentence - 文
  • Paragraph - 段落
Next time I will introduce some basic words connected with verbs (動詞)and tenses (時制).

Wednesday, 10 June 2009

上級クラス復習(6月5日)


Last week we looked at 2 news articles in my advanced class both connected to the internet. The first article is about how President Obama is planning to deal with cyber terrorist threats to the USA (サイバー・テロへの対策). The second article is about how millions of people in the UK regularly download illegal files using file-sharing networks (違法ファイル交換ネットワーク).

Here are the links to the articles with a list of useful vocabulary below:
"US launches cyber security plan"
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/8073654.stm
"Seven million 'use illegal files' "
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/8073068.stm
  • Digital infrastructure - 情報社会基盤
  • Cyber - サイバースペースの、コンピュータ・ネットワークの
  • Tsar/Czar - 権威、大家、第一人者、専門家
  • Malicious - 意地の悪い、悪意のある
  • Air traffic control - 航空(交通)管制
  • Power grid - 電力網、電力供給網、配電網、分電網
  • Espionage -
    スパイ行為、偵察、スパイ、諜報
  • File sharing network -
    ファイル交換ネットワーク
  • Intellectual property -
    知的財産、知的所有権
  • All you can eat -
    バイキング形式、食べ放題
  • Illicit - 不法な、違法の、不義の、無免許の

Monday, 1 June 2009

上級クラス復習(5月29日)

Every Friday I have an advanced class in which my students and I discuss 1 or 2 recent news articles, usually taken from the BBC news website.

It is a very high level discussion, but from now on I would like to review the article here on the blog and add a list of key vocabulary to help those who want to have a go.


Last week's article was entitled "Long before the rod was spared" and can be found here:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/magazine/8047541.stm

It is an article about child cruelty (児童虐待) and the history of the U.K.'s biggest child protection charity, the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC、国家児童虐待防止協会), which was formed 125 years ago.

Here are some key words and phrases from the article to help with your reading:
  • "Spare the rod and spoil the child" -
    《諺》かわいい子には旅をさせよ。/むちを惜しめば子供を駄目にする。
  • sobering -
    酔いを覚ます、酔いも覚めるような、人をまじめにさせる、ありのままの、冷静な
  • bleak - 暗い、希望のない
  • deprivation - 貧困
  • rife - はびこって、流行する
  • humane -
    人間味のある、人道的な、思いやりのある、人情のある、慈悲深い、心の優しい
  • repercussions - 反響、影響、余波、波紋
  • watershed -
    出来事の流れを変えるもの、重要な分岐点、転換点、重大な時期{じき}、重要なヤマ場
  • philanthropy -
    慈善、慈善活動、社会奉仕事業

Friday, 22 May 2009

Welcome Part II

Hello this is Jack here.
I would like to add my words of welcome to Alan's message below.

I hope that this blog will grow into a useful resource for studying and also be fun and interesting to read.

I am intending to post regularly on a variety of topics so please keep an eye on our blog.

Hope to see you at E-Style soon.

Jack