Level 1 Blog - Best of the Year

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This week at the Yakuin and Akasaka schools we are going to talk about our best experiences in 2016. Here are some of the questions that we are going to practice and my own answers.

stranger things.jpg

What’s the best drama you watched this year?

I didn’t watch many dramas this year but the best drama  I watched this year was “Stranger Things” on Netflix. I’m looking forward to the next season.

 

 

Zootopia.jpg

What’s the best film you watched at the cinema this year?

The best film I watched at the cinema this year was maybe Zootopia. I watched it with my daughter and it was smart,cute and funny!

 

 

 

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What’s the best book you read this year?

The best book I read this year was the “Buried Giant” by Kazuo Ishiguro.I read it in three days at a beautiful hotel in Vietnam. It was a very interesting book.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What’s the best place you went this year?

The best place I went to this year was Vietnam. I went there in November with my family and we stayed at a very beautiful hotel. I’m going to write a future blog about my travel there.

 

 

 

 

What’s the best experience you had this year?

Well that’s easy. The best experience I had this year was the birth of my son Alexander. He is a really cute guy!

How about you? What were your best films, dramas, books and experiences of last year? I am looking forward to hearing them in our classes.

See you soon,

Tim

Blog about my next class - Cooking Recipes

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Fish-Stew-Recipe-English

Hello everyone, this weekend in Kensington and next Friday in Windsor we are going to talk about cooking and recipes in English. Also it's going to be the subject of some of our private students' lessons this week and next

First we are going to ask some general questions about food and cooking.

What kind of food do you like? Do you like cooking? How often do you cook? etc...

we are going to introduce different ways of cooking such as:

bake, boil, fry, grill, roast, steam, eat raw

After that we are going to talk about how we cook some usual foods.

Level 1

How do you usually cook potatoes?

I usually fry/steam/boil…. them.

Level 2

How do you like potatoes cooked?

I like them fried/boiled/roasted….

Level 3

How do you like potatoes cooked?

I like them fried and served with paprika, oregano and grated parmesan cheese.

Next we will introduce some expressions we use when cooking. For example

cut, chop, slice, peel, stir etc….

Finally you will use the vocabulary to talk about your favourite recipe!

My favourite dish recently is Portuguese-Style Fish Stew. Very easy to make and absolutely delicious!! This is the link to it

 Portuguese-Style Fish Stew

Let's enjoy talking about cooking in English!!

See you,

Tim

 

Level 2 - Tim's Blog - Vikings

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My classes this week are about restaurants, so I’d like to write a blog about a very common mistake my students sometimes make.

A: What did you have for lunch?

B: We ate Viking! (バイキング）

When I first came to Japan I was very surprised by this answer because :

 バイキング, in English is an all you can eat buffet and it’s inspired by Swedish Smörgåsbord (buffet) restaurants. The Hotel that started the trend in Japan (the Imperial Hotel in Tokyo) thought that Smörgåsbord was not a catchy name and also was difficult to pronounce. At that time “The Vikings” was a very popular Hollywood film. Someone watched it and thought that Viking was a perfect word for buffet style dining. After all both words come from Scandinavia. Personally I am not so sure.

Important Expressions:

a common mistake

an all you can eat buffet

be inspired by

catchy

difficult to pronounce

I am not so sure

Level 1 – Tim’s Blog - A Day at the Zoo

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Tim and Irene at the Botanical Garden

Tim and Irene at the Botanical Garden

Last Thursday I wasn’t very busy so I went to the zoo and the botanical garden. I went there with my family.

The botanical garden is my favourite place in Fukuoka. On weekdays there are few people, so I can relax.

We went to the zoo after Irene’s (my daughter) school. She was really excited, she really loves the zoo.

We stayed there until 16:30. After the zoo, I went to my school in Yakuin and Irene went to her ballet practice. We were very tired, but we had a very good time.

Cute Irene is very excited!

Cute Irene is very excited!

This Saturday we are going to go to the night zoo. Irene is again very excited.

What about you? What’s your favourite place in Fukuoka? Have you ever been to the zoo?

Important Vocabulary and Expressions:

  • on weekdays
  • there are few people (there are some people, there are many people)
  • excited, tired (I am excited. I am tired, I was excited, I was tired, she is tired, she is excited  etc.)
  • I am going to go to the night zoo ( I am going to go to work tomorrow, I am going to go drinking on Saturday)
 

Tim’s Blog – Studying English – Making something into a habit - 英語の学習 – 習慣の力

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“We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.” Aristotle

「我々は物事を繰り返し行う生き物である。故に、優秀さというものは、1回の行いではなく1つの習慣なのである。」 アリストテレス

I think it has generally been accepted in the past few years that the easiest way to improve at something, learn a new skill, get fitter, learn a new language or do basically anything that requires time and effort is to make it into a daily habit.

何かにおいて上達したり、新しい技術・能力を身に付けたり、もっと健康な体になったり、何か新しく言語を学んだり、あるいは基本的に何にせよ、時間と努力を要することをするための一番簡単な方法は、それを毎日の習慣にしてしまうこと。こういう考え方は、過去数年において、大体のところ受け入れられていると思っています。

I realised that about one or two years ago when I started writing a number of daily tasks I had to complete every day. I started with 4 daily tasks which were 1) Sorry, I can’t say 2) Play with my daughter 3) Stretch and 4) Exercise.  When I started, I found even something as simple as stretching to be quite difficult to accomplish every day. Not to mention how hard actually starting to exercise daily was.

1年か2年くらい前、日々自分がしないといけないいくつかの日課を書き出し始めたときに、そのことに気付きました。4つの日課から始めたのですが、それは 1) すみません、内緒です 2) 娘と遊ぶ 3) ストレッチをする 4) 運動をする というものでした。始めてみると、ストレッチくらいの単純なことでさえ、毎日やり遂げるのは結構難しいんだなと感じました。毎日運動し始めるのがどれだけ大変だったかは、言うまでもありません。

After I started doing it every day for a week or two I realised that the amount of mental and physical effort required to accomplish those tasks diminished day by day up to the point that they became almost automatic after a while.

毎日するようになって1週間か2週間経つと、その日課をきっちりやるために要する精神的・肉体的な労力の量は、日が経つにつれて減っていくことがわかり、またしばらく経つと、ほぼ何も考えなくてもするようになる、というところまで来ました。

Playing with my daughter doesn’t exactly work this way but having it as one of my day to day tasks ensured that I would try and spend at least some quality time with her even when I was really busy.

娘と遊ぶというのは、そういう意味では仕事というわけでもないのですが、毎日の日課にすることで、いかに自分が相当忙しいとしても確実に、最低限の充実した時間を一緒に過ごそうとするようになりました。

After my realisation of the power of the daily habit I started adding daily tasks about anything I thought that can improve my character, my skills or could serve as good motivator to make my days more productive or simply more enjoyable.

毎日の習慣の力を自分のものにしてからは、自分の内面・技術や能力を高めるのに役立つと思う、あるいは日々をより生産的にするいい動機付けになるかもしれない、または単にもっと楽しい、そんな日課は何でも加えるようになりました。

My list of daily tasks is now up to 31 including Drinking Moderately (Mixed results there), Eating Healthily,  Reading a Book, Playing an instrument, Walking 10,000 steps, Not complaining about anything, Being concentrated and teaching good classes etc….

私の日課のリストは、今31番目まで来ており、「ほどほどに飲む」(まあ結果はいろいろですが)「健康な食事をする」「読書する」「楽器を演奏する」「1万歩歩く」「何に対しても文句を言わない」「集中する」「いいレッスンをする」...などなど。

If you want to improve your English why don’t you just try and make it into a daily habit too? I think you will find it to be very effective!

もし英語が上手になりたければ、それも日課にしてみませんか？とても効果があると実感すると思いますよ！

 

Tim’s Blog – Rats and Cows 子 (ねずみ) と 丑 (うし)

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Hello Everyone, my next classes on Apr 23rd and 24th are about the Chinese horoscope and superstitions. Since we are going to be talking a little bit about the animals that comprise the Chinese horoscope, I thought I could share with you some very frequently used idioms about some of them.

皆さんこんにちは、4月23日と24日の私のレッスンでは干支 (えと) と迷信を扱います。干支を成す動物達について少しばかり話すことになっていますので、そういう動物達に関する、たいへんよく使われる慣用句をいくつか一緒に見てみるのもいいかなと思います。

rat on someone: to report someone's bad behaviour to someone in authority; to tattle on someone.

Ex: His accomplice ratted on him to save his skin.

(人) について「ねずみ」る：人の悪行を職権を有する者に報告する、誰かの告げ口をする。

例：自分だけ無事に逃げようと、共犯者は彼を密告した。

smell a rat: to suspect that something is wrong; to sense that someone has caused something wrong.

Ex: I can’t believe this was an accident. I smell a rat.

ねずみを嗅ぐ：人が間違っているのではと疑う、誰かが悪いことをしていると感じる。

例：これが事故だなんて信じられない。何かにおうぞ。

gym rat:  a person who spends a lot of time at the gym.

Ex: Johnny never leaves the gym. He’s such a gym rat!

ジムのねずみ：ジムで長い時間過ごす人。

例：ジョニーってジムから帰ろうとしないんだ。本当にジムに入り浸りだよね！

a sacred cow: a belief or system that is treated with much respect and is not usually criticized.

Ex: The NHS has been treated as a sacred cow for too long. Reform is needed urgently.

神聖な牛：大変な敬意を持って扱われ、通常批判されることのない信念や仕組み。

例：NHKは長い間神聖視され過ぎている。早急に改革が必要である。

a cash cow: a business or a part of a business that always makes a lot of profit.

Ex: It is the financial services that are the company’s biggest cash cow.

金のなる「牛」：常に利益を出す事業やその一部。

例：その会社の最大のドル箱は金融サービスだ。

until the cows come home: for a very long time.

Ex: We could talk about this problem until the cows come home, but it wouldn't solve anything.

牛が牛舎に帰るまで：とても長い間。

例：この問題について長々と話すこともできるだろうけど、何の解決にもならないだろうね。

 

和製英語のいろいろ

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「クーラーを部屋に付ける」は “install a cooler in a room”?

この言い方だと、例えば「クーラーボックスを部屋に付ける」という、ちょっと不思議なことになってしまいます。

cooler はクーラーボックスなどの冷却用の道具、口語では冷たい清涼飲料水を指します。

“install an air-conditioner in a room” で「クーラーを部屋に付ける」。

「わが家は今リフォーム中です」は “My house is being  reformed now”?

これは…「わが家は今改革中です」…う〜ん、家があたかも国会か何かのような響きがするんでしょうか？

reform は「(組織などを) 改革する」という意味で使われます。
「建物をリフォームする」には、renovate, rebuild, redo, remodel や make over、
「服をリフォームする」には、remake, alter などが使われます。

“My house is being renovated now.” で、「わが家は今リフォーム中です」。

今月の文法レベル1の授業では他にもいろいろ取り扱っていきます、乞うご期待^^

(出典：Proceed Japanese-English Dictionary、英辞郎)

4/3(日)お花見パーティーについて

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皆様こんばんは。
4/3(日)に開催しますお花見パーティーですが、今のところ開催予定ではございますが、雨天の場合キャンセルとなります。当日の朝、雨が降っていなければ開催予定です。わかられない方がいましたら、電話・LINE・メールにてご連絡頂ければと思います。

～晴天・曇りの場合～
日程 ：４月３日(日)
集合時間：13：00～
集合場所：ケンジントン英会話赤坂校前
※ご参加の方は、食べ物・飲み物など少しお持ちよりください。

～雨天の場合～
お花見・二次会がキャンセルとなります。

皆様にご迷惑をおかけし、誠に申し訳ございません。
宜しくお願い致します。

ティムの「ケンジントン・ロブスター養殖場」計画 - Tim’s blog about lobsters

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A few years back when I was thinking of my professional future, I realised that since I’ll probably never work full time for a Japanese company (for various reasons), I’d probably have to start my own business, if I wanted to have any chance of earning a semi-good living.

自分の将来のキャリア像を模索していた遡ること数年前、自分はおそらく日本企業で正社員として働くことは絶対にないだろうから (理由はいろいろありますが)、もしそこそこの暮らしを何とかしていきたいなら、多分起業しないといけないだろうな、ということに気づきました。

 

One of my not so fantastic ideas was to buy a big fish tank and start breeding lobsters because….hmmm… everyone loves lobsters. My initial plan was to buy two lobsters, a male and a female and once they mate, they’ll probably have millions of babies and when their babies grow up, worst case scenario, I can be eating lobsters for the rest of my life.

大してイケてないビジネスのアイデアとして1つ思いついたのは、大きな水槽を買ってロブスターを繁殖させることで、というのは...えーっと、みんなロブスターが大好きだからです。最初は、オスとメス2匹のロブスターを買って、つがいになればおそらく子供がたくさん生まれて、それが成長したら、最悪ひょっとすると一生ロブスターを食べることになるかも...という計画でした。

Before getting my great new business started, I started doing some research on lobsters. My initial research entailed asking all my students if they know how long it takes for lobsters to mate; for which I mostly received blank stares from lovely people probably thinking. “Mate, we are here to study English and not answer to your stupid questions!!”

この素晴らしくイケてる (?) ビジネスを始めるにあたり、ロブスターに関する調査から取りかかりました。まず、私の生徒全員に、ロブスターがつがいになるにはどのくらいの時間がかかるか知っているか、と尋ねることになりましたが、たいていぽかんとした眼差しが返ってきまして、おそらく素敵な皆さんはこう考えていたのだと思います。「おい、私らは英語の勉強をしに来てるのであって、あなたのアホな質問に答えに来てるわけじゃないんですけど!!」

After doing some actual research I found out that they eat each other (So do hamsters!!) which is one reason that breeding is not very profitable. Thus, it is unfortunately very unlikely that my dream of a “Kensington Lobster Farm” will ever come to fruition.

ちゃんと実際に調査を進めた後で分かったのは、ロブスターは共食いをし (ハムスターもですけどね!!) 、そういうこともあって、繁殖させてもあまりもうからないということです。ゆえに、残念ながら、夢の「ケンジントン・ロブスター養殖場」実現の可能性はかなり低いということになりました。

In any case, here are some other fun facts regarding lobsters.

いちおう、ロブスターに関するその他おもしろい事実をここで紹介しましょう。

1.       Lobsters aren't red. They turn red when cooked, but in nature they can be green or yellow or even bright blue.

ロブスターの体は赤くありません。火を通すと赤くなりますが、基本、体の色は緑や黄色、あるいは鮮やかな青でさえあったりします。

2.       Lobsters can grow up to four feet long and weigh as much as 40 pounds.

ロブスターは4フィート (約1.2m)・40ポンド (約18kg) にまで育つものもあります。

3.       It is believed that lobsters can live as long as 100 years.

ロブスターの寿命は100年にもなることがあると推定されます。

4.       They taste with their legs.

ロブスターは脚に味覚器官があります。

5.       Once upon a time, they were the go-to prison food as they were cheap, too plentiful, and considered “tasteless.” Aaah, good times to be a criminal.

かつてロブスターは、安価で有り余るほど多く、かつ「味気ない」ものと思われていたため、獄中で供される食べ物的な扱いでした。いやー、犯罪者にはいい時代でしたね。

Here is a cool Lobster fighting video.

イケてる「闘ロブスター」の動画はこちら。

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h6nhOChpMck