I believe the last couple of days have confirmed the arrival of Summer. WOW! It got hot yesterday. Thank god for the new air conditioning units we had installed in the classrooms recently. However, unlike the scorching midday heat, it is really quite pleasant in the mornings down at the station. We currently have have 2 “Super Flyer Guys” helping us out at Sakai Higashi. I like having these guys down there with me as it is much easier to keep a smile on my face when I have someone to chat with. I think that creating some noise and laughter whilst handing out flyers is as good as the information on the flyer itself. Im sure when people see our Smith t-shirts, hear us laughing and speaking English they are thinking “who could be so happy at this hour of the morning?!?” Of course, I’m happiest when I see the results from the early mornings in the form of 6 trial lessons in as many weeks.
Another great form of visual advertising is running into current students on their way to work and having a quick chat. I am always aware of the side glances (and sometimes stares) I receive when chatting to students. So, I want to thank all of my students who see me in the mornings and take the time to stop and say hi! Thank you for helping me build Sakai Higashi into a bigger and better school.
Yesterday I read a nice posting by Carol McBride from Smith’s School of English in Kamishinjo praising the generosity of Japanese people and I have to agree with her 100%!
I love COSTCO in Japan! Last Sunday we had an appointment to go to there with a former coworker of my wife, his wife and his four-year-old boy. He and his wife had wanted to check out COSTCO and my wife had said that they could go with us. They picked us up by van. It was about a 10 minute drive away. My wife’s former coworker and his wife decided to become COSTCO members right away, so they filled out a sheet of paper, stood in line, had their pictures taken and were given member cards. We all had a great time shopping. I and my wife bought full of stuff, including some sweets to give to the Smith’s head office team, whose great work I very much appreciate! My wife’s coworker and his family had a bite to eat at the Food Court. Then they drove me and my wife back home. We invited them in and they accepted. We chatted in Japanese and they checked out our recently bought 40-inch TV! We all had some delicious fruit tea, brewed in a nice clear glass kettle I and my wife had brought back to Japan from Canada. I and the boy ate Timtams, delicious cookies from Australia! Before leaving, the boy’s parents mentioned going to COSTCO with us again. You bet we will!
One of my previous students recently started up a restaurant near the JR ROKKO MICHI Station. It’s a very new and clean place with a nice bright atmosphere. I have taken some students there a few times and we always have a good time. If you are ever out and about in the Kobe area, I recommend that you drop in for a while and enjoy some food and drinks there. Take a look at Read More »
This was my first soapbox entry. At the time, I decided not to post it, but I saved it. I have decided to go ahead and post it as is, because it describes how I feel about the generosity that Japanese people so often show. It also expresses that shiny new feeling of those first few weeks of owning our own business. Some of the newness has worn off, but it’s been replaced with the confidence of knowing that we’re going to make it work! We still have a lot to learn and a long way to go, but we’re here and we’re making it!!! Here’s my original post…
I’m Carol McBride, the new coach at Kamishinjo, and I have to confess, I’m still feeling a little giddy about it! Everything is still new and exciting for me, even though I’ve been here for six weeks. I still wake up some mornings with a feeling of joy, and the realization that I don’t have a boss anymore. When I put out my sign, I still feel proud that it’s my own sign and my own business!! It’s a powerful feeling.
What is not new for me, however, is living in Japan. I’ve been here for six years, yet I can still be surprised and overwhelmed by the generosity of Japanese people!! During class last Saturday, my student was telling me about her hometown of Gifu and the festivals they have. When I told her the festivals sounded great and I would like to go sometime, she invited me to stay at her parents’ house. Her brother is a Buddhist Priest, so they live in a temple! This is far too cool for any foreigner I’ve ever met to resist. Even more amazing than the offer, was the fact that she really meant it!!!
After class, I thought about her kindness in providing a near stranger such a wonderful opportunity. I realized that this is the kind of generosity that I have experienced again and again from Japanese people on many different occasions. My first time taking the train from Umeda station, I was trying to figure out which train to take home. Before I had a chance to figure it out, two different people had approached me to help. On another occasion a man, who was dressed in a business suit and obviously in a hurry, stopped what he was doing and walked with me in the opposite direction to show me the way to my destination. These are just a few examples from my own personal experience. Every foreigner I know has their own examples of Japanese kindness and generosity.
As everyone knows manga is very popular in Japan and is gaining popularity around the world. Some people are so much into manga and anime that they want to look like one of their favorite characters. So in the spirit of having fun, enjoy this one and then get serious about coaching your students!
As a second stab at working up some sentences to add to those posted by Ed of the Otsu Smith’s School and those added by me earlier. Here are five more sets of sentences. I hope they will be Read More »
some students come for chat while others really have a serious goal in mind. One such student wanted to pass a tour guide test which had an English section, another was hoping to get a promotion at their company and yet another student wanted to prepare for their study abroad trip. Today one student came in and as there were no other students in their class he asked if we could discuss how to write essays as it seems to be his Achille’s heal. We went over the different styles and how we can use proverbs, quotations as well as numbers to help add some “kick” to his persuasive essays. With the small classes it’s easy to shift gears and focus in on a new topic if you feel that everyone is benefitting from it. For me it brings excitement into the classroom and keeps things fresh. I wonder what request my students will have next week…
The post by Chiharu of the Otsu Smith’s School of English brought into focus the fact that owning and teaching at your own franchise English school does not have to be only for native speakers. And this fact might someday be one thing that will drive more Japanese students to work harder to master English conversation and English in general. Not just to take the TOEIC or TOEFL or to study abroad but wouldn’t it be wonderful if more Japanese people realize the potential that Chiharu has realized?
Many of my students do not really know exactly how learning English will help them to get better jobs or a more interesting job in which they will be able to really use English. Often this ability is taken Read More »
I have to admit that I really prefer the rural areas in Japan to the urban areas and I love how quickly and conveniently one can move between these two using the railway system in Japan!
Recently, thanks to a couple of my students and friends, I had the chance to discover some absolutely stunning areas in Nara Prefecture! (奈良県)
We started our day trip at Yamato Yagi Station (大和八木駅) on the Kintetsu Osaka Line (近鉄大阪線), and then headed over to
Haruna has been with Smith’s Hashimoto practically from the beginning. She is expecting her first baby in about three weeks, and has been “on leave” since April. Since then we have met for lunch a couple of times just to get caught up and talk a little about business. She is planning to open her own kid’s school in October. She is developing a good plan, taking some of the advice offered here on the soapbox, and I am sure she will be successful. This is an exciting time for her. How nice it is to stay in touch with former students. And who knows, she might even come back someday. All the best to you Haruna!
I have been coaching since April 2008 and enjoying interacting with our students very much. As my partner Edward has posted in May, I was very nervous at the begginning; however, I quickly felt very comfortable being in a classroom with our students. Thanks to the SSE system and all the support I can receive from the staff members, my entry into this new adventure was very smooth.
I started learning English when I was in junior high school under the Monbusho Curriculum and I did not enjoy English very much at first. In grade 8, I had an opportunity to experience homestay in U.S. for 7 days as an exchange student. While I was struggling so hard to communicate with my hostfamily, I realized that English could be actually used in a real life and that I needed to study harder and start practicing English Conversation. Only things I could say then were; “where am I?” “What is this?” “What is that?” “Thank you.” This precious experience changed my dream from becoming an animator to using English at work, and encouraged me to go to an English conversation school. English became my favorite school subject, my hobby, and now very important part of my life.
I love English and I am very passionate about it. Since grade 8, speaking English made so many things that I dreamed of possible, such as making friends with people from all over the world. Teaching/Coaching English has been my dream for a long time and now SSE system made it possible, too. I would like to thank all of you for sharing your great ideas and passion.
I am very excited and happy to be part of this wonderful team! Thank you!!
At Kamishinjo, we decided to combine Yuichi’s English skills with his skills as a patisserie , so we invited our students to make coconut cookies. Interest exceeded our expectations and we had to have a second day in order to fit everyone in!! We were very encouraged by the great turnout. Everyone had a great time. After the cookies were finished we got to the point…eating and having a good time together speaking in English. It was so much fun to watch so many near strangers having a good time together. Only a few of them had met before, so it was the perfect way to get to know each other. It was especially fun to watch some of the older men, who self-admittedly had never made cookies, rolling up their sleeves and getting in on the action. At the end of the first day, one of our students said that her sister was hoping to attend a class hosted by Yuichi and would be willing to pay! A future endeavour for Yuichi, perhaps?
I stand outside Starbucks Coffee thinking about having something to eat and drink for breakfast. I decide to have breakfast there so I go into the shop. I look for an available table. I find one at the back of the shop in a corner. I put my knapsack down on the table so that nobody takes my seat. Then I walk over to the cash register and look at the food which is on display next to it. I choose two food items. I choose the first one, a lemon scone, straight away. However choosing the second one isn’t as easy as choosing the first one. I can’t decide whether I feel like a cinnamon roll or an almond crunch roll. Finally, I choose an almond crunch roll. Then it is time to order. I order a large cup of hot coffee, a lemon scone, an almond crunch roll and a cup of water with no ice. It costs a total of 840 yen. I pay 1,000 yen cash and get 140 yen back in change. Next I pick my tray up with my hand and walk over to the condiment section. I take the plastic lid off my paper cup. I like my coffee with honey, cream and sugar so I pour in some honey, cream and two packs of sugar. Next I stir up my coffee with a stir stick and pull a napkin out of the napkin holder. After that I pick my tray up and walk over to my table. I walk slowly because my cup is pretty full and I don’t want to spill coffee all over my tray! When I arrive at my table, I push my knapsack out of the way and put the tray down on the table. My knapsack is still in the way so I place it in a corner to get it out of the way. Then I sit down at the table and have breakfast for about 1 hour. I read my English newspaper while finishing my coffee. Next I get up and walk over to the garbage cans to throw out my cup and napkin. Finally I leave Starbucks Coffee for Smith’s School of English Tsukaguchi.
The following are the Smith’s School of English curriculum Routine 4 Lawson’s 10 questions. They can be adjusted to fit the above text and supplemented with additional questions.
this past week I was able to take a mini break to head up to Niigata and spend some time with the two people dearest in my life - my wife and son. It’s hard to explain just what it feels like to hold your child in your arms and see them sleep (and even cry). Bathing him was probably the most scariest and most enjoyable time of the day but regardless of what he did it just felt good to have him around. It was nice to know that the office and my part-time teachers could handle things while I was away. I kept in touch with my staff through email daily to advise and offer my assistance if it were needed but things went off without a hitch. Now it’s back to work as usual but it’s nice to be able to share this part of my life with my students as they’re very a part of my life.
A few days ago a friend of mine back in the states sent me an email that he was forwarding to several friends as he was inspired by it and felt the need to share it. I don’t usually appreciate such emails as they
Last week I received a phone call from my friend, Alex. He invited me to spend a weekend with him at his cabin. I decided to go! Before leaving, I went to the store and bought food and a new fishing rod. Then I caught a train to Campbell River, then took a ferry to Denman Island. When I arrived, Alex was waiting for me. We went to his cabin, ate dinner, and chatted. The next morning Alex said he wanted to show me something. We went down to the dock and Alex whistled. 2 minutes later, a huge Bald Eagle swooped in and landed in a tree nearby. Alex put a piece of meat at the end of the dock. The Bald Eagle waited until it was safe, then he swooped down and picked up the meat. I was amazed by this and felt so lucky to have such an interesting friend!
It is already one week since 25 students and friends of Smith’s School of English Koenji got together at Izakaya Don Bei in Koenji to catch up with their fellow students and meet some new like minded ESL friends.
I have received numerous sms and email messages telling me how much the senders had enjoyed themselves and how much they would like us to have another party together again soon, maybe we will as early as September.
It was a wonderful night as can be gauged by the photographs that were taken. There was plenty of laughing and high jinks. The food was good and the service was spot on just as I had expected it to be. It is after all one of my favourite izakayas in Koenji.
At Smith’s School of English we have students from age 11 to 50 plus and all those who attend the parties get on so well together. It is a fantastic way for students to increase their friends and to meet new people outside the normal meeting places in a secure environment.
It was great to have Dean and Stephen from Kichioji school join us as well as Shinji, who I taught English to in Australia.
We commenced the party at 5pm and the final stragglers left around 11pm. I guess we need a “One Point” for future parties. How does “Let’s go!” sound?
My subsequent enquiries indicated that all students had a great day at work on Monday.
My best memories of the night relate to laughter and smiling faces.
Thanks to all those who attended, it was your participation that gave the party such a happy atmosphere and made it the success that it was. Cheers!
It may seem obvious, but learning vocabulary is very important. Words that we don’t know do not sound like words; they sound like noise. Of course, you can learn a new word by hearing it, if it is the only one that is new for you. But you still probably need to hear it several times.
You can study vocabulary for some situations, like listening to a speech, if you know the topic before you listen. For everyday conversation, usually there is no special vocabulary to learn. In that case, find the list of the most common words in english and learn the first 200 perfectly. That should make things a LOT easier.
Choose each word, one at a time, and try to listen FOR it while you watch a movie. Get used to hearing it. When you are satisfied, do it again with the next word on the list.
I wanted to go to the hospital and speak to an English speaking doctor, so I asked a student of mine, who is a nurse at Itami City Hospital in Hyogo Prefecture, if she knew any English speaking doctors. She said that a doctor who she works with studied in the U.S.A. and probably speaks some English. I told her that I would like to see him. She spoke to him and let me know when I could go and see him. I met him yesterday and we spoke in English, which was great.
I really appreciate my student’s help. When I need help with something here in Japan, it is nice to know that I can always ask my students at Smith’s School of English Tsukaguchi for their help.
One of my students runs her own izakaya at a station near Smith’s School of English Fuse School and recently I decided to check it out.
I had been finishing up some office work at Smith’s School of English in Fuse on a Monday night when my flyer assistant called me up and asked if I wanted to get a bite to eat.
I had not eaten yet so I said of course, and I suggested we check out my student’s place in Read More »
When I started to learn Japanese I wanted to listen to anything and everything. This was good, but it was just too difficult. I became frustrated.
Then, I wanted to learn by listening to small selections of Japanese again and again and again. This was also good, but natural conversation is not like that.
I will write a few tips here about how to listen better. Read More »
There are a lot of unique customs in Japan that aren’t always easy to understand because their meanings don’t always translate perfectly into English. Sometimes there are misunderstandings and things aren’t interpreted in the way that they were meant to be. A prime example of this can be easily seen if you pick up any random dictionary and try to look for the translation of a Japanese word into English. The first part might be okay on average but try translating that English word back into Japanese and see if you get the same word that you started out with. Test this with a good handful of words to get a good grasp of how utterly confused the dictionary seems to be Read More »
One thing I really enjoy is helping my students discover new places right in their own towns which they have never been to.
I have lived in Osaka for about 4 years now and do most of my commuting by bicycle. It’s by far the most convenient mode of transportation. Cycling combined with my curiosity has helped me discover many nice places.
Yesterday I had the pleasure of having lunch with one of my students who was out in Horie shopping for some furniture. During lunch I mentioned that I was heading over to my favorite grocery store after lunch to pick up some coffee, teas and juices for my classrooms. She asked to come along and of course I said “yes!”
So, after lunch we headed over to OCAT to my favorite grocery store, Read More »
One of the best thing about seeing your own students improve is that once they reach a certain level they can actually use their English to help me understand more about Japan, the language and the culture. Today during the conversation with one of my higher level students we started talking about the differences in thinking between East and West and she gave me some insight into an issue that I had to deal with last week. So while most students come to learn English some of them go even further and use their English to discuss some very serious topics and go home with something more than just language. So while I “give” each of my students a lesson we are all able to “take” something home from the lesson. “Give and take” - gotta love it.
Pictures…Photos…Visuals…all so important in learning a language without translation…For the past year or so I have been using a picture or two in most of my lessons in order to get the students to speculate, speak about it, or strike up a conversation…It continues to work well for me and the students display instant interest evertime I open the book up…I have several photos printed from several cities and places around the world, but I have found that the ones of Japan suppliment “Entertaining a Foreigner” like a charm…Go here, search “Japan,” print away, and I promise you won’t be sorry: www.trekearth.com
The first of three summer “Hashimoto Babies” was born about a month ago. “H” gave birth to a beautiful baby boy named Keisuke. Congratulations to her, her husband, and the new grandparents!
Today I was crossing a road by bicycle in Tsukaguchi when I passed a group of high school students that were crossing in the opposite direction. One of them looked at me, smiled and said “Smith” in Japanese. She meant “Mr. Smith”. I guess she thought I was Mr. Smith, which I don’t mind. The fact that she knew the name, which is also part of my school’s name, was great! With a smile, I answered “hello”. Some of them laughed happily because of my friendly response. It was a nice moment. I really like moments like those.
In response to the STAG request from Ed of the Otsu school, below are 4 paragraphs to be used with the phrase cards whose numbers are shown. For a great explanation of how to Read More »
One of my previous students recently started up a restaurant near the JR ROKKO MICHI Station. It’s a very new and clean place with a nice bright atmosphere. I have taken some students there a few times and we always have a good time. If you are ever out and about in the Kobe area, I recommend that you drop in for a while and enjoy some food and drinks there. Take a look at 
I wanted to go to the hospital and speak to an English speaking doctor, so I asked a student of mine, who is a nurse at 
