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%!
http://www.sse-franchise.com/soapbox/200807/01/japanese-generosity/
I have been shown generosity in this country so many times I have lost count!
There are some people here in Japan who have done [...]
This is the title which one of my students used for herself recently when I thanked her for recommending my school to her friends!
She said “I am your self-appointed advertising manager!”
I guess I should order some business cards for her immediately!
I am always so happy and honored when one of my students recommends my [...]
By Alex
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Also posted in English School Articles, SSE Fuse Corner, SSE Horie Corner, students keep coming
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Tagged ビジネス広告, 事業広告, 企業広告, 口コミ広告, 小企業, 月謝制のスミス英会話堀江校, 月謝制のスミス英会話布施校, 東大阪市英会話, 英会話四ツ橋校
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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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
By Alex
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Also posted in English School Articles, Living in Japan, SSE Fuse Corner, SSE Horie Corner
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Tagged お花見, 吉野山, 大和八木駅, 奈良県, 明日香村, 月謝制のスミス英会話堀江校, 月謝制のスミス英会話布施校, 東大阪市英会話, 桜天国, 石舞台古墳, 英会話四ツ橋校, 近鉄大阪線, 飛鳥時代, 高松塚古墳
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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
addthis_url = ‘http%3A%2F%2Fwww.sse-franchise.com%2Fsoapbox%2F200806%2F22%2Finspirational-story%2F’;
addthis_title [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
By Alex
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Also posted in English School Articles, Living in Japan, SSE Fuse Corner, SSE Horie Corner
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Tagged OCATモール, やまや, オーキャットモール, ミナミホリエ, 世界中から食料を輸入する, 南堀江, 家具屋, 月謝制のスミス英会話堀江校, 月謝制のスミス英会話布施校, 東大阪市英会話, 英会話四ツ橋校, 食料品店, 食料雑貨品店
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I often wonder why Japanese students have so much trouble to speak and understand spoken English. When I eat lunch at Cafe DECO, which is just below my school, and I can’t help but be required to listen to some conversations of young college girls. The cafe is not large and [...]
So if you are thinking about what it takes to build a school, take a look at this video. It shows an example of what I have done after taking over an existing school. The Okamoto school has been open since August 2004 and is currently operating well on the KISS principle and [...]
My man-to-man student at noon on Saturdays is always so pleasant and fun to coach. She works for a major international transportation company and just got back from a visit to Shanghai. She met with her company staff there and had some very good meetings. She got back last night at 8:00 p.m. [...]
My students are used to me asking this question from time to time in class.
I have made it known to all of my students that I am always interested in meeting them for lunch if they have time and our schedules match.
Generally Tuesdays and Thursdays are not good for me because I have a pretty [...]
By Alex
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Also posted in English School Articles, Living in Japan, SSE Fuse Corner, SSE Horie Corner
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Tagged Orange Street, カフェ, カフェバー, ミナミホリエ, レストラン, 北堀江, 南堀江, 喫茶店, 月謝制のスミス英会話堀江校, 月謝制のスミス英会話布施校, 東大阪市英会話, 英会話四ツ橋校
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Just like the great post by Alex covering the wonderful time we had with our students in April 2008 at our Cherry Blossom viewing Party, this one shows me and my students having fun at the Halloween part last year. Smith’s School of English offers so much more for students and teachers alike. [...]
Smith’s School of English 2008 Cherry Blossom Viewing Party.
Just a quick update to my earlier posting about our fun cherry blossom viewing party at Osaka Castle Park on April 6th, 2008!
If you click on this link you can see many pictures and comments about this event
http://www.smithweb.co.jp/sub/horie/sub6.shtml or….. check out our video!
This video was a lot [...]
By Alex
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Also posted in Franchise Owners' Speak, Living in Japan, SSE Fuse Corner, SSE Horie Corner
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Tagged 2008, 2009, お花見, 予約する, 会社の宴会, 大阪城公園, 月謝制のスミス英会話堀江校, 月謝制のスミス英会話布施校, 東大阪市英会話, 英会話四ツ橋校
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On April 6th, 2008 we had our 2008 Cherry Blossom Viewing Party at Osaka Castle Park.
This event was organized by 5 schools and it was a huge success! I think we had about 100 people attend this event.
The weather could not have been more perfect!
Good food, interesting chats, fun games and overall a very pleasant [...]
By Alex
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Also posted in Franchise Owners' Speak, Living in Japan, SSE Fuse Corner, SSE Horie Corner, teaching: why i do it
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Tagged 2008, 2009, お花見, 予約する, 会社の宴会, 大阪城公園, 月謝制のスミス英会話堀江校, 月謝制のスミス英会話布施校, 東大阪市英会話, 英会話四ツ橋校
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Last night I had a fun lesson with two students who confess to really needing English ability. One works for a major Japanese pharmaceutical company in research and often has to meet with Americans and other foreigners and use English to discuss his research. The other student is a 4th year university student [...]
By Al Bartle
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Also posted in English School Articles, Fair to teachers, Living in Japan, SSE Okamoto Corner, communicative method, english in japan, high level students, my high level students, my passion: language, students keep coming
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Tagged Coaches of Communicative Cofidence, Dynamic Techniques to teach English, great teamwork, Smith's Cuirriculum
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At my Smith’s School in Fukushima, there are half a dozen guys who come and study together, sponsored twice every week by their employer. The lessons are always very animated and enjoyable because they are so competitive with each other. It is clear that they enjoy their jobs and are very happy working together.
The other [...]
Japan is truly a nice country in which to live. For the most part the people are very pleasant and a lot has been done to make Japan a comfortable, clean and convenient place to live for all residents. I like the U. S. too but it is difficult to [...]
By Al Bartle
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Also posted in English School Articles, Fair to teachers, Living in Japan, SSE Okamoto Corner, a reward in itself, english in japan, rewarding job change, teaching: why i do it
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Tagged スミス英会話岡本, Life in Japan, Smith's School of English, スミス英会話
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Smith’s- why do i love thee so? Let me see……. when i “worked for the man” at another English school in Japan and we had a slow day, i would be assigned some boring paperwork or cleaning job. Lately Wednesdays have been quiet at MY school, Smith’s School of English FC Ohtsu
By Edward
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Also posted in English School Articles, SSE Ohtsu Corner, a reward in itself
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Tagged 大津ã€æ»‹è³€, broadway, broadwaymusicals, English school Japan, 英会話ã€è‹±ä¼šè©±å¤§æ´¥ã€english, love, musicals, of, Smith's School of English, teaching, trip
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Last night I had a great lesson with two of my newest students, a husband and wife. He is a Japanese engineer and she is a Chinese housewife. They are a very nice couple and get along very well during the class. Their participation is great. They are beginners but I [...]
My 6:00 p.m. Saturday lesson this week included two students. We worked on making requests and went through the normal lesson plan with no problems but when I asked them to think of and make requests on their own, they seemed to stumble. In some cases I give them a simple scenario such [...]
The laughs are abundant at Smith’s School of English. This week my Saturday 3pm lesson included three students who were tasked with miming some activities to get their partners to guess what they were doing and to use the past continuous tense. It never fails that one of the students does something [...]
April 10, 2008 – 11:29 pm
Students who are “Normal” can get very comfortable with their teacher and classmates, so it’s always an interesting twist when a new face pops into class.
Recently, two of our more mature students had their first class together. The last time that Mr. T and Mr. S saw one another was at the Smith’s Halloween [...]
I would like to write about a certain very special new student of mine at Smith’s School of English in Fuse who is an absolute pleasure to teach!
She is so focused on the lesson, she asks for time to write down everything on the board, especially the new vocabulary words, she does her best to [...]
By Alex
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Also posted in English School Articles, SSE Fuse Corner, SSE Horie Corner, a reward in itself, teaching: why i do it
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Tagged つづり、スペリング, 勉学に励んでいる, 月謝制のスミス英会話堀江校, 月謝制のスミス英会話布施校, 東大阪市英会話, 発音チェック, 英会話四ツ橋校, 英語, 語彙を増やす, 語彙構築
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Students often ask what steps they can take to become better at English. Of course there is no single answer but if I were pressed to give one, it would be to simply “use” English every chance you get. Though there are not millions of native speakers in Japan, there are a [...]
Yesterday’s 2008 Smith’s School Cherry blossom viewing party ( スミス英会話お花見会 ). Was a great deal of fun for all! Excellent weather, beautiful blossoms sometimes fluttering down like snow and terrific conversation were had by all. Students from the Okamoto, Fuse, Otsu, Horie and Tsukaguchi schools got together to enjoy great food, drinks, conversation, [...]
Smith’s School of English provides a very different kind of experience for our students. Our teachers care about each and every student and we really try to stretch their ability in as many ways as possible. We often arrange for special events to give them the opportunity to practice the English they have [...]
Last night, I met one of my students in front of the station. He has been going to company introduction meetings and interviews all week and he stopped to tell me about his experience. As we were standing there, a young woman who was obviously a new company employee passed by and as [...]
With my red man-to-man student on Saturday, I covered the lesson on imperatives. I always get a kick out of the pictures in the Smith’s curriculum. In case of many of them, no imperative warning could possibly save the person shown from sure death or severe injury. A steel I-beam falling from [...]