Hello David,

I often visit here to read your blog, but this is that first time that I have posted a comment.
I just wanted to let you know that I'm also going to the JALT and giving a presentation on Sunday too!
I'm looking forward to seeing you there and joining your presentations. Let's have a good weekend!

Koji

•  匿名
• 2010年11月19日 15:59

Hi Charlene,

Thank you for telling us about Roman Britain and other things. It was very nice and thrilling to have you here on the blog this week and I'm looking forward to hearing from you again whenever you have time!

By the way, thanks for telling us about Welsh.
Students study Welsh as a compulsory subject? I see.
When I have a chance to visit Chester, I' sure I'll ask a tour at your company!

Hi David,

Your nose is healing? It's a good news!

Hi Koji,

Are you giving a presentation at JALT?
Looking forward to reading your comment again.

Hi everyone,

Have a great weekend,

Anne

•  Anne
• 2010年11月19日 16:15

Hi,

David thanks for giving me the chance to join the blog, its been great and interesting. Hope you continue to have good news about your nose. Good luck this weekend at JALT. I look forward to joining your blog from time to time.

Anne - its been a pleasure talking to you. hope all goes well for you. Look forward to the time that you come to Chester. But do not confuse us with the Deva Experience, its a different company altogether. Have a good weekend.

Bye for now.

•  Charlene
• 2010年11月19日 17:56

Hi Charlene,
Wow, you really love Japanese animation films! I watched all the films you mentioned except "Origin" and "How To Train Your Dragon". Is "Origin" one of the Gundam movies? "How To Train Your Dragon" is not out on DVD yet, but it seems like it's going to be released in December, so I will watch it, too. I also like this kind of film like "Toy Story" , "Monsters INK", and some other Disney movies. I'm glad to find we have the same interests:)

As you may know, "Howl's Moving Castle" is based on the book written by Diana Wynne Jones. I read it after I watched the Miyazaki's movie. The original story is a bit different from the film. There is no war, just fights between Howl and the Witch of the Waste. Sophie has one more younger sister, and Suliman is a man, but it was very interesting. There are film comics and books both in English and Japanese for this movie. Their pictures are beautiful, aren't they?

Thanks for reading my long post, and thanks also for your words about my English. I'm very happy to hear that. As you said, it's difficult to learn how to read and write English. I didn't learn phonics at school, but I studied about it myself. I taught it to my sons and my nieces, but there are so many exceptions that they are often confused and complain about that.

I read all the Harry Potter books both in English and Japanese, and I watched the movies(I'm going to see the latest movie too.), but I've never tried the audio CDs. I'll check them on Amazon later. Thanks for your information.

Thank you very much for joining us and answering our questions this week. It was great to talk with you. Please feel free to drop by anytime. As David says, we will always be happy to hear from you!

Hi David,
Of course I enjoyed this week's discussion. Chester is already in my "I want to visit" list.
I hope everything goes well with you at the JLT National Conference!

Hi Koji,
I'm glad to hear you often visit this blog. Good luck with your presentation, and look forward to hearing from you again!

Hi Anne,
You too!

Have a great weekend, everyone!

Tomo

•  Tomo
• 2010年11月19日 18:17

Hi Charlene,

As I mentioned, I took a look at your website the day before yesterday and also tried to watch the video, too. But I couldn’t. Something wrong with my PC, it happens sometimes. Anyway, I was able to watch it last night. It’s very interesting, and it made me want to visit Chester, too. I like history and also like to watch the movies and dramas are set in middle ages. I googled “Chester” and saw some pictures of Black-and-white architectures. I love those timberframe buildings, so I should go and see them, too. Other members asked you a lot of questions, and you already answered each question. Thank you very much. I really enjoyed reading your comments. I’d like to ask a couple of things. You mentioned that Chester offer a lot of tours, and I am just sort of curious to know what is the most popular tour among them? Also, what's the percentage of tourists from other countries? Is it higher than domestic tourists?
Thanks again for joining us and telling us about Roman Britain. It is fun to learn about new things. Looking forward to hearing from you from time to time.

Take care,
amo

•  amo
• 2010年11月19日 20:35

Hi David,

Thanks for inviting Charlene to the blog. I think everyone enjoyed this week’s topic. As your recommendation, I should visit there. I am pretty sure that I will love there.
Hope everything will work out for you at JALT.

Hi Koji,

Welcome to the blog. Giving a presentation, too? Lots of good luck!!

Hi everyone,

It’s getting colder day by day, so please take care of yourself.
Have a nice weekend ;-)
amo

•  amo
• 2010年11月19日 20:56

TGIF!

Hi Fumiue,
My son's two, but people often take him for three or four because of the way he acts. (Actually, he's quite tall for his age, too.) He's mature, and I'm very very thankful for that. So, I haven't had a lot of terrible two experience. The only thing he has issue with is "sleeping." He hates to go to bed! I do my best to wear him out by taking him to a playground every single day. I mean I play hard with him with the hope he'd get a nap in the afternoon...But, he sort of stopped taking a nap. Oh, well.

I don't really teach my son English because my husband is an American. We're following one parent one language policy. The way it works is that I speak my mother language and my husband speaks his, so the child will learn to speak both languages at the same time and grow bilingually. Having said that, I have to admit I speak English with him from time to time. We live in Japan and my son gets lots of Japanese input and not much English. When I feel he's not getting enough English, I read more English books and play games with him in English. So far, he's doing well and growing bilingually.

Tomo,
Thank you so much for the message. I was surprised to know that you taught yourself through writing. Writig isn't an easy skill to acquire to begin with. Do you like to write in Japanese, too? How do you feel about your speaking skill? Is it better than your writing skill? Why did you want to learn English as an adult? Do you want to teach English in the future? Sorry so many questions...

I'm simply interested in you. I don't meet people like you often. I find it amazing that it was only four years ago you started studying seriously. You give hope to English teachers and learners! You're a living example of a good learner. You've proved that people don't have to go to English-speaking countries or eikaiwa to learn English! Again, thank you for sharing your story, and looking forward to hearing more.

Yuki

•  匿名
• 2010年11月19日 21:48

Hi Koji,

Look forward to seeing you at the conference. Please come up and say hello.

I went to the dinner for featured speakers and guests tonight, and I ended up talking to Michael Swan (the writer of Practical English Usage) for about thirty minutes. He is a big hero of mine, so I was really pleased.

Hi Yuki,

I met Charles at the reception tonight. He came in with two beautiful young girls, and they were...

Just joking :-)

•  David
• 2010年11月20日 00:13

Hi Charlene,
Thank you for finding my comment from David's last blog and writing another comment. So in Britain people can choose home school or school and the former are for every child, I see. I'm grad to hear that both of your children are doing fine now. You must be a great teacher for your children. I teach English my eldest son just only for the test, though he always goofing off, not getting serious.
Thanks again giving me the chance to know about the things in Britain and please join us again whenever you feel like to do.

Hi Yuki,
I did the same thing to my youngest especially, because he used to have trouble sleeping. Playing with him in a playground and it always worked to me. I fell asleep almost instantly when we go to bed but my son wasn't.

Your husband is an American, that explains your good English. I understand that you are busy with parenting, so please join us sometime when you have time.

Hi David,
Good luck at JALT and hope that your nose'll healing all right.

Hi Koji,
Good luck with your presentation.

Fumie

•  匿名
• 2010年11月20日 07:30

Hi Yuki,

I'm flattered to hear such compliments! You are an English teacher and a real English user, so your words means a lot. They made me really happy. Thank you!!

Here are my answers and thoughts to your questions.

＞Do you like to write in Japanese, too?

When I was in school, I liked to write letters to my friends, but I didn't like to write essays. I tried to keep a diary several times, but I usually gave it up soon.

＞How do you feel about your speaking skill? Is it better than your writing skill?

Unfortunately, my speaking skill is not as good as my writing skill. When I'm writing, I have enough time to think, so I can express myself better, but when I'm speaking, I kind of get upset and can't express what I really want to say. I need to do speaking practice(including face-to-face communication) more and more.

＞Why did you want to learn English as an adult?

I like English, and it's like one of my hobbies. It was(is!) a kind of my dream to be a fluent English speaker. I think English is a positive language. I can say things I can't not say in Japanese. I can be more positive and friendly. I feel happy when I communicate with someone in English, or when I catch the English in movies or dramas even a little bit. When I read the final Harry Potter book in English, I was really happy with my English study because I didn't have to wait another one year, until the Japanese version came out.

＞Do you want to teach English in the future?

Hmm, I'm interested in teaching, especially teaching junior high school students, but I'm not sure if I can do it as a job. My daughter is in the first grade now. She has 4 or 5 classes a day at the moment, but she will have 6 classes a day when she is the third grade, so I may start working in a few years. I'd like to work while she is at school, but if I taught junior high school students, I would have to work after school hours. That's one of the problems, but the biggest problem for me is... I don't have enough confidence. As I mentioned, I teach my sons and my nieces English now, but there is a big difference between teaching my family members and teaching students as a job. As you know, that's a big responsibility.

I'll be happy to answer your questions anytime, so feel free to ask anything.

Have a great weekend and see you soon,

Tomo

PS David - You met Michael Swan?? Wow!

•  Tomo
• 2010年11月20日 08:44

【訂正】
so your words means a lot.　→　so your words mean a lot.

It was(is!) a kind of my dream　→　It was(is!) kind of my dream

•  Tomo
• 2010年11月20日 13:33

Hi Fumie,
Don't you think boys have so much energy! My friends who have girls seem to have more free time because the girls tend to nap longer! How old are your children by the way?

Our baby-sitter has teenage kids, and she seems to enjoy spending time with my son. She often says, "I was too busy to have fun with my own kids when they were small." Kids grow so fast, and I don't want to miss much. I didn't want to have anyone tell me that he was able to do a new thing. That's why I decided to work four or five days a month and hire someone to take care of my boy while I go to work. At the moment, though, I'm so looking forward to working more and using other parts of my brain!

Tomo,
Thank you so much for the detailed information. You gave me some ideas for my own teaching, and made me want to study more! I haven't been actively studying for a while. When I found out that you started studying four years ago, I was like...What have I done to improve my English in the last four years? The answer is nothing...So, today, I started reading the book (Common English Errors) David gave me.

I'll ask you more questions in the future, especially when I go back to work and start teaching self-study seminars. At the moment, I'm just teaching a few private lessons at home, and one small class at my midwife's practice. Next time I teach, I'll share your stories and encourage my students. Thanks.

David,
I hope you're having fun at JALT. I wish I could be there and atttend your presentaions. You're going to inspire many people! Do you ever get nervous presenting by the way?

I think Charles was with Anna, one of the featured speakers. Isn't she lovely?

Yuki

•  匿名
• 2010年11月20日 21:24

Hi Yuki,

My pleasure:) I would be very happy if my stories could encourage your students.

By the way, I also think boys have so much energy. They never get tried, do they? My sons used to be like that too!

Tomo

•  Tomo
• 2010年11月21日 00:32

Hi everyone.
It's gonna be a beautiful autumnal day!

Hi Yuki,
"Boys have so much energy" I think it's so true! "Girls tend to nap longer" I didn't know that. My sons are 15, 12 and 8. They are kind of 食べ盛り。
It's wonderful that you keep a good balance between working and parenting. I think that sometime mother need time of her own or go out not taking her children with her.
BTW, you teach to midwife (産婆）? or are you studying to become a midwife?

Fumie

•  Fumie
• 2010年11月21日 05:58

Hi David and everyone,

We're having lovely autumn weather here as well, but my husband has to work today.(That's why he took a day off on Thursday.) My oldest son has club activities, as usual. He's been practicing hard for the coming Christmas concert. He gets back home around 11 p.m. on Saturdays these days. I hope he won't forget about his end-of-term tests before the concert!

There was a school festival at my kids' elementary school yesterday(It's like a cultural festival at high schools), so my husband and I went there. We played some games at my daughter's class. My daughter was working at the front desk of the ring toss game, and she was stamping her friends' and guests' cards happily. I also tried "treasure hunting" at my son's class. They made a maze in the class, so I had to crawl on my hands and knees in some points. I found a map for the treasure and got some nice presents at the exit. At my niece's class, they had a haunted house. The room was dark with blackout curtains, and there were also some ghosts and scary music. Some students gave me a shock with a big noise when I just entered the room, so I was really surprised!
Anyway, my husband and I had a good time there, and it was also nice to see children having fun.

David, how was the conference? I hope everything went well with you.

Speak to you soon,

Tomo

•  Tomo
• 2010年11月21日 14:38

Hi Fumie,
I meant my friends' girls tend to sleep longer, not girls in general. It really depends on a child, doesn't it?

Anyway, I teach English at my midwife's practice. She sometimes gets non-Japanese visitors, but in the past she wasn't able to help them because she didn't speak enough English. She and her assistant have been studying with me since the beginning of this year.

One of my best friends is married to an Algerian man, and she's been studying to become a midwife. They live in the US, but if/when they move to his country she wants to have a useful skill other than interpritation. She's a professional interpriter (English and Spanish). I haven't spoken to her for a while, so I should contact her and see how things are going.

Tomo,
Sounds like you had a good weekend. That cultural day event is a new thing, isn't it? My friend was also telling me about that today.

Last night, I was going to say that you would make a good teacher. (Ever since I got pregnant, I've become forgetful...)

What I gathered from your comment is that you'd like to teach at 塾 type of place? I think it's wonderful! My cousin who's in college is teaching at 塾 and her English (or I should say English knowledge) isn't as good as yours. Also, my second cousin whose English is definitely not at your level was teaching at jr. high schools!

Personally, I didn't have good English teachers in junior high school. My teacher was a good educator, but not really a good English teacher. All I remember from her teaching is that 一月はお年玉で銭あり、二月はお正月の食べ過ぎで屁ぶらりー. I think you'll do better than that!

David,
How did your presentations go?

Yuki

•  匿名
• 2010年11月21日 20:42

Hi David,

How’s your day? Did you enjoy the conference? I bet you did a good job as usual.

Hi everyone,

I went shopping with my sister yesterday. We bought a new phone, because our old phone was almost dead. When I talked to someone over the phone, I sometimes couldn't hear him/her. Also, I bought some clothes, one was a down jacket and the other was a white coat. I am going to Korea next month and am sure it will be very cold, so this jacket will be very useful.

Hi Tomo,

Glad to hear that you had a nice weekend.

Good night,
amo

•  amo
• 2010年11月21日 22:03

Hi Yuki,
I'm sorry I got confused some points in your comments. You teach English midwife's practice; I just couldn't connect English and midwife. But now almost every job might require English skill in case of having foreign customers.

Hi Tomo,
You seems to had a fun day at your children's elementary school. All those activities seem so interesting. My son's elementary school doesn't do such event like a cultural festival of high schools.

Hi amo,
You are going to Korea. I envy you, Korea is one of the countries I want to visit some day. December in Korea must be cold.

Hi everyone,
My family went to 石清水八幡宮　in Kyoto yesterday.
紅葉 is just the beginning, though we enjoyed walking on a mountain path. My youngest son got excited at cable car ride. It goes up really steep mountain so the car itself is slanted, which I didn’t know that. 激しい傾斜を登るのでケーブルカーがはじめから傾いて作られている。。。知らなかったです。

Fumie

•  匿名
• 2010年11月22日 06:19

Hi David,

How was the conference? I hope everything went well and you had a great time there.

Hi Yuki,
You seem to be having hectic days. I bet you will miss the days when your children make you busy in 10 or 20 years. Actually I was running after my son even when I was pregnant...

Hi Tomo,

You seemed to have had a great time on Saturday and I'm happy for you.

Hi amo,
I am sure nice down jacket keeps you warm in Korea.
By the way, going to Korea? Lucky you! And have fun.

Hi Fumie,
Walking on a mountain path sounds nice,especially at this time of year.

Hi everyone,

Did you have a nice weekend? I didn't have anything special but I'm really in a good mood at the moment because Grampus Eight became J1 League champions for the first time in 18 years!! As I sometimes mentioned, I'm a fun of NAGOYA GRAMPUS and I got tears in my eyes when I read a column about ' Narazaki',a captain of the team.

It is raining heavily at the moment around here and a bit chilly.

See you soon,

Anne

•  Anne
• 2010年11月22日 09:20

it's me again.
"Grampus Eight " should be "The Grampus Eight ."

•  Anne
• 2010年11月22日 09:27

Hi Anne,

No it shouldn't! You were right first time.

•  David
• 2010年11月22日 13:00

Hi David,
Thanks! My first words was right? I'm always confused which is right,especially when it comes to the name of the team!

•  Anne
• 2010年11月22日 13:18

PS.
Anyway, I'm very happy and Narazai has been my hero!!!

•  Anne
• 2010年11月22日 13:21