2012年1月20日
A Citizen's Duty? (Feedback)
Thanks for your comments. As most of you pointed out, this is a difficult topic. It's even more difficult in the UK where people often get very violent, especially when they are drunk. There have been lots of stories over recent years of people being stabbed when they challenged groups of youths who were breaking the law. It is a real shame that our society has become like this. Interestingly, an American friend who lives in Atlanta once told me that it is not so much of a problem there. The reason is that everyone knows that everyone else is probably carrying a gun, so people tend to be much more polite to each other. When he told me this, we were in his car, so I said, "How about you?" He said, "Yes, there is a shotgun under the back seat"!
Anyway, here is some feedback on your comments...
I make a decision on a case-by-case basis.
(Hi Akari, that's a nice sentence. Nice to have you with us.)
...then I may involve. Once I involved,...
(...then I may get involved. Once I am involved, ...)
Also, before involve, I would see very carefully if trouble person is not too dangerous.
(Also, before getting involved, I would think very carefully about whether the person causing the trouble might be dangerous.)
By nature, I am a coward, so I don't have guts to do so.
(Nice sentence. You just need "the" before "guts.")
David, I read the article that you told us
(... that you told us about / ... that you mentioned)
If there is a really dangerous incident that happens,
(If something really dangerous happened,...)
I read the article of JT and some of its comments.
(I read the JT article and some of the comments.)
If such an incident (someone does something wrong) happens in 50 years ago,
(If such an incident had happened 50 years ago, ...)
How was your holiday in UK? Did you do anything special this time?
It was great, thanks :-) I didn't do anything special, though.
BTW, I wrote a comment here after a while, so it's difficult to express my thought in English.
(BTW, I haven't written a comment here for a while... / It's been a while since I wrote a comment here...)
I'm Zim and new here.
(Hi Zim. Nice to have you with us.)
It goes without saying that it's no use talking to drunken.
(Nice sentence, but it should be "drunk people" at the end.)
The statement most closely reflects my view is "a".
(Nice sentence, but you need "that" before "most.")
Having said that, the police can't take care of everything, so I think we should help them in other ways.
(Very nice.)
By the way, I found out this week that I will have a new job from April. I'm going to be teaching full time in Gifu University in the Faculty of Education. I'm really excited about teaching future teachers, but I'm a bit worried about dealing with the bureaucracy of a national university, because I have never worked in one before.
As many of you know, I have just been working for myself for the last two years. It has been fun, but I have found myself getting lazier and lazier, and my productivity has gone through the floor. I decided last year that I need the structure of a full-time job, so I started looking around for something interesting. The Gifu job appealed to me partly because I love Gifu, but mainly because I have always wanted to teach students who want to become English teachers. Actually, I'm off to Gifu this afternoon to have a look at a new house. I love living in Seto, but it's too far to commute to Gifu City every day. I'll let you know how I get on.
Anyway, have a great weekend, and I will be back with a new topic on Monday.
PS I can't remember whether I told you or not, but I also write a blog for a grammar website called "Azar Grammar.com." The blog is called "Teacher Talk." I just wrote a new article for that blog about listening, so please check it out if you are interested. Here is the link
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Comments
【correction】
and congratulation on... → and congratulations on
- Tomo
- 2012年1月20日 15:48
Hello everyone and David . David Congratulations, and thank you for rewriting my comment.
I'm very glad that you rewrite my comment, because I had had nobody who lead my English better until now . I tend to be shy with people sometimes. That's why I've studied English alone. But after all ,there is a limit to study on my own .Then ,fortunately I happened to find this blog . Then I've read this blog from the beginning though it's not everything. There are lots of interesting comments and useful comments here. Now I'm looking back 2008's blog anyway. Though It is a challenge for me to join here I hope that I will learn English and enjoy conversation with everyone here.
みなさん、よろしくお願いします。
Have good weekend everyone.
Zim
- Zim
- 2012年1月21日 00:38
Hi David,
Thank you for your feedback.
And congratulations on your new job! You are lucky to find the job that you have always wanted to.
I read your blog on "Azar Grammar.com." As you know, I need to learn English grammar and how to write/speak correct English. So I was looking for good materials for that reason. Then you introduced us this site. It's a challenge for me. Writing style is very different from your blog here. "Teacher Talk" is really an academic one, I think. Anyway, it's difficult but a good practice for me so I will read the next one when you write one.
Have a lovely weekend, everyone!
Hi Zim,
Nice to meet you. I'm looking forward to communicating with you on this blog!
Fumie
- Fumie
- 2012年1月21日 06:25
Hi David,
Thank you for your feedback! It helps a lot as always.
>that you told us *about *---I have to be careful not to make this kind of stupid mistake!
> If there is a really dangerous incident that happens,
(If something really dangerous happened,...)
---Actually, when I wrote this, I felt something weird, but I couldn't figure out other ways. I'm glad you corrected my sentence.
Oh, are you going to be teaching full time in Gifu University? Congratulations on your new start. That sounds nice!
I read the article that you let us know,too.
The article about listening comprehension was very interesting and informative.
【 We listen with our brains, not our ears.】
I especially found the following part interesting:
What allows us to decode the signal and understand what is being said is.....our ability to keep track of topics over the course of a conversation.
Apart from our knowledge of English vocabulary and grammar, it's difficult to to "hear" clearly without this ability.
By the way, this blog was "part 1", so are you posting another article soon? If so, I'm looking forward to reading that.
Hi Zim,
Are you reading the entries from the first?
That's great! I bet there are tons of things to learn. Actually, I'm reading former entries from time to time.
Hi Everyone,
I guess many of you read the news that Yu Darvish is going to make a contract with the Texas Rangers.
I'm thrilled with how well he will pitch there.
Have a lovely weekend!
Anne
- Anne
- 2012年1月21日 07:12
Good luck with your new job and life in Gifu, David!
- Lily
- 2012年1月22日 00:28
Hi David,
Thanks for your feedback. I wasn't able to write comments more this time, because I was a bit busy.
Congratulations on your new job;)
Hope you will enjoy teaching again.
Hi everyone,
It's been cold last couple of days, so take good care of yourself and keep you warm:)
Bye for now,
amo
- amo
- 2012年1月22日 17:19
Hi David,
Thank you for your feedback, and congratulation on getting a job at Gifu University! Teaching future teachers sounds very nice. I'm sure you will be a great help to your students and their future students as well:)
I read your blog on Azar Grammar.com. The experiment with "There was a" and the one you did with your iPhone were very interesting. "We listen with our brains, not our ears." That's very true. As you know, I've been studying English for years, and I realized that the better my vocabulary and my knowledge of grammar are, the more I can improve my listening skills.(I still need to increase my vocabulary, though...)
Have a great weekend, everyone.
See you soon,
Tomo