Secret

Everybody has a secret. And I believe that any secret will be revealed in the end.

If you notice somebody's secret against your will, you'll have to keep your mouth shut. It should be another secret.

How disparate Japan is!

Today I went to Shiroganedai, which is a upscale residential area in Japan. And we found a BOOKOFF. The BOOKOFF is totally different than other BOOKOFF stores. It has a coffee shop like STARBUCKS. Although the BOOKOFF really suited Shiroganedai, knowing the existing of this store gave me a bad feeling. I thought that BOOKOFF is for people who aren't rich. As a matter of fact, though, they are giving a better service to the riches.

I've just come back from Kyoto!

I've just come back from Kyoto, where there was a wedding of my old friend. While walking around Kyoto, I felt that it is not as packed as Tokyo and it is very clean.

Although I like Tokyo because I was born there, I wish it could be clearner and less crowded.

The Japanese like comparison!?

If you take a look at grammar textbooks written in Japanese, you will be surprised that a lot of space is occupied with explanation about comparison. Even the book I'm using for a beginners' class has more than 10 pages for it and there is a list of idioms related to comparison, which will be shown below. I don' t think that some of them should be called idioms.


According to "新ＴＯＥＩＣテスト英文法をはじめからていねいに (TOEIC: English Grammar from the beginning)" by Tetsuya Yasukochi, Toshin Books

as... as any ~
(number) times as ... as ~
as... as ~ can = as... as possible
as... as ever
as... as ever lived [was]
do not so much as V
as many~
all the (comparative) for ~ = all the (comparative) because SV
not... any more than~
no more... than ~
no less... than~
no more than~
not more than~
no less than~
not less than~
S not V, much [still] less ~ = S not V, let alone~
not... any longer = no longer...
know better than to V
sooner or later
more or less
none the less
would rather V1 than V2
at most = not more than~
do one's best
not... in the least [slightest]

"Whale Sentence Structure" or "Whale Sentence Pattern"

A whale is no more a fish than a horse is.

This sentence is used to explain the concept of "comparison" in English grammar and it very very famous among only English learners in Japan.I think that teaching comparison is good. But, learners need to master sentences like these below before the sentence above:

Her hands were as cold as ice.

My wife earns as much money as you.

My boyfriend is much younger than me.

More and more people from Europe live in Tokyo.

Five Sentence Pattens? I've never heard of it!

In Japan, mastering "five sentence patterns" is centerned on not only grammar classes but also English education. Do native speakers of English know "five sentence patterns," though?

According to Grammar & Sentence Patterns (Tomonaoabe, TS Kikaku):

1st Sentence Pattern S(Subject) + Vi (Intransitive
Verb)
God exists.
She is in that room

2nd Sentence Pattern S + Vi + C(Complement)
The sky is blue.
My friend is a lawyer.
The sky looks blue.
My friend became a lawyer.

3rd Sentence Pattern S + Vt(Verb Transitive) +
O(Object)
We eat fish.

4th Sentence Pattern S + Vt + O + O
Father bought his son a car.

5th Sentence Pattern S + Vt +C +C
I consider him a fool.
We eat fish raw.
I watched him swimming.
We found the matter settled.
I found the machine out of order.
I want you to study.

I admit that this theory has been playing a role in helping Japanese English learners become familiar with English sentence patterns. However, I also wonder if there's something incomplete in this grammar theory. For example:

I am fine.

The sentence above is categorized into the 2nd Sentence Pattern (S + V + C). But, the sentence below, which seems to mean and function in the same way, is categorized into the 1st sentence Pattern (S + V):

I am in good health.

We have to consider it.

I really hope that young grammarians in Japan will give English learners and English teachers in Japan and world a better theory to understand English sentence patterns easier.

Time needed.

I have to work on something else recently, and I had been away from here for a while. What've I been up to? Hmm... I'm drinking coffee and despising people who think money always comes first.

Jammy Bastard

One of my Japanese colleague regarded an email account that contained "jammy bastard" as a male's name. As a matter of fact, though, it's a British slang item. In American English, people say "lucky bastard."

Are you dating Scarlett Johansson? You're a lucky bastard!

Listening CNN might not be always good.

Although I know that my English is not that good, I often wonder what is good English. If you are a serious English learner, you often try to speak good English as I do.

This time I don't want to include people who have lived in English speaking countries and who acquired native-like fluency without any conscious efforts. Anyway, their English is not always good as you think. I'm working with two Americans who think of theirselves perfect bilinguals of English and Japanese. But, one doesn't know the difference between to "realize" and to "recognize." The other uses English like "I'm looking forward to see you," as I mentioned before.

If you started out learning English after becoming an adult like I did, you must have been doing consistant efforts. Most Japanese bilingual English teachers often try to listen to English for their free time like their commutal time on the train. But, what do you listen?

Most serious English learners often listen to news in English such as CNN or BBC. However, those who learned English from only such materials tend to speak kind of monotone and solid English despite the fact that their vocabulary are excellent. As for me, American TV dramas are my textbook. But, I have to admit that my vocabulary is limited and sometimes my English is too colloquial. What is the best way? It's a good question....

Those who are good at the TOEIC can't speak English, while Americans are not good at English grammar

If you are an English teacher in Japan, you can't stay away from the existence of the TOEIC test. It is widely believed that if you have a TOEIC score of over 900, you are really good at English. However, if you live in Japan, you may come across a lot of Japanese who have gotten scores of over 900 and who can't speak English good enough.

Talking about myself, my latest score is over 900. But, I surely know that my English is not that good, as you may notice it from my poor writing.

Anyway, most Japanese who've got higher TOEIC scores is just good at exams. Actually, most Japanese bilingual English teachers know this well but they need to keep teaching the TOEIC coures to make ends meet.

Another thing that may often be mentioned in English teaching industry is that Americans are often poor at grammar. According to my colleague's observation, one of American teachers I'm working at have said "I'm looking forward to see you." Of course, you have to say "I'm looking forward to seeing you." I don't know whether or not Americans are really bad at English grammar, but I can say that some of Americans who live in Japan for teaching English can get English teaching jobs much easier than Japanese teachers or other native-speaking teachers such as Australian teachers and Canadians teachers, and that they are not serious about their jobs. I wonder how much they can get on the TOEIC test. Full mark (990)? Or less than 900.

Higuchi and Higashino

I'm reading One-way Love by Keigo Higashino. When I read his other book for the first time, I felt that his style was very monotone and kind of boring. Now, I feel his style is just fine.

I've also felt that the style of Yusuke Higuchi is n't satisfying any more. Maybe my preference has changed unless their styles have changed.

Surprised and...

Recently, I noticed that Beni Arashiro has got it going on in an advertising poster hung in a train. I am kind of surprised by the fact. I think she is attractive, but she's not that famous.



Another thing that surprised me is that an American, who is teaching English at the same place, told me that he liked a group called "AKB48." Actually, I didn't know those people. And then, I checked it out though the Internet. I sighed, because they are teenagers wearing school uniforms. I thought that Americans and Europeans who are over 20 do not like those girls. But, probably I was wrong.

makeup and retake

A makeup (test/exam) is a test taken in school because you were not able to take a previous test. But, I wondered how you call an exam that you take again because you failed it the first time.

My American colleague told me that it should be called a "retake." He also said, though, "it's very rare." In Japan, it's not uncommon. I have taken a retake a couple of times. And one of my Japanese colleagues said she had taken many times.

I think that this difference comes from that of term exams between Japan and the states. In Japan, sometimes the mean score of a term exam is around 50 percent. And 75 percent is a very good score at times. However, as you know, 75 percent is C in the states.

Do you want to be a lackey? Nope.

Today I learned this word.

A lackey or lacquey is a term for a uniformed manservant, in its original meaning (attested 1529, according to the OED).
The modern connotation of "servile follower" appeared later, in 1588 (OED).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lackey_%28manservant%29

Goober?

Sometimes Hajime looks like a goober, you know.

I learned this slang from my colleague.

goober: a goober is someone who looks/ is a bit silly, not as harsh as stupid or dumb Example: My father in lay looked like a bit of a goober at the
wedding
http://www.slangsite.com/slang/G.html

realize vs recognize

I know an American who is teaching in Tokyo. He believes that he is one of the best ESL teachers. But, I heard that when one of his students asked him about the difference between to "realize" and to "recognize," he said "English is sometimes very difficult."

A dictionary explains this way:

realize: to understand a situation, sometimes suddenly

recognize: to accept that something is legal, true, or important.

Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary

mop vs map

I taught English pronunciation today. It included the difference between "map" and "mop." This reminds me of my experience.

When I lived in Missouri, one of my friends visited my house. He went to the gas station near my house. He wanted to have a map of Missouri. And he said, "Can I have a map of Missouri?"

But, his "map" sounded like "mop." Therefore, the girl working there looked confused. Nobody can imagine what "map of Missouri" is...

It's Snowing in Tokyo

Chime

My boss showed me a book and asked me to make up a plan using the idea of the book. The book contains a lot of phrases used as a chime or response. I looked over the book and find it funny. But, I felt it difficult to make a program of English conversation course. Probably, most native speakers don't want to hear the phrases below from Japanese English learners in business:

A: See you later alligator.
B: After a while crocodile.

This kicks ass!

No way, Jose!

How those who can't speak English would think of those who can speak English

I'm not talking about Americans or any English speaking people. I'm talking about Japanese people.

There are some Japanese people who speak English. And there are many people who don't speak English. It's not strange, is it? Recently, I've recognized that some of those who belong to the latter group are miunderstanding the former group.

For example, even Japanese who speak English with native-like fluency cannot do translation or simultaneous interpreting without any training. Few Japanese who got a TOEIC score of over 950 can write perfect English. To me, these things are quite natural. But, Japanese who are not good at English often say to me, "Why not? You speak English, right?"