Wednesday, September 17, 2014

A Fun Way to Review

We're always looking for new ways to make review interesting for our younger students. Recently, Mayumi read a book by Goro Taijiri, an English teacher who often works on NHK. He recommended using fly swats for a fun (& safe!) version of "Flashcard Slam." As you can see, the kids love it!

何事も反復練習が大切です。新しい単語や表現を学んでも、身に付くまでは何度も練習。間をあけて何度も練習です。その1番の方法はゲーム!私たちもあれや これやと考案し、巷のアイディアを参考にしながらやっています。今回はNHKテレ基礎英語の田尻悟郎先生のおすすめアイテム。『ハエたたき』カルタゲーム でカードを取るのにピシャリとハエたたきを使います。初めて見る道具にびっくりの子供たちが白熱するのに時間はかかりませんでした!(笑)
レッスンの前半でしっかり学ぶ
そして後半で楽しく英語で遊ぶ
『遊ぶ』よさは、私たちがする英語的リアクションを、ゲームに夢中の子供たちが自然にやり始めることにもあります!

Wednesday, September 10, 2014

Live Music on Friday, September 12th

OMG! (Oh, My God!)  What happened to the summer?!  I was planning to post soooo many things on this Blog over the holidays ... and now it's nearly the middle of September!  I guess time really DOES fly!

Anyway, the temperature is starting to cool down.  It's a good time to start going out again.  This Friday, September 12th, my friend David is playing at the Shinsaibashi Blarney Stone with the band REVolution, which plays a mix of hard rock & funk covers.  The band will start playing around 8:30 pm.  I'm working on Friday night so I will get there around 9:00 to 9:30 pm.  There is no entrance charge and recently the band has been sounding VERY good -- hope to see you there!