Congratulations, Yuki!

私たちの鶴見教室にずっと通ってくれている小学５年生のユウキ君が、英検５級に合格しました！しかも高得点！

子供たちが頑張ってきた英語の学習が、目に見える形で評価されることはとても大切ですね。「英語が好き！」から「英語が得意！」と自信を持って先に進んでいけます。

Congratulations, Yuki!  
We are so happy for you!

Our "New" Classroom

The Be & Me 英会話 Club renovations were a great success! Here I am teaching the grade-1 students in the renovated classroom.

Here's Mayumi teaching the grade-3 students in the "new" classroom.

  
This weekend, we'll add the finishing touches -- white boards, clocks, maps, and so on.

Classroom Renovations

 It seems like only yesterday that I was packing up our classroom in Shinsaibashi for the big move to Sekime Takadono. Last Friday (June 19th), I found myself doing it again. This time, I was getting ready for our renovations. The good news is that everything is on track for it to be finished by tomorrow!

 

Before

 

During (I'll post the "After" photo tomorrow!)

The new wall, air-conditioner, and light viewed from the "new-classroom" side. It's being wallpapered as I type this!

Cherry-Blossom Viewing in Kansai

This image pretty much sums up today's cherry-blossom viewing here in Kansai!

This picture was painted by Teiry Le, a French artist living & working in Kyoto.

Check out his work on Tumbler here!

Check out his FaceBook page here!

新しい日本人講師を迎えることになりました！

横地優子先生は、10年に及ぶ英会話講師歴をお持ちのベテラン先生です。現在は大学にてTOEIC講座を担当したり、英会話クラス、また市内の 子育てプラザで開催されている「親子で楽しむ英会話」を指導して5年目になります。TOEIC960点取得という高い語学力を持ち、オーストラリアに約3 年間の滞在経験があり、文化や生活面にも豊富な経験を持っています。「子供たちに生きた英語を！」を目指すこの教室の心強いスタッフとして、私たちも大い に期待しています。

Welcome to Be & Me Eikaiwa Club

Under Construction

Merry Xmas, Everybody!

We love Halloween. Every year, we make our own Halloween costume. We also make our own Xmas cards. We often include our Halloween costumes in our Xmas cards. This year, we were the old-style Batman, Batwoman (NOT Batgirl!) & the new-style Batman (A.K.A. The Dark Knight).

You can check out all our past Xmas cards here...

https://plus.google.com/photos/105578912182962098197/albums/6096691685950291249

Have a merry Xmas and a happy & healthy 2015!

Video from Halloween 2014 on the Dotonbori Bridge

A huge crowd of young, costumed Japanese celebrate Halloween 2014 on the Dotonbori Bridge, in Shinsaibashi, Osaka.

Photos from Halloween 2014 on the Dotonbori Bridge

Click Here for Photos from Halloween 2014 on the Dotonbori Bridge

Japan invented "cosplay" so it makes sense that Halloween has become a BIG thing here! Every year, huge groups of young Japanese dress in costumes and go to the Dotonbori Bridge, in Namba. This year, Halloween fell on the Friday before a long weekend so more people than usual dressed up & celebrated on the bridge. Here is just a small selection of some of the costumes that were there...

Halloween 2014 on the Dotonbori Bridge

What to do for Halloween in Shinsaibashi & Tennoji this Friday

Last Halloween (the REAL Halloween -- October 31st!), I visited the Dotombori Bridge with a friend to check out all the people in costume. We had a great time!

This year, I'm meeting some other friends at Ola Tacos Bar (http://homepage2.nifty.com/olatacos/), in Shinsaibashi, at 8:00 pm for a quick dinner. After dinner, we're going to go down to the bridge to check out this year's costumes.

After we've finished on the bridge, we're going to catch the subway down to Tin's Hall, a bar in Tennoji, to watch a friend's concert & join the bar's Halloween party.

If you want to join us, come to Ola at 8:00 pm!

Here are some photos from last year's trip to the bridge:
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.461674580617132.1073741826.195824250535501&type=3

2014 Halloween at Ola -- The Photos!

Every year, my family & friends enjoy celebrating Halloween at Ola Tacos Bar ( http://homepage2.nifty.com/olatacos/ ), in Shinsaibashi, Osaka. This year, we were Classic Batman, Batwoman & The Dark Knight -- a Bat-Family!

You can check out all our photos from the night here: https://picasaweb.google.com/105578912182962098197/HalloweenAtOla2014?authuser=0

Halloween Party in Shinsaibashi, Osaka, this Saturday, October 25th

 

Halloween is nearly here -- already!!!!  This year, we'll be going to the Halloween Party at Ola Tacos Bar this Saturday, October 25th, from 6:00 pm.

Please Note: This event is intended for ADULT students!

We hope to see you there!  Don't forget that it's more fun if you wear a costume!

Here are a few pictures from previous Halloween parties at Ola (Click on the links below each photo to see more photos!)...

 

Halloween at Ola 2008

 

Halloween at Ola 2009

 

Halloween at Ola 2010

 

Halloween at Ola 2011

 

Halloween at Ola 2012

 

Halloween at Ola 2013

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！

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!

What Happened to the Shinsaibashi Classroom?

It's been just over 4 months since we moved out of the Shinsaibashi classroom.  It seems like only yesterday, but it seems a lifetime ago!

We're still in contact with our old landlord & now friend, Noriyuki Ueno.  Recently, I saw some photos of what the classroom looks like now.

 Wow!  That's quite different, isn't it?!

Noriyuki is now a host for Airbnb (that's Air B&B, an online site for booking bed & breakfast accommodation).  He rents out rooms for one-night, weekly, & monthly stays in Shinsaibashi.  You can check out all his rooms here: https://www.airbnb.com/s?host_id=10286213

The big yellow table is not gone!

We still use it for our adult classes at the new classroom in Sekime Takadono.

Thermae Romae 2

 

On Sunday night, my family & I went to see Thermae Romae 2.  It was great fun!  I could really relate to Lucius, the main character, because he's also a foreigner trying to understand Japanese baths. (My favourite scene was Lucius trying to work out where to look in the mixed bath [混浴] -- I totally understand that scene!!!)

After the movie, we checked out the merchandise in the lobby.  We were surprised to see that Camera Otoko, the No-More-Movie-Piracy character, had his own corner!

We also found the must-have Thermae Romae merchandise -- a bathtub plug shaped like Lucius.  Of course we bought it!

You can check out the trailer for the movie here...

What Happened to the Last 2 Months?!

Wow! What happened to the last 2 months? They just seemed to fly by!

In English, we often say that “time flies when we’re having fun.” This means that when we are having fun, time passes quickly. I’m not too sure if I’ve been having fun in the last 2 months! – I’ve been too busy to notice!

Actually, since the beginning of April, I’ve been flat out like a lizard drinking! (Click on the expression to find out what it means.)

Live Music at the Hard Rock Cafe (Hommachi), Friday, April 25th

Our friend Dave is in a rock/funk band called "Revolution." They are playing at the Hard Rock Cafe in Hommachi, on Friday, April 25th, from about 8 p.m.. My family and some other friends will go there around 7:00 p.m.  We THINK they'll finish playing at around 11:00 p.m.!  Why don't you join us!

Hope to see you there!

They are playing funk in the above video.  When they play rock, they sometimes play AC/DC -- what's not to love!

No Way! ありえへ〜ん！

気持ちと英語表現が重なると身につきますね！

Thank You, Kyoko!

 Many years ago, I wrote on this Blog about our student Kyoko, who is a fashion designer (Be & Me Student Saves the World). Yesterday, some really funky cushions designed by Kyoko were delivered to our new classroom. They were a new classroom-opening present.

Thanks, Kyoko! The kids really love them!