Instagram

If you like instagram, fashion and cute girls, please take a look at :

https://magz.jpcolle.com/read/10-famous-fashion-instagrammers-in-japan

How to Master Your English Speaking Skills?

Here, I would gladly present you 5 quick tips to help you improve your speaking skills!

1. Do not mind the grammar too much.

A lot of us, despite speaking brilliantly in front of you, you might notice that most of us are not perfect in our grammar. The reason is because, grammar is a boring place to go to, and many of us, especially myself, tend to avoid studying any grammar at all. 

2. Wrong content is perfectly fine. 

You seem to wonder that, where all these English speakers get their content from. Most importantly, is to talk about things you like, because most probably, you would remember something because you like it. Second, if we have no content, most probably we would just put in words like:

-"oh, really?" 

-"maybe, but I'm not sure.."

-"That's interesting! Tell me more about it!"

3. Don't only learn what you need to learn.

Some students come to me and they tell me, "I would only like to learn about what's useful for my work." But the real fact in life is that, a language is not a tool for work, it's a communication medium that is basically used at home, in the society and everywhere. So, use the language to anyone, talk about any topics and make some jokes! 

4. If you don't know THAT word

Most of the time, we tend to forget some vocabulary or, we have never come across of that word before. You can substitute that word in Japanese and then, explain it in simple English that you are capable of. For example:

Yumi: Hey, do you know Japanese people have a tradition of sitting under a .. erm.. kotatsu, and eating mikan?

John: What's a kotatsu and what's mikan? 

Yumi: Oh, kotatsu is a kind of heater, like we sit around a table with a blanket covering our legs. Under the table, there is a heater which warms our legs. Mikan is a kind of orange, erm... oh yeah, it's tangerines!! 

5. If you feel shy

This is the easiest. If you feel shy, but you want to talk to others, ask questions. Let the other person talk instead of you. This may also work if you don't have content! Ask simple questions, for example:

-Do you like sushi?

-Have you been to Hokkaido?

If asking questions might be too difficult, you can also start a conversation about the weather. Or, you can also share about what happened today. For example:

Tommy: Hey, Glen. What's up?

Glen: Hey, you know what, the train was really crowded today. I could barely breathe!

Tommy: That's too bad! 

Good luck! 

Happy New Year! Welcome 2015

Happy New Year!

It's a good year to start with being busy with teaching and writing.

Just fresh from the oven, I have two new articles to share with everyone:

Knee High Boots:
https://magz.jpcolle.com/read/mix-and-match-your-coordinates-with-knee-high-boots

2015 Fukubukuros!!
https://magz.jpcolle.com/read/2015-fukubukuros-aka-lucky-bags

Season's Greetings!

It's almost Christmas and I would like to introduce some common vocabulary used in this time of the year! 

A Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all! 

1. Candy Cane

2. Fireplace 

3.  Gingerbread Man

4. Elves (An elf)

5. Mistletoe

6.  Sleigh

7. Sled 

8. North Pole (Santa's home and workshop)

9. Nutcracker

10. Scrooge (a very thrifty person)

Check out the Checks.

Checkered Skirts:

https://magz.jpcolle.com/read/checkered-skirts-school-girls-coordinate-in-style

Hot from the oven!

My new entry at Japan Collection: Platform Shoes

https://magz.jpcolle.com/read/the-trendy-platform-shoes-we-all-want-to-have

Mastering English

Today, I read an interesting article on the internet. It is about, speaking the English in you. Forget the grammars, forget the perfect English speaker we'd all want to be, just speak English to communicate.

http://www.japantimes.co.jp/community/2014/08/17/issues/could-the-lingua-franca-approach-to-learning-break-japans-english-curse/#.VFoXjvSUefs

The article is rather long, so I would summarize it here.

How to speak English fluently (according to the article):
1. Forget about the perfect grammar, and speak out your opinion.
2. Talk about or focus on an interesting topic.
3. Accept that you cannot get the native pronunciation if you start learning English after 12 years old.
4. It's okay to speak Japanese English.
5. Different nationalities speak English differently.
6. As long as the communication goes through, that is what matters most.


As for point no.4 and no.5 : Personally experience*** 

Dutch: Any eeedia? (Any idea)
Australian: Toodai is Wednesday. (Today is Wednesday)
British: Hello, mate. (Hello, friend)
Japanese: Hambarg. (Hamburger) 
Malaysian: kicap sauce (ketchup sauce)

I really kinda agree to the article, and would like to add some tips for my readers.

How to speak English fluently (my opinion):
1. Elaborate what you are saying. (Make your story longer..and longer.. and longer....)
2. Direct translation is okay(Jap-Eng, Eng-Jap). I use it all the time.
3. We can fix the grammar gradually.
4. Use it daily. Speak daily, if not, read daily.
5. You can study English, but please do not memorize.
6. I am not a walking dictionary, so I don't know all English words. So do you (you too).


For those who will be meeting me soon, do use this as a topic in our lesson!! Tell me if you'd like to agree or disagree with all the points above.

Thank you and have a great evening.