月別アーカイブ:2017年3月
Are you shy?
Are you shy?
We often describe ourselves as either shy or confident and many people believe that being more confident is a more positive personality trait. I am sure that we have all felt the anxiety of entering a new situation, being unsure in our own ability to be able to either fully understand or fully engage in the task. How, then can we transition from shy to confident?
Practicing can certainly help us on our way. If we have an important presentation, we will often practice over and over again, learning by heart what we have to say in the appropriate way. However, this does not always work and in extreme cases of stage fright we can completely forget an entire presentation that has been meticulously learned. It is most definitely an embarrassing situation to be in!
There are many suggestions to help us to overcome this fear. Many people use breathing techniques to calm themselves in these situations. Other people find that creating distractions, such as visually stimulating slide shows, can take the pressure and focus off them. Some people use body language to make them appear more confident, consciously choosing more open postures to allude to a greater self confidence.
A popular phase we use when practicing confidence is “fake it until you make it”. More recently the phrase has been adapted to “fake it until you believe it”.
Sapporo Snow Festival
The 68th annual Sapporo Snow Festival was held on February 6th – 12th which showcased some mesmerizing works of art.
This year’s festival theme commemorated Star Wars 40th anniversary entitled “White Star Wars”.
It’s great to see individuals and teams who are creative and passionate about what they do.
Please have a look at some of the pictures at the following link.
http://www.japan-guide.com/blog/sam/170206.html
Media Immersion
All of us here at AMIC have things that we are very passionate about. Of course, we are enthusiastic about the English language, but we also have a range of different hobbies or interests in our free time. Like my fellow teacher (and fellow American) Joe, I am also “kind of a nerd.” While I share his love of video games, I enjoy many other forms of media too. In my classes, I frequently discuss music and movies with my students.
Reading books, watching movies, playing games, and listening to music are all great ways to relax. They can also be a fantastic way to improve your language skills. Exposing and immersing yourself in foreign media is a great way to supplement your lessons and increase your overall fluency.
When I studied French many years ago, I supplemented my courses by watching French TV shows and movies. At first, I would watch them with English subtitles and concentrated on my listening skills, and gradually I was able to replace the English subtitles with French subtitles. I also listened to pop music and tried reading French newspapers and books. This immersion helped me improve my comprehension and overall reading and listening skills, as well as allowing me to learn more about another culture.
Have you seen any English movies recently, or read any English books? We’d love to talk about them with you!
I hope you all have a great weekend!
Alex
卒業~始まりの季節~
3月といえば、卒業シーズンですね。
先日も、卒業証書を持った高校生たちをたくさん見かけました。
アミックの生徒さんの中にもこの春、
大学進学や就職で松山(東温)を離れます、
とアミックを卒業される方が何人かいらっしゃいます。
スタッフとしては寂しい、というのが本音ですが、
祝福したい気持ちももちろんあります(^^♪
皆さまのこれからの人生が幸多きものでありますように(≧▽≦)
そしてアミックで学んでよかった!!と思っていただけますように\(^o^)/
地元に帰省されたときは、
お気軽にアミックに遊びに来てくださいね(^^♪
そんなこの時期は、何かを始めたくなる時期でもあります。
英会話を習ってみたい!! 将来の可能性を広げたい!! 等々、
英語に関心をお持ちの皆さま、
今その一歩を踏み出しませんか?
アミックではそんな皆さまを応援したく、
現在、★春の入会金無料キャンペーン★を実施中!!!
もちろん無料体験も受付中です!!!
この機会にぜひ、アミック・イングリッシュセンターへお越しください(^^♪
日本文化を英語で説明♪Hinamatsuri♪
今日は3月3日、ひな祭りですね♪
様々な日本独特の文化があります、海外の人たちに説明するのは結構難しかったりしませんか?
今日はひな祭りについて説明するときに役立つ英語フレーズを紹介します。
Hinamatsuri is often called “Doll’s Festival” or “Girl’s Festival”.
ひな祭りは英語で「Doll’s Festival」「Girl’s Festival」と呼ばれます。
~と呼ばれる:be called~
The Doll’s Festival celebrates the safe growth and sound health of young girls.
ひなまつりは女の子の無病息災と成長を願ってお祝いをします。
People set up dolls for the Doll Festival on March 3.
人々は3月3日のひな祭りの日に人形を飾ります
It is believed that a doll can take a girl’s bad fortune.
ひな人形は女の子にとっての悪いことを引き受けてくれると信じられているのです。
~と信じられている:It is believed that~
People eat Chirashi-zushi, Hishi-mochi,Hina-arare, and Shieozake for the Doll’s festival.
ひな祭りの日には、ちらし寿司、菱餅、ひなあられを食べたり白酒を飲んだりします。
ちなみに、食べ物を英語で表すと
ちらし寿司:Scattered sushi
菱餅:Diamond-shaped rice cakes
ひなあられ:Rice cake cubes
白酒:Sweet white sake
ぜひ使ってみてくださいね!
ちなみに、写真はアミックキッズが作ってくれた折り紙のお雛様です 😀
この春、何か新しいことを始めてみたい♪外国人と英語でもっといろんな話をしてみたい♪という方、
ぜひアミック・イングリッシュセンターにお越しください 😛
無料体験随時受付中です。