少人数制で楽しく身につく英会話教室・英会話スクールなら「アミックインターナショナル」

Every one has a guilty pleasure and mine so happens to be found on YouTube. “Snog, Marry, Avoid” was an English TV show that claims to help people embrace their natural beauty. On each episode, three flashy young men and women are brought into P.O.D. (a “make-under” robot with attitude) and forced to shed their loud makeup, fake tans, and hair extensions for a more natural, socially-accepted level of attractiveness. Make-unders may include cutting and dying hair to a more natural shade, removing facial piercings, a new wardrobe of less revealing clothing, and makeup in neutral shades. The title comes from a poll taken by strangers on the street. The strangers are shown a picture of the contestant and asked if they would rather snog (a.k.a. kiss), marry, or avoid them. The initial reaction is usually avoid for reason such as they’re wearing “too much make up” or because their “clothes are too skimpy”. Some of their comments can be quite rude actually. After their make-under, the reactions are generally much more positive with the pollers stating that they would elect to either snog or marry the contestant if they could. Once the shock of seeing themselves in this new fashion wears off, most contestants generally like their new appearance. However, occasionally the show checks up on past contestants and we see that they usually revert to their past ways of too much fake tanner and midriff bearing tops. 

Here’s a little taster of what an average episode looks like:

While I believe that everyone should dress the way they want and live the lifestyle they enjoy, I always get a little teary eyed after the make-under when I see a contestant who is truly shocked at and enjoys their new look. I guess I just want everyone to have their happily-ever-after moment. What’s your favorite “junk” television show?

When I first learned that in Japan there are four different types of prefectures–ken, fu, dō, and to–I was confused as to why. A prefecture is a prefecture right? But as I have thought about it and learned more, I realized that America also has these kinds of naming exceptions for their administrative jurisdictions.

46 States?: While the U.S. is known for its famed 50 States, four of them call themselves commonwealths instead of states. Despite their unique label, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, and Virginia have no special political status compared to the ‘official’ states. 

Counties: In most U.S. states, local government is divided up into smaller areas called counties. Even with two states (Connecticut and Rhode Island) not having them, there are still 3,142 counties in the country. In two states, however, these go by different names: boroughs in Alaska and parishes in Louisiana. 

District: Then of course there’s Washington D.C., the only area in the U.S. (excluding territories like Puerto Rico) that doesn’t lie within the boundaries of a state. Here, the District of Columbia is just that: a special district where the country’s federal government lives and operates. The word ‘district’ also has other uses, such as ‘school district’ which designates where children residing in a particular areas of the city must attend (public) school. 

Last week, I helped decorate Shigenobu Amic for Christmas. One of my students protested that it was far too early to start decorating, because “Halloween was less than a month ago!” However, in the United States, Christmas decorations are usually sold alongside Halloween and Thanksgiving decorations until mid-November, when they take their rightful place front and center of stores. In fact, most Americans who celebrate Christmas opt to put up their Christmas tree the day after Thanksgiving, which is celebrated on the last Thursday in November.  However, most department stores start decorating much, much earlier. Giant Christmas trees decorated with shiny ornaments, blinking lights, and yards of tinsel displayed outside and inside nearly every establishment is usually our cue to begin celebrating Christmas. Garlands of fir and pine are intertwined on banisters and twinkling lights appear around house frames. Inflatable Santas and Rudolphs wave their arms unendingly on the lawns of the tackiest homeowners.  The airwaves are bombarded with of Mariah Carey’s “All I Want For Christmas Is You” blasting from speakers. ABC Family, aka Freeform, begins their 25 Days of Christmas movie marathon. But the blatant consumerism and mindless entertainment aren’t the only things that truly make Christmas, Christmas. As cheesy as it sounds, Christmas is pure feeling. Nostalgia and excitement mixed with eggnog and cinnamon spice. Yes, maybe decorating starts a bit early for Japanese tastes, but nothing compares to walking into your local mall and staring up at a beautifully outfitted 20 foot Christmas tree or standing in line for pictures with Santa. The peace and quiet of Christmas Day is a little celebration in itself. How about you; does your family celebrate Christmas? 

衣山校に、愛媛FCのサッカー選手（西田剛さん、原裕太郎さん）が来られています！

インタビューをさせて頂きました。

愛媛FC 　西田剛選手

セミプライベートレッスン受講中

• 英会話を習おうと思ったきっかけは？

海外の人とコミュニケーションを取れるようになりたかったからです。

• どのようにアミックを知りましたか？

同じチームの選手が通っていたので。今は2人でセミプライベートレッスンを受けています。

• レッスンはいかがですか？

毎回とても楽しいです。分からないところがあっても、先生が分かりやすく簡単な英語に直して説明してくれます。全て英語でのレッスンなので、とてもためになります。

• レッスンを受けてできるようになったことはありますか？

以前に比べて英語が聞き取れるようになってきました。

• 今後の目標は？

外国人と難なくコミュニケーションが取れるようになること、また海外旅行でも英語を使ってみたいです。

ありがとうございました。次回インタビューの続きをお届けします。

みなさま

2019年のスクールスケジュールカレンダーができました！

赤文字の日は、休校日になります。

赤文字の日に加え、衣山校、余戸校、石井校は月曜日が定休日になります。

休校の前にはニュースレターなどでもお知らせいたします。