5月 2016 ~ お茶の間留学

2016年5月27日金曜日

2016年5月27日金曜日 -

Paul: Five weeks in Tokyo

Hello Blog readers. I hope you're doing well.

I recently returned to Osaka from teaching in branch schools in Tokyo. It had been three years since my last branch adventure in Sapporo and I was ready to see the world again. It was a refreshing experience to be released from the confines of the computer monitors where I usually work

Having visited Tokyo on numerous occasions before, there wasn't much in the way of sightseeing that I wanted to do. So instead, I caught up with old friends who now live in Tokyo and made some new friends playing darts on my days off.

One of the highlights was watching a friend's improv comedy show Pirates of Tokyo Bay. For those who have never seen improv, it's a kind of comedy where the performers take suggestions from the audience and then use those suggestions to perform short sketches. Ten years ago I watched his group's first show, Pirates of the Dotonbori, in Osaka. After relocating to Tokyo, he set up a new group and they perform bilingual (English and Japanese) shows once a month.

Another interesting experience was the visit of TV cameras to one of the branches I was working in. Having a cameraman filming is a lot different from the cameras at the MM center that I'm used to!

Finally, thank you to all of the students who I got to meet face to face. And a big thank you to the Nova staff and instructors who helped make my Tokyo experience a positive one.

Bye for now, Paul.

ready to：心の準備ができている

refreshing：リフレッシュできる

released from：解放される

confines：境界

numerous：数多くの

in the way of：～に関しては

instead：その代わりに

days off：オフの日

improv comedy：即興のお笑いライブ

take suggestions from：お題をもらう

bilingual：２カ国語で

I'm used to：慣れている

2016年5月26日木曜日

2016年5月26日木曜日 -

Club 9 Lessons: May Week 5

Club 9

5/28 – Shawn
Time Travel

Doctor Who, a British science-fiction programme produced by the BBC since 1963, depicts the doctor’s adventures as he travels through space and time. The Back To The Future trilogy of movies had worldwide box office revenue of more than $950,000,000. Yes, people are interested in time travel. But, is it just fantasy or will it become reality? Physicists are studying “wormholes”; theoretical passages through space-time. Will these be the corridors we use to travel through time? If so, would you like to take that trip? In which direction would you like to go: to the past or to the future? We’ll discuss the possible benefits and dangers of traveling to another time.

5/29 – Anna

World Heritage Sites

A World Heritage Site is a place listed by UNESCO as being of special cultural or physical significance. There are currently 1031 World Heritage Properties; 48% are located in Europe and North America and 23% are located in Asia and the Pacific. This year, 23 properties have been added to the list and 48 properties have been classified as being in danger. Have you been to any World Heritage Sites? Do you think being named a World Heritage Site makes the property more appealing to tourists? What about the negative effects increased tourism can have on these sites? In which ways can these sites be protected while still being popular tourist attractions?

6/01 – Anthony H
The News

We’re going to discuss what’s recently been happening in Japan and in the world.

2016年5月21日土曜日

2016年5月21日土曜日 -

Johnny　Miller：Art in The Big Apple

Hello there, it's Johnny here. I’m very excited because I am going to New York in three weeks’ time and I’ll be there for one week. I haven't been to New York for twenty one years. The reason I know this is because I have been married for twenty one years and the last time I went to New York was for my honeymoon.

As many of you may know, I am a big fan of art and one of my favorite art museums, the Frick Collection, is in New York. The collection was assembled by a nineteenth century American industrialist named Henry Clay Frick and the work is housed in his former residence on Fifth Avenue.

The works he has there are just astonishing. There are paintings by Bellini, Rembrandt, Goya and Rubens to name but a few.

At the moment there is an exhibition of the seventeenth century Dutch painter Anthony van Dyck, who is probably one of the most popular and famous portrait painters ever.

I'm excited to go and see this show as there are over one hundred pieces of his work which have been gathered from famous museums all over the world.

assembled：構成されている

astonishing：驚くべき

portrait painters：肖像画家

work ：作品

2016年5月14日土曜日

2016年5月14日土曜日 -

Andy Friedl: Godzilla

Viele von Ihnen wissen ja, dass ich japanische Kultur mag und ich auch gerne zu Hause bin.

Deshalb sind natuerlich auch japanische Filme ein Steckenpferd von mir, besonders ein Genre: Monsterfilme (Kaijuu). Schon als Kind in Deutschland habe ich mich am Sonntag Nachmittag gerne vor die Flimmerkiste gesetzt und Kabel 1 eingeschaltet. Das war DER Monsterfilm-Sender in Deutschland, besonders zu Ostern und Weihnachten gab es immer “Monsterwochen”.

As many of you know, I like Japanese culture and I like to stay at home. That's why I love to watch Japanese movies, especially monster movies (kaijuu). Even when I was a child, I usually sat in front of the TV on Sundays and watched Kabel 1 (a TV channel). That was the best channel for monster movies in Germany, especially during Easter and Christmas when they had “Monster Weeks”.

Neben Gamera und Mothra gab es natuerlich auch den Koenig der Piraten (aehm … Entschuldigung, falsches Genre) – ich meine natuerlich den Koenig der Monster: Godzilla.

In addition to Gamera and Mothra, they would also broadcast the king of pirates (ahem... sorry, wrong genre), I mean, of course, the king of monsters: Godzilla.

Sein Schrei, sein Herz und seine Abenteuer sind fantastisch. Egal ob er gegen Biolante kaempft, sich liebevoll um Godzilla Jr. kuemmert oder die Erde gegen Monster aus dem Weltall verteidigt (ja ja .. Godzilla Final Wars), er behaelt am Ende immer die Oberhand.

His scream, his heart and his adventures are fantastic. Whether he fights against Biolante, kindly looks after Godzilla Jr., or defends the world against aliens (“Godzilla: Final Wars”), he always comes out as the winner at the end.

Und in diesem Sommer wird es wieder einen neuen Film aus Japan geben. Nicht Zilla aus Amerika, sondern GODzilla. Ich habe mir schon den Trailer angesehen und er sieht ziemlich gut aus. Showa-Godzilla hat natuerlich auch seine Hoehepunkte, aber Heisei-Godzilla gefaellt mir am besten. Seine Gegner, Mecha-Kind Gidorah und auch meine Favorit Kiryuu, der Eisendrachen aus Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla, sehen einfach nur realitisch aus und auch wenn sie kaempfen, sind sie wahre Schwergewichte. Aber wenn man den Schrei hoert und das Gesicht sieht, kann man nur an eins denken, alle Zweifel sind wie weggewischt: “Hier kommt der Koenig. Wo er hintritt, waechst kein Gras mehr”.

This summer there will finally be a new movie. Not Zilla from America, but GODzilla. I have already watched the trailer and think it looks quite good. Of course, Showa-Godzilla has good points, but I prefer Heisei-Godzilla. His enemies Mecha-kid Gidorah and my favorite kiryuu, the iron dragon from “Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla”, look really realistic and when they fight they are true heavyweights. When you hear his scream and the look on his face, all doubts are dispelled: “Here comes the king. Wherever he steps, no grass will grow.”

Gefallen Ihnen auch Monsterfilme? Ist auch Godzilla Ihr Favorit? Und haben Sie sich schon die Kinokarte fuer den Blockbuster des Jahres gesichert?

Do you like monster movies, too? Is Godzilla also your favorite? Have you already secured your tickets for the blockbuster of the year?

Filme: movies:映画

Flimmerkiste: TV:テレビ

Ostern: Easter:イースター

Weihnachten: Christmas:クリスマス

Abenteuer: adventures:冒険

die Erde: the world:世界

ziemlich: quite:かなり

Gegner: enemies:敵

Gesicht: face:顔

Zweifel: doubts:疑い

Hintritt: steps:踏み出す

Kinokarte: tickets:チケット

2016年5月13日金曜日

2016年5月13日金曜日 -

CLUB 9 Lessons: May Week 3

Club 9

5/14 – Eugene

Fairy Tales

If you say the words “Once upon a time...” to just about anyone in the US, they’ll think back to their childhood, to a time when they were snuggled up on the couch or tucked up in bed while a parent read them a bedtime fairy tale. This is where frogs were kissed by princesses, wolves huffed and puffed, and gingerbread men ran away.

In this Club 9 lesson, we’ll talk about some of the classic fairy tales, such as Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty. We'll discuss different types of stories, for example, Aesop’s Fables, which are short and end with a moral. We’ll compare Japanese and Western fairy tales. Finally, we'll discuss to what extent modern fairy tales have been influenced by classic stories.

5/15 – Tony

Individuality vs. Conformity

Robert Orben said: “A graduation ceremony is an event where the commencement speaker tells thousands of students dressed in identical caps and gowns that 'individuality' is the key to success.” For a society to function, its citizens must conform to laws. For businesses to operate successfully, its employees must conform to the company’s rules and regulations. Yet many innovations are the result of people standing out from the crowd.

To what extent should we value conformity and individuality? In this Club 9 lesson, we’re going to discuss the pros and cons of both.

5/18 – Alan

The News

We’re going to discuss what’s been happening recently in Japan and in the world.

2016年5月6日金曜日

2016年5月6日金曜日 -

Alexis: The euphoria of learning a new language

Depuis mon arrivée au Japon il y a presque 3 mois, j'étudie chaque jour le japonais, langue qui m'était complètement étrangère auparavant. Ce processus d'acquisition réveille un cerveau parfois trop endormi comme peu d'expériences au monde en sont capables (excepté peut-être la beauté d'un amour naissant).

Since arriving here in Japan three months ago, I've been studying Japanese, a language that was completely foreign to me before, every day. Learning a language stimulates my brain in a way few activities can.

Cependant, pour aborder le japonais, il faut d'abord s'attaquer aux alphabets, les fameux Kanas (vous me direz, l'amour aussi possède son alphabet d'une certaine façon). Mais apprendre un alphabet phonétique prend en fait très peu de temps. Deux semaines au total permettent généralement de les lire, sans malheureusement comprendre le sens.

To take on Japanese I had to tackle two new alphabets, the famous Kanas. Surprisingly, within two weeks I was able to read most of the characters. However, understanding what they mean when they are put together to make words will take me longer.

C'est le début d'un long travail d'apprentissage du vocabulaire qui transforme votre cerveau en véritable ordinateur quantique. Des centaines, des milliers de mots nouveaux à classer, répertorier, plus ou moins loin des deux langues étrangères que je maitrise déjà : l'anglais et le portugais. Petit à petit, je mémorise vite et chaque page de pub devient une pierre de Rosette. Chaque mot déchiffré devient une victoire digne de Champollion.

Here is the start of a new journey for me, using my brain like a quantum computer in order to sort and classify the hundreds of new words I will learn, and relate them to the languages I have already mastered: English and Portuguese. Little by little, I'm finding it easier to remember new words. The advertisements on the train are becoming easier to understand. I feel like Champollion deciphering the Rosetta Stone. **

Ces succès minimes galvanisent un cerveau quelque peu fatigué par la répétition. Surtout que la lecture est la part invisible de l'iceberg, car faut-il encore maintenant parler cette nouvelle langue, submergé par tant d'informations ! Là, le francais lambda, et moi particulièrement, se heurte au meme problème que rencontre beaucoup de japonais avec une nouvelle langue : la peur de l'erreur. Se tromper est pourtant la clé de l'apprentissage et communiquer à l'oral doit toujours être le but recherche.

These little victories help keep me motivated. However, reading is just the tip of the iceberg. I must now practice speaking. As with other language learners, I am afraid of making mistakes but I know it's a part of the process and necessary in order for my Japanese to improve.

euphorie： euphoria：幸福感

étrangère：foreign：異国の

aborder： take on：とりかかる

attaquer：tackle：取り組む

symboles： characters：文字

quantique： quantum：量子
classer：classify：ランク付けする

répertorier：sort：分類する

dechiffrer：deciphered：解読された

se tromper： to make a mistake：間違えること

**Jean-François Champollion was a French scholar, philologist and orientalist, known primarily as the decipherer of the Egyptian hieroglyphs and a founding figure in the field of Egyptology.

ジャン=フランソワ・シャンポリオンは、主にエジプトの象形文字とエジプト学の分野で知られているフランスの学者、言語学者。