ABC Monthly

 What's Happening This Month Here's the schedule for this month: Teacher's Corner For a little over a year now, the main focus of Teacher's Corner was provide parents a glimpse of what their children are doing inside our classroom. Because we are an English conversation school, we mainly covered topics in the Everybody Up series.  This month; however, we'd like focus our attention on phonics, more specifically Oxford Phonics World (OPW).   One of the main reasons, students begin to dislike English; usually from around junior high school, is due to the sudden expectation that students need to "read" English.  Suddenly being forced to read is very counter-productive for most students, no matter their ability.  For students who have difficulty reading, it can be very demotivating, because learning to read can be a difficult task if you don't have the proper tools.  For students who do know how to read, reading in the public school English classes can be b...

 What's Happening Here's the calendar for May.  We will be off during the national holidays only.   Enjoy Golden Week! 5月のカレンダーはこちらです。祝日のみお休みとなります。ゴールデンウィークをお楽しみください！ Teacher's Corner For a little over a year now, the main focus of Teacher's Corner was provide parents a glimpse of what their children are doing inside our classroom. Because we are an English conversation school, we mainly covered topics in the Everybody Up series.  This month; however, we'd like focus our attention on phonics, more specifically Oxford Phonics World (OPW).   One of the main reasons, students begin to dislike English; usually from around junior high school, is due to the sudden expectation that students need to "read" English.  Suddenly being forced to read is very counter-productive for most students, no matter their ability.  For students who have difficulty reading, it can be very demotivating, because learning to read can be a difficult task if you don't hav...

  Welcome Back to another school year!  Congratulations to all those who have graduated and are moving on to a new stage in their life.  We wish you and everyone else a successful academic year!  Here is the calendar for the first half of the new school year: 新学期スタート ！ご入園、ご入学、ご進級、おめでとうございます。皆さまにとって、新学年が実りあるものになることを祈っています！新学期前半のカレンダーはこちらです。   Here is the new lesson schedule: Teacher's Corner     As we begin a new academic year, I would like to ask all the parents reading this to sit down with their child / children and talk about setting study goals for the year.  It's always a good idea to have something to aim for while studying.  It could be one big goal that's broken down into smaller goals along the way (for example: Being able to speak for 5 minutes in English without using any Japanese being a big goal and trying to speak two or three sentences without stopping being a smaller goal, moving to four or five, etc.) It's also possible to ha...

                                                                                                                                                                                                  It's the last month of another school year!  Please check the calendar below, because there are a few holidays toward the end of the month. Idiom of the Month: "A breath of fresh air." - The start of a new school year will be breath of fresh air for many students entering into a new school.  This expression is...

  Here's the calendar for this month.  There are NO holidays this month.  Please be sure to check your lesson dates carefully! 今月のレッスンスケジュールです。１１日、２４日はそれぞれ祝日ですが、 レッスンがございます 。よくご確認ください。 This month we'll dive into the history of St. Valentine's Day in Japan. Like Christmas and Halloween, Valentine's Day is a celebration that has been adopted by Japanese people.  It started in 1935, when the chocolate company Moro zoff  started selling chocolates in heart shaped boxes; mainly targeting foreign nationals living in Japan at the time.  Valentine's Day didn't become popular with Japanese people until the 1970s.      The custom of women giving men either honmei-chocho or giri-choco is specific to Japan.  Although in recent years, the giving of giri-choco is fading. Do you give chocolates to people on Valentine's day?  Do you give yourself chocolate?  If you do, how much money do you spend on chocolates for others? 今月は、日本のバレンタインデーの歴史...

  Happy New Year to everyone out there!  We hope you have had a relaxing winter vacation. We're back into action starting Jan. 6th, so be sure to check your calendar. 皆様、明けましておめでとうございます。冬休みはゆっくり過ごせましたか？1 月 6 日からレッスンを開始しますので、カレンダーを必ずご確認ください。（１３日は祝日ですがレッスンがあります）     Did you know that traditionally Japan celebrated the same New Year as the Chinese and Koreans?  Before the Meiji era, Japan used the lunisolar Chinese calendar to celebrate the New Year.  This tradition ended in 1873 when the Meiji government switched to the Gregorian (modern day) calendar as part of it's effort to modernize Japanese society.     Last year we talked about New Year resolutions (goals that you set to achieve within the new year).  This month's idiom is related to the topic of new year resolutions. Idiom of the Month: "Out with the old, in with the new" -  This idiom is used in conversations when talking about all the changes you plan to make in the new year....