Hi, everyone!
Plum, I enjoyed reading your comment about Jonathan’s meeting. It seems that he always presents a little bit hard but intriguing subjects, and that all of you could have a good time. I’ve once heard that several rich persons in some South American country implanted a microchip in their children’s body to defend them against a kidnapper. It’s a terrifying story, isn’t it? Such system may be useful for some people who must be protected, on the other hand, may be misuse for a state power.
So, see you tomorrow, bye!
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Hello, everyone!
Today I attended the new-year party of my agency at Iijimaya which is a kind of French restaurant near Kokusai center.
This was the first time for me to go and mingle some Japanese teachers and foreign teachers from various countries. I belonged to this agency from last June and as I am a new comer, I was lonely at first because I only know some staff, but I tried to talk as many teachers as I can to take advantage of this opportunity , then I found some people who teach at the same company as mine and the person who teaches even same students now because he took over latter half of my class. A term is devided in half,the former part for a Japanese and the latter part for a foreign teacher. So after I taught TOEIC lesson, Don from UK teaches them. So it was very interesting to have a common topic.
Then I met a cute IKEMEN guy from Australia, so we could talk for a long time because I had a lot of memory in Merborne and Sydney. He is from Merborne and lived in Perth and Sydney, but he doen't like Sydney because he said it was crowded and dangerous.
I asked him what brought him to Japan.
He said that he had a Japanese girlfriend from Nagoya and he came to Japan.As Plum told us yesterday Australian guy likes Japanese girl very much.
I should have gone there when I was young. It's tooooo late!
His name is Cameron, so I teased him saying 'Is it a unisex name?
Cameron Diaz is a woman.'
He said, "No. It's a Scotish name and Cameron Diaz is the only woman I know who has that name."
From 4:30 to 6:30 p.m., I enjoy talking with my collegues.
If there is not such a party, we don't know who is who at all, so it was a good chance to know each other.
Hi, everyone.
I want to tell about someone who is a goof.
Yesterday, on the way to the goof's home in the train, the idiot noticed her celluer phone rang. She took Tsurumai Line, as you know it is a subway but halfway between Akaike to Toyotashi, it appears on the ground. The cellular phone was silent in the subway train. The friend of her left a message on the cellular phone. It said her key was left in her meeting room. When the dull heard the message, she was in the train stopping at Nissin station. She quickly got off the train and rushed to the opposite platform.She called the friend soon. Her victim kindly offered to bring the key to Tsurumai station and asked what time the fool would get there. She soon caught the train and went to Tsurumai station. At the wicket, she explained what happened to her to the officer. He was very kind, and canceled the ticket card. She waited for her in front of Dotour coffee shop. The girl who rode a bicycle and wore a skii cap and a red muffler was coming. The kind lady is Cosmos. The goof is Azalea.
I was appalled, only just I thought if I had gone back to my house without knowing my key left behind. Thank you, Cosmos.
In the meeting, I was overwhelmed with the heated discussion and speed between Jonathan and Plum.
Why? You're so funny, Azalea.
Ooops. Excuse me. I didn't laugh at your bad luck but your expressions. From the last paragraph, I imagined how you were listening to their talk with amazement. As for your bad luck, I'm suffering from similar kind of symptoms.
You know?
A proverb says, "Every failure is a stepping stone to success."
However, it reminds me of a line from a calendar. I think it's more appropriate for us.
"Every failure brings us a comic story."
Hi, everyone!!!
How are you doing?
Several days ago I received a parcel that contained a book on business English for Japanese English learners working in international surroundings.
It was written by Sakurako Oshima, who is a fabulous woman in her, probably, early forties. She got 990 in TOEIC, which I think is the highest (perfect?) score, and thus she was asked by one of the executive members of the TOEIC headquarters, whom I met several times back in the 1980s, whether she was interested in writing a series of columns in the Student Times. Yes, she accepted the offer. Then, she had her book on how to learn English for intermediates published a couple of years ago, and just recently she published the new book and sent a copy of it to me. (I met her just once in Tokyo, but she mails me from time to time.)
She is a hard working and industrious woman and keeps making every effort to achieve her aim. There are so many human beings who have dreams and work toward them very hard and strenuously without conceiving any idea to cease what they are doing.
But unfortunately, not many human beings’ dreams come true. Only a very small number of dreamers could gain what they wanted to gain. Is it related to “luck”, “timing”, “efforts”, “fate”, “God’s support”, or …..????? I really don’t know what makes this happen. I wish I could know. But definitely two of my friends were & are fairly successful in terms of making their dreams come true. One of them is Sakurako Oshima.
Coincidentally, two of them are excellent at “selling” themselves, of course, in a good sense. In contemporary Japanese society, marketing yourselves is often necessary and required, especially when you are really and seriously eager to publicize yourselves.
Sakurako sent me an email yesterday, asking me to take a look at her profile on the web. I do not know whether you are interested in it or not, but it is a good example of introducing yourself to your audience on the Internet, which is, of course, the most powerful, though sometimes extremely dangerous, means of communication in the 21st century.
Unfortunately, her profile is in Japanese and quite long. If you do not have enough time, you can just browse it. But, perhaps, you will enjoy reading it.
『シーン別 本当に使える 実践ビジネス英会話』
大島さくら子
2008年1月
大島さくら子
英語講師としてのキャリアはもう今年で１９年目になりますが、私が教えている受講生の９０％がさまざまな企業で働くビジネスパーソンです。特に平日の夜のクラスは、仕事帰りのスーツに身を包んだ受講生でいっぱいになります。そこで受講生の皆さんのお話を聞いて、私がいつも受ける印象は、実際に英語を使ってすでにお仕事をなさっている受講生の方々は、ビジネスの場面では、けっして完璧な英語ではないけれども、「なんとかなっている」「通じている」という事実です。営業、商品開発、秘書など、皆さんそれぞれ専門分野があり、今までの業務経験と知識で、足りない英語力をカバーして、実務レベルではちゃんと意思疎通をはかり立派に業務を遂行なさっているのです。海外出張にも頻繁に出かけ、外国人顧客との英語での商談も、通訳を通さないでこなしている方もたくさんいらっしゃいます。
ただ、問題は、ビジネス上ではあるけれども 直接業務には関係のない場面での英語でのコミュニケーション能力のようです。ビジネスに直接関係する英会話というのは、現場で実際に働いている方々にとっては、実はそれほど難しくないのではないかと思います。私が社会人になってから１年間だけ留学した Oxford大学でも、私の専門のアジアの近・現代史の話題であれば、Oxford大学の優秀なイギリス人学生達相手であっても、そこそこ渡り合えたという記憶があります。ただ、それとは関係ない、いわゆる「一般英会話」となってしまうと、相手の言っていることが急に聞こえなくなったり、会話のスピードについていけなくなったりして、冷や汗をかき、会話の輪の中にポツンと１人だけ置いてきぼり、という悲しい経験をたくさんしています。
つまり、自分の得意分野の英語であれば「なんとかなる」のです。それ以外の、社会的な話題、日常の話題、文化的な話題など、多岐にわたるさまざまなトピックに遭遇したときに、本当の英語力が試されると言えるのではないでしょうか。
そこで、このようにビジネスを離れた場面での同僚や取引先などとの会話に困っている方々のお役に立ちたいと思い、書き上げたのが本書になります。今までのビジネス英会話本がカバーしきれなかった、気軽な雑談、世間話、趣味・娯楽などの社交上の話題、さらに祝日・年中行事、文化・習慣の違いなど、非常に幅広いトピックを扱いました。なので、テキストとして活用していただけるだけでなく、読み物としても楽しめる内容になっているのではと自負しています。
もちろん、職場で、会議とプレゼンテーションで、商談でそしてさまざまな会合で使われるビジネス上の話題も網羅しています。
ダイアロークを作成したのは、私の長年の友人である、現在ニューヨーク在住のアメリカ人ビジネスパーソンです。当時金融業界に勤めていた彼は1994年〜 1999年、東京に駐在していました。そして、現在はニューヨークで音楽関係の会社を経営しており、ビジネスの第一線で活躍中です。彼は今でも、東京とのビジネスのやりとりが頻繁にあり、年に数回来日するので、日本人ビジネスパーソンのメンタリティを十分理解しています。長く日本に住んでいる外国人、または英語講師だと、日本人の英語に慣れてしまって知らず知らずのうちに日本人にわかりやすいように英語を使う傾向があると思います。その点、彼は容赦（？！）ありません。彼自身が日本語を話さないというのもあって、あくまでも、自分たちnative speakersが使う自然な英語だけを使ってダイアローグを作成しています。つまり、本書には実際に、今、現地で使われている言葉・表現が満載されているのです。
さらに本書では、今までのビジネス英会話本ではあまりページを割くことができなかった、重要な文法・語法を詳しく解説しています。やはり、文法を知らずに表現だけ丸暗記しても、応用が利かず、結局英語力は伸び悩んでしまいます。ある程度の文法力、そして語彙力があってはじめて正しい文章を組み立てることができ、それらを応用することができるのです。
そして、同じく応用を利かせるという点で力を入れたのが、表現のバリエーションと同義語の紹介です。いつも同じ受け答えでは、聞いている方も話している方もワンパターンでつまらないですよね。「会話はキャッチボール」とはよく言われます。色々な変化球を投げることができ、そして同時にそれらを受けられることができるようになると、英語を話すのがますます楽しくなります。
語学をマスターするには時間がかかりますが、費やした時間とエネルギーに比例して英語力は伸びていくと私は信じています。ぜひ、本書を楽しみながら繰り返し読んで学習していただき、多くのビジネスパーソンの方々が、さまざまな話題のストックを抱え、どんな場面でもひるまず“打てば響く”ような受け答えができるようになりますようにと、心から願っております。
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