This week I got to go on an adventure to a different Amity school for a day,
Even though it was very familiar, It also felt very refeshing and different.
Even if you are doing the same things you normally do, a change of scenery can be exciting and can make boring activities interesting again. So I recommend everyone try something new every once in a while, sit in a different room to study, take your book to the park or out into the garden. Let small changes feel big and see how it makes you feel too!
-Jordan Sensei
Most if not all the Eiken results are and in and we have been handing out certificates this week.
We will probably hand out the rest next week. I am extremely proud of all my students who passed their Eiken exams!
All my students who wrote 4th and 5th grade all passed! My student "H" scored a G+7, so did my other student "E".
One of my students "W", scored an amazing G+13! That is almost the highest level one can achieve and I am so proud of her! She works really diligently in class every week and it shows! She had an almost perfect score for her listening!
I am so proud of everyone! Welldone!
- Khanya (Kay) Sensei
昨年の秋からスタートした、初めての習い事コース。今では大人気コースです！月２回で無理なく通えると大変喜ばれています🎵人間の脳は1～3歳の間に著しく発達する為、英語脳を育てるには3歳までが良いとされています。6ヶ月のベビーちゃんから4歳年少さん、アミティーで楽しく英語デビューしましょう🎀
Writing is a vital part of learning a language and the English spelling "rules" often confuse both young learners and adults.
This confusion is famously highlighted when the word "ghoti" can be legitimately pronounced as "fish"!
How?
By pronouncing gh as in enough, o as in women, and ti as in nation!
Even famous English writers have had difficulty with spelling.
As A.A. Milne (the author of Winnie The Pooh) said;
"My spelling is Wobbly. It's good spelling but it Wobbles, and the letters get in the wrong places".
I wish all my students well with the challenges of spelling.
Michael.
Across the world, every country has their own holidays and traditions, some which may seem unusual to people in other cultures.
Today I`d like to share about an English tradition that I always found curious when I was growing up.
The 5th of November is known as Guy Fawkes night, or Bonfire night. Many countries hold bonfires around October or November to celebrate the harvest, the change of seasons, and many other positive things, but Bonfire night celebrates a far Angrier topic.
In 1605 a man named Guy Fawkes and his aquaintances tried to blow up their government building, The house of Lords, because they had become fed up with how the laws were being made to only help the already wealthy people, however this plan failed and they were all arrested in the end.
From this scheme we began the tradition of Bonfire Night and a new Poem was written and taught to children
"Remember, remember, the 5th of November,
Gunpowder, treason and plot.
I see no reason
Why gunpowder treason
Should ever be forgot."
-Jordan Sensei
There is a curious fact about some of our months that I`d like to tell you today.
September, October, November and December got their names a long time ago, before English was English, and when it shared it`s latin base with a lot of European languages like French, Spanish and Italian.
In these languages the numbers can sound very similar, September means "the Seventh", October means "The Eighth", November means "The Ninth" and December means "The Tenth".
But wait! they aren`t 7, 8, 9 and 10! they`re 9, 10, 11 and 12! This is because of Ancient Rulers of the Roman Empire in Europe, Julius Caeser and and Augustus Caeser, To celebrate their power, the Caesers made a new calendar for their people to follow, The Julian Calendar, one that added July and August in the most important part of the year, this is the calendar that most of the world still uses now!
This is why our year has 12 months and those months are named after numbers that they do not match.
History can be so interesting sometimes!
-Jordan Sensei
本日のレッスン、及び実施予定の英検ジュニアは、10:30からのものは時間を変更いたします。
詳細は別途連絡をさせていただきます。
英検ジュニアの時間の変更をご希望の方はお渡ししているご案内の別の回に変更いたしますので、お知らせ下さい。
くれぐれもお気をつけてお越しください。
Yesterday was Halloween and what an interesting day it was at Amity.
I decided to dress up as a witch, with the hat, purple hair and a little skull bucket, with an eyeball inside.
It was really fun seeing the surprised faces of the students and parents. Even Manager was surprised.
I recieved some really thoughtful snacks from my student "Y". It was so much fun interacting with in and around the lobby in costume!
I hope everyone ejoyed their spooky day and tried to make the most out of this under appreciated holiday!
- Khanya (Kay) Sensei
Just a quick post expressing my thanks to the students and staff for wishing me well on my 61st birthday last Friday.
61! My Goodness!
"No wise man ever wished to be younger" (Jonathon Swift).
Best wishes to everyone and may we all have many more years to come!
Michael.
In just a few days time it will be Halloween,
Here in Japan, Halloween is all about parties and candy and costumes, It is like this in America and a bit in England as well, and there are many parts of the world that don`t celebrate halloween at all.
Did you know Halloween is actually quite a new holiday? the idea has been around for a long time but it used to have a different name, and be celebrated very differently.
Once upon a time, Halloween was actually three different holidays! Halloween is a mash up of Samhain (pronounced Sah-Wayn) which was an ancient Celtic celebration of the dead, where they would wear masks to hide from the ghosts that could return that night , as well as the Harvest festival at the end of Fall when the fields are empty and the cold weather is setting in so we would eat cosy, sweet foods, and finally it gets its name from All Hallows Day, celebrating the Catholic Saints who were thought to chase evil out of the world.
These three holidays were so close to each other that over time they mixed together until we were left with Halloween, when we Celebrate Fall and eat pumpkins and cosy food and dress up as ghosts and monsters to scare each other for fun.
History has so many interesting Stories to tell us!
-Jordan Sensei
