ネイティブ講師が週四回つける英語の日記を読んで自分の英会話の上達に役立てよう！！

この日記は初心者でも読めるようになるべく分かりやすく書いてあります。

フレーズや話題を参考にし自分の英語日記に活かしましょう。

そして、今度の英会話クラスで自ら会話をリードしていきましょう。

なぜ、日記を書くことが英語の上達につながるかを知りたい方はこの記事を参照ください。

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「知らなければ損をする、英会話レッスンを受けている初心者の英語がぐんと上達する方法」

Monday, November 13th “Takayama → Gero → Nagoya”

Ever since I was a little boy, I loved riding my bicycle.  I went everywhere with my bicycle.  I still love riding and I sill go everywhere.  In 2012, Lev (English teacher) suggested we go riding from Takayama to Nagoya.  I think the distance was about 200 kilometers.  It would take 2 days to get home.  Another English teacher named Paul wanted to join us so the three of us decided to go on this crazy adventure.  

First we put our bikes in a bag and put it on a bus to Takayama.  I forgot why but we decided to catch the night bus.  We arrived in Takayama late at night without a place to stay.  We were going to put up a tent somewhere and sleep in it.  When we were looking for a place to put up a tent, a police car stopped and told us that we cannot put up a tent anywhere in Takayama.  Therefore, we had to ride our bikes outside of Takayama.  I remember it was really dark and we rode for a long time, looking for a place to sleep.

Finally we found a place but it was on the side of the road.  It was a terrible place to put up a tent but we had no choice.  The next day we headed out early in the morning.  We have to ride about 100 kilometers to Gero. The scenery of this road was really amazing!!  Also most of the path was going downhill.  It felt great to ride through breathtaking scenery.   I had a great time on this trip.   Now, I’m thinking if I should ride to Kyoto on my bike some day.  

Here’s a short introduction video.  

Put in 「入れる」put on 「乗せる」put up 「飾る・テントを張る」

We put our bikes in a bag.  (自転車をカバンに入れる。)

We put it on a bus. (バスに乗せる。)

We put up a tent.  (テントを張る)

Tuesday, November 14th   “Black Friday and Smart Home Devices”

Have you heard of Black Friday?   It’s the biggest sale of the year in America.  Most people try to do their Christmas shopping on this day.   A lot of things become 50% off on this day.   Black Friday is on November 24th this year.  It’s always a day after Thanksgiving.  (Thanksgiving is always on the 4th Thursday of November.)  The reason it’s called Black Friday is because many shops make a profit or they are in the black.  

I think, this event will eventually come to Japan.  Halloween finally arrived in Japan so I’m sure Black Friday is next.  Actually Aeon, Uniqlo, Gap, H&M are all having big sales.  Recently, there’s another sales event called Cyber Monday.  That’s when online stores like Amazon and Rakuten will have a big sale.  This year it will be November 27th.  

Many people in America will spend a lot of money on these days to get Christmas presents for family, friends and themselves.  One of the really most popular products will be Smart Home Devices.  Maybe, we are not used to hearing about this yet but I’m sure in couple of years we will all have one in our homes.  

make a profit 「利益を出す」⇆ *make a loss 「損を出す」

in the black 「黒字になる」⇆　*in the red 「赤字になる」

Many shops make a profit or they are in the black on Black Friday.  (ブラックフライデーには会社は利益を出すか、黒字になります。)

Here’s Amazon’s smart home device.  Also, Google, Apple and many other companies offer it. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hPXS7rC1PWo

Thursday, November 16  “Proud of my students”

Yesterday, my Master student handed in a designed logo that I asked for.  It looks really cool!!   I’m glad that I asked her to do it.  Now, I’m asking students to vote for which one they like the best.  There are a couple that I like and I will put my vote in after I sleep on it for a while.  

The name of my night school is called “Master English”.  Master means you gain a skill really well.   In other words, you master a skill.  The logo she designed reflect that concept.  

I feel that mastering a skill is a really big challenge.  You have to spend a lot of time and put in a lot of effort.   However, I also feel it is extremely rewarding.   When you feel that you can do something that you could not do before, you feel empowered.  It’s a great feeling!!  That’s why, I like having my own school.  I want to help students as much as I can to get that feeling of “Yes, I can!!”    All of my students study hard despite their busy schedule.  I’m so proud of them.  

Special thanks to Hazuki for making the logo despite her busy work schedule and study time.  

sleep on it 「ひと晩考える、時間をかけて考える。」

I will put my vote in after I sleep on it.  (時間をかけて考えてから投票をする。)

In other words, 「言い換えると」

Master means you gain a skill really well.  In other words, you master a skill. 「マスターとはあるスキルを上手にできるようになることです。言い換えるとスキルを取得するということです。」

rewarding 「やり甲斐がある」

I feel it is extremely rewarding.  (私はとてもやり甲斐があることだと思う。)

empowered 「力になり、自信になる」

When you feel that you can do something you could not do before, you feel empowered. (以前自分にできなかったことができるようになると、自分の自信と力になる。)

despite 「〜にもかかわらず」

All of my students study really hard despite their busy schedule.  (生徒全員は忙しいにもかかわらず、勉強を一生懸命している。」

Monday, November 20th   “Kyoto, what a great place!!”

Last Saturday, after I finished my class, I got on the Shinkansen and headed to Kyoto.  I got there in no time.   After I got off the Shinkansen, I looked for the rental bike show where I reserved a bicycle for 2 days.  The bike was red and it was smaller than I thought.  It was almost like a kid’s bicycle.  I thought it kind of looked stupid but oh well.  There was nothing I can do.  It was only 1000 yen per day.  

I got on the bicycle and headed to Kamogawa.  I found it easily and started riding on a path along the river.   This path was amazing!!!  First, the path was not twisting and turning.  It was straight.  I think if it was twisting and turning, most people would not walk on it because it would take time to get to their destination.   The second good thing was the path was pretty big and some parts had a small fields where school team were practicing sports.  Third great thing was there were many nice restaurants and cafes along the river.   You can spend a whole day just going sightseeing on this river.  

I slowly went up the river, taking my time and enjoying every minute of it.  My sister met me half-way and we rode up the river together.  She told me how nice this river is and she will start jogging soon along the river.  I thought it was the best place to go jogging in the morning.  Next time I’ll bring my running shoes so I can go jogging as well. 

My sister told me there was one bad thing about the river.  That is there are a lot of bugs!!  In summer, there are mosquitos, spiders, and bugs you’ve never seen!  Her neighbors told her that sometimes you’ll see a spider as big as your hands!!!  If you hate bugs, you might not like living near Kamogawa river.  However, I think it’s worthing living close to it even if there are bugs.  

in no time.  「あっという間に」

I got there in no time.  (あっという間に着いた。)

along 「沿って」

I started riding on a path along the river.  (川に沿っている小道を自転車で走り始めた。)

twisting and turning 「クネクネする」

The path was not twisting and turning.  (小道はクネクネしていなかった。)

half-way 「途中まで」

My sister met me half-way.  (途中であってくれた。)