クエストでのひとコマ。英語で、色々な国の言い方を学習しています＾＾

世界地図を広げ・・みんな真剣になって国を探しています！

あなたにとって最も大切なものは何ですか？これが今週の自由英作文のテーマです。What is the most important thing to you? These are the essays written by our students :

The most important thing for me is my family. They always make me relaxed and encouraged. When I feel down, they usually notice such my feelings and  ask, “Are you OK?” Then I tell them what I’m feeling and thinking. They give me  advice to help me decide what to do. Family is the place where you are unconditionally accepted. You can’t find such a place other than family. That’s why  my family is the most important to me.            Written by M (High school junior) 基町高校・高２

One of the most important things for me is playing my favorite video game. It is a soccer game. The game is so realistic that I feel as if I were a real player. Playing it makes me feel very relaxed and happy. Furthermore, I can be free from everyday’s stresses. That’s why I play it every weekend. Therefore the soccer game is a very important thing for me.                                                         Written by F (High school junior) 　修道高校・高２

The most important thing to me is soccer. I like playing soccer and it is the most popular sport in the world. Soccer is easy for everyone to play, so people can share the joy of playing it together and get to know one another better. I would like to keep playing it to my old age.   Written by Jonny (High school junior) 　修道高校・高２

The most important things for me are my favorite cartoons. They evoke many emotions in me. For example, if I read my favorite cartoons when I feel sad and down, they help encourage me and make me feel happy. In addition, they sometimes give me  lessons or  insights for life.  That’s why my favorite cartoons are so important to me.                                 Written by  T     (High school junior) 　修道高校・高２

 

 

 2月3日は節分の日。イングリッシュクエスト、牛田教室でも英語で豆まきを楽しみました。

Devils out, Fortune in! とみんなで鬼を退治しました。

Are you ready!? Sure! など英語もたくさん飛び交い、大変盛り上がりました＾＾

今年も皆さまの元に、たくさんの福が訪れますように・・・。

 

 

 

 

I bought a new bicycle not too long ago. It’s made by Volkswagon. I didn’t know they made bikes but it looks pretty cool and it was at a pretty good price. My friend Jack had also just bought a bike and since we were both eager to try them out.  We decided to take them with us aboard the ferry to Miyajima(an island near Hiroshima). It was bad luck though, the ferry that went to Miyajima didn’t allow bicycles onboard, So we thought for a little bit and decided to take bikes to Etajima(another island).

After arriving in Kirikushi bay we began to ride our bikes. The roads were empty and the towns were very quiet, except one little town seemed to have a lot of people outside of their homes. It was a very small town. We were a little curious about what was happening but we decided to keep biking.  The sun would set in only four hours so we couldn’t waste much time. Right in the middle of the small town we were biking though,  there was a very steep hill where suddenly my bike chain had fallen off.  What bad luck!  But this was a problem I knew how to fix. However, I couldn’t get the chain back on, it was very stuck.

I decided to head back down the hill and try to find someone with some tools that could help me.  It didn’t take long since most of the people in the town were outside of their homes and because I was in a  country like Japan where it is easy to find some help.

It was still really stuck. After a short time, I had a big bag of tools and four kind Japanese people trying to help me with my bicycle. Two hours later, it was still stuck.

As we were taking the wheel off, a lot of cars and vans started showing up and I heard the noise of girls screaming for excitement. I found somebody to explain it all to me.  They were filming for a television drama called, “Umi no Ue no Shinryojo (a clinic on an remote island) ”,  usually just referred to as Dr Kota. The girls were actually screaming for Nasaki Nozomi, who was a guest on the show. She was a little bit far away but I was able to take this picture.

 

So after all that, my bike was fixed and nearly ready to go when a van parked right next to us and a man following another man walked past us. It was Matsuda Shota, the star of the show! I didn’t take a picture of him since there was a man waving his hands in front of him telling us not to.

In the end, I guess we were rather lucky to have our plans changed then for my bicycle to break down at the right time and place. I have never seen anyone famous before and I certainly didn’t expect my first encounter to be a well known Japanese drama actor.

 

I think greeting is very important in society. Greeting other people enables us to show our respects to them and give us chances to make friends with them. For example, if you greet people with a smile, they will have a good impression on you, and you may be treated better by them. Therefore, greeting could contribute to your success this way. That’s why greeting is very important in society.

(Written by F,  9th grade)　学院 中3

 

I think greeting is important because we need greeting in order to begin communication with people we don’t know. It is often said that the communication ability  of young people is declining. Greetings are the catalyst to begin communication, so young people should greet others much more  to encourage better communication.

(Written by Johnny, high school junior)　修道高２

The followings are the essays written by our students. Please take a look! Comments  and opinions are always welcome.

I think greeting is important. For example, “good morning” makes us happy to start the day. If you are greeted, you will feel good. But if you are not greeted, you may feel bad all day because they are the first words we use to communicate with people. If somebody doesn’t greet you, you may not want to greet them back and it may cause a communication breakdown. That’s why I think greetings are important.

(Written by M, high school junior)　修道高２

 

Greeting is said to be important. I think greetings bring us chances to make better human relations. For example, when I greet my friends or neighbors, the greeting will give them a good impression on me. Also, we can start new human relations. Greetings can be a cue to start a conversation with people I’ve never met before. Therefore, I think greeting is very important.

(Written by T, high school junior)　修道高２

 

I think eighteen-year-olds should not be permitted to vote because they are still children. Almost all of the  eighteen-year-olds in Japan are high school students and they are supported by their parents, so they are literally children. Children are not paying taxes, therefore I think it is strange if they are given a vote and decide the national policy including the national budget. 　　 (Written by B, high school junior)　修道高２

I don’t think eighteen-year-olds should be given the right of voting. I think they need to be interested in Japan’s politics and learn it before they have the right of voting. In addition, I don’t trust candidates’ promises. You have to be careful when you vote. It is true that our national debt accounts for nearly fifty percent of our national budget, which means that our generation has to pay for it. It is important that we get  eighteen-year-olds to be interested in Japan’s politics before we give them the voting right.
(Written by J, high school junior)　修道高２

My opinion is that voting age should be lowered to  eighteen-year-olds because the government should reflect opinions from people of all ages including the young.
I don’t want them to reflect the opinion from only limited generation of people. For example, if only old men’s opinions are reflected on the government’s structure, young people’s opinions won’t be able to reach the government’s policy. The actual problem is that it seems impossible for the government to reflect all the opinions in this country. Even so, every election should be reflection of a wider range of ages. Therefore, voting age should be lowered to eighteen years old. 　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　(Written by T, high school junior)　修道高２

I think that a vote should be given to  eighteen-year-olds. It is because I feel that Japan is run to favor older people since most of our law makers are made up of older people. I think that it is necessary for Japan to give to  eighteen-year-olds not only a vote but also the right to run for office so that they can discuss the future of young generations at the Diet
(Written by F, ninth grader) 学院中３

Have you ever been to Arima? I just visited there last week. It’s a very small city near Kobe that is filled with giant hotels and ryokans(Japanese style inns).

What makes this place so special? It’s their famous hot springs. Yes that’s right, all these giant hotels and ryokans are filled with people who want to take a hot bath. That’s why I went there too. I wanted to try a famous hot spring and I chose a place near Kobe because I also wanted to try their famous Kobe beef. I also stayed at a ryokan for my first time. Among all three my favorite was the Kobe beef. That was amazing; the beef was like nothing I have ever tasted. It was very soft and it had a texture like velvet. Although the experience was very nice it was also very expensive. I think next time I will just buy some Kobe beef and cook it myself.
(J)

本日、高校生自由英作文クラスでは、選挙権を１８歳以上にするべきかどうかについてアメリカ人講師Ｊ先生と討論し、その後自由英作文に各自の意見をまとめました。近日中にその意見をアップしますので高２・高３生はその意見を参考に自分の意見を英語で書けるように対策して下さい。

There is a discussion in Japan that we should lower the voting age from 20 to 18. In today’s class, we discussed it with our high school students and they wrote their opinions. Our teacher J (J sensei in Japanese) lectured about how the voting right was given to eighteen years olds in the USA. We will put up the opinions from our students soon!

Question:
“How do you explain the Japanese word ‘Mottainai’ to English speaking people?” (From entrance exam. of Osaka University)

Answer:
The word “Mottainai” is important in our daily life. “Mottainai” is said when we cannot make the best use of something and waste something that can still be used. In this way, this word reflects the user’s sense of guilt when we throw away usable things.

It is important for us to keep on using  something well-made with respect until it cannot be used. This word may come from our attitude toward valuing things.

Written by J, high junior 修道高2