ONE HUNDRED POETS, ONE HUNDRED POEMS (Note: The translations are mine, and they are heavily dosed with my own interpretation of the poems, so don’t take them too seriously.) 1 天智天皇 秋の田のかりほの庵の苫をあらみ わが衣手は露にぬれつつ Tenchi Tennou Aki no ta no kariho no iho no toma wo arami Waga koromode wa tsuyu...
Continue reading...Languages
How to Study Kanji
Prepared for the Canadian Association of Japanese Language Education in August 2001 Use Kanji Proficiency Test Materials The Kanji Proficiency Test is based on the school years in Japan and it is recognized by Monbukagakusho. Level 10 is the lowest, representing the first grade of elementary school, and it includes...
Continue reading...Japanese Study Tips for JET Participants
Prepared for the Toronto JET Pre-Departure Orientation (June 2001) Why Study Japanese? It can’t be emphasized enough that your understanding of Japan and its culture will not be complete without an understanding of the Japanese language. The better you understand the language, the better you will be able to make...
Continue reading...Expressions that You Need to Learn for Level 4 of the Japanese Language Proficiency Test
sou desu that is right chigaimasu that is wrong sumimasen excuse me, I am sorry arigatou gozaimasu thank you dou itashimashite you are welcome mou ichido itte kudasai please say it one more time minna de itte kudasai please say it together douzo please, go ahead ohayou gozaimasu good morning...
Continue reading...Brainteasers for ESL Classes
These are good to use as a warm up activity in ESL classes. (1) If you went to bed at 8pm and set the alarm to get up at 9am how many hours sleep would this permit you to have? (2) Why can’t a man living in Kingston, Ontario be...
Continue reading...Minute Mysteries for ESL Classes
You can use these as a warm up activity in ESL classes. This is fun to play with two people. One person looks at the answer. The other person tries to guess the situation by asking yes/no questions. (1) A man is lying face down in the desert with a...
Continue reading...Games and Activities for ESL Classes
Collected by Shaney Crawford, Former Participant of the Japan Exchange and Teaching (JET) Programme (Fukushima) These games and activities have been collected from various sources: past issues of the Fukushima JET newsletter, games books, various CLAIR and AJET teaching resource guides, and stuff left over from my predecessor. I apologize...
Continue reading...Irregular Verbs in English
Here is a handy list of irregular verbs for ESL learners. Present Past Past Participle be was, were been become became become begin began begun blow blew blown break broke broken bring brought brought build built built burst burst burst buy bought bought catch caught caught choose chose chosen come...
Continue reading...