BR 1-09: Journey to Mars

"Let's go into the wormhole," you say. "I agree," Buck says. He starts tapping buttons on the control panel. The spaceship starts to turn.
The wormhole gets closer and closer. You, Buck, and Maki are quiet as you look out the window. The circle of light is beautiful.

Journey to Mars is the third book I have read in Atami-ii books. The storylines I read are full of variety. There's a wormhole, a strange blue planet, a fellow astronaut going crazy, and becoming a cannibal! It's very strange!

Vocabulary

asteroid: 小惑星
wormhole: 宇宙のワームホール
self-destruct: 自爆

Reference

Raine, P. (2014). Journey to Mars. Tokyo, Japan: Atama-ii Books.
[97 words]

The Nice Guys, and other matters…

Today we watched a trailer for The Nice Guys today. It's a comedy mob action thriller with Russell Crowe and Ryan Gosling. It looks very funny so I hope to get a chance to see it when it comes to Japan.

The Champions League final was held on Saturday night in Milan. Real Madrid were leading for most of the match, but Atletico Madrid scored a goal late in the 2nd half. The teams then played extra time, with no further goals, so the match went to penalties. One of the Atleti players missed, and Real's Cristiano Ronaldo scored the last penalty to win the match.

This summer, the Euro 2016 will be held in France. Then, not long after, the new Premier League season will start. It will be exciting to see Guardiola, Mourinho, Ranieri, Pochettino, and other top managers fighting to win the title.

[144 words]

Blog check 1

Book reviews: 9
Diary: 3
Juppun ha Juubun: 8
Words:

BR 1-08: Hunter in the Darkness

Your master is Sayad bin Khafash, the greatest vampire hunter in the world. He trained you to be strong and quick. He showed you how to hunt vampires, and all the ways to kill them.
Vampires strike at night. They are very strong…

This was the second Atami-ii book I have read. As with the last one, I didn't make very good decisions, and had two bad endings! But finally I succeeded in my mission and passed my test, killing a vampire.

Vocabulary

spear: やり
stake: 杭
weapon: 武器

Reference

Habeeb, R. (2014). Hunter in the Darkness. Tokyo, Japan: Atama-ii Books.
[93 words]

The Nice Guys, and other matters

Today we saw the trailer for The Nice Guys, a new movie starring Russell Crowe and Ryan Gosling. Then we saw interviews with Ryan Gosling and Russell Crowe. The Nice Guys is a comedy action movie. It appears to be about a private detective (Ryan Gosling) and a criminal (Russell Crowe) teaming up to fight the mafia and solve some murder cases. It looks very funny!

A movie I recommend is London Boulevard, starring Keira Knightley, Colin Farrell, and Ray Winstone. It's about gangs in London. Colin Farrell comes out of prison and he wants to live an honest life, but he is pulled back into a life of crime.

As you may know, the Champions League final was held on Saturday night. Real Madrid beat Atletico Madrid on penalties. That was the 11th Champions League for Read Madrid, many more than any other club.

[143 words]

Avril Lavigne, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and other matters…

Today we watched the trailer for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows. We also watched some video with lyrics of Avril Lavigne songs, including Sk8er Boy, Girlfriend, and Alice (in keeping with last week's trailer, Alice through the Looking Glass). The Turtles movie looks very exciting.

Over the weekend, there were two important football matches. One was the FA Cup final, in which Manchester United beat Crystal Palace. The other was an international match, England vs. Turkey, in which England beat Turkey 2–1.

[84 words]

BR 1-07: Trouble at the Zoo

"Put him down, Mike," says Jenny. "Put him down."Mike says, "It's okay, Jenny. He's okay with me."
But Jenny is angry with Mike. "Give him to me. Now!" she says.
There is a big kangaroo. It is the baby kangaroo's mother.
She looks at Mike.

Trouble at the Zoo is a Level 2 book in the Foundations Reading Library. Some of the children at Bayview High School go to the zoo, but Mike behaves badly, hitting the bear's cage and giving the bear a sandwich, then picking up the baby kangaroo. He causes a problem for Jenny, to whom he gives the baby kangaroo.

Can Jenny escape alive? Read this book to find out!


Waring, R., & Jamall, M. (2006). Trouble at the zoo (Foundations Reading Library, Level 2). Boston, MA: Thomson ELT.

[127 words]

Revised schedule

Class schedule

April

11th: 1st class

18th: 2nd class

25th: 3rd class

May

2nd: 4th class

9th: 2nd class

16th: 3rd class

23rd: 4th class

30th: 5th class
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June

6th: 6th class

13th: 7th class

20th: 8th class

27th: 9th class

July

4th: 10th class

11th: 11th class
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18th: 12th class

25th: 13th class

August

1st: 14th class
8th: 15th class: TEST

BLOCKS

As you can see from the schedule above, I think of the 15-week course in terms of three blocks of about five classes. The activities won't change so much, but the emphasis will shift.

BLOCK 1

Fluency is important in writing, just as it is in speaking. In the first five weeks, the goal is simply to get used to writing frequently, if possible five posts a week or more. You don't need to worry so much about writing correctly. The idea is to build confidence and speed. However, please be sure to look at my comments on your blog, some of which will include corrections.

BLOCK 2

While continuing with basically the same activities, you will study model compositions to learn various phrases in order to improve your own writing more systematically. You should learn many phrases from these model compositions, so that you can use them yourself, fluently and without errors. My comments on your blog will take on more importance during this block.

BLOCK 3

The topic in Block 3 will be the U.S. As in Block 2, you will study a model composition to learn various phrases, but you will finish by writing a longer essay about a topic related to the U.S.

[196 words]

Alice through the looking glass, and other matters…

Today we watched two trailers for Alice Through the Looking Glass, the second Tim Burton movie based in the Alice world. Alice begins the movie in a mental hospital, suffering "a textbook case of female hysteria". She runs away from the hospital, and before long she hears a voice saying, "You've been gone too long, Alice", and she walks through a looking glass into Wonderland. As before, she finds that she sometimes becomes larger and sometimes smaller. She finds that the Hatter is ill, and she  has to try to help him. This movie is coming to Japan in July. I hope the cinemas in Kumamoto open in time to show it.

Over the weekend, the FA Cup final was held in London. Manchester United beat Crystal Palace 2–1. But I hear that the manager, Louis Van Gaal, will be fired and Jose Mourinho will come in in his place. Even though the football was not so exciting, I feel a little sorry for Van Gaal.

[166 words]

BR 1-06: The Motorway

Gran looked upset.
"What's the matter, Gran? asked Chip.
"They want to build a motorway. They want to put it right here," said Gran. (p. 12)

Gran and the children are worried that a motorway will spoil their village, and that they won't be able to play outside. But, even though they protest at a meeting, the plans go ahead—until, one day, they discover some rare flowers!

The book has an interesting ecological message. I recommend it to everyone.

Hunt, R., & Brychta, A. (1994). The motorway. Oxford University Press.

[85 words]

Alice through the looking glass, and other matters…

Today we watched the trailer for Alice Through the Looking Glass, the sequel to Alice in Wonderland. Like Alice in Wonderland, it stars Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter, and Mia Wasikowska. It looks like the date of its release has not yet been fixed. I thought Alice in Wonderland was only so-so, but the 3-D effects were excellent, so I will probably go and see this one. But I'm more interested in going to see Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows. That one's coming to Japan in August.

In English football news, you may have heard that Arsenal got second place in the Premier League, behind Leicester City, the team where Okazaki plays. The last time I heard, the fourth place, which gives a team a chance to play in the Champions League, was yet to be decided. Probably Manchester City will get it, and Manchester United will lose out this year.

[153 words]

BR 1-05: Flood!

Dad looked worried.
"I don't like the look of this," he said. "We don't want the water to get as far as our house." Chip grinned at Dad.
"It couldn't go that far," he said. "Could it?" (p. 11)

But that night the flood did reach the house, even though they had tried to block off the water with sandbags. They had to be rescued by boat and stay in a hall until the flood went down. When they got back home, their house was muddy, but they cleaned it up and their life went back to normal.

This reminded me of Bangkok, where floods are quite frequent.

Hunt, R., & Brychta, A. (2001). Flood! Oxford University Press.

[113 words]

BR 1-04: Chinese Adventure (ORT)

Gran was pleased with the present. It was a Chinese vase. (p. 3)

I like this book very much. The children are taken back to ancient China by a magic key.

Hunt, R., & Brychta, A. (1994). Chinese adventure. Oxford University Press.

[40 words]

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows, and other matters…

Today we watched the trailer for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows. This is the third or fourth (I think) movie in the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles series. It looks very exciting. It's directed by Michael Bay, so we shouldn't expect too much, but I still want to see it. It's opening in the US in June. I'm not sure when it's coming to Japan.* Probably it will come to Kumamoto even later.

The football season in England is coming to an end. Leicester City won the Premiership a few weeks ago, but yesterday Arsenal took 2nd place, and Spurs moved down to 3rd. Manchester United and Manchester City were fighting for 4th spot, which would give them the chance to play in the Champions League. Both clubs are very rich, so not qualifying would be a bit of a shock to them.

I'm going to Okinawa later this week for a conference. It will be my first time to go there. I hope the weather won't be too rainy. Have you been to Okinawa? I will be at Meio University in Nago city. I hear that pork is very nice in Okinawa, so I hope to get the chance to eat some.

It's coming to Japan in August!

[208 words]

BR1-03: Stone Stoup

Then the visitor said, "I once had stone soup with cabbage and carrots. It was delicious!" A woman brought carrots and put them in the pot. (pp. 8-9)

Today I read Stone Soup, in the Folk and Fairy Tale Easy Readers series. That's one of my favorite traditional stories, and it's nice how the visitor makes everyone share and enjoy each other's company, even after he has left the village.



Einhorn, K. (2006). Stone soup. New York, NY: Scholastic.

[77 words]

Finding Dory, and other matters…

Today we watched the trailer for Finding Dory. It's a Pixar movie, and the sequel to Finding Nemo. I enjoyed Finding Nemo, though I don't think it was the best of the Pixar movies. Pixar movies as a whole have been going down in quality the last few years, so I hope they can make a good one this time.

Recently, there are fewer quakes than before, but at least one or two a day still. I hope that they stop soon. My office was super-messy after the big one but now it's almost back to normal. A few people are still living in shelters, unfortunately.

Who do you think will finish in the top 4 in the Premier League this year? My guess is that Manchester United will just make it, knocking Manchester City out.

[134 words]

BR1-02: The Spider and the Beehive

They walked deep into the jungle to the boy's favorite plum tree. The spider felt greedy. He ate up every single plum and did not share any. (p. 5)

The Spider and the Beehive is a book in the Folk and Fairy Tale Easy Readers series. It's a Level G book. It's about a greedy and cunning spider who learns that cheating people is not good.


Einhorn, K. (2006). The spider and the beehive. New York, NY: Scholastic.

[76 words]

What did you read?

1. What did you read?
2. Who's it by? / Who's the author?
3. Are there any illustrations? What do you think of them?
4. Who are the characters in the book?
5. On a scale of 1 to 10, how would you rate the book?
6. Please read a couple of pages aloud to me!
7. Who's the publisher?
8. What year was it published?
9. What series is it in?

[55 words]

Finding Dory, and other matters…

Today we watched the trailer for Finding Dory, the new movie from Pixar and the sequel to Finding Nemo. The scene features Dory sleepswimming and worrying the family by going off somewhere and talking in her sleep. Dory seems to be scatterbrained, and when she's awake she says that she has just remembered something, but then she forgets what she remembered and gets confused. Then she dashes off because she thinks her family is in danger. It looks like a fun movie and I look forward to seeing it.

The other day, Leicester City won the title in the Premier League. It is a big achievement because the team was promoted to the Premier League very recently, and last year it seemed to be the weakest team in the league. This season, it was the favorite to be relegated. When the team's new manager, Claudio Ranieri, was appointed at the beginning of the season, many people laughed because his image was as a not very good manager, but his players seem to love him and he was very capable with tactics and with keeping a good team spirit. It looks like Spurs will be second in the league. Three teams are fighting for the 3rd and 4th spots, including Manchester United and Manchester City.

[213 words]

Long time, no see

Hi, everyone! Long time, no see! I hope you were all OK in the earthquakes. All the furniture in my office fell down, and my university had many problems, but soon we'll be back to normal.

It's so long since we had a writing class, so today let's review the things you need to do for the course. In class, we'll:

1. do our second Juppun ha Juubun
2. write another book review

Because of the problems with the KGU Library, I think you won't be able to use the English Reading Garden for some time. So I will bring books to class most weeks. You can also read e-books through the university library website. There is also a backup site for a small number of books. We will also start our first essay topic soon.