Otto's blog

Thai Restaurant in Kanayama

Jul

11

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I found out* about a Christian bookstore called CLC in Kanayama, Nagoya, so this week I visited it for the first time and bought a couple of books. I was surprised to find* this Thai restaurant, called 東桜パクチー just around the corner, so I had lunch there. I ordered Basil Chicken with rice, which was tasty. However the thing I enjoyed most about this restaurant was that inside it looked like a real Thai roadside restaurant - cool!

Vocabulary:
* find out = 聞込む
** find = 見つける

Horie`s Hobby

Jun

21

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I sometimes get my hair cut* at this barbershop in Gifu. It`s retro-cool, & the barber, Mr. Masao Horie is a nice old fellow. And he`s talented! Not only does he cut my hair just the way I like it, he`s also good at photography. He told me it has been his hobby for 50 years. He has even had a book of his black & white photographs published*. I bought it. It`s good.

Grammar:
- * get/have + 目的語 + 過去分詞 = 主語が(目的語が) ～される

Youtube Series Final Episode

Jun

22

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Today we filmed the final episode of our current 'English Phrases' Youtube series. Thank you Minori for handling Tera, Miho for filming, & Yasue (in Tokyo) for editing. And thank YOU for watching them (you`ve been watching them, right...?). You can see the ones we`ve uploaded so far (これまで) here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oNjA16foCpI&list=PLEL8h9GIzoeNLvfx0E6p1f7RzGMa9pbaU

If you want to buy the book that goes with the videos, please contact our school at www.teragoya.net

YouTube Complete Travel English Series

Oct

21

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You can now enjoy all 31 videos in our 'Living & Traveling Abroad' series on YouTube. Have you watched all of them? Some of them? Any of them...?!

We had fun making them. I hope you enjoy watching them.

Grammar:
- have fun + 動詞ing
- enjoy + 動詞ing / 名詞 (Be careful: 'enjoy' needs an object 目的語, so e.g. "Did you enjoy?" or "I really enjoyed!" are WRONG. "Did you enjoy yourself/the party/camping/etc?" & "I really enjoyed it/myself/talking to you." are OKAY.

Forging a Kaizen Culture

Aug

31

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Student Hitoshi gave me an English version of his book, “Forging a Kaizen Culture.” I find most business books boring but most of his book is interesting. Most of all, I liked this part:

“You can predict most of the time what instructions your boss is going to give you, once you understand his/her character well. ...(Most bosses`) orders are overwhelmingly the same and consist of only about 400 words.” (page 129)

That`s true.

Grammar:
OK: Most 名詞 e.g. Most people, most bosses
OK: Most of 代名詞 e.g. Most of us, most of them
OK: Most of 人代名詞 e.g. Most of my friends
OK: Most of the 名詞 e.g. Most of the time, Most of the teachers at my school
WRONG: Most of 名詞 e.g. Most of time, Most of people

Second Hand Bookstore

Apr

19

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Not far from my school in Gifu is this second-hand (= used) bookstore. I sometimes go there to look at art books. Second-hand art books in Japan are far cheaper (断然安い) than in Australia. These 5 large books cost only ¥1,800.

Vocabulary:
- "far" usually means 遠い, but "far + (形容詞)er" means "断然 __er".

New Youtube Series by Otto & Tera-chan

Jan

18

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The big day has arrived! From today you can see the first video in a new Youtube series by me & Tera-chan.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RbI1HAuxA1U

Our last series was phrases for business situations. The current series is phrases that are useful for traveling or living abroad.

We will upload a new video each Tuesday at 1:15pm. Please watch both the previous & present series - I hope they help you with your English study!

Vocabulary:
- "前の___" = "previous/last/former/old ____" (NOT "before ___")
- "今の___" = "present/current/new ____" (NOT "now ___")

The Little Red (Cardboard) Caboose

Jan

2

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My kids wanted to make a cardboard (段ボール) house, so I asked my wife to get some cardboard boxes from the supermarket. However, we didn`t make a house. I decided to make a cardboard caboose (車掌車), like the one in my kids` book. I used a goods trolley (台車) as the base, so this caboose can move. I pushed it along the street outside my house, with my kids riding inside it. My kids were excited. My wife was embarrassed. I was satisfied. It was a fun holiday project.

Vocabulary:
- Be careful: 段ボール is a Japanese word, not English. (It sounds kind of like English, but it`s not!).

Youtube Business Phrases Update

Jun

24

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This week we uploaded the 23rd and final video in our business phrase series to Youtube. Now you can see them all! One after the other ( どしどし )! All in a row (続けて)!

I enjoyed making them. I hope you enjoy watching them.

Grammar:
- ...enjoy + 動詞ing/名詞
- Be careful: ...enjoy + 動詞 WRONG ...enjoy + to 動詞 WRONG

Business English Phrases on Youtube

Apr

28

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You know about my Youtube videos, don`t you? You`ve watched them, haven`t you? They`re good, aren`t they?

If your answer to those questions wasn`t "Yes!!! Of course!!!" then please check out my Youtube videos:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tmZMMMaZigM&list=PLEL8h9GIzoeNyOXhs9s1qWdz0_fG-hopP

Now there are 16, and we are continuing to add a new one each week. They are short, interesting & great for learning English. And everyone wants to improve their English, right?

Grammar:
- "...don`t you? ...haven`t you? ... isn`t he?" etc = "...ですね?"
- An easier, casual way: "...right?" = "...ですね / だよね?"