English Recordings

Maturity is a psychological term used to indicate that a person responds to the circumstances or environment in an appropriate and adaptive manner.

I think she is immature and won't be able to handle that situation like an adult.

Is he mature enough to become a father?

When you think of learning a foreign language, what comes to mind?

I’m reminded of studying vocabulary and grammar from a book, practicing to speak the language with fellow non-native speakers, and proving my skills in written tests. Now that doesn’t sound very stimulating or promising, does it?

Personally, I had medium success with the traditional approach to learning a foreign language. Yes, it does help to study vocabulary and grammar. And exams are a good enough motivation to push you forward. However, that alone will hardly get you to the point where you fluently speak a foreign language.

So when you want to learn a foreign language, what makes the difference? Motivation, tons of practicing, and the right tools to keep it fun and interesting. Maybe one of the following ways to learn a new language is the right starting point for you.

A typhoon hit my area last night. I could not sleep because of the noisy wind. My friend told me that his car's rear window was broken because something hit it. He called the police to tell them about it.

A while ago, he got a call from his wife, and she told him that there were similiar incidents in his parking lot. That means a robber broke the window glass to stole something last night. The robber might be smart. There was nobody outside in that strong wind last night. And if he made a noise to break the window, it might be dismissed because of the wind. Fortunately, my friend did not leave anything expensive in his car. So nothing was stolen. But the car got wet because of the rain, and he has to pay for the repair. I am sorry for him.

■□Welcome to my world of imagination…
If I could have one wish, just for one day, I would wish to be a cloud in the sky. Then, I would go to your neighborhood and look at your face from up above for a while. I would probably feel like talking to you, but I wouldn’t, because I am too shy.
After that, I would have fun sailing along on the wind and mix with the mist at the top of the cool mountains.
Before evening, I would go to Hawaii and dye my whole body pink in the sunset. I would go home at night with the shooting stars and a heart filled with joy.

□■私の空想の世界へようこそ…
もしも一日だけ願いが叶うなら、空に浮かぶ雲になりたいな。
そうしたらこれを読んでくれている友達の家の近くまで行って、遠くからちょっとの間だけ友達の顔を見る。その時きっと話しかけたくなると思うけど、でもやっぱり恥ずかしくてそんな事できないだろうな。
その後は風と戯れる雲になり、涼しい山の頂上まで行って、霧と混ざり合って遊びたい。
日が暮れる頃、ハワイへ飛んで行って体中が夕日でピンク色に染まったら、幸せな気分に満たされたまま流れ星と一緒にうちに帰ろう。

(空想は楽しい: I like daydreaming.)

My boss decided to move on from our company. I miss her. She told me. She is now about forty. She has been thinking about how long she will be able to work from now and doesn't know. So she feels like doing her best now and has decided to move. Ummmmm, I'm convinced.

I thought about myself. It's not for me now, though. First, I think I'll always complain wherever I am. But I know no places is perfect. The only thing I have to do is to try to do my best wherever I am. Second, in Japan if you move too much, people think you're unreliable. It's not good for your career. I know it's the opposite in the U.S. People think you have got a lot of different experiences, which is good for your career. Third, it's kind of a waste of time, because if I move to another place, it'll take time to get used to it. More importantly, I'm happy now with the people around me. I respect them. And I have a lot of things to do and I can't just leave.

I'm saying this, but I imagine I might do the same thing when I'm at her age. Because I think we human beings end up thinking in similar ways and struggling in similar places. So I take to heart what people older than me say since it's really important and precious to me.

Thanks for reading.

I've been thinking that I'm exhausted now, and remember that I didn't sleep well last night. I usually sleep very well on the weekends, but somehow last night, I couldn't. I was nervous somehow. I don't know why.

Some elderly people say, 'I want to take drugs in order to good sleep.' That's unbelievable. If I can't sleep, I enjoy keeping myself busy by working or doing my favorite things. So I don't have to sleep against my will.

But now that I think of it, the problem could be that they don't feel good the next day due to the lack of sleep.

One thing I do like about the traditional school system is the school year calendar. Its one of the few things that actually works in education, and it works well.

The American school year has several breaks built in, including a "long" (2 month) summer break.

As I complete my first full year teaching at IIC, I'm realizing how important those breaks are. They provide time for teachers (and learners) to rejuvenate. They provide time to get away from the subject matter, do other things, and let your brain work unconsciously for a while.

Without this, we grow stale. Doing the same thing over and over again without a break is a recipe for burnout.

And that's what's happened to me. For a year, most of my waking hours have been focused on English teaching. I teach my classes. Then I come home and think about the classes. I brainstorm ways to improve them.

I added tutoring hours at The Linguist. I started teaching a few private students.

Then, last month, I started teaching a night class at IIC and at the same time launched my new student website, Effortless English.

Throughout this time, I've never had much of a break-- mainly because I get no paid vacation at my job- so when I do try to take a break, I end up going in debt and more stressed out than if I'd skipped the vacation.

All this has taken its toll and last week, something snapped. I'd simply had enough. Enough of teaching English, tutoring English, writing about English, and thinking about English every moment I'm awake. My energy level is extremely low- I have no enthusiasm in my classes anymore. In fact, the quality of my teaching has dropped dramatically and suddenly. I finally realized that something had to be done.

While I still can't afford to take a nice long trip somewhere, which is what I really need- I have decided to scale back considerably.

I've told my school that I'm finished with the night class. I've cut way back on The Linguist.

Most importantly of all- I'm drawing a stricter line between "work" time and "play" time. In other words, I'm trying to avoid thinking about English when I'm not working. I used to go to coffee shops and brainstorm ways to make improvements-- now I have a strict "no English" policy for my free time.

Long term, I realize that the traditional school year- with its many breaks, is the most productive. We need significant periods of time to relax and recharge. We need significant periods of time away from our subject of teaching or study.

Education is not factory work.

Sometimes the most effective way to work is to not work at all.

In Japan, after women marry, they are supposed to quit their job if they have one, and stay at home, and do housework. A lot of young women want to become housewives because they don't want to work outside of home. So for Japanese women, marriage is like job hunting for a permanent career. People might say, "things have been changing", or "it's not like that any more"....... things like that. I hope so, but I think it's all the same, at least around me. I hate this system and this situation and this policy. One of my bosses has never cooked. Even worse, he has never washed dishes or made tea. Actually, no. It isn't just one of my bosses, but some of my coworkers too. To tell yout the truth, I'm sick of this situation in Japan. Sometimes when I am asked if I want to keep working after marriage, I'm always like, "What the hell are you asking?" but I answer, "I don't know," "It totally depends on my husband in the future" or "I might quit my job, if possible." I know this is the answer that people expect. It's totally against my opinion though.

In Japan, this situation has been changing little. Men don't want to change it because they don't have any trouble. If that's how it has to be, I don't want to get married to a man who doesn't want to help me with household chores. Actually I don't expect Japanese men to change, so I sometimes have a fancy to get married to a man from a foreign country. Am I jumping to a weird conclusion? Or am I in a bad mood? Maybe both.