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三日前の日曜、家でゴロゴロしていたら生徒のSさんからLINEがきた。
「先生、やらかした」
「なんのことだ？」
「英検2次試験」

そうだ、今日は二次試験の日。彼女は準2級をうけていた。

「うまく受け答えできなかったのかい」
「1問目の時に、2問目の答えを言ってしまって」

英検準2級では、1問目は文章から出題され、２問目は絵の人物の行動説明が求められる。

上の問題で例えるなら、温室効果ガスを減らすのに何をしているか？　と聞かれているときに「少年は木の上に巣箱を置いている」と答えたわけだ。

そんなミスをする子ではなかった。何度も練習したから質問の順序はわかっていたはず。本番のプレッシャーに押しつぶされてしまったのか。

「そうか、まあがっかりするのはまだ早い。結果が出るまで希望を持とう。」
「はい。」

うっかりミスか、僕も子供のころ常習者だった。そのたびに父親から制裁をくらっていた。

今回のミスが長い長い彼女の人生の教訓になることを願おう。

長年貿易会社に勤めていたテレサさんとSkypeで話をしました。相変わらず強気の姿勢に閉口しました。

Toshi

Hi, Teresa. It’s been a long time,

Teresa

Yes, it’s so nice to see you again, Toshi-san.

Toshi

Now countries all over the world are facing recession. Many companies are suffering from poor sales because people do not want to spend money. People don’t buy TVs, don’t buy air conditioners, don’t buy new cars, don’t want to go on a sightseeing trip. Actually people want to save money for rainy days.
Because of this, so many companies are unable to keep their businesses active.
Teresa, you have been in the business field in the USA and Europe for a long time. What do you think corporations should do to survive in the fast changing environment？

Teresa
If they have enough capital, they should invest overseas.

Toshi

Invest? Are you saying this is the good time to spend money on something new?

Teresa
Yes, of course. Do you know that Seven Eleven Japan bought the American convenience store named Speedway?

Toshi
Ah, no. I wonder how much money they spent on it .

Teresa
As much as twenty-one billion dollars.

Toshi
Lots of zeros!

Teresa
Yes. It is the biggest corporate acquisition globally since the coronavirus outbreak spread earlier this year.

Toshi
How can they shell out such a huge amount of money when everyone is feeling sluggish and lethargic?

Teresa
Now is the time to expand and invest heavily.

Toshi
You really sound like a woman who made your way in the trading business.

Teresa
Do I ? What makes you think so?

Toshi
Because I can feel this strong spirit from the way you speak, the way you persuade people into taking advantage of bad times to get successful.

Teresa
Hahaha. What about you, Toshi-san? You were in the business world too. How would you deal with this difficult situation if you were still the same.

Toshi
I would choose to stay calm instead of expanding or investing heavily . In this very dark period, you don’t know how things will be like in the in the near future. Investing means less cash available to pay bills.

Teresa
Don’t you feel the way I do? I think this is the time for us to be aggressive because there are many things whose prices are now low, right?

Toshi
I just remembered an old saying which goes “坐して死を待つより出でて活路を見出さん“

Teresa
What does that mean?

Toshi.

This is a proverb that talks about the mindset of the samurai warriors at the brink of death . Should I keep on fighting or should I just sit and wait to die?

Teresa

Which way did he go?

Toshi

He chose to keep on fighting until the very end.

Teresa

Look! Your ancestors ,samurai warriors had that same spirit as I do!

Toshi.

Touché

コロナ収束後どの国へ旅行したいか、アンケートをとった結果、日本と答えた人が1番多かったとネットで読みました。日本人の1人として誇らしく思います。

アーヴィンくんとおしゃべりしました。

Toshi
Good evening , Arvin.

Arvin
Likewise, Toshi-san.

Toshi
I came up with an interesting article while I was browsing through the internet.

Arvin.
What was it?

Toshi
A survey has been taken in some major countries around the world about where they want to travel to after the COVID-19 pandemic is over.

Arvin
What was the result?

Toshi
Japan ranked the first.

Arvin
There is no wonder why people would, you know , love Japan.

Toshi
As one of the Japanese citizens, I really feel proud of it.
Yeah, but I wonder, if those millions of travelers come to Japan in the future, it may lead to another wave of infection.

Arvin
Well, that’s funny. Yeah, I understand the fear. It’s not very easy and in the first place , you know crowded places are where they often happen so I understand the trauma.

Toshi
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe launched a stimulus package called “GO TO TRAVEL CAMPAIGN” which allows Japanese people to travel around Japan half the usual expenses soon after the first wave of pandemic was about to end, which induced the second wave.

Arvin
I understand the fear, Toshi san. But we must have the courage to start anew from nothing. And definitely as you know, it was more difficult in the past. Then it’ll be easier now , right? So no need to worry about that. Definitely there is another way for us to recover once that time comes again. And we shouldn’t be afraid. Japan has advanced technology and I’m confident that you know we’ve been through worse before you’ve been through a recession. So I think there is nothing that Japan cannot withstand.

Toshi
Thank you very much.

高校3年の生徒なつさん(仮名)と最近起こったことについて会話しました。

Natsu

Good evening Nomura Sensei.

Toshi

Hello, Natsu

Natsu

I have a good news and a bad news to share with you. Which do you want first ?

Toshi

Give me the bad one first.

Natsu

I failed in the Eiken pre first grade test.

Toshi

Oh no. What a bummer.

But it sounds like you are not discouraged.

Natsu

I’m not, because I got a perfect score on the composition part.

Toshi

So that’s the good news you were going to tell me. Congrats!

Natsu

I’ll think of this as a step forward in my career.

Toshi

You deserve it! I’m proud of you, Natsu.

Natsu

Thank you, Toshi sensei.

Toshi

I remember you took part in the speech contest and got the first prize. How long ago was that?

Natsu

Three years ago. I was in a junior high.

Toshi

Since then I’ve had a feeling that you have this power of inspiring listeners and readers.

Natsu

I’ll take it as a compliment, Sensei. I thank you for your time to talk with me.

常に前向きに捉えることが出来る子。

大きく羽ばたいてほしいです。

Fly to the rising sun!

オンラインレッスンに役立ちそうな新機能をアービン君が教えてくれました。スカイプで話す時、相手の話す英文がほぼ完璧にスクリーン上に現れるというのです。

小学生相手の英会話レッスンで使ってみようと思います。

以下、彼との議事録。

Arvin
You know what, Toshi san? I’ve found a very interesting feature in the SKYPE app.

Toshi
Oh really? Share it with me please. How did you find it?

Arvin
I was chatting with a friend of mine; he was sharing his screen with me. I noticed that while I am talking, it was automatically translating my messages or automatically transcribing my message.

Toshi
How is it done?

Arvin
I’m not sure, but I thought it would be useful if you research about it.

Toshi
Does it appear on the Skype screen?

Arvin
Yes, on the video itself.

Toshi
How come he does it? I want to know. He must be a tech-savvy boy. How old is he?

Arvin
Around 30ish.

Toshi
Just about the age of showing great interest in the new computer software.

Arvin
Right!

Toshi
Well, as I think about it, it’s not so helpful for me because the subtitles appear on the Skype screen as we go on talking, and the previous ones disappear, right? When you talk with someone very talkative, and if your eyes flicker just for a while, you will instantly miss the message.

Arvin
It could be helpful when you have the Filipino teachers online for the elementary school kids. The children will be excited to see it.

Toshi
You have a point there. May I ask you to show me what kind of application I should install to get the real-time captioning of a voice call?

Arvin
Let’s see. I’m gonna find one that’s something useful. Ah! I found one. OK. Alright, so I’m gonna send you a link right now.

Toshi
Thanks. Looks like if I have the newest updated version of Skype, I really don’t need to install anything else.

Arvin
I believe so.

Toshi
Wow, amazing! Thank you Arvin for your help.

Arvin
My pleasure.

英検で準2級や2級に合格するためにはライティングの力を伸ばすことが求められます。

なので当塾ではできるだけたくさんの作文を生徒に書かせるようにしています。

大抵の場合は、何を書いているのかよくわからないことが多いのですが、1人ものすごい文才がいるので本人の了解をもとに紹介することとしました。

学校名や性別、名前などは伏せますが年齢は10代。たった30分程度でこれだけの文章を日本語と英語で書けるのは神業に近いと思います。この豊富な表現力をぜひ将来に発揮してほしいものだと思います。

QUOTE:

ユロナウイルスの流行で、学校に通う回数が減った。
Coronavirus
epidemic has reduced the number of
times to go to school.

そのため、新しい形で授業をうけた。
So , we took classes in a new way.

最初は慣れなかのた。
It was difficult at first.
.

しかし、それが当たり前になった。
But it became so easy.

.
また、新しい生活様式になった。
Also , I have a new lifestyle
,
人と話すときはマスクが必要である。
We need a mask when talking to people.

そして、ソーシャルディスタンスを保たなければならない。
Also , we must maintain social distance.

以上のことより、私は友達と顔を合わせて話せることが幸せなことだと気付いた。
For the reasons above , I found it happy to be able to talk face- to – face with my friends.

家に居る時間が増え、たくさん料理をするようになった。
I　spend a lot more time at home , so I started to cook a lot.

家にいたからできたことである。
It was possible because I was at home.

すべてが否定的なわけではなく、家で出来ることがたくさんあった。
Not everything was negative, there were many things. we could at home.

なので、家ですごす時間も素晴らしいことがわかった。
So, I’ve found that spending time at home is also great.

: UNQUOTE

読めば読むほど味わい深いと思います。

この時期になると隣近所の人や生徒の親からたくさんのきゅうりや茄子をいただきます。

浅漬け以外に調理法を知らない私はさすがに食べ飽きて、どうしようか迷う時があります。

そんな時にアドバイスをくれたのが主婦のKさん。

① きゅうりをピーラーでむき、さっと茹でる。

② 豚肉をお湯に通す。

③ 両方合わせて醤油や砂糖、ごま油などを適当にかけ全体に染み渡るようにする。

その結果出来上がったのがこの作品です。

自分で言うのもなんですがさっぱりして良い味でした。冷たいビールと一緒にいただく・・・短い夏の夜のぜいたくなひとときです。笑笑

久々にArvinくんとトークをしました。内容は少年法について。下がその議事録です。笑笑　わかりやすいようにするため、彼のセリフを斜体にしてあります。

Have you ever heard of so-called Juvenile Law Nomura san ?

What ? Juvenile Law? Yes I heard about it by the name. It’s named SHONENHO 少年法 in our country. I don’t know much about it except that it avoids punishing young people who committed crimes.

Yes it’s main idea is “correction instead of punishment“

I wonder if it performs its original purpose

What do you mean Nomura san?

.

Some children are taking advantage of the benefits stated in the law.

They know they are not punished for the crime committed.

Oh no does it happen in such a peaceful country as Japan?

Yes it does. Actually I heard some children say “We are protected under the Juvenile law. Now is the good time to commit crimes”

Oh no that sounds contradictory. It really defeats its original purpose to give children a chance to rehabilitate themselves.

Anyway the time has passed and the social and cultural values have also changed. And many people question the significance of that Law.

It would be necessary for us

to have a discussion

before deciding which way to go.

That’s right.

小学生相手の英語授業の時間、なるべく会話をさせるようにしている。

10パターンほどの質問を用意し、暗記させ、隣に座った生徒に質問させている。

聞かれた生徒はもちろんそれに応じた回答をせねばならない。

ところが何回練習しても答えに詰まる質問がある。それは

You look happy. What’s up?

と言う質問だ。「うれしそうだね、何かいい事でもあったの」と言う意味だが、どう答えていいのかわからないのだと言う。

「特別なことじゃなくてもいいんだぜ、身の回りの小さな事でちょっとだけ嬉しかったことを言えばいい。何かないのか。」

子らの表情は変わらない、相変わらず困っている。

うーん困ったなあ。

このままではいけない、何か身近な具体例を出さなくては。

「そうだカレーなんかどうだ。先生が小学生だった時、夕方に家の玄関ドアを開けてカレーの匂いがプーンとするとうれしかったぞう。」

「じゃあそれにする。英語でなんて言うか教えて」と言う子ら。

そうだなぁ、We’re going to have some curry and rice for dinner. でいいよ。

早速発声練習を始めた子供らを見ながら思いにふけった。

海外で働いていた時、似たような質問をされたものだった。

良い週末を過ごしましたか、夏休みは楽しかったのですか、クリスマスホリデーをどう過ごしましたか、などなど。

そのたびに何て答えたらいいか迷ったものだ。きっと日本人には苦手な質問なのだと思う。

だからこそこれからの時代を担う子供らにはこの手の質問には慣れていて欲しい。

ほんのちょっぴり嬉しかったことを人に伝える努力。これがコミニケーションをどれだけ豊かにするか。

どんなに時代が変わっても求められるだろう。

A shocking news hit the headlines.

In Kyoto.  two doctors were arrested by the police for having killed a woman patient.

She was suffering from terrible disease called ALS ,  a kind that your muscles become not workable. And you are unable to stand up or walk. So you end up  lying on the bed or sitting on the wheelchair most of the time And she was only 51,  and she lost her hope and asked the doctors to end her life .

 If the story ended there, I would have taken it as  one of the familiar stories of a doctor in a dilemma whether or not to listen to the patient’s request for euthanasia.

But this  time it’s a little bit different.

For one thing. They got to know each other through social network.

Second ; the doctors DID receive money from her.

Now there is a growing suspicion.

Did they  do this solely  for money?

It’s too early to judge at this stage.

Further investigation by the police is awaited.