Only today and tomorrow are left this month. November does not have Day 31 and it feels time flies even quicker. 11月は今日と明日で終[お]わります。11月は31日がないので、いつもより時間がはやいように感[かん]じます(= to feel)ね。 November is not the only month without Day 31; February, April, June and September also do not have Day 31. By the way, how do you remember this list? Did you […]
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今日は、日本語を勉強[べんきょう]している人たち、特[とく]に(= in particular)初級[しょきゅう](= beginners)から中級[ちゅうきゅう](= intermediate)の人たちにアドバイスです。Here is an advice for Japanese language learners today! 日本語を勉強している人は、たくさん読[よ]んだほうがいいです。このような勉強を多読[たどく]と(= extensive reading)いいます。「多」は ‘many’、「読」は ‘reading’です。 今、インターネットがありますから、いろいろな読み物にアクセスできます。NHKの「News Web Easy」というウェブサイトはとてもいいと思[おも]います：https://www3.nhk.or.jp/news/easy/ このウェブサイトに、難[むずか]しい文法(= grammar)があまりないです。ことばは時々[ときどき]難しいかもしれません。例[たと]えば(= for example)、今、コロナウイルスのニュースがたくさんあります。コロナウイルスのニュースに、感染者[かんせんしゃ]、緊急事態宣言[きんきゅうじたいせんげん]ということばがあります。ちょっと難しいですよね。でも、漢字[かんじ]にひらがながありますから、意味[いみ](= meaning)を自分[じぶん]で調[しら]べてみてください。 NHKのNews Web Easyは、ニュースのウェブサイトですから、いろいろな新[あたら]しいニュースを知ることができます。おもしろいニュース、興味[きょうみ]深[ぶか]いニュースがたくさんありますよ。 がんばってください💪。
Continue readingI believe most of language learners would like to speak fluently. They hope one day they will speak like a native speaker. So… does a native speaker always speak fluently??? Let’s think about the definition of ‘fluency’ here. What words pop up in your mind now to define ‘fluency’? We might think that a fluent […]
Continue readingThe New Zealand government had a cabinet meeting this afternoon and announced that Hamilton and the nearby towns in the Waikato region would remain in the COVID Alert Level 3 for a few more days. In case you might not be familiar with our alert level system; Level 3 is a sort of lockdown. The […]
Continue readingIt is Super Saturday here, in New Zealand, today; yes, the whole nation gets together against COVID-19. Are you thinking of getting vaccinated in Hamilton today? – You can do it on our university campus today (16 October 2021). No booking required ☺💉! You can see the details here: https://covid19.govt.nz/covid-19-vaccines/how-to-get-a-covid-19-vaccination/super-saturday/
Continue readingMany areas in New Zealand are at the COVID Alert Level 3. This means people in those areas should stay at home and work from home if it’s possible. We, lecturers/teachers, naturally tend to spend so much time in front of a computer and… as a result, I have experienced massive KATAKORI!!! Have you heard […]
Continue readingWhen a new item/concept is brought in from another country, we need to come up with an idea – how to call it in our language. There are mainly two ways to do so in Japanese. ‘Telephone,’ for example, is called ‘denwa‘ in Japanese. ‘Den’ means electric and ‘wa’ means talk. This is a case […]
Continue readingA lockdown started again in New Zealand. In case people who are not familiar with the situation here might be reading this… ニュージーランドでまた、ロックダウンが始まりました。あまりよく知らない人のために書きます…。 There was a new positive case of COVID-19 detected in the community yesterday, on 17 August. At the time of the detection, nobody knew much about the case but everybody knew it’s […]
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I had not posted anything to this blog for quite a while. However, I am here as there is something I definitely want to mention today. It is 6 August today; yes, an atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima 76 years ago. We all wish for peace and happiness in the world. ここのところ、ずっと忙[いそが]しくて、全然[ぜんぜん]ブログを書いていませんでした。でも、今日は書かないわけにはいきません! 今日は8月6日、76年前に広島に原爆[げんばく](= atomic bomb)が落[お]とされた(= […]
Continue readingIt is April now; time flies indeed… ４月です。月日の経つのは本当にはやいですね。。。 April means to us, people in New Zealand, Autumn. Most people in Japan would think of Spring; therefore, it is all about (maybe not all but) cherry blossom🌸. Also April is the beginning of an academic year. 4月は私たち、ニュージーランドの人にとって秋です。日本の多くの人たちにとっては春、そして、もちろん、桜です🌸！4月は学校の新しい年の始まりです。 All levels of schools and universities start their academic […]
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