English Teachers
Darren, Donny and I took off to Wakayama on Monday to do a short hike. We were using a hiking book that Darren’s fiancé had let us borrow. The hike was supposed to take us across a river, up a mountain and along the ocean. Unfortunately the book is all in Japanese, so we had a tough time reading the instructions. After getting lost about 8 or 9 times we finally found a trail that led us up the mountain. We walked through some orchards (Japanese orange farms). The oranges looked like they were starting to ripen and we saw some farmers picking them. At the top of the mountain we had a good view of the city and river. At the end of the hike we saw a beautiful sunset. All in all, it was a great day out. Good to finally get some exercise again! 
This colourful spider almost turned us back, but we were brave enough to continue.: spider
The view from the top of the mountain.
Here we are trying to read signs. This took a long time!
A beautiful sunset in Wakayama
[door closing]
Doctor: Good morning. What seems to be the problem?
Patient: I have a really bad stomachache.
Doctor: I see… any other symptoms?
Patient: I feel nauseous and recently I've had diarrhea.
Doctor: How long have you had it?
Patient: It started on Sunday, so… it's been about 3 days now.
Doctor: Have you developed a fever?
Patient: No, I don't think so.
Doctor: Have you eaten anything unusual this week?
Patient: Hmmm… No I don't think so. On Sunday I ate at the new hamburger restaurant by the beach. I think it's called "Charlie don't Surf".
Doctor: Is that right. I think you may have E. Coli, you're the third patient this week with similar symptoms. All of the patients ate at Charlie don't Surf. You're going to have to go to the hospital so we can get a stool sample. Please go as soon as you can.
Patient: What is E. Coli?
Doctor: E. Coli, in this case, is a bacteria found in raw hamburger meat. It can be quite harmful.
Patient: Okay. I'll go today. Thank you.
A: So, have you talked to Melissa recently?
B: No, I haven’t. What’s up with her?
A: She said that if the company doesn’t give her a raise, she will quit.
B: Really! That would suck if she left. When is her contract up?
A: Her contract is up for renewal at the end of the month.
B: Do you think she’ll get a raise?
A: It’s doubtful. My supervisor told me that we lost 5 million dollars last year. He also said that the company is looking to cut costs anyway it can.
B: That’s not good news. I saw the president on TV last week saying that the company was planning on selling off it’s foreign division. How about our jobs? Are they secure?
A: It definitely doesn’t look good for you, but I have some seniority in the company, so I am not too worried.
B: What about Melissa? What is she going to do if the company doesn’t offer her a raise?
A: She said she was going to try and get a job with our rival company. Apparently she has some connections there.
B: Good for her. Do you think she can get me hired as well?
elementary | junior high | high school
Players
Time
Materials
Large flash cards - pictures without text, or non-translated cards.
A sheet with vocabulary to study.
Buzzers would be ideal, but not needed.
Description
Details
Prepare a large list of vocabulary the students should know or have been studying, for example animals. Some new words are okay too, but don't make them tired of learning new words.
Make a large B4 sheet with all of the pictures from your list. There should be any number of items grouped together for the students to count. There could be 4 cats together, 2 cows, or a snake. They must be grouped together.
Make teams of 4 or 5. Practice all of the words in the list using large A4 flash cards. Give the sheet to them after practicing the vocabulary and the students have two minutes to memorize all of the numbers for each item in the paper you prepared.
After two minutes, take the sheet away. The NET (Native English Teacher) has the students put their hands on their desk. The NET then says "How many _______?" and the first student to put up their hand (or use the buzzer) has a chance to answer.
The student should use full sentences with correct pluralization (if they have been taught it already).
For example, "How many cows?" -- "There are two cows."
The students must make big hand movements. It's difficult for the teacher to notice small movements. Having two other JETs (Japanese English Teachers) is perfect to help see who was first. When it's not clear who was first, the teams should play rock-scissors-paper to have a go. Sometimes is necessary to just skip that item and continue.
The team with the most points, after all items have been guessed, wins.
Additional
B: Hey Jon, do you want to go hiking with us this weekend?
A: Yeah, if the weather is good, I'll go. I don't like hiking in the rain very much. It's so much nicer if the weather is good, don't you think?
B: Yeah, I know what you mean, but we've all booked the weekend off, so we're going rain or shine. If you come with us, will you bring a tent or will you need to stay in ours?
A: I think if I go, I will buy a tent from the sports store. Do you know how much it will set me back?
B: If you want a light, waterproof tent, it'll cost about 300 dollars. I just have a cheap tent, I think it was about 50 bucks.
A: Oh, I see. What are you going to do if there is a big storm then this weekend? Will your tent be able to keep the water out?
B: I am not sure, it's my first time to go out with it. The tag says that It's water resistant! If the weather forecast looks bad I think Alison said she would bring her tarp.
A: Oh, yeah. You should be fine then. I will call you on Thursday and let you know.
B: Yeah, alright.
A: Let's imagine that you've just won the lottery, ok? What would you do with all the money?
B: How much money are we talking about?
A: Let's say five million dollars.
B: Okay, five million dollars. If I won the lottery, I would buy a mansion in Canada, Japan, Australia and France. That way I'd have a place to stay when I visit my family and friends throughout the world.
A: Oh, yeah. So you would blow all of your money on houses?
B: No, no, of course not. I'd probably put some money in the bank to accumulate interest, and of course I would have to buy my fiancé a bigger diamond ring. Alright, I've got one for you. If you could have any one super power, which would you choose?
A: Any super power eh….I think it would be cool to be able to fly. That way I could go anywhere I wanted at anytime. I wouldn't have to worry about gas prices or airline tickets. How about you?
B: I would choose the ability to be invisible. That way I could sneak into any bank and steal as much money as I need! I could also eavesdrop on people and find out what they really think of me!
A: Sounds like a pretty good plan.
A: So, what kind of music do you like?
B: To tell you the truth I don't listen to music so often?
A: What about when you're in the car?
B: I guess I usually listen to XFM.
A: Oh yeah, I' ve heard of that radio station, what kind of music do they play?
B: They play bands like Nine Inch Nails, Linkin' park, Sum 41, Green Day…
A: So, mostly punk rock or alternative music then?
B: Yeah, I guess so, but I would classify Nine Inch Nails as industrial. What do you listen to?
A: I listen to almost anything, but I'd have to say that I prefer Classic rock.
B: Classic rock?
A: Yeah, stuff like The Doors, Led Zepplin, and The Cars.
B: That's going way back! My parents like that music.
A: Yeah, I guess, but I find the music nowadays all sounds the same.
B: What about Eminem? His style is fairly unique in the rap genre.
A: I don't mind some of his stuff.
B: Is there anything you won't listen to?
A: I am not a big fan of country music. It's too slow for me.
1) I see trees of green,
2) red roses too.
3) I see them bloom
4) for me and you.
5) And I think to myself,
6) what a wonderful world.
7) I see skies of blue
8) and clouds of white.
9) The bright blessed day,
10) the dark sacred night.
11) And I think to myself,
12) what a wonderful world.
13) The colours of the rainbow,
14) so pretty in the sky.
15) Are also on the faces
16) of people going by.
17) I see friends shakin' hands,
18) sayin' "How do you do?"
19) They're really saying
20) "I love you."
21) I hear babies cryin',
22) I watch them grow.
23) They'll learn much more
24) than I'll ever know.
25) And I think to myself,
26) what a wonderful world.
27) Yes, I think to myself,
28) what a wonderful world.
29) Oh yeah.
I am going to give you instructions on how to make an omelet for 2 people. You will need the following ingredients: 5 eggs, 1 green pepper, 1 tomato, 100 grams of ham, 20 ml of milk and some cheese. First, crack the eggs and put them into a bowl. Next, pour 20 ml of milk into the bowl. After that, beat the eggs with a whisk for about 2 minutes. Then, cut the tomato, pepper and ham into small pieces. Add them to the bowl. Mix everything together. After that, pour some oil into a frying pan and turn the stove on to medium. Next, pour everything into the frying pan. Then, grate some cheese, and put the cheese on top of the omelet. When the eggs have browned, fold the omelet in half and turn down the heat. Let the omelet simmer for about 2 minutes. Finally, take the omelet out and serve it.
intermediate | advanced | native
Players
Time
Materials
none
Description
Details
There are two players and each takes a turn asking a question. The answer must be in the form of question. The first person to not answer with a quesiton loses.
Here's an example of an incorrect answer:
How are you?
I'm fine. How are you?
Here's how it should be played:
How are you?
Why do you ask?
Is something wrong?
Did someone say something?
No.
another example:
Are you hungry?
How about you?
Is there a restaurant near here?
Haven't you been here before?
You lived here, didn't you?
No.
It's easy to cheat by just asking "why?" all the time, so try to keep it fun and changing. A rule to ask a question only once should solve any cheating. Also, answers should be related to the question and on topic.
Additional
