How to build up your vocabulary ^-^

Hey everyone, mikan-chan asked me how to improve your vocabulary so for my last post this month I will give you a few tips.

Of course, the best way to improve your vocabulary is through practice~! I heard that to really remember a new word you need to hear it 7 times! So it is important to constantly practice and be in contact with English.

You can do this by reading in English. If you think a book is too difficult, try a magazine or Penguin's Graded Readers. To know your level, read one page and if you don't know 1-3 words then it is your level! If you don't know 5 or more words on one page then it is too difficult and you will not enjoy reading. The great thing about the graded readers is they will help you boost your vocabulary and also improve your reading speed.

Videos are also really good, thanks to DVDs you can practice your English listening and learn new words. The video helps you to easily understand what they are talking about. To use DVDs effectively try this:

1. Watch the DVD in Japanese.
2. Watch the DVD in Japanese with English subtitles.
3. Watch the DVD in English with Japanese subtitles.
4. Watch it in English with English subtitles.
5. Watch it in English without subtitles.

So, you will be watching the DVD often to practice your English so it is important to chose a video you really love.

The internet also gives many websites that can help. Here are two Japanese-English flashcard sites. They are made for English speakers learning Japanese but should be useful for you too.

http://www.schei.com/flashcards.htm

http://www.manythings.org/fc/

Also, try quizlet.com to make your own flashcards!

You can also use various word of the day websites:

Oxford's English Dictionary's

http://www.oed.com/cgi/display/wotd

Merriam-Webster's

http://www.merriam-webster.com/cgi-bin/mwwod.pl

For English as a Second Language learners:

http://www.eslmonkeys.com/student/wordoftheday.php

And you can sign up to have a new word emailed to you~!

http://www.eslmonkeys.com/student/wordoftheday.php

I hope that helps~!

Phil

See, look, watch and stare... Part B

Today, I will finish up this two part series explaining the differences between see, stare, look and watch. I will go over the verbs see and watch. If anything isn't clear, please ask me a question or if you just want to say hello, leave me a post!

See

This is simply the physical act of using your eyes. You are not really paying attention or focusing on anything.

ex:

1. Did you see that? A UFO!!! (did you notice the UFO)
2. He's blind, he can't see. (his eyes don't work)
3. I saw you kissing another girl! (I saw you kissing her with my own eyes)
4. I'm nearsighted, so I can't see things that are far away. (my eyes don't focus well on things that are far away)

See is used in the same way as watch to talk about movies, sporting events and, TV shows or movies in the PAST or FUTURE TENSE.

ex:

1. I saw a movie yesterday = I watched a movie yesterday
2. I'm gonna see a hockey game tomorrow= I'm gonna watch a hockey game tomorrow
3. Did you see the Hanshin Tigers game? = Did you watch the Hanshin Tigers game?

Be careful, when you use see to talk about meeting a specific person or group(like a sports team) then you can ONLY use SEE.

ex:

1. I saw a play NOT I watched a play (group of people)
2. I saw my friend Jill yesterday. (specific person)
3. I saw the Hanshin Tigers last weekend (group of people)
4. I'm gonna see Tom tomorrow NOT I'm gonna watch Tom (specific person)

You'll notice that the 3rd sentence "I saw the Hanshin Tigers last weekend" is similar to "Did you see/watch the Hanshin Tigers game?" BUT there is a difference. For "I saw", we are talking about the TEAM(group of people) but for "Did you see/watch?", we are talking about the Hanshin Tigers GAME not the team.

Also SEE is usually NOT USED in the progressive tenses. It is ALWAYS:

I'm watching a movie.

NOT

I'm seeing a movie.

"I'm seeing Sarah" means I am dating Sarah...

WATCH

Watch means you are looking at something or someone and PAYING ATTENTION to what happens. Your brain is keeping track of what your eyes are showing you. This is why it is the preferred verb for the progressive tenses. It can also be used in the past or present tenses.

ex:

1. I watch TV everyday. (present)
2. I'm gonna watch TV tomorrow. (future)
3. I watched TV yesterday. (past)
4. I'm watching TV. (present progressive)

It can be used for BOTH specific or general movies or TV shows.

ex:

1. I watched a movie yesterday. (general)
2. I watched Speed racer yesterday. (specific)
3. I watched Zettai Kareshi last night. (specific)
4. I watched TV last night. (general)

BE CAREFUL watch is ALWAYS used with TV and see is NEVER used with TV.

I watch TV every night.

I watched a TV show this morning.

NOT

I see TV.

If you say "I see a TV" it means that you see the physical object, not what is playing on the TV.

Ok I think that is enough, let me know if everything is clear to you~!

Phil

See, look, watch and stare... Part A

Ok, I just got back from working in Minami-Kusatsu and my girlfriend is coming over so this lesson will be broken into two parts and I should be posting Part B tomorrow. Today, I will go over stare and look.

LOOK

There are three different uses of look I will go over today:

1- look at= to turn your eyes in a specific directions. It is often used to point something out or to call attention to something.

ex:

1. Look at that! (look at that thing)
2. I want to look at that poster. (let's go and focus our eyes on that poster)
3. He's looking at you. (his eyes are focusing on you)

2- look for= to search for something/someone, to try and find something/something.

ex:

1. I am looking for my friend Jim. (I am trying to find Jim in a crowd)
2. What are you looking for? (a store clerk asking what do you want?)
3. I always look for good books to read. (try to find a good book to read)

3- look like =to be similar in appearance to someone or something.

ex:

1. He looks like Johnny Depp. (His appearance is similar to Johnny Depp's)
2. That looks like fun. (It appears to be fun)
3. That lamp looks like a fish. (The lamp is shaped like a fish)

Stare

stare = to look at someone or something for a long time, to look at someone or something intently.

ex:

1. It is rude to stare. (social rule)
2. Stop staring at me~! (angry person telling you to stop looking at them)
3. What are you staring at? (angry person has caught you looking at them and may want to fight)

When I was young, we used to have staring contests. This is when two people look at each until someone blinks. The person who blinks first is the loser. To blink, is to open and close your eyes quickly.

Ok more tomorrow, have a nice Sunday night!

Phil

Adverbs of Frequency

Here is a quick breakdown of the how strong different adverbs of frequency.

100% always

I always watch new TV shows in the fall.

95% almost always

I almost always wake up at around 8:30.

80% usually

I usually have eggs for breakfast.

70 % frequently (FORMAL)

I go abroad on business frequently.

60% often

I often study Japanese in the morning.

30-50% sometimes

I sometimes eat muslix(cereal) for breakfast.

30-40% occasionally (FORMAL)

I occasionally go out for drinks with Senator Philip.

10% rarely

I rarely have free time at work.

5% seldom (FORMAL and old fashioned)

I seldom drink alcohol.

3% hardly ever (FORMAL and old fashioned)

I hardly ever wake up late.

1-5% almost never

I almost never drink champagne.

0% never

I never eat natto.

USAGE:

There are some rules about using adverbs of frequency, usually:

1- They go AFTER the verb to be(is, am, are, etc.).

2- They go BEFORE other verbs.

Occasionally, sometimes, often, frequently and usually

can also go at the beginning or end of a sentence:

Sometimes they come and stay
with us.

I play tennis occasionally.

Rarely and seldom can also go at the end of a sentence (often with "very"):

We see them rarely.

John eats meat very seldom. (from: http://www.englishclub.com/grammar/adverbs-frequency.htm)

Alone and by myself...

Hey everyone, sorry about not posting so much this month but I have been busy with Gion Matsuri, getting ready for summer vacation and a few other things. I want to publish about 8 blog posts a month so you should be seeing several posts over the next 2 weeks~!

Please leave questions and comments in the box next to the posts, I really love to hear from you all and appreciate your suggestions.

Ok, today I will talk a bit about alone and by myself the differences in usage and meaning.

alone

This is a quite strong word, it has a negative connotation and makes people think of loneliness. We usually don't use it to talk about ourselves, we use it to talk about OTHER PEOPLE.

He's alone, it's safe to attack. GET HIM!

He went to Europe alone.

When we use it to talk about ourselves it sounds sad or angry:

Leave me alone! (angry) We use this to tell someone to stop bothering us, very strong and rude.

I spent Christmas alone. (sad)

by myself

This is the normal expression we use when talking about doing something without anyone else and you are happy or neutral about the situation.

I went to Angkor Wat by myself.

A: Who did you see the movie with?

B: I went by myself.

In both these examples, you are NOT sad or disappointed about the situation so you use by myself.

I fixed the car by myself.

I fixed the car myself.

Here the meaning in these two sentences is slightly different. "I fixed the car by myself" is emphasizing that NOBODY helped you to fix the car, it is a bit of a stronger sentence. "I fixed the car myself" means that you did not go to the garage or mechanic BUT maybe your friends might have helped you a little.

Is this clear to you now? If you still don't understand let me know!

Phil

The many ways to say yes and no...

Hey everyone, I just got back from Kusatsu where we had a party at work. It was nice to see so many students I hadn't seen in awhile. I guess our schedules had changed so it became harder for us to have lessons together. I was also happy to get so much positive feedback about my blog so I decided to do a quick post I had been thinking about for a few days.

Just like in Japanese, there are many ways to say yes and no. I think everyone knows that Yeah is another way to say yes but today we will look at a few more. The following table is from most formal(Yes) to most casual (uh huh).

So Yes and No are standard like はい or いいえ. And yeah is like はいはい or うん. But I think 　 うん is more like uh huh. Yup and Nope are kind of countryside English and not so common these days.

Have a nice night, time for bed!

I saw this in Nagoya...

Hey everyone, I was in Nagoya last week and I picked up a small English magazine at a bar called the Elephant's Nest. I thought it was your typical English magazine for foreigner's in Japan but no it was a magazine for Japanese English speakers...

...it is called ET People and has a bunch of quizzes, games and activities for the people to study English.

So people check out their website:

www.et-people.com

Let me know, what you think about it!

Quick pronunciation practice!

Hey everyone, I was cleaning my room and came across a scrap of paper from one of my lessons where I had written some tongue twisters I came up with. So today you can practice the "V" sound and the "W" sound.

"V" Sound:

Vicky Vim sang about her victory very vigorously.

"W" Sound:

Willy Wonka works well with Wanda Wood.

Some fun little sentences for all of you, and remember if you any questions...

JUST ASK!

Phil