[Easy English Blog] Kaki Season

October 21, 2013 / italkyoutalk

It is the kaki season!

“Kaki” is Japanese for “persimmon”.

Every autumn, the persimmon trees in gardens and along roadsides grow heavy with bright orange fruit.

It is a sign that autumn has come!

Here is a tree with lots of persimmons waiting to be picked and eaten!

The other day, my neighbour gave me a big bag of persimmons. He has a large persimmon tree and he picked some for me. I was very pleased to receive them.

When he gave me the persimmons, I said, “Oh thank you! I love persimmons!”

He said, “Good! I’ll bring some more next week. Our tree has lots of persimmons this year. We can’t eat them all!”

Here are some of the persimmons he gave me.

I started eating them straight away. (straight away = immediately) The persimmon has a nice shape inside. It’s a bit like a flower I think.

I sliced it up and ate it with yoghurt. Very healthy (lots of vitamin A and vitamin C!) and very tasty!

[Easy English Blog] Japanese Cooking in English

October 4, 2013October 4, 2013 / italkyoutalk

Cookpad

Some of my students say, “I don’t have time to study English every day. I have to cook in the morning, afternoon and evening. It takes a long time.”

Now, they can study and cook at the same time!

There is a recipe site in Japan. It is called Cookpad.

It is Japan’s most popular and famous recipe site. Users of the site post recipes on their own recipe page. There are over 1.5 million recipes on the site!

Recently, Cookpad started an English version of the website. They are translating thousands of recipes from Japanese to English.

The site is great for people all over the world to learn about Japanese cooking and about Japanese culture. We think it is also good for people who want to study English! The English recipes are very easy to understand.

How you can use the site to study English (Our ideas):

1. Print out the recipes and make some of the tasty dishes. (This kills 2 birds with 1 stone* – you can cook and study at the same time. No excuses!) 😉

2. Learn cooking vocabulary and phrases.

3. Teach your non-Japanese friends how to cook Japanese dishes.

4. Using the cooking vocabulary you learnt, write your own recipes in English and give them to your friends or teacher.

5. Ask your English teacher if you can have English class in the kitchen one day! Many community centres have kitchens you can rent for a few hours. You can make some of the recipes with your classmates!

Why not make* some tasty dishes in English this weekend? 🙂

The site is here: http://en.cookpad.com/

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*Kill two birds with one stone = solve 2 problems at the same time.

(So, you have to cook = problem 1. You have to study English = problem 2. Do them at the same time! Problem solved!)

(In Japanese: 一石二鳥 )

*Why not….? = How about…..? This is a suggestion.

(So, Why not make some tasty dishes? = How about making some tasty dishes?)

[Easy English Blog] Rice Harvest in Early Autumn

October 3, 2013October 3, 2013 / italkyoutalk

Autumn is my favourite season. After the long, hot and humid summer, the air starts to get cooler and the leaves on the trees start to change colour. The sky is clear and we have nice sunny days to enjoy before winter comes. It is a beautiful time of year.

Rural Japan in autumn is beautiful. The rice harvest starts, and all around the countryside you can see freshly harvested rice drying on bamboo racks.

After the harvest, the smell of burning straw lingers on (linger on = stay) around the villages and hills. For me, it is “the smell of autumn”.

It was nice the other day, so I drove out to the countryside. I took some photos of the rice, drying in the sun. For a short while, I watched a farmer working in his rice paddy (rice field). It looked like very hard work. He was an old man. I wondered how long his family had been growing rice on that land. Maybe for hundreds of years?

I think rice farming is a very tough job. Going to the countryside at harvest time reminds us that when we eat rice, we should be thankful.

This is where the rice often ends up! 🙂 (Itadakimasu!)

Curry and Rice picture by jetalone (Flickr) [CC-BY-2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)%5D, via Wikimedia Commons

[Easy English Blog] Simple and Convenient

September 18, 2013 / italkyoutalk

Do you know the English name for the machine in the photo?

It is a “vending machine“.

Here in Japan, vending machines are ubiquitous ( = very common/existing everywhere).

It is said that Japan has more vending machines than any other country.

They are called jido hanbaiki. 自動(jido = automatic) 販売 (hanbai = vending) 機 (ki =machine).

Today, I went for a drive. I went up into the mountains. At the top of the mountain, there were no cars and no people.

But…that’s right….there was a vending machine! I was very glad to see the machine because I needed a drink! 🙂

(By Terence Ong (Own work) [GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html), CC-BY-SA-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/) or CC-BY-2.5 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.5)%5D, via Wikimedia Commons)

Many years ago, we could buy beer and cigarettes from vending machines very easily.

A few years ago, a new system was introduced to stop young children and teenagers buying beer and cigarettes.

Now, if you want to use these machines, you need an ID card to prove your age.

(By Mr Wabu (http://flickr.com/photos/oxborrow/81522125/) [CC-BY-SA-2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)%5D, via Wikimedia Commons)

Some people don’t like vending machines.

They say that they don’t look nice in the countryside. Other people say they use too much electricity.

I like them. I think they are simple and convenient. If you are out and very far from any shops, no problem! There is probably a vending machine on the next corner! 🙂

Forgot your umbrella and it has started to rain? No problem! There’s a vending machine for you too!

(By Jason Ruck (Transferred by Cloudbound/Originally uploaded by Jason7825) (I took it. (Originally uploaded on en.wikipedia)) [GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html), CC-BY-SA-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/) or CC-BY-SA-2.5-2.0-1.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.5-2.0-1.0)%5D, via Wikimedia Commons)

[Easy English Blog] Do you know this animal?

September 2, 2013 / italkyoutalk

Do you know the animal in the photograph?

It is a “tanuki”.

“Tanuki” is a Japanese word. It means “racoon dog”.

In rural Japan, tanuki are quite common. We can sometimes see them in the garden at night. They move very quickly!

The statues in the photo below are also “tanuki’. These statues are very common in Japan!

Tanuki

Many houses, shops and restaurants have these statues in front of their house.

In Japanese folklore, it is said that “tanuki” have magic powers. They have a happy, mischievous image and many people think they bring good fortune.

Would you like to find out more about Japanese “tanuki”? Take a look here!

[Easy English Blog] Summer fireworks

August 5, 2013August 5, 2013 / italkyoutalk

We went to a summer firework display last week.

In Japan, many cities have firework displays in summer. When I first came to Japan, I was very surprised to see fireworks in summer. When I lived in England, I only saw fireworks in winter, on 5th November. (Why 5th November? See here!)

I think summer firework displays are a great idea. All the local people gather outside in the warm summer evening and enjoy eating and drinking while watching the fireworks.

We had a lot of rain just before the fireworks display, so some people were worried. They thought the display might be cancelled. Luckily, it stopped raining a few hours before the display started.

It was an impressive display. It seems to get bigger and better every year. We are already looking forward to the next one! 🙂

[Easy English Blog] Sand Museum

July 25, 2013July 25, 2013 / italkyoutalk

When I was a child, in the summer time, I used to go to the beach. I enjoyed digging in the sand, and building sandcastles. The castles were only small, but because I was a young child, they seemed really big to me.

I was reminded of long summers on the beach playing in the sand when my friend showed me some photographs from his trip to a sand museum.

A few weeks ago, my friend went to the sand museum in Tottori. It is the only sand museum in Japan. He sent me some pictures, which I would like to share with you on this blog.

When my friend showed me the pictures, I said, “These sand sculptures look amazing”. He said, “They are even more impressive when you see them in real life! If you get the chance, you really should go and see them!”

Here are some of the photographs. I hope you enjoy them!

sandmuseum6

This sculpture is huge! It must have taken a long time to make!

sandmuseum3

The detail on this sculpture is stunning.

sandmuseum2

sandmuseum4

This photo is my favourite. The colours and design are beautiful.

sandmuseum1

I think this one is still being made. I’d like to watch the artist finish it! I hope I can go to Tottori to see the sand sculptures someday!

[Easy English Blog] Why do you want to study English?

July 15, 2013 / italkyoutalk

When I meet new students, I always ask them this question.

“Why do you want to study English?”

Over the years I have been teaching, I have heard many interesting answers to this question.

Here are some of the answers, starting with the most common.

“I want to travel”

Many of these students go abroad every year, and they want to be able to communicate in everyday situations.

“I like English”

These students study English as a hobby. They tend to talk a lot in class and enjoy communicating with others.

“I want to watch American movies with no subtitles”

These students study English to enjoy their hobby more .

“I need it for work”

Many of these students work for companies which want to operate internationally. Some have bosses who don’t speak Japanese. Others need to get scores on tests (such as TOEIC) to be promoted.

“I want foreign friends”

These students are often interested in other cultures and are looking for friends from other countries.

“I want to study abroad”

Some of these students want to learn basic English before they go to language school, others need to pass entrance tests to colleges and universities.

“I don’t want to study English”

These students don’t want to study, but they have to, either for work or for school.

“It’s cool!”

These students are often interested in the image of speaking another language.

“I want to speak to my family members”

These students often have family members who have married people from other countries, and they want to communicate with them.

“To keep my brain active”

I taught a class for retired people for a few years. Everyone in the class said this was their reason for studying.

And some less common reasons I have heard:

“My psychiatrist recommended I study”

It seems that some psychiatrists recommend English conversation as a kind of therapy.

“It will make me rich”

This student thinks that if she can speak English well, she can get a higher paying job.

“To get away from my wife”

This man enjoyed spending time outside the home! 🙂

“I want to sell ice cream on Brighton beach”

This student had a very specific goal!

How about you? Why do you want to study English? 🙂

[Easy English Blog] A Mere Trifle

June 14, 2013 / italkyoutalk

Cooking and recipes in English.

A friend bought me a packet of port wine jelly from Australia. In America, jelly is called jello.

I was wondering what to do with it. “It’s very popular in Australia,” my friend said. “People make trifle with it.”

“Ah,” I thought. “Trifle! I haven’t made trifle for years.”

This is what I did to make a trifle.

I made the jelly and put it in the refrigerator to set.

I made a pint (450ml) of custard. I was in a hurry so I used a packet of instant custard. Be careful though. You want the custard to be thick. So use only half the amount of milk that the instructions say.

I bought a sponge cake from the supermarket. I broke it up into pieces. I divided the pieces into three piles. I used one pile to make a layer of sponge cake in a glass bowl and poured some apple juice over it.

I chopped up the jelly and put half of it over the sponge cake.

I poured half the custard over that.

Then I repeated the layers; sponge cake with apple juice, jelly, custard.

I put the last pile of pieces of sponge cake on top. I put it in the refrigerator and forgot about until it was time for dessert. Then I decorated the top with cream and raspberries. Here is a picture. It’s not very pretty is it?

trifle

Trifle is a traditional English dessert. It usually has custard, sponge cake and fruit. Every family has their own recipe. Everyone has a strong opinion about the recipe and they are all different.

Some people soak the sponge cake in sherry. Other people use fruit juice. Many people use jelly in a trifle. My mother never did. She always spread the sponge cake with strawberry jam. The friend who gave me the jelly said, ”Where are the peaches? I always put canned peaches in trifle!”

So maybe a trifle is whatever you want it to be.

Have you ever made a trifle?

*Note: trifle is an interesting word. Look it up! It means something small and unimportant; “a mere trifle”.

If you ever heard two cooks discussing dessert trifle, you might get another idea! Something large and rather important! This is because everyone has their own ideas about how to make a trifle. Modern trifles often have many ingredients so there are many things for cooks to disagree about.

The original trifles in the 17^th century were probably rather simple desserts. Just fruit and custard or fruit and cream. They were also sometimes called fools.

This simple version “a trifle” is still popular in modern English cooking and it is called a fool. But the modern trifle always has cake in it.

(P)

[Easy English Blog] Snow peas

June 4, 2013 / italkyoutalk

Cooking and recipes in English.

snowpeas

A friend gave me a bag of snow peas. He had just picked them from his garden. So I made stir fried beef with snow peas.

I had some beef in the freezer so I defrosted it. I try to catch it before it is completely defrosted. It is easier to cut thin slices if the meat is still half-frozen.

Most recipes don’t have cashew nuts. But I added some because my family likes them.

Recipe (for 4)

400g thinly sliced beef

2 tablespoons (30ml) soy sauce

1 tablespoon (15ml) sherry or mirrin

1 tablespoon (15ml) sugar

2 tablespoons (30ml) of grated ginger

2 cloves of garlic chopped

1 teaspoon (5ml) of cornflour)

2 cups snow peas

½ cup cashew nuts (if you like them)

2 tablespoons of cooking oil (I used peanut oil)

chopped red and green peppers

This was very quick – I put the soy sauce, sherry, sugar and cornflour in a bowl and mixed them together well.

Then I added the garlic, ginger and beef, and stirred until the meat was mixed with the seasonings.

Then, I left it all for a few minutes.

I washed the snow peas and took the leaves off the top. The ones in shops usually have these removed already.

I heated the oil and threw the contents of the bowl into the wok. When the beef looked almost done I added the snow peas and stirred.

I sprinkled the chopped red and green peppers on top, and the meal was ready.

Thought: My peas were very young. If you buy them in the supermarket, they might be older. So you might have to drop them into boiling water for a minute. Drain the peas and run cold water over them. Then shake them dry before you add them.

My friend also gave me a box of freshly picked strawberries so we had them for dessert. You have to love this time of year!

Stir fries are great when the weather gets hotter. They need almost no cooking so there is not too much heat in the kitchen.

Do you have a favourite stir fry combination?

(P)

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