スミス英会話相模原校に通われる上級者の生徒様をお手伝いすることは私にとっても楽しいです。彼らはみんな話すことに熱心で、いつも良い事を言います。最近、私は3名の熱心な生徒様と素晴らしい英会話レッスンができて、結果的にとても興味深いものになりました。私たちは全員、相模原について、地元のビジネスについて学ぶことができました。

英会話レッスンは、“Brainstorming(ブレインストーミング：グループでアイディアを出し合う集団発想法)”で大小様々なタイプのビジネスを挙げていくところから始まりました。生徒様が候補を挙げて、私がホワイトボードへ書きました。5分程で、生徒様から複数の候補が挙がりました。全て生徒様から出た候補で、私ではありません。そして、次にそれぞれのビジネスに関連する言葉を聞いていきました。

例えば、“家電用品店＝冷蔵庫、床屋＝ヘアカット、パン屋＝ドーナツ”等。

英会話講師として、生徒様が真剣に取り組んでくれているのを感じましたし、彼らは私がなぜこのような質問をするのか興味を抱いているようでした。

English Conversation About Small Businesses in Sagamihara

Helping high level English students at Smith’s School of English Sagamihara is a real pleasure for me. They are all eager to talk and always have good things to say. Recently I had a good session with three motivated English learners that turned out to be a very interesting class. All of us learned something about Sagamihara and the local businesses.

The class started with “brainstorming” different types of small and large businesses. As the students offered suggestions, I put them on the board. Taking about 5 minutes, these English students offered several choices. They did all the work; not me. Then I asked for one word associated with each business. For example, “appliance store (refrigerator), barber (haircut), bakery (donuts),” etc. As an English conversation coach, I could feel them warming to the idea and see their curiosity as to why I was asking these questions.

Finally, I wrote the target language on the board. “I want to____, I need to ____, Do you know where I can____, Can you recommend a good_____?” From there I prompted a student and she knew exactly what to do. The conversation lasted a good 30 minutes and I didn’t say much at all; just offering suggestions and vocabulary on the board. I love this job!

We all learned something about some of the small businesses in Sagamihara, especially the yakiniku restaurants. Everyone agreed that “Min Min” Yakiniku Restaurant in Hashimoto,Sagamihara was the best because customers are always waiting outside and the food is delicious. I will surely be trying Min Min Yakiniku soon! According to my English students, “Yakiniku King” in Sagamihara is very popular, but not as good as Min Min. I have been to “Yakiniku King” a few times because it is very close to my English school in Sagamihara.

That 45-minute English class hit briefly on 5 or 6 businesses, but the students were most interested in talking about their favorite yakiniku restaurants in Sagamihara. It was my pleasure to watch, listen, and help them along with that extended conversation.

I’d love to listen and talk to anyone interested in giving English conversation a try! Smith’s School of English Sagamihara is always open to anyone willing to take a free trial lesson. You will get a private English lesson based on your ability as well as an assessment of your strong and weak points. And there is no obligation to join! Come see me!