Thanks to everyone who joined our bowling party on Saturday! We went to Round 1 in Chikusa and played 3 games, chatted a lot and had lots of fun. The highest scorer in a single game was Maki with 170. The highest overall scorer was Kodai who scored an amazing 415 over the 3 games. Congratulations to both of you! After the bowling, we went out to Yamachan to enjoy some tasty Tebasaki. We hope you can join us at our future events!
6月にイギリスのリバプールにあるイマジンイングリッシュが開催する1週間の語学留学プログラムに、コネクト英会話スクールからは３人の生徒様が参加致しました。
こちらは、かずみさんの感想です：
慌ただしくストレスフルな日々を乗り越え、色々と仕事のお願いをしてしまった同僚に多少の後ろめたさを感じつつ、無事リバプールへ旅立ちました。
リバプールと聞いて、知っているのはビートルズ・サッカー・港町と乏しい知識のみ。そんな状態でしっかりと情報収集しておらず、マンチェスター空港へ向かう飛行機の中では一週間と言う短い期間、何が待ち受けているのか不安な気持ちを抱えつつも楽しみで仕方ありませんでした。
今回のツアーをコーディネートしてくれたImagine EnglishのAmandaとTimはじめ、先生方に案内していただいた歴史建築でもあるSpeke Hall、海岸沿いに並ぶ彫刻作品群、歴史あるエンパイア劇場での演劇鑑賞など。それによりリバプールが歴史や文化、アートの都市だという事を初めて知りました。また昔から海外との交易が盛んなためか、国際色豊かな都市だと感じることも多かったです。
個人的にはクロスビービーチ一帯に広がるのアントニー・ゴームリー作品群とビートルズ所縁のCavern Club、以前少しの間滞在していた中世を面影を残すChesterが印象に残っています。
また、今回の滞在はホームステイで一般家庭にお世話になり、言いたいことはあるのに伝えられないコミュニケーションのもどかしさを感じて、もっとボキャブラリーと発音を勉強しないとと今後の目標もできた気がします。
リバプールと言う都市だけでなく、本場のアフタヌーンティーやサンデーローストなど食文化も満喫し、貴重な体験ができた一週間でした。
It’s the FIFA World Cup, and people around the world are going football crazy. But do you know how to talk about football (or soccer, if you’re American) in English? Here are some useful words and phrases to help you talk about football.
player (n) – the general term for the people in the football teams.
My favourite football player is Messi.
forward (n) – the players at the front of the team. They usually try to score goals.
Ronaldo is one of the best forwards in the world.
midfielder (n) – the players in the middle of the team.
The midfielder passed the ball to the forward.
defender (n) – the players at the back of the team. They try to protect the goal from the other team.
The Japanese defenders played really well – Colombia could only score one goal.
goalkeeper (n) – the player protecting the goal. He can pick the ball up with his hands.
The goalkeeper caught the ball in his hands.
referee (n) – the person who checks to see the teams are playing fairly. He has a whistle and some red and yellow cards.
The referee gave both players a yellow card.
linesman (n) – these people stand at the side of the pitch and help the referee make decisions.
The linesman said that the throw-in should go to Mexico.
pitch (n) – the grass rectangle where people play football.
The pitch was really wet after the rain.
goal (n) – 1) the net that the team has to kick the ball into to score points
2) a point
1) The striker kicked the ball past the keeper and into the goal.
2) The striker scored a goal.
nil (n) – zero. We use this when talking about the score of a match. For example, 3-0 is pronounced three – nil.
Panama lost to Belgium three – nil.
foul (n) (v) – when somebody breaks the rules of the game, usually by hitting or obstructing another player.
James fouled the other player. The foul on the player was really bad.
penalty (n) – a free kick at the goal from the penalty spot – the white spot on the pitch just in front of the goal. This is given when there is a foul inside the box.
Japan were given a penalty. Kagawa took the penalty and scored Japan’s first goal in the 2018 World Cup.
box (n) – the rectangular area in front of the goal.
Messi scored from just outside the box.
free kick (n) – if there is a foul, play stops and a player can kick the ball without being tackled.
Ronaldo’s free kick against Spain was amazing.
spectators (n) / crowd (n) / supporters (n) – the people watching the game.
Japan scored and the crowd cheered.
to tackle (v) – to take the ball from a player on the opposite team.
You shouldn’t tackle someone from behind.
to pass (v) – to kick the ball to another player on your team.
Harry Kane passed the ball to Raheem Stirling.
to shoot (v) – to kick the ball at the goal.
He shoots, he scores!
to score (a goal) (v) – to score a point.
Messi scored from just outside the box.
to save the ball (v) – to stop the ball going into the net. Usually the goalkeeper does this.
Pickford dived to his left and saved the ball.
to be sent off (v) – if a player commits a very bad foul, or they get two yellow cards, they are sent off. They have to leave the pitch for the rest of the game.
The Colombian player was sent off in the first three minutes.
We hope these words were useful. Why don’t you try using them to talk about the last football game you watched?
Last weekend the English Prince Harry got married to his American fiancée, Meghan Markle in the biggest royal wedding of the year. Lots of people were very excited to watch the event on television, and thousands of people from all over the world waited by the side of the road to watch as Harry and Meghan drove past in a horse-drawn carriage. Everybody went a little bit wedding-crazy, with all the newspapers and media outlets running stories about the dress and the wedding and the after party and one fish and chip shop even made battered wedding cake.
But how is your English wedding vocabulary? Do you know how to talk about a wedding in English? Here are some useful words we use to talk about weddings:
bride (n) – the woman getting married. Meghan was the bride.
groom (n) – the man getting married. Harry was the groom.
bridesmaids (n) – The close female friends/relatives of the bride. They are sometimes children, but not always. They help the bride on the wedding day. Charlotte was a bridesmaid.
best man (n) – The best friend or brother of the groom. He helps the groom on the wedding day and usually gives a funny speech at the wedding reception. William was Harry’s best man.
ceremony (n) – The part of the day when the bride and groom get married. It’s often in a church, but it could be in a town hall, or on the beach, for example.
wedding vows (n) – These are the promises that the bride and groom make to each other at the ceremony. There are special vows written by the church, but nowadays many people decide to write their own.
reception (n) – The party after the ceremony. There is a meal, and drinks, and speeches, traditionally by the father of the bride, the groom and the best man.
after party (n) – sometimes there is an after party after the reception. There is drinking and dancing. The bride and groom usually have the first dance to themselves before everyone else joins in. Apparently, Harry and Meghan danced to Whitney Houston.
wedding list (n) – In the UK, guests usually don’t give money to the bride and groom. Instead, the bride and groom make a list of things that they would like in their new house. Things like plates, glasses, kitchenware and furniture are common things on a wedding list. Guests look at the list and then buy something as a present for the bride and groom.
What are weddings like in your country? Do people have all these things at their wedding?
