2009年4月25日土曜日

senseisagasu.com-skypeレッスン(04/25)

うーん。。先週よりは時間かからなかったけど、、ディクテーションだけで、、5時間近くかかってるし。うーん。。もったいないな。。効率悪いな。手もだるいし。。。うーん。。先生の効果的なフレーズだけでもいいのかなあ。。うーん。。先生の話してることを聞きたい、というモチベーションが低下しているのかな。。

◆ビザの準備について.

・about working visa. last week, i sent all docs for getting visa to overseas branch.
・after that, the overseas stuff informed me that she has already submitted my docs to the human resource departhment.

D:so when you apply for the visa, you will apply at the in U.S not in Japan.

・maybe. i'll have to go to American embassy as final step. but i'm not sure when i'll go to there.

◆引っ越しについて

・this week, i could make progress on preparetion for this relocation.

D:you found new your apartment?

・a movig company's stuff came to my apartment to estimate how many luggages i'll bring to U.S.
・after that, i realized that i'll have to send a lot of luggages to my hometown.
・but my parents sadi to me 'we don't have any spaces. so we hope you should keep your luggages to a minimum.

・but, unfortunately, there are at least 10 cardboard boxes which i have to bring to my hometown.
・i've been living around kawasaki for about 10 years. so i have many luggages in my apartment.

D:so you've lived in the same apartment?

・i have moved in the kanagawa-pre three times.
・probably, i must throw away many luggages. in addition, i'm gonna second-house shop to buy some my old furnitures and apliance.

◇リサイクルショップについて
D: what kind of recycle shop?

・the recycle shop deals a lot of appliances and furniture.

D:so it is a Second-Hand shop?

・recylcle shop is japanese english?

D:it's not very common we call 'recycle shop'. for example, recycling, like i guess to say 'bottle people'.cuz in north america, if you bring bottles to display (call?) bottle people, you can get money back.so we have called recycle been were newspapaer or old clothing, recycle-shop isn't very often called??? we often call 'second-hand shop'.

・how about outlet shop?

D:outlet is for more like a, for example, in seatle, there is an outlet mall. outlet uaually means, like a, cheap first-hand clothing???.

◇ペーパードライバーについて
・i just learned that 'paper driver' isn't native english. it's japanese english. so i was taught you should use 'sunday driver' instead of using it.

D:we call 'weekend-driver'.

・do you understand the meaning of 'paper-driver'?

D:no.

・papaer driver means the person who hasn't driven a car for a longtime.
・as you konw, in japan, people have to take an examination to get a car license.
・so, in japan, we call 'papaer deriver' the people who has only knowledge of papaer-examination, but doesn't have skill to drive a car.

D:oh! interesting. like a specific term for that, we usually generally call 'weekend-driver' like a people who don't drive a car very often, very occasionaly.

・even in the driving school, there is a 'paper-driver course'. so i'm going to take the lesson of the course next week.
・you didn't know the meaning?

◇ポスターや広告の英語がおかしい件
D:so it's interesing to hear that. actually, we sometimes when my boyfriend ??? explained japan it's going japan, turning aroud different places, some phrases or some words on posters or shops. our common, this is why, japanese people have problem to speak english. cuz the grammer on a lot of posters, advertises are completely wrong. for example, i can't think of any on the top of my head. but there are a lot of grammar-mistake in a lot of public(advertisement and so on).

・what you mean is in japan, there are a lot of english on the posters or advertisement. but japanese people aren't good at speaking english.

D:no, actually, what i mean is that there're a lot of english on the posters and advertisements. but they are wrong english, a lot of mistakes. i was very very surprised. even on public signs, like a, it's the chance to go from 1 place to another place, even though there are mistakes. so i think, that's why, it's very difficult for japanese people to learn 'correct' english.

・yeah, i agree with you. cuz even on lyric of japanese famous singer, there is a mistake. it seems to be strange english for native. in addition, japanese people sing the strange english songs. it's funny.

◇再び自動車学校
・so i'm going to KANTO-motor school to take 'paper-driver lesson'.

・actually, i changed the driving school. although the fee is also expensive, it's very easy to access for me. cuz the school is very close to keikyu-kawasaki staton on weekdays. so i decided to join the school. on 1st lesson, i'm going to drive in the driving school. after that, i'm going to drive outside the school, namely, on public strees.
・i hope i'll be able to remind my feeling of driving a car.

D:i think that you don't worry about that. cuz, you already have a muscle memory to drive a car. so things that you don't need to remind, but you can do, for example driving a bike. so people alwayas coming? that driving is just a musle of memory. if you can just remind yourself a little bit how to deal it, you can pick up it very fast.

・actually, i've been driven a moped for long time. so i believe i have a feeling of driving on public streets.
・but, when i ride on moped, i basically don't pay attention to the length/width of car. so the length of car is also my concern.
・if i don't pay attention to the size of car, i may cause car accident.

◆会社の仕事の引継ぎ

・this week, we selected/decided the person who will take over my current work. fortunately, he is a capable programmer.
・but he haven't experienced working in a big project. i belong to relatively big project. so i need to teach him the original rule of my project.
・as i'm friendly with him, it's easy to succeed my work to him. to tell the trush, he was a bride whom i attened the wedding party on January.

D:did you appoint to him?

・no. unfortunatelly, there is few candidates who can succeed my current work. fortunately, his project just finished last month. so it was a good timing.

◆House-Hunting
・i was very surprised that the rent of silicon-valley is very expensive. so i'll have to pay at least $15,000 per month as rent.
・fortunately, my company provide an additonal salary for the expensive rent, namely, house allowance.
・i have some requirement. for example, convenience to access various spots or security around an apartment.
・of course, i try to keep my rent maximum.

D:would you like to try room-sharing?

◇ルームシェアについて
・actually, my coworker said to me 'you can also choose room-share(sharing)' to be honest, i don't recommend'. i guess it could be stressful.

D:i think so. actually, i have a friend who lives in San nose right now. and he stayed in a hotel. and then, he *** room-sharing. there is a lot of problem.

・for example?

D:for example, his roommate likeed to smoke with drugs. he was very problematic. and his first roommate was an india. so he really liked to eat curry.

・actually, i like to eat curry.

D:but india curry is very strong and is very different from japanese curry. so he didn't like the smell. so the smell of every day can become big problem. it could be some positie points to room-share. cuz, for example, if you choose sharing, native speaker is good way to practice.


・i agree with your strong point. but maybe, i will be able to speak english through my work. so i don't wanna choose room-sharing.

◇Personalityについて
D:that's ok. i understand. because i think it really depends on your personaly.

・i also think that after leaving japan, i need to change my personality a little. for example, to be more positive or to be more active

D:maybe, like open-minded?

・cuz i want to make my own opinions in the mmeting. so, regarding my personality, i may have to change my personality a little to get used to american style. but it could be difficult.

D:it would be difficult. and i think also just don't too much pressure on yourself to change. there is , you don't need to change, but you will adopt to the situation better. i don't think you need to change complete. please maintain your good part.

・thank you for your advice. i think the balance is important.

◇再びHouse-Hunting
D:you're thinking about silicon valley or you're lookin for the apartment there? my impression is in san nose. i could be wrong??(間違ってるかもしれない、ということ?).

・don't worry about that. San nose is in silicon valley.
my overseas branch locates in close to Yahoo's building which is a huge internet company. do you know yahoo?

D:is it just *** acronym? acronym means, for example, VIP(Very Important Person). so Yahoo is acronym?

・yahoo is a rival company of google. of course, you know google, right?

D:yeah. of course.

・the building of goolgle also locates in close to my overseas branch. cuz the place is silicon valley. i was very excited when i saw the building for the first time. but i don't wanna see the building every day.

D:probably. i have a question for you. now the economy of U.S is very poor. does the happening affect on you? what kind of effect?

・generally, this economy crisis caused bad problem. fortunately, because of that, there're a lot of vacancy of apartments in sun nose. a few year ago, it was very difficult for japnese people to find good properties. but after the economic crisis, it's easier to find good apartment because of many vacancy.

・my most important thing is convenience, for example, how easy i can go to supermarket or bookstore or gym, of course, my oversea branch.

◆ホームシックについて
D:i think that let me go to overseas, it's very common to feel homesick. so i need to good funs. .... if you find some japanese supermarkets which you can buy japanese food... i'm sure(???) how easy homesick. ???

・yeah. i probably will feel homesick at the beginning of the relocation.

D:i think, even just a little bit, like your last business trip, you've said 'oh... japan is very convenient, japanese food is very delicious...'.

・yeah. but i've ever been to U.S several times. so i understand that the lifestyle of U.S is very inconvenient. i know what's coming.

D:i think that living and staying for shot-visit is very different. i learned that during my staying this time. in the past, i came to japan, the longest i wasin japan before this trip was 2 months. so i came to japan on one summer 2 years ago. during that time, cuz it was only 2 months. that was a lot of fun, and very convenient. but on this time, i realized that train is very crowded, additionally in rainny day, it's very inconvenient.

D:i think that they're very quite different. i hope that, i guess, you'll be open-minded, so that, you won't be dissappointed with U.S and feel homesick in U.S.

・even in your case, you became home-sick?

D:for example, my boyfriend was very homesick. he really want to stay...? visa is different from ...

... of course, if you don't feel home-sick, you want to try to new thing....???


・to challenge a variety of new things is good for me.

◆食べ物の輸入、食生活について
・i'll keep my health. when my health is good, i tend to have very positive thinking. on the contrary, when my condition isn't good, i tend to be negative. it's definitely vicios-cycle.
・but my health depends on eating-habit. in addition, food culture is big problem for me. it's very difficult and complicated problem. so i'll settle this problem step by step.

D:i think that good thing is that japanese food is more popular in U.S.

・i was surprised that i can't import foods from japan to U.S. is it true?

D:same as canada. in canada, no life, no fresh food,... dry food is ok.

・japanese rice is ok?

D:i think japanese food could be ok. probably, safer and to confirm, generally, those are ok. so like snack, tip, candy is ok. but usually very sensitive to meats, plants...

・raw things are prohibited?

D:they're usually stricted.

・i'm relieved to hear the information.

D:are you thinking of importing foods to U.S?

・if i will suffer from north american food, i'm going to import japanese food.

D:i think actually that if you go to chinese supermarket, usulaly you'll be able to ind japanese foods(rice, cup noodle, bucwheat noodle. they're very popular in also japanese supermarket. i think that you'll definitely try that.

D:recently, i had a client from gaba. she wanted to live in U.S. she told me that she really likes to eat beaf-tongue. i thought that totally in U.S, you can't eat that. she was very shocked to hear that. then i talked to her she should go to chinese supermarket. cuz in chinese supermarket...? please go to chinese supermarket.

・i'll pay attention to my health and my eating habit.

D:my another suggestion i have is that in north america, bad fast food culture is that very bad fast culture. so food like T.G.I.F ... do you know in Shibuya, they have T.G.I.F. T.G.I.F is acronym. for example, VIP or CEO... acronym is basically short term in a word. for example, VIP is very long word. just means Very Important People.

D:like a abbrebiation.


・i often use abbrebiation.

D:abbreviation is usually used for name or something. so, TGIF means Things Goodness If Fryday. it's very popular restaurant but also recently i read on the internet. it's most worst restaurant, most unhealthy restaurant.

◆来月以降の予定について
D:we only have a few minutes to left, did you receive e-mail about may's schedule?
so cuz my family will come to visit. i won't be able to have lessons during the term. but your lessons in the future, if you'd like to continue lessons after may 23, pleas let me know. i think it's may 23. i don't really remember the date. but if you want to continue lessons, if you don't leave until mid June,


・mid june?

D:if you don't move until mid June.

・but you'll retire gaba at the end of May.

D:my last day ....? so we can disucuss about future lessons ...?

・so i'll be able to take only 2 lessons in May?

D:we can discuss. if you have, for example, if you set the date which you like to take lesson, then maybe we can arrange for times.

・so far i can take only 2 lessons in may. i hope you'll enjoy japanese life with your family.

D:i'm looking forward to it very much.

・do you have few minutes to exchange money?

D:you can leave??? for next-week. on 3rd May, you can .... thank you for your drink.

2009年4月11日土曜日

senseisagasu.com-skypeレッスン(04/11)

ーん。今までで一番時間がかかってしまった。なんでだろう?DAWN先生の英語がかなり乱れていた?(なんか体調あまり良くなさそうだったし)。それよりもボイスレコーダーの録音状態がなんかすごく悪かったな。。なんでだろう。いつもと同じような場所に置いてたのに。。。うーん。。しかも一生懸命英語に起こしても聞き取れない(音質の問題で)のが多すぎて。。今回は大失敗かもしれない!!。うーん。どうしよう。

◆NOVAでのレッスン内容
D:how was your lesson today?
・i just learned about the differences in cultures.
・i could learn some phrases to explain the differences in cultures.
・as you know, i just went to san francisco. so i could talk about the differences between sanfrancisco and japan by using the phrases.

D:can you teach me some phrases?
・the phrasess which i learned were for at the beginning of the sentence.
・for example, 'to tell you the truth' or 'on the whole' or 'the one thing that struck me was' or
 'the only one thing was that it was harder to *** than i expected' or 'there were fewer vending machine in U.S than i expected'.

◇具体的な北米と日本の違い
D:can you tell me what do you think some differences between japan and U.S?
・the most thing that struck me was the difference of food.
・i couldn't eat japanese-rice during the business trip.
・so i wanted to eat japanese-rice at the end of the business trip very much.
・therefore, i often went to Thai-restaurant for eating thai-curry at the end of the staying.

◇出張中の朝食について
D:what did you eat for breakfast?
・i went to SB to buy something to drink every morning.
・actually the game developer conference provided some kind of breads for attendees.
・so i ate the breads and SB's cocoa every morning. i sometimes ate banana with the drink.
・at the same time, i couldn't eat japanese-rice for breakfast in U.S.

D:definitely, in north america, people prefer to eat bread or cereal over rice for breakfast.
D:i hear rice is served on very special occasion. for example, if we go to chinese restaurant, in north america i found they're very strange(???).
D:but it's a special dinner for caucasian (which has white skin) people, it's a special dinner to go to chinese restaurant.they dressed some very nice or maybe they wear a tie for the dinner.


◇日本米について(→コンビニについて)
・i feel anxious that i will be able to eat/purchase japanese rice constantly.
D:my suggestion is to go to chinese super market. you'll be able to buy japanese-rice there.

・i've heared that there are several japanese supermarket in San Jose.
・so i'm going to there to purchase japanese-rice. but difinitely, it'll be more unconvenient than japan.
・cuz i recognized that there are few convenience stores in U.S during the trip.

D:cuz in north america, convenience store are usually very expensive.so people prefere to shop at supermarket over convenience store. i rarely go to convenience store in north america.maybe, once or twice in a year. for here, in japan, i go to convenience store all the time.cuz there are ATM machines or i go for the bread, frozen food at seven-eleven which is very cheap(???).

・as you know, seven-eleven is originated in U.S. but there are more seveneleven shop in japan than in U.S. this phenomenon is very interesting.

D:what i want to say about seven-eleven in japan.
D:i said that there are probably more convenience stores in kawasaki than in my hometown.
D:actually, sometimes, i think there are too much / too many. cuz when i came to japan for lots of programs two years ago(???)
D:so from my dormitory to takada-baba station, there were three conveniene stores along the way.
D:dormitory is for example a student house.

D:definitely, you won't see it in north america. usually convenience stores is attached to gas-station. very very you see just a convenience store(???).

・so i don't expect anything about the convenience in U.S. i'll have to prepare to get accustomed to north american life style.

D: i think that the good way to prepare is to expect the unexpect.・what you mean is that i shouldn't expect too much?

D: you shouldn't expect japanese style. just be more open to different culture.

◇店員のサービスについて
D:i think that one thing that will shock you is probably the service.
D: the service in japan is too good. too good! the service in north america i think that people are very friendly but they have *** manner.


・i agree with you. cuz i experienced the differece of service. when i went to SanFrancisco, the shop service was terrible.
D:please tell me your terrible experience.

・when i went to burger-king, the shop stuff's service was bad after i orderd. he seemed to insult with me.
・probably, i wasn't fluent in english very much and i couldn't take communication with him. cuz as you taught me in previous lesson, the shop stuff asked me 'to stay or to go?'. unfortuntally i couldn't catch that.

・as a result, the shop stuff served the foods on the tray. so i said to him. 'sorry. i want to bring back them to my hotel. could you pack thme?'.
・after that, he laughed at me and he took an implite attitude.

D:so maybe he felt very annoyed. probably he felt like 'oh! you said you want eat here. now you want to take out?'・so i had got angry with his attitude. so i had said to him 'why do you laugh at me?'.
・the shop stuff didn't laugh at me after that. however, i'm not sure whether i should complain to the shop stuff.

D:you know, i think it's good for you. cuz if you don't say anything, they'll continue that attitude. and then, they have the bad image and they feel 'all of japanese people don't respond'.

・this is only my imagination. in U.S, the security is more dangerous than japan. if i complain to shop stuff strongly, i may cause some trouble.

D:i think that you have to look the situation. of course, if you're in casino, you don't want to complain.maybe in casino, you can get some kind of trouble. but usually, like at a restaurant, fast food shop, i think it's OK. of course, you just want to show that you aren't happy, so i think like you said, "why do you lauch?" or "why do you so funny?". that's ok.
 
D:if you solve them, maybe make possible trouble. but i think that it's good for you to stand for yourself(???)


・as you said, japanese shop's servide is very friendly.
・i've lived in japan for long long time. so i'm going to change my mind to get used to american life style.

D:i think definitely. so i think, like your experience, it's very common where (the shop keeper or shop stuff) they will become annoyed, if you have additional request. cuz their mind is that if i finish with your job, then i can move to next job and finish earlier and no more work(なぜこの文章の主語がIになっているか分からん). they don't want to do more work. that's why, so annoying make me more work(???).

D:also i think that the very big difference in convenience store is that in japan, for example, if i'm standing in a line, another casher run to cash register to help me asap. in canada, you have to wait a line for a long time.

D:they don't want the customer to wait in a line too long. so they run to cash registers and they try to help you.


・i guess i'll be encountered with a lot of impolite american shop stuff service. whennever i meet with the troubles, i try to remember this phrase 'when in rome, do as romans do'.

D:like you're used to japanese life style, i'm used to north american life style. i think that the stuff is just very friedly, you want to *** the friends, so they're very casual. don't expect the service. i just say pass way to you(?????).

◇ビザ取得の準備について
・this week, i sitll prepared for some documents for getting visa.
・do you know 'verification letter'?

D:isn't it like a reference letter?

・it means a kind of english resume which my japanese company explains my career in english.
・at first, i wrote down my carrer in japanese as resume and submitted to oversea blanch.
・next, the oversea stuff checked and translated to english as verification-letter.
・then, the oversea stuff returned the verification letter to me.
・after that, i checked and found some typo or wrong explanation. this letter is ms-word file. so i reedited it several times.
・finally, i submitted it to my boss for checking again.

D:probably, the one of the reason of timeconsuming is the difference time-zone.

・i think it's very unconvenient to deal with communication.
・my main mission is to exchange technical information between U.S and Japan.
・as you mentioned, the difference time-zone could be very big problem for me.

D:when you go to north america, you have to report to your boss in japan.
・yeah definitely. i'll have to report to my boss about my work contents in overseas blanch regurarly. maybe at least once in a month.

◇日本とUSの違いは?
D:what kind of differences are there between in japan and in U.S?

・the most difference is the number of employees. there are 2,000 in japan. on the other hands, there are only under 200 in U.S.
・that's why, the scale of the building is very different. although my current building is very huge, the overseas blanch lease only one floor in a building in Silicon Valley.

◇USでの業務内容について
D:but your job responsibility will be same?

・yeah. basically it'll be same. actually, my specific work contents isn't fixed yet.
・maybe, my relocation is first-case in my organization. so there are many unknown things to deal with.

D:Wow! your boss gave you a good opportunity.

・yeah. i may be a lucky person. however, some coworkers complain about my boss's policy.
・cuz, because of my relocation, other coworkers have to be succeed a lot of my current works.
・but like you said, i personally think that my boss has a good forecast for the future.
・i also think that north america and europe will be more important in the videogame market.
・my main mission of this relocation is to exchange technical information between japan and U.S smoothly.
・so i'll have to be the bridge between them.

◇家族はどう思ってるの?
D:how was your family feel about your relocation.

・i've already lived as single life for long time.
・even now, i can't meet with my parents only once or twince in a year.
・so my parents supported me and said that 'congratulation! it's very good opportunity for you. please take care of yourself'.

D:(w

◇Skypeについて
D:do you have an webcam for your family?
・i'm going to continue using of skype to connect with my family after leaving japan.

D:if you don't use, for example, it's difficult for your parents to use skype, you can also use skype to purchase some credits called 'home-phone'. right now, iphone/head-set(?), so i can call canada. so my family, there are not near the computer. i call the cell phone. it's very cheap.(???)

・i misunderstood that international telephone is very expensive..

D:no, what i mean is 'home-phone/home-line' doesn't expensive. but i think that because it's on the internet. it's much cheaper(???) you use the computer to talk with computer. but maybe it's more convenient. for example, my parents. they're computer-dummy. do you know dummy?

・yes. i know the word. but, in this case, i don't understand the meaning.

D:in north america, there's a lot of books(???), dummy means people don't understand how this works. for example, i'm a cooking-dummy. i don't understand how to cook. in other words, 'clueless' which don't have clue. i'm a clueless about cooking. i don't know how to cook. so my parents are clueless of computer. so it took me very long time to teach them how to use skype. so maybe, it's difficult to teach to old generations how to use skype. so maybe, talking telephone is more convenient for them. i think skype is simple. skype doesn't very complicated.

・actually, my mother attend a computer school. so i guess that she'll be able to use skype.

D:but difficulty would be to find the right time for connecting with your parents.
・the reason is definitely 'time-zone difference'.

D:yes. the time differences between calgary and tokyo is about 15 hours. so when i call to my parents, for example, like 12 afternoon in japan, it's about 8'oclock. it's not too bad. but it's probably more difficult for you to find it.

D:you said when you first go to San Nose, you'll stay at a hotel. please don't use the long-distance telephone. please use skype or something.it's very expensive.

◇家探しについて
D:how was your-house hounting?

・although this is also big problem for me, i can't think about it so far. cuz i have a lot to do for moving house.

◇自動車運転
・my top priority is getting comfortable with behind the wheel. i'm a driving-dummy.
・i must remind my feeling for driving a car by myself. i haven't driven a car for about 10 years. i'm a typical paper-driver.
・i'm going to take 'paper-driver lesson'. there're a lot of high-ways in U.S. and i'm going to try to drive on high-way.
・but i think it's difficult for me to drive on high-way.

D:i think it would be ok. i can drive. so you can drive. i'm a very bad driver. i'm sure you can drive.

◇引っ越し準備について
・i talked with a moving company's stuff via telephone.
・he is going to come to my apartment to check the amount of luggages which i'll bring to U.S.
・so i have to sort them into some categories. for example, to bring to U.S/to send to my hometown/to throw away

D:do you expect to bring a lot?
・no. i try to keep my lugguage minimum. i began to write down check-list to categorize.

D:i see. that maybe is good. now you have more time to organize or arrange them.

・even in japan, moving is big work. moving to foreign country is more hard work.

D:i agree with you. when i came to japan, i brought two luggage with me. and i think that it's actually too good and very happy that i didn't bring so much. cuz i only expected to be careful 1 year and i expected to buy a lot of things. so if i brought too much stuff here, i don't know how to care when i go back to Canada. so actually i recommend don't bring any furnitures. maybe just a few medicines.

・what you mean is to bring medicine is good idea?

D:i think that for example, if you have your special medicine. if you're poor condition or if you have special medicine which you can buy only by japan. it's good idea. also medicine in north america, like aspirin, is usually stronger. so i'm afraid your body used to stronger medicine. so it'll take a time to get used to stronger medicine.

・i asked the stuff whether i'll be able to bring my special medicine or not. he said you probably can bring them. but it depends on the amount.

D:well, maybe, if you bring enough one person, it's OK. but if you bring too much, of course, it's bad. probably, i would make sure whether it's OK or not(???). some medicine which is OK in japan could be illegal in U.S. anyway, don't bring too much. even books, cuz i think that you're availbable ...(???)

・i'm going to bring many technolgical books.

D:i don't recommend to bring too much books. books are very heavy. and you're probably very busy with new books in north america. i think that it's good chance for you to read by very different(???). so take an opportunity, and try american culture, try english books. i think you can get a lot of interestings.

◇就労ビザ取得のための準備
・so i still can't prepare all documents for getting visa.
・i realized that it takes very long time to prepare for woking-visa again.

D:a very long process! i'm actually very surprised that there're so many phases.

・i think that the one of the reason is that i'm a first loan employee to my oversea blanch in my organization.
・so my boss also don't know what i should do to get working-visa.
・my organization seems to be very bad in terms of this issue.
・so i have to gather various informations, even for the kind of necessary documents.
・so i'll descrive an useful memo to get working visa for future loan employee as detail as i can.

・i talked with my boss about the date when i should leave japann.
・as a result, i'm going to leave japan the month after next.

・the type of visa which i'm trying to get is 'L-1'.
・'L-1' is a working-visa to work for overseas affliate.
・generally, it's easy to get the type of visa. but like i said, i have troubles in terms of preparation the documents.

D:have you submitted all necessary documents?
・no i haven't.

D:how many docunents do you need to prepare for?
・probably, i'll have to prepare the only last one documents.

◇締めの言葉&衝撃の告白
D:next month, would you like to continue my lessons?
・yeah, i'd like to continue your lessons as long as possible.

D:so next month, at the same time, so Saturday 1:45-2:45?
・yeah, if you're available the timeslot on the day.

D:i'll e-mail you maybe today or tomorrow. please let me know when you can't to continue(???) actually, next month is my last month at gaba. cuz i planned to my date to go back to canada(???). i'll go back to canada on 25th june.

・really? that's very big surprising news...

D:really? but i think it's good timing. cuz you will be in U.S. and i'll be back to canada. it's good timing.
・so do you have to prepare for your moving home?

D:yeah, a bit. so that's why next month would be the last month at gava. so i'll have all of june to pack.thank you very much for your drink. i'll see you twe weeks after. see you next time.

◆Unknown Words
・caucasian
・at the end of
・cereal
・over
・rarely
・all the time
・dormitory
・stand for
・policy
・forecast
・take care of yourself
・-dummy
・clueless
・loan employee
・be used to,
・reference letter
・verification letter
・phase
・the month after next
・affliate

2009年4月4日土曜日

senseisagasu.com-skypeレッスン(04/04)

帰国後初めての英会話喫茶。今日はぎりぎりまで寝ていて、NOVAを挟まずの英会話だったので心配だった。時計もなくなって少し遅れ気味で喫茶店に到着。久しぶりに待たせてしまいました。お詫びではないけどはじめてドリンクをおごった。オレンジジュースが好きなんだって。

意外に今日は落ち着いて話すことができた。それにしても先生はかわいい。面白い表情もいい。たまに笑ってくれるのがうれしい。あーあ。でもあと数回しかレッスン受けられないんだよなああ。。残念!デモ頑張る!先生が言うように常に体調をキープして英語をキャッチできるように努力しよう!

◆近況と現状報告
・you're come back to north amerika for 1 year or more.
・after few weeks, you'll come back to U.S.


・during business trip, i had experienced jet-lag twice.
・after coming back to Japan, i immediately went to Konami-Sports to shake off jet lag.
・sports can help?

・after several weeks, you'll have to get used to american time again.

◆海外出張のエピソードについて(序盤)
・please tell me about your experience in U.S.


・is the topic interested for you?
・there're several keywords which i'm very familiar with. so it was easy to understand the whole meaning of the discussion.

a few days after the meeting, i had caught a slight cold. cuz it was colder than i expected in Sanfrancisco.
・it's rainy season in sanfrancisco. unfortunately the day when i visiteid various famous spot was rainning. so it was cold.

◆観光したこと(Snoopy等)
・the one of my members likes to snoopy. he was also general manager. so we didn't have any choises.

it's very interesting site to see many men in such a museum.

・i was surprised that a japanese artist is very related to snoopy. cuz the artist's works were on display in the museum.

this museum exceeded your expectation?

・there are several statues of snoopy's character in the museam. so the person who is interested in snoopy was very excited.

it must be interesting site for other people to see many japanese adult men go to the museam.

・generally, the mainstream attendance are families or copules or young ladies. so as you said, we were definitely out of place in the museum.

・as you know, we're all videogame developer. so i think we shouldn't forget childeren feelings.

・how can you tell me about child's museam?

・there are some musical instruments in the museum.
・there are no children in your group. your group is only japanese adult men. it's very strange in this situation.

i think that in the U.A they're very concerned with pedophiles.

・did it messed up your schedule? no.


・fortunately, our schedule didn't mess up. we shifted our schedule only.
・after that, i realized when my physical condition isn't good, my concentration is also declining.
・it could be my issue to improve english.

・i think that maybe you should keep your body always in top condition. (always listen / always catch native english)

◆英語のなまりについて(Mexican英語)
・i remembered from our e-mail you sent that mexican accent english is very difficult. where did you encounter someone with mexican accident?

・as the electrical lights were broken in my toilet, i had to use bathroom in darkness.
・so i complained about that. and i made a request that i want to move another room.
・the new room is on 3rd floor(which is lower floor than previoius room).
・although it was in the midnight, i called a hotel stuff and complained about the issue.

・even in canada, it is very common to use 3-star/5-star to substitute high-quality/low-quality.
・instead of using high-quality hotel, we usually use 5-star hotels more naturally.


・crappy means really bad. so if we say crappy hotel, that means 1-star/2star, namely very bad hotel. crappy is more casual.
・i think you'll often hear it from especially colleague, friend in U.S.


・after that, i realized there are a lot of type of english(ex american, british, mexican, ratin[rolling up tongue])

・sometimes i have trouble listening i might have to .. -> even for native speakers, it's difficult to catch different accent english.
・another example, for example my dad. he has chinese accent. when he goes to macdonald.
・for example, over there when you pay for your food, she is a cashier. the cashier has trouble understanding my dad. cuz he speaks chinese accent.
・so even native speaker will have trouble with in terms of? practice?... . you just have to learn the kind of experiences.


・although american clear english was easy to catch, european accent english was very hard to catch for me.

◆Nathan氏との話
・as i mentioned in previous e-mail, i encountered my american acquintance. he is also videgame developer who came to japan to hold a seminar a few years ago.
・i haven't seen him for a long time.
・at that moment, i talked with him in english a little. but in those days, my english was terrible. so i couldn't talk with him very much.
・after several years ago, my english ability is stronger than then. so i was glad to communicate with him about various things(ex. development videogame or technologies for videogame) more natural than then.

・how did you feel when you talked with him?

・he likes japan and japanese people.
・so when i couldn't catch his talking, he tried to slow down his english speed. so i could communicate with hin smoothly.
・so throhgh his communication, i realized my face-to-face english ability is more enhanced than last year.

・actually, i think that after you visited U.S, lot of work-choises are more natural. for example, i heared a few times you were able to do self-correct.

・can you please tell me about your experience of conference?

・fortunately, i could attend several interesting sessions during the conference.
・after the sessions, i went to the podium and tried to exchange business-card and talked with speakers various things.
・actually it isn't very difficult for me to exchange business card only. cuz i could do the same thing last years's conference.
・did you feel any differences? for example if you are more natural or your speaking speed improved?
・i think that i could talk with foreign developers more calmly than last year. cuz a few years ago, whennever i talked with them, i tend to feel tense.

cuz now i think maybe probably you're more confidence with your english.

◆Benさんとの話
・i could meet a famous videogame developer at the conference. as he is a very famous developer, when i talk to him, i was very nervous. so my english grammar was definitely strange.
・fortunately, as he tried to catch my strange english, i managed to finish his communication.
・i also could find out my issue which my english tend to be strange when i talk with a famous person.

◆RoundTableの話
・i also attended a round-table discussion about my related job.
・i wanted to discuss with devlopers in the world via the round-table.
・generally, american developers tend to make opinions actively. on the contrast, japanese developers tend to make opinions passively.

・you didn't say anything during the round-table.

・the time limit of the discussion was only 60 minutes. so i was concerned about if i make an opinoin in english, the pace may be slow.

・i think my sugesstion for that is to try your best to make an opinion. i think you should start a small or short opinion.
・and then, more in the future, you'll feel more comfortable, you can make more long your opinion. you'll become more familiar with ...
・it's best suggestion for you.


・actually i tried to put up my hand several times during the discussion.

・and i think that because after you move to U.S, speaking english becomes to daily activity for you. you do every day. i think you will be more natural very soon.

・you will leave in 3 weeks?


◆Aで担当者と話したこと(自動車とか引っ越しとか)
・during business trip, i could meet with the person in charge of this relocation.
・so i asked various questions about my unknown things. for example, moving or car-license.
・i undertood that i will be provided an office-car by my company. it was TOYOTA-Camli.
・generally speaking, japanese drivers is more good at driving a car than american.

・i think japanaese also have good temper. but many of americans have driving rage. they can be very angry.
・i think that if you don't have to drive high-way, i think maybe it'll be little safer.
・cuz the car on highway is very fast. if you just drive in your around area, you should ...


・but i'll have to drive a car on high-way.

・also it'll be your good experience. you should pay more attention.

・did you start to recognized the difference of roads?


・as you expalined to me, there are 5 lanes on free-way. i realized to across the lanes on high-way is very dangarous.

◆出向日の延期について
・i heard you'll leave in 3 weeks at the beginning of this lesson. my schedle will be postponed.
・what is most urgent thing?


◆現地での住まい探しについて
・i'm going to stay a specified hotel by my company. in addition, i will have to look for my apartment within a month of arrival.

・you have to look for your apartment by yourself? your company won't help with you?
・have you understood looking online?(???)
・i agree with your oversea stuff. cuz to keep your luggage minimum is a good idea. you don't know how long you'll go there.


・i will have to throw away a lot of my furniture or have to move them to my hometown.

・don't move any furnitures. cuz i know some people from gaba who are going to U.S for 1 year. moving furniture is too much work and too much expensive.
・so instead of moving your furnitures, it's very cheap to buy second-hand.

・it's about time to finish this lesson. so next week, we also have lesson at this time.
・thank you very much for your drink.


・i'm always worried about the strange situation which i only drink something in the cafe. don't worry about it.

◆Unknown Words
・get used to,
・hotel clerk
・middle age
・scatter
・entrance fee
・musical instruments
・sightseening area/spot
・mess up
・messy/litter
・crappy
・the next day
・you're so mean!(意地悪)
・cashier
・has trouble ***ing
・overcome
・diploma
・person in charge
・postpone
・pedlopheily
・pedophile
・exceed,
・mainstream attendance
・musical instrument,
・electrical light,
・substitute
・cashier
・calmly
・actively,
・time limit of
・put up one's hand
・driving rage

------------------------------------------------------------

◆気になっていたこと
・いつも自分だけオレンジジュース飲んでて気まずい。be cared

◆色々気付いたこと
・体調悪い時、集中力がおち、リスニング力もスピーキング力も落ちる
・緊張すると、表現力が落ちる(文法アクセントめちゃくちゃ)
・アメリカには様々な人種がいる→様々ななまり(アクセント)があり、聞き取り易いものと聞き取りにくいものがある

・日本(川崎駅周辺)はとてつもなく便利。田舎に引っ越す感覚で切り替えることにする
・カメラで写真撮ったり、メモ取ったりしていると内容が全然キャッチできない
・ご飯がまずい。というか米が食べれない。非常に苦労しそう。自炊必須か。

◆メキシカン英語→ホテルのトラブル

◆近況
・月末に帰国。帰国直後、時差ボケ解消のためにKONAMISPORTSへ
・3週間働きっぱなしだった。

◆久しぶりにアメリカ人の知り合いに会って夕食を共にしたこと

◆RoundTableに参加し、挙手したが意見を言えなかったこと。興味ある分野にもかかわらず。。。
・actively, positive

◆サンフランシスコ周辺の観光スポットへ訪れた話
・スヌーピー博物館
 偉い人がスヌーピー好き。我々は選択の余地がなかった。

・子供博物館
 入場直後に追い出されれた。入場料。

◆体調悪かったこと
・序盤は非常に順調。体調も良かった。
・会議の後、観光直後、寒かったので軽い風邪をひいてしまった。「それから数日間」

◆自動車運転
・反対車線、反対ハンドル、助手席
・国際運転免許
・社用車。事前の準備

◆カンファレンスの話
・幾つかの有益なセッションを受けることができた
・それらのセッション後、名刺交換をしある程度リラックスして会話を交わした。その後もメールでやり取り。
 昨年よりは流暢になったと思う。あなたのレッスンのおかげで。

◆買い物
・本屋やファーマシー