• Home
  • 授業料・クラス一覧
  • レッスン内容
  • 今月の休み
  • プロフィール
  • 生徒さんの声
  • 翻訳・編集
  • ブログ
  • Word
  • Resources
  • Mistakes
  • Contact

スピーク英会話サロン【福岡】

  • Home
  • 授業料・クラス一覧
  • レッスン内容
  • 今月の休み
  • プロフィール
  • 生徒さんの声
  • 翻訳・編集
  • ブログ
  • Word
  • Resources
  • Mistakes
  • Contact
  • Menu

California - Limousine

April 27, 2023

From Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) we took a “limousine” to Palm Springs, a small resort town about two hours east of LA. Now, a limousine may sound luxurious, but it was actually just a chauffeur-driven minivan. This was our second time to travel this way and I recommend it for getting out of the city. One, you don’t need to contend with the heavy L.A. traffic, and, two, you can sleep like my family did all the way from the airport to our destination.

The limousine service we use is called Xpress Shuttles. Although a bit pricey, it provides peace of mind when you are exhausted from a long flight like we were.


The thing that surprised me the most during that two-hour-long drive was how green California was. Thanks to record-breaking rains and snowfall this winter, the hills and mountains were greener than I had ever seen them. As the weather started to warm up, these same hills and mountains exploded with color as wildflowers started blooming.

In Traveling with Kids, Life in California, Life in America Tags Xpress Shuttles, LAX, Los Angeles, Palm Springs, 英会話, 英会話福岡
Comment

America

April 26, 2023

From March 17th to April 6th, we traveled to America. Well, actually, just Southern California. It was our first trip back to the US in almost five years. Five Years! We had originally planned to return in the summer of 2020, but then the Covid-19 pandemic closed the world down. It was good to be back, as you can see from the excitement in my face.

In the coming days and weeks, I will be sharing our adventures.

Stay tuned!

In Traveling with Kids, Life in California, Life in America Tags Southern California, America Trip, 英会話, 英会話教室, 英会話福岡, 英会話福岡市, スピーク英会話サロン
Comment
IMG_7990.jpeg

Happy New Year 2020

January 3, 2020

2019 was another busy year, so busy I can’t quite remember what I actually did. One of the highlights, though, was my younger son starting elementary school, a bittersweet moment, as the kindergarten years were very happy ones for us.

As for the best memory of 2019, that would have to be our trip to Miyazaki for a karate tournament. There, after five years of practicing, our elder son would win his first title—a huge confidence builder that would lead to another title a few months later.

The few days we had in Kagoshima were nostalgic ones for my wife as she used to spend her summers there when she was a child.

Next summer, we will once again be traveling to the US, a trip we are all looking forward to.

In Family Life, Life in Japan, Traveling with Kids Tags New Year's, Miyazaki, Kagoshima, Karate, 英会話, 英会話福岡
Comment

Disneyland's Galaxy's Edge

November 30, 2019

This looks like a helluva lot of fun.

As we were watching the part where you build your own lightsaber, I commented to my son that at 200 bucks the lightsabers were not cheap. My son, without missing a beat, turned to me and said, "Better start making more money then, Daddy!"

Stay tuned . . . Summer 2020!

In Traveling with Kids Tags Disneyland, USA, Star Wars
Comment

Things to Know Before Going to NYC

May 8, 2019

知り合いが今月の終わりにニューヨークに行きます。うらやましい!

ということで、アメリカに行く前に少し英語のレッスン。

卵の食べ方。ぼくはいつも、エッグベネディクトを注文します。

子どもたちには、スクランブル。パンはホワイト。

チップは日本にはないサービスなので、ぜひ知っておいた方がいいですね。

ちなみにぼくは、アメリカではほとんど現金で支払います。

足りない時はアメリカの銀行からお金をおろします。

なぜ現金で支払うかというと、日本に帰ってから翌月に

ドーンッとカードの請求がくると困るからです(冷汗;

クレジットカードは、ウーバータクシー、wi-fiがないところでの携帯電話の利用料金ぐらいにしています。

In Travel English, Traveling with Kids, Life in America Tags アメリカ旅行, 英会話, 英語
Comment
IMG_1337.jpeg

Chapman Kindergarten

May 2, 2019

Three-thirty in the morning and I’m wide awake. I thought I had this jetlag licked, but apparently not.

So, . . .

My older son Yuk-kun kicked and screamed yesterday morning: he did NOT want to go to kindergarten. He was adamant and couldn’t be coaxed or forced out the front door no matter what I tried. After a while, my wife gave in and told him to go back to bed and rest.

“But no books! No toys! No TV!”

Rather than try to deal with it further, I went out with his younger brother to a park that is located just outside the school grounds.

When we arrived at the park, everything—the swings, the slides, the tire, the lawn—was covered with dew. Living as long as I have in the southwest of Japan where it’s seldom foggy, I had forgotten all about dew. I had even forgotten the word “dew” and wouldn’t have remembered it if it weren’t for a young girl of about three or four who called out to her mother and told what the swings were covered with.

“You don’t want to sit down on the swing,” I told my son. “They’re covered with dew, with water. If you sit down on it, you’ll end up with a soggy bottom.”

About forty minutes later, my wife showed up with Yuk-kun. The boy looked genuinely happy to be there.

“What happened?” I asked.

“He had to poo.”

“Aah.”

Yu, standing at the edge of the playground, was about to step in when he stopped himself and suddenly remember: “Oh, I gotta go to school!”

He then ran off towards the school’s doors, my wife chasing after him.

 

Now the funny thing about kindergarten here—and I don’t know if it just Chapman, or all the kindergartens in the Portland Public School system, or all of them in the States—but the daily routine is highly regimented. There are, for starters, quite a few musts: You MUST drop your child off at school between 7:55 and 8:00. If you are ten minutes late, you MUST report to the school office and bring a note to the teacher! You MUST pick your child up at exactly 2:15! And so on.

My son’s kindergarten back in Japan is, by comparison, in a state of virtual anarchy. Arrival and dismissal times are not clearly defined: you may drop your child off between 8:30 and 9:30. And there is no need to notify the school if you’re late. You can alternate between commuting by school bus and bringing your child on foot or by bicycle, as you please. You may even change the bus stop at which your child gets off as my son often requests. And once at school, the kids spend most of their time playing in the schoolyard and roaming about in the classroom, rather than engaged in structured lessons.

Another big difference, though, is the rituals that mark the day. The kids at my son’s Buddhist school go to school in their formal school attire. Once at school, they remove their street shoes, place them in a cubbyhole, and change into their indoor shoes. Then, they progress to their classrooms where they put their bags into another cubbyhole, hang their water bottles on the appropriate rack and change into their play clothes. For the next hour or so they are allowed to run around, play in the mud, get unbelievably filthy, catch insects, and so on. They are, for the most part, free to do as they like, though there are some controlled activities, such as practice for the school summer festival and the autumn field day.

When lunchtime comes around, they spread their furoshiki out, pray to the Buddha, and then eat. School lunch is served about two or three times a week. On the other days, the children bring their own bentō.

 

Later that night when Yuk-kun and I were lying in bed, I asked him how his day had been. Unfortunately, I didn’t get many answers. He had fun, that much was clear.

While he didn’t have many answers for me, he certainly had a lot of questions: What does this mean? What does that mean? What is this? What is that? Whenever I explained something it was like a powerful light coming on in his brain: “Ah! So that’s what that was all about!!!”

 

Tomorrow, er, today will be his third day at Chapman. This weekend we’ll have three days off, thanks to the Labor Day weekend, which will provide all of us a much-needed rest.

But for now, it’s back to sleep!

In Life in America, Life in Japan, Traveling with Kids Tags Portland, ポートランド, アメリカの幼稚園, Kindergarten in America
Comment
IMG_4165.jpeg

Forest Adventure

March 29, 2019

ゆっ君の身長がこの春、140cmを越えたので、ついに行ってまいりました。

「フォレストアドベンチャー糸島!!!」

IMG_4169.jpeg

ゆっ君とぼくが挑戦したのは大人向けのアドベンチャーコース。

IMG_4170.jpeg

アスレチックの高さが平均10mはあるそうで、だいたい建物の3階ぐらいだそうです。

一番高いところはもっとありそうでした…

IMG_4173.jpeg

遊び心満載!

IMG_4177.jpeg

ここはスパイダーマンのように飛んで

ネットに飛び移ります。

ぼくたちの前にいた女性は、恐怖でかたまって動けなくなり

係の人が助けに来ました。

IMG_4181.jpeg

ゆっ君はすぐに慣れ、野生に還りました(ウッキー!)

ターザンロープ50mくらいありそうでした。

さすがに怖がるゆあん。

「りっ君もやったよ」の一言でジャンプ!

兄の意地を見せました。

5コース、2時間半〜3時間はかかります。

次の日筋肉痛間違いなしです。

IMG_4167.jpeg

りっ君と奥さんは、身長120cm以上の子供向けのキャピノコース。

りっ君は忍者になった気分で、すごいスピードでこなしていました。

キャピノコースも子ども向けとは思えないぐらいハードで楽しかったそう。

最後は二人とも握力がなくなったようです。

フォレストアドベンチャー、オススメです。一押しです!!!

ジェットコースターとはまた違った、予想以上のスリリングを味わえますよ。

IMG_4179.jpeg
In Life in Fukuoka, Traveling with Kids Tags Forest Adventure Itoshima, 糸島, フォレストアドベンチャー糸島
Comment
IMG_3765.jpg

Will Leather Goods

February 27, 2019

When we were visiting Portland back in 2015, we needed to buy a backpack for our son who went to the local kindergarten for a few weeks. At first, we thought about buying something reasonable, but then we happened upon a Will Leather Goods store.
The backpack was a bit pricey, but the size, color, and design couldn’t be beat.



2015年にポートランドの小学校に通うために現地で購入したバックパックです。可愛いでしょう!!!

「WILL」 というブランドで、オレゴン州に本社があります。

アメリカにはランドセルの文化がないため、小・中・高・大学生まで、ほとんどの人がバックパックで通学します。バックパック文化なので、デザインも豊富にあるのです。

WILLの子供用のパックパックはおシャレで、頑丈!8000円とそこそこの値段はしますが、生地がしっかりしているので、かなり長持ちします。この質と可愛さ、日本にはこんなリュックないです!

全米に6店舗ありますので、アメリカに旅行の際はぜひ店舗に足を運んでみてはいかがでしょうか。

IMG_3764.jpg

Tuesday is Soroban/Abacus Day and the boys usually go to their lesson with their Will bags on their backs.

IMG_3760.jpg
IMG_3763.jpg

The company donates backpacks to needy kids.

Join us as we kick start our 2019 Give Will campaign. It’s very simple. Right now your purchase of any Oregon Collection bag from Will Leather Goods will result in us donating one of our iconic Dream backpacks this Fall.

It’s that easy… You buy one. We give one!

For more, go here:

https://www.willleathergoods.com

In Life in America, Traveling with Kids, 子連れ旅行 Tags Will Leather Goods, Portland, ポートランド, Backpacks, Give Will, 英会話, 英会話スクール, 福岡市英会話
Comment

留学で友達を作る方法

November 16, 2018

サンディエゴ!

大きな家、ヤシの木、5レーン以上あるハイウェイ。

いい街です。


14歳の男の子が語学学校に通っています!

中学生です!すごいです!!!


小学生の時から何回かアメリカに行った経験があるようで、

日本でもしっかりと英語を勉強しているようです。

ご両親のバックアップ。


留学には色々な条件が必要ですが、

やっぱり若いうちにトライさせたい!としみじみ思いました。

In Traveling with Kids, Study Abroad Tags 留学, サンディエゴ
Comment
sliced-white-bread-loaves-on-shelf-smiths-grocery-store-great-falls-E64H3N 2.jpg

子連れでアメリカ旅行 「ママ、おなかすいた」

October 4, 2018

子連れでアメリカ旅行

「ママ、おなかすいた」の対応方法その1


アメリカにもコンビニやスーパーはあって

テイクアウト惣菜が売ってあります。


が、しかし、


美味しくないのです Σ(゚ロ゚;)

美味しくないので、子どもはもちろん、食べてくれません。


そこで、今回は

「手作りジャムサンド」(日本で食べているものに近い)

で対応しました!


スーパーで

「White bread」のパン、バター、イチゴジャムを買います。

パンにバターとジャムをぬったら、はい出来上がりー!


ポイント1 パン

Wheat(硬くてすっぱい) ではなく White(日本の白いふわふわパンに近い) を選びます。


White だと日本の食パンに近いので、普通に食べてくれました!

スーパーに行くと写真のようにパンが陳列してあります。ここで間違えずにWhiteを選びます。


ポイント2 プラスチックナイフ

飛行機の機内食で出てくるプラスチックのフォーク、ナイフ、スプーン

使わなかった分をもらっておくと、旅行中何かと便利です。


ポイント3 サランラップ

日本の切れ味抜群のサランラップが使いやすく便利です!

アメリカのラップはなかなか切れず、ぐちゃぐちゃになります。


こうして朝出かけ前にサンドイッチを作ってバッグに入れて、

子どもの「ママ、おなかすいた!」に

無事対応することができました(´∀`*)

In Life in America, Traveling with Kids, 子連れ旅行 Tags 子連れでアメリカ旅行, White bread, アメリカの食パン
Comment

Instagram

Back at Sri Lanka Nishijin today. Never gets old.
Curry Tiner’s South Indian Chicken & Mutton Curry

I have been following the guy for years on Instagram and have been meaning to go, but the planets never quite seemed to line up. Today they did and thank God for that.

Wow!

Expect a long
Ippodo Tea Shop, Kyōto
Higashi Hongan-ji, Kyōto
All ready for Thanksgiving.

#shochu #imojochu #焼酎 #いも焼酎
Display Cases of Kyoto
Inukaeshi in Kyōto 

京都の犬返し

#Kyoto #Inukaeshi #犬返し #京都 #Machiya #町屋
Walls in Gokusho Machi, Hakata
The 15th of August is the last day of the Bon Festival of the Dead, Japan’s version of Dia de muertos. On this day, Japanese say goodbye to the spirits of their ancestors. Today I say goodbye to my last drop of Yamato Zakura Beni Imo 35%. Forgi
Azaleas at Fukuoka’s Kushida Shrine 

#櫛田神社 #Kushida #springinjapan #Fukuoka
Mugon (Tacit, lit. Without Words) rice shōchū genshu from Sengetsu Distillery of Hitoyoshi, Kumamoto. Aged in cypress casks, I believe, it retains that telltale hinoki scent. I normally don’t drink Kuma-jōchū, but this is lovely. I’ll buy
Another one of my somewhat hard-to-find favorites. Sang Som from Thailand. So smooth. I used to keep a bottle of it at Gamaradi before the pandemic. May have to do so again. Missed it. Missed Mr. Chang.
ブログ RSS
  • スピーク英会話サロン
    February 12th is Super Bowl Sunday, the day the annual final playoff game of the National Football League (NFL) is… https://t.co/PNzYTGU0m1
    Jan 30, 2023, 10:40 AM
  • スピーク英会話サロン
    Saturday is Kujyaku (Peacock) Curry Day 🍛 Normally my younger son runs out and buys it for me for which I give hi… https://t.co/SMkOEj4HMD
    Jan 14, 2023, 12:21 PM
Unknown.jpeg
Featured
c31b89c7-2fdd-441e-87ff-6af1ad634b1d.png
May 9, 2025
Admit vs Accept
May 9, 2025
May 9, 2025
Die Of:From:In.png
Apr 12, 2025
Die Of/From/In
Apr 12, 2025
Apr 12, 2025
Pan Ya Ya.jpg
Nov 19, 2024
Pan Ya Ya
Nov 19, 2024
Nov 19, 2024
Shohei English.jpg
Nov 18, 2024
Shohei's English
Nov 18, 2024
Nov 18, 2024
Screenshot 2024-03-12 at 4.30.42.png
Mar 13, 2024
By My Car
Mar 13, 2024
Mar 13, 2024
Common Mistake w Time.png
Feb 27, 2024
C.M. with Time
Feb 27, 2024
Feb 27, 2024
sorry.png
Feb 21, 2024
Common Mistake with I'm Sorry
Feb 21, 2024
Feb 21, 2024
Common Mistake Movie.png
Feb 19, 2024
Common Mistake with Movies
Feb 19, 2024
Feb 19, 2024
Screenshot 2024-02-18 at 11.50.09.png
Feb 18, 2024
Common Mistake: I like Here.
Feb 18, 2024
Feb 18, 2024
Screenshot 2023-12-21 at 4.50.14.png
Dec 21, 2023
Common Mistake: Tomorrow will be . . .
Dec 21, 2023
Dec 21, 2023
Blog Photo.jpeg
Featured
IMG_5539.jpeg
Jun 7, 2025
Mocha Coffee
Jun 7, 2025
Jun 7, 2025
Feb 10, 2025
Super Bowl Commercials
Feb 10, 2025
Feb 10, 2025
Punxsatawney-Phil.jpeg
Feb 2, 2025
Groundhog Day: A Fun American Tradition
Feb 2, 2025
Feb 2, 2025
Nov 19, 2024
Thanksgiving
Nov 19, 2024
Nov 19, 2024
SMITH.JPG
Sep 25, 2024
STEVEN SMITH TEAMAKER
Sep 25, 2024
Sep 25, 2024
IMG_7988.jpeg
Sep 19, 2024
Mai Tais
Sep 19, 2024
Sep 19, 2024
IMG_7976.jpeg
Sep 12, 2024
Honolulu Day 1
Sep 12, 2024
Sep 12, 2024
IMG_8676.jpeg
Sep 6, 2024
他人の子
Sep 6, 2024
Sep 6, 2024
IMG_8699.jpeg
Sep 5, 2024
Souvenir from Okinawa
Sep 5, 2024
Sep 5, 2024
Kamehameha Statue.jpg
Sep 4, 2024
US Trip Summer 2024
Sep 4, 2024
Sep 4, 2024
word-of-the-day-new.jpg
Featured
couple-2585328_640.jpg
May 23, 2018
In Ages
May 23, 2018
May 23, 2018
50e524604a672a893aacf7eead6bc3c5.jpg.gif
May 19, 2018
Wishy-Washy
May 19, 2018
May 19, 2018
600px-CousinTree.svg.png
May 19, 2018
Once Removed
May 19, 2018
May 19, 2018
93979218f3c25c57a03295c14a6715b7.jpg
May 18, 2018
Assertive vs Aggressive
May 18, 2018
May 18, 2018
Resources.jpg
Featured
pe240215.gif
Feb 29, 2024
Peanuts
Feb 29, 2024
Feb 29, 2024
Screenshot 2024-02-06 at 4.41.13.png
Feb 6, 2024
OWAD's Word a Day
Feb 6, 2024
Feb 6, 2024
Jan 27, 2021
Beginning, Middle, End
Jan 27, 2021
Jan 27, 2021
nn_kids_thumbnail_02_154678_f81e2f6d0d7589ff5cda5a641cfb8c23.jpg
Dec 25, 2020
Nightly News: Kids Edition
Dec 25, 2020
Dec 25, 2020
history_of_english4.png
Sep 8, 2020
History of the English Language
Sep 8, 2020
Sep 8, 2020
nursery-rhymes.jpg
Sep 3, 2020
Mother Goose
Sep 3, 2020
Sep 3, 2020
crossword puzzle.png
Apr 10, 2019
Crossword Puzzles
Apr 10, 2019
Apr 10, 2019
maxresdefault.jpg
Mar 25, 2019
Student Recommendations
Mar 25, 2019
Mar 25, 2019
How to Improve Your English.jpg
Feb 22, 2019
How to Improve Your English
Feb 22, 2019
Feb 22, 2019
Nov 22, 2018
Eigo Beat
Nov 22, 2018
Nov 22, 2018