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He said that if someone asks "Do you...", then we should answer "Yes, I do.", or "No, I don't." If they next ask "Why?", then we should answer "Because... ".We practiced those patterns over and over. Every time, we had so many different kinds of lessons. - Sometimes we would read an Aesop's fable aloud, and discuss it, learning a proverb in the process. - Sometimes he would ask each of us our opinion about a current news story. - Sometimes it was like a game; he would ask our preferences about something, and have us explain our reasoning. With this approach, he kept all of us students excited and looking forward to each lesson, wondering what we would do next. At the same time, he was also teaching us how to carry a conversation. The interview portion (second part) of the Grade Pre-2 EIKEN Test in Practical English Proficiency included... - Reading text aloud. - Explaining what someone is doing in a picture. - Expressing a personal opinion about a current event. I had heard from my friend that it was difficult for a junior high student to pass the interview portion of the test on the first try, because of those points. Although, on Saturday the day before the interview test (and with perfect timing), Yukat had each student take turns sitting in front of the group, and for 10 minutes all the other students could ask anything they wanted to ask, to give that person answering practice. In that lesson, Reina practiced speaking out loudly with confidence. With that experience the night before, she was able to face the interview the next day without feeling nervous. She listened carefully to the interviewer's questions and answered them with a calm loud voice. She says it was thanks to the lesson the night before. I can hardly believe that my daughter, Reina, who was always so shy in the lessons that she could barely answer questions, was actually able to pass the interview on the first try! Truly, it is thanks to the wonderful lessons we have enjoyed so much. Thank you very much.
"I have always called all of you "-kun" (くん) or "-san" (さん), but I've decided to stop that as of now. Now, I'm going to call everyone by their first name, without title. I hope that's okay."While moving around from seat to seat, I said things like, "Yoshio! It's a been a while!", and "Yuhko! You look pretty! I like your smile!" The freedom of talking so casually moved me. For the first time ever, I had been able to call the prettiest girl in school by her first name without title (ha, ha!). I really feel that in learning English I'm actually learning how to interact with people without pretense.