I hate bad drivers! Cars are dangerous. People die in car accidents. Most accidents are caused by people who are either driving too fast, or in many cases not paying enough attention to the situation.


When I am out walking with my wife and daughter, I am always watching other people to make sure they do not run into my daughter, who is a baby in a push chair. Cars often pull in front of us when we are trying to cross a street, when they should be giving way. Sometimes they drive the wrong way down a one-way street near the supermarket we go to.


I recently had an idea about how to deal with these drivers. I think we should make a note of the license plate on the back of their car, report the car to the police, tell the police what the driver did, where they did it, what day and what time AND THEN the police could have a big board in front of the trains station with a notice about the bad drivers who have been reported. They could put this at other public places around the town too; the library, the town hall etc. This way, people would recognize their own license plate number and feel ashamed of their actions. They would worry about friends, family, neighbours, co-workers etc seeing their license plate number on the board and knowing they did something bad. We could use shame to make them more considerate drivers.


I think we should also use this for bicycles. Every bicycle should have a license plate on the back, which people should have to apply for in order to ride a bicycle. If they do something bad, we could report them and they would be shamed on the wall. If they are reported a certain number of times, they should lose their right to ride a bicycle or drive a car!


Maybe you think that I am being too harsh. Maybe we should have some tolerance for people who drive badly because their mistakes are small. NO! If we do not stop these bad drivers, they will just get worse. We have all seen terrible stories on the news about people who crash their cars and kill innocent people. We have to realize that these people do not just become bad drivers overnight. They have a long history of bad driving. They have probably committed many small driving errors just like the ones we are talking about now. If we shame them in public for driving badly, we can stop them from getting worse and stop them from causing some terrible accident in the future.


We must think more about safety! Recently I was changing trains at a station that had two train lines. As my train arrived, the train I wanted to get on also arrived on the other track. Everyone, including me ran off our train to try to get to the other train. Some people were fast enough to get on the new train before the doors closed, but some were not. I wondered why the train company did not try to have the train wait for a minute so everyone could change trains without running. It seems like such a simple thing to do. I am sure that there must be some accidents sometimes, with people running into each other or falling over. It is the train company's responsibility to make sure these things do not have a chance to happen.


It might sound like I am being too fussy. Maybe you want to say "shouganai" BUT imagine you were walking around everywhere with a little baby you have to protect and take care of, or with a pregnant woman who can't move so quickly. In these situations, you start to think more about safety. Every day, there is a pregnant woman somewhere getting on a train or walking down the street. Every day a parent with a small child has to travel somewhere and worries about the dangers of the world caused by other people's carelessness. That is why we must pay more attention to these issues and stop saying "shoganai" - nothing is "shoganai" if you try hard enough!

▼▽▼▼【講師】Eddie先生のバックナンバー━━━━━━━━
・【International Friendship】2009.10.02 (Fri)

Rewarding yourself for studying may be one of the best ways to train yourself to study more. I've been studying Japanese on and off for years. I know that knocking myself out with hours of study often just sours the whole process. Then when I see a textbook, I'll start to feel nauseous and avoid opening it altogether.


But I like studying kanji. So I've decided, rather than studying hardcore for a few months, then taking a few months off of studying, I should regulate my study time a little more closely. For me, maybe ninety minutes is good. The problem is setting aside the time to study.


This is where my conception of rewards comes in. I like cycling. I like watching DVDs. I like drinking single malt scotch. If I tell myself 'No scotch until I've studied Japanese,' I will sit down and study. And ninety minutes of kanji study really flies by. I can set a timer so I don't go too far. Then it's time to reward myself, yay!


I often do this with cleaning. But cleaning's not so bad. I don't have much stuff, and cleaning is very physical. It's exercise, so it feels good. It's like a meditation. Studying could possibly be like this, but it's not going to get your body in shape. It's well-documented in studies that your brain works better, not only if you're in good physical condition, but especially right after exercise. If you go for a jog, or go cycling, you'll get more out of your study time if you do it immediately afterwards.


You don't have to make a set schedule, but it means that there should be some order to your activities. If you set your study time before you eat, you may be too hungry to concentrate (and not enough glucose for your brain.) Immediately after you eat, you may feel drowsy. I do. So I recommend really thinking about how you order your activities in the day. Simply changing the order of a couple things can help you maximize your productivity. Finally, don't forget to reward yourself after studying. This will positively reinforce your study habits, and you won't cringe every time you see the cover of your textbook.

▼▽▼▼【講師】Sandy先生のバックナンバー━━━━━━━━
・【Just Relax】2009.09.02 (Wed)

こんにちは！カプラン事務局です。
秋晴れのすがすがしい10月18日（日曜日）、
第５回Kaplan English Festival がTKP新宿ビジネスセンターにて開催されました。
このEnglish Festival はTPPクラスを中心とした日頃の英語学習の成果を発表する会です。
まずは初めてこのブログを見てくださる方はきっと「TPPって何？」と思われたことでしょう。少しだけTPPの説明をさせていただきますと、TPP（Team Presentation Project）とはカプランの英語力養成プログラムのひとつで三ヶ月に一回の英語プレゼンテーション発表に向けて講師のアドバイスをうけながら英語で準備を進めていくものです。
ビジネスアカデミックとドラマの2種類のクラスがあり、英語で考える力をつけると同時に、感情表現を英語で発信することが出来るようになることを目指しています。
また、前回に引き続きrecitation contestも開催されました。大いに盛り上がった発表会の様子を時系列でご覧ください。

□暗誦大会予選
　今回のスピーチは2004年に民主党大会でオバマ大統領が世界に発信した基調演説。14名の受講生が予選にエントリーし、この日のために練習をしてきた成果を発表しました。
　ただ覚えたことを口に出して唱えるだけではなく、声のトーン、ジェスチャー、そして聴衆をどう引き込むか、魅了するかも重要になってきます。スピーチを終えた後のほっとしたそれぞれの顔が印象的でした。この演説暗誦の授業はワークショップのActive Listening & Learningで受講できます。　　　　　

□ビジネスアカデミックプレゼンテーション　
今回のプレゼンテーションは「代替エネルギー」という共通のテーマのもと、表参道校クラスは「Hydrogen Energy」、そして銀座校のクラスは「Solar Energy」についての発表を行いました。各クラスのメンバーが、情報をリサーチし、そして多くの情報の中から取捨選択をしていくこと、その中で多角的な思考力を身につけること、そして、プレゼンテーション後の質疑応答の内容を想定しながら理解を深めていくことが重要になっていきます。さらに、準備をした内容を説得力のあるプレゼンテーションとして提示することも大きな課題です。
両クラスとも、丁寧に調べ上げた研究事例を分かりやすいプレゼンテーションにまとめて、大好評でした。

□ドラマ
表参道クラスは「FULL HOUSE」銀座クラスは「RENT」を演じました。
アメリカの人気ドラマ「FULL HOUSE」をオリジナルでリメイクした表参道クラスの作品は、25分の演技に多くの笑いが含まれており、観客はそのユーモアを大いに楽しみました。
また、銀座クラスの「RENT」は、スクリプトから音楽、衣裳まで実に細かい工夫がされており、笑いあり、涙ありの充実した内容でした。




□暗誦大会決勝
　午前中の予選で選ばれた7名が、決勝でもみごとなスピーチを披露してくれました。やはり１～３位に選ばれた受講生のスピーチは、誰もが納得の出来栄えでした。本当におめでとうございます。そして、今回惜しくも入賞出来なかった方は、次回も是非再トライして下さい。

左から2位受賞、1位、3位受賞の皆さん

そして今回はなんと銀座センター長の大槻が暗誦に挑戦しました。当日、発表会が始まってから覚えたというスピーチを見事に披露！その根性と暗記力にスタッフ一同、大いに感動しました。
大槻さん、お疲れ様でした。次回は表参道センター長である太田が暗誦にチャレンジします。
みなさん、次回のコンテストをお楽しみに！

次回に向けて、さらに充実した内容のプレゼンテーションが見られることを願いつつ...発表会レポートを終わらせていただきます。
参加された皆さま、本当にお疲れ様でした！

なお、最後までブログを読んで下さった皆さんの中で、ＴＰＰに興味をもたれた方は、
カプランまでお気軽にお問合わせください。━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
□銀座校　Ginza English Center
　〒104-0061 東京都中央区銀座3-2-10 並木ビル7F
　Tel：03-5524-5851　E-mail：kapinfo-ginza@kaplan.ac.jp
　事務受付時間：月、火、水、金曜 14:00-22:00 / 土、日曜 10:00-18:00
　※閉館日 : 木曜 ※祝日の場合も平常通り開校
□表参道校　Omotesando English Center
　〒150-0001 東京都渋谷区神宮前5-53-67 コスモス青山1F
　Tel：03-5774-6968　E-mail：kapinfo-omotesando@kaplan.ac.jp
事務受付時間：月、木、金曜 10:00-22:00 / 火、水、土、日曜 10:00-18:00
　※祝日の場合も平常通り開校
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If I had a large apartment or a house in the countryside, I would like to have a fantasy pet... a tiger. I call it a "fantasy pet" because we all know the danger of having such a large animal ( up to 300kg and 3.3 meters long ) with killer instincts. After graduating with an Associates Degree in graphic design, I volunteered to create a website for a wildlife refuge named Prairie Wind, in Colorado (USA). I designed their logo ( at left ) and a few simple pages containing the photos on this page.


When I drove many miles to reach Prairie Wind for the first time and meet the manager, I had my first encounter with a tiger. I couldn't believe just how close visitors were allowed to the cages. The photo at right was taken with a camera with a fixed focal point ( no zoom lens ). When I walked past the this huge Siberian tiger, I saw his eyes follow me. It was pretty scary...no... very scary ! It looked so peaceful basking in the sun. But I knew the power this mighty animal had, so I kept my distance.


I think I also found the "fantasy job": walking tiger cubs ( see left photo ). This girl had these tiger cubs on a leash and let them wander around the compound for short periods of time. Often the tiger cubs were leading her !

Perhaps the most amazing thing I saw was when the girl entered the tiger cubs' cage to feed them. It looked a bit dangerous, but the cubs didn't pay much attention to her. I guess they were used to her doing this everyday at the same time. The cubs seemed more interested with what was going on outside their cage. The Siberian tiger is the largest of all tigers. Their heads and paws are enormous. If they were vegetarian, I would love to gently hug them. Can you imagine walking anywhere with this animal by your side? Instant respect !


▼▽▼▼【講師】Rob先生のバックナンバー━━━━━━━━

・【Cold. A good time to start talking about it.】2009.09.25 (Fri)

On those rare occasions that free time appears in my schedule, I like to read novels. I've never been much of a sci-fi fan, but recently I've been reading a series of "alternate history" novels. In this one, Nantucket Island is suddenly transported 3,000 years into the past. How would a small group of people, with modern values and dependent on technology, survive in the primitive past? How would the people of that time deal with them? The author must have had a good time writing these books, thinking about our relationship with the past.


Another thing I like to do is go to a blog called "Shorpy", featuring lots of interesting photos, mostly from 70 to 150 years ago. It's hard to believe that my great-grandparents, whom my own mother knew well, had already reached middle age before airplanes and cars were invented. Looking at the now-lost scenes of everyday life they experienced is really fascinating, especially when you realize that so many of these things that seem so alien to us really happened, and not so long ago!

▼▽▼▼【講師】Kurt先生のバックナンバー━━━━━━━━
・【Cool Weather, Here We Come!】2009.09.23 (Wed)