Mardi Gras (intermediate)

Mardi Gras refers to events of the Carnival celebration.
It takes place in cities like New Orleans, Lousiana and Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Carnival is a celebration before Easter.
It ends on the day before Ash Wednesday.


You can learn more about New Orleans and its famous celebration Mardi Gras by listening to ESL POD

Moving back home

Due to the recession the kids who lost their homes are coming back to their mom and dad's home.
This is called a boomerang effect.
Extended family was a tradition long time ago in America but now people are living with their parents out of neccessity.

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Oscar winner? -"Slumdog Millionaire"

It's almost Oscar night!!
The biggest and the most prestigious award for people in the film industry.
Which film will take home the Oscar for picture of the year???

From what I have read, it will most likely be a film called "Slumdog Millionaire"
This movie takes place in India and it is about a young man who enters the Indian version of "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire."
The whole nation is watching and he is about to win 20 million ruppees if he gets the last question right. But before he can answer the question the police arrest him on the suspicion of cheating. People wonder, "How could a poor boy from the slums of Mumbai answer all questions perfectly??" In order to prove his innocence, he tells his life story in the slum. His story tells the audience why he is able to answer the questions in the quiz. Does he finally win??

I think this film is a must see.
You will leave the theater feeling warm inside.

Evolution (Apec Advanced)

We are nearing a time when all the science fiction stories we saw in movies
might start becoming possible.
It's bit scary to think what will happen in the next 20 years.

SQUID!!! (Beg / Int)

If you are a beginner or an intermediate student I strongly storongly 

suggest that you get in the habit of watching an excellet show.

The English level is perfect for beginners and Intermediate students because it is 

made for kids.  

Do you know what "squid" means???

Please watch the show and find out.  

Happy Valentine's Day!!! (Beg/Int/Adv)

This reading may be difficult for beginners but give it a try!

Today's Valentines and there are a lot of couples having a time of their life.

This article tells us what kind of food is good on a day like Valentines.

Foods that boost your libido: 9 sexy aphrodisiacs

America's Biggest Threat (Apec Advanced)

Now, it is not terrorism but the economy that is the biggest 

threat for the U.S.

There's instability in one quarter of world.

People frustrated and angry because they cannot find work and make a 

living.  

The Little Frog (Beginner/intermediate)

Do you understand why the frog kept jumping?

If you can please leave a comment. 

Please watch "The Little Frog"

Stimulus Plan (APEC Advanced)

With a lof of debates concerning the economic stimulus plan that the Obama Administartion has planned, New York Times wrote an article comparing the stimulus package Japan implemented after the burst of the bubble.   

Article is titled"Japan's Big-Works Stimulus Is Lesson for U.S."

Tiny saves the day (Beginner/Intermediate)

This is a story of every day people that became heroes.

Today's hero is tiny

Ask Men (For Intermediate Guys)

This is a site for my male students.

It is a site called "Ask Men"

I think Japanese men would find it interesting to 

see what American men are like.

For example, they covered the Top 99 Women of 2009

Check out the number one woman of 2009!  

Tell me what you think in class.  

Trailer (Beginners)

Do you know what trailer means?

Trailer is 映画の予告編

Try to watch the trailer for the movie Caroline.

Can you understand the English?

Push "see the clip" to view it.

Work-Life Balance (intermediate)

These days, I often read in the news that companies are prohibiting overtime work.  Some of my students have also told me that they are made to go home earlier.  A lot of people might disagree with me but I feel there are a lot of good things that come about when there's a downturn in the economy.  Yes, I read the news about thousands of people being laid off and the fall in production and profit.  But I also feel that whenever we fall it is an opportunity for us to pick ourselves up.   As Barack Obama stated in his inaugural speech "we must pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off an begin again the work of remaking"   

A lot of Japanese workers have worked relentlessly into the wee hours of the night.  Why not give it a rest for a while and reassess our life.  What's really important for us?  How much wealth do we need?  What kind of lifestyle do we really want? We are all given limited time here.  I wonder how much value there is in giving a large chunk of our life to a corporation.  

It's Really a Global Crisis (Advanced)

One of my favorite columnist for Newsweek is Robert J. Samuelson.

He wrote an article titled, "It's Really a Global Crisis".  

He says that even if the stimulus plan that President Obama proposed works, 

the problem lies not within but outside of the U.S.   

For a long time, the global economy functioned with the U.S. buying the goods that its Asian partners produced.  The U.S. spent while Asia saved their money .  However, due to the downturn in the economy, Americans are saving more and spending less.   This disrupts the old import-export model that trading was based on.

What needs to happen, according to Samuelson, is a transformation in the old trading pattern.   

"As Americans save more of their incomes, Asians should save less and spend more, so that they rely more on satisfying their own wants to generate jobs and economic growth as opposed to exports.  The great trade discrepencies would shrink.  Americans would export more, import less; Asians would do the opposite"

However, Samuelson claims that this type of change can only occur if politics get involved.  

In other words, America's biggest trading partner, China has to initiate a policy that will stimulate the domestic demand.  

Therefore, Samuleson belives, "The success of Obama's policies lies, to a considerable exten, outside Obama's hands"