Blog
Word of the Week: Spine
Your spine is your backbone. It's made of vertebrae. Animals that have backbones are called vertebrates. Animals without them are invertebrates. Metaphorically, having a spine allows you to stand up for yourself. "Don't be spineless. Show those bullies that you have a...
Phrase of the Week: Get Off Scot-Free
"Nobody saw him do it, so he got off scot-free." If you do something wrong but receive no punishment or consequences, we say you got off scot-free. The word "Scot" nowadays means a person from Scotland, but in this phrase it comes from an old word meaning...
TOEIC Practice Question of the Week
"Although implementing a solution will delay the project, we cannot ______ this problem." Fill in the blank. A. ignore B. notice C. verify D. fix 「解決法を用いるのに時間がかかって遅れがでますが、この問題を＿＿＿できません。」...
Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes! Let’s practice counting! あたま、かた、ひざ、あしのゆび！数える練習をしましょう！
Enjoy this twist on "Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes", adding in numbers. 数字を使って別バージョンの「Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes」も楽しみましょう。 Classroom Tip Dance and sing with Pinka. Students can use their fingers and toes to count 1 to 10. This is a great introduction to next...
Trivia of the Week: Hopscotch
To play hopscotch, you need some rectangles drawn on the ground, usually with chalk. Toss a stone onto the ground. Now, jump along the squares using either one foot (where there is only one square) or two feet (where two squares are next to each other). However, you...
Idiom of the Week: Safe as Houses
"Are you sure this thing is safe?" "Safe as houses!" We usually feel safe in our own house. That may not be the real origin of this idiom, however. Some say it came from investing in houses, which were a safe investment compared to railways. It may also have to do...
Word of the Week: Knot
A knot is what we create when we tie two strings together. Knots are so important that there are names for many different kinds of knots, and they often appear in metaphors. A problem that's difficult to solve is "knotty". When two people get married they "tie the...
Picture of the Week: Turkey
November is a bad month for turkeys in the U.S. Have you ever seen a turkey in person? This one has impressive feathers and a featherless but colorful head....
Phrase of the Week: I Couldn’t Care Less
"I couldn't care less what you do. Just leave me out of it." "I couldn't care less" is an emphatic way to say "I don't care." You can care a lot or a little, but if you "couldn't care less", then the amount you care is the absolute minimum possible, i.e. zero. ...
TOEIC Practice Question of the Week
"Candidates that satisfaction these conditions will move on to the next stage of the interview." Find the mistake. A. Candidates B. satisfaction C. conditions D. on to the next 「この条件を満たす候補者は、次のステージに進みます。」 就職面接に申し込んで、ある条件を満たさないと面接にもいけないまま不採用ということはありますよね。...
What shape is it? Let’s sing about colors and shapes! これ何の形？色と形の歌を歌いましょう！
In this week's video, we can learn about simple shapes like circles and squares, and some more interesting shapes like hearts and diamonds. We'll also pair them with colors in real sentences! 今週の動画では、丸や四角など基本の形の他に、ハートやダイヤといった面白い形について学びます。形と色と組み合わせて文章を作ります！ Classroom...
Trivia of the Week: Training Wheels
Training wheels are a pair of extra wheels added to the back wheel of a bicycle so that it can't fall over. This allows beginning riders to practice riding without the danger of falling over. In British English, they are called stabilisers, because they stabilize the...
Idiom of the Week: Watered Down
"He gives a good speech, but his plan is just a watered down version of the other candidate's." If a liquid such as coffee, soup or paint is too thick or too strong, you can make it thinner or weaker by adding water. This is called watering it down. We use the same...
Word of the Week: Boo!
"Boo! Did I scare you?" "Boo" is what you say when you jump out and startle somebody who didn't know you were there. You can also see it in the name of the game "peekaboo". Peekaboo is not scary, but it does involve hiding and suddenly revealing yourself. 「ワッ！びっくりした？」...
Picture of the Week: Fall Leaves
It's that time of year again! Leaves are starting to show their beautiful fall colors. Leaves lose their chlorophyll because there is less light in winter, so it isn't needed. Do you have any leaf-viewing plans this year?...
Phrase of the Week: Throw a Party
"It's my sister's birthday next week. We're going to throw a big party!" You can throw a ball, a rock, a dart or…a party? You can just "have" a party, but organizing a party is often called "throwing" a party. 「来週は妹の誕生日だから大きなパーティーをするんだ。」...
TOEIC Practice Question of the Week
"Our new product is very effective for just this kind of problem. Allow me to ______." Fill in the blank. A. advocate B. demonstrate C. recuperate D. amalgamate 「新しい商品はちょうどこのような問題にとても効果的です。実際にやってみましょう。」...
Walk like a robot! Let’s sing about toys with Kinka from Happy Valley! ロボットみたいに歩こう！ハッピーバレーのキンカと一緒におもちゃの歌を歌いましょう！
In this week's video, we learn about toys and use different verbs! 今週の動画でおもちゃの単語を覚えて、色々な動詞を使いましょう！ Classroom Tip Watch, singing and dancing along with Kinka. After, do the gestures for walking robot, reading a book and hugging a doll. Can the students point to the...
Trivia of the Week: BRB
CallieCat1234: Oh no! Then what happened? ZiggyZebra9000: BRB, someone's at the door. "BRB" is a useful acronym when chatting online or talking with friends using text messages. It stands for "be right back" and tells your friend that you have to leave the keyboard...
Idiom of the Week: Get Down to Brass Tacks
"Let's get down to brass tacks. I want to finish this project today!" Getting down to brass tacks is similar to getting down to business. It means to skip unnecessary things and do necessary work. 「本気を出していきましょう。今日中にこのプロジェクトを終わらせたい！」 Get down to brass...
