英会話スクール・英会話教室石山校（滋賀県）のスクールブログ

こんにちは♪　英会話NOVA石山校です🐰✨

 

9月に入って、少しずつ秋らしい気候になってきましたね🍁

今日は、人気講師Connie先生からのメッセージです(^▽^)/

 

*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+**+*++*+*+*+**+**+*+*+*+*++*+

 

Road Trips Across Japan

 

Hi everyone!

 

My name is Connie, and I wanted to share one of my favourite hobbies…road trips!

 

What comes to mind when you hear the words road trip? For me, it’s the freedom of the open road, discovering hidden places, and enjoying the journey just as much as the destination.

 

This Golden Week, we set off on an unforgettable journey:

 

Kyoto → Kōchi→ Matsuyama → Hiroshima → Itami

 

We didn’t rush from place to place! We took our time, spending a few days in each area and enjoying everything along the way.

 

Kōchi

Kōchi quickly became one of my favourite parts of the trip. We visited six of the famous 88 Pilgrimage temples (四国八十八箇所), each surrounded by peaceful forests and towering mountains. Some days the mountains were wrapped in soft mist, while a light drizzle and cool breeze made everything feel calm and refreshing.

 

We found ourselves stopping at quiet lakes, where the gentle drizzle blurred the reflections of the trees across the water. There were moments when we were surrounded only by the sound of the rain and the peacefulness of nature.

 

The drive itself was just as memorable. Long winding mountain roads, endless greenery, and the occasional breathtaking viewpoint made every turn feel like a new discovery.

 

 

Matsuyama

From Kochi we continued to Matsuyama, where we visited three more temples from the 88 Pilgrimage.

 

One of the biggest surprises was the Towel Museum. I never expected to spend so long in a museum dedicated to towels, but it was fascinating! My favourite part was the Moomin exhibition; it brought back so many childhood memories and added a lovely nostalgic touch to the day.

 

 

Hiroshima

No visit to Hiroshima would be complete without trying Hiroshima-style okonomiyaki, and it definitely lived up to the hype.

We also visited a beautiful museum perched on a hill overlooking the Seto Inland Sea. Looking out across the  water from such a peaceful location made it one of those places where you naturally want to slow down and take everything in.

 

Itami

Our final stop was Itami, where we were welcomed with my partner’s grandma’s home cooking. After days on the road, sitting down to a warm, homemade meal was the perfect way to end the trip. Sometimes the best part of travelling is simply sharing good food with family.

Looking back, this road trip reminded me why I love driving so much. It’s not just about getting from A to B, it’s about discovering places you never planned to visit, taking the scenic route, and creating memories along the way.

 

For Obon, we’ll be hitting the road again, this time driving to Shizuoka.

 

What are your plans for the holiday? I would love to hear about it in our next lesson!

 

*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+**+*++*+*+*+**+**+*+*+*+*++*+

とても元気で優しく、話やすい先生たちばかりです！！(o^―^o)
ぜひレッスンや体験レッスンで、いろいろなお話しをされてみてくださいね😊✨

 

 

 

 

こんにちは！NOVA石山校です🐰🍀

石山校では、アメリカからの新しい先生が来ています🐇
今日は、先生から自己紹介のメッセージをもらいました♪

 

🐣🌷🐇 🐣🌷🐇 🐣🌷🐇 🐣🌷🐇 🐣🌷🐇 🐣🌷🐇

Coming back to Japan!

 

Hello

My name is Choyce and I’m from the United States of America.

I am so happy to be back here in Japan.

I spent a year teaching kids in South Korea and another year traveling.

While living in South Korea I was inspired, and I wrote a couple of children’s stories that are currently being published.

I really love writing stories, doing activities, and being out in nature.

I spent time on the beach in Thailand, and hiking in the jungle in Indone

sia. I first visited Japan in 2024.

The day I left I saw a bright shooting star and I knew it was a sign that I would return.

Well, I’m back and so glad to be your teacher.

Let’s have some fun while we learn!

By the way, I recently went to Shijo and visited the Blueberry Café. It was so cute, everything was purple!

 

Let me know where you’ve been before! What do you enjoy?!

 

🐣🌷🐇 🐣🌷🐇 🐣🌷🐇 🐣🌷🐇 🐣🌷🐇 🐣🌷🐇

ぜひ、Choyce先生にアメリカのおすすめスポットなども聞いてみましょう！
体験レッスンもお待ちしています♪

 

 

 

 

こんにちは！NOVA石山校です🐰🍀

今日は、人気講師Nathan先生からのメッセージです☆彡

 

🐣🌷🐇 🐣🌷🐇 🐣🌷🐇 🐣🌷🐇 🐣🌷🐇 🐣🌷🐇

I went cycling in the mountains north of Kyoto.

 

It has been raining so much lately, but last Friday was sunny and it felt like summer had finally arrived–at least for one day.

Starting from the Sanjo Bridge, my friend and I cycled up the Kamo River and then north on the Takigime Kaido road.

The sun can’t always reach the winding tunnels of pine and cedar trees, so it’s usually a few degrees cooler in that area—a nice relief on a hot day. There are also some spots along the river where you can rest and cool off.

 

The entire loop took about three hours, and, as usual, I stopped to relax along the Kamo River before cycling back to Yamashina. The last twenty minutes of the journey up and over the Sanjo hill is sometimes the most difficult after an afternoon of cycling in the mountains.

 

I got a little sunburned but it was worth it!

 

Do you like to cycle? If you do, where do like to go? Let us know!

🐣🌷🐇 🐣🌷🐇 🐣🌷🐇 🐣🌷🐇 🐣🌷🐇 🐣🌷🐇

 

とても元気で優しく、話やすい先生たちばかりです！！(o^―^o)ﾆ
ぜひレッスンや体験レッスンで、いろいろなお話しをされてみてくださいね😊✨

 

 

 

 

 

こんにちは♪　英会話NOVA石山校です🐰✨

今日は、人気講師Renaldo先生からのメッセージです☆彡

 

*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+**+*++*+*+*+**+**+*+*+*+*++*+

 

My Move to Shiga

Moving to Ishiyama in Shiga Prefecture has been an exciting new change of pace for me.

 

The last time I was living in Japan, I lived in Tokyo so the scenery is different but surprisingly there are some similarities.

Normally I’d prefer living in bigger cities where there’s a lot of lights, but the Ishiyama area is really growing on me. So far, my favourite thing about Ishiyama is the boardwalk along the lake.

 

The other day I saw a crane for the first time while walking during the day. Paper cranes is the first origami I learned to make while I was in elementary school in Canada, it was cool to actually see a live crane.

The last time I was living in Japan I lived in Shinagawa ward, in the Oimachi area, just like Ishiyama there’s a wide variety of restaurants and izakaya’s near the station.

 

The biggest difference is you have to leave the prefecture to get into bigger cities areas. In Tokyo I would often go to Shibuya for more of the bigger city vibe. Here in Ishiyama, I can see myself travelling somewhere in Kyoto when I want to get a similar feel.

 

Have you moved recently, what’s the biggest difference or not so big difference you’ve experienced?

 

Let us know!

 

*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+**+*++*+*+*+**+**+*+*+*+*++*+

とても元気で優しく、話やすい先生たちばかりです！！(o^―^o)ﾆ
ぜひレッスンや体験レッスンで、いろいろなお話しをされてみてくださいね😊✨

 

 

 

 

 

こんにちは♪　英会話NOVA石山校です🐰✨

今日は、Nikayla先生からのメッセージです(^▽^)/

 

🌻🍑🍃✨🌻🍑🍃✨🌻🍑🍃✨🌻🍑🍃✨🌻🍑🍃✨🌻🍑🍃✨🌻🍑🍃

 

Osaka Outing

During Golden Week, I spent three days in Osaka. Most of my students know that Osaka is my favourite city.

On the first day, I met my friend at Kusatsu station and we went to Osaka together by train.

We went to a lovely art cafe called Unimocc Art Cafe Gallery.

They had something called a canvas cake, where they give you a small cake with a palette of icing to decorate it with. I ended up decorating mine with a koi fish.

On the second day, my friend and I went to a really popular taco restaurant near Dontonbori, the name is Blue Entrance Kitchen (BEK).

The weather was really hot, and we had to wait in a really long line too but the wait was worth it.

They had a variety of American themed tacos, I got a Nashville taco with a piña colada (my favourite cocktail). It was incredibly delicious, I highly recommend trying BEK!

On the third day, I did some shopping in Umeda’s Daimaru.

Recently, Top Toys is really popular for cute dolls and blind boxes of beautifully made figures.

I really liked the “Sugar Pocket,” blind box and hoped to get the “moth lamp,” character.

I did get one of my top three choices though, I got the “Lotus,” and she’s gorgeous!

Towards the end of day three, another friend contacted me asking to go to Takatsuki together to see the carp flags (鯉のぼり) at their Sakura river.

There were so many families playing in the water and relaxing together.

The carp were lined across the river and the breeze made them dance gently against the sky.

It was really nice to see!

What do you usually do during Golden Week?

Let us know!

 

🌻🍑🍃✨🌻🍑🍃✨🌻🍑🍃✨🌻🍑🍃✨🌻🍑🍃✨🌻🍑🍃✨🌻🍑🍃

 

とても元気で優しく、話やすい先生たちばかりです！！(o^―^o)ﾆ
ぜひレッスンや体験レッスンで、いろいろなお話しをされてみてくださいね😊✨

 

 

 

 

 

 

こんにちは！NOVA石山校です🐰🍀

石山校では、カナダからの新しい先生が来ています🐇
今日は、先生から自己紹介のメッセージをもらいました♪

 

🐣🌷🐇 🐣🌷🐇 🐣🌷🐇 🐣🌷🐇 🐣🌷🐇 🐣🌷🐇

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hi, my name’s Renaldo I’m from Toronto Canada.

People sometimes ask me about Canadian food since I’m from Canada, but my parents are from Jamaica, so I normally ate Jamaican food and not Canadian food for the majority of my life.

Both my parents were born in Jamaica, and moved to Canada during the
1970’s. I’ve been quite the nomad since I was in high school.

I started high school in Toronto for the first few years and moved to the US to attend a private school in North Carolina, Mt. Zion Christian Academy where I lived in the dorms.

I then moved to Florida where I lived with my grandfather and attended Zion
Lutheran Christian Academy where I graduated high school.

I then got a full scholarship to attend New Mexico State University where I attended for 4 years.
I then went on to play professional basketball for 10 year, 4 of which were in Japan.

Other countries I’ve played in include Germany, Canada, and the Dominican Republic.

Japan has definitely been my favourite place to play, so much so that I decided to continue to work and live in Japan.

🐣🌷🐇 🐣🌷🐇 🐣🌷🐇 🐣🌷🐇 🐣🌷🐇 🐣🌷🐇

 

ぜひ、Renaldo先生にカナダのおすすめスポットなども聞いてみましょう！
体験レッスンもお待ちしています♪

 

 

 

 

 

 

こんにちは♪　英会話NOVA石山校です🐰✨

今日は、Lucas先生からのメッセージです(^▽^)/

 

*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+**+*++*+*+*+**+**+*+*+*+*++*+

 

A country visited When I was in middle school a took a trip to del Rio Mexico.

It was a mission trip that took with my local church.

I went on this trip three different times. Each time I went, I built a small simple house for the residents of Del Rio.

It was a service project that took all of spring break to complete.

The drive started in Tulsa Oklahoma (my home town) and took two whole days to get to Del Rio.

When we got there we start to work immediately. We spent the first day mix cement for the foundation of the house.

The next four days were spent on everything else.

We spent a lot of time with the families that we were building the house for. They were always very nice.

On the last day before we left to go home the families would ways make a big meal for us to eat and it was some of the most delicious food I’ve ever had.

The drivers would spend the next day and night driving us back to Tulsa Oklahoma.

I always remember this trip fondly because it made me so happy to serve a community so far from home. It was also really fun to visit a different county with a new culture.

If you ever get the chance, I would recommend visiting Mexico.

*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+**+*++*+*+*+**+**+*+*+*+*++*+

 

とても元気で優しく、話やすい先生たちばかりです！！(o^―^o)ﾆ
ぜひレッスンや体験レッスンで、いろいろなお話しをされてみてくださいね😊✨

 

 

 

 

こんにちは♪　英会話NOVA石山校です🐰✨

今日は、人気講師Connie先生からのメッセージです☆彡

 

*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+**+*++*+*+*+**+**+*+*+*+*++*+

British Weather: Spring to Early Summer

(Forty Hall – London, June 2024)

Hello everyone!
How is the weather where you are?

Spring is almost over. The cherry blossoms are gone, and now we are starting to move towards the rainy season (tsuyu / 梅雨)!

I would like to introduce myself, my name is Connie and from the UK. Today I want to talk about the British weather. I have many about the British weather during this time.

In the UK, spring is a nice season. The weather becomes warmer, flowers bloom, and the days become longer. Many people enjoy spending time outside, But British weather changes very quickly.

It can be sunny one minute, and the next it`s raining! Even in May and June, the weather can still feel cool and windy. Because of this, many people carry umbrellas or light jackets every day.

People often joke:
“You can experience four seasons in one day in Britain!”

Let’s practice some English together!

Useful English Words

• sunny ☀️
• rainy ☔
• windy 🌬️
• cloudy ☁️
• warm 🌤️
• cool 🍃
• forecast 📱

Useful Phrases

Try saying these sentences out loud:

• “It’s raining again today.”
• “It feels humid.”
• “I need my umbrella.”
• “It looks cloudy.”

If you want a challenge you can also try out phrases such as these:

• “The weather has changed a lot recently.”
• “It started raining without warning.”
• “The mornings are still quite chilly.”
•  “I enjoy listening to the sound of rain at night.”

Question Time!

Can you answer these questions in English?

1. Do you like rainy season? Why?
2. What season do you like the best?
3. What do you usually do on rainy days?
4. Is it raining today where you live?

Some examples answers could be:

“I like spring because it is warm.”

You can also try adding more information:

“I like rainy days because I can stay home and relax while listening to the rain.”

Thank you for reading, and enjoy practicing your English!

*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+**+*++*+*+*+**+**+*+*+*+*++*+

 

とても元気で優しく、話やすい先生たちばかりです！！(o^―^o)ﾆ
ぜひレッスンや体験レッスンで、いろいろなお話しをされてみてくださいね😊✨

 

 

 

 

こんにちは！NOVA石山校です🐰
今日は、ベテラン講師Andy先生からのメッセージです★

🔄✨🔀✨ 🔄✨🔀✨ 🔄✨🔀✨ 🔄✨🔀✨ 🔄✨🔀✨ 🔄✨🔀✨ 🔄✨🔀✨ 🔄✨🔀✨

 

Getting Used to Changes

 

Greetings from Andy!

April is really a month of change isn’t it?

If not in work or school, at least the weather is changing!

 

Many of our students have just started studying English, leveled up, or joined new classes.

One topic that I focused on in a recent lesson was adapting to these changes.

 

It takes time to get used to doing new things!

 

“get used to”  =  adapt to adjust to a change

 

• I’m not used to the increasing prices at the supermarket. = It is difficult to accept and I cannot adjust.
• I’m getting used to the new bicycle rules. = I’m learning to adjust and becoming comfortable
• I’m used to teaching online lessons. = I’ve finished adjusting to this change and am now 100% comfortable with it

When you’re visiting NOVA, let’s talk in English about any changes you’ve experienced.

Are you used to, getting used to or not used to the change?

 

Looking forward to my next conversation with you!

 

Kinds Regards,

Andy

 

🔄✨🔀✨ 🔄✨🔀✨ 🔄✨🔀✨ 🔄✨🔀✨ 🔄✨🔀✨ 🔄✨🔀✨ 🔄✨🔀✨ 🔄✨🔀✨

 

▽▲▽▲▽▲▽▲▽▲▽▲▽▲▽▲▽▲▽▲▽▲▽▲▽▲▽

アクセス抜群♪JR石山駅より徒歩2分！
大津市、石山、瀬田、山科で英会話をお探しなら、NOVA石山校へ!
無料体験レッスンも受付中♪♪
営業時間：
水・木・金　12:30-21:30
土・日・祝   9:00-18:00
※休校時間　14：30-15：30
定休日：
月曜日・火曜日
TEL：077-534-8654

▽▲▽▲▽▲▽▲▽▲▽▲▽▲▽▲▽▲▽▲▽▲▽▲▽▲▽

こんにちは！NOVA石山校です🐢
本日は、ベテラン講師Andy先生からのメッセージをお届け♪

是非読んでいって下さいね！

🚂 🚂 🚂 🚂 🚂 🚂 🚂 🚂 🚂 🚂 🚂 🚂 🚂 🚂 🚂 🚂 🚂 🚂 🚂 🚂 🚂 🚂 🚂 🚂

 

 

 

English is all around us!

These days with all of the foreign tourists, it’s common to hear English while using public transportation.  Have you ever tried to join in on a conversation?

A few days ago I was waiting for a train at Kyoto station and I heard some tourists speaking to each other in English:

“Does this train go to Osaka?”

“Uh, Yes, it does.”

“Okay, let’s just take this one.”

I interrupted their conversation by saying, “Excuse me.  Are you going to Osaka?”

“Yes. Is this the right train?”

“Yes, this train goes to Osaka but it’s the local train and stops at every station so it will take longer. If you wait a few minutes for the next train, it will be an express and you can get there much faster.”

“Oh thanks!  Do we have to pay extra?”

“No, it’s the same price.”

“Thanks so much!”

Actually, I have the same conversation with tourists at Kyoto station almost every month! Most visitors seem to really appreciate this kind of advice from locals.

What would you do in this situation?

One of the common things that tourists say after visiting Japan for the first time is that Japanese people are very kind and helpful and I agree with this 100%.

Let’s talk about this at NOVA!  I’d love to hear your stories!

 

Kind regards,

Andy

🚂 🚂 🚂 🚂 🚂 🚂 🚂 🚂 🚂 🚂 🚂 🚂 🚂 🚂 🚂 🚂 🚂 🚂 🚂 🚂 🚂 🚂 🚂