A Delightful Lunch with One’s Word Team

The One’s Word Team in Manila received a visit from One’s Word CEO, Yuki Matsuoka on June 12, 2013. It was a delightful lunch at the Watami Casual Restaurant at the New Glorietta Mall, Makati City. Most teachers based in Manila were able to meet him and had a chance to talk one on one for updates. Real Life Foundation representative, Lyn Nawata, was there to join the team and give an update regarding the partnership that One’s Word has with Real Life Foundation. One’s Word Online now supports a total of 6 scholars. Credits to the efforts of the One’s Word teachers and the One’s Word students’ monetary support to help send Filipino underprivileged students go to school, of course, to Matuoka-san who pushed for this partnership to happen.

Teachers Beejay, Kristin and Shawie also shared their fond experiences meeting and greeting students all across Japan.

Thank You Matsuoka-san for the opportunity. More power to you and to One’s Word.

Lunch with Yuki

Hello Teachers!

Yuki is visiting us a little after Shawie, Kristin and Beejay come back.  Please do save this date and prepare to have a great time!

See you all soon!
One’s Word Administrator

Smart Student Quotes Volume 3

We would like to take this time to commend teachers who have been leading their students to more thought provoking classes resulting to bringing out their impressive insights and excellent articulation.  To the students who have constantly and consistently been up for the challenge and trusting their teachers to lead them to this direction, we raise our hats to you for giving yourselves the opportunity to be stretched and take English classes to another level.

Here is another set of nicely put insights students were able to confidently articulate.  Know that this goes to credit their hard work in class, active participation, and believing in quality learning.

Learning English is like putting water in a bucket with a hole, you need to keep filling it up with water. – Haruki M.

Whatever your job is, it is important & it is valuable to others. -Hitomi M.

By carefully choosing our word, we can convey what we want to say. – Reiji K.

Every job has a specific value and it is beneficial to others. -Hiro M.

Work experience shows their achievement and skills. If someone has many knowledge it doesn’t necessarily show they can do the work well. -Mr. Maeyama

You create your own reality. – Anonymous

People’s attitude changes as the expression of others change. – Naoko Noguchi

Talking a lot (of English lessons) is important and don’t be afraid to have mistakes. -Kazuya Kurosawa

Patience is important in learning English because we can’t feel the progress immediately. – Reiji K.

Words have a strong power to change people. – Akiko F.

Every job is necessary & can be helpful to others. – Yukiko K.

Even when your work is menial, you can find ways to be helpful to others. – Nana F.

No job is meaningless because every job is beneficial for someone. – Yoshitaka Toyoshima

My job is wonderful no matter what it is. I am involved in an assignment to be useful to others. -Akiko F.

Every job has a value and a contribution to society. -Reiji K.

Sunflowers are yellow, Chocolates are brown, Ice creams are sweet, and so are you”- Toko Ota, 9 years old

Challenges in English

WHY ENGLISH IS SO HARD  

We’ll begin with a box, and the plural is boxes,
But the plural of ox becomes oxen, not oxes.
One fowl is a goose, but two are called geese,
Yet the plural of moose should never be meese.
You may find a lone mouse or a nest full of mice,
Yet the plural of house is houses, not hice.


If the plural of man is always called men,
Why shouldn’t the plural of pan be called pen?
If I speak of my foot and show you my feet,
And I give you a boot, would a pair be called beet?
If one is a tooth and a whole set are teeth,
Why shouldn’t the plural of booth be called beeth?


Then one may be that, and three would be those,
Yet hat in the plural would never be hose,
And the plural of cat is cats, not cose.
We speak of a brother and also of brethren,
But though we say mother, we never say methren.
Then the masculine pronouns are he, his and him,
But imagine the feminine: she, shis and shim!


Let’s face it – English is a crazy language.
There is no egg in eggplant nor ham in hamburger;
neither apple nor pine in pineapple.
English muffins weren’t invented in England.
We take English for granted, but if we explore its paradoxes, we find
that quicksand can work slowly, boxing rings are square, and a guinea
pig is neither from Guinea nor is it a pig.


And why is it that writers write but fingers don’t fing, grocers don’t
groce and hammers don’t ham?


Doesn’t it seem crazy that you can make amends but not one amend.If
you have a bunch of odds and ends and get rid of all but one of them, what do
you call it?


If teachers taught, why didn’t preachers praught?
If a vegetarian eats vegetables, what does a humanitarian eat?


Sometimes I think all the folks who grew up speaking English should be
committed to an asylum for the verbally insane.


In what other language do people recite at a play and play at a recital?
We ship by truck but send cargo by ship.
We have noses that run and feet that smell.
We park in a driveway and drive in a parkway.
And how can a slim chance and a fat chance be the same, while a wise
man and a wise guy are opposites?


You have to marvel at the unique lunacy of a language in which your
house can burn up as it burns
down, in which you fill in a form by filling it out,
and in which an alarm goes off by going on.


And, in closing, if Father is Pop, how come Mother’s not Mop?


That’s all for now.
 

Content Credited to: http://www.busuu.com/t/2932366

Thanks to Teacher Shawie for sharing the link!

Smart Student Quotes Volume 2

Here’s the second set of the collection of witty, profound, heart warming, and eloquently said quotes from One’s Word students.  Many thanks to teachers Shawie, Kaye, Sheila, Kristin, Arlene and Beejay for collecting astounding quotes from our students!

Watch out for the next set of remarkable insights from our students!

New Year’s Resolutions

My goal this year is to deepen my knowledge of marketing even more.That, and to continue working on my English.
-Anonymous

The start of a new year is the best time to make changes in your life.
-Anonymous

I want to give more than to get more, I also want to be more gracious and forgiving.
– Chisato H.

On Family and Relationships:

My parents took care of my grandparents.I’d like to do the same. I want to value my family and relatives.
-Masamichi M.

I saw my grandmother support my grandfather and mother. She was very kind. She was an admirable woman.
– Masamichi M.

I really respect my grandfather because he was generous of himself. There are few people like him nowadays.
-Masamichi M.

Courage:

Courage is trusting myself and breaking the barrier.
-Kenichi A.

Courage is having a positive mind for something.
-Kayoko M.

FEAR- Failure to Encourage oneself in Accomplishing his/her Resolution
-Kayoko M.

Whatever you do, don’t be afraid to speak in English
-Tobby O.

Courage – “A strong feeling that overcomes difficulties”
-Haruki M.

If you overcome difficulties you have something valueable in return.
– Haruki M.

Fear is an illusion for people who have not started something.
-Kenji A.

Courage is something we have to have when we go beyond our limits.
-Anonymous

Life

You should accept yourself and live in the moment more.
– Anonymous

The school and the workplace are not the only places in the world. Explore. Live
– Anonymous

Actions represent what people think.
-Anonymous

As consumers, we need to be responsible for the products we buy. We should educate ourselves.
-Anonymous

Quality of life is based on your state of mind.
-Anonymous

One of the best things that happened this year was meeting the OW teachers in Tokyo in April.
-Anonymous

Leadership:

We need a leader who doesnt always depend on other peoples’ opinions.
– Chisato H.

I believe in MBWA (Management by walking around). Every leader should know his people.
– Atsushi I.

Celebrating 2013 with You!

New year is indeed one of the biggest events all over the world!  Everybody celebrates and welcomes the new year hopeful and excited for bigger and better things to happen.

So, from One’s Word, we wish you Happy new year, everybody!

Check out the personal greetings from some of our amazing teachers!

From Lani-sensei (click photo to enlarge)

From Jenny-sensei (click photo to enlarge)

From Arlene-sensei (click photo to enlarge)

From Shawie-sensei (click photo to enlarge)

From Kathleen-sensei (click photo to enlarge)

From Amaya-sensei (click photo to enlarge)

Joy, Beejay and Kaye sensei (click photo to enlarge)

Smart Quotes from Students Vol. 1

Im amazed by how far our students have gone in terms of embracing the ‘going global’ idea.  First they are really giving an enormous amount of dedication in learning the English language.  Second, they have learned to embrace confidence in sharing their own convictions on various topics whether in politics, health, culture, business or even entertainment.

Recently, Japan just held their national elections.  There were various thoughts and reactions regarding the results and my students were very open in sharing their insights on this.  It was quite timely that we prepared a material about Vugar Huseynzade, a 21-year old video game player who was chosen to become a football manager over a hugely experienced French footballer.  We took time evaluating and defining good leadership and Im very proud of how my students responded with sharp, well articulated answers!

Here is a list of my favorite quotes from my students. Im so proud of how they have reached a level of sophistication in the way they communicate!

On Leadership:

A good leader is someone who can listen to various voices and opinions, flexible yet has a strong heart.

A good leader makes it easy for his people to work for and with him.

A good leader must be a good communicator and must be able to build good relationships with his people.

A good leader must be calm and doesnt easily get angry. He should be able to make sound decisions.

 A good leader is someone who puts his words into action.

My friend has failed & cried many times but she gets up and tries again. I think she’s a very strong woman.

What is your opinion of a good leader? What characteristics should a good leader possess?

Here are patterns to help you communicate your thoughts:

A good leader must be _____.

A good leader should _____.

A good leader is someone who _____.

Share your thoughts below. I know that there are still countless of brilliant answers!

We are 3 Years Old Today!

Teacher’s Meeting with Matsuoka-san, March 2012

Hello Everybody!

It has been 3 wonderful years of learning together and from one another here at One’s Word. And what better way to celebrate this milestone than by sharing more of what we can still offer through a blog site! Yes! From now on, we at One’s Word will be offering you tips, ideas and experiences designed to make your English learning fun, exciting, motivating and goal focused.

Brain Storming Session during the early days of One’s Word, 2010

One’s Word’s first offline meeting with students in Tokyo in September 2010. Encouraging stories of how far they have gone and still going strong!

Teachers’ Christmas Karaoke Party, December 2011

The sisters exploring Japan, April 2012

Offline meeting in Tokyo with such a dynamic group of students, March 2012

One’s Word in a cozy and intimate meeting in Osaka with the very hospital people from the West of Japan. April, 2012

We will be sharing fun activities that we find effective in our classes, the motivating attitude of our students or simply the life of an ESL teacher.  We hope that this resource will be of significant help to you as you journey on to the ladder of success.  Our desire is for you to tap on your fullest potential as people involved in a larger global community.

One’s Word teachers taking English Education seriously. Discussing effective methodologies and sharing best practices for the best benefit of our students. October, 2012

Teachers celebrating Christmas together at Yomenya Goemon, 2012

It would be such an honor to take this journey with you one step at a time.  Here’s to the best that is yet to come!

Best Regards,

One’s Word Teachers