Unexpected email from Steve

I sent my own reading file to Steve for the pronunciation challenge. This morning I got an email from Steve. I was really surprised because he had listened to my reading and sent me back some comments. Wow, I didn't expect to get the feedback. I really appreciated his great advise!

I listened to my reacording again and could understand clearly what he meant. Thank you Steve!

His comment is below.


Hi Ken,

Thanks for your submission. I had a listen and offer a few tips on what to
improve.

1) Some of your endings are a little too nasal "Ken", "send", try to make
the a little cleaner. They should rhyme with the Japanese word "hen"
2) "Linguist" sounded a bit too much like "lingist", "language" like
"langage"
3) The finally "r" in words like "our" did not come out clearly.
4) "methods" sounded like "messods"

Your intonation and rhythm are excellent.

Good luck!

Steve

Pronunciation Challenge!

The Linguist, an English learning system on the Internet, is holding a pronunciation improvement competition. Every member can take part in the contest. I sent an audio file of mine about two weeks ago. However, it was not accepted because it was not an MP3 file. I was told only MP3 files are acceptable. I converted my file to an MP3, then I sent it again. I recorded it a few times. I had to stop repeat recording, because it would have taken hours if I continued recording until I was satisfied.

I like a Japanese DJ called John Kabira. He is bilingual. Both his Japanese and English are very clear and accurate and of course cool! I want to speak like him someday.

TOEIC, English exam!

I took a TOEIC test today.

Actually, I haven't taken it for years until last winter. That's because I thought test is test. It is not connected to actual English skills. That is true in a way. Steve Kaufmann also said so. However, it is one of the ways to evaluate your English skills. I wanted to know how good I am. But the result was..... horrible! That was the last winter.

Today's test was the second time from the restart of TOEIC test in last winter. I didn't have enough time for preparation this time (not only this time though, hehe). The exam was a battle with time. I thought I should have practiced how to manage time. Yes, it does take time to get into the swing of things.

I enjoyed the exam. It motivated me study harder. Now I know what I should study and practice. I surely would get higher score next time. My goal is 950 points on the exam.

Father Of The Bride

I saw a movie called "Father of the bride", stared Steve Martin. Steve Martin is one of my favorite actors. He makes me laugh always, and makes me cry sometimes. He always plays the role of a common person. That make me feel like he is the guy next door.

In Japan, a lot of stories about fathers of brides. Fathers are never fail to upset when their daughters say "Dad, I'm gonna get married!" Hahaha, this is the same all over the world. So this theme is easy to understand for everybody. Fortunately, I don't have daughters. My brother has two daughters. He said when the first daughter was born, "I don't want her to get married" Funny, but understandable, isn't it?

Steve Martin's pronunciation was really clear and easier to listen to. I want to speak that way.

My wife and I had the great evening with the movie. Thanks Steve!

Set our aim high, not too low!

I read the article on newspaper about Carlos Gorln's lecture and discussion with Japanese unversity students.

Yomiuri-Shinbun set the lecture in Osaka last month. Since many people wanted to attend the lecture, it was in a drawing. I really wanted to go but I was not chosen. I heard hundreds of entries from the public.

I am a big fan of his. Maybe he is the CEO or president who is known most in Japan now. Most people know his name and face. He saved the almost dying Japanese car company, Nissan, a several years ago. Nissan was in a seriously critical situation. He turned it to be in the black by just a year. That is amazing!

He quoted Michelangelo at the lecture that "The greater danger for most of us lies not in setting our aim too high and falling short; but in setting our aim too low, and achieving our mark."

I was really impressed this quotation. Yeah, we should set our goal high, and go for it! I am going to take a TOEIC test on following Sunday. It is a little too late to set my goal high for that, but I set it higher for the next one!

Yes, I can do it if I really want to do something!

Stop it, girls!

I went to a cafe today. It was awful. Why? That's because there were a bunch of smokers! It seems like Japanese girls really love smoking! Shit!

I sat at a counter in the cafe. At first, a girl looked like a student on my left started smoking. Then a man in his 50's on my right started smoking as well. Oh, my goodness! I thought I should move to some where. I found a few vacancies. They were near the entrance of the cafe. It seemed not comfy because many people were in and out there. I decided to wait until these two guys ended smoking. Soon, both of them left the cafe. What a relief!

A few minutes later, two girls sat on my left seats and the other girl sat on my right seat. All of them started smoking! Oh, my God! In this country all the girls smoke! I looked around the cafe. I couldn't find any vacancies. I said to myself, "It's no big deal. I can put up with smoking. I need to kill time in here for 20 minutes more!" Thank God that soon they left. Ok, now everything's ok.

A few minutes later, a girl sat on my right. She must be a non smoker! I thought so. I hoped so. However, she started smoking! Oh, no!

It was amazing that all the people around me smoked at the cafe. I couldn't believe it. I was unlucky today....... Smoking is obsolete! Don't you think so?

I should find the other cafe for the next time.