Notes
be grateful to ～に感謝する;
can’t help doing something せざるを得ない

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My third-year junior high school students went on a school trip to Kamakura last week. I gave them a mission which I named “Mission Possible.” Each group had to interview several foreign tourists. My students needed to be brave. Some tourists refused to help, but the students didn’t give up. I’m very grateful to all the tourists who patiently listened to the kids and answered in slow and clear English. I couldn’t help smiling while listening to the conversations from the IC recorders. My students had a great time and are saying they are even more motivated to learn English! (by a reader)
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If you look at the 10 most common words in the English language, you will find two words that do not exist in Japanese: “a” and “the.” There is no way to translate them, so there is no way to understand them in Japanese. You have to learn to use them in English sentences. And what about the word “it”? Some teachers translate it as “そう,” but how often do Japanese speakers use the word “そう”? Not very often. How often is “it” used in English? All the time! It is one of the most common words in English. You can’t translate “it.” You have to learn how to use it.　(by Prof. Douglas Jarrell)
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