Stacy: Is this a picture of your family?
Ellen: Yes, this is my family.
Stacy: Who is this?
Ellen: This is my brother, Sam. Do you have any brothers?
Stacy: Yes, I have two brothers. Their names are Alex and John.
Ellen: Oh! You have more brothers than I do. But these are my two sisters. Their names are Ann and Julie.
Stacy: I see. Julie is taller than Ann.
Ellen: Yes, and Julie is three years older than Ann.
Stacy: And these are your parents?
Ellen: Yes, this is my father. His name is Harry. My mother’s name is Judy.
Stacy: Oh, I see they both have brown hair.
Ellen: Yes, but my father’s hair is darker than my mother’s.
Stacy: Thank you for showing me your family.
英会話 – My Family
Talking to a new friend at school.
Student 1: What’s your family like?
Student 2: I have a very big family. A mom, a dad, a grandma, two grandpas, an older brother, two younger sisters, one dog, and one goldfish.
Student 1: Wow, that is big! Do you live in a house or an apartment?
Student 2: We live in a house. Our grandparents live far away. What about your family? Do you have any brothers or sisters?
Student 1: I’ve got a small family. It’s just my mom, my younger sister, my cat, and me. We live in an apartment in the center of town.
Student 2: What does your mom do?
Student 1: She’s a lawyer. She is thirty years old and she works very hard for us.
Student 2: It sounds like you have a nice family.
Student 1: You too, maybe I can meet them sometime!
Student 2: Sure, I want to meet your cat too!
Student 1: Okay!
英会話 – Making a new friend
Jon: Hi, how are you?
Dasha: I’m fine. What’s your name?
Jon: I’m Jon, and yours?
Dasha: My name’s Dasha, nice to meet you.
Jon: Nice to meet you too. Where are you from?
Dasha: I’m from Ukraine. Where are you from?
Jon: I’m from Australia.
Dasha: What language do you speak in Australia?
Jon: We speak English. What language do you speak in Ukraine?
Dasha: We speak Ukrainian and Russian.
Jon: Very interesting! How old are you?
Dasha: I’m 16, and you?
Jon: I’m 14. You speak English very well!
Dasha: Thank you, I study it in school.
Jon: Well, I have to go. I’ll talk to you later.
Dasha: Ok, see you soon!
tonbo cafe
Welcome to tonbo cafe in Second Life! The purpose of this virtual environment is to meet people and do cultural exchange activities between English and Japanese speakers. Knowing Japanese is very beneficial when visiting as most visitors speak very little English and a whole lot of Japanese. I make it a point to speak in both languages when necessary. First in English, then quickly into Japanese. That way everybody participating understands one another. Beyond helping everyone understand the conversation, this also provides valuable interpretation experience. For those who can’t do this, I help interpret for them too!
At the front bar, we have a couple of useful tools available. First is the Virtual Hub, which provides various vocabulary lists and useful study materials. Then there is the memo pad, which is used to take notes and display pictures for everyone to refer to while we are talking.
In the back, we have a library, a game board, and a TV. The library has various study materials. You can study both Japanese and English here. A larger scale Virtual Hub is located here as well. The game board can play several different card games like a version of skip-bo and monopoly. There is also a TV where videos can be watched.
I tried my best to make tonbo cafe look as relaxing and inviting as possible. Right now we have a cherry blossom spring theme with various times of day that slowly pass by. There are birds chirping with flowing water sounds in the background. Dragonflies are dancing in the air, while the sun dazzles on the endless ocean view in front of all the guests.
If you haven’t been to tonbo cafe lately, please come stop by sometime!
Guides & Virtual Hub
With a combination of research, content organizing, AI, Adobe Photoshop/Illustrator, and open-source databases, I was able to create some learning materials organized in the guides and virtual hub for this website.
The virtual hub has various vocabulary lists and resources. This can also be viewed from inside tonbo cafe.
Next are the various guides I’ve put together. Particles build the fundamental structure of Japanese sentences so I started with them. More guides are in the works, so check them out if you are interested.
If you are learning English or Japanese, go check them out; you may find them useful!
WordPress Blog Design
This website was redesigned (from the original) using the free Twenty Seventeen WordPress community theme with heavy CSS and HTML modifications. There are also many plugins and widgets installed for a more secure and interactive blog-style website. The plugins range from anti-spamming, secure logins, and other security-related features, to Google Analytics boosters, Twitter/Facebook/Pinterest plugins, and secure web form builders designed for WordPress.
I often try other color schemes just for the experience of doing so. Since this theme was implemented there have been several, but the screenshots above show the latest design as of this post.