BLT Eigo

Episode #59:  Strange Hair Fixes
Hello, this is BLT Eigo, brought to you by BLTnetwork.com. I’m your host and English Coach, David Hylton.

My Mom just sent an email about some strange fixes, including a few for hair.  I’m not having any problems with my hair, like going bald, but it is going gray.  Anyway, here are three hair ideas from the list.  I’m not going to try any of them because…well, some are just plain weird.  If you want to try them then go ahead at your own risk.  OK, here we go….

Number 1:  Use beer as a great hair conditioner….  What a great idea!  Now I can relax in the bath while pouring down a few cans.

Number 4:  Mayonnaise kills lice and also conditions hair….  I prefer number one as a hair conditioner, of course, but if I ever get a case of lice, It’ll be nice to have a bottle of mayo around.

And finally number 6:  Use black tea for beautiful shiny hair….  Hey!  I’m wondering if it could dye my gray hair….

OK, I might try this one… and maybe the beer conditioner as well.  I’ll let you know how it goes.

Good job!

Thanks for joining this episode of BLT Eigo.  See you next time right here on BLTnetwork.com.  Bye.

See our previous episode here:  http://eigo.bltnetwork.com/2009/05/18/friendly-no/

BLT Eigo の ワンポイント 英会話 プログラーム はこちらの方どうぞ：http://eigo.BLTnetwork.com

Episode #58:  Friendly No

Hello, this is BLT Eigo, brought to you by BLTnetwork.com. I’m your host and English Coach, David Hylton.

The other day, one of my students asked how they could say “no” to their American friend in a nice way.  That’s a great question because if you say “no” in the wrong way…well, it could hurt someone’s feelings.  I’ll demonstrate the wrong way and right way to do this.
First, the wrong way.  May I have a volunteer, please.

(Yes, I’ll do it.)

Great.  Here’s Bruno, our very big and scary security officer.  Say “hello” to our audience, Bruno.

(Hello.)

OK…. Now Bruno, ask me a question and I will respond with “no.”

(Do you like me?)

Uhhhh…. no?

(That’s too bad….) <punch, crash>

Bruno, stop! I mean YES…. YES, I do!

(OK.  Much better.)

Bruno, maybe you’d better go and uh… find some bad guys or something.

(No, I’ll stay and help.)

Right… So answering just “no” can sometimes make the other person very… upset.  Let’s try a more friendly way to answer.  Uh, do you have another question, Bruno?

(Yes.  Do you want some of my cheesecake?)

Cheesecake?  Uh… no thank you.  I don’t really like cheesecake.

(Would you like some apple pie?)

Uh…. no, not really.  I don’t really like pie.

(That’s too bad….)

WAIT!  Of course I can try a small slice.  Thank you.

(OK.  Much better.)

Ummmm…. nice and uh…. crunchy…. kind of a nice charcoal flavor…. Thank you, Bruno…. what an amazing experience.

(You’re welcome.)

OK everybody remember to say “no”  nicely and explain why you said “no.”

Thanks for joining this episode of BLT Eigo.  See you next time right here on BLTnetwork.com.  Bye.

Check out the previous episode: http://eigo.bltnetwork.com/2009/04/27/slipper-slip-up/
BLT Eigo の ワンポイント 英会話 プログラーム はこちらの方どうぞ：http://eigo.BLTnetwork.com

Episode #57:  Slipper Slip-up

Hello, this is BLT Eigo, brought to you by BLTnetwork.com. I’m your host and English Coach, David Hylton.

It’s important to have a sense of humor when learning another language or culture because, eventually, you’re going to make a mistake that will be very embarrassing. Here’s one of my many embarrassing moments.

In Japan everyone takes off their shoes at the front door, then puts on a pair of slippers.  You wear those slippers everywhere except for two places: the restroom where they have special plastic slippers, and a tatami room.  Tatami is a woven-grass floor.

So one day, I arrived a little late to a friend’s party.  The guests was already sitting around the table in a tatami room. I took off my shoes and put on some soft, fuzzy slippers then asked to use the restroom.  I returned to the tatami room, opened the sliding door and walked in.  Everyone stared at me in silence for a moment then suddenly started laughing.  I knew it! I had forgotten to take off my slippers before walking on the tatami.  I reached down to take off the slippers and suddenly realized they weren’t soft and fuzzy…they were bright red plastic and read, in plain English, “TOILET.”  And there you have it…my “Slipper Slip-up.”

I’d love to hear about your funny slip-ups.   Send me your story and I’ll try to put it in a future episode.  If it’s too embarrassing for you, maybe I’ll change your name.

Thanks for joining this episode of BLT Eigo.  See you next time right here on BLTnetwork.com.  Bye.

Check out the previous episode:  http://eigo.bltnetwork.com/2009/04/08/computer-problems/

BLT Eigo の ワンポイント 英会話 プログラーム はこちらの方どうぞ：http://eigo.BLTnetwork.com

Episode #56:  Computer Problems

Hello, this is BLT Eigo, brought to you by BLTnetwork.com. I’m your host and English Coach, David Hylton.

Hi folks, sorry we’ve been off for a while, but we’ve been trying to upgrade the BLT Eigo program.  Unfortunately, there are some problems that still have to be worked out.  Sorry about that.  Anyway, if you are listening to this episode then things must be working again.  Cross your fingers….

Speaking of problems…, I’d like to talk about “when things go wrong with your computer.”

When your computer stops working, calmly say, “My computer just crashed, can somebody help me?”  Now you try it.

When you accidentally delete all the files on your hard disk, throw the computer out the window and calmly say, “My computer crashed…can somebody help me?”

(laughing)

Or when you spill coffee on the computer, and black smoke starts coming out of the screen, scream, “Ahhh, my computer’s on fire…run for your lives!”

(scream)

Just joking….no, I’ve never done that…really.

Good job!

See you next time right here on BLTnetwork.com.  Bye.

BLT Eigo の ワンポイント 英会話 プログラーム はこちらの方どうぞ：http://eigo.BLTnetwork.com

Check out the previous episode: http://eigo.bltnetwork.com/2009/03/09/over-the-hill-2/

Episode #55:  Over The Hill

Hello, this is BLT Eigo, brought to you by BLTnetwork.com. I’m your host and English Coach, David Hylton.  Guess what, guys….  I celebrated my birthday this weekend.

(How old are you?)

No, don’t even go there.  I’m not “over the hill” yet.  Speaking of “over the hill,” let me tell you the story about “The Hill.”

(Yea, right!)

Hill, or oka (おか）in Japanese, is like life….  We all start life crawling up the bottom of the hill.  As the climber gets older, the path gets steeper…but he’s still young. By middle age, he reaches the top and rests a bit before continuing down the other side.  Unfortunately, as he gets up he drops his glasses and trips over his walking stick…falling very quickly to the bottom.  The end.

(Boo…)

OK, OK it’s a sad story… sorry.  Let’s practice a phrase; repeat after me:

David is NOT over the hill.

(Didn’t you use that last year?)

Uhhh….maybe, but it’s VERY important to remember.

One more time, class… David is NOT over the hill!

Good job!

And, uh…. What was I going to say….Oh right, See you next time right here on BLTnetwork.com.  Bye.

Check out our last post here:  http://eigo.bltnetwork.com/2009/02/26/listen-to-the-lesson-tongue-twister/

BLT Eigo の ワンポイント 英会話 プログラーム はこちらの方どうぞ：http://eigo.BLTnetwork.com

Episode #54:  Tongue Twister

Hello, this is BLT Eigo, brought to you by BLTnetwork.com. I’m your host and English Coach, David Hylton.  I’m feeling a little slow today, so what better way to get some brain exercise than to recite a good tongue twister.  Just to warn you, there are lots of “L” sounds, which Japanese people have a hard time pronouncing.  Here we go, slowly at first:

Let’s listen to the lesson and look at the letter.

Have you got it?  OK, now three times fast.  Ready? Go.

Let’s listen to the lesson and look at the letter.

Let’s listen to the lesson and look at the letter.

Let’s listen to the lesson and look at the letter.

Alright, good job!

Thanks for “listening to this lesson.”  I’d love to “look at your letter” so send me email:  david (at) bltnetwork.com.  See you next time right here on BLTnetwork.com.  Bye.

Suffering from allergies or hay fever?  See our last post “Hay Fever”: http://eigo.bltnetwork.com/2009/02/19/hay-fever/

BLT Eigo の ワンポイント 英会話 プログラーム はこちらの方どうぞ：http://eigo.BLTnetwork.com

Episode #53:  Hay Fever

This is BLT Eigo, brought to you by BLTnetwork.com. I’m your host and English Coach, David Hylton.

Ah….ah… achoo!

(What’s that?)

Oh, the mask? 

(Yeh.)

I have a runny nose and itchy eyes and  can’t stop coughing and sneezing. 

(You got a cold?)

Do I have a cold?  No, I have hay fever, or in Japanese kafunsho （花粉症）.  My doctor says I am allergic to Japanese Cedar pollen, or sugi kafun (杉花粉）.  Unfortunately, the Japanese Cedar is found just about everywhere in Japan, except parts of Hokkaido and Okinawa.  So every year, starting  around February, I suffer from hay fever.  So this brings me to our lesson.

When someone sneezes, you can say “bless you” or “gezundheit.”  Let’s try them:

A) Achoo!

B)  Bless you!

A)  Achoo!

B)  Gezundheit!

Good job!

And….ah…ah… achoo!  (Bless you!)  Thank you.  See you next time right here on BLTnetwork.com.

Check out our last post about Appreciation:  http://eigo.bltnetwork.com/2009/02/03/appreciation/

BLT Eigo の ワンポイント 英会話 プログラーム はこちらの方どうぞ：http://eigo.BLTnetwork.com

Episode #52:  Appreciation

This is BLT Eigo, brought to you by BLTnetwork.com. I’m your host and English Coach, David Hylton. 

First of all, I’d like to open my mailbox and read a message from a listener named Hiro.  He writes:

“This podcast is cool! It’s good to see what you said in the lesson.

I’ll keep listening.  Thanks.”

And thank you, Hiro, for your kind words.  I really appreciate it.  Showing someone appreciation makes them feel that they are doing a good job and are needed.  It helps us build relationships.  Here are a few phrases that seem pretty successful:

You can just say “thank you,” or be more specific with phrases like:

Thank you for being a friend.

Thanks for helping with the party.

You can also say, “I’m glad you’re my friend.”

Of course the warmest phrase is, “I love you.”

Good job!

Hey, Valentine’s Day is coming soon so practice that last phrase on the people around you.  You’ll see a BIG difference.  This is David Hylton with BLT Eigo… signing off.  See you next time right here on BLTnetwork.com.  Bye.

Check out the previous post:  http://eigo.bltnetwork.com/2009/01/08/happy-new-year/

BLT Eigo の ワンポイント 英会話 プログラーム はこちらの方どうぞ：http://eigo.BLTnetwork.com

Episode #51:  Happy New Year!

This is BLT Eigo, brought to you by BLTnetwork.com. I’m your host and English Coach, David Hylton.

Happy New Year and in Japanese, Akemashite omedetougozaimasu!  Try saying that ten times fast!  Can you believe it’s already 2009?  It seems like only yesterday I was still writing 1999 on all my letters.  Anyway,  with a new year comes a New Year’s Resolution. A resolution is basically a promise you make to do something.  For example, my resolution this year is to study more Japanese writing characters called kanji. The reason?  I’m embarrassed to say, I can’t read very well and my writing is horrible.

OK, let’s try a few examples then you can make your own resolution:

I will study kanji very hard this year.

I won’t eat as much chocolate this year.

I will exercise more this year.

I won’t spend money on useless things this year.

I will listen to every BLT Eigo episode this year!

Good job!

See you next time right here on BLTnetwork.com.

Check out our last post of 2008 about Christmas…in which I sing.  Yes, no kidding…I actually sing.  Here is the link:  http://eigo.bltnetwork.com/2008/12/25/merry-christmas/

BLT Eigo の ワンポイント 英会話 プログラーム はこちらの方どうぞ：http://eigo.BLTnetwork.com

Lesson #50: Merry Christmas

This is BLT Eigo, brought to you by BLTnetwork.com. I’m your host and English Coach, David Hylton.

Yes, it’s that time of year when we give something back to our friends and family. And what better way to show them that you care than by singing a Christmas song. In this final 2008 episode of BLT Eigo, I will sing for all my loyal fans…all three of you. To be honest, I’m an awful singer but my boss said I have to do it or else… I don’t know what the “else” is, but I’m sure I don’t want to find out.

Anyway, please sing with me, “We Wish You a Merry Christmas.”

We wish you a Merry Christmas,
We wish you a Merry Christmas,
We wish you a Merry Christmas,
And a happy New Year.
Good tidings we bring to you and your kin,
We wish you a Merry Christmas,
And a happy New Year.

Good job!

Whew! I’m glad that’s over! Thanks for joining BLT Eigo right here on BLTnetwork.com. See you next year. Bye!

Check out our earlier post about Christmas Shopping right here:  http://eigo.bltnetwork.com/2008/12/09/christmas-shopping/

BLT Eigo の ワンポイント 英会話 プログラーム はこちらの方どうぞ：http://eigo.BLTnetwork.com