2025/4/5 英語でおしゃべり 開催報告

Topic: Interview work (Self & Other introduction)

今年度から、英語のおしゃべりに新しい試みを取り入れて、より楽しく、みんなが参加しやすい雰囲気づくりを心がけています。

4月のChat Salonでは、ブルネイについての興味深いShort Speechに加えて、初めてのブレークアウトセッションで参加者同士がペアになるアクティビティを実施しました。皆さんはお互いのことをもっと知るために質問し合い（好きなことを自由に聞ける、ちょっとしたインタビュー形式です）、10分後には同じテーブルの皆さんに相手のことを紹介し合いました。

 こういった新しい試みは初めてだったので、感想や、チャットをもっと盛り上げるアイデアがあれば、ぜひ教えてくださいね！

今月の活動報告はShubhamさんが担当して頂きました！

The April chat salon started on a lovely sunny day, and the cherry blossoms were still blooming beautifully around the city. It really felt like spring was in full swing.

This month, Aritomi-san, the new leader of the MIFA Chat Salon from April onwards, gave a short introduction. She talked about her vision and plans for the upcoming sessions.

For the monthly short speech, Momoko-san, a junior high school student, gave a wonderful presentation about the country of Brunei. She had lived there for some time when her father was working in the country. Even though she is young, her presentation was full of interesting information. She talked about the history, culture, people, food, education system, traditions, animals, and famous places of Brunei.

Brunei is a small country in Asia, located near Malaysia, with a population of around 500,000 people. I was surprised to hear that Tokyo’s population is about 28 times more than Brunei’s! One part I really enjoyed was learning about Brunei’s food. Momoko-san introduced dishes like Satay, Nasi Lemak Ayam, and Laksa. The cuisine is influenced by Malay and Chinese cooking. I’ve tried some of these dishes before, so I felt happy and a bit nostalgic seeing them in her slides.

She also shared her school life in Brunei, where she studied for about one and a half years. After her presentation, there was a short Q&A session. Some people asked how to correctly pronounce "Brunei," and others asked about fast food in the country. Momoko-san said there are many chain restaurants there, including even some Japanese ones!

For the chat session, we tried a new style this month. The first part was like an interview activity. Each table made pairs, and we interviewed each other. After that, we introduced our partners to the group. This was a fun way to make sure everyone got to speak and participate equally. In my group, I was asked questions about myself, my country, and our traditions. It was something different, but I enjoyed it!

In the second part of the chat session, we discussed why we joined the MIFA Chat Salon and what we expect from it. Many people said they don’t get many chances to speak English in their daily life, so this salon is a great opportunity to practice. Others said they want to meet new people and talk about different topics in English.

I feel the same! The Chat Salon is a wonderful place to improve English, learn new things—like we did about Brunei today—and connect with people from all over the world.

Looking forward to seeing you all in the May session! 🌸

2025/4/5 英語でおしゃべり 守谷市 開催

 ２０２５/4/5(土）

 英語でおしゃべり　守谷市　開催します！

主催：守谷市国際交流協会　http://www.mifa.info

時間　１０：００～１１：45

場所　守谷市国際交流協会研修センター（ログハウス）

(守谷市緑２－１－１)

参加費　無料　（申込なし）

★英語で気軽におしゃべりしましょう。

第138回MIFA Chat Salonのご案内

 

皆さま、こんにちは。

４月のMIFA Chat Salonのご案内です。

当日受付までお越しください。

ご希望があれば踏み込んだ議論ができる"Challenge Table"を設けます。

ご希望の方は受付で申し出てください。相手の意見を尊重しながら楽しみましょう。

当日のChat Salonの運営要領を以下にお知らせします。 

新年度を迎え、チャットサロンの進め方に少し工夫を加えます。スケジュールは従来のパターンのまま、１回目のセッションで自己紹介他己紹介やゲーム的な要素を加え、より皆さまが話し易い場づくりに努めてまいります。さらに良い案があればスタッフにお声がけください。歓迎します！

                         記　　　　　　　　　　　　　 

１．日時：４月５日(土）１０：００-１１：４５

　　（スタッフ会の為１５分短縮とさせて頂きます）

　　時間を最大限確保するため、早めに受付にお越しください。 

 

２．場所：MIFA Training Center（Log House） 

 

３． Agenda  

(1)Introduction:  MC of this month by Aritomi san.

 

(2)Short Speech: Momoka Kubushiro san

    Theme: Brunei,the country where I used to live.

 

(3)Topic: Interview work (Self & Other introduction).

    テーブルの仲間をインタビューしましょう。自己紹介、他己紹介

    を通して、サロンに参加している仲間との距離を縮められたら良いですね。

    どこまで人となりや経歴を聞き出せるかは皆さんの腕次第です！

    メモを取る為の筆記用具を是非ご持参ください。　　

    Show and tell　のように小物や写真を持参すると盛り上がるかもしれません。

 

* 二回のセッションに分け、都度テーブルが変わります。受付で赤黒２枚の番号札をお取り下さい。

* Beginers Tableをご希望の方は受付でご相談ください。

 

(4)各テーブルにコーディネーターを設けます。English onlyの環境下で 楽しく賑やかに

会話を楽しみましょう。政治、宗教等の話題はheat upの元、自粛しましょう。

 

４．感染対策：以下のご協力をお願いします

(1) マスクの着用、不着用は個人の判断にお任せいたします。 

(2) 入室時の手指消毒にご協力ください。

(3) 入室前に体温測定が可能です。症状がある方は参加をお控え下さい。

 

５．その他

(1) 飲み物は持参または、施設内の自動販売機をご利用下さい。 

(2) MIFA Chat SalonのブログとFacebookもご覧下さい。 

　  ブログは下記URLをクリックすると表示されます。　

 

            ブログ　  ： http://mifachatsalon.blogspot.com/　　   

 　　　　  Facebook     :  英語でおしゃべり守谷市 MIFA chat salon

2025/3/1英語でおしゃべり 開催報告

 2025/3/1　英語でおしゃべり　守谷市

Topic: Graduation
皆、様々な卒業の思い出を語り合いました。

 

Short Speech: Food and fauna: Curiosities from My Hometown in Brazil by Santos

Ghimire-san　レポート

The March chat salon started on a slightly warmer day in this cold season, and it feels like spring is coming along with the sakura blossom season.

This month, Mr. Santos gave a short speech. He is from Brazil and visited his home country around December last year during the festival season. He shared interesting facts about Brazilian food and animals. From his presentation, I learned that his city, Santos Dumont, is located in the countryside, about 4-5 hours from Rio. The city was named after Santos Dumont, who was developing airplanes at the same time as the Wright brothers.

He introduced some famous foods from his hometown and Brazil. All of them looked delicious, and I was craving them while watching his slides. The foods he talked about were Pão de Sal (bread), Arroz com Feijão (rice with beans), Cachorro Quente (Brazilian hot dog), and Coxinha (fried chicken snack). I realized I had never heard of or tried these foods before. One great thing about this chat salon is that we get to learn about different foods and cultures every time. I will definitely try these dishes when I visit a Brazilian restaurant.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

He also talked about the animals and birds from his hometown. Some of the ones he mentioned were Maritaca (parrots), Toucans, Saracura (a type of bird), Marmosets (small monkeys), and Capybaras. I had heard of Maritacas, Toucans, and Capybaras before, but the other two were new to me. The Marmosets looked very cute! 

 

   

Thank you, Santos-san, for this amazing presentation.

For the chat session, today’s topic was graduation. Many participants shared their experiences. One person talked about attending his high school reunion 50 years after graduation. He was happy that he could still recognize all his friends.

I also shared my university graduation experience in Nepal, where we had to gather in a football field for the convocation ceremony. I mentioned that after living in Japan for almost six years, I now feel like I started to understand what is going on in Japanese office meetings, so I feel like I have “graduated” in attending Japanese meetings.

One of the participants also mentioned the movie The Graduate, and we started talking about it—when we watched it and our opinions on the film.

If you enjoy learning about new cultures, foods, and meeting interesting people, feel free to join the MIFA Chat Salon.

Wishing everyone a happy sakura season! 🌸

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