Tuesday, February 17, 2015

Momoe's way

What's the best way to learn English?

For Momoe, an Intensive Course student at Palms, the best way is to volunteer in the local community.

"I have free time here in Hawaii and I want to be able to use English outside of school". 


Momoe is 18 years old. In Tokyo, she goes to school and has a part-time job.

Here in Hawaii, she studies English and volunteers at an outdoor playgroup for kids.

Three days a week after her morning English classes, Momoe walks over to the park and spends her afternoons interacting with local coworkers and playing with kids.

"It's a great way for me to improve my English. Kids speak English differently than adults so at first I couldn't really understand them. I'm used to it now so I can communicate with them".

"If you come to Hawaii and want to improve your English, I really recommend that you volunteer. Besides helping with my English, being a volunteer has given me a deeper connection to Hawaii and the people who live here".

Thursday, February 5, 2015

A bit of Americana

Last Sunday, about half of all homes in the United States sat down to watch America's biggest sporting event of the year: The Superbowl. This is the final game that decides the year's best NFL football team.

But not everyone who watched the game was interested in football. A lot of people were more interested in the commercials. Yes, the commercials. With so many people watching, Super Bowl commercials have become a very big deal. There are websites and videos and TV shows dedicated to analyzing the year's Super Bowl commercials. The best ones get awards and everyone talks about them for a few days following the game.


So with so much attention given to them, commercials have to be entertaining; or funny; or shocking; or exciting - they need to grab our attention. Companies who want to advertise during the Super Bowl have to pay $4,500,000 (four and a half million dollars) for just a thirty second ad. It's a crazy number. It's a lot of money. And with so much money and pressure, Super Bowl commercials can resemble short movies.


Here's a Super Bowl ad that has the feel of a movie: