CROSSROADS Language StudioÊs Newsletter, February 2009

Have you ever heard the term “spinoff”? The original meaning of “spin-off”
is an unexpected but useful result from,or of, an activity. You may haveexperienced a spin-off as a by-product ofsomething. I’d like to introduce a coupleofspin-off
products
thatcomespecifically from space technology.
Researchers who work for space related
institutions have made efforts toincrease the number of patents for spinoff products and, thus, promote thetransfer of space-born technology to ourdaily lives, changing society, and ourlife-style, in the process.
Many Japanese space-related spin-off
products have been effective in various
fields such as improvements in theenvironment,
medicalwelfare,communal infrastructure, and so on.
I’m sure you have seen the uniquely
designed can pictured here. This is one
example of a spin-off product. It is
commonly referred to as the “diamondcut” can. It has a couple of design
features that come directlyfromspace
relatedtechnology. The streamlined appearance gives thecan a “cool” image and puts
one in mind of the crisp,
clear sound of ice cracking.
Also, the diamond-cut
design is 30% lighter,
resulting in big savings for
The “diamond-cut” can.
the manufacturer.

Let me tell you about anotherspin-off product straight out of spaceresearch. It’s the capsule gastro
camera. Usually a gastro camera isguided by a fiberscope, but this causes a
lot of pain to the patient. However, thissmall capsule with its built-in camera
does not cause any pain at all. It cantake photos as well as carry medicine tothe affected parts of the body. All apatient has to do is just drink it. Thecapsule passes through the body inabout 8 hours.

The marvellous “gastro Camera”.

Article by Kenji in A1

NET LESSONS: Are you too busy to come toCROSSROADS?.... Try our lessons on the Internet!
It’s CROSSROADS in your home or office! You get
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NET SITE OF THE MONTH:
NASA has a web page devoted to “spin-off” products
here: http://www.sti.nasa.gov/tto/
NET NOTEBOOK: Don’t forget to take a look at
the Internet activity notebook in our open-house.
You’ll find games, news and English learning sites.

Joshua Says: Doesn’t a year go by quickly?! Already, it’s time to wish

Owen a fond farewell, yet it seem as though he only just arrived here
at Crossroads. Time doesn’t march on, it rushes on! Nevertheless, we
all wish Owen the best of good fortune in the coming years startingwith his new job in Tokushima. Good luck, Owen and thanks for agreat job. You will be missed around here by all.
Junko Says: I too wish to thank Owen for his great support and commitment toour students while with us. We will all miss you Owen - staff and students
alike. Owen’s replacement on our teaching staff will be, in some ways,special. His name is Alessio and he originally comes from Italy. He has beenteaching English in a number of countries and, in addition to teaching
English here at Crossroads, we are going to try to start up some Italianlessons for him too! Check out a profile we put together for him on P3.

Owen Says: One year: It's incredible just how quickly it seems to havepassed. It's been a wonderful experience - living and teaching in Matsuyama- and I feel very lucky to have worked at Crossroads. I can honestly say it's
been a pleasure teaching the students here: talking with them in, and out of,
the classroom. I'm happy that Tokushima city is so close, and I hope to pop
in and see how much you've progressed once in a while. Thank you all, formaking my time here so special. Keep studying hard!

Greg Says: Isn’t it amazing how quickly the first month of the year seems
to zip by!! We seem to have just finished packing away the Christmas treeand Valentine’s Day comes knocking at the door. The custom in Japan isvery different to the custom we have back home where people only
sometimes give each other chocolates. Instead of sweets we almost always
send Valentine’s Day cards, without actually signing our name at thebottom. It’s more of a mystery as to who the secret admirer really is!!!!

Gregory Says: Despite all of the doom and gloom inherent in the global

economy I have been feeling very hopeful since January 20th. That is the day
Barack Obama was inaugurated as the 44th president of the United States.
Certainly, Obama isn't perfect and the global situation has become so dire thatany real change will be very gradual and slow in coming, but for the first timein the past 8 or more years I feel that America is on the right track.

Emilie Dit: Se dire bonjour au Japon, s’accompagne toujours d’un commentaire surle temps qu’il fait, et ce, en n’importe quelle saison. À présent le leitmotiv est dedemander à son interlocuteur s’il a froid ou s’il ne fait pas trop froid. Cette questionn’aurait peut-être pas de raison d’être si le chauffage central était la norme. Avoir
bien chaud chez soi, c’est pouvoir affronter le froid extérieur sans problème. Mais ici,
la norme est l’air conditionné, et outre son efficacité modérée, ce dispositif engendre
des difficultés respiratoires… À quand une réforme du chauffage au Japon?

News from Vietnam…. Akemi, from In(b)1 (that’s her,second from the left in the top picture), has just returned
from a trip to Vietnam and here is her report:“I visited Vietnam where I travelled around Hanoi City,
Haron Bay and Hoian. In 2005 I visited Southern Vietnam,
but I didn’t notice that many people were speaking English
The woman in the centre was a clerk at a silk them. This time I noticed that it was different. I foundmuseum. She is 28, and could speak that people spoke English at a shop, the hotel and theJapanese very well. She spoke about
studying languages and bringing up her child. Tourist Information centre. I also heard that children inN.V. study English in elementary school. People need
English to get a job. This time I could speak English a littlebetter than I did on my last trip, too”.
I met these 3 Japanese women working in Hanoi. They were editors ofa handbook on Vietnam. They have been living there for some years
and they say life is easy because it is a peaceful place, prices are low
and the food is delicious. They seemed to be very powerful women!
…And from Hawaii! Mariko, in B1, recently visited Hawaii and broughtback these photos to share with us.

Meet our new teacher

Alessio Fanelli

Alessio is from Rome, Italy. Rome, as everyone
knows, was the seat of one of the great civilizationsof Europe and the city displays a legacy of historicbuildings and fine art even to this day.
He loves to cook and has offered to treat us tosome “real” Italian food – can you imagine?!!
Alessio has been a military pilot in the Italian Air
Force Academy, a tour guide, even a juggler, andof course, an English teacher in various countries.

“This is North Shore. The waves get very high there,and it’s a place where surfers gather”.

“This is DiamondHead. You can see
Honolulu town below.
It’s a splendid place
where the windblows. It takes the
shuttle about one
hour to get there.
Even small children
and elderly people
like to climb there”.

G E N E R A L ( ジェネラル) コース
英語+実践練習６０分 x ２ 回 /週：
1学期-４ヶ月毎にレベルが上がる
クロスローズのメインプログラム
９０分x 1回/週：
忙しい方のための週１レッスン
プライベート(個人)
月２回からレッスン回数自由選択
セミプライベート(セミ個人)：
月３回からレッスン回数自由選択

Teaching to some Swahili
children in Africa.

He also worked as an interpreter at the Rome
Film Festival in 2006, 2007 and last year
“I took a train to lookat a pineapple
plantation. I even ate
pineapple flavoured
ice-cream there!”

Alessio has a Masters’ Degree in
Sociology from the University ofRome, and he is also TEFL certified as
an English teacher, and can speak
fluent English, Italian and Spanish.

N E T (ネット) レッスン
COSMOPOLITAN (コスモポリタン) コース グループOR プライベート

英語+実技を通した実用練習、だから誰でも分かる、自然に上達する。
英語でギターを習う
レッスン料￥4,725/月～
英語で歌う
詳細はお問合せ下さい
英語で料理
英語でマジックK I D S ’ (キッズ) クラス
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グループOR プライベート
英語劇
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MOTHER & CHILD(マザー&チャイルド)クロスローズで学べるその他の外国語グループOR プライベート
フランス語 - スペイン語 - ドイツ語 - イタリア語 - ロシア語 - 中国語 - 韓国語

Phone: 0120-21-7594
Tel: (089) 921-7595
Fax: (089) 921-7319
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