Language Center
2022 SUMMER ENGLISHRELATIVE CLAUSES WORKSHOP
Calculate your local time→→→Summer English Relative Clauses Workshop
Dear English Learners,
Are you familiar with relative clauses? They’re a linguistic phenomenon that takes two clauses and combines theminto one like the examples below:
I saw a man. He was wearing a hat.
→ I saw a man who was wearing a hat.
→ A man that I saw was wearing a hat.
I went to the store. The store was crowded.
→ The store that I went to was crowded.
If you look closely, you’ll probably notice a few differences between the English and Japanese relative clauses:
1. Japanese relative clauses always come before a noun, while English relative clauses come after
2. English has four relative pronouns, while Japanese has none
3. Depending on the type of relative clause in English, sometimes a pesky preposition appears at the end
What’s more, depending on the type of noun being modified (by a relative clause), as well as how politely we’respeaking, our choice of relative pronouns changes! For example, The person who / whom / which / that I saw. In
other words, although relative clauses exist in almost all world languages, the more different two languages are with
their unique restrictions on making relative clauses, the more “difficulty” a second language learner will feel.
However! Fortunately, we have Ben-sensei, an English grammar geek who speaks both English and Japanese. In
our upcoming Relative Clause Workshop, Ben-sensei, who is both a theoretical linguist and professor of foreign
language education at New York University, will first give an accessible presentation of the basics of relative clauses,
and then guide you through some enjoyable, practical exercises. We strongly recommend this workshop to anyone
who has ever once struggled to make sense of relative clauses.

Although it is not required to show your face or video online, we highly recommend having your video on if possible.
Seeing each other’s facial expressions is a part of conversation and language learning. We also ask that every
participant be able to participate via their microphone. If you do not have one of these capabilities or would like todiscuss accommodations, please contact us at language@japansociety.org.
Instructor: Mr. Ben Milam, who holds an MA in TESOL & Applied Linguistics from Columbia University, is a seasoned
Japanese-English translator and interpreter with a multi-faceted professional background in government, education,and entertainment. A former United Nations advisor, Ben has translated a variety of Japanese textbooks and manga,
including Ask Publishing’s Nihongo Fun & Easy and Megumi, a manga released by Japan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Highlights from the entertainment sector include interviewing Taylor Swift for George Tokoro’s Waratte Koraete!,teaching ESL to a secret handful of Japanese celebrities, and winning the Gilda Radner Award for Standup Comedy.

$30 Japan Society members / Japan Society Corporate Members$37 nonmembers
Registration may be completed online (recommended) or by phone at (212) 715-1269. At the moment, we are
only taking payment in the form of credit or debit cards (no checks or cash). Workshop size is limited, and students
must be age 16 or older.
Registrants will receive a Welcome Email and the Zoom link from language_inquiries@japansociety.org on theafternoon of Wednesday, July 13 (Eastern Time US).
Questions? Please email us at language@japansociety.org, or call at (212) 715-1269. Please note that while weare working remotely, we may not always be reachable by phone.

Cancellation Policy: Tuition is non-refundable and non-transferable (including for credit) for any reason after
12 pm noon, the business day before your workshop starts. All refunds are subject to a $5 service charge,including those requested by the deadline date. No partial registration or auditing is permitted. Please note thatcancellations are accepted by phone only. Cancellations via e-mail are not accepted. Japan Society reserves theright to cancel any course or workshop if sufficient enrollment is not obtained. In such a case, students alreadyenrolled will receive full refunds.
By registering for a workshop, you accept and agree to the above terms of the cancellation policy. You also
verify that the student taking this workshop is 16 years or older.
We do not record these classes, and recording of these classes is prohibited.