CROSSROADSCROSSROA DS Language StudioÊs Newsletter June,
June , 201
20 1 5

Irrational fears: Phobias. Most of us have Social phobias, more than any other phobia,
are often more prevalent in some cultures
than others. A social phobia very common in
Japan is the phenomenon of anthropophobia(in interpersonal relation phobia). Sufferersof this culture-bound syndrome are likely to
be extremely embarrassed about theirappearance, body condition and bodilyfunctions to the point where they withdraw
themselves from society. The treatment of
this affliction seems like it would probably
We should feature this friendly looking fellow in
exacerbate the problem rather than
page 3’s “Pet’s Corner”, he’ so “cute”!
alleviate it. Morita Therapy requires thepatient to be isolated, have enforced bedThe dictionary defines a phobia as: rest and also take part in hard manual
persistent, irrational fear of a specific object, labour.
activity, or situation that leads to a compelling
Most simple phobias begin to develop
desire to avoid it despite the knowledge that it during childhood. The trigger might haveis almost certainly not dangerous.
been an unpleasant experience that festered
Some of the more common phobias include: over time. Other phobias may be acquired.
a fear of spiders (arachnophobia), a fear of That is to say, we witness another person’s
mice (musophobia), a fear of small places fear of something and take on that fear(claustrophobia) and a fear of heights ourselves.
(acrophobia).
The cause of more complex phobias such
In general, most phobias are completely as social phobias is hard to pin down.
harmless and don't effect our day-to-day lives Experts believe it is likely a result of ain any great way. However, for some people, combination of life experiences, brain
phobias, especially sociable phobias, can be chemistry and genetics.
completely debilitating. Sufferers will often go
While simple phobias are easily overcome
to great lengths to avoid meeting new people, by avoiding situations where a fear is likely
answer telephone calls or attend parties or to be triggered, other phobias require thesocial gatherings of more than a few people in kind of extensive treatment that mayorder to avoid being judged or embarrassed.
include drug & psychological intervention.
But, no matter what your own personalfear is, rest assured that there is almost
certainly, not too far away, someone who
NET LESSONS: Too busy to come to CROSSROADS?
suffers from a phobia infinitely more…. Try our lessons through the net!
irrational than your own.
at least one in some form or other.

You can find an extensive list of phobias at this site. Whichone sound like you? http://www.fearof.net/

Article by MarkJoshua Says: The theme of this month’s Newsletter is “Phobias”, and I wonder if thisapplies to many Japanese people, not our students, or course, when it comes to speaking
English. So many people here want to speak English but can’t muster up enough courage toactually get started learning. Is this a type of phobia? As I’ve said in this space before, English
is everyone’s language and everyone has a right to claim it as their own. It should be second
nature for people all over the world to embrace learning English. What’s there to be afraid of?
Junko Says: A research presentation about the symbiotic relationship between Sea
Anemone and the Orange Clown Fish came 4th in the Zoological Sciences section of theInternational Science and Engineering Fair 2015. But who do you think the presenters were?
They were 2 students of Nagahama High School in Ehime! What they realized about themselves
through this experience is that they are not only excellent researchers, but also very good English
speakers. This made them very happy.... and serves as an inspiration to everyone.
Mark Says This month's newsletter topic reminds me of a recent class
where a student brought in a snakeskin from her garden to show herclassmates. To my surprise, a few of the students appeared to be
repulsed by the object. As for my personal phobias, I do not likeheights, but my greatest phobia must be . . . nattophobia!! You canlearn about it here [ https://goo.gl/vWVd9R ]Aaron Says: Energy is a topic that I enjoy studying, and recently it
has become rather important in Japan. After the Tohoku
earthquake, almost all nuclear reactors were taken offline in Japan.
This year, many of those reactors were put back online, and that hasa few Japanese people angry. The most pressing question is, why arethese people angry about the use of nuclear energy…
Danielle dit; : Le mois de juin, c’est la fin de l’année scolaire en France.
Ca veut dire que c’est la période des examens pour beaucoupd’étudiants. Les lycéens passent le baccalauréat, un examen nationalnécessaire pour étudier à l’université ou dans les écoles donc beaucoup
d’entre eux sont stressés à cette période comme le sont les étudiantsjaponais au moment des examens d’entrée à l’université.
ACROSS
2 most frequent or common
6 action intended to improve a situation
8 a cause of great suffering or distress
10 manage successfully
11 an extreme fear of something
14 indications of some kind of disease
15 weakening strength or vitality
16 provide relief from pain
DOWN
1 a remarkable, even unbelievable happening
3 large in scope
4 complicated
5 without bounds or end
7 make worse
9 not reasonable or logical
12 stay or keep away from
13 an act that starts an event

12345
67
810

911

1213
14

15
16

(print version here)www.CrosswordWeaver.com

My Adventures in Ireland by S(a)3’s Maki

4 years ago I lived in a beautiful place called Galway. It is locatedin the middle of Ireland and takes about 3 hours to get there from
Dublin by bus. Many international festivals are held there such as theGalway Oyster Festival and the Galway Arts festival. There are many
great places you can go to and visit if you have a free day.
Eyre Square is a 3 minute walk from the main bus station. It is a park
where many people spend time enjoying the sun. There’s a monument
called the Quincentennial Fountain in the park. From Eyre Square you
can walk to Shop Street where there are famous quilt shops and manypubs. Irish people like drinking and Guinness is a very popular beer.
Each pub has live music, Irish music and Irish dance.
You will find Lynch’s Castle near Shop Street. The Lynch family
used to live in this castle. They wanted Galway to prosper and they
helped the community a lot. Lynch’s Castle is used as a bank today.
You will find the Spanish Arch a short walk from Lynch’s Castle.
The Spanish Arch was built in the 1580’s to protect the quay. People
call it the Spanish Arch because a Spanish trading vessel offloaded
many things there. On sunny days many people go there to drink andtalk with friends. Sunny days are precious for the Irish people. They
want to enjoy the sun as much as possible.
After you cross the river and walk for another 10 minutes you’ll see
Galway Cathedral. This cathedral was constructed in 1865. It’s arenaissance style building and, as such, is the youngest of Europe’s
great cathedrals. Its bronze dome is a landmark in Galway.
There are also good places to go and eat. Mcdonagh’s is a
popular fish-and-chips restaurant. If you visit Galway you must eat
there. The food is delicious!
In Shop Street you will see Claddagh Ring Shop. The Claddagh Ringis a traditional Irish ring which represents love, loyalty and friendship. It
has a crown, a heart and a pair of hands in its
design and it is easy to see a person’s
relationship status by the way they wear it.
Galway is a great
Eyre Squareplace to visit and spendsome time. Please govisit and discover thisInside Galwayamazing place.
CathedralPP
E X T R A O R D I N A R Y
DREIS U R M I S EHCPC U B I S M
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P E R S O N I F I E D

Here is instalment no5 in series 2 fromRen’s stay in China:

My parents came to visit me during my stay in China. They
traveled around Beijing by themselves because my dad canspeak Chinese and his Chinese friend accompanied them. Oneday I went to see the Great Wall with them. To be honest, it
was the first time for me to go there, although I had alreadyspent more then three months in China. This was because I
was too busy studying. Unfortunately, the air pollution was alittle bad on the day, but the scenery from the Great Wall wasmagnificent. Another impressive moment I shared with themwas when we joined my German friend’s birthday party. Hewas my closest friend in China. We saw each other at breakfast
every day. He said hewould welcome my parents
to his party when I asked ifthey could join. We spent a
good night then! Two of thegroup members in the pictThe birthday party
ure are my parents.
We became busier in December because most of my classes
were reviewing what we had studied during the season. One ofmy toughest assignments was to give a presentation in Chinese.
My presentation was about “my favorite city”, Imabari. Of course,
we were not allowed to use notes. Moreover, I was the first in ourclass to give a presentation. It was hard work, but it was a very
good experience because I could listen to many presentations on
topics I could absolutely not hear about in Japan, such as North
Korea, Kazakhstan,
Nepalese festivals,etc. They were sointeresting andvaluable to see.
My presentation onImabariWith my classmates

Last Month’s Puzzle Solution
ACROSS
3 beyond ordinary or usual
5 imagine to be the case
6 an early 20th century art movement
7 make capable or possible
8 therefore
10 shown as in a drawing or picture
12 length, width, height, time (andbeyond)
14 to cover or sink completely
15 attribute human qualities to something

DOWN
1 a representation of 3-dimensional
objects
2 before recorded history
4 command and control
9 (in art) to show, e.g. as in a picture
10 that which will happen,
predetermined
11 locked together as if by weaving
13 art work made with small coloredstones, etc.

Don’t forget… Our SPECIAL 1+1 Campaign offer! Up to 50% off!!
See our notice board, or ask Junko in our office, for the details.