Tech Free

Ok　so it seems like all I've been doing recently is talking about non-japan stuff like iBooks and iBooks and iBooks ....

So for those of you doubting that I'm in Japan or more so that I actually work here ...

For lessons we do a 5 minute warm up just to get the students relaxed and thinking in english. It can be a game or it can be a pronunciation thingy that we get from head office. Some of the time the pronunciation ones are fun ...

This week it was two columns of words like
ball -> bowl
hall -> hole
ear -> air
The idea is that we read through all the words and then play a game ... I say a word and if its from the left column, they jump to the left, from the right column jump to the right.

The first time I did this, I didn't understand what the deal was ... the words were so different, it was way too easy.

So in I go
"Please repeat after me - Ball", "Ball"
"Bowl", "Ball"
"Mmmm ok, one more time - Ball", "Ball"
"Bowl", "Ball"

So to Japanese people, these sound EXACTLY the same! There is no difference at all! It's hilarious because as I read through the words they're just staring at me like english is the most insane thing ever. And try as they might, they can just not distinguish between the words!!!

Now its your turn! Can you work out what words these sound exactly like? Answers on a post card puhlease ... (or in the comments, or if you're super-competitive you can email me!)

1. Heart
2. Boat
3. Work
4. Law
5. Ankle

P.S. I think I bought a new MacBook!