ブログ - Hirosaki University English Lounge

5月 07

EL本棚紹介(100) Diary of a Wimpy Kid, by Jeff Kinney

By joshua in EL Book Introductions

[Welcome to the EL Book Introductions series. These posts are all short (<180 words) introductions/reviews of books in the EL library. They focus on telling you what we think will be interesting for you, a college student and English learner, so use them to help you find the right book for you. You can also use the tags to find books about topics you might be interested in.]

_______

Were you a wimpy kid in middle school? Wimpy kids are not the strongest, smartest, or most popular…they are just “normal.” That is what makes Diary of a Wimpy Kid (グレッグのダメ日記) so interesting. Greg, the main character, is not a hero; he is a regular kid who makes mistakes, acts selfishly, and is also pretty funny. This book is actually really funny.

Diary of a Wimpy Kid looks like a handwritten diary (日記), including lots of funny pictures. It tells the story of Greg’s life in middle school. Because the narrator (Greg) is in middle school, and there are pictures, it is not very difficult to read. The book includes a lot of short stories about Greg’s family, best friend, and classmates. And, I repeat, it is actually quite funny. This is the British-English version of the book, but very little is changed from the original American English.

My two cents: I was surprised by how fun this book was. If you read carefully, you can also learn about some American culture from a middle-school student’s perspective. For example, I think you may be surprised by the part about Christmas.

humor, novel, Short Stories, world English

5月 07

EL Game Series (08): “Password”

By joshua in EL games

[Welcome to the EL game series. These posts are all short introductions to games you can play in the EL. Because learning to play games in English can take a long time, some posts will explain how to play simple versions of games. Other posts tell you why you should use games to practice English. You can also use the tags to find other posts you might be interested in.]

（ELゲーム連載へようこそ。このコラムはELで遊べるボードゲームやカードゲームを紹介します。本来のやり方通りにやってしまうと、遊ぶまでの時間が大変かかるかもしれないので、ある投稿では簡単な遊びの工夫が紹介されます。ほかの投稿ではなぜゲームで英語を勉強するのがよいかが説明されます。投稿のタグを使ってほかに興味ありそうなポストを見つけられます。）

_______

This is about as simple as a word game can get: I’m thinking of a word, and you have to guess it. That’s really almost all there is to it.

The basics: One person takes a word card and puts it in the “decoder” envelope (you will understand when you open the box). Choose one word on the card and set the score to 10. The person with the word gives a clue and their teammates guess. If they are wrong, the score goes down 1 point, and they get another clue.

For English Learners:

The clues in the original game are just one word. For English learners, it is much better to say a sentence. For example, not “Fruit,” but “It is a kind of fruit.” This will make the game easier, too.
Skip words that you think are too difficult for the group to guess.
You can play with two teams guessing two different words, or play as one group. If you play as a group with scoring, only one person can guess at a time. The person who guesses correctly and the person giving the clues both get the points.

Final Thoughts: I think this is good as an activity more than a game. Using the “decoder” envelope is also kind of fun, so give it a try!

4月 10

Weclome to the English Lounge 2026

By Admin in General

新入生の皆さん、お馴染みの皆さん　ようこそEnglish Loungeへ
English Lounge は総合教育棟２階にある、自律学習施設です。
弘前大学の学生であれば、誰でも利用することができる場所です。
さまざまな学習機会が提供されていますので、まずはどんな施設か覗いてみてください！

Hello everyone,
We hope you’ve had a great start to the new semester. Hopefully, you’re settling in well, finding your rhythm, and making new friends along the way.
For those of you who’ve been with us for a while, we hope you had a relaxing break and came back feeling refreshed.
Next week we have the Opening Week. Drop by to see what the Lounge is, what changed, or just start again on your language learning journey. Furthermore, we want to invite you to our Opening Event, April 17th:

4月 07

EL本棚紹介(99) The Anthropocene Reviewed, by John Green

By joshua in EL Book Introductions

_______

Don’t be scared by this book’s title. “Anthropocene” just means the “human-centered historical age.” In this book, John Green gives 5-star reviews to all kinds of things: soda and supermarkets, the internet and pandemics, his favorite songs and a hotdog restaurant in Iceland. The “reviews” are essays which think about history, relationships, his struggles with mental illness and other diseases, science, technology, and more. The fact that each review ends with a rating from 1-5 is clearly a joke.

John Green has several successful educational Youtube channels, does podcasts, runs a few charity organizations, and writes a lot. His novels like The Fault in Our Stars and Turtles All the Way Down were written for young adults, but have been widely appreciated by audiences around the world. He cares a lot about young people and he is very creative and very hopeful, despite it all—which makes it a joy to read his writing.

My two cents: This is not a book for you to read cover-to-cover. Each essay is short, and many contain small jokes or cultural information that may be a little hard to understand. I recommend choosing just one or two chapters to read slowly and enjoy. I think “Scratch ‘n’ Sniff Stickers,” “Diet Dr Pepper,” “Canada Geese,” and “Piggly Wiggly” are comparatively easy to read and enjoy.

nonfiction, science, Short Stories

2月 18

Opening Times March 2026

By Admin in General

Hello everyone,

We hope you are having a wonderful vacation and are still enjoying the snow.

The English Lounge will be open every Wednesday in March from 13:00 to 15:00. The opening hours may be extended depending on demand.

We offer book rental, academic advising, and conversation practice. If you are in Hirosaki and would like to use your English, please feel free to visit us.

Opening Dates

3/4
3/11
3/18
3/25

Opening Hours: 13:00–15:00

1月 09

The English Lounge in Hiromaga

By Admin in General

The English Lounge was featured in the current issue of Hiromaga.
Check it out here:

https://www.hiromaga.com/20260109-21072/

10月 23

Opening Week, April 2025

By Admin in EL forum, International Hirodai, 未分類

Hello everyone!

We hope you’ve had a good start to the new semester. To properly kick off the English Lounge this term, we’d like to invite you to two events on October 31.

First, our traditional Halloween Party will begin at 12:00. Learn about American culture, watch spooky videos, and practise your English through fun games!

Afterwards, Jonathan Krautter from Hitotsubashi University will give a presentation about his research and his experience conducting studies in two different countries at the same time.

We hope to see many of you in the Lounge!