Jul 11How Japanese high school students study English #2: How do they enlarge their vocabulary?In a previous article, I talked about how Japanese high school students have to study how to study before embarking on studying English. In the present post, I want to talk about vocabulary. In Japan, they say you have to learn about 5,000 words to succeed in the university entrance…English3 min read
Jul 4I didn’t take in caffeine for 90 days. Here is what happened.I was oversensitive to caffeine. Statistical experiments always admit of exceptions. As you might know, drinking coffee is reportedly good for your heart health (or someone told me so). So I made it a rule to drink a cup of coffee after every meal. But I came to notice some…Coffee2 min read
Jul 3Three things I learned from trying to write an academic paper in English as a JapaneseAs everybody knows, writing is hard. It is even harder to write in a foreign language. Being a Japanese graduate student, I want to publish papers in international journals. So, I have to write in English. Last year, I made my first attempt to publish an article in English and…English3 min read
Jun 27How Japanese high school students study English #1: They first have to study how to study.It is hard to learn a foreign language. It is often said that Japanese grammar is so different from that of English that Japanese people need far more time and effort to master it than speakers of other languages. I teach English to Japanese high school students who want to…English3 min read
Jun 12Reading Journal#2: Freud (1926) Die Frage der LaienanalyseFreud changed his theories throughout his life He modified his theories throughout his life according to the experiences he had in his clinical practice. For example, the topography in which he assumed there were three psychic systems (the Unconscious, the Preconscious, and the Conscious) belongs to his earlier thoughts. Meanwhile, the structural theory that says the human…Books3 min read
Jun 7Reading Journal#1 Dagognet (1997) Georges Canguilhem: Philosophe de la vieI read this book with a question of whether the criticism is justifiable that Kanamori levels against Dagognet. Kanamori (2015) says Dagognet is a little too naturalistic, which simplifies French epistemology. To be a naturalist is, as far as I understand, to give no prestige to philosophy over sciences. According…Philosophy2 min read
Jun 6Three ways in which Japanese teachers of English tend to abuse etymological facts of English words.In Japan, using etymology to learn English words is very popular. Japanese high school students are required to expand their vocabulary of English to succeed in university entrance examinations. But their time is limited. So, they want efficient ways to memorize words. Teachers tell them how to do it more…English3 min read
Jun 6Freud and the dream:1. What is it to interpret a dream and how?In his most famous book, The Interpretation of Dreams, Sigmund Freud shows us how to interpret a dream, what dreams are, and what implications he derives from the answers to these questions. I will give a concise explanation of the interpretation of dreams that Freud practiced. What is it to…Clinical Psychology4 min read
