A 135-mile relay race, or "ekiden" is the country's biggest annual sporting event. Thousands of professional runners compete for corporate teams in some of the most competitive races in the world. The legendary "marathon monks" run a thousand marathons in a thousand days to reach spiritual enlightenment.Yet so much of Japan's running culture remains a mystery to the outside world, on par with many of the unique aspects of contemporary Japan. Adharanand Finn, the award-winning author of Running with the Kenyans, spent six months immersed in this one of a kind running culture to discover what it might teach us about the sport and about Japan.As an amateur runner about to turn 40, he also hoped to find out whether a Japanese approach to training might help him run faster. What he learns—about competition, team work, form, chasing personal bests, and about himself—will fascinate and surprise anyone keen to explore why we run and how we might do it better.

    It should provide you with the basic teaching skills, background knowledge and awareness that will enable you to enter the classroom with confidence and develop your skills. The book contains: advice on effective teaching techniques; tips on classroom management, lesson planning and using coursebooks; appraoches to teaching different kinds of lessons; tasks and review sections in each unit to help you remember what you have learnt; and lots of information about job hunting and career development.

    Describes some of the concepts underlying the Chinese language and writing system, and gives the author's position on a number of ideas about the language.

    But what is grammar? In fact, it's the integral basis of how we speak and write.As such, a refined awareness of grammar opens a world of possibilities for both your pleasure in the English language and your skill in using it, in both speech and the written word. As a foundation for writing, a detailed grounding in grammar and usage will hugely expand your resources for meaningful verbal expression, for navigating the subtleties of the language, and for achieving clarity of communication and stylistic power.In English Grammar Boot Camp, linguist and popular Great Courses instructor Professor Curzan takes you on an enjoyable exploration of the essential aspects of English grammar. These 24 spirited and accessible lectures offer you a comprehensive core training - a linguistic "boot camp," by which we mean a thorough immersion in all of the key elements of English grammar and usage, in their most immediate, practical application.Here you get a breadth of perspective and context you won't find elsewhere, leaving you with a more choices and rich verbal resources for your own use of the language. In discussing the different parts of speech, Professor Curzan directs your attention to how the element at hand evolved. Highlighting reflections from 18th- and 19th-century usage guides as well as from multiple modern commentators, she guides you in examining real-world language use in a variety of contexts, helping you develop a sophisticated frame of reference and a deep awareness of the idiosyncrasies of English.This delightful and superbly insightful course offers you a unique opportunity to explore the linguistic riches of the English language, and to significantly deepen your mastery of grammar, usage, and style.

    36 pages of chapter summaries, quotes, character analysis, themes, and more – everything you need to sharpen your knowledge of On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft. This detailed literature summary also contains Topics for Discussion and a Free Quiz on On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft by Stephen King.

    Useful for those interested in understanding and utilizing American Sign Language (ASL), this phrase book serves as a reference tool and a study guide.

    All series' volumes have been developed in accordance with performance-based principles and methodology--contextualization, learner-centeredness, use of authentic materials, usage-orientedness, balance between skill getting and skill using, and integration of speaking, listening, reading, writing, and culture. Grammar points are systematically introduced in simple but adequate explanations and abundant examples and exercises.Each situation/topic-based lesson of the main texts consists of model dialogues, narration, new words and expressions, vocabulary notes, culture, grammar, usage, and English translation of dialogues. In response to comments from hundreds of students and instructors of the first edition, this new edition features a more attractive two-color design with all new photos and drawings and an additional lesson and vocabulary exercises. Lessons are now organized into two main sections, each containing a conversational text (with its own vocabulary list) and a reading passage. The accompanying workbook, newly written, provides students with extensive skill-using activities based on the skills learned in the main text.Audio files for this volume may be downloaded on the web in MP3 format at http: //www.kleartextbook.com. A set of CDs is also available for purchase.

    Wilde. After all, even fluent English speakers can be at sixes and sevens when told to pick up the "dog and bone" or "head to the loo," so they can "spend a penny." Wherever did these peculiar expressions come from?British author Christopher J. Moore made a name for himself on this side of the pond with the sleeper success of his previous book, In Other Words. Now, Moore draws on history, literature, pop culture, and his own heritage to explore the phrases that most embody the British character. He traces the linguistic influence of writers from Chaucer to Shakespeare and Dickens to Wodehouse, and unravels the complexity Brits manage to imbue in seemingly innocuous phrases like "All right." Along the way, Moore reveals the uniquely British origins of some of the English language's more curious sayings. For example: Who is Bob and how did he become your uncle? Why do we refer to powerless politicians as "lame ducks"? How did "posh" become such a stylish word?Part language guide, part cultural study, How to Speak Brit is the perfect addition to every Anglophile's library and an entertaining primer that will charm the linguistic-minded legions.

    This book covers topics from present tense regular verbs to double object pronouns. It covers various aspects of Spanish grammar that learners need to master. It focuses on the practical aspects of Spanish as it's really spoken.

    Gain the language skills you want."Practice Makes Perfect: Basic Spanish" is a trusted companion to your Spanish-learning experience. In each bite-sized lesson, author Dorothy Richmond explains one--and only one--grammar concept and illustrates it with many clear examples. The accompanying fun and interesting exercises let you practice, practice, practice what you have learned. Although these lessons are purposely short so you can complete them in twenty minutes or less, you can go at a pace that works for you.This guide/workbook will help you master present tense verb conjugation the "ser" and "estar" verb forms adjectives possessive pronouns sentence structures the contractions "al" and "del" indefinite articles "tener" idioms and moreWhether you are learning on your own or taking a beginning Spanish class, "Practice Makes Perfect: Basic Spanish" will help you build your confidence."

    Integrated MLA 2003 update

    Douglas Brown, is the classic second language acquisition text used by teacher education programs worldwide. Principles introduces key concepts through definitions of terms, thought-provoking questions, charts, and spiraling. New Classroom Connections encourage students to consider the implications of research for classroom pedagogy. An up-to-date bibliography and new glossary provide quick access to important works and key terminology in the field. The fifth edition takes a comprehensive look at foundations of language teaching through discussions of the latest research in the field, including: * Vygotsky's and Bakhtin's theories * Thorndike's law of effect * error treatment, noticing, recasts * intercultural communication * language policy and politics * corpus linguistics *hot topics in SLA * connectionism and emergentism * flow theory, willingness to communicate * strategies-based instruction * contrastive rhetoric * attribution theory, self-efficacy * output hypothesis Also by H.Douglas Brown: Teaching by Principles: An Interactive Approach to Language Pedagogy Language Assessment: Principles and Classroom Practices Strategies for Success: A Practical Guide to Learning English

    Their discussion is moderated by the imperturbable Master Nankai, who loves nothing more than to drink and argue politics. The fiction of the drinking bout allowed Chomin to debate freely topical political issues, in a discussion that offers an astute analysis of contemporary European politics and a prophetic vision of Japan's direction. This lucid and precise translation of a delightful work has been designated one of the UNESCO series of classics of world literature.

    To reach this unique audience, Whitlock and Schluter motivate learning with interesting biological and medical examples; they emphasize intuitive understanding; and they focus on real data. The book covers basic topics in introductory statistics, including graphs, confidence intervals, hypothesis testing, comparison of means, regression, and designing experiments. It also introduces the principles behind such modern topics as likelihood, linear models, meta-analysis and computer-intensive methods. Instructors and students consistently praise the book's clear and engaging writing, strong visualization techniques, and its variety of fascinating and relevant biological examples.

    until he started a new job and a new life at a high school in downtown Tokyo. Here he discovered the real Japan, not the version sold to tourists, and realized that it was far more thrilling, heartbreaking, and beautiful than anything he had ever experienced. Over the course of one year in Tokyo, Garett navigates the perilous waters of 21st-century Japan, where love and laughter are as common as violence and tragedy. From love hotels to sumo, yakuza gangs to hostess bars, and a Shinto wedding to a KFC Christmas, discover what Tokyo is really like for its 38 million inhabitants. A travel book, a tale of sex and romance, and a love letter to a maddening, wonderful place, Lost in Tokyo provides a new perspective on living, working and playing in the world's most vibrant city.