abiloon.com

Hello, and welcome to abiloon.com! My name is Henry, and I teach English as a foreign language (EFL) in Kyoto, Japan. This site has resources for my students and information for prospective private students. Gradually I plan to add more material of interest to students of English and language teachers in general, especially resources and information related to vocabulary acquisition and computer-assisted language learning (CALL). You will also find a few tidbits for students of Japanese, since I am one.

Do you live in Kyoto? Are you studying English? If yes, then you might be interested in my language school. It is located in Kamigamo. I teach there when I have time. Lessons range from private lessons to small groups (up to five people), for students of all ages (from about 6 years old) and ability levels. You can learn more about it here.

Are you my student? Here are some useful links. ◎ For my 京都橘大学 students: English 3B, English Speaking A, English Writing, International Business English, Writing ＆ Academic Presentation 1, Writing ＆ Academic Presentation 3. ◎ For my 関西大学 students: English Oral Communication 1 (Class 7), 上級外国語 English 2. ◎ For my RITS KIDS students: Rits Kids home.

Are you a language learner or teacher? Then you might find something of interest on my blog. I have added only a few posts so far, but plan to add more and more, as time permits, on topics like language learning, language teaching, studying vocabulary, online resources for language learning, language-related humor and more.

Study Tools: Here are some great (and mostly free!) sites that can support your language learning.

You can create sets of flashcards and study them in various ways. You can also study any of the hundreds of thousands of sets other people have created.	This is my favorite E⇔J dictionary. You can search for multiple words and do various kinds of advanced searches, and there are loads of example phrases and sentences.	Another good dictionary site with E/J, J/E and 国語 dictionaries.
This free software can be used to memorize anything in flashcard style. The software manages your flashcards with a Leitner system-type algorithm. You can study on your computer, online or on your cell phone. Especially well adapted to studying Japanese.	A great site with all kinds of resources for the learner, including reading, listening, video and exercises.	The coolest kanji dictionary I've found on the web. It has a really nifty search interface.
Keep a blog in your target language; your native-speaking friends on Lang-8 will correct your mistakes, and you correct theirs.	An amazing, intelligent, customizable corpus-based vocabulary training system. Cheap (￥1000/year) and easy to use - you can even do activities on your cell phone.	An extensive and totally free collection of interactive listening exercises.
This is a good online thesaurus. You will also find a very extensive E-E dictionary and other references here.	A great site for students of Japanese, tailored for studying for the Japanese Language Proficiency Test.	This is a good learner's dictionary.
	Expand your vocabulary and by doing so, donate rice to countries that need it. Good for natives and intermediate or advanced learners.

Old Links: Here are links to previous years' classes. ◎ My 2007 and 2008 Rits Kids students (Eagles class) kept online discussion forums (basically a class blog): 2008-9 Discussion Forum, 2007-8 Discussion Forum. ◎ Old Kyoto Tachibana class pages: 2009 WVB1, 2010 WAP1/2, 2009 WVB3, 2010 WVB3, 2008 WVB2, 2008 WVB1. ◎ Old Osaka Shoin Junior College Internet English pages: projects wiki, 2009 Home, 2008 Home, 2007 Home. Old Kansai University pages: 2009 Eng-Oral Comm. 1a, 2009 Eng-Debate 1a, 2009 Eng-2a (再履修), 2009 Eng-2a (うまく).