Several of my students have had Japanese computers and Japanese operating systems, with Japanese versions of Word. They needed to write English essays for their classes. However, it’s difficult to get the settings (line spacing, paper size, etc.) correct in Japanese, because everything is different. For example, English essays are spaced by line: double-spaced, single-spaced, etc. Japanese essays are spaced by character. It’s really confusing to try to make it match!

I know some people must be able to do it correctly, but I couldn’t figure it out.

Anyway, I recommended downloading either NeoOffice or OpenOffice.org (Yes, “.org” is part of its name…). Both are free office software packages (including databases, presentations, word processors, etc.). If you download the English version, it’s good practice. You will be able to find the right settings for writing in English. If you’re using a non-English operating system, the website might try to make you download another language. Just look for an “Other Languages” option and choose English.

NeoOffice (Mac OS X only–I use this one)
OpenOffice.org (Windows, GNU/Linux, Sun Solaris, Mac OS X)

(I didn’t include the OpenOffice.org logo because their website says you have to ask their permission. Um, okay …)

Figure something out (phrasal verb–transitive): Understand something complicated; find an answer or a solution. Ex. 1) “I can’t figure out how to get to San Jose from San Francisco by bus.” 2) “I just can’t figure her out. Why is she mad at me now?” 3) “Thanks for helping me figure out this grammar problem!”

Software (n.): In Japanese, people use the word “soft” to mean “software.” Except in business names, like “Microsoft,” it isn’t used this way in English. “Soft” only means “not hard” or “not loud,” like a soft blanket, soft pillow, soft music, soft voice, etc. Also, “software” is usually used to refer to computer programs and applications only. It’s not usually used to refer to games or even “My Italian Coach” for DS (we usually say “language training game,” etc.). “Software,” “application,” “app,” “game,” or “program” are all used to mean ソフト in English, depending on the meaning. Most people would not say “Super Mario Brothers is Nintendo’s most popular software” in English. We would say “game” most of the time. (The exception is when people, like business analysts, are dividing a company’s entire sales into only two categories: software and hardware.)

MacBook image from Wikipedia

On May 28, I came home at night after I went to a convention. My door was open a little bit, and the frame (the part around the door) was damaged. I realized that someone must have broken in to my townhouse. My friend and I looked inside, just a little. I saw that my laptop was gone. I wasn’t really surprised, because it’s a nice laptop. We called the police, of course. The police came and looked for fingerprints, but they didn’t find anything. The police officer said that the thief or thieves would probably not use the laptops–they would probably break them into parts and sell the parts. Since they didn’t take the power cords, I guess he was probably right.

This has never happened to me before, but the economy is pretty bad. I know people in several different countries who have experienced break-ins. And it could have been worse–nobody got hurt, and we have renters’ insurance.

Renter’s insurance is a kind of insurance for people who are renting their homes. You pay some money each year, but if you break or lose your things, or have something stolen, your insurance will pay to have it replaced. Since I had a MacBook Pro, which is kind of expensive, and we had a couple of other laptops, and a lot of books, etc., we got renter’s insurance about a year ago.

Anyway, it took some time to get our new laptops, but now I have a very nice new MacBook Pro. Our insurance paid for most of it. It has a new operating system and other new features that my old MacBook Pro didn’t have. Unfortunately, I’m missing a lot of files and photos, because I didn’t back up my data often enough. :( I’m very glad that I have a laptop again, though. I’m still setting it up (getting it ready) by downloading my favorite programs.

Have you ever had anything stolen from you? It’s not very common here (I know everyone thinks the US is really unsafe, but it’s usually pretty safe here.) It can happen anywhere, I think.

Damage (n./v.): to affect something in a bad way, to hurt something or someone. A thing that is damaged might be slightly broken or not perfect, or it could be totally smashed to pieces. “Damaged” is a very general word. Ex. 1) (in a bookstore) “Excuse me, this book is slightly damaged. You don’t have any more, so can you give me a discount on it?” 2) (a doctor) “You have slightly damaged your left knee, but you don’t need surgery.” 3) (a news report) “About twenty houses were damaged in flooding from the typhoon, and high winds caused damage to farms as well.”

Break in (v.), break-in (n.): to go into a building, car, etc., by forcing open or breaking a door, window, etc., usually to steal something. Ex. “There was a break-in at the museum last night.” “Somebody broke in and stole my cake!” “Someone broke in to her office, but they didn’t take anything.”

Thief (n.–pl. thieves): Someone who steals things.

“It could have been worse” (saying). In other words, something bad happened, but it was not the absolute worst thing possible. People say this to make themselves or you feel better after something bad happened. It’s a way to focus on the positive side of a bad event, and is very common (at least in American English). There are several related sayings and phrases, too.

However, the old version had some problems. One of the problems was that it only worked in the USA. Now Amazon says there will be a new kind of Kindle, the International version, which you can use in a lot of different countries. This is pretty cool because you can buy and download English books to it very quickly.

The Kindle uses cell phone networks, not wifi. You don’t need to be in an internet cafe to download books–you can be almost anywhere. For example, if you are waiting on a train platform and you decide you want to read a book on the train, you can quickly use the Kindle to buy and download the book. In 5 minutes, you can start reading it. Of course, most of the books aren’t free. (Some books are free–just look up “free Kindle books” on Google to learn how.) When you use the Kindle, Amazon will charge your credit card for the books you buy. Because it’s so easy to buy books, you should be careful!

Also, some people have problems because the Kindle’s USB connection doesn’t work well with some computers.

You can use the Kindle to use the internet, but only on really basic, text-based sites like Wikipedia.

I don’t have a Kindle because I can buy English books cheaply since I live in the US. But if you want to improve your English and English books are expensive where you live, the Kindle might be a good idea for you. Remember, reading a lot is one of the best ways to improve your grammar, use of articles, use of prepositions, use of idioms, overall fluency, understanding of English-speaking cultures, and add to your vocabulary. If you are already advanced, then you can buy lots of regular English novels. If you’re still learning, you can find many books such as Staying Together, a Level 4 Cambridge English Reader, for Kindle. You can also subscribe to Simple English News on your Kindle, which is a newspaper that you will get every month.

If you see a book that you want that isn’t available yet, you should click below the book’s photo, where it says “I’d like to read this book on Kindle.” That will tell Amazon and the book’s publisher that people want a Kindle version to be made. They are adding Kindle versions all the time.

This map (move to the right to find Asia) shows where you can use the Kindle International Edition. In other countries, it won’t work wirelessly. It includes many countries, but not all of them. It should work well in Japan, Korea, Taiwan, the Philippines, France, Italy, Spain, and many other places.

Have you tried a Kindle for reading English? What did you think? Would it be useful for you?

(Note: If you buy a Kindle or something else from Amazon after clicking on these links or the Readable Bookstore link, Amazon gives me a small amount of money. It doesn’t change the price for you, however.)

I’d like to know your opinions, so I’m going to have polls sometimes. Please choose your answer and let me know what you think!

If you are a Twitter user, you can follow Readable. I’ll write about what I’m doing sometimes. I’ll try to use easy English, so beginners can read it too. You can send short, simple questions to me there. If the question is easy to answer, I’ll answer on Twitter as soon as I can. If the question is hard, I’ll try to answer it later here.

I don’t use Twitter on my cell phone, so I probably won’t answer right away. It might take some time for me to answer.

(I can’t do anybody’s homework or be anybody’s conversation partner, but I hope I can answer some of your questions about English grammar, American culture, etc. )

You can look for interesting and popular Twitter users to follow at Alltop and Twitterholic.

P. S. I’m sorry I haven’t written much lately. If you are an English learner who likes this blog, please comment sometimes or ask a question. That makes me want to write more.

I’m going to try to start posting twice per week, probably Tuesdays and Fridays. If that works, I’ll try to start posting 3 times per week. Remember, if you have something you want me to write about, you can leave a comment here. (You don’t have to use Twitter.)

1. Firefox is safer and more reliable. The internet is full of misleading websites that can infect your computer with viruses and worse. Firefox will protect your computer better than Internet Explorer can. Firefox also crashes less often.

2. Firefox handles non-English languages well, so it’s a better choice for multilingual people who may view e-mail and websites in several languages every day. For example, it handles Unicode much better than Internet Explorer does. In addition, you can download Firefox in many different languages.

3. Firefox is free, independent, and open source (read about the open source movement in Japanese, Chinese, Korean, Spanish, etc.). It runs on MacOS, Windows, and Linux. If you are concerned about the negative impacts of globalization, consider using Firefox and other open source programs instead of those from companies such as Microsoft.

4. Firefox has lots of free, useful “add-ons” to help you organize your learning and find new ways to learn. The add-ons can be installed by just clicking the green Install Now button. Very easy! Here are two that I especially like. You will have to get a free account with each service to use it, but that is also easy.

• StumbleUpon lets you share and discover sites on topics you’re interested in with other users all over the world. I’ve discovered some excellent English-learning resources there.
• del.icio.us lets you quickly save and sort websites you want to remember. The bookmarks can be used from any computer with an Internet connection. If you often change computers, use computer labs or Internet cafes, etc., this is a wonderful thing. You can also search other users’ “tags” to find good sites, which is very useful. The sites tend to be of higher quality compared to whatever comes up first on Google, because they have been chosen and saved by real people rather than search engines. For example, here are my bookmarks tagged “useful,” and here are my bookmarks tagged “travel.”

5. Firefox has lots of free, useful “add-ons” especially for language learners and multi-lingual people. This page contains all Firefox language and translation add-ons. (I haven’t tried all of these.) GTranslate will translate English into other languages when you highlight a word or phrase. Converter will convert time-zones and measurements. FoxLingo, Translator, and several others will translate an entire webpage. Although you shouldn’t rely on auto-translation too much, it can be useful in many situations. Right now, some of my students are using Dictionary ToolTip, which displays an English<->English definition after you double-click on any word on a webpage. It’s really good practice for them when they find difficult words, because the explanation is given in English too.

If you try any of the other add-ons, please add a review on the Firefox site for other users to read. If you find a really good one, tell me about it and I’ll write about it in the future.

There are lots of other good reasons to use Firefox, such as its built-in spell-checker, its variety of useful search boxes, better pop-up protection than IE, etc. And it has a cute logo: (You can even download wallpapers!. ;) )

Note: I don’t advise deleting IE, because a few websites will only work in IE. I keep an old copy around for those times, but Firefox is my default browser.

Click the button to get Firefox!