[sarvodaya]

ヤムさん、こんばんは。

Originally Posted by yumyumtimtam

I remember when I was a full time student, my dictionaries and I were like best friends! My favourite was OALD recommended by my favourite teacher from Manchester.
I used it not only for looking up words, but for browsing and really enjoyed it. (Im not sure if browse is the right word...)

It is the right word.

Now I decided to buy me a new dictionary!

It is correct to say "buy myself a new dictionary". People sometimes jokingly say something like "I'm gonna buy me a new..." but this is not correct. It is meant as a joke.

My favourite OALD is now 10 years old and actually it's missing right now in my messy class room.

覚さん、Would you give me advice?
I was going to buy the latest OALD, but do you think I should choose one a bit easier? like "Oxford Wordpower Dictionary"?

If I were you I would go for the latest OALD. It comes with good software and obviously has a magnificent pedigree. If there is anything in there that you need help with you can just ask me! The OALD will last you longer as you grow into it.

I thought I needed a bilingual one too so I looked for it
Oxford University Press
I just wonder why there is Korean-English dictionary but not Japanese-English one...because less and less people are interested in Japanese?

We do have some, but none for Japanese leaners of English, which is a shame. Here are some links:

OUP: Takebayashi: Pocket Kenkyusha Japanese Dictionary - Oxford University Press

OUP: Oxford Beginner's Japanese Dictionary - Oxford University Press

OUP: Basic Japanese-English Dictionary - Oxford University Press

OUP: Bunt: Oxford Japanese Mini Dictionary - Oxford University Press

Oxford University Press | Oxford Picture Dictionary

Oxford Picture Dictionary Second Edition English-Japanese Edition - Oxford University Press

ゆりさん's blog was interesting!I read some and I wanted to post what I thought, but I think I need some time too,to write proper one because I don't want to ruin her blog with my wrong English! It looks like she has been working hard!

Now I have to go back to work!
I started renovating my class room from Saturday but haven't finished yet so it's very messy here.

Do you enjoy DIY work? ("Do you do DIY work?" is proper here?)

You can do DIY without enjoying it, but you can't enjoy it without doing it! "Do you enjoy DIY?" is fine.

I do, but I'm always busy doing something else. It is very satisfying to complete something useful and look at it, saying with a simple pride "I made that".

I do and I like breaking things in parts and using them to make something different, recycling!
So my carpenter friend gave me an electric drill! Cool!

I will be back when I finished my DIY work.

PS: Please say こんにちは to the monkeys for me next time you see them!

Originally Posted by yumyumtimtam

Yes, let's come back to the monkey story a little later!
but please let me know when you'd like to try to read the subtitles, cos I've got all the lines typed in a file already

You're too good ヤムさん!

I learnt that I have to write No, + negative sentence, but when it's colloquial, doesn't matter?

It depends on the context. In this case I was saying "yes" to agree with your comment that:

there are too many 漢字s, so let's come back here together to read them when you feel more comfortable with 漢字s.

Generally it will be clear to the listener from the context what you mean, and there aren't hard and fast rules concerning yes/no with negative sentences like there are in other languages. Sometimes it is better to stick to "no" for increased clarity, but it doesn't really matter.

ほとんど　すべて　ですか？

"Almost all of them?"

すばらしい！

"Marvellous!"

There is a well-known British comedian, Paul Merton, who always used to say "Ennit marvellous!" as a sort of catchphrase.

Paul Merton: The Series (1991) - Memorable quotes

To tell you the truth...I was writing and drawing to try to explain these formations of ひらがな... but it wasn't going well... so I couldn't reply you sooner, Im sorry.
BUT I finally found the best website for you!
It's much much much much better than my writing and drawing!
I just loved it and hope you will love it too!
http://www.ugoky.com/hiragana/hiragana_ugoky.swf
(I really liked it and sent an email to the creater to thank him!)

I will be sure to have a look.

OK, I will give you a clue then (Please see the pic below)

Of course! Now I remember フィル・スヌーイン先生 used to count to us in Japanese. く or きゅう is 9!

Would you like to try a ひらがなquiz next time?

Yes, please!

Now it is late, I will be back tomorrow!

おやすみなさい

覚