Tadao has almost finished a two-year volunteering assignment in Papua New Guinea. Today we ask about what he is doing there, what the country is like and some of the differences he experienced.

Today, Mike introduces one of his hobbies - collecting vinyl records. He answers questions about where to find records and some of the interesting records that have "found" him.

Today Ben talks about his hometown, Reading UK. He explains the history of the town and where the name comes from. He also tells us about the Reading (Music) Festival. Ben also gives us a sample of the local dialect. Words and expressions to listen for: Dynamic - Tokyo is a dynamic place to live. Cringe - 不愉快 - The sound of her voice makes me cringe. Commute - Taro commutes from Saitama to Tokyo every day. Mud - When it rains the ground turns to mud. To top oneself (commit suicide) - Kurt Cobain topped himself in 1994. Mate (friend) - I'm going out with my mates tonight.

Today we talk to Takami about her hobby, running. Takami started running nine years ago and hasn't looked back. She has entered 10km races, half marathons, relays and full marathons. She has competed in the Tokyo Marathon and would like to run the Honolulu Marathon one day. She also runs "KAO" Marathons. The idea here is to draw a face with your GPS! Check out this site for more information on KAO Marathons: http://kaomarathon.blogspot.jp/

Yuko tells us about her experiences learning English. She gives us some tips on how we can improve our pronunciation and how we can keep motivated. She explains that it is important to try to speak clearly with good pronunciation and that you should try to learn as much vocabulary as you can. She also tells us that it is important to find something you like to keep you motivated and to have a goal. She reminds us that it is important to just try and not to be shy about making mistakes. Making mistakes is natural and it is how we learn!

Today we talk with Colleen. She tells us a nice story about something that happened to her when she first came to Japan. Listen for these words and phrases: deep impression; hem (裾); "the hem of my skirt had been ripped out"; "she whipped out a needle and thread"; "I was overwhelmed"; solitary; good samaritan; mending clothes; do a good deed for somebody

On February 15th 1965 Canada's current flag was flown for the first time. Today, most Canadians like the flag, but 50 years ago many people were not happy about it. Listen to the podcast to find out why. For a transcript of this podcast, please check our blog at www.ernest-ex.weebly.com

Today I read some questions, or statements, followed by three responses. These questions are related to English for the hotel business. If you'd like to try the quiz, please write the numbers 1-10 on a piece of paper. You can check your answers by clicking on our blog at www.ernest-ex.weebly.com Good luck!

Recently there has been an increase in the number of foreigners visiting Japan. According to this podcast, what is one of the main reasons for this increase? For a transcript of this podcast, please visit our website http://ernest-ex.weebly.com/ and click on the blog.