J/E magazines

I met Sayaka when we were volunteering for a local magazine called Yanesen.

Actually, Sayaka found me through my weblog, figured out that I lived in the neighborhood and recruited me. I was happy to help, though I don’t think the English edition we worked on together ever went to press.

Now Sayaka lives in Oita and publishes a weekly mail magazine for Japanese speakers wanting to improve their English. It’s called “Sayaka and Kristen’s Simple and Useful Lunchtime English.”

Despite the prominence of my name in the title, I don’t do anything. Sayaka uses entries from my weblog and other sources, deconstructs them, explains the weird things that I write, gives a brief lesson on vocabulary, idiom or a grammar point, then asks comprehension questions.

Tuesday’s lesson is followed by the answers on Friday. On Fridays our names are reversed in the masthead—Kristen and Sayaka. That’s Sayaka being very humble (though she does all the work and should take all the credit) but I think it’s also quietly proving that I have all the answers. Hehehehe.

I’ve noticed that Sayaka is catching up with me. It used to be that the entries she selected were older ones, but this week’s issue featured the one on shopping for the U101. I’d better write a few exclusives for the magazine, otherwise Sayaka’s going to have to deconstruct and explain the kitten post!

If you’re interested in paging through the back issues or subscribing (it’s free), visit Macky, a Japanese e-zine clearinghouse.

Posted by kuri at July 12, 2003 07:20 AM