Action English

It's no secret that my favorite house-wifely activity is knitting while watching TV. One of the best things about Japanese TV is a little segment called "Action English." Basically, after a re-run of CSI (a Japanese favorite, which is run in English), there is this little middle aged guy on a couch that reviews some of the idiomatic phrases in the show. They run a clip of the actors saying the phrase, and then Mr. Action English explains the meaning and practices the pronunciation with the audience at home.

Just picture it:

Clip: "Gil, hold your horses."

Japanese, japanese, japanese, japanese, japanese, "Gil, hold your horses."

Japanese, japanese, japanese, "Gil, hold your horses."

It's especially entertaining because Mr. Action English 1) has really good English pronunciation, and 2) says each phrase with exaggerated dramatic effect. I can just imagine all the Japanese housewives practicing the phrase at home.......now if they only had Action Japanese!