One way to improve our language skills is by expressing our thoughts in the target language. For that reason, I have prepared an English conversation class “Express Yourself through A Conversation”. Please feel free to check that lesson here: https://www.italki.com/en/teacher/24647106/english I have a lot of interesting topics to talk about. But of course, you are welcome to bring up your own topic. In this episode, I want to show you one example of the discussion topic. It’s about my imaginary city, Subara City 素晴市 （スバラしsu ba ra shi）. The name is derived from 素晴らしい（すばらしい）and 都市（とし）. 素晴らしい means “wonderful”, “magnificent”. 市 means “city” and when placed at the end of a word can be pronounced as “shi”し. So here I name my imaginary city 素晴市（スバラしsu ba ra shi）or “Subara City”. In this episode, I’m introducing English lessons, not Japanese. I just want to let you know how I made up the name. The theme of the story is that you have just been elected to the council for Subara City. You have 6 billion Yen in your budget. What can you do? Listen through. Below here is a simple worksheet to give you more ideas. Total budget: 6 billion Yen. (1) Carbon Footprint Main cause of pollution is old factories on the edge of the city. They have to be relocated. Budget: ………………….. Yen (2) Deprivation and Inequality You need to establish projects to reduce the percentage of people living below the poverty line. Budget: ………………….. Yen (3) Congestion and Mobility Although the ground in Subara City is considered not suitable for subway infrastructure, recent research has been investigating solutions to tackle the ground issue. This research needs funding. Budget: ………………….. Yen (4) Education and Qualifications The number of grants for teachers to study abroad should be increased. Budget: ………………….. Yen (5) Language and Cultural Integration More investment is needed to ensure that migrants coming to work in your city adapt and integrate into the society. Budget: ………………….. Yen