T: It’s Friday today. I am always busy on Fridays. So I got up early this morning. It was four thirty. It was dark. It was cloudy. It was not hot. It was cool but it was already humid. I left home at five thirty. It was very quiet outside. It was a bit windy. When you left home this morning, how was the weather?
– When you left home this morning, how was the weather?
T: S1, How was the weather, when you left home this morning?
S1: It was cloudy.
T: How about your partner? How was the weather, when he left home?
T: Now, we are in July. As I was born and raised in Hokkaido, I don’t find July in Tokyo comfortable. It’s too hot and humid to me. Do you find July in Tokyo comfortable?
— Do you find July in Tokyo comfortable?
T: S2, Do you find July in Tokyo comfortable?
S2: Of course, not.
T: Then, how about your partner? Does she find July in Tokyo comfortable?
S2: She says, yes. She finds July in Tokyo O.K. She was born in Kyoto.
T: Ah, it gets really hot and humid in Kyoto in summer. One of my friends from Kagoshima finds July in Tokyo comfortable. The average temperature in Tokyo in July is 25.2°C and that in Kagoshima is 27.2 °C.
T: Some people find July in Tokyo uncomfortable, some people don’t. What is the best place to spend the summer in?
– What is the best place to spend the summer in?
T: S3, what do you think is the best place to spend the summer in?
S3: Nasu Kogen in Tochigi Prefecture. In summer it is cool and comfortable in Nasu Kogen. It’s a lovely place.
T: You have been there?
S3: Yes, I went there twice when I was in elementary school.
T: S4, what do you think is the best place to spend the summer in?
S4: I like Kawaguchiko in Yamanashi Prefecture. The average temperature in summer is not high there.
T: S5, what do you think is the best place to spend the summer in?
S5: My house. It is the perfect place. Air conditioner makes it cool.
最後に「避暑地」について話してみました。これもまた、生徒それぞれが別の答えを持っている質問なので話が「面白く」なります。What is the best place to spend the summer in? という文の構造はやや複雑ですが、生徒たちはこのようなやりとりのなかでなら抵抗なく使ってくれると思います。文法的には難しい文であっても、しっかりとコンテクストを設定してコミュニケーションのなかで導入することができれば、生徒はその難しさを意識せずにその文を習得することができるのです。