What is Nishinomiya TGIF Toastmasters Club?
The Nishinomiya TGIF Toastmasters Club was launched in October 2015 and officially chartered in December 2016. We have regular meetings in English on the 2nd and 4th Friday nights around Hankyu Nishinomiya Kitaguchi Station. We hold our meetings on FRIDAY NIGHTS with a “Work and learn on Weekdays and Enjoy fully the Weekends” mentality.
Our club has a strong culture of "GIVE-IT-A-TRY, LEARN-BY-DOING" mind and QUALITY FEEDBACK.
We empower everyone to express themselves with confidence, beyond gender and nationality. Our members deliver speeches from a variety of perspectives, including balancing parenting and work, as well as sharing insights and life hacks related to their roles as professionals and family members.
The club name, TGIF, literally stands for "Thank God It's Friday! means to have fun on Fridays, but it also means "Try, Grow, and Innovate for the Future."
If you are interested in upskilling your communication and leadership with a stimulating atmosphere and big fun, you found the right place. We will give all the guests a big welcome anytime!!
Come join us to INVEST your Friday night to Try, Grow, and Innovate for the Future together.
Our club has a strong culture of "GIVE-IT-A-TRY, LEARN-BY-DOING" mind and QUALITY FEEDBACK.
We empower everyone to express themselves with confidence, beyond gender and nationality. Our members deliver speeches from a variety of perspectives, including balancing parenting and work, as well as sharing insights and life hacks related to their roles as professionals and family members.
The club name, TGIF, literally stands for "Thank God It's Friday! means to have fun on Fridays, but it also means "Try, Grow, and Innovate for the Future."
If you are interested in upskilling your communication and leadership with a stimulating atmosphere and big fun, you found the right place. We will give all the guests a big welcome anytime!!
Come join us to INVEST your Friday night to Try, Grow, and Innovate for the Future together.
| tgif_flyer.pdf |
Member Testimonial
Hide-chan
I joined another Toastmasters club in January 2016. Eleven months later, I visited Nishinomiya TGIF and instantly fell in love with the efficiency of the meeting and its signature culture of mutual feedback. I decided to join on the very day I visited and later volunteered to serve as its President.
While peer feedback is one of Toastmasters' four growth principles (Experiential learning, Peer feedback, Mentoring, and a Self-paced program), not every Toastmasters club embodies it as thoroughly as Nishinomiya TGIF. Through providing and receiving feedback, I've learned a lot about effective speaking. We used to have in-depth discussions about the speeches we listened to that day during the "After-parties." Even when we meet online due to the COVID pandemic, we have what we call "Speaker Breakout" after the meeting, where participants go into the breakout room of each speaker to discuss their speech in detail. After we started hybrid meetings, where in-person participants work together with online participants through Zoom meetings, it became difficult to get both in-person and online attendees to discuss after the meeting, most of the venue participants including our guests go to a nearby izakaya place for a "Feedback dinner." That's where even more learning takes place than during the meeting. This is what I love about this club and the reason I invite you to join us.
I joined another Toastmasters club in January 2016. Eleven months later, I visited Nishinomiya TGIF and instantly fell in love with the efficiency of the meeting and its signature culture of mutual feedback. I decided to join on the very day I visited and later volunteered to serve as its President.
While peer feedback is one of Toastmasters' four growth principles (Experiential learning, Peer feedback, Mentoring, and a Self-paced program), not every Toastmasters club embodies it as thoroughly as Nishinomiya TGIF. Through providing and receiving feedback, I've learned a lot about effective speaking. We used to have in-depth discussions about the speeches we listened to that day during the "After-parties." Even when we meet online due to the COVID pandemic, we have what we call "Speaker Breakout" after the meeting, where participants go into the breakout room of each speaker to discuss their speech in detail. After we started hybrid meetings, where in-person participants work together with online participants through Zoom meetings, it became difficult to get both in-person and online attendees to discuss after the meeting, most of the venue participants including our guests go to a nearby izakaya place for a "Feedback dinner." That's where even more learning takes place than during the meeting. This is what I love about this club and the reason I invite you to join us.
Yukarin
I have desired to be a good English speaker for a long time, but I had so many excuses not to take the time and make an effort for it, such as my job, parenting, and socialization. “But is it really uncontrollable?” I asked myself, and then I thought. “No, I can make it better. Instead of envying someone very skilled at English, I should just start to do what I can even if it’s a tiny thing.”
In addition, as an English teacher, I want my students to learn English not only for the purpose of taking exams or for their knowledge, but also as a means of communicating their ideas to people from different standpoints and cultures, and of accepting and understanding each other's ideas as well. For this reason, it is necessary for them to know that English is fun. Here, English expressions and humorous stories that cannot be encountered in textbooks are exchanged. I would like to give back to my students what I have gained here.
I still feel nervous when I speak English in front of the members. However, with each passing session, I have grown to enjoy it more and more, and I am able to speak with more confidence.
Finally. All members here encourage each other to try without being afraid of failure. I love the warm atmosphere that accepts people who take on challenges so much.
I have desired to be a good English speaker for a long time, but I had so many excuses not to take the time and make an effort for it, such as my job, parenting, and socialization. “But is it really uncontrollable?” I asked myself, and then I thought. “No, I can make it better. Instead of envying someone very skilled at English, I should just start to do what I can even if it’s a tiny thing.”
In addition, as an English teacher, I want my students to learn English not only for the purpose of taking exams or for their knowledge, but also as a means of communicating their ideas to people from different standpoints and cultures, and of accepting and understanding each other's ideas as well. For this reason, it is necessary for them to know that English is fun. Here, English expressions and humorous stories that cannot be encountered in textbooks are exchanged. I would like to give back to my students what I have gained here.
I still feel nervous when I speak English in front of the members. However, with each passing session, I have grown to enjoy it more and more, and I am able to speak with more confidence.
Finally. All members here encourage each other to try without being afraid of failure. I love the warm atmosphere that accepts people who take on challenges so much.
Yuri
I joined Nishinomiya TGIF Toastmasters Club in November 2024. I work for a real estate investment company and often use English at work. While my reading, writing, and listening skills were fairly comfortable, I had always been afraid of speaking.
Even after more than five years of English lessons, I often struggled to find the right words. I realized that one reason was that I had always been a customer in lessons. As a customer, I didn’t really have the responsibility to speak. I wanted an environment where I would regularly challenge myself to speak English.
TGIF provides exactly that opportunity. Members practice speaking while giving each other constructive and respectful feedback. The atmosphere is very inclusive—no one is criticized for imperfect English. Instead, we focus on each speaker’s strengths and share ideas for improvement. Even though I have not yet become a confident speaker, I am trying to give constructive feedback and encouragement to other members.
About one year after joining, I passed the Eiken Grade 1 test. I believe this was thanks to the impromptu speaking practice and the training in how to structure effective speeches that I gained through this club. I highly recommend TGIF to anyone who wants to gain confidence in speaking English in a supportive and encouraging environment!
I joined Nishinomiya TGIF Toastmasters Club in November 2024. I work for a real estate investment company and often use English at work. While my reading, writing, and listening skills were fairly comfortable, I had always been afraid of speaking.
Even after more than five years of English lessons, I often struggled to find the right words. I realized that one reason was that I had always been a customer in lessons. As a customer, I didn’t really have the responsibility to speak. I wanted an environment where I would regularly challenge myself to speak English.
TGIF provides exactly that opportunity. Members practice speaking while giving each other constructive and respectful feedback. The atmosphere is very inclusive—no one is criticized for imperfect English. Instead, we focus on each speaker’s strengths and share ideas for improvement. Even though I have not yet become a confident speaker, I am trying to give constructive feedback and encouragement to other members.
About one year after joining, I passed the Eiken Grade 1 test. I believe this was thanks to the impromptu speaking practice and the training in how to structure effective speeches that I gained through this club. I highly recommend TGIF to anyone who wants to gain confidence in speaking English in a supportive and encouraging environment!
