KIFL Intermediate Business English class Wed 15:25-17:00

Here's a list of all the presentations you are planning to give within our final presentation schedule, as of this week:

11/16
Ken - history of Pokemon/Nintendo
Nobuko - Sugahara Glassworks company profile
Yuta S. - Samsung electronic products (HDTV)

11/30
Kazuki - Dropbox
Yuta T. - Kyoto animation company
Naoshi - Sony music (possible change to another company - needs to contact me ASAP!)
Hsu-Ling - Abercrombie & Fitch in Japan
Bo-Yeon - Body Shop company profile

12/7
Marina - Panasonic beauty products
Fio - still undecided (needs to let me know ASAP!)
Naomi - Lush products/company profile
Lee - AtCosume website profile (?-let me know the correct spelling please!)
Ruby - housing property in China

"P" and Yasuno - please contact me ASAP!

Please remember that 11/23 is a national holiday.

Presentations should be a minimum of 8-10 minutes, up to a maximum of 15 minutes.
For the shorter presentations, we will have a 2-3 minute required Q&A. For the longer ones, include the 2-3 minute Q&A within the time (so, for example - a 12 minute presentation with the 2-3 minute Q&A after).

REMEMBER - do not read from a paper or your Power Point slides. Have note cards with key words or phrases important to your topic written on them.

Please also remember the order of presenters you all agreed on with each other last Wednesday, and when one person has finished, be ready to start.

Good luck! I look forward to seeing and hearing these beginning this upcoming Wednesday.

KIFL - all classes - videos on giving presentations

This is a special post to my KIFL students in Intermediate Business English, English for the Hospitality Industry, and Senka Business Communications Skills.

Here, I have posted some videos for you that I hope you find useful as you prepare for your final presentations. Watch them carefully, and watch them as often as you like or need. I have included examples of presentations both with PowerPoint, and without.

The first video, from the U.S., is a good introduction about what you should do when preparing for your final presentations.



The other two videos are examples from Korea - the first without PowerPoint, and the second with PowerPoint. They are both good examples of short student presentations, and I selected them for their good sound and video quality. The first one I posted last year for an EIC class, but I am posting it here again as I think it is a good one.





Notice in both presentations what the presenters do - introduce themselves, clearly show what their subject is, and so on.

While some of you in Intermediate Business English have given presentations before and may already be experienced with them, these videos might still be good for you to review and help remind you on what you need in your preparation. For all my KIFL students - I hope they help you!

小島恵子先生のSoul to Soulについて

小島先生のコメントとチェックことはありがとうございました。

５月にこのブログでオシビサのヴィデオをアップし、その後西アフリカのいろいろなヴィデオを見ていて、アメリカと西アフリカの音楽の由来の面白い関係が理解できるようになった。

１９７１年、ガーナでユニークなブラックムージックフェスティヴァルSoul to Soul [ソール・ トゥ ・ソール」が行われた。ビラには、アメリカとガーナのソール、Ｒ＆Ｂ、ロックやジャズのアーチストたちが集まった。当時のアメリカで人気のあったグループや歌手、アイク・アンド・ティナ・ターナー、ロバータ・フラーク、サンタナなどが中心だった。

批評家達によると、いくつかのアフリカ系アメリカ人の演奏者の音楽にはごくわずかなアフリカの影響しかが感じることができないが、皮肉なことに、ラテン系グループサンタナが最もアフリカ的な演奏したということだ。

このヴィデオはサンタナの演奏の抜粋：



そのフェスティヴァルの記録映画が作られたが、当時公開されることは無かった。たがこの画期的なイベントは２００４年になってその映画が公開された。Soul to Soul 邦題：「魂の詩」。

星薬科大学薬学英語 I 火曜日１時限・２時限・Unit 4 homework

Hello again to my Pharm Eng students,

Here is the homework for June 7th. Copy and paste it into a Word document, or print it out as your own worksheet. Write the sentences and bring your sheet to class next week.

A. Look at these sentences. Write the effect (what happens) and the cause (why it happened).

1. Hiroshi went to the convenience store because he needed some food.
Effect: (What happened?) _________________________________________________
Cause: (Why did it happen?)_______________________________________________

2. Keiko ate some soup because she was feeling sick.
Effect:________________________________________________________________
Cause:________________________________________________________________

3. Lee was very quiet because the baby was sleeping.
Effect:________________________________________________________________
Cause:________________________________________________________________

4. Erika got a vacuum cleaner because she wanted to clean the house.
Effect:________________________________________________________________
Cause:________________________________________________________________

5. Jun stopped the car because the traffic signal turned red.
Effect:________________________________________________________________
Cause:________________________________________________________________

6. Daisuke raised his hand because he had a question.
Effect:________________________________________________________________
Cause:________________________________________________________________

B. Now look at these sentences. What is the effect, and what is the cause?

1. Metal corrodes (turns brown) because of contact with air.
Effect:________________________________________________________________
Cause:________________________________________________________________

2. Alzheimer's patients often don't take pills because they don't generate much saliva.
Effect:________________________________________________________________
Cause:________________________________________________________________

3. He was vomiting this morning because he drank too much alcohol last night.
Effect:________________________________________________________________
Cause:________________________________________________________________

4. Yellow chromate ion solution becomes red because of change in the acid-base composition.
Effect:________________________________________________________________
Cause:________________________________________________________________

5. She suffered from insomnia because of an intake of too much caffeine at night.
Effect:________________________________________________________________
Cause:________________________________________________________________

星薬科大学薬学英語 I 火曜日１時限・２時限・special Q&A post about me (Part 2)

Hello to all my Pharm Eng students,

Otsukaresamadeshita to all of you after our mid-term test last week!

This is my very late Part 2 to your Q&A for me in your pre-teaching surveys. I'm sorry again! But here they are. It's long, but I'll try to answer as many of your questions as I can.

KENNOSUKE ITO, YUKA EBISAWA & MISAKI IDE (1st period) & TAKAFUMI NAKABARU, WARABI HOSOKAWA & MINA KAMIKAWA (2nd period) – you asked me when I came to Japan, and Kennosuke, Yuka and Mina – you asked me if I like it here in Japan, and Yuka, you also asked if I fear any earthquakes.

I've been living here since 1997, first in Tsuchiura, then Tsukuba in Ibaraki, and after that, in Kashiwa in Chiba, then since 2007, in Nerima-ku here in Tokyo. But the first time I ever came to Japan was in 1981, in the U.S. Navy. I was posted to the U.S. Navy dental center on the base in Yokosuka, in Kanagawa. I was there until 1983, then the Navy sent me back to the U.S.

Yuka – yes, I liked Tokyo very much when I was here in the Navy. Of course, like most young American military people in the early 80s, I went to Roppongi, Shinjuku, and places like that. But when I came back later, I came to like places like Karuizawa, Nagano, Chichibu too. And I was very impressed with Fukuoka and Sapporo – they're both very nice cities (but Sapporo would be too cold for me in winter!). In Tokyo, I don't like Roppongi now! But I do like Takadanobaba, Shin-Okubo, and smaller places like Ekoda. And my wife and I really liked Kashiwa when we lived in Chiba.

Yuka – I always think earthquakes are scary, but I think we can survive them. I also think, especially after the March 11th earthquake and tsunami, that the response in Japan is much better than before. It's much better than the Hanshin earthquake in 1995.

AYAKA ATSUMI & MEGUMI SUZUKI (1st period) & ASAMI FUJIYA (2nd period)– Ayaka and Megumi – you asked why I came to Japan and what my favorite Japanese food and place is, and Asami – you also asked what my favorite spot in the U.S. is.

Well, my father died in 1990 and my mother died in 1994. They had both been getting old and I had to help take care of them. So after my mother died, I had a chance to travel again. I wasn't married at that time, and I had no family connection with where I lived in Idaho, so I re-organized my life again. I wanted to live outside the U.S., and I could reconnect with Japan – this time not in the U.S. Navy, but as a regular person.

My favorite Japanese dish is unagi! I love it, but I shouldn't eat it too much because it's kind of expensive, and fattening. But in summer it's great. How about you both? What are your favorite dishes?

I think my favorite spot in Japan now is around Karuizawa. It reminds me of northern Idaho, which is beautiful in summer. My favorite spot in the U.S. is the highway just south of the San Francisco area, along the Monterey Peninsula (モンテレイ半島). It's also very beautiful in summer – not really really hot like Los Angeles, but comfortable (San Francisco is my favorite city in the U.S. It's like New York in California!). What's your favorite spot in Japan, Asami?

DAISUKE AIKAWA & MIZUKI IGAKI (1st period) – you asked what I like about Japan, and what I'm interested about it.

I like the food and life in Tokyo. It's crowded and sometimes irritating, but that's the way it is, and I accept it. But there's all kinds of things here. I can eat any kind of food from anywhere in the world here. Many people know good food, wine and beer too. I love finding a small restaurant or izakaya in a local place that most people don't know. I also like the transportation system with the trains in Tokyo – I really got tired of driving in the U.S., and when I lived in Ibaraki. But sometimes, I need a break from the big city. I love onsen, and for such busy people, Japanese know how to relax. So what do you like about your own country, Daisuke and Mizuki?

RISA SHOJI (1st period) & AKIKO HIROSAKI, YURI TSUKUDA & ARA CHO (2nd period) – you asked if I had a pet, and what kinds of animals I liked. Risa – you remembered that I said I had cats, and asked what kinds they are, and Ara – you asked if I had children.

My wife and I have three cats. Yes, we're cat lovers! We have two black ones and one gray one. One of the black ones, and the gray one, are a brother and sister, and the other black one is a year younger and came from a different mother. We're not sure what kind they are – we think they're all mixes, of Siamese, maybe Persian, with other things we don't know!

Ara – no, we don't have any children. Our cats are our babies! They keep us warm in winter and make us laugh in summer. How about all of you? Akiko, you say you have a dog, a mix – but how about you, Yuri and Ara? Do you have pets, and what are your favorite animals?

RISA (again!), YUSUKE TSUKADA (1st period), & MIHO MATSUMOTO (2nd period) – you asked about my hobbies.

Well, I'm so busy that I don't really have time for hobbies right now. Whenever I get a chance, I like to go on YouTube and search out old music show clips and TV shows from the U.S. and Australia, especially music from the 1960s. I was very small at that time and don't remember it very well, but I think the 1960s was an interesting time in many countries. I would like to learn more about Japanese life in the 1960s, because I think it would have been an interesting time for a foreigner to have been here. I like searching out old TV clips from my favorite sport, Australian rules football, especially from the 1960s and early 1970s, when my family lived in Australia.

I also like searching out unique and interesting eating and drinking places in and around Tokyo, especially for Indian, Thai or Vietnamese food – my wife and I really like these kinds of food, even though Vietnamese restaurants are so expensive in Tokyo!

NATSUMI MIZUMOTO (2nd period) – you asked me when I got married.

I got married in 2004. So on February 1st, we celebrated our 7th wedding anniversary.

I would love to answer more questions – but I have to save some more for a Part 3. See you in class!

星薬科大学薬学英語 I 火曜日１時限・２時限・Unit 2 lesson plan (5/17)

Hello all Pharm Eng students,

My apologies to all of you for posting this late. Here's the lesson plan from our class last Tuesday (5/17):

1. Warmer - parts of the brain description matching
2. Unit 2
a. second half of article - group reading, note-taking and listening
b. group key word search & Q&A handout (shared among group members)
3. Homework
a. add Unit 2 words from handout to your word charts as you did with Unit 1
b. think of 3-5 of your own sentences using any 3-5 words from Unit 2

*REMINDER - short mid-term test on 5/31!

See you in class on Tuesday!

KIFL Airline FA English Interview Fri 09:20-10:55 - more about resumes: action verbs

Hello all,

Here are some more notes about resumes to add to what I've shown you in class. I hope these will help you, and if you have anything to show me or have questions, please ask me in class next Friday.

I will write about some more notes on cover letters, emails and file attachment letters in a separate post.

For resumes, remember that most employers don't read resumes clearly, but still expect you to have correct formatting and spelling.

So the key to good resume writing is to write about your qualifications, skills and abilities in short lines with the kinds of words that carry the most information.

So you don't have to use pronouns about yourself, alone or as part of a group (like I, my or we) or ones that are used directly about another person (such as you).

But action verbs will be important. Look at the list of action verbs in the chart on the resume template I gave you in class. Some of them you might not know; look them up in your dictionaries. But here might be some very useful verbs for the kinds of resumes you have:

assist (手伝う) for example: Assisted ground staff personnel in their duties.

challenge (挑戦する): Challenged the TOEIC in December 2011. Improved score by 60 points.

*NOTE: If you don't have a high TOEIC score, but still improved your score greatly from the time you took it before, then it may be okay to say that you improved the score without writing it. But if you have improved your score and are over 650 or so, then write the score down! With scores or at least 650 or more - write them.

qualify (資格を取る): Qualified for Infini certification in December 2011.

undertake (企てる): Undertook internship with EasyJet from December 2011 to present.

**NOTE: even some common verbs can become important as action verbs.

participate (参加する): Participated in KIFL2010 conference in Tokyo.

teach: Taught cram school students in English, math and history at Kanda Juku.

There are many action verbs that you can use, but these might be the most useful for you.

I will post more as we go along. See you all in class Friday!

星薬科大学薬学英語 I 火曜日１時限・２時限・special Q&A post about me (Part 1)

Hello to all my Pharm Eng students,

I'm posting a special message here for you. So far, I have been very happy and glad to have you as my students. You've been trying hard in the classes and you've been making great effort. I'm proud of all of you! I hope I am doing as good a job being your teacher.

But I've done a bad job learning and remembering your names. I'm sorry! I've been going through your pre-teaching surveys trying to remember your names and faces. So, to help me try to start learning your names, I'll answer the questions many of you asked me on the surveys here. To start...

YUKARI YAKAWA (2nd period) - you asked me the meaning of my name. While I talked about this in our first class, I'll repeat it here:

Lee (is an English name) - it means a natural place in a forest where there are no trees, but a flat area with grass that's a comfortable place for animals or travelers to rest.

Arnold (English & German) - comes from the base meaning of "eagle" (in German, Adler), "flight" and "sky," so it means something like "to fly like an eagle."

SUMIRE KOBAYASHI (1st period) & SAORI MOCHIZUKI (2nd period) - you both asked about what I did over the spring holiday.

Well, over the spring holiday, nothing much. I was very nervous as the holiday was finishing because I was starting at Hoshi and was hoping to make a good impression! And over Golden Week, my wife had to work, so I stayed home and cleaned our house, and organized my desk, files, and teaching materials. It was kind of boring, but it also felt good afterwards to have a clean house and organized things! (How about the both of you? What did you do over GW?)

CHISATO SAKAIDA (1st period) & MARIE MORI, HITOMI NISHINO & HIRONORI HIRAOKA (2nd period) - you asked questions about sports I have played, or like.

Chisato, Marie & Hironori - sports I've played and liked: of course, I'm from the U.S. As a child, however, I grew up in Australia, and I loved Australian rules football (オジボール). But I also like baseball sometimes, and the Winter Olympics, especially ice hockey. (Hironori - you say you like basketball. Do you have a favorite NBA or bj-league team?)

Hitomi - you're the manager of the Hoshi kendo club, and you asked me if I have played kendo.

Well, no I haven't. But it looks very interesting. I have a friend at the Tokyo Yakkadaigaku, an American who is a 5-dan in kendo (本当に!).

NANASE SHITARA (1st period) - you asked me where I was during the March 11th earthquake.

My wife was home, but I was on my way to a dental appointment. I was on the Yurakucho line, but I didn't make it to the clinic. I had to walk home to Nerima, and it took me almost four hours. (How about you? Were you and your mum hurt or was anything damaged in your house?)

NORIKO KAMIKAWA (2nd period) - you asked me how old I was, and you guessed I was 42.

Well, thank you! But I'm 49.

RINA KYOGOKU, SHUHEI ARAI, YUKI SAKANISHI & ARISA SUZUKI (1st period) & DAISUKE TAKAYAMA (2nd period) - you all asked about my favorite foods, and if I prefer Japanese or American.

Well, I love Japanese dishes! My favorite is unagi. I also really like nikujaga, koroke, tempura and sukiyaki, plus good sushi and sashimi. (How about all of you? What are your favorite dishes?).

Daisuke - you asked a unique question about ramen shops in Kashiwa, in Chiba. You remembered that I used to live there.

Well, I haven't been to any of the places you said. Sorry! But I think you know ramen well, and know the difference between good ramen and bad!

This is Part 1. More Q&A in a Part 2 post will follow soon. Thank you!

KIFL English for Hospitality Industry 1 class Tues 13:40-15:15 & Fri 11:05-12:40 - more subject-verb agreement patterns

Hello all!

Here is my blog post for you about some more subject-verb agreement patterns. I hope these sentences will help you with your subject-verb agreements. See you in class next time!

1) BASIC REVIEW WITH EXAMPLES

I sing songs
You
We
They

He sings songs
She
It

I work hard
You
We
They

He works hard
She
It

2) REVIEW WITH TWO OF THE SAME PATTERNS

I work hard, and you work hard too.
We always work hard, and they usually work hard too.

He works hard, and she works hard too.

3) NEW: MIXING PATTERNS

Now when you know the patterns, you can mix different subject-verb agreement forms
in the same sentence:

They work hard, but he never works hard.

You do what you want, but she never does what she wants.

4) PATTERNS WITH NAMES OF PEOPLE, THINGS AND PLACES

The same patterns still follow with names of people, things and places

Ryoichi plays sports. (Ryoichi is a man, so = he)

Michelle comes to school early. (Michelle is a woman, so = she)

Now, the pattern changes back for two or more people or things, and for two or more groups or types of people or things:

Tomoyo and Rena leave KIFL at the same time. (Tomoyo and Rena = they)

Chisato's friends and Ryoichi's friends like the same kind of music. (Chisato's friends = one group of people = they; Ryoichi's friends = another group of people = they)

Cats and dogs fight sometimes. (Cats = one group of animals = they; dogs = another group of animals = they)

The patterns follow in the same way for places and areas too:

Shinjuku gets dangerous in some parts at night. (Shinjuku = it)

Kyoto looks like a nice place to visit in spring. (Kyoto = it)

The Amazon and Nile rivers run deep into many countries in their parts of the world. (Amazon and Nile rivers = they)

Many of the Yamanote line stations have interesting buildings around them. (Many of the Yamanote line stations = they)

The old parts of Nerima-ku take a long time to walk around in, but one part in
Arakawa-ku takes even longer to walk around in. (The old parts of Nerima-ku = they; one part in Arakawa-ku = it)

星薬科大学薬学英語 I 火曜日１時限・２時限・Unit 1 vocab Q&A review board game questions and answers

Hello again,

As promised - QUESTIONS & ANSWERS TO UNIT 1 VOCAB Q&A REVIEW BOARD GAME:

Q: What do you call a reaction to something you are allergic to, like a drug or pollen?
A: Anaphylaxy (-or- anaphylactic shock)

Q: What's a research protocol?
A: An ethical statement and description of a research project, including information about the funding, sponsorship, institutional affiliations, and levels of risk involved in the project.

Q: What is the duty of a physician in a medical research project?
A: To safeguard the health of human and/or animal subjects.

Q: What does it mean to be under "coercion?"
A: It means to do something when you are forced to, under great pressure.

Q: What does 優先 mean in English?
A: Precedence.

Q: What do you call a living thing that lives in or on another living thing, causing damage to it?
A: A parasite.

Q: What's a research population?
A: A group of people chosen as subjects for a research project.

Q: How do you spell テトラサイクリン in English?
A: T-E-T-R-A-C-Y-C-L-I-N-E (tetracycline).

Q: What do you call the persons who are having drugs tested on them in a research experiment?
A: Subjects.

Q: What is "intervention" in Japanese, and can you explain it in English?
A: Intervention is 冶療, and it means a test agent (like a new medication) that is used in a certain research population group to test the effects of the agent on the subjects, to see if it works.

Hope you can use these to help with your review for the tests in this class. See you next Tuesday!

星薬科大学薬学英語 I 火曜日１時限・２時限・Unit 1とUnit 2のスタート

Hello Tuesday morning PharmEng students,

Here's our lesson plan from today (5/10):

1.Warmup - Unit 1 vocab Q&A review board game
2.Unit 2 - Growing Alzheimer's Drugs in Rice
a. What patients do with medicine or medications:
*Patients can take medicine
drink (a) medication
inject
inhale
b. Reading first half of Unit 2
*Group reading,listening & note-taking
3.Homework - blog check
read whole of Unit 2 at home

In my next post right after this one, I will show you the questions and answers to the Unit 1 vocab Q&A review.

小島恵子先生の200CDブラク・ミュージックのビデオ：オシビサ「ウエルカム・ホーム」

小島先生、

こんばんは！先々週のレッスンに、1970年代のアフリカ系バンドはオシビサについて、YouTubeのビデオが見えなかった。

週末に見つかり、いろいろなオシビサのビデオを見た。ピータ・バラカンのオシビサの話は正しい！いくつか曲を聴き、「幸福感」のことが響く。アップし、下の印象的な曲がウエルカム・ホームを選んだ。

どうですか？水曜日のレッスンに反応がよろしくおねがいいたします。

KIFL Airline FA English Interview Fri 09:20-10:55

Hello to all my new Friday FA Interview students,

While I still don't know all your names yet, I hope to learn them very soon. (Chihiro - very happy to meet you for the first time!)

Here's our lesson plan and assignment for Friday, May 6th:

1) Collecting more pre-teaching surveys and ID pictures
2) Today's lesson - applying for a job
a) job posting handouts
b) group work - job application example scrambled emails - arrange email sentences in a
sample job application email the correct to get a feel for best formatting and content of
a job application
* in groups, write what each group believes is the correct order of the sentences
* teacher check of correct order of sentences and content
3) Homework (for 5/13)- take the content of job postings and adapt it to the formatting of the job application example, then write and send mail to me at
washizoraATgmaildotcom
* Any unfinished preteaching surveys - please finish, and bring a
picture yourself for next week (5/13)

Please share this lesson plan with the others who were not in class today.

Take care!

Lee

星薬科大学薬学英語 I 火曜日１時限・２時限

Hello to all my new Hoshi students in 1st and 2nd periods on Tuesdays!

Here is the lesson plan for both classes for Tuesday, April 26th:

1. Warmup - identifying katakana-English words, word combinations and pronunciations: テトラサイクリン(tetracycline); ペニシリン(penicillin);　アレルギー(allergy); アナフィラキシー(anaphylaxy); ショック(shock)

2. Homework check - 5 sentences using words from reading vocabulary list

3. Declaration of Helsinki
a. reading-listening-note-taking
b. Q&A with questions on board
c. Q&A with open class

I said I would post the questions I wrote on the board in class, but so many of you wrote the questions, so I will not repeat them here.

You all did a good job with the reading, and while it wasn't easy for some of you, you tried hard. Your reading ability and speed will get better over the year, so don't worry.

Let's go over the questions more when we come back after Golden Week, and then go on to Unit 2.

Good job to all of you!

Take care,

Lee

小島恵子先生の２００CDブラク・ミュージックのビデオ

小島先生、

私のブログにようこそ！ピーター・バラカンの本の前書きに、70年代のアメリカのいろいろなアフリカの音楽について言及されている。ジョウニ・ミチュルとトーキング・ヘッズの人気や大衆性のことだが、下の曲はまさにその特徴的な一曲。トーキング・ヘッズの1980年アルバム「リメイン・イン・ライト」から。

どうですか？その時代、すごっく人気があり、印象的なアルバム。

KIFL WIT Mon & Thurs Friendly Talking & Listening 13:30-15:10

Hello Chikapo, Ruirui, Rio, Yukie, Yurie, Hikari, & Toitoi,

Here is the post I talked about in class. Look at these sentences. Can you correct these?

1. I want to go to shopping.


2. I like going to shopping by to car.


3. If I want to go to shopping, I have a lot of money.


4. My father cook teppanyaki, okonomiyaki.


5. What do cooking your father? 

Let's hear your corrections to these sentences on Thursday!

REMEMBER: Chikapo and Yurie - bring a topic about your childhood, or something in your past, to show and talk about in class on Thursday.

Take care,

Lee