ECA (Speaking) II (A): 期末テスト（スピーキング）のスケージュル

Hello!

How are you? Here is the schedule for our final speaking test for next Tuesday (1/24): 

See you then!

Images: Top - "Smiling teenage students" (courtesy of Ambro)/FreeDigitalPhotos.net
Board notes - personal photograph. All rights reserved. 

ECA (Speaking) I (D): 秋期末テスト（スピキング）テーマ、スケージュル

Hello!

How are you? Here are the themes and schedule for our final speaking test for next Tuesday (1/24). 

Now here are the speaking test groups:

See you next week! 

Images: Personal photographs. All rights reserved.

ECA (Speaking) I (All): 話すを言うこと

Hello!

How are you? Let's look at telling stories with action (話と行うことを言う) with pictures! 

Activity/homework
Look at these pictures. Make a story with these pictures (イメージに話を作り). (You can use the picture above, at the top of this blogpost!) You can put them in any order you like (イメージの順番がなんでもいい). 

Rules (ルール) 
1. You can use seven (7) of these pictures.
2. You have to tell your story (話すを言う) using words like first, next, then, after that, and finally.

Try it!

Have fun!

Images: Top - "Beautiful Sunset" (courtesy of Photokanok)"/plane - Take Off At Sunset" (courtesy of Time Beach)/man in suit - "Handsome Young Businessman" (courtesy of imagerymajestic)/young man - "Young Handsome Man" (courtesy of marin)/poker chips - "Pocket Aces In The Hand" (courtesy of Grant Cochrane)/sports car - "Classic Porsche 959" (courtesy of M-Pics)/woman - "Asian Model Woman" (courtesy of posterize)/wedding - "The Exit" (courtesy of Elwood W. McKay III)/drink - "Singapore Sling" (courtesy of Antoine Henrich)/SUV - "Mercedes ML" (courtesy of M-Pics)/All images from FreeDigitalPhotos.net 

ECA (英語基礎表現) II (Super A): Impressions of 3/11 (Part 2)

Hello!

How are you? This is Part 2 of your great collection of writing on the Tohoku earthquake and tsunami of March 11, 2011.

Here's the first one: 

March 11, 2011 was great earthquake in Japan. Really it was very terrible and strange. It was focused in Sendai but in many other places was influenced. Tokyo and near Sendai there was only earthquake but in Sendai there was tsunami and earthquake. More than ten thousand people died and more people were missing. People in Tokyo and other places had not died because there was no tsunami. Tsunami is more dangerous than earthquake. After that earthquake more people become homeless and lost their work and property therefore their condition became very miserable. 

At that time I was not in Japan. I was in my country and I heard the news and read the newspaper, then I was very surprised and became sick. I had been processing my study documents abroad for Japan and I had just gotten the result that it was success. At the same time the great earthquake happened. What to do? Go or not go? I was very confused. All my friends and parents, they suggested me not to go to Japan, there is very dangerous, next time there will have more earthquake there, so please do not go. I was worried and confused, but finally I decided to go to study abroad in Japan, and came here as a foreign student. 

When that great earthquake of March 11 happened, if I had been here or in the area of the earthquake and if I had been saved and in good condition, I first would have informed the police in the police station and phoned the ambulance, then I would have helped the people who had injured and buried inside the houses. More houses had been collapsing and more people had been buried. At this situation, I would have taken them to a safe area and as soon as possible and as soon as fast taken them to the nearest hospital. I would have contributed to the situation of people who were miserable. 

Incredible! Here's another one: 

First, let me introduce myself. I am an 18-year-old girl living in Tohoku. I experienced an earthquake and tsunami on March 11th, 2011. It was a terrible day. I had to make a difficult decision whether to stay in Tohoku, or to leave Tohoku and go somewhere else to start a new life. I think I will want to stay, but at the same time I want to leave. 

There are some reasons I would choose to stay in Tohoku. First, I want to help people who need help with whatever the problem is. For example, serve food to those who do not have enough food, and care about the wounded people. Second, I was born, and grew up in Tohoku, therefore Tohoku is a place where I can be myself and relax. I really like everything of Tohoku. At last, I want to stay with my family members even though some had been victims of the disaster. I was living with my grandmother, grandfather, mother, father, brother, sister, and our dog. Actually, my grandmother and grandfather had been victims. Their bodies are buried near where they used to live. I want to be close to them. I want to be able to see them whenever I feel like it. Therefore, I would want to stay in Tohoku. 

There are some reasons why I want to leave Tohoku and live somewhere else. First, I want to forget about this. Whenever I think of the disaster, I feel very depressed. Even though I still think that I have to remember this and tell stories to those who have not experienced a huge earthquake and a tsunami. If they know what to do, they have a better chance of surviving from the disaster. Second, I want to find a job, make money, then come back. I know that money is not everything, but it is still an important thing. Sometimes, having money can help people. At last, I want to start a new life by taking chance leaving Tohoku. I have been living there for 18 years of my life, and I want to experience some new culture. Therefore, I want to make some new friends and get a job I have never done before. Therefore, I want to leave Tohoku. 

A powerful account. Now here's a very moving one: 

That was like a bad dream. I might show the nightmare. I couldn't think that many of my familiar objects and people disappeared in a few hours. I was not wrong. If I wake up at once, I can see the shop that selling vegetables and fruit, and I can go to the school where many friends are there. Consequently, I couldn't wake up the nightmare, because it is real that there is a tsunami and terrible earthquake.

That came suddenly. It didn't exist anymore. I heard very noisy warning and I was very surprised to it, that it came suddenly. I felt a little shaking. It was the worst and fortunate sign. I realized it was an earthquake at once, because we experienced it many times over. So, we couldn't leave quickly by the way we used to. But, it was long. Normally, it finished a few moments, but it continued a few minutes. The time of something little terrible becoming big that, the biggest earth shaking that I never experienced before came. I couldn't run. My legs didn't stand up strongly, if I ran by force I might fall to the ground. My desk shook, chair moved itself, almost al my books fell down, the sound of dishes were broken came up. I was frightened so much, I escaped to the high place using all my power. After that, I survived, and I lost many things while the moment happened. I want to see the sea for the time being. I remembered the destroyed wave. I can't stand to see that at least now.

I am thinking that until now, that is choosing of my place. I can move far away to not be frightened of the memory of the quake. If I move, I can spend my life easily without my mind's fear. I can get new friends and neighbors, if I can change my mind perfectly so not to have fear and sad. But I also think it is unable to do so. When I close my eyes, the scene of the tsunami appeared in my sight, hear the sound of noisy waves and crying of survived people. I couldn't remove these from my brain, and couldn't do these ever. Finally, I want to forget the memory of the earthquake.

I think another choice. It is I remain here. I couldn't sleep well, because my body scared of the shaking. After a big earthquake, the area often caused small quake. It is in every day and every time. Each time the small one comes, we wake up quickly and escape fast. it is not the problem of the quake big or small. We can't tolerate any shaking whatever the size. Especially, children and elder people can't sleep well. We feel the shaking continues always, although the machines don't find any shaking. It is very stressful to spend life in there. I must be afraid of the disaster coming again. But at first, we didn't think the big disaster came on the place of our living. So can't trust safety of where we live, so I often prepare to escape. I lost a lot of important people and things, but remaining those certainly exist. Of course, it is hard to find jobs in here, and to begin with I have to find my new house. I know it is not easy way to live in here, but I want to live in here. The terror of earthquake is not disappeared for long time, so I must stand it in my life.

An incredible piece of writing, and once again, very moving. 

It's been a pleasure to have all of you as students. I will miss you as I will move on to new jobs from April. So good luck, and don't stop writing!

Thank you!

Image - by Cp9asngf - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=33491717. Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.

ECA (英語基礎表現) II (Super A): Impressions of 3/11 (Part 1)

Hello!

How are you? Today I would like to upload some of your great writing about the Tohoku earthquake and tsunami of March 11, 2011 in a special post. This is Part 1 of this writing. 

Let's now look at some of these pieces of writing. Here's one:  

In March 11, 2011, earthquakes and tsunami happened in Tohoku areas. If I were a victim of earthquakes and tsunami, I will move away somewhere else briefly. If possible, I want to live in local place for a long time. But if the support reconstruction is not finished, I don't know when disaster happen again and it is dangerous near the sea. It is difficult to live in there, no matter how love the local place. 

As a result, I move away somewhere else, more safe place. It is lonely to leave and live in another place, but someday, when finished support reconstruction, I will return to local place. 

Great! Here's another one:

I think that if we can't live in the hometown that suffering damage, we have to choose to stay there or leave. 

If I choose case to stay, I think that I don't want to leave my hometown. Because there are a lot of memories of my life and I want to cooperate of reconstruction, because most of people are suffered by disaster, they leave their town consequently. Then, who will reconstruct? I want to be safe in my hometown. 

If I were parent, I think to leave hometown, because I have to protect my children from many danger, for example, tsunami, radioactivity leaking from nuclear power plants, hunger and so on. I want children to study if they want. 

Eventually, I have never experienced. It's difficult for me to judge I don't know unless I actually experience damage, but I think I just want to have a safety bag, for my safety.   

Another good one! Now let's look at this one: 

An earthquake occurred in the Tohoku region when I was in junior high school third grade. At that time, I was at school and ran away to the schoolyard. Since I attended a junior high school in Tokyo, the train did not move and I stayed overnight at a junior high school on that day. I knew that an earthquake occurred in Tohoku, but I could not see the news yet. The next morning, my mother came to pick me up at school. I was surprised to see the news after arriving home. So, I learned that a tsunami occurred in Tohoku, and I did not get to know the fact that many damage was caused by nuclear radiation activity. I was only able to TV, many casualties came out in Tohoku by earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear power plant. looking at the news that many people are suffering, I thought that I could do something. It was difficult for me to the Tohoku by helping, so I donated a donation that I want you to work hard for recovery a little. As a result, Tohoku people can live a better life. We should help young people so that people who are suffering from disasters can live the same way even six years from now. 

So true. Now, let's look at a moving story - an imaginary one of a survivor:  

I am a 34-year-old office worker in Miyagi, in Ishinomaki city. My wife "lived" there too. What does "lived" mean? Yes, sadly, she had been killed by tsunami on March 11. She worked at the Ishinomaki city hall. 

At that time, after the earthquake, she and all city hall customers knew what happen next. After the big earthquake, then next comes the big tsunami. They knew about that, so they panicked. But, some survivor of city hall said that she did some brave things. She shouted out to everybody, and she said "Everybody please calm down, the huge tsunami will be here soon. So, we have to move for the roof top. Please move right now." After she said all this, she carried the ball and she carried small child upstairs. Finally, after checking for anybody behind her, then the tsunami came. 

I decided to move with my small son from Miyagi. My son is five years old. He cries every night because he missed his mother. So we have to move on next. Nothing left behind us. Good memory turns to sad memory. My home, my job, my son's school, me and my son's friends…

Everything took over because of the tsunami. We have to rebuild our whole life, without her.  But now, I can't stop thinking of her. So, we have to get out of here. 

Maybe, my wife wants the same thing too. But I never forget about her. 

Very moving.  There will be more in Part 2. 

See you there! 

Image - U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Garry Welch - This Image was released by the United States Navy with the ID 110320-M-0145H-063 (next).This tag does not indicate the copyright status of the attached work. Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons. Uploaded for classroom purposes only. All rights reserved to the identifiable copyright holder(s). 

ECA (Global Understanding): 秋期末プレゼンテーションノート

Hello!

How are you? Here is a short post for you of today's notes about our fall semester final presentations (秋期末プレゼンテーション). 

Above are the notes about posters. Now here are some notes about Power Point slides: 

I know many of you took your own pictures of these notes, but I have put them here for anyone who checks the blog and needs a refresher. 

See you next week!

Images: Personal photographs. All rights reserved. 

ECA (Global Understanding): 秋期末プレゼンテーション

Hello!

How are you? Here are the guidelines and schedule for the final presentations (期末作文) in our class.

Guidelines

1. These will be individual presentations only - no pair or group work. But because we will have only three weeks to prepare - the presentations can be a little shorter than the ones we did in July.

2. For themes - you can use ideas from the textbook units we have read and learned about - but you can go outside the textbook for themes and topics. Talk to me about what you want to do! 

•       Unit 7 - the environment and society (環境、社会)
•       Units 8 & 9 - myths and education (神話、教育) 
•       Unit 10 - habitats (本場)     

There are many topics you can choose from in these themes. Here are some ideas for you:

Environment and society (環境、社会): 

• countries that have had changes in its borders (境)  (for example - change from the Soviet Union (ソ連 to Russia after 1991)
• countries with environmental problems (for example - China and its air pollution problems, Pacific island countries that are losing land because of climate change)
• places that are disputed (もめていた) between two or more countries (for example - Sakhalin Island (Karafuto), between Japan and Russia)
• ethnic minorities and land rights problems (for example - the problems of native American Indians and their lands against business and governments) 

Habitats (本場): 

• water problems and water rights in African countries 
• endangered species (絶滅危惧種)
• solutions (解答) to environmental situations in different countries (for example, wind power farms in Denmark)
• life in extreme places (過激な場所) (for example, living in Greenland, or in the Australian desert)

Myths and education (神話、教育)

(We did not have enough time in class to go over education, so you can choose to do this topic here.) 

• famous Japanese myths 
• famous myths from different countries 
• traditional Japanese education (for example, terakoya)
• problems of educational systems in different countries (for example, problems of schools in poor parts of the U.S., or difficulties of refugee (難民) children in schools in Europe, and so on)
• some histories of famous universities in Japan or other countries (for example, the history of Tokyo University, or Oxford University in England; Harvard University in the U.S., and so on)

Schedule

Here is our schedule:

1/16 - introducing final presentation project, thinking and choosing topic ideas, and beginning research
1/23 - research and presentation practice
1/30 - final presentations

Important note: Please do not wait to decide topics or start your research. Please start now! 

Good luck! See you next week!

Image: Personal photograph. All rights reserved.

ECA (英語基礎表現) II (P): 秋期末プロジェクト、まとめ

Hello and Happy New Year!

How are you? Today let me show you the final project (期末作文) and wrap-up (まとめ) for the fall semester (秋学期).

We will do two things:

1. Short presentation with writing
Your presentation will be a display with writing and pictures on it. Your topic is about the future (将来、未来). Your title is: My future dreams and plans. This will be the final writing assignment (期末作文) for the class.  

Think about these things: What kind of job and career do you want when you finish Seigakuin? Where do you want to live? What kind of life do you want to have - in a small town, or maybe in a big city like Tokyo? Do you want to get married and have children? (It's okay if you don't.)

You can make your poster colorful, but here is an example (例えば) of the kind of design you can do:

I would like you to do this on A3 size paper. You can use photos or draw pictures. Have fun with this!

2. Short listening test
I have said before that I do not like paper tests, and do not like giving them. I also know you do not like taking tests! I feel we have done a lot of listening practice with the TOEIC book. But the Seikei department (学科) really wants you to get higher TOEIC scores.

So, I have to give a short listening test. I really do not want to do it, and it is not on the syllabus. I'm very sorry about this! So I will make this test about things we have studied in the TOEIC book this semester (秋学期).

Our schedule
Here is our schedule:

1/12 - show the final project and wrap-up (まとめ) points and schedule
1/12 - begin work on presentation poster writing ideas
1/19 - short listening test
            work on posters and writing with teacher check and advice
1/26 - present posters in groups in class
1/26 - turn in (提出する) posters

Good luck! I will look forward to seeing your posters and read your writing about your future dreams and plans.

See you next week! 

Image: "Pink Lotus" (courtesy of seaskylab)/FreeDigitalPhotos.net

ECA (英語基礎表現) II (Super A): 秋期末作文

Hello and Happy New Year!

How are you? I hope you had a great New Year's break! In this blogpost, I'll tell you about our final writing assignment for the fall semester (秋学期).

Project
You have three (3) choices about your final writing project. Choose one (1) of them:

1. Write about a unique, interesting, or special real experience (経験) that happened to you. 

For this topic choice, write about a unique, interesting, or special experience you really had, like a school trip or a holiday. It can be about any time of your life - it could be when you were a child, or it could be from when you were in high school - or even something that happened to you this year. 

I am gathering writing on this topic into a book called Places & Traces.  

2. Write about a unique, interesting, or special song, album, movie, or TV show. 

For this topic choice, write about a unique, interesting, or special song, album, movie, or TV show that you like. It can be about any kind of music, movie or TV program. Write about something that means a lot to you. 

For music, I am gathering writing on this topic into a book called Words on Music, and for movies and TV shows, I am thinking of a new book to gather them into - one I don't have a title for yet! 

3. Write about your plans for the future after you graduate from Seigakuin. 

For this topic choice, write about your plans for the future after you graduate from Seigakuin. What are you planning to do for a career? Where do you want to live? What kind of place would it be (a small town, a small city, or perhaps a major city like Tokyo)? More importantly, where do you see yourself in four years' time? 

I am gathering writing on this topic into a book called Future Dreams and Real Lives. 

How much to write
How much do you write? I would like you to write as much as you can, because your work may be published (出版した) on both this blog and in the books I talked about in class. 

I would like to see 3-5 paragraphs - and I would like to see you try to write the most that you can. Try to make your paragraphs longer - make each paragraph as long as you can. 

Schedule and deadline (締め切り)
Here is our schedule: 

1/12 - assignment introduction, topic selection
1/19 - first draft review, advice, and suggestions for final draft
1/26 - final draft completion and submission (提出)

Please remember that the deadline (締め切り) will be 1/26 (木). Print it out and hand it in when you are finished. 

IMPORTANT NOTE
I want your file correctly formatted! Please see the handout I gave you about formatting your writing. Please check about formatting your Word file on your formatting handout.  

Good luck with this! I hope you can have fun with this, and enjoy this writing!

Images: Top and bottom - personal photographs of public art in Nakano, Tokyo. All rights reserved to the artists. 

ECA (Speaking) I & II (J, D, & A): 娯楽、場所、イベント

Hello and Happy New Year!

igitalPhotos.net

How are you? How was your holiday? I hope it was a good one for all of you!

Here's a post about entertainment (娯楽), places (場所) and events (イベント)! 

What kinds of places or events would you like to go and see? Look at these places and events. Which ones do you like? Which ones are interesting? Which ones do you like? Which one do you like the best? Which one is the most interesting? Talk (and write) about these places and events! 

例えば：
A: What do you want to do - go to a live concert or an open air market? 
B: Hmm...a live concert. 
A: A live concert? How come? 
B: Because I love live music. How about you? 
A: Well, it's okay, but I think an open air market is more interesting to go to.

Now try this - look at these pictures. Mix and match them and talk about places and events you would like to go to! 

   a fireworks display

a live concert

 an open-air market

a Japanese festival 

(no picture)
your own idea(s)!

Have fun!

Images: Top - the original uploader was Arifhidayat at English Wikipedia - Transferred from en.wikipedia to Commons., CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=2501048/fireworks - "Fireworks" (courtesy of noppasinw)/musician - "On The Stage" (courtesy of George Stojkovic)/market - "Shop" (courtesy of Dino De Luca)/matsuri dancers - "Sakura Matsuri Japanese Festival DC 2012 (7091131693)" by S Pakhrin from DC, USA - Sakura Matsuri Japanese Festival DC 2012. 
Licensed under CC BY 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons - https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Sakura_Matsuri_Japanese_Festival_DC_2012_(7091131693).jpg#/media/File:Sakura_Matsuri_Japanese_Festival_DC_2012_(7091131693).jpg/top and matsuri images courtesy of Wikimedia Commons/other pictures from FreeDigitalPhotos.net