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.