電気通信大学 ASE & AWE I: Immigrants・移民

Hello!  

How are you? Our new topic is on immigrants (移民) - people from one country who move to live in another country, and identity (正体) - your feeling and understanding about who you are as a person. 

Activity
Look at these pictures. Who are Japanese, and who are not Japanese? For the ones who are not Japanese - what are their countries?

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

Homework
Now choose two (2) of the following people and do a little research about them. 

Marutei Tsurinen
Agnes Chan
Victor Starffin
Yoko Ono
Renho

Write some notes about them. Bring your notes to the next class. 

See you next class!

Images: Top - By mroach - originally posted to Flickr as Japan visa, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=8908845/1.Keiko Fujimori - by Keiko_Fujimori.jpg: Congreso de la República del Perúderivative work: Athenchen (talk) - Keiko_Fujimori.jpg, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=11754296/2. "OFeldman, Tokyo, 2012" by Ofer Feldman- Own work/http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:OFeldman,_Tokyo,_2012.jpg#mediaviewer/File:OFeldman,_Tokyo,_2012.jpg/3. Priyanka Yoshikawa - screen shot taken from unattributed Internet source/4. Ryan Higa by Gage Skidmore http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b8/Ryan_Higa_by_Gage_Skidmore.jpg/5. Dido Havenaar by norio nakayama (Flickr: 大宮アルディージャ vs 清水エスパルス @ NACK5スタジアム)/http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5f/Dido_Havenaar%2C_assistant_coach_for_Shimizu_S-Pulse.jpg/6. Michio Kaku by Cristiano Sant´Anna/http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3b/Michio_Kaku-cropped.jpg/All rights reserved on top image. All other images courtesy of Wikimedia Commons. All rights reserved. Uploaded for educational purposes only.

東京理科大学 A英1: Totem poles・トーテムポール

Hello!

How are you? You might wonder about this long picture here! It's a totem pole (トーテムポール) brought to Seattle, in the U.S., in 1907. This old picture comes from that time. 

Totem poles are unique to the Pacific coast native Americans and Canadian First Nations people in the U.S., in northern California, Oregon, Washington state, and southeast Alaska, and in Canada, in British Columbia. The totem poles tell stories, in picture carvings, about nature, events that happened, life, and other things that impacted the Pacific Coast people. 

In the circle in pink on the map, here are the parts of the U.S. and Canada where the Pacific Coast indigenous people are from: 

Activity/homework

Look at these pictures of parts of totem poles, with a whole totem pole at the bottom. What kinds of animals do you notice? What kinds of stories do you imagine they might tell? 

Here is a piece of homework for you - write out a short account of what you believe one of these totem poles might be telling a story about. 

For example: Once there was an eagle who never rested. He was always flying around in the sky, and  was always looking to test how strong he was. One day, when he was coming in low to some trees to pick at some nuts to eat, he saw a raven on a branch...

Share your stories with your classmates in the next class!

Have fun! See you next time!

Image: Top - By Photo not clearly credited. (Expired) copyright was W. D. Harney. - Artwork of Seattle and Alaska, 1907, W. D. Harney Photogravure Publisher, Racine, Wisconsin. Copied by taking a photograph of a page in a copy of the book at Seattle Public Library (Seattle Room of the Central Library); Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=3762941/Map - screenshot taken of photograph courtesy of the Harper College website/First section of totem pole - By Jerzy Strzelecki - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=3112590/Detailed section of totem pole - By Jerzy Strzelecki - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=3112589/Full totem pole - By http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:H - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Totem_Park_pole_1.jpg, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=2405610
All rights reserved on Harper College map screenshot. I do not own the rights to the original photograph. Uploaded for educational purposes only.

東京理科大学 A英3: Origins of cats & dogs・猫と犬の起源

Hello!

How are you? Today I have two short videos for you that I hope you find interesting - one is about the origins (起源) of cats, and the other is about the origins of dogs. 

Both videos show where these animals came from and how they became domesticated (馴れた).  

Activity/homework

Watch these short videos. Watch each one as many times as you want or need. The first is about where cats came from and how they spread around the world. The second is about dogs, and where they came from and how they also spread around the world. 

There are no set questions about the videos that you have to report to the class. Mainly, they are to give you some background as to where cats and dogs came from, how they both first came into contact with humans, and how humans first found them to be useful, and how they also found them to be good as pets. 

But - make notes about the videos, because if you do any writing about cats or dogs, the information you'll see in the videos may be very useful for you!

First video - about cats:

Second video - about dogs: 

Hope these were very interesting for you!

See you next time!

Image: Personal photograph. All rights reserved. 

Videos uploaded from YouTube. I do not own the rights to the videos or the content within them. All rights reserved to the copyright holder(s). Uploaded for educational purposes. 

東京理科大学 A英3: Writing assignment 2 (The Small Book of Big People・Places & Traces)・作文2

Hello!

How are you? Today, I'll tell you about our 2nd writing assignment (作文2). While I have already given all of you the handout about the assignment, I am also posting it here as another way to help remind you on what you need to do. 

You have two (2) choices for topics. Choose one (1) of them:

1. Write about your favorite place. 
In this topic, write about your favorite place. While you did this in your practice writing, I would like you to go deeper and farther with it – in it, you can write about where the place is and why it is special to you, and very importantly, what feelings you have about it. Write deeply about those feelings and even give some history about them - especially about the first time you ever saw the place and what impact it had on you at that time.

If the place is a tourist spot, or has some long history to it (such as an important event in the past that happened there, or an important person who came there), also show why it brings tourists, or the reasons why it is so historical. 

2. Write about a unique, interesting, or special person. 
While we have been writing more lately about places, you can also write about a person. In this topic, write about a unique, interesting, or special person you know, like a teacher, best friend, coach, or even a family member like a mother, father, brother or sister - or a famous person you think is unique, interesting, or special, like a singer, musician, actor, athlete, or a writer or artist.

I will gather your writing on this topic into a book called The Small Book of Big People. I started this a few years ago with my students at another university. You can check out their writing at this link, and also at this link too.

How much to 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 Small Book of Big People and Places and Traces books. 

I would like to see around 3-4 paragraphs. (Make the paragraphs at least a little longer!) But if you can write even a little more – go for it!

Deadline (締め切り)
It will be June 26th (6/26). So today, I want you to work on a first draft (下書き) in your notebooks in pencil in class. 

I will show you how you can review each others' work. Then you can change things about the draft as you need to, then write to the finish and turn in your final draft on 6/26. 

Good luck with this! I hope you can have fun with this, and enjoy writing about a place that you have a great feeling for, or a person who is special and unique to you. 

Images: Personal photographs. All rights reserved.

電気通信大学 AWE I: Refugees & places・難民と場所

Hello!

How are you? Today let's look at refugees (難民) and the places they come from - and where they may go.

Activity
Look at the following four pictures. Who are the people in the pictures? What are they doing? Where are they going? Where might they be coming from? Why can't they continue to live in the places they cone from any more? What are they feeling about leaving, and where they may be going?

Most importantly - what's your opinion of their situations? Make some notes in your notebooks about them.

See you next time!

Images: Top - By Unknown - http://www.columbia.edu/itc/mealac/pritchett/00routesdata/1900_1999/partition/camps/camps.html, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=31055700/Boy - http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Asylbewerber_-_15.jpg#mediaviewer/File:Asylbewerber_-_15.jpg/Boat - http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Refugees_on_a_boat.jpg#mediaviewer/File:Refugees_on_a_boat.jpg/People on grounds - "Evstafiev Travnik refugees" http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Evstafiev-travnik-refugees.jpg#mediaviewer/File:Evstafiev-travnik-refugees.jpg/Man with passport and children - by Alemaugil - Own work, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=2956803/
All images from Wikimedia Commons. 

電気通信大学 AWE I: Writing assignment 2 (Leaving Home, Going Home)・作文2

Hello!

How are you? Let me show you our 2nd writing assignment - your opinions about refugees (難民), what they need for immigration (移住), and what you think of their chances of Japan as a new location for their lives. 

While I have given you the handout about the assignment, I am posting it here, with the video that will go with the assignment. 

I am gathering writing on his topic into a book called Leaving Home, Going Home - this is a book about student writing on refugee issues. The best of your writing on this topic could go into this book, so write to the best you can!

How much to 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 Leaving Home, Going Home book.

I would like to see maybe 3-4 paragraphs' worth of writing.

Deadline (締め切り)
It will be June 23nd (6/23), so I want you to bring in a first draft (下書き) next week (来週) in your notebooks in pencil. Then you can write to the finish and turn in your work on 6/23.

Preparation (準備)
Refugees have many problems, and many things they need. Watch this video. It's mostly in Japanese, but with some English, with Japanese subtitles  (日本語の字幕). 

Watch the video as many times as you need to. When you are finished, answer these questions in your notebook about the different parts of the video (you can make notes in English or Japanese):

日本のメッセージ
1. What did the first woman say about coming to Australia as a refugee?
2. What did the second woman say about communication between the government (政府) and refugees?

シンポジウムから待たヒント
What did Ishii-san say about the two women's refugee stories?

日本にできること
What did Moriya-sensei from Hokkaido Educational University (北海道教育大学) say about the needs of refugees?

長野県松本市の取り組み
What did Takizawa-sensei from Toyo Eiwa Women's University graduate school (東洋英和女学院大学大学院) say about help for refugees in Matsumoto city in Nagano (長野県松本市)?

求められる視点
What did Daniel Alkhal (ダニエル・  アルカル ) from the UNHCR (国連難民高等弁務官事務所) say about the three different steps of support refugees need?

Make these notes on the planning and preparation handout I have given you.

Task 
Most important: Choose one (1) of the following:
Make a one-sided argument for why refugees should be allowed to resettle in Japan.
Or - a one-sided argument for why refugees should not be allowed to resettle in Japan.

Now look at your notes. Choose one (1) of the one-sided arguments above and write 3-4 paragraphs.

Good luck! I look forward to reading your great writing about these issues.

Take care!

Image: By Alemaugil - Own work, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=2956803
Video uploaded from YouTube. I do not own the rights to the video. Uploaded strictly for educational purposes only. All rights reserved to the
copyright holder(s).