東京理科大学 A英3: Cause & effect・原因結果

Hello!

How are you? Today let's look at basic cause and effect (原因結果). While I know you understand the idea of cause and effect, practicing how to write this in English can always help you. 

Warmer

1. Look at these sentences. In your notebooks, write the effect (what happens) and the cause (why it happened). 

a. He went to the convenience store because he needed some food.
Effect: (What happened?)______________________________________
Cause: (Why did it happen?)____________________________________

b. She could only eat a little soup because she was feeling sick.
Effect:_____________________________________________________
Cause:_____________________________________________________

c. The mother was very quiet because the baby was sleeping.
Effect:_____________________________________________________
Cause:_____________________________________________________

d. The man bought a vacuum cleaner because he wanted to clean the house.
Effect:_____________________________________________________
Cause:_____________________________________________________

e. The driver stopped the car because the traffic signal turned red.
Effect:_____________________________________________________
Cause:_____________________________________________________

f. The student raised his hand because he had a question.
Effect:_____________________________________________________
Cause:_____________________________________________________

2. Now look at these sentences. What is the effect, and what is the cause? Choose three (3) of these to do!

a. Metal corrodes because of contact with air.
Effect:_____________________________________________________
Cause:_____________________________________________________

b. Alzheimer's patients often don't take pills because it's hard for them to swallow.
Effect:_____________________________________________________
Cause:_____________________________________________________

c. He was vomiting this morning because he got drunk last night.
Effect:_____________________________________________________
Cause:_____________________________________________________

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

e. She couldn't sleep because she had drunk too much coffee in the afternoon.
Effect:_____________________________________________________
Cause:_____________________________________________________

See you next time! 

Image: By aussiegall - [1], CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=4428411

東京理科大学 A英3: Ishikawa diagrams・特性要因図

Hello! 

How are you? Today I have a post about Ishikawa diagrams (特性要因図) - sometimes called fishbone diagrams (フィッシュボーン・チャート「魚の骨図」). They're used for helping to see cause-effect situations more clearly, such as problems, and the causes of problems).  

Here's an example of an Ishikawa diagram: 

What does it mean? Let's look at it: 

We can see what the different parts of the chart mean, and how they break down what the problem might be, and how they fit together to have the effect(s) they have. 

This can be a way to help you find what the causes of a problem are - and from there, how you might solve the problem. 

I hope this can help you in your writing about cause-and-effect (比較対照). 

See you next class! 

Images: Top - royalty-and-copyright-free image from Clipart Library. Ishikawa diagrams - screenshots of personal examples. All rights reserved.

電気通信大学 AWE & ASE II: Foreign education systems・外国教育のシステム

Hello!

How are you? The picture above is of a science classroom in Sweden in the 1970s. I decided to show this as an example of what is on this blogpost, because I have three short videos for you about educational systems in three different countries - Finland, India, and South Korea. 

Special note: It may be better for you to watch these videos on a computer, and then go directly to YouTube to watch them - if you need Japanese subtitles (字幕), you can get them there.  

(New note for AWE II students: I have made some changes to this blogpost - such as the date you should have the pre-class preparation ready (for 11/10, not 11/3), and that you should have a summary (要約) ready to bring to class on 11/10.) 

Pre-class preparation (for ASE II: 11/7 - for AWE II: 11/10)
Watch these short videos outside of class. Answer these questions after you watch:

1. Do you recognize anything of your educational experiences in any of these?
2. Which one of these is most like your experience?
3. Which one is the least like your experience?
4. How would you compare and contrast any one of these systems to Japanese education? 

When you are finished: Think of another country you are interested in comparing its educational system with education in Japan. Choose any level of education you want (elementary, high school, university, etc.) - then write a summary (要約) comparing that level of education with the same level of education in Japan (for example, high school in Japan with high school in Germany, or university in Japan with university in Brazil). 

You can focus on science education if you like - for example, the quality and level of science education in Japan with the quality and level of science education in, for example, the U.S.   

Here are the videos. The first one is about education in Finland, and the video is called Inside Finland's education system: 

This next one below is about India. It's called Education in India: Profile of a Poor Public School: 

This last one is about South Korea. The video is titled The South Korean Education System:

Watch these videos as many times as you want or need. I'll be interested to read what you have to say and will value it greatly.

See you next week!

Image: By Gunnar Creutz, Falbygdens museum - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=28211895

All videos uploaded from YouTube. I do not own the rights to these videos. All rights reserved to the copyright holder(s). Uploaded for classroom purposes only.

電気通信大学 ASE & AWE II: Comparison & contrast in Japanese education・日本教育の比較対照

Hello!

How are you? Let's look at Japanese education (教育), and how it has changed over time. 

Activity
Look at these two pictures below. The first one is from a girl's high school sewing (裁縫) class in the 1930s. The second one is a recent, average high school class. 

With a partner or a small group talk about, and make some notes on, differences you notice and things you feel have changed - or perhaps anything you feel is also the same - between these two pictures. 

Discussion & practice writing

When we're finished, discuss what you see in the pictures - what is different, but also what might be similar, about them. Make a chart comparing (比較して) and contrasting (対照して) what you note in the pictures. 

For AWE II, we can also start some 2-3 paragraph practice writing on comparing and contrasting these different pictures, and what we see and understand in them. This will be due in the next class.

Take care! See you next time!

Images: Top - by Douglas P Perkins - Own work, CC BY 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=17195256/Past girl’s high school classroom - by 能代実科高等女学校　Noshiro Practical Girls' High School - 能代実科高等女学校大正五年開校記念絵葉書　Postcard issued by the Noshiro Practical Girls' High School., Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=17018162/Contemporary high school classroom - screenshot taken from https://www.tofugu.com/japan/jet-program-self-intro-class/Original photograph by Dylan James at https://www.flickr.com/photos/organictokyo/33542326/in/photostream/Special thanks to Verity Lane at Tofugu.com. All rights reserved on original photograph to Dylan James. I do not own the rights to the image or the copyright holder(s). Dylan James photograph uploaded for classroom purposes only.

東京理科大学 A英3: Citing, quoting, & referencing in writing・書き、作文の引用と参照

Hello!

How are you? As promised, here are the screenshots of the Power Point display I showed you in class about citation, quotation, and referencing in academic writing. 

I'm very sorry about the technical troubles I had in both classes today! I hope to get this fixed so that any more computer displaying I may need to do in class can go more smoothly. 

As promised also, I have added two more slides to the show: One about how to cite and reference videos, and another on more citing and referencing of internet articles when you can't find the name of the writer of an article. 

I've also made a few changes to the slides about referencing - especially with some information I had forgotten when I wrote the slides the first time! It makes the writing smaller, but I wanted to put more information in and make it cleaner. (If it's too small, touch on the picture of the slide on your smartphones to make them bigger to see.) 

So here are the slides! Look at these as many times as you want or need. The picture at the top is the title slide, so here are the rest of the slides:

I hope these can help you. Good luck - and take care. See you next week!

Images: Screenshots of personal Power Point slideshow. All rights reserved. 

東京理科大学 A・B英1: Names of fish in English for sushi ・寿司魚の英名

Hello!

How are you? Today we'll begin our view of aquaculture, plus look further at oceanography, with one of the most basic things we find in our oceans, seas, lakes, and rivers - the fish for sushi!

Warmer/activity

Look at the picture above - then look at the same picture below. Can you go through and match the name in English of the fish to the number?

These are the names of the fish in English: 

      sea eel               tuna               squid               salmon roe       

           

fatty tuna              sea urchin              tuna roll               shrimp 

Now - don't go to your dictionary! Try this: Matching the names in English to the right number in the picture with these hints:  

1. This has lots of fish eggs, from a fish with the same name in both English and Japanese. 

2. Has a very short name in Japanese; in English it has two parts to the name, and the second part means "naughty child." 
3. As the name suggests in English, it curls up in a spiral in itself. 
4. As the name also suggests in English, it's an "overweight" fish.  
5. This is a common fish in other countries as well; Americans make sandwiches with it! 
6. This also can be found in rivers; it's long, and makes for a good one to eat in summer. 
7. The name for this in English is also a slang word for something small. 
8. This one is slippery and comes in many varieties - including one that squirts out black ink!

Have fun! See you next time!

Images: By Nandaro - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=32047910/Ikura - CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=2073689    

東京理科大学 A英3: Comparison-contrast organization (Part 1): Block style

Hello!

How are you? This is a post about one way to organize your comparison-contrast writing - in block style. 

Take a look at the composition below. This is written in block style. Block style is good for showing contrast with two things. If you want to focus on the differences between two things, this style would be best for you. Take a look: 

Block organization

In this first paragraph, you show points of comparison between two things (A & B):

Elementary educational school experiences in the U.S. and Japan have some similarities, but many differences that are reflective of their societies. In both countries children generally begin school at the age of 6, and continue their education for six years after. For many of the children it is a new and exciting world, where they are first consciously interacting with children from different families from their neighborhoods and their areas. They may be very nervous on their first day of school, but soon they make friends with each other and explore their worlds together.

This second paragraph shows points of comparison-contrast about point A:

But the differences can soon be seen when we look at the daily routines of Japanese and American children in their schools. To begin with, Japanese elementary school children wear uniforms, and work and study together in groups to a degree that their American counterparts do not do as much. Group coordination is central to Japanese childhood education, and students with special needs, such as learning disabilities, may still not get the special attention that many Americans might believe they should get. On the other hand, Japanese children develop a sense of responsibility as a whole towards their classrooms and schools that American children are not required to; children in Japan have to clean their classrooms and facilities themselves, in coordination with one another and under the supervision of their teachers, to a degree that would amaze most Americans. In addition, a sense of play and freedom is allowed in Japanese elementary education that some Americans may find too permissive. Yet in terms of group cohesion and responsibility, Japanese children may be more sensitive to the needs of others, and may therefore be more socially aware and mature than their American counterparts.

This third paragraph shows points of comparison contrast about point B:

By contrast, American elementary education stresses the development of children as individuals to a degree that Japanese education perhaps does not. In American elementary schools, children do not wear uniforms and are not expected to clean their own classrooms and schools. In addition, while there are many group activities, they are not as central to the overall educational experience as they would be in most Japanese schools. The American school day is also not as long on average as the Japanese school day, nor do American children go to school for as many days in a year as Japanese children do; the average school year is overall shorter than the Japanese school year. While there are children who engage in activities such as sports, or piano or ballet lessons, there is no concept of juku, or cram school, as there is in Japan. American children do not have to do any after school activities if they choose not to do them, and while many of the children get together and play with each other after school, sometimes on thee school grounds and sometimes at each others' homes, they can go home directly from their elementary school day if they wish.

Now here are your concluding sentences:

So as we can see, while there are similarities between Japanese and American elementary school experiences, there are many contrasts perhaps demonstrate the differences in the cultures of both countries, and that make the educational experiences consequently different from one another.

I hope this can help you in how to write by contrasting two different things. 

After this post, check out the next post on point-by-point organization in comparison-contrast writing!

Image: "Blank Document Area Shows Copyspace White Background For Note" (courtesy of Stuart Miles)/FreeDigital Photos.net