Welcome!

Welcome!

Thursday, January 7, 2016

(ECA) Speaking I (J & D): グロバル・グロバルのポスター (Part 1)

Happy New Year to you all!



How are you in this New Year? I'm doing great, and I hope you are too. Today I'd like to show you all the pictures I took of your presentations from December on global-glocal topics. 

I'm very proud of the work you did on these, and I show these posters here so that you can see them too, and feel proud of what you did! 

Look at the one at the top. It's great! Now here are some more: 



Aren't they great? Now look at this one about foreign educational systems, which comes in different parts with pictures about some different countries:





Great! 

This is not all - I'll show some more in a Part 2 post. 

See you then!

Images: personal photographs of student presentation posters. All rights reserved.

Wednesday, January 6, 2016

ECA (Culture) B: 期末プレゼンテーションについて

Happy New Year to you all!



How are you? I hope you had a good holiday. 

Today I will tell you about our final presentation project (期末プレゼンテーション). This will be like our final test for this class. 

Topics
For your final presentations, you can choose what you want to do. You can choose from topics we have done in this class since September. 

Here are the topics we have done in the textbook:

Politeness & communication (礼義正しさ・コミュニケーション)
Society, gender & culture (社会、性別・文化)
Global-glocal issues in culture (グロバル・グロカルの文化のこと、問題)

You can choose one of these topics and explore an issue in it (そのテーマのことに、 問題を探し、研究して).  

From today, we can have some open classes where I can give you advice and hints on presenting. For our final presentations, you can make posters or Power Point. But this time I will look for more English.  I can help you on presenting in English more than before.


I would like you to watch this video. It's a Power Point presentation by Japanese university students that is very clear, easy to follow, and has good organization. Watch it as many times as you want or need. It's a very good example for you to follow:



I will show you more things as we go along. 

Here is our schedule until the end of the semester:

Thursday class:
1/7 - final presentation project introduction, thinking about and choosing topics, beginning research
1/14 - final choice of topics, research, advice and hints from me on presenting
1/21 - finishing posters or Power Point shows, presentation practice, more advice and hints
1/28 - final presentations

Monday class:

1/18 - final presentation project introduction, thinking about and choosing topics, beginning research
1/25 - final choice of topics, research, advice and hints from me on presenting, presentation practice
2/1 - final presentations
Let's have a great finish to our class! See you next week!

Video uploaded from YouTube. Uploaded for classroom purposes only. I do not own the rights to the video or content of presentation. All rights reserved to the copyright holder(s).

ECA (英語基礎表現) II (Super A): 期末作文

Hello!



How are you? Today I will show you the final writing assignment (期末作文): writing about interesting, strange or unique experiences (面白い、不思議、ユニークな経験)! Let's start!

Activity 1
Look at these pictures. Can you make the beginning of an interesting, strange or unique story with these pictures? You can put these pictures in any order you like (イメージの順番がなんでもいい). 

But you also have to follow this rule: use at least 5 of the pictures (you can use the picture at the top too) in two (2) paragraphs











Activity 2/homework
Now make your story longer! Write 2-3 more paragraphs to it, with characters and a situation. Use time expressions such as beforeafter, or when in your story.

Have fun!
Photo credits: Top photo - "Sunset Holiday" (courtesy of imagerymajestic)/Roofs - "Hiyama Tatsuno Hyogo Prefecture" (courtesy of 663highland)/ 
Images: Top (tiger) - "White Bengal Tiger Face" (courtesy of anankkml)/sunset - "Beautiful Sunset" (courtesy of Photokanok)/curtains - "Curtain Black With Texture" (courtesy of antpkr)/wedding - "The Exit" (courtesy of Elwood W. McKay III)/hand silhouettes - "Silhouette Of Man Asking For Help" (courtesy of foto76)/plane - "Take Off At Sunset" (courtesy of Time Beach)/woman - "Asian Model Woman" (courtesy of posterize)/door - "Empty Wall With Closed Door" (courtesy of master isolated images)/train station cables - "Silhouette Of Wires And Cables" (courtesy of papaija2008)/All photos from FreeDigitalPhotos.net 

ECA (Travel English): 娯楽、場所、イベント

Hello!

Image "Fun At Party" courtesy of ponsuwan/ FreeDigitalPhotos.net
How are you? Let's talk about entertainment (娯楽), places (場所) and events (イベント)! 

When you want to do something on the weekend (Saturday/Sunday), 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 better? Which one do you like the best? Which one is the most interesting? Talk 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.
B: 

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 street festival 

(no picture)
your own idea(s)!


Have fun!


Images: Top - "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/Fireworks - "Fireworks" (courtesy of noppasinw)/Musician - "On The Stage" (courtesy of George Stojkovic)/Market - "Shop" (courtesy of Dino De Luca)/Street festival - personal photograph/All other attributed pictures from FreeDigitalPhotos.net/Personal image - all rights reserved.  

Wednesday, December 16, 2015

ECA (Travel English): 海外の有名な祭り

Hello!



How are you? Today, for our last class of the year, let's do something a little different - let's look at some famous festivals (祭り) around the world! 

The picture above is of a unique festival held every year in the U.S. called Burning Man. It's held in the western desert, in Nevada, every summer. 

I won't tell you any more about it because today we'll do an activity about it, and some other festivals around the world, where you have to find out about it! Here's what we'll do:

Activity
1. Get together with others in a group. Look at the top picture again, and then look at the pictures of some other festivals in different countries. 

Tomatina festival, Spain

Rio Carnaval, Brazil

Tet festival, Vietnam

Oktoberfest, Germany

Canadian National Exhibition, Canada


Holi, India

2. Now your group choose one (1) event. Go on the Internet and find out the following things:
  • Where exactly the events are located in the country
  • What kinds of things people can do there
  • When these events are held
  • How to get to the location all the way from Japan
3. Now your group pair up with another group. Teach the other group about what you found out, and let the other group teach you about their festival. 

Have fun!

Images: Top - "Lightmatter burningman" by Aaron Logan. Licensed under CC BY 2.0 via Commons - https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Lightmatter_burningman.jpg#/media/File:Lightmatter_burningman.jpg/Tomatina festival - "La Tomatina (25.08.2010) - Spain, Buñol 30" by flydime - La Tomatina (25.08.2010) / Spain, Buñol. Licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0 via Commons - https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:La_Tomatina_(25.08.2010)_-_Spain,_Bu%C3%B1ol_30.jpg#/media/File:La_Tomatina_(25.08.2010)_-_Spain,_Bu%C3%B1ol_30.jpg/Carnaval - "Grazieli Massafera como Rainha da Bateria da Grande Rio 1" by Team at Carnaval.com Studios - Grand-Rio-37.JPG. Licensed under CC BY 2.0 via Commons - https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Grazieli_Massafera_como_Rainha_da_Bateria_da_Grande_Rio_1.jpg#/media/File:Grazieli_Massafera_como_Rainha_da_Bateria_da_Grande_Rio_1.jpg/Tet festival - "Thương xá TAX, Tết 2012" by Pinus - Own work. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Commons - https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Th%C6%B0%C6%A1ng_x%C3%A1_TAX,_T%E1%BA%BFt_2012.JPG#/media/File:Th%C6%B0%C6%A1ng_x%C3%A1_TAX,_T%E1%BA%BFt_2012.JPG/Oktoberfest - "Oktoberfest inside Hippodrom" by Aschuff - Own work. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Commons - https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Oktoberfest_inside_Hippodrom.jpg#/media/File:Oktoberfest_inside_Hippodrom.jpg/Canadian National Exhibition festival - "Canadian National Exhibition 2012" by Kotsy - Own work. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Commons - https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Canadian_National_Exhibition_2012.jpg#/media/File:Canadian_National_Exhibition_2012.jpg /Holi festival - "Samaj gathering during Lathmar hoil" by Narender9 - Own work. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Commons - https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Samaj_gathering_during_Lathmar_hoil.jpg#/media/File:Samaj_gathering_during_Lathmar_hoil.jpg

Monday, December 14, 2015

ECA (Speaking) I (D): グロバル・グロカルプレゼンテーションの準備「日系ブラジル人・教育」

Hello!



How are you? Today I'd like to show you some examples of posters that have been done by students I have had before on topics about Japanese-Brazilians and education. 

The poster above is a shot from a great Kodomo student I had last year, who was part of a group who did a presentation on famous Japanese-Brazilians. She was a real artist - she drew these pictures! Here is the full poster:


So here are some other shots of posters on themes of Japanese-Brazilians and education. Take a look a these and you can get some ideas on how you can prepare your posters! 





I hope these can help you. Take care!

Images: Personal photographs. All rights reserved.


ECA (Speaking) I (J): グロバル・グロカルショートプレゼンテーションの準備「移民・難民」

Hello!



How are you? Today I will show you some presentations on immigration (移民) and refugee (難民) topics, like the refugee topic one at the top here.

We will do some short presentations about immigrants and refugees and problems they may have when coming to Japan or other countries. Here are some great posters from students I had last year doing the same topics.

Look at these posters. You can get ideas about how to do your own posters from these great examples (例え):







I hope these help you. Take care!

Images: Personal photographs. All rights reserved.

Friday, December 11, 2015

ECA (Speaking) I (D): 日系ブラジール人教育

Hello to my Kodomo speaking students,


How are you? Today, let's start our special topic - about Japanese-Brazilians (日系ブラジール人) and some problems they have living in Japan.

The picture at the top of this post is an educational center for Japanese-Brazilian people. There are many Japanese-Brazilians living in Japan.


Here is a video about the problems that many Brazilians have in Japan, especially with education. Watch this video. What do you think? Make some notes about the video (you can write your notes in Japanese or English). When you are finished, answer these questions in your notebooks:

1. When did Japanese first begin leaving Japan for Brazil?
2. When did Japan first begin letting Japanese-Brazilians to come to Japan to work?
3. What is the name of the Japanese-Brazilian school in Toyoda?
4. What does the school do for the children’s parents who do not have jobs?
5. In 2009 how many Brazilians did Francisco Freitas say were in Japan?
6. What percentage of Brazilian children are not in Brazilian schools?
7. What problems do some Brazilian children have when going to Japanese schools?
8. What did Rodney Freitas say about how Japanese-Brazilians are treated in Brazil?

We will make some presentations about immigrants (移民) and the problems (問題) they have in Japan.

I hope this will be interesting for you. Take care!


Image: By English: Abasaa 日本語あばさー (Own work) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0f/Japanese_Brazilian_Center_Educational_Institute_in_Oizumi.JPG
Video uploaded from YouTube. I do not own the rights to this video. Uploaded for educational purposes only. All rights reserved to the owner(s).

ECA (Speaking) I (J): 東京に難民の雇用

Hello to my Nichibun speaking students,


How are you? Today, let's start our special topic - about refugees (難民) in Tokyo.

The picture you see at the top is of a young refugee (難民) working in Afghanistan. Many countries have refugees. Japan has many refugees, especially from Africa and other parts of Asia.


This is a video about refugees (難民) in Tokyo and some jobs they do. Watch this video. What do you think of it? Make some notes. You can make notes in Japanese or English. When you are finished, answer these questions:

1. What kinds of daily needs (日用品) are there for refugees (難民) at the Refugee Support Association center (難民支援協会in Shinjuku? 
2. What did Doi-san (土井さん) of Human Rights Watch (ヒュマンライッツウオッチ)  say about refugees and business chances? 
3. What is the name of the nail salon in the video? 
4. What country does Nang Sie Hom (ナン・シーホン) come from? 
5. What did the owner of the nail salon say about her nail artists? 
6. Where does the Refugee Support Fund (難民起業サポートファンド) get its money from? 
7. What kind of job does Melipp Senbu (マリップ・ センブ) have? 

We will make some presentations in groups about refugees in Japan. What problems do refugees have, and what can we do to help them? 

I hope this is interesting for you. Take care! 

Image: By NATO Training Mission-Afghanistan from Afghanistan (120410-N-3069F-025  Uploaded by russavia) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1e/120410-N-3069F-025_%287109524151%29.jpg
Video uploaded from YouTube. I do not own the rights to this video. Uploaded for educational purposes only. All rights reserved to the owner(s).

Thursday, December 10, 2015

ECA (Travel English, English Through Songs, & Culture B): 中間プレゼンテーションポスター

Hello! 



How are you? I'd like to show a collection of poster presentations from some different classes - Travel English, Culture B, English Through Songs, and my great speaking classes.

I'm proud of your work and want to show it here to you and others! The posters here are from Travel English, English through Songs, and Culture B.

The one at the top is from Travel English, on some great presentations on food from other countries and cultures. This one is about the food of Vietnam. I'm hungry already!

Here are some more from Travel English:



Great! Now here are two posters from English through Songs on artists the students chose to present with songs of the artists they liked:



Aren't they great? Now here is a poster from Culture B on marriage customs from different countries and cultures. This one was on Germany:


That was a good one! 

Look for more displays to come. 

See you!

Monday, December 7, 2015

特別のポスト: 海外の生活のチャレンジ/life outside our cultures

Hello!



How are you? Today we will start a special topic on global-glocal issues - living outside your own culture, such as in another country, and the challenges people have in life. 

Let's watch a video by a Seigakuin student from China - Xu Linfei (Julia). In it, she talks about her life as an exchange student in Japan. 

The video comes from the ECA website global-glocal page. Click on this link to go to YouTube to watch this video.

Activity/homework
Watch Julia's video. On the video, you will see some questions. While watching the video, answer the questions in your notebooks. These are the questions:

1. Why did she decide to study in Japan?
2. What impressed her the most about Japanese people?
3. What did she miss most about how people interact in China?
4. How has the experience of living in Japan changed her?

You can see more videos on the ECA global-glocal page here.

I hope this has been interesting for you.

See you next time!


Image: "Passport Visa Stamps" (courtesy of Christineg)/Dreamstime.com