英語表現演習2 (金): Mid-term short presentations・中間ショートプレゼンテーション

Hello!

How are you? Here are the topics, deadline, & guidelines for our mid-term presentations. 

Deadlines (締め切り)

You will prepare a 3-4 minute presentation that you will do on November 23rd (11/23), so you have four (4) weeks to prepare them. Please be ready on the day to present.

For your presentations, you have a choice of using Power Point or KeyNote, or making a small poster. 

Themes (テーマ)

Here are your choice of themes. They're based on what we've done, and are doing, so far from the textbook in class. You can choose one (1) of these: 

• Issues and solutions about the environment
• Facts and other interesting things about our solar system or space 

Steps & guidelines

Here is the process of the steps and guidelines for how we will do these presentations.

1. Summaries (要約) 
After you see this blogpost, you should choose a topic from the themes above. Then, start writing a short summary about the topic you want to present on in your notebooks. The summary will be due on November 9th (11/9). 

Very important! Your summary should have these points about it: 

• A short background about the topic
• What focus or viewpoint you will present about

Be ready for me to review your summary on 11/9. I will then show you some more about summaries in-class.  

2. Outlines (あらすじ)
On 11/9 after showing you more about summaries, I will have a handout about outlines. You will do some activities with outlines in-class, then begin working on your presentation outlines. 

We may have time in-class to start working on our presentations - so having your summary ready on 11/9 will be very important! 

3. Practice 
On November 16th (11/16), I will show you some guidelines about presenting. We will then make some time to practice our presentations in-class. You can practice with me and/or other group of students. 

4. Finishing presentations
After 11/16, you will finalize your presentations outside of class and be ready to present on 11/23!

Good luck with these! I’ll look forward to working with you on your presentation skills, and seeing your great presentations.

See you on 11/9!

Image: Personal photograph. All rights reserved.

英語表現演習4 (土): Mid-term writing assignment・中間作文

Hello!

How are you? Here are the topics, deadline, & guidelines for our mid-term short writing assignments (中間作文) .

Originally, the syllabus had a plan for us to prepare short mid-term presentations. But because of the changes we have had to make to the schedule, I believe doing the writing project at the mid-term may be easier and better for the class all around. (We will do the presentations as our final project near the end of the semester.) 

Topics

Here are your choice of topics. They're based on what we've done so far in class. You can choose one (1) of these: 

• Facts or other interesting phenomena about DNA
• Genetic origins of the Japanese people 
• How children learn/acquire language
• Genetic facts and other characteristics of twins 

Deadlines (締め切り)

It will be on December 1st (12/1), so you have over one (1) month to prepare them. Please be ready to hand in on the deadline day.

Guidelines
1. Prepare a summary (要約) on the topic you want to write about in pen or pencil in your notebooks. The summary will be due on November 10th (11/10). I will review the summaries. 

*Go to this link on another blog of mine for a review of what should go into a summary. The link is a post about summaries and outlines - for now, only look at the part about summaries! I hope this can help you in your summary writing. 

2. After I review the summaries, you can begin writing a rough draft (下書き) of your paper in pen or pencil in your notebooks. The rough draft will be due on November 17th (11/17).

3. After I review the rough drafts, you will begin working on a final draft, which will be typed up on word and printed out. I will show you a format that you will use when writing your final drafts.

4. Finalize your typed drafts outside of class and be ready to hand in on December 1st!

Good luck with these! I’ll look forward to seeing your great work!

Take care!

Image: Screenshot of image originally by Madprime - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=2063426

英語表現演習4 (土): Conjoined twins・ 結合双生児

Hello!

How are you? Do you know who the two people in the picture above are? They are Chang and Eng Bunker, the conjoined twins (結合双生児) who became famous in the 19th century. 

At that time, conjoined twins were called Siamese twins. This is because Chang and Eng Bunker were born in Thailand, which at that time was called Siam. Even today, they are still among the most famous conjoined twins who ever lived. 

Activity/homework

Here is a video about Chang and Eng Bunker. Watch the video and answer the questions below. Watch it as many times as you need. 

(If you have any trouble watching the video here, go to this link - or copy and paste this URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=14&v=AWXoPrGAQMk)

1. While Chang and Eng Bunker were born in what is now Thailand, what was the ethnicity of their mother and father?

2. What did the Scottish merchant Robert Hunter ask them to do in 1829?

3. What did they do after?

4. How many children did Chang and Eng have with their wives?

5. Which brother died first?

I hope you find this interesting. Take care!

Image: By User CatherineMunro on en.wikipedia - Originally from en.wikipedia; description page is (was) here, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=36896751
Video uploaded from YouTube. I do not own the rights to the video or content. Uploaded for classroom purposes only.

英語表現演習2 (金): The Solar System・太陽系

Hello!

How are you? Here are some pictures of some of the planets (惑星) and dwarf planets (準惑星) in the Solar System (太陽系). The picture above is one of the most famous of the planets we know - Jupiter (木星), the largest planet in our system.

Activity
Let's look at these planets. What do you know about them? Talk about what you know - or think you know - about them!

Venus (金星) 

Saturn (土星) 

Mercury (水星)

Pluto (冥王星) 

Eris (エリス) 

Discussion circles

Here are the questions for the leaders for our discussion circles.

Leader questions

For the summarizer:

Are you ready to summarize the reading/CD talk? (Can you give us your summary of the reading/CD talk?)

For the details master:

1. How long ago was the Solar System formed?

2. What kind of star is the Sun?

3. What are the four inner planets made of?

4. What are the last four planets called? 
(Leaders: Think of 1-2 more details to ask the details master!)

For the vocabulary master:

What is a moon?
What is an asteroid?
What is a dwarf planet?
What is a gas giant? 
(Leaders: Think of 1-2 more words to ask the vocabulary master!)

Homework

Choose one (1) of these planets, and research about it. Note down these things: 

• Its distance from the Sun
• Its orbit and how long it takes to revolve around the Sun
• Surface temperature
• Length of day and night
• Any other interesting points you might find about it

Bring these in and we'll share them in the next class!

Have fun! See you next time!

Images: Top - by NASA, ESA, and A. Simon (Goddard Space Flight Center) - http://www.spacetelescope.org/images/heic1410a/ or http://hubblesite.org/newscenter/archive/releases/2014/24/image/b/, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=32799232/Venus - by NASA or Ricardo Nunes - http://www.astrosurf.com/nunes/explor/explor_m10.htm, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=338424/Saturn - by NASA - http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/imgcat/html/object_page/vg1_p22994c.html (image link), Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=5956746/Mercury - by NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Carnegie Institution of Washington - NASA/JPL.Edited version of Mercury in color - Prockter07.jpg by jjron (cropped to square)., Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=24301424/Pluto - by NASA / Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory / Southwest Research Institute - http://pluto.jhuapl.edu/Multimedia/Science-Photos/image.php?gallery_id=2&image_id=243, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=45707703/Eris - by ESO/L. Calçada and Nick Risinger (skysurvey.org) - http://www.eso.org/public/images/eso1142a/, CC BY 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=17153692

英語表現演習4 (土): Ainu greetings・アイヌ語の挨拶

Hello!

How are you? Here is a post about Ainu greetings (アイヌ語挨拶).  

Activity
Let's look at these greetings! What do you think they mean? 

Iramkarapte. (イランカラプテ)     He. (ヘー)

E-iwanke ya? (エイワンケ  ヤ？)

Ku-iwanke wa. (クイワンケ  ワ)

E-re hemanta ya? (エレ  ヘマンタ  ヤ？)

K-ani anakne ____ ku-ne. (カニ アナㇰネ ____ クネ)

Check your guesses - were any of them correct, or close? 

Video 
Now here is a short animated video about the Ainu language. It's a chant that in a way tells the story of the Ainu. Here is only one question about it:

How similar do you think the Ainu language is to Japanese, or other Asian languages you know or have heard? What's your feeling about it? (If you watch and listen to this video directly on YouTube, you can turn on Japanese subtitles (字幕). Try it!) 

Write down what you think. Bring it to class next week!

I hope you find this video interesting.

See you next time!

(Answers to Ainu greetings at top of post)

Image: Top - by Unknown - Japanese book "Series of Japanese geography and folk culture: Vol.14" published by Shinkosha, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=7622792/courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

Content: Ainu greetings courtesy of Wikitravel.
Video upload from YouTube. I do not own the rights to the content or animation. All rights reserved to the copyright holder(s). Uploaded for classroom use only. 

英語表現演習2 (金): More on greenbelts・グリーンベルトのこと続いて

Hello!

How are you? Today let's look more at greenbelts. 

Look at the picture above. It shows the greenbelt system of Ottawa, which is the capital (首都) of Canada. Here's a map of where Ottawa is in Canada: 

These questions go with our discussion circle about the CD listening on casting doubt. Are you ready?

Leader questions

For the summarizer:

Are you ready to summarize the reading/CD talk? (Can you give us your summary of the reading/CD talk?)

For the detail master:

1. What is the purpose of greenbelts?

2. Where are they set up?

3. What impact on the air does the reading say they have?

    * How about what the lecturer on the CD said?

4. What impact on growth does it say they have?

    * How about what the lecturer on the CD said?
(Leaders: Think of 1-2 more questions of your own to ask the details master!)

For the vocabulary master:   

       What does grassy mean?

       What does provide mean?

       What is a state government?

       What is a suburb?

       (Leaders: Think of 1-2 more words of your own to ask the vocabulary master!)

Work together on this. Have fun!

Images: Top - by Earl Andrew - Transferred from en.wikipedia to Commons., Public Domain, 

https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=1449071/Map of Canada - By Nzeemin - ETOPO1 for relief and bathymetryGSHHS 
dataset for coastline and riversFile:Canada location map.svg for borders; by Yug and STyxOwn workThis map was created with GMT.
This PNG graphic was created with Inkscape., CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=21720783

英語表現演習4 (金): About outlining・あらすじについて

Hello!

How are you? Here are some special notes for all of you about writing outlines. 

About outlines
First, what is an outline? An outline is like a guide or set of steps to what will be in your written composition (作文). 

Because of this, the language in an outline should be cut down to the minimum - no complete sentences and only keywords and key phrases. It should be as concise (簡明) as possible.

Outlines are divided into an introduction, with main ideas, supporting points, and details. 

Let's look at an example of an outline for a paper comparing Thomas Edison and Nikola Tesla and their research with electricity. 

Parts to an outline
Introduction
The introduction shows the key to what the paper is about. It has a Roman numeral (ローマ数字) - always, Roman numeral I. 

例えば：
I. The research of Edison and Tesla with electricity

Note: Write this in regular type - do not put in italics or in bold. Also, do not put a period (.) after - this is a guide point, not a full sentence. 

Main ideas - first main idea
The first main idea should show the first thing you will treat in your topic. It will have a Roman numeral II.

例えば：
II. Edison 

Note: It should be as short as possible - even a key word. Do not put in italics or in bold. Also here, do not put a period (.) after. 

Main ideas - second main idea
The second main idea should show the next thing you will treat in your topic. It will have a Roman numeral III.

例えば：
III. Tesla 

Note: It should be as short as possible - even a key word. Do not put in italics or in bold. Also here, do not put a period (.) after. 

Supporting points
Your supporting points go with the main ideas, and they break down the main points. They will have capital letters with periods after (A., B., C., etc), and be indented around five (5) spaces. 

Let's look at an example of subheadings with the first main point about Edison:

例えば：
II. Edison
     A. Experiments with electricity
     B. Direct current (DC) research

Note: The supporting points should also be as short as possible - even key words are okay. Do not put in italics or in bold. Also here, do not put a period (.) after. 

Details
Details show, in a short way, some important pieces of information about the main points. 

They have Arabic numerals (算用数字、アラビア数字), and are also indented five (5) spaces from the supporting points.

例えば：
II. Edison
     A. Experiments with electricity
     B. Direct current (DC) research
          1. Carbon filament
          2. Electric lamp

Note: The details should also be as short as possible - key words are okay. Do not put in italics or in bold. Also here, do not put a period (.) after. 

Not every supporting point needs to have details, but if they are important enough to be further broken down, then you should put in some details.  

Conclusion
The conclusion is a summarized sentence, or even phrase, that shows the final point of your topic. It will have whatever the last Roman numeral is in your outline. 

In the example of the Edison and Tesla paper topic, this one has the Roman numeral V. 

例えば：
V. Overall impact of Edison over Tesla

Note: Like the introduction, main ideas, supporting points and details, the conclusion should also be as short as possible. Also - do not put in italics or in bold, do not put a period (.) after. 

Completed outline
Look at this example of a completed outline, with a title, labeled to show you what each part of the outline means. This is to show you what you should try for in your outline writing. 

While this example is a little small, you can expand it on your screen. Because this is a screenshot, you can also print this out:

Now here is the same outline, without the labels. This is how it should look when you turn it in. As this also is a screenshot, you can also print it out:

So this is what the final versions of your outlines should look like - keywords and key phrases only! 

I hope these notes can help you with your summary and outline writing. Good luck!

Image: Copyright-free photograph from Apple Photo Gallery.