Culture through English 2B: 12/19 Final presentation assignment board notes・12月19日のボードノート

Hello! 

How are you? As I mentioned in class today, here are the board notes from today's (12/19) class. 

While many of you took your own shots of the notes, I am posting them here as well. Here are some more notes for you. 

First, here's a reminder to you about what should go on an outline.

Next, here is an example of what an outline should look like: 

Finally, here is an example of a summary about the same topic above:

Have a great New Year's holiday, and I'll see you on January 9th! 

See you in 2019!

Images: Personal photographs. All rights reserved.

Writing English 2B: Supporting post on topic ideas for final writing assignment・期末作文の話題サポート

Hello!

How are you? Here is a supporting post for all of you on some ideas for topics. 

If you need to refresh yourself about the final writing assignment, go to this link here. 

Topic ideas, support & preparation (準備) 
Here are some topic ideas for you if you need them:

• A profile about a famous person you admire - an artist, a writer, a musician, or a historical figure from Japan or another country
• Your favorite book and why it is your favorite (with your favorite, or to you, most memorable character or characters, and the scene or situation in the book that makes it great to you)
• Your favorite movie or TV drama (also - with your favorite, or to you, most memorable character or characters, and the scene or situation in the book that makes it great to you)
• The difficulties for you about English
• If you are from outside the Kanto - comparing and contrasting your home town or area with where you now live in Tokyo or Saitama
• Your future goals, plans, and dreams
• What you feel has been the quality of your experience at Daito Bunka over the last two years

I hope any of these ideas are good for you if you still need a topic idea. 

Good luck with this! See you next class! 

Image: By Morten Oddvik - https://www.flickr.com/photos/mortsan/4570359817, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=50190554

Freshman Reading 1B: Fall semester final presentations・後期期末 プレゼンテーション

Hello!

How are you? Here are the topics, deadline, and guidelines for our fall semester mid-term presentations (後期期末 プレゼンテーション).

Look at the picture above. It's of me in front of a statue of Ho Chi Minh in Hue, Vietnam in 2016. The place was the high school he graduated from when he was young. This is an example of one of the topics you could review - about travel in another country.

Topics

You have a choice of topics to present on. Choose one (1) of these: 

• How to travel in another country cheaply
• A person you admire (such as a parent or other family member, a teacher, or a famous person such as a singer, actor, writer, or a historical figure)
• A cultural tradition or unique cultural heritage site in another country 

Guidelines

For this presentation, you can design a small poster or make a Power Point show with an outline.

If you design a poster, I would like you to follow these guidelines:

• It has to be on A3 size paper
• You have to have 4-5 pictures on it (hand-drawn or photos, or a mix)
• It has to be colorful and interesting to look at 

If you make a Power Point show, I would like you to follow these guidelines: 

• You have to have a title slide - then 5-7 slides with pictures and text on it - then a closing slide
• It has to be colorful and interesting to look at
• Bring your own computer!

Deadline (締め切り)

We will do these presentations on January 16th (1/16), so you have three (3) weeks to work on these.

Next week (12/19), please have a topic idea to show me and we will make some time to do some work in class on the presentations. I would like to see your work and give you some advice on what you can do to make the best presentations you can. Please be ready on 1/16! 

Good luck! I look forward to our presentation day!

See you next time!

Image: Personal photograph. All rights reserved.

Writing English 2B: Final writing assignment・後学期期末作文

Hello!

How are you? Here is our final writing assignment (期末作文).

Topic

You will come in to class and write a timed essay, from start to finish, within a set time, on January 16th (1/16). (This is why I have a picture of a clock at the top of the post!)

The topic is open – you can write about anything you want – but you have to follow these guidelines for your writing:

1. You have to have a topic already decided and researched – so you can bring notes to class – not an already-finished essay! Only notes.

2. This has to be structured like a short essay – so it’s okay if you do not completely finish by the end of our time. As long as it is structured like an essay, it’s okay!

3. You must write this in pen – but you do not have to write perfectly! So no erasers or white-out ink. I want your paper to be dirty and marked up!

4. You must write continuously – you cannot come in and sit not writing for the time. If you do this, I have to give you a zero for this assignment.

Important notes:   

Between now and the writing day, we will try out writing some practice topics to a timer. But both in and outside of class, begin gathering ideas for a topic, and then you will practice writing on your topic as much as you can to a timer as well.

Please review the Chapter 8 in the textbook for the structure of an essay - this will be a refresher for you on what an essay is and how to build your ideas in it. 

I may post some ideas for topics on this blog on a separate post this week. Please check it!

The most important thing is that you try your best – if you do this, I can give you credit even if you do not finish by the end of the time.

How much to write

As much as you can within our set time. I will tell you how much time you will have on our timed essay writing day.

Start thinking about topics you are interested in – they do not have to come from the textbook. If you see a topic that you like from the textbook, you can use it – but one way or another, I would like to see you choose a topic that you have to do some research on. 

Good luck with this! See you next week!

Image: By JuergenG, modified by Rainer Z - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=5512303

Culture through English 2B: Fall semester final presentations・後期期末プレゼンテーション

Hello!

How are you? Here are the topics, deadline, and guidelines for our fall semester final presentations (後期期末プレゼンテーション).

Look at the picture above. It's of the Manasa myth, a famous Hindu legend from India. Manasa was a folk goddess of snakes who sought out human followers. 

Is there a Japanese legend that is similar that you know of?

Topic

For this final presentation, we will focus on myths and legends from another culture. Choose a country and culture and present about a famous myth or legend from that country. In it, show the following points:

• The time around when the myth started
• Any holidays or celebrations (if there are any) about the myth that may exist  
• Any similarities with any Japanese myths

Deadline (締め切り)

Our presentation day will be on January 16th (1/16), so you have three (3) weeks to prepare them.

Please be ready on the presentation day. If for any reason you cannot be there to present on the day, you must talk to me and present on your topic one week early.

Guidelines

As always, you have a choice between doing a poster presentation or Power Point show. But this time there will be some other differences:

• You will have a short summary and an outline ready on the presentation day, with the summary and outline reviewed by me before the presentation day 
• Each one of you will present to a larger group than before

I will have some notes for you about summary writing in the next class. 

Good luck! I look forward to our presentation day on January 16th!

See you next class!

Image: By London, Harrap (Publisher) - Myths of the Hindus & Buddhists (1914) by Nivedita, Sister, 1867-1911; Coomaraswamy, Ananda Kentish, 1877-1947, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=20164930

Culture through English 2B: Myths & legends from other countries (Part 2)・海外の神話、伝説、物語 (Part 2)

Hello!

How are you? The picture above shows a statue of Tran Hung Dao, who was a powerful warrior in ancient Vietnamese history. 

Vietnamese culture has many interesting stories and legends from its past. But like all countries, it has fond some more recent myths and stories. Today I have a video for you about a very different kind of story from Vietnam - one that is about love and relationships. 

This is more modern, but is also as interesting as their stories of history - and is a funny one! 

Activity/homework

Watch the video below. Watch it as many times as you want or need, then answer the questions below the video. 

(If you have trouble seeing the video, go to this link, or go to YouTube to find "Why you are single for so long" at https://youtu.be/jaPVq3J5IUI)

1. What does the “relationship with the dead” mean in Vietnamese culture? 

2. What is the back story behind this legend? 

3. What are the “devil’s hours”? 

4. What is the checklist about a person’s relationship condition that makes ghosts come to you? 

5. What are some things a person can do to make the ghosts go away? 

6. What is the joke solution (解決策) the speaker in the video says a person can do?

7. According to the video, do these things always work? 

I hope you found this funny and interesting. See you next time!

Image: By Xiaoao - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=5238607

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