Writing English B: Comparing & contrasting music・音楽が比較対照

Hello!

How are you? Here is a new post for today - writing comparison and contrast (比較対照) with pieces of music. 

Before we begin, here are the board notes for our classes on 10/30 and 10/23:

Now let's look at our activity!

Activity/homework
Check out these four (4) video files. Listen to them as many times as you want or need. Select two (2) to write about. Compare and contrast (比較対照して) them with each other. They are instrumental pieces of music only - there are no words or vocals. 

Important notes: 
Take notes about these pieces of music you select. Which do you like better? What qualities (質、優劣) do they have? 

Also - what do you believe the artists are expressing (発送して) through their music? What might the sounds give you feelings about? 

What kind of scenarios might each piece of music give you feelings about? What do you imagine as you see and think about them? You can imagine people, characters, animals - anything that comes to your mind as you listen is okay!

When writing your comparison and contrast, write about the instruments (楽器) that are playing - for example, piano, brass, guitar, violins, and so forth. 

Now listen to all four (4) of these files - then choose two (2) for your comparison and contrast: 

File #1

File #2

File #3

File #4

I hope these pieces of music give you ideas and feelings to try out a different kind of writing. 

Take care! See you next week!

Images: Top - by Henri Matisse - State Hermitage Museum , Saint Petersburg, Russia, PD-US, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=26957974/Board notes - personal photographs. All rights reserved.

Video files uploaded from YouTube. I do not own the rights to the files or the musical compositions within them. All rights reserved to the copyright holders of the files and compositions respectively. 

Culture through English B: Math education in India・インドの数学教育

Hello!

How are you? The picture at the top is a multiplication table (九九の表). It is one of many ways that multiplication is taught in schools in a number of countries. 

Before we go further, here are the board notes for our class on 10/30: 

Now let's look further at our topic!

Activity/homework
Look at the video below. It's an elementary school math teacher (小学校数学の講師) showing patterns that children can follow to learn multiplication tables. It's in Hindi (ヒンデュ語), but you can follow the patterns if you look carefully. 

How did you learn multiplication tables in school? Was it anything like this? 

(If you have any trouble seeing this video clip, go to this link here, or look on YouTube for "How math is taught in India," or paste in this URL: https://youtu.be/EIYPGfcCab0)  

What do you think of this method? 

Have fun talking about this! 

See you next class!

Images: Top - by Yomomo - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=67776389/Board notes - personal photograph. All rights reserved. 

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

Culture through English B: Math education in India・インドの数学教育

Hello!

How are you? The picture at the top is a multiplication table (九九の表). It is one of many ways that multiplication is taught in schools in a number of countries. 

Before we go further, here are the board notes for our class on 10/30: 

Now let's look further at our topic!

Activity/homework
Look at the video below. It's an elementary school math teacher (小学校数学の講師) showing patterns that children can follow to learn multiplication tables. It's in Hindi (ヒンデュ語), but you can follow the patterns if you look carefully. 

How did you learn multiplication tables in school? Was it anything like this? 

(If you have any trouble seeing this video clip, go to this link here, or look on YouTube for "How math is taught in India," or paste in this URL: https://youtu.be/EIYPGfcCab0)  

What do you think of this method? 

Have fun talking about this! 

See you next class!

Images: Top - by Yomomo - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=67776389/Board notes - personal photograph. All rights reserved. 

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

Freshman English Reading B: Cuisine from different countries・海外の食文化

Hello!

How are you? Here are some pictures of food from different countries. 

Look at the picture above. It's a common Vietnamese breakfast - with Vietnamese coffee, a baguette, and fried eggs. 

Activity 1/homework
Let's look at these dishes! Which countries do they come from? Here is a list of countries these dishes could come from:

Thailand     Italy     Indonesia     Germany

Brazil     Ethiopia     Ukraine

1. 

2.

 

3. 

4.

5. 

6. 

7. 

Talk about these and make some guesses!

Activity 2/homework

Now - what is in these dishes? What kinds of different things do you see - for example, chicken, fish, beef, and so on? 

Have fun! See you next time!

Images: Top - personal photograph/1. "Pasta" (courtesy of savitkeawtavee)/2. By liz west from Boxborough, MA - borscht served, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=18741185/3. "Thai Chicken Curry" (courtesy of John Kasawa/4. By ​English Wikipedia user Gunkarta, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=4240598/5. "Sausages" (courtesy of savitkeawtavee)/)/6. By Chris.urs-o - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=31512556/7. By Rama - Own work, CC BY-SA 2.0 fr, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=63036

Photos 1, 3, & 5 from FreeDigitalPhotos.net/All rights reserved on personal photograph.

Freshman English Reading B: Cuisine from different countries・海外の食文化

Hello!

How are you? Here are some pictures of food from different countries. 

Look at the picture above. It's a common Vietnamese breakfast - with Vietnamese coffee, a baguette, and fried eggs. 

Activity 1/homework
Let's look at these dishes! Which countries do they come from? Here is a list of countries these dishes could come from:

Thailand     Italy     Indonesia     Germany

Brazil     Ethiopia     Ukraine

1. 

2.

 

3. 

4.

5. 

6. 

7. 

Talk about these and make some guesses!

Activity 2/homework

Now - what is in these dishes? What kinds of different things do you see - for example, chicken, fish, beef, and so on? 

Have fun! See you next time!

Images: Top - personal photograph/1. "Pasta" (courtesy of savitkeawtavee)/2. By liz west from Boxborough, MA - borscht served, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=18741185/3. "Thai Chicken Curry" (courtesy of John Kasawa/4. By ​English Wikipedia user Gunkarta, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=4240598/5. "Sausages" (courtesy of savitkeawtavee)/)/6. By Chris.urs-o - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=31512556/7. By Rama - Own work, CC BY-SA 2.0 fr, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=63036

Photos 1, 3, & 5 from FreeDigitalPhotos.net/All rights reserved on personal photograph.

Writing English B: Ukiyoe・浮世絵

Hello!

How are you? Today let's look at ukiyoe (浮世絵)! The picture above is by Kitagawa Utamaro, one of the most famous ukiyoe artists. 

Do you think ukiyoe still has any impact on Japanese culture today? Perhaps in manga or anime? It might not seem that way - but ukiyoe did have a big impact on Western art in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. 

Activity/preparation

Look at the pictures below. What do you think of them? Do you think that manga and anime were influenced (影響した) by ukiyoe? What do you think of the impact that it had on Western art that you see below? Choose one (1) of these works of art and write 1-2 paragraphs about your impressions of these pictures.

Bamboo Yards, Old Kyobashi Bridge (Utagawa Hiroshige)

Nocturne: Blue and Gold - Old Battersea Bridge (James McNeill Whistler)

Sudden Shower Over Shin-Ohashi Bridge and Atake (Utagawa Hiroshige)

Bridge in the Rain (after Hiroshige) (Vincent van Gogh)

Have fun with these! But before you go - here's one more for you to enjoy! 

Shiba Zoujouji (Kawase Hasui)

See you next time! 

Images: Top - by Kitagawa Utamaro - This image is available from the United States Library of Congress's Prints and Photographs divisionunder the digital ID jpd.02051.This tag does not indicate the copyright status of the attached work. A normal copyright tag is still required. See Commons:Licensing for more information., Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=11159688/Bamboo Yards, Old Kyobashi Bridge - by Utagawa Hiroshige (歌川広重) - Online Collection of Brooklyn Museum, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=3790943/By ジェームズ・マクニール・ホイッスラー - Livre Peinture de paysage, de Norbert Wolf, Taschen, 2008. ISBN 9783822854655, パブリック・ドメイン, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=8616218/Sudden Shower Over Shin-Ohashi Bridge and Atake - by Utagawa Hiroshige (歌川広重) - Online Collection of Brooklyn Museum, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=226069/Bridge in the Rain (after Hiroshige) - by Vincent van Gogh - rwGc5ZWvzXZ0vA at Google Cultural Institute, zoom level maximum, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=13523165/Bottom - Shiba Zojoji - by Kawase Hasui, scanned by W.Schmidt - Collection Walter Schmidt, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=23985180

All images uploaded for educational purposes. All rights reserved on photographed images to the copyright holder(s). All rights on compositional works ultimately reserved to the artists’ descendants, designated heirs, and/or trusts and trustees.

Freshman English Reading B: Fall semester mid-term presentations・後学期中間プレゼンテーション

Hello!

How are you? Here are the guidelines and deadline for our fall semester mid-term presentations (後学期中間プレゼンテーション). 

Like before, your presentations will be about books you are interested in and have chosen from the library to read. This means from today, you will go the library on your own and begin looking for a book of your choice!  

Let's first look at the board notes for our class on 10/9: 

Now let's look at the presentation assignment!

Mid-term presentations (中間プレゼンテーション)
You will make a presentation about the book you chose, and have been reading. Please have these points in your presentation:

• A short summary (要約) about the story - what is it about?
• The main character(s) of the book (or for a non-fiction book - the main real people)
• The qualities (質) or characteristics (性状) of the main character(s) or people
• The most interesting or exciting situation or event in the story or real book
• The character or person you liked the most - and what qualities he or she had 

Guidelines

Because we are now in a computer room this term, for this presentation, you will make a Power Point show that you can upload on a USB and show on a computer in our room. 

For your 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

Deadline (締め切り)

We will do these presentations on November 13th (11/13), so you have over one (1) month to read your book and work on your presentation display.

Next class (10/23), please show me the book that you are reading and will present on, and on 10/30, I can give you time to do some work in class on the presentations. 

Then on 11/6, I would like to see your work and we will have a presentation practice time. I can give you some advice on what you can do to make the best presentations you can. 

Please be finished and ready to present on 11/13! 

Good luck! I look forward to our presentation day!

Images: Top - by Johannes Jansson/norden.org, CC BY 2.5 dk, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=25009679/Board notes - personal photograph. All rights reserved.

Freshman English Reading B: Fall semester mid-term presentations・後学期中間プレゼンテーション

Hello!

How are you? Here are the guidelines and deadline for our fall semester mid-term presentations (後学期中間プレゼンテーション). 

Like before, your presentations will be about books you are interested in and have chosen from the library to read. This means from today, you will go the library on your own and begin looking for a book of your choice!  

Let's first look at the board notes for our class on 10/9: 

Now let's look at the presentation assignment!

Mid-term presentations (中間プレゼンテーション)
You will make a presentation about the book you chose, and have been reading. Please have these points in your presentation:

• A short summary (要約) about the story - what is it about?
• The main character(s) of the book (or for a non-fiction book - the main real people)
• The qualities (質) or characteristics (性状) of the main character(s) or people
• The most interesting or exciting situation or event in the story or real book
• The character or person you liked the most - and what qualities he or she had 

Guidelines

Because we are now in a computer room this term, for this presentation, you will make a Power Point show that you can upload on a USB and show on a computer in our room. 

For your 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

Deadline (締め切り)

We will do these presentations on November 13th (11/13), so you have over one (1) month to read your book and work on your presentation display.

Next class (10/23), please show me the book that you are reading and will present on, and on 10/30, I can give you time to do some work in class on the presentations. 

Then on 11/6, I would like to see your work and we will have a presentation practice time. I can give you some advice on what you can do to make the best presentations you can. 

Please be finished and ready to present on 11/13! 

Good luck! I look forward to our presentation day!

Images: Top - by Johannes Jansson/norden.org, CC BY 2.5 dk, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=25009679/Board notes - personal photograph. All rights reserved.

Writing English B: Writing assignment 4・作文4

Hello!

How are you? Here is our fourth (4th) writing assignment (作文4), and first for the fall semester – writing about a problem, with a solution.

Before we begin, let's look at the board notes for our classes on 10/9: 

Now let's look at the assignment!

Themes

You have three (3) choices on themes to develop topics from to write about. Choose one (1) of them:


1. Write about a social problem with your proposal for a solution 

In this topic, choose a social problem in Japan or elsewhere, such as in another country. Write a 3-4 paragraph paper on the problem, and your ideas of solution to it. I would like you to go deep and far with it – in it, be creative and really show an interesting solution to the problem. Please remember that your solution does not have to be like a classmate’s solution – the more different, and especially the more unique, the better! 

Special note: 
If you remember the opinion writing assignment from the spring semester, many of you wrote about your opinions on a social problem. If you want, you can write about the same problem - this time proposing what you believe could be a solution to the problem.  

If you want a review of the opinions blogposts, go to these links here and here. 

2. Write about a problem at Daito Bunka and your proposal for a solution for it

In this topic, think of a problem at this university that you feel is an issue - it could be anything, such as class scheduling, the classrooms, the food facilities, the bus service - anything. As above, write a 3-4 paragraph paper on the problem, and your ideas of solution to it. As above as well, go deep and far with it. 

3. Write about a real problem you had that had a real solution 

In this topic, follow this as it says – think of a real problem you have had that you found a real solution to. It could be about anything – something at school, at a part-time job, or within your family. 

Special note:
If you have had a real problem that is very serious and you don’t want to write about it, that’s okay – you do not have to write about something that is sensitive (微妙) to you, even if it had a good solution!


How much to write


I would like to see a minimum of around 3-4 paragraphs. (Make the paragraphs at least a little longer!) But many of you have shown that you can write much more than that – if you can, then go for it!


Deadline (締め切り)

Because we have October 16th (10/16) as a holiday, this assignment will be due on October 23rd (10/23), so you have three (3) weeks to finish this, so I can give you class time today and even part of the class time on 10/23 to work on your first drafts (下書き).

I may follow up with some important points for your final draft on the Daito Learning Pages blog. Please follow these important points if you get them! Then write to the finish and turn in your final draft on 10/23. 


Good luck with this! I hope you can have learn from writing about a problem and a solution with this assignment.

Images: top - Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=45304/Board notes - personal photograph. All rights reserved.