Final writing project: the Small Book of Big People 2nd review

Hello to all my students,

Image "Old African Man" courtesy of africa/ FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Hello! I thought I should repost more of your Small Book of Big People paragraphs from the spring as more refreshers for you on writing about people. Please enjoy again! 

I respect my teacher when I was junior high. His name is Akihiko Kurushima. He is my tennis club teacher. He is very strict about manners and practice, so my club is very strict. But it was his affection for us, and we can learn about manners. When I graduated junior high, I knew about that. He has not only strict but also love, and he told us why people should keep manner. So I respect him. 

That was great! Here's another:

I esteem Haruki Murakami for his writing ability. For example, he wrote the books which composed of a unique statement and metaphor. They attract readers. When I read his books for the first time, I was also attracted to them. Norwegian Wood was especially attracted me in the book written by him. This book made me little sad and it was in a strange feeling. I want to be a novelist. I want to imitate his writing ability and I also want to be a novelist like him.

That's a really good one, too! How about this one?

My exceptional person is Ogura Shinsaku. He is a high school teacher and my wind orchestra conductor. Before he became a teacher, he was a chorus conductor. He is loved by many students because he is very interesting and fearful for everybody. He helped me when I was difficult to play the oboe. He was my emotional mainstay. So he is my exceptional person. 

What do you think? Here's another one:

I respect for the singer Yuki. She is so cute in spite of 40 years old. And her songs give me many powers. Especially, there are many songs about love in her songs. For example, “Sunset of Stardust” makes me happy. But I feel heartbreaking when I am in love with someone. “Prism” gives me many powers too. So I could have ever done my best. And the way of her life sets a good example for women. I want to be a sparkling woman like her.

Finally, here's this one: 

I respect Tadataka Ino. He is surveyor of the Edo period. He was born in 1745 and died in 1818. He made a map of Japan for the first time in the history of Japan. He completed the map of Japan over 17 years to 1800-1816. His surveying skills was high equal to modern technology. His map was recognized as an official map for the first time in Japan. He also began to survey the map in 55 years old. At that time, to go around the Japan it is difficult, but he was also to survey. He is a great person.

I hope these refresh you on writing about people. Remember that you can write about characters on movies, TV dramas, and even in songs in the same way.

Have a great holiday and a happy new year!

Final writing project: file attachment notes/期末プロジェクトの添付ファイルノート

Hello to all my students,

Image "Teenager Guy Working on Laptop" courtesy of imagerymajestic/ FreeDigitalPhotos.net

How are you? First, I'm very sorry I have not answered your emails since last week. I had to finish writing a conference paper (研究会レポート) and I was very busy with it. 

Thank you for your understanding. Now, this is a quick note about the style you will use when writing your final project.

Please look at this picture below: 

This picture is an example of writing style I used with my students at the Shibaura Institute of Technology (芝浦工業大学). I would like you to use the same style in your writing here.  

So please remember the following points, in this style:

Your name in romaji
Student number

Remember - double space below the student number and above the title!

Title of your paper

Remember to center the title. Then double space again!

Start writing here. Keep writing even when you get to the end of the line, then keep writing on to the next line...

Click on this link here (ここにくりっくしてください) about rules for writing names and places, and song and album titles. 

Have a great holiday. You do not have to work on this project over the holiday, but you can email me if you have questions about your project. 

See you in January! Have a Happy New Year!

Final writing project: further notes/期末プロジェクトのノートをつづいて

Hello to all my students,

Image "Hand Holding Pen" courtesy of iprostocks/FreeDigitalPhotos.net

How are you? Here I will post some board notes from today. I will not post all of them, because there were many, but some. 

The first notes are for writing about a CD album and the songs on it:

This next one is for writing about movies or TV dramas:

Finally, here are some notes for writing about a place: 

I hope these can help you. Take care! 

Email me anytime!

Final writing project: The Small Book of Big People review

Hello to all my students,

Image "Asian Model Woman" courtesy of posterize/FreeDigitalPhotos.net

How are you doing? As I said in class last week, I would re-post part of our book from the spring semester, The Small Book of Big People. This may help those of you who are writing about characters and actors in movies or TV shows for your final writing project. 

Take a look at these! They might help to refresh you on how to describe people (人物をびょうしゃしてりる).

I respect my cram school teacher. He was kindly and reliable. Now, I still often go to meet him and talk about various things. When I was a junior high school student, he taught me English, history and Japanese. His teaching was plain and interesting, so I was easy to understand him. He advised me how to study English. I practiced it and took high score in English tests. Thanks to meeting him, I came to like English. That is why I respect him!

Great! How about this one? 

My most respected person is Mizuki Noguchi. She is a marathon runner. She is very small, but her early characteristic was a stride form of running. She took the gold medal at the Athens Olympics. When I read her book, she impressed me greatly, because she said, “the distance does not let me down.” I was touched by her words. She is an unusually hard worker.  I want to become a player like her.

That's great too! Check this one:

Kim Jeajung is the most famous Korean singer. I think he is cool, mysterious, cute, a gentleman, elegant, smart and he sings very well! When I was 13 years old, I saw him for the first time on a TV music program when he appeared with the group he is famous for, Touhoushinki. When they sung, I was very surprised by their songs, and his beautiful voice especially shocked me. This group became famous in Japan, and he rose in popularity. I often listened to their songs then. Their beautiful harmonies relaxed me and cheered me up, especially his voice. He is now the face of Korean cosmetics store called Tony Mory. It profited thanks to him. I think his popularity shows no sign of abating. Recently, he has become an actor playing the leading roles in two films. I think he will have become a huge star! I want to continue to cheer for him, and I will love him forever.

Now how about this one:

My exceptional people are my parents. My mother is doing housework and she is working part time job too. It is very hard, but she never says complaint in the presence of a child. I always talk her when have a matter causing. My father is a self-employed person. His work is very hard and tired. But, he is working for us every day. My parents always come in on my side in the end and to help. They think about children in the very first. So I thank them and respect. I want to become parent like them in the future.

This person has great parents!

See you next class! 

Final writing project: writing about places review/場所・位置を書いてレビュー

Hello to all my students,

This is a review post on writing about places. If your final writing project is writing about places, then I hope seeing these pictures again will help you. 

Look at the picture above. What feelings do you get about the place in the picture? What adjectives (形容詞) do you think of when you see this place? 

Review activity (for groups writing about places)
You wrote about places in the spring semester. I know you can look at the paragraphs you wrote about, but you can also practice this activity again as a refresher with your group to help you write about places. 

Look at these pictures. Choose one, write a short paragraph of 4-5 sentences about it, and share it with your group members. Here is an example about the picture below - the ancient ruins of Delphi in Greece.

例えば：

The ancient ruins of Delphi have inspired many throughout history, and this is how it inspires me. When I see a site such as this, the past and the present come together, and I feel we are not only seeing history, but living it too. I have never been to Greece, but some day I want to go. When I do, this place will be on my list of things to see. 

You do not have to do any of these, but they might help you to refresh your writing about places. Try one with your group members! 

  

Have fun!

Photo credits (in order): "Gate in Silhouette" (personal image)/"Ancient Ruins In Delphi" (courtesy of thephotoholic)/"Great Wall Of China" (courtesy of cescassawin)/ "Shop" (courtesy of Dino De Luca)/"Sydney Opera House At Night" (courtesy of Susie B)/"New York Times" (courtesy of Antoine Henrich)/"Japanese Street Festival" (personal image)/All pictures except "Gate in Silhouette" and "Japanese Street Festival" from FreeDigitalPhotos.net 

Final project notes/期末プロジェクトのノート

Hello to all my students,

Image "Notes" courtesy of healingdream/ FreeDigitalPhotos.net

How are you? Here are the board notes I made today for all of you. Take a look at them to refresh yourselves. (4限 students - they are a little different from the notes I made for you, but basically they show the same points, rules and guidelines to follow). 

First, look at these notes above. 

Check out these notes here too - they're really important. 

I will doublecheck with kyoumuka about the dates.  

Please remember that you if any of you do not want to work in a group, that's okay. Please tell me and you can email me. 

Email me at washizoraATgmailDOTcom anytime - and don't forget to cc me when you email each other in your groups!

Good luck! Let me know what you are doing. 

See you in class next week!

Email formatting, writing notes and homework/メールフォーマット、ノート、課題

Hello students,

How are you? This will be a quick post. As I said at the end of class today, I promised I would post the board notes about emailing, plus the homework. 

So please look at the picture at the top, and the pictures after with these board notes. I hope they will refresh you and help you with email writing. 

Please remember the right spacing, the capital letters (大文字) at the beginning of the first word of sentences, and spell checking - checking the right spelling of words. 

Good luck! Please don't forget today's homework - send me an email. In it, ask me any kind of question you want! 

See you next class!

Writing about music homework/音楽についてことの課題

Hello to all my students,

How are you? Thank you for your hard work today in class. 

I want to post the pictures of my board notes for all of you. I know many of you took your own pictures of the board notes, but I will post them here too. 

These notes are also important because this will be the biggest piece of writing you will do. It really is a writing project - so look at these:

Please look at these anytime - and don't forget your homework for next week. 

See you next class!

Writing about music/音楽についてことを書いて(Part 1)

Hello to all my students,

Image "New York Times" courtesy of Antoine Henrich/FreeDigitalPhotos.net

How are you? Do you remember the four pieces of music I played for you in class before the university festival? we'll do something more with them today!

First step
Right now, I would like you to go through your paragraphs about those pieces of music. Choose two (2) of those pieces you wrote. Open up a new Word file, and type them. 

Second step
Now please listen to the first two pieces of music again - and this time to click on some videos of the first two artists whose pieces of music I played. I also have information links you can click on about these artists. 

Would these video images, and reading about these musicians, change your ideas about what you wrote? 

First - below is a link about the first piece of music you heard - Jacques Loussier and his version of J.S. Bach's "Siciliano in G Minor."  

Click here (ここにクリックしてください) for a video clip of Jacques Loussier and this Bach piece I played for you in class. 

If you want to know more about Jacques Loussier, click here (ここもクリックしてください）for a Wikipedia article (in Japanese) about him. 

Next - here is the second piece of music you heard - Ronny Jordan and his song "After Hours." 

Click here (ここにクリックしてください) for a video clip of Ronny Jordan playing the music I played for you in class. 

If you want to know more about Ronny Jordan, click here also (ここもクリックしてください) for a Wikipedia article (in Japanese) about him. 

What do you think of these musicians? Does seeing the artists' pictures or some image connected to the music, or reading about them on Wikipedia, change your own images of the music? 

Hope you enjoyed listening to them again. 

See you next time!

Writing about music/音楽についてことを書いて (Part 2)

Hello to all my students,

Image photographed from DVD cover for purposes of subject illustration. No copyright infringement intended. 
I do not own the rights to this image.

How are you? Here is Part 2 about the pieces of music I had played in class for you before the university festival. 


Click on this link to see a video (ここにくりっくしてください) about the third piece of music I played for you - Miles Davis' "Portia." 

If you want to know more about Miles Davis, click here (ここもクリックしてください) to read a Wikipedia article (in Japanese) about him. 

Now click here (ここにくりっくしてください) to see a video clip of the fourth piece of music  I played for you - Frank Zappa's "Little Umbrellas."  

If you want to know more about Frank Zappa, click here (ここもクリックしてください) to read a Wikipedia article (in Japanese) about him. 

Does seeing images to the music, or reading more about the artists, change your feelings or images about them? 

See you next time!

Comparison & contrast/比較対照

Hello to all my students, 

Image "Landscape Collage" courtesy of Gualberto107/FreeDigitalPhotos.net

How are you? I'm glad to be back with you after the university festival. Today, let's look at comparison and contrast (比較対照) between different places. 

Look at these pictures. Which kind of place would you like to live in? 

1.

2. 

3. 

4. 

5.

6. 

Where would you like to live? Which place would you not like to live in? 

Have fun!

Image credits: 1. "Beautiful Sunset" (courtesy of Photokanok) 2. "New York Times" (courtesy of Antoine Henrich) 3. "Cotton Field" (courtesy of scottchan) 4. "Old Timber Barn" (courtesy of Poulsen Photo) 5. "Colorful Palace of Pena Landscape View in Sintra, Portugal (courtesy of artur84) 6. "Traditional Village" (courtesy of Witthaya Phonsawat)/All images from FreeDigitalPhotos.net 

A quick message before the university festival

Hello to all my students,

Image "Japanese Maple Leaves" courtesy of Aduldej/FreeDigitalPhotos.net

This is a quick message to all my students. 

If you are in the university festival, good luck and hope it's a good time for you. If you are not in the festival but are going to see it, please enjoy it. If you're not going to the festival but are taking a short break, hope you can relax and enjoy yourselves. 

See you after the festival!

Our summers (Part 4)

Hello to all my students,

Here is Part 4 in our series of summer paragraphs! Let's look at these:

I went to Hakodate with my family for seven days. I went to Mt Hakodate and mother’s parents house and I ate Chinese noodles, a lot of seafood and melons. I saw the beautiful view and sea from Mt. Hakodate. Hakodate is a very beautiful city, so I liked it, and the view, very much.

After my trip, I started a part-time job at a drug store. It is a hard job, but I also really enjoyed it. Even with this work, I really enjoyed the summer vacation.

Okay! Now let's look at this one:

I went to an amusement park in Yamanashi with my friend. We went there by train. There were many roller coasters and everyone screamed when they rode on them. It was very fun! During the summer vacation, I also worked a part-time job in a bar. Many customers came and I had many chances to communicate with them. My place of work was very fun.

I returned to my family home and went shopping with them, and met my sister’s son for the first time. When I brought my hand close to him, he grasped my finger. He was very cute!

I watched a movie called Armageddon. It was a man’s story, who was an oilman. I was very moved by it, and I listened to its theme song many times. 

I also read many novels written by Mitsuki Tsujimura. I’m a big fan of her work. Her novels made me feel sad and painful, but they are interesting, so I can be absorbed by them. 

Check this one out too!

I had a part-time job during almost the whole summer vacation. I worked at McDonald's. From working so much, my skills have developed much better. I can do a lot of things much more than before, so it was a good experience.

Not all was work, however. I went to Tokyo Summerland too, even though I hate water that so many  people like to play in. It has an amusement park, however, so as a result I could enjoy the day, even being afraid of the water!

How about this one:

I went to Niigata with my friend by shinkansen. We got driver’s licenses there. We went to a driving school, studied driver’s education, and practiced driving everyday. We went to the beach after school and ate some nice dinners every night, mainly Japanese or Chinese food. some of the dishes we had were things like tenshinhan, tonkatsu, and hiyashityuka. We shared a room with both Japanese and Chinese students. One Chinese student we got to know was very smart. He could speak Chinese, Japanese and English fluently. Overall, it was a great trip and great summer. 

Great! Now here's this one:

I went to Yamanashi with my teammates for one week. We joined a training camp. It was very hard, tired and long, but full of precious, happy memories. We did many things there, and tried some new things. For example, I ate a camembert cheese parfait. It was delicious!! Near there, we could enjoy Mt. Fuji. It was beautiful and large. I enjoyed this summer vacation.

These sound like great summer memories!

I'll see you all after the university festival. If you participate in it, good luck. If you go there, have a great time!

See you later!