Culture through English A: Spring final assignment・前期末課題

Hello!

How are you? Here are the topics, deadline, and guidelines for our spring semester final presentations. 

Topics

You can choose one (1) of these topics: 

• The origins of some family names in Japan 
• An immigrant community in Japan (such as Koreans or Chinese born in Japan) or immigrant/unique ethnic community in another country 
• How a foreign person can become a citizen of Japan or how a person can become a citizen of another country you choose and research about (for example, how a foreign immigrant to the U.S. can become a U.S. citizen)

Task & guidelines 

You have a choice for this assignment. Because this is the final assignment, I will ask for a little more than on assignments 1 and 2. You can:

• Make a video of yourself giving a 5-7 minute Power Point, Key Note, or Google Slides presentation –or-
• Write a longer 5-7 paragraph (段落) research report, on a Word document or handwritten on notebook pages, with clear pictures taken of the pages 

About family names

For the first theme choice, be sure to show:

• The ranking of the family name in Japan or another country (for example, how common is the name) and number of people in Japan or another country with this name
• Any changes in the kanji of the family name, or the spelling of the name in a different language, over time
• In the case of Japanese family names, any differences in kanji within the same family name (for example, the difference between 渡辺 and 渡邉) and reasons for this difference
• In the case of a foreign family name, any possible differences in spelling of the name within  the country (or other countries that have the same language - for example, German language family names in Austria or Switzerland)
• The different parts of Japan or another country that the family name has migrated to and the parts of Japan or another country that the name is most often found in 

For the second theme choice, here is a list of some unique communities and ethnic groups in some different countries. You do not have to choose one of these - you can think of a refugee, ethnic group or community of your own. But you can choose one (1) of these if you like:

• The Travelers (Ireland)
• Vietnamese refugee boat people from the Vietnam War
• Bretons (northwestern France)
• The Basques and their language (northwestern Spain/southwestern France)
• The Sorbs and their language (eastern Germany/southwestern Poland)
• German minorities of Russia, Ukraine, and Kazakhstan
• Hungarian minority of Romania
• The Sami people (northern Norway and Finland)
• Metis people of Quebec (Quebec, Canada)
• The Haida First Nations (British Columbia, Canada)
• Hasidic Jews of New York (New York City, U.S)
• The Lumbees (east central coast of the U.S.)
• Cajun (Acadian) people of Louisiana (the U.S.)
• Cham people (Cambodia)

For the third theme choice, make sure to research points such as: 

• Possibilities and issues of dual citizenship rights (二重国籍の権利) 
• Obligations of military service (徴兵制度) 
• Any possibility of double taxation (課税) between the person’s new country and old country 
• any other interesting or unique points that you may find about citizenship rights and responsibilities 

About presentations

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

• You have to have a title slide - then a summary slide - then after that 5-7 slides with pictures and text on it - then finally a closing slide
• It has to be colorful and interesting to look at
• You have to video-record yourself giving the presentation - or if you can - do a narration to your slides where you talk out your presentation
• As with our other assignments, you are free to design the presentation display any way you want to.

About reports

If you choose to write a report, as we have done on the other assignments, you can also include pictures with it on a Word document - or take some pictures to go with your report. 

Deadline

Please upload your presentation files or written documents/pictures to Manaba no later than 23:59 on August 5th (8/5). However, I can take your files or documents up to 23:59 on August 8th (8/8). 

Please name your display file(s) or written document like this (here is an example): 

t_suzuki_cteA_final_assignment

("cteA" means Culture through English A)

If you have to upload more than one file, add the extra files with the same name, but with a letter after “final_assignment.” For example:

t_suzuki_cteA_final_assignment_a  (this shows that it is an extra file)

Please remember again that if you don’t have a computer but want to write a report, you can write clearly by hand on notebook paper, take a clear picture with your smartphone of the notebook page(s), and upload the picture file to Manaba. Please name the file the same way as above for a presentation file or Word document. 

I cannot take any more files after 23:59 on August 8th (8/8).

Good luck! 

Image: Top - by Angie from Sawara, Chiba-ken, Japan - Flickr, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=639426/Screenshot taken from photograph originally uploaded to the Daily Mail website - http://www.dailymail.co.uk/travel/travel_news/article-3437455/Not-passport-equals-travel-documents-come-different colors-countries-choose-them.html. I do not own the rights to the original image. All rights reserved to the copyright holder(s). Uploaded for classroom use only.

Culture through English A: Summary writing・要約について

Hello!

How are you? Today I will introduce summary (要約) writing to you. From here if you ever want to do any presentation, you should have a summary for it. 

Now let's look at summary writing!

Summary writing
What is a summary? It is a short statement of purpose (SOP) that shows what your presentation topic is, and what you will show in it. 

Let's look at an example of a summary for our first assignment about our identities. What would a presentation summary for this topic look like? 


First, show a little background to the topic - in this case, about yourself (例えば):

While I am in my second year now at Daito Bunka and am studying British and American literature like all of you, I have other hobbies and interests as well.

Next, show some details (詳細) about your topic - in this case, yourself (例えば):

While I am in my second year now at Daito Bunka and am studying British and American literature like all of you, I have other hobbies and interests as well. I enjoy reading books, especially novels, but also gaming and cooking.

After that, show a little more detail (例えば):

While I am in my second year now at Daito Bunka and am studying British and American literature like all of you, I have other hobbies and interests as well. I enjoy reading books, especially novels, but also gaming and cooking. My father is a great cook and he encouraged me to learn how to cook.

Finally, show in a direct (直接) way what you will present about 
(例えば):

While I am in my second year now at Daito Bunka and am studying British and American literature like all of you, I have other hobbies and interests as well. I enjoy reading books, especially novels, but also gaming and cooking. My father is a great cook and he encouraged me to learn how to cook. In this presentation today, I will tell you more about myself, my hobbies and interests, and what I am like as a person. 


So now this is what your finished summary should look like 
(例えば):

While I am in my second year now at Daito Bunka and am studying British and American literature like all of you, I have other hobbies and interests as well. I enjoy reading books, especially novels, but also gaming and cooking. My father is a great cook and he encouraged me to learn how to cook. In this presentation today, I will tell you more about myself, my hobbies and interests, and what I am like as a person. 

This is only 79 words long. Most summaries should run only around 60-80 words in length, though for more complex topics, they can go up to 100 words. 

I hope this can help you with your summary writing! 

Images: Personal photographs. All rights reserved.

Culture through English A: Assignment 1・課題1

Hello!

How are you? Today I will introduce our first short presentations about our identities.

Who are you as a person? What would you say about yourself - for example, your character or your temperament (気質)? What are your hobbies or interests? What do you think people like the most about you?

Task & guidelines

You have a choice for this assignment. You can:

• Make a video of yourself giving a short, 5-minute PowerPoint, Key Note, or Google Slides presentation about yourself and your identity –or-
• Write a short, 3-4 paragraph (段落) report about yourself and your identity, on a Word document or handwritten on notebook pages, with clear pictures taken of the pages

Your presentation or report can be titled My Identity or About Me, or some other title like that.

On your presentation or report, have different sections about the following points:

• your family
• where you come from
• what the schools you went to were like
• your hobbies & interests
• your character & habits (習性)

If you choose to do a presentation, you can design it any way you want, with pictures and some writing about yourself - but please have the pictures and the writing about the points above!

If you choose to write a report, do the same – please have your report be about the points above!

We will present in small groups to each other for around 4-5 minutes, including a Q&A from the classmates we will present to.

Deadline (締め切り) & notes about uploading 

Please upload your presentation files or written documents to Manaba no later than 23:59 on June 16th (6/16). 

Please name your display file or written document like this (here is an example):

t_suzuki_cte_a_self_identity

 (“cte_a” means Culture through English A)

Please remember again that if you don’t have a computer but want to write a report, you can write clearly by hand on notebook paper, take a clear picture with your smartphone of the notebook page(s), and upload the picture file to Manaba. Please name the file the same way as above for a presentation file or Word document.

Basic presentation tips

Here are some basic presentation tips for all of you who want to do presentations. I made these notes below for this class in 2019. I have uploaded them here for all of you to see. 

Basic report tips

Here are some useful phrases that you can use in your writing. These are not the only kinds of phrases you can use, but these are some examples of how to can begin and move into your writing, and move from one point to another in your ideas. 

Introductions:

I am glad to introduce myself in this report. I’m (your name) and I’m now a second-year student here. (…)

Beginning my second year at Daito Bunka, I’m (your name) and am happy to introduce myself here. (…) 

This year has been a strange one, but I am happy to finally begin the new school year. I’m (your name) and am beginning my second year here at Daito Bunka. (…)

Body (中心) of report*: 

Here is my background. I was born and raised in (your birthplace and where you grew up)(…)

First, about my background. I was born in (your birthplace) but raised in (the place where you grew up). My family left there when I was…years old, and (…)

Let me tell you about where I come from/(my birthplace)/(my background). To begin with (…)

First, I’ll begin with (my background)/(place of birth)/(where I come from)/(upbringing). I was (…)

To move from one point or idea to another in the body:

After graduating from junior high school, we moved to (name of place) and…

I enjoyed playing baseball in elementary school, and I was the ace pitcher for my team. When I got to junior high, however, I started getting into soccer, and…

I didn’t use to like being around people so much. But when I got to high school, I joined the volleyball club, and there, I started making many friends. (…) 

It’s still hard for me to make friends sometimes, but here at university, I’ve made some good friends I can trust. We do a lot of things together, and…

*Please remember that the body is the main part of your report, so it will be the longest part. 

Conclusions (まとめ):

Finally, I think that (my hobby or interest) is important to me because…

The last thing I want to say is that I hope to make this year better than last year. (…)

In the end, the support of my family has helped me in my school life, because…

I hope to enjoy this class, and make new friends through it. (…)

I hope all this will help you. Good luck!

Images: Personal photographs. All rights reserved.

Culture through English B: Short presentation 3・ショートプレゼンテーション3

Hello!

How are you? Today I will give all of you our third presentation assignment (ショートプレゼンテーション 3) for the second semester (後期) – presenting about names from other cultures and languages. 

Because this is our first presentation for the new term, we will make it a short presentation, around five (5) minutes, in small groups to each other including Q&A from the classmates we will present to.

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

Now let's look at the assignment!

Look at the picture at the top of this post. It's a screenshot of a label for a Korean name - in this case, it reads "Kim Eebak." Kim is the most common surname (名字) in both North and South Korea, and in hanja - the Korean name for kanji, it would be written as 金. Koreans born in Japan with this name would use this kanji. 

Topic

You can choose to present about either surnames, or first names, from another culture and language - but not from Japanese. What do the names mean? 

One again, you cannot research about Japanese names. But it is okay to show with the name you have chosen to research about if are there any names with the same, or similar meanings, in Japanese.

Guidelines & format

Whatever kinds of names you choose from whichever languages, you have to present these points:

• What the name is
• What it means
• How common it is in the language and country(s) it is used in
• Any famous people with this name
• What same or similar meanings there may be in any names in Japan

As something extra - what would your own name look like in another language with its own writing system - not kanji, kana, or romaji? In katakana, my own name, Lee Arnold, looks of course like this: リー・アーノルド (rii aanorudo). 

How would your name look in a different writing system - and how would your name be pronounced to fit that system? In the case of my name, the sounds of my name have to change to fit the katakana pronunciation (発音). So how about your name? 

Like before, you can design it anyway you want - but please have the images and the writing be about the points above.  

Special note: 
Because we are in a computer room now, I will ask that we prepare Power Point shows. You should have for your Power Point:

• A title slide with the title of your topic, your name, the class (Culture through English B) and the date
• 5-6 main slides (including pictures and examples of writing from another writing system, if you need to show what the writing looks like)
• A closing slide with a "thank you" message (or something like it)

Deadline (締め切り)

Because we will have no class on October 16th (10/16), our presentation day will be on October 23rd (10/23), so you have three (3) weeks to prepare them. 

We will do some presentation practice in class before we do the real presentations. These presentations will be the only things we will do on October 23rd.  

Now as a reminder, here are the board notes for our class on 10/2:

Good luck! Have fun making these presentations about names from other cultures and languages.

See you next week with your great posters!

Image: Screenshot of image taken from https://www.sbs.com.au/topics/life/culture/article/2016/11/07/heres-real-reason-why-so-many-koreans-are-named-kim/Board notes - personal photographs. All rights reserved.
I do not own the rights to the original image of Korean name photograph. All rights reserved to the copyright holder(s). Screenshot taken and uploaded for educational purposes only.

Culture through English B: Short presentation 3・ショートプレゼンテーション3

Hello!

How are you? Today I will give all of you our third presentation assignment (ショートプレゼンテーション 3) for the second semester (後期) – presenting about names from other cultures and languages. 

Because this is our first presentation for the new term, we will make it a short presentation, around five (5) minutes, in small groups to each other including Q&A from the classmates we will present to.

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

Now let's look at the assignment!

Look at the picture at the top of this post. It's a screenshot of a label for a Korean name - in this case, it reads "Kim Eebak." Kim is the most common surname (名字) in both North and South Korea, and in hanja - the Korean name for kanji, it would be written as 金. Koreans born in Japan with this name would use this kanji. 

Topic

You can choose to present about either surnames, or first names, from another culture and language - but not from Japanese. What do the names mean? 

One again, you cannot research about Japanese names. But it is okay to show with the name you have chosen to research about if are there any names with the same, or similar meanings, in Japanese.

Guidelines & format

Whatever kinds of names you choose from whichever languages, you have to present these points:

• What the name is
• What it means
• How common it is in the language and country(s) it is used in
• Any famous people with this name
• What same or similar meanings there may be in any names in Japan

As something extra - what would your own name look like in another language with its own writing system - not kanji, kana, or romaji? In katakana, my own name, Lee Arnold, looks of course like this: リー・アーノルド (rii aanorudo). 

How would your name look in a different writing system - and how would your name be pronounced to fit that system? In the case of my name, the sounds of my name have to change to fit the katakana pronunciation (発音). So how about your name? 

Like before, you can design it anyway you want - but please have the images and the writing be about the points above.  

Special note: 
Because we are in a computer room now, I will ask that we prepare Power Point shows. You should have for your Power Point:

• A title slide with the title of your topic, your name, the class (Culture through English B) and the date
• 5-6 main slides (including pictures and examples of writing from another writing system, if you need to show what the writing looks like)
• A closing slide with a "thank you" message (or something like it)

Deadline (締め切り)

Because we will have no class on October 16th (10/16), our presentation day will be on October 23rd (10/23), so you have three (3) weeks to prepare them. 

We will do some presentation practice in class before we do the real presentations. These presentations will be the only things we will do on October 23rd.  

Now as a reminder, here are the board notes for our class on 10/2:

Good luck! Have fun making these presentations about names from other cultures and languages.

See you next week with your great posters!

Image: Screenshot of image taken from https://www.sbs.com.au/topics/life/culture/article/2016/11/07/heres-real-reason-why-so-many-koreans-are-named-kim/Board notes - personal photographs. All rights reserved.
I do not own the rights to the original image of Korean name photograph. All rights reserved to the copyright holder(s). Screenshot taken and uploaded for educational purposes only.

Culture through English A: Short presentation 2・ショートプレゼンテーション 2

Hello!

How are you? Today I will show you our second presentations about immigration (移住) and naturalization (帰化).

I know I am showing this to all of you right after our mid-term presentation, but because our time is tight, I am showing it to you now. 

Background of theme
What does a person have to do to get citizenship (国籍) of another country? Many people do it all this time. In the cases of refugees (難民), they have to become citizens of another country in the long term, as they cannot go back to the countries they came from.

While I have given you all the handout about this topic, I will post it here as well to help remind all of you about what you can do for this presentation. 

Important notes

This topic will be about immigration, with an focus on the pros and cons (賛否両論) of naturalization - the steps of becoming a citizen of another country. 

Some countries will allow their new citizens to keep the citizenship of their old country, but some will not. Some countries would say that their new citizens must only have the citizenship of their country, while the person’s old country still says that the person is their citizen. 

Guidelines
So what might changes in citizenship mean for people in these situations? In the case of Japan, what does it take for a foreign-born person to become a Japanese citizen? 

So for this theme, design a small poster on A3-sized paper or make a Power Point on this theme of immigration and naturalization with a title of your choice. Choose one (1) of these topics: 

• research about how a foreign-born person can become a Japanese citizen 

• choose a country and research about how a person can become a citizen of that country

Make sure to research points such as: Possibilities and issues of dual citizenship rights (二重国籍の権利); obligations of military service (徴兵制度); any possibility of double taxation (課税) between the person’s new country and old country; plus any other interesting or unique points that you may find about citizenship rights and responsibilities.  

As before, you can design this any way you want - but please cover the points above. Very importantly - have a summary of your topic!

Like before, we will present in small groups to each other for around 5 minutes, including Q&A from the classmates we will present to. 

Deadline (締め切り) 

We will do these on July 3rd (7/3), so you have two (2) weeks to prepare these. 

We will do some presentation practice in class before we do the real presentations. These presentations will be the only things we will do on July 3rd. 

Here are the board notes for our class on 6/26:

Here also are the board notes for our class on 6/19:

Good luck! Have fun making these posters or Power Points as you've done before, but now on this theme. 

See you next week!

Image: Screenshot taken from photograph originally uploaded to the Daily Mail website - http://www.dailymail.co.uk/travel/travel_news/article-3437455/Not-passport-equals-travel-documents-come-different colors-countries-choose-them.html. 

I do not own the rights to the original image. All rights reserved to the copyright holder(s). Uploaded for classroom use only.