Culture through English A: Most common names in Spain・スペインの一般的な名字

Hello!

How are you? Let's look today at names in Spanish!

The picture above shows the most common surnames in Spain. You can see that overall, the most common surname is Garcia. 

Activity/homework

There are some interesting points about naming in Spanish that are different from both English and Japanese. 

Watch this video about Spanish names. Watch it as many times as you want or need, then answer the questions below it in your notebooks.

(If you cannot see the video, go to this link, or go to YouTube and look for "Primer Nombres y Apellidos" at https://youtu.be/HUosdlR6Gy8)

1. What is the first name called in Spanish? 

2. What has had the biggest influence (影響) on names in Spanish in history? 

3. What is another influence on naming that is talked about in the video?     

4. What are last names (surnames) called in Spanish? 

5. How many surnames do Spanish people use? 

     *Which name comes first, and which name comes second? 

     *What is traditionally used to connect the two surnames?  

6. What does the ~ez at the end of some surnames (like Gonzalez, or Martinez), mean? 

7. What does the de mean in surnames?  

8. In the example of Pablo Picasso, which side of the family does “Picasso” come from – his father’s, or mother’s? 

I hope you find this interesting!

Image: By anonymous (No machine-readable author provided.) Alfanje~commonswiki assumed (based on copyright claims). - No machine-readable source provided. Own work assumed (based on copyright claims)., Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=1430242

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. 

Culture through English A: Most common names in Vietnam・ベトナムの一般的な名字

Hello!

How are you? Today, let's look at Vietnamese names!

You might notice an important point - that Vietnamese surnames (名字) match to kanji. 

Before the French came and colonized (植民した) Vietnam in the early 19th century, the Vietnamese language was written in Chinese hanzi - the Japanese version of which is kanji. Since then, however, the Vietnamese language is written in a version of romaji. 

In Vietnam, the most common surname is Nguyễn (阮「グエン」).  

Activity/homework
Watch this video about Vietnamese names. Watch it as many times as you want or need, and answer the questions below it in your notebooks. 

(If you cannot see the video here, go to this link, or go to YouTube and look for "Vietnamese Culture #2: Vietnamese Names" at https://youtu.be/dPeSxwvjiTc)

1. How many names do most Vietnamese people have?  

2. Where does the surname (family name) come in the naming order?

3. What percentage of the Vietnamese population uses Nguyễn as a family name?

4. What do women do with their own family names when they get married? 

    * What is one purpose of a woman’s family name when she gets married? 

5. What is the main purpose of a middle name in Vietnamese? 

    * What is another purpose of a middle name? 

6. Who usually decides the given names in Vietnamese culture? 

7. Where do given names come from in Vietnamese? 

8. What kinds of meanings do given names have in Vietnamese? 

I hope you find this interesting!

Image: By Hintha - Lê Trung Hoa (2005) Họ và tên người Việt Nam, Hà Nội, Việt Nam: NXB Khoa học Xã hội (Social Sciences Publishing House), CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=21862789

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: Myths & legends from other countries (Part 1)・海外の神話、伝説、物語 (Part 1)

Hello!

How are you? Today, here is a video about some interesting myths (神話) and stories from other cultures - in this case, Mexico. 

Mexico has a rich history and tradition (伝統) of stories like these, and there are many of them. The picture above is an example of one that is probably the most famous of all - the Dias de los Muertes, or Day of the Dead.

The Day of the Dead is similar to obon in Japan. In Mexico on this day, people have picnics in cemeteries (墓地) and leave food, drinks, and things for their loved ones who have died - just like in Japan. They also make shrines in their homes and decorate them, with a picture in the center of their loved ones who have died - like the picture at the top of this post. 

But there are other interesting stories from Mexican culture as well - some of which are recent, and very scary!

Activity/homework
Watch the video below. Watch it as many times as you need, then answer the questions after the video in your notebooks.

(If you have trouble seeing the video, go to this link, or look for "5 Scariest Mexican Urban Legends" on YouTube at https://youtu.be/mh9Z3Cd0Aq8)

1. What does the chupacabra do? 

2. Where was it first reported? 

3. What are two things that the chupacabra looks like? 

4. Where does the legend of El Coco originally come from? 

5. What does El Coco do with children? 

6. What is La Ilorona? 

7. What was the story behind La Ilorona? 

8. What did La Ilorona do? 

9. What is La Mala Hora? 

10. What is El Silbón? 

11. What does “El Silbón” mean in English? 

12. What was the story behind El Silbón? 

I hope you didn't get too scared, and that you found this interesting!

Here are the board notes for our class on 12/4 (I'm very sorry my picture is not straight!):

 See you next time!

Image: By Eneas de Troya -https://www.flickr.com/photos/eneas/4072192627/, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=1195272/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 purposes only.

Culture through English B: Myths & legends from other countries (Part 1)・海外の神話、伝説、物語 (Part 1)

Hello!

How are you? Today, here is a video about some interesting myths (神話) and stories from other cultures - in this case, Mexico. 

Mexico has a rich history and tradition (伝統) of stories like these, and there are many of them. The picture above is an example of one that is probably the most famous of all - the Dias de los Muertes, or Day of the Dead.

The Day of the Dead is similar to obon in Japan. In Mexico on this day, people have picnics in cemeteries (墓地) and leave food, drinks, and things for their loved ones who have died - just like in Japan. They also make shrines in their homes and decorate them, with a picture in the center of their loved ones who have died - like the picture at the top of this post. 

But there are other interesting stories from Mexican culture as well - some of which are recent, and very scary!

Activity/homework
Watch the video below. Watch it as many times as you need, then answer the questions after the video in your notebooks.

(If you have trouble seeing the video, go to this link, or look for "5 Scariest Mexican Urban Legends" on YouTube at https://youtu.be/mh9Z3Cd0Aq8)

1. What does the chupacabra do? 

2. Where was it first reported? 

3. What are two things that the chupacabra looks like? 

4. Where does the legend of El Coco originally come from? 

5. What does El Coco do with children? 

6. What is La Ilorona? 

7. What was the story behind La Ilorona? 

8. What did La Ilorona do? 

9. What is La Mala Hora? 

10. What is El Silbón? 

11. What does “El Silbón” mean in English? 

12. What was the story behind El Silbón? 

I hope you didn't get too scared, and that you found this interesting!

Here are the board notes for our class on 12/4 (I'm very sorry my picture is not straight!):

 See you next time!

Image: By Eneas de Troya -https://www.flickr.com/photos/eneas/4072192627/, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=1195272/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 purposes only.

Freshman English Reading B: About Denmark・デンマークについて

Hello!

How are you? Today, to go with our textbook reading, I have a video about Denmark for all of you. 

What do you know about Denmark? The map above shows where Denmark is in the world, and in Europe. 

Activity/homework

Watch the video below. Watch it as many times as you want or need. It's by a Japanese person who has studied the Danish language and culture. 

(If you have trouble seeing this video, go to the link here.)

I hope you find this interesting. 

NEW - here are the board notes for our class on 10/2:

See you next time!

Image: By User:Rei-artur - Original by User:Vardion, Image:A large blank world map with oceans marked in blue.svg, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=1441311

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: About Denmark・デンマークについて

Hello!

How are you? Today, to go with our textbook reading, I have a video about Denmark for all of you. 

What do you know about Denmark? The map above shows where Denmark is in the world, and in Europe. 

Activity/homework

Watch the video below. Watch it as many times as you want or need. It's by a Japanese person who has studied the Danish language and culture. 

(If you have trouble seeing this video, go to the link here.)

I hope you find this interesting. 

NEW - here are the board notes for our class on 10/2:

See you next time!

Image: By User:Rei-artur - Original by User:Vardion, Image:A large blank world map with oceans marked in blue.svg, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=1441311

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: 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 B: Most common names in Spain・スペインの一般的な名字

Hello!

How are you? Let's look today at names in Spanish!

The picture above shows the most common surnames in Spain. You can see that overall, the most common surname is Garcia. 

Activity/homework

There are some interesting points about naming in Spanish that are different from both English and Japanese. 

Watch this video about Spanish names. Watch it as many times as you want or need, then answer the questions below it in your notebooks.

(If you cannot see the video, go to this link, or go to YouTube and look for "Primer Nombres y Apellidos" at https://youtu.be/HUosdlR6Gy8)

1. What is the first name called in Spanish? 

2. What has had the biggest influence (影響) on names in Spanish in history? 

3. What is another influence on naming that is talked about in the video?     

4. What are last names (surnames) called in Spanish? 

5. How many surnames do Spanish people use? 

     *Which name comes first, and which name comes second? 

     *What is traditionally used to connect the two surnames?  

6. What does the ~ez at the end of some surnames (like Gonzalez, or Martinez), mean? 

7. What does the de mean in surnames?  

8. In the example of Pablo Picasso, which side of the family does “Picasso” come from – his father’s, or mother’s? 

Here are the board notes for our class on 9/25:

I hope you find this interesting. See you next time!

Image: By anonymous (No machine-readable author provided.) Alfanje~commonswiki assumed (based on copyright claims). - No machine-readable source provided. Own work assumed (based on copyright claims)., Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=1430242

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.