Writing English 1B: 4th writing assignment・作文4

Hello!

How are you? The picture above is of Quoc Hoc high school in Hue, Vietnam. This is one of the most high-level high schools in Vietnam, and the statue outside the main building is of Ho Chi Minh, who, as a teenager, went to this school under his real name, Nguyen Tat Thanh. 

I show this picture as a way to illustrate our fourth (4th) writing assignment - comparing and contrasting educational systems between Japan and another country.

While I have given all of you the handout about the assignment, I will post about it here as another way to remind all of you on what you can write about. 

Topic

In this topic, compare and contrast similarities and differences in educational systems between Japan and another country.

Choices within the topic

While the topic is fixed, you can choose any country to compare and contrast with Japan. While I showed you the videos on the blogpost about education in Finland, India, and South Korea, you do not have to limit yourself on education in those countries - in fact, I encourage you to find other videos and readings on educational systems in other countries. 

You can choose any level of education as your point of comparison and contrast – elementary, junior high school and high school, and university. (Please remember to compare and contrast the same levels of education – for example, elementary school in Japan with elementary school in Germany, or high school in Japan with high school in Russia).

In addition, you can choose the organizational style you make your comparison and contrast with – a block method, or point-by-point method. (Just remember – if you want to show more how two things contrast, the block method is better. If you want to show how two things compare, then the point-by-point method is better).

How much to write

I would like you to write around 3-4 paragraphs' worth of writing – though I would also like to see you write with as many points of comparison and contrast as you can. This might make your paper longer – say, 4-5 paragraphs’ worth, or maybe even a little longer – but for a topic like this, the longer, the better.  

Deadline (締め切り)

It will be November 1st (11/1). Bring in a first draft (下書き) next week on October 25th, in your notebooks in pencil – with an article about an educational system in a country you want to compare with the same level of education in Japan. I will then go around and talk to as many of you as I can to review your work, and you can change things about the draft as you need to, then type up your final version on a Word document and turn in your work on November 1st. 

I will show you the format for what I want the typed final version to look like on November 1st.

Good luck with this! We will begin to write a little more deeply, this time with final versions typed up. 

I look forward to reading your great writing on this topic! See you next week!

Image: Personal photograph. All rights reserved. 

Writing English 2B: 4th writing assignment・作文4

Hello!

How are you? Today I will show you the first writing assignment for the fall semester - the 4th writing assignment (作文4) in total - writing about a problem and a solution.

While I have given all of you the handout about it, this post is a reminder for you in another way about what you can do for this assignment.

Task

You have two (2) choices on what to write about. Choose one (1) of them:


1. Write about a problem with a roommate (based on the textbook review pg. 55)

In this topic, look at the brainstormed notes on the textbook pg. 55. Follow the steps on the page in choosing what the problems are and what the solutions are. Write a 3-4 paragraph paper on the problem shown on pg. 55, and a 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!

2. 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. (But 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 to you, even if it had a good solution.)


How much to write


As I show at the top, I would like to see around 3-4 paragraphs. (Make the paragraphs at least a little longer!) But if you can write even a little more – go for it!


Deadline (締め切り)

IIt will be October 26th (10/26), so I want you to bring in a first draft (下書き) next week (10/19) in your notebooks in pencil. 

Next week, I will give you another handout, and post the same information on the handout, about some important points for your final draft on this blog. Please follow these important points! Then write to the finish outside of class on and turn in your final draft on 10/26. 


Good luck with this! I hope you can have fun with this, and enjoy writing about a problem and a solution.

See you next time!

Image: "Puzzle piece" (courtesy of pakorn)/FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Writing English 2B: Routines & problems・日課と問題

Hello!

How are you? Let's talk about routines (日課) and possible problems (問題) you can have in them! 

What order (順番) do you think this routine of different people should go in? 

Activity 1
Now let's try these. What's the right order (正しい順番)? What are some possible problems you can see in this routine? 

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.  

6.

7.

8.

9.

Activity 2

Now what things do you think could go wrong in this routine? Let's imagine some things!

例えば: You could wake up late for your first class or job because you forgot to set your alarm clock.

How about your daily routine? What time do you get up? Come to campus? Finish your last class? Go to a part-time job if you have one? What problems do you sometimes have in your daily routine? 

Have fun! See you next class!

Images: Top - "Schedule In An Organizer" (courtesy of Stuart Miles)/1. "Business Meeting" (courtesy of Ambro)/2. "Adorable Couple Watching TV" (courtesy of imagerymajestic)/3. "Woman Asleep" (courtesy of Danilo Rizzuti)/4. "A Cheeseburger Isolated" (courtesy of Grant Cochrane)/5. "Businessman Running With Briefcase" (courtesy of imagerymajestic)/6. "Drive" (courtesy of graur razvan donut)/7. "Drinking Coffee" (courtesy of Ambro)/8. "Woman Cooking Pasta" (courtesy of imagerymajestic)/9. "Bedroom" (courtesy of winnond)/All images from FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Writing English 1B: Comparison & contrast in Japanese education・日本教育の比較対照

Hello!

How are you? Today, let's look more about how to write on comparison and contrast (比較対照). We'll look at Japanese education (教育), and how it has changed over time. 

Activity
Look at these two pictures below. The first one is from a girl's high school sewing (裁縫) class in the 1930s. The second one is a recent, average high school class. 

With a partner or a small group talk about, and make some notes on, differences you notice and things you feel have changed - or perhaps anything you feel is also the same - between these two pictures. 

Practice writing

When we're finished, we can start some 2-3 paragraph practice writing on comparing and contrasting these different pictures, and what we believe we see and understand in them. This will be due in the next class.

Take care! See you next time!

Images: Top - By frwl - Takahata highschool 10, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=3239163/Past girl’s high school classroom - by 能代実科高等女学校　Noshiro Practical Girls' High School - 能代実科高等女学校大正五年開校記念絵葉書　Postcard issued by the Noshiro Practical Girls' High School., Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=17018162/Contemporary high school classroom - screenshot taken from https://www.tofugu.com/japan/jet-program-self-intro-class/Original photograph by Dylan James at https://www.flickr.com/photos/organictokyo/33542326/in/photostream/Special thanks to Verity Lane at Tofugu.com. All rights reserved on original photograph to Dylan James. I do not own the rights to the image or the copyright holder(s). Dylan James photograph uploaded for classroom purposes only.

Culture through English 2B: Health & food・健康と食べ物

Hello!

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

Activity 1
Let's look at these dishes! Guess how many kilocalories (kcal) each one has!

1. 

The first one above is pasta. How many kcals do you think it has? 

This second one is bratwurst (German sausages). How many kcals do you think it has? 

2. 

The third one below is Thai chicken curry. How many kcals do you think it has?

 

3. 

This fourth one is of course sushi. How many kcals do you think it has? 

 

4. 

Talk about these and make some guesses about their kcal count. Now choose two foods and talk about them! You can talk about them like this: 

例：A: I think sushi is healthy. 

例：B: Really? I think udon is healthier. (☞ I think udon is healthier than sushi.) 

Try this talk with different kinds of foods you can also think of! 

Activity 2/homework

Choose three (3) of the foods above - and research how many kcal on average they have! 

Have fun! See you next time!

Images: Top - personal photograph/1. "Pasta" (courtesy of savitkeawtavee)/2. "Sausages" (courtesy of savitkeawtavee)/3. "Thai Chicken Curry" (courtesy of John Kasawa)/4. "Mixed Sushi" (courtesy of rakratchada torsap)/All pictures except personal photo from FreeDigitalPhotos.net

All rights reserved on personal photograph.

Welcome back! お帰りなさい！

Hello! 

How are you? Welcome back to the classes for the second semester!  

As you can see, here is a picture I took of a lovely little kangaroo - in Australia! I went there from September 6th-16th to see my brother, who lives in Perth on the west coast, and my cousin, who lives in a small town southeast of Perth, along the coast. I had a great time and many experiences. I grew up in Perth, so there were some memories for me. 

But I saw many things like this, off the southeast coast, that I hadn't seen before: 

If you look a little to the left of the picture, directly ahead, far in the distance, you will go to Antarctica! This is not so far from where my cousin lives!

As for Perth, it's the largest city in the west of Australia:

Here are a few shots of the Hay Street Mall, one of the most famous locations in Perth. It's like a Ginza for Perth, with shops, cafes, and restaurants: 

This was the entrance to the Piccadilly Theater, a movie theater I went to sometimes when I was a child. It doesn't show movies anymore, but it is such a famous building that the Perth city government  kept the front and outside of the theater and made it a shopping arcade! There are many old buildings that have been kept well along the Hay Street Mall, like this one:

 Plus this one as well:

Here is a shot of the Perth skyline - not a very good one, but the best I could get! It was unfortunately a cloudy day when I could get this picture.

There are many more things I could show you, but this post could get very long, and I don't want to be boring to all of you! So how about your summer? Let's talk and write about what we did, and anything that we learned, over the summer. (I learned some things I didn't know over this summer. How about you?)

It's great to be back and I'm glad to see all of you. Take care! 

See you next class! 

Images: Top and all except map - personal photographs. All rights reserved. 

Map - screenshot of image by NordNordWest - own work, usingUnited States National Imagery and Mapping Agency dataWorld Data Base II data, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=4811950