Christmas Traditions

Christmas traditions are different all around the world. Please follow the link to find out about some European Christmas traditions. Then, please make three presentations, two about Christmas traditions in Europe and one about a Japanese winter tradition.
Christmas Traditions

Bonus Material

最近、僕の好きなパン屋、「PAUL」で朝ごはんを食べた。今、クリスマスツリーがある。京都ではたくさんの美しいクリスマスツリーがあるが、この懐かしくて伝統てなクリスマスツリーが大好き。ヨーロッパではクリスマスツリーの文化は大切で、すごく歴史的。クリスマスよりクリスマスツリーの方が古い文化。最初にクリスマスツリーは冬至の特別で大切な物だった。僕はキリスト人じゃないので、冬至ツリーが大好き。
Recently, I ate breakfast at Paul, a bakery that I like. Now, there is a Christmas tree there. In Kyoto, there are a lot of beautiful Christmas trees, but I really like this nostalgic and traditional one. Christmas tree culture in Europe is important and very historical. In fact, Christmas tree culture is older than Christmas. At first, the Christmas tree was a special and important Winter Solstice object. I am not a Christian, so I like the Winter Solstice Tree.

 

 

Superstitions

Please watch the video and make a presentation about it. Then make a presentation about three Japanese superstitions.

Bonus Material

あまり健康的じゃないけど、時々チェリオを飲む。ボトルで「Since 1965」が書かれている。僕は「Since 1963」！ 日本人にとって「since と for」の文法は難しいと思う。「Since」の場合、特別な時間からの事、例えば、

I have lived in Japan since 1999.

1999年から、日本に住んでいる。

I have not drunk alcohol since November 1st.

11月１日から、お酒を飲んでいない。

「For」の場合、何かを数える。例えば、

I have lived in Japan for almost twenty years.

ほぼ20年、日本に住んでいる。

I haven’t drunk alcohol for 38 days.

38日間、お酒を飲んでいない。

What not to say

1. How do you rate this video by Gabby Wallace?
2. What did you learn from this video?
3. Do you think all native English speakers would agree with her?
4. From seeing this video, would you like to see more of her videos?
5. What do you like about her teaching style?
6. How would you like her to change her teaching style?
7. In your opinion, who is this video aimed at?

For class write a presentation about six things that you think non-native Japanese speakers should not say or do during a conversation in Japanese.

Bonus Material 

ほとんどの日本人はお寿司が好き。もし英語でその文を話したら、たいてい日本人は「Almost Japanese people like sushi〉と言うが、英語でその文は意味がない。ネイティブスピーカーは「Almost all Japanese people like sushi」と言う。もし「all」がなかったら、意味もない。

JR電車以外、ほとんどの日本の電車は定刻。

Except for JR trains, almost all Japanese trains are on time.

ほとんどの日本人は京都に行ったことがある。

Almost all Japanese people have been to Kyoto.

ほとんどない場合、「no」が要る。例えば。

納豆が好きなイギリス人はほとんどない。

Almost no British people like natto.

ほとんどのイギリス人が日本語を話せない。

Almost no British people speak Japanese.

もし英語で「ほとんど」を話したかったら、絶対「all」か「no」が要る。もし「Almost」だけを話したら、意味がほとんどない。

 

１月９日はレッスンがありませんが、もし6人から9人までランチのイベントに行きたかったら、僕はインド料理の店を予約する。イベントはレッスンじゃなくて、楽しい会話のチャンス。イベントの値段は1000円とランチ代。もし興味があったら、

早く連絡してください。

Music

1. How did the video make you feel?
2. What is happening in the video?
3. Why do you think it is happening?
4. Why do all cultures have music?
5. How important is music for you?
6. Is music good for our mental health?
7. Is music good for our physical health?
8. How important is music in education?
9. Can you imagine a life without music?
10. What is music?

 Bonus Material

カレーとライスはよく似合うね。たいてい日本人は英語で「curry and rice match」と言うが、ネイティブスピーカーは他の表現を使う。一番自然は「curry and rice go well together」。服も大丈夫、例えば「Your shirt and tie go well together」。本当に自然な英語の表現だが、カップルの場合、「They go well together」より「They are a good match」の方が自然。

This hotels name made me laugh. I think most British people would laugh. In British English "cross" sometimes means a little angry. It is usually a word adults say to children. For example: "If you do not stop being noisy, I will get cross".

________

もし興味があったら、私のビデオを見てください。

Are you a Vlogger?

Please watch the video and answer the questions

1. What is your impression of the video?
2. What was the most impressive part of the video for you?
3. What kind of YouTube videos do you watch?
4. Do you watch videos on YouTube in English or Japanese?
5.  Can vloggers (YouTubers) create social change?

Now, please make a presentation  for class, imagine you are going to become a vlogger:

1. What would be your theme?
2. What would three different videos be about?
3. Would you use Japanese or English?
4. What kind of people would be your audience?
5. Do you think that you would enjoy being a vlogger?

 If you would like, please make a video for class, it can have any theme.

Bonus Video

 

How important is grammar?

1. Why do languages have grammar?
2. What are the differences between prescriptive linguistics and descriptive linguistics? 
3. Is standard Japanese the true Japanese?
4. What are the disadvantages of striving for perfect English grammar?
5. What are the disadvantages of NOT striving for perfect English grammar?
6. What kind of Native English speaker do you want to talk with?
7. Can you tailor your English to speak to a variety of Native English speakers?
8. How should your English teacher empower you to be successful in communicating in English?
9. What are your experiences of communicating in Japanese with people from other countries?
10. Can you understand a Japanese person's background by the Japanese they use? 

私はイギリスのパブ、MAN IN THE MOON六角と一緒に新しいイベントを作っています。名前は「お喋りMEET UP」です。英語と日本語を話すイベントです。この楽しいイベントに来ませんか？

本当にいいチャンスです。

来てね！

Japanese Work Culture

Please watch this American news broadcast about Japanese work culture.

1. Is this good and true journalism?
2. Do you think this is unbiased reporting?
3. What would you change, add or remove from this broadcast?
4. What are your opinions about Japanese work culture?

Think about the questions above and prepare a presentation for class.

Bonus Material

英語ではいろいろな火のイディオムがある。例えば「Breathe Fire」、火を吐く！意味は非常に怒っている。イギリスの龍は怖くて火を吐くので、もし誰かが「breathe fire〉をしたら、その人は龍のように怒っている。例えば、

“My mother was very kind, but sometimes she could breathe fire”.

「Fire in the belly」、お腹の中に火がある。意味はとても強く決める。例えば、

“He has a fire in his belly to pass the examination”

“I have a fire in my belly”はちょっと変。もし自分の事を話したら、"I am determined to pass the examination".

「Light a fire under someone」、誰かの下に火をともす。意味は誰かに熱心にやる気を与える。例えば、

At first, I was lazy at university, but my girlfriend lit a fire under me, so I started to study hard.

Bonus Video

お喋りMEET UPを知っていますか？

Bilingualism

Please watch the video and make a presentation of your ideas about bilingualism.

Symbolism

1. Please watch the video below. Then make a short talk about the symbolism of Ying and Yang. Also, include what you have learnt about Taoism and your opinions.
2. Now take a look at the picture above. It has many elements: a flowing river; a pathway along the river; a bridge spanning the river; tall trees standing near the river; a large cloud floating in the sky and tall buildings in the distance. Choose one of these elements and create a talk about its symbolism for you. 

Bonus Video

広告

英語のィベントを作っています。レストランで晩御飯を食べながら、英語で楽しい会話をします。最初は25日インド料理の店に行きます。値段は二千円と自分の食べ物と飲み物の料金です。五人だけがイベントに参加できますので、もし興味があったら、早く連絡してくれませんか。

残り二席❗❗もし行きたかったら、

早く連絡してください。

Crying to release stress

Please read the article below from The Japan Times and prepare a presentation about it, with your own ideas. Also, think of some questions to ask in class.

 

Stressed? Many Japanese schools and companies are encouraging people to cry to boost mental health

An increasing number of schools and companies in Japan are encouraging their students and employees to cry as a way of relieving stress and improving mental health.
Tears of sadness and happiness are believed to reduce stress, as the act of crying relaxes autonomic nerves by stimulating parasympathetic nerve activity, according to experts.
“Crying is an act of self-defence against accumulating stresses,” says Junko Umihara, professor at Nippon Medical School.
For 5½ years, former high school teacher Hidefumi Yoshida, 43, who calls himself a “Namida sensei” (“tears teacher”), has organized activities and lectured at schools and companies across the country to help people discover the benefits of crying.
He came to recognize those benefits after one of his former students stopped showing up for consultations after the pupil had opened up and shed tears.
“The act of crying is more effective than laughing or sleeping in reducing stress,” Yoshida says.
Working with Hideho Arita, professor emeritus at the Faculty of Medicine at Toho University, and others, Yoshida launched activities in 2014 to raise people’s awareness about the health benefits of crying.
In 2015, Japan introduced a mandatory stress-check program for companies with 50 or more employees and other entities.
Since then, Yoshida has received a flood of requests from companies and schools to give lectures. In the past couple of years, he has visited hundreds of venues for lectures and other activities.
According to Yoshida, it’s important to create opportunities to cry by watching tear-jerking movies, listening to emotive music or reading inspiring books. “If you cry once a week, you can live a stress-free life.”
On Sept. 7, Yoshida gave a lecture at private Osaka High School in the Kansai metropolis, with 79 second-grade students taking part. After watching a tear-jerker, they wrote and read out essays in order to induce tears.
“I think I should hold nothing back when I cry,” student Ryohei Tsuda, 17, said after the event.
“It is good to cry to reduce stress,” Naito Sugimoto, 17, said.

Bonus Video

広告

Are you contagious?

1. Why do we look at someone's hands the first time we meet them?
2. Why do you think Ted talks with more hand gestures are more popular? 
3. Do you think our feelings are contagious?
4. Which two micro-expressions did she talk about?
5. What are some good conversation starters?
6. What does "that begs the question mean"?
7. What does "frenemy" mean?

For class please prepare a short presentation, it can be about any subject. But you cannot read out notes and you have to use lots of hand gestures.

Bonus Video

 

新しい英語のィベントを作っています。毎月レストランで晩御飯を食べながら、英語で楽しい会話をします。最初は25日インド料理の店に行きます。値段は二千円と自分の食べ物と飲み物の料金です。五人だけがイベントに参加できますので、もし興味があったら、早く連絡してくれませんか。

Positive Talk

1. What is your impression of this seventeen-year old's talk?
2. How could she improve it?
3. Is she special or could any seventeen-year-old student create a Tedx talk?
4. When is the best age to start giving talks?
5. In your own words, explain her message.

 If you were going to give a Tedx talk, what would it be about? Create a talk about that subject for class, it should be about ten minutes long.

Bonus Video

 

Dreams

1. Choose three of the reasons that we dream, from the video, and make a presentation for class.
2. Describe a dream that you have had, it can be a recent dream or a past one.
3. "Dream" can also mean a hope for the future, so prepare a presentation about your dream for the future. 

Bonus Video

 

Cats

1. What did you learn about cats from this video? Make a short presentation for the class about cats.
2. A regular English question in Japanese university entrance exams is: "If you were an animal, which animal would you be"? Because it is easy to copy an example answer from a textbook, most students choose to be a bird, but I think choosing your real animal is both more interesting and good English practice.  So please make a presentation for class, about the animal you would like to be. 

Bonus Video

Culture

1. Please watch the video and make a short presentation about it for class. Do you think it is a good explanation of Kabuki? Would you change it? If so how? 
2. Kabuki is part of Japanese culture, for class, I would like you to make a short presentation about a different part of Japanese culture or another country's culture.

Bonus Video

Fun events where you can speak English

Education

Link to article

Bonus Video

Event

A Picture Paints a 1000 Words

1. Did you enjoy this video? Why or why not?
2. Which image did you like the most and why did you like it?
3. There is an English expression, "a picture paints a 1000 words", do you think it is true? Why or why not?
4. How important do you think images are in our lives?

 For class please make a short presentation, it can be about anything you are interested in, but you need to bring one image to help with the presentation. It can be a picture you drew; a photograph you took; something from the internet or anything else. But it must be connected to your talk.

Bonus Video

This is not a video for class, it is a bonus video for the holiday.

My Glass is Half Full

Please watch the video and make a short presentation about it for class.

1. Are you a "my glass is half full" person or a "my glass is half empty" person?
2. What are some good ways to see the upside?
3. What good things happened for you yesterday?

Human Issues

Please watch the video and prepare a short talk about it, to give in class.

1. What are some important women's issues in society?
2. What are some important men's issues in society?
3. Is there a group in the world that you think of as an enemy, and if so could you learn something from listening to that group?

Please also watch the 中級 lesson's video.

 

_______

広告

＿＿＿＿

Johnのアンケット

1. あなたの人生で、英語はどのくらい大切ですが？

大切じゃない　1 2 3 4 5 　とても大切

2. 今、英語を勉強していますか？

はい　 いいえ

どうやって、英語を勉強していますか？

大学で　英会話学校で　個人教師で　自分で

3. 英語のイベントに行ったことがありますか？

はい　 いいえ

とんなイベントでしたか？＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿

4. 日本語の表現、はしご酒は英語に翻訳が出来ますか？

秋から「pub crawl」のイベントを作るつもりです。３ヶ所イングランドパブとアイリッシュパブに行って、面白い英会話を楽しみます。散歩の時間は休みのような時間なので、英語と日本語はどちらでもいいです。パブは、最初はイングランドのパブ、PIG AND　WHISTLE.　そのパブは京都で一番歴史的なイングランドパブです。その後、アイリッシュパブ、DUBLINに行きます。そのパブは本当に素敵です。最後のパブは六角のMAN IN THE MOON。京都で一番かっこいいイングランドパブです。そのイベントに興味がありますか？

興味がない　1 2 3 4 5 　興味深い

5. イギリスとアイルランドの文化「PUB QUIZ」を知っていますか？

はい 　 いいえ

その文化はすごく人気がありますので、京都とか大阪では英会話バージョンを作るつもりです。パブでは三人チームを作って、ビールを飲みながら、楽しいクイズをします。興味がありますか？

興味がない　1 2 3 4 5 　興味深い

6. 他のイベントは英語で京都の観光イベント。二ヶ所有名な京都の観光スポットに行きます。ガイドは簡単な英語で説明をします。その後、パブに行って、ビールを飲みながら、面白い英会話を楽しみます。興味がありますか？

興味がない　1 2 3 4 5 　興味深い

7. あなたにイベントの事をお知らせしてもいいですか？

いいえ　 メールで 　ラインで　FBで

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