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Hi everyone, We had a very busy review lesson today! Just one more lesson, and we are finished our first semester. After speed discussion, we reviewed opinion giving structure. Please see the slides below for opinion structure. Next semester, we will continue building our opinion giving skills. Opinion Structure Review    After our opinion giving activity, we reviewed how to improve writing your blog comment (and your writing skills in English). For this week's blog comment, make sure you include the advice from today's lesson. Writing Pointers Finally, I gave everyone their presentation evaluations. I also reviewed our course guidelines about attendance and lateness.
Attendance: If you miss 5 or more classes each semester (10 for both semesters), you CANNOT pass our course. For example, if you missed 7 classes this semester, you can only miss 3 classes next semester. Lateness: Lateness is unacceptable in our course. If you are more than 20 minutes late, you will be marked as absent. Train delays are unacceptable excuses for being late. Trains often have trouble in the morning, so you need to make sure you leave your home early enough so that you arrive on time. Lateness is NEVER acceptable when you have a discussion or a presentation. All of this information is in your course syllabus that you received on the first day of classes, and it is also on the website in the Oral English 1 section. Homework: 1. Blog Comment Review Blog Question Review: Tell me three plans you have for your summer vacation. (Remember to use paragraph style and conjunctions correctly.)
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Hi everyone,
Instead of our discussions, we had presentations again in today's lesson! We got to see four presentations on different social issues in Japan. Presentations: We finished our first group of presentations today. I was really impressed with the content of your presentations. You gave a lot of interesting information about your social problem, and offered some interesting solutions. Overall, everyone made a good effort to make eye contact with the audience, use gestures and presentation language correctly. I was happy to see that many presenters used expressions that they had learned from our discussions: "Let's move onto..." and "Are you following me?" Homework: 1. Blog Comment #12 2. Presentation Preparation Blog Question #12: Choose one question to answer. Question for today's presenters: How did you feel about your presentation? What did you do well? What do you have to improve? Question for today's audience: Which presentation did you like the best? Why?
Hi everyone,
Instead of our discussions, we had presentations in today's lesson! We got to see four presentations on different social issues in Japan. Presentations: We finished our first group of presentations today. I was really impressed with the content of your presentations. You gave a lot of interesting information about your social problem, and offered some interesting solutions. Overall, everyone made a good effort to make eye contact with the audience, use gestures and presentation language correctly. I was happy to see that many presenters used expressions that they had learned from our discussions: "Let's move onto..." and "Are you following me?" For next week's presenters, it's really important that you speak loud enough. When you speak loud enough, it shows that you are confident about your topic. Most importantly, do not read your presentations. There were too many presenters who were reading their notes! Presentations Reminders: We are continuing with our presentations in next week's lesson. Please remember these points:
Homework: 1. Blog Comment #11 2. Presentation Preparation Blog Question #11: Choose one question to answer. Question for today's presenters: How did you feel about your presentation? What did you do well? What do you have to improve? Question for today's audience: Which presentation did you like the best? Why?
Hi everyone,
Can you believe we have only one more month of classes left? Time has gone by so quickly this semester. Discussions: We finished our last round of discussions in today's lesson. Overall, there has been a big improvement in conversational style. Your discussions are almost 20 minutes now! When we first started in April, your discussions were only 10 minutes! Next semester, we'll continue with discussions skills. Presentations: We start our presentations in next week's lesson. Please remember these points:
Homework: 1. Presentation Preparation NO BLOG COMMENT THIS WEEK! Hi everyone,
I've returned all of your presentation outlines. Make sure you correct your outlines, and add more information, before our presentations. Discussions: In our discussions today, group leaders made improvement in giving their summaries and opinions. I'm glad that you're checking understanding more often now. In your discussions, they're still not long enough -- less than 15 minutes. This means that there isn't enough conversational style. When someone make a comment in your group, it's important to ask follow-up questions. Follow-up questions ask for more information about the speaker's comment. Each group member should ask a follow-up question after they hear a comment from one of their group members. Body Language: To help you deliver your presentations next week, we learned about gestures and voice inflection. Non-verbal language (body language) is just as important (or even more important) than the spoken word. To demonstrate this, I gave a short explanation in French. When I gave my explanation without gestures, NOBODY understood what I said. However, when I supported it with gestures, all of you could understand the main idea of my explaination. There are four types of gestures: a. number / sequence b. illustration / location c. emphasis / focus d. comparison Presentation Poster: Before the end of our lesson, we went through the guidelines for making your poster for your presentation. You'll need to use photos, pictures, drawings, maps, etc. on your poster and have an attractive titles. You can use key words and phrases, but don't use sentences and/or paragraphs. Homework: 1. Discussions (last one) 2. Blog Post #10 3. Complete your poster Blog Question #10: Do you think your English skills have made progress this semester? Why or why not? Give examples.
Hi everyone,
It looks like the rainy season has begun since the hydrangeas are in full bloom now. Quiz #1 At the beginning of today's lesson, we had a short 20-minutes quiz on "discussion leading" expressions and how to give your opinion. Please make sure to arrive on time when we have quizzes or presentations. Train delay slips are not accepted on quiz or presentation days. Make sure you give yourself enough time to get to our lesson on those days. Presentations: We also learned about the different parts of a presentation: (a) introduction; (b) body; and (c) conclusion. Each of these parts have different parts. In the Introduction, there are fourt parts: (a) greeting; (b) topic; (c) outline; and (d) signal for questions. In the Body, you give your main ideas, supporting ideas and details/support (e.g. examples, explanations, statistics, expert opinions). And finally, in the conclusion, there are five parts: (a) signal to end; (b) summary; (c) final thought; (d) closing; and (e) invite questions. We also learned expressions for each of these parts of a presentation. All of our presentation materials and today's slide presentation are in the Presentation section of the website. Also, you can find the Presentation Outline template in that section. Homework: 1. Blog Comment #9 2. Discussion Preparation 3. Presentation Outline
Blog Question #9: Give your opinion on your presentation's social problem and recommend two solutions. Example: In my opinion, suicide is an important social issue facing Japanese society. One reason for Japan's high suicide rate is because of the lack of awareness about mental health issues and the lack of services for those with mental illness. One solution is to ... Another one is to ...
Hi everyone,
We had a little difficulty in our lesson today. Please make sure you come to class on time. There are too many students coming late to our lesson. When you are late, you will lose points from your final grade. Types of Support for your Opinions At the beginning of today's lesson, we reviewed opinion giving structure and the types of support you can use to support your reasons for your opinion. Types of Support: a. personal example b. explanation (e.g. facts) c. statistics d. expert opinion Example: Opinion: In my opinion dogs are better than cats. Reason: This is because dogs are friendlier. Example: When I was a child, I had three dogs and they always wanted to play with me, but my cats usually wanted to be alone. Discussions:
Choose one topic. Give your opinion on the topic (include your opinion, reason, and two supports). a. Which is better, tea or coffee? b. Which is better, ramen or soba? c. Which is better, the countryside or the city? * Write 8-10 sentences. * Use capital letters, punctuation and spelling correctly. * Submit by Monday, June 8 by 6:00pm. Hi everyone, We had a busier lesson than usual, especially since we started our presentation preparation today. Asking for and Giving Examples: Before our discussions, we had a short activity on how to ask for and give examples. It's important to give detailed information when you give an opinion, so you can give examples to support it. To ask for examples, you can use these questions:
Discussions: For next week's discussions, remember these points:
Homework: 1. Discussion Preparation 2. Blog Post #7 3. Choose presentation topic
Presentation Topics: Before the end of our lesson, we through our presentation guidelines. For your presentation, your group has to choose a Japanese social problem and give two solutions for it. Examples of social problems include:
Blog Question #7: Choose two sentences from today's Asking for and Giving Examples Practice worksheet and make two conversations. For each conversation, ask for and give examples. (If you don't have the worksheet, you can find the file at the end of today's summary.) Examples: Conversation 1: A: Many Japanese have small dogs as pets. B: Can you give me an example? A: Well, for instance, terriers and chihuahuas. Conversation 2: A: There are many famous dogs. B: Can you expand on that? A: In the U.S., there's Rin-Tin-Tin, Benji and Lassie.
Hi everyone,
We've finished our first group of discussions this week, and we'll be moving to our second group next week. Showing Interest: Before our discussions, we had a short activity on how to show interest during a discussion. We need to show interest to let the speaker know that we are listening to him/her. You can use these expressions:
Discussions: For next week's discussions, remember this point:
Homework: 1. Discussion Preparation 2. Blog Post #6 Blog Question #6: We have finished our first round of discussions. You have received a lot of feedback in our lessons and on your worksheets. Which three points do you think you have to focus on to improve your next discussion?
Hi everyone, I hope you all enjoyed the Golden Week vacation, and that you don't have spring fever! Discussions: Before our discussions, we reviewed expressions for checking your group's understanding. You need to check 4 to 5 times when you give your summary and opinion. You can use these expressions: a. Are you following me? b. Are there any questions so far? c. Is everything OK? When you don't understand something, you can ask these questions: a. Can you explain that again? b. What was that? c. What does ... mean? In today's discussion, you still need to work on your conversational style. Group leaders need to ask the group members for comments on opinions: a. Do you agree with ...'s opinion? b. Are there any comments on ...'s opinion? Groups members also have to add to conversational style. You can also ask group members questions for more information and make comments on their opinions. Absent for your Discussion: If you are absent for your discussion and do not contact me the day before by 6:00pm, you CANNOT reschedule your discussion. You are NOT allowed to reschedule your discussion if you contact me in the morning before our lesson. You are ONLY allowed to reschedule due to serious illness - this means you need to go to the doctor and get a medical certificate to give me. Homework: 1. Discussion Preparation 2. Blog Post #5 Blog Question #4: Where can you find the best natural beauty in Japan? (Remember to use an opinion expression.)
Hi everyone, Can you believe that it's already been one month since we first started our course? Time flies! Discussions: Before our discussions, we reviewed Conversational Style. As you know, English conversational style is very different from the Japanese one. During a discussion, you can "jump in" at any time to ask a question or to make a comment. You don't have to wait to be invited to speak during a discussion. For next week's discussions, remember these points:
Classroom Manners: Before the end of class, we reviewed classroom manners. Please show good manners so that our lesson is enjoyable for everyone. We have no lesson next week because of the Golden Week vacation! See you on May 12! Homework: 1. Discussion Preparation 2. Blog Post #4 Blog Question #4: What are your plans for the Golden Week vacation?
Hi everyone, In today's lesson we had our first group of discussions. Before we started our discussions, we went through the steps for leading a discussion. Please bring this worksheet to every class, especially if you are a discussion leader. Discussion Feedback:
Homework: 1. Discussion Preparation 2. Blog Post #3 Blog Question #3: FOR GROUP MEMBERS: Give yourself a score out of ten for your participation in today's group discussions. Why do you think you deserve this score? Give reasons and/or examples to support your answer. Example: In today's class, I would give myself a score of 8/10 for my participation. First of all, I asked my group leader when I didn't understand vocabulary. For example, I asked the group leader to tell me the meaning of "gun control" and "amendment." Second, I gave examples about Japan's gun control in the discussion. However, I didn't always make eye contact with all my group members, so this is something I need to improve next week. FOR GROUP LEADERS: Give yourself a score out of ten for your performance as a group leader. Why do you think you deserve this score? Give reasons and/or examples to support your answer. Example: In today's class, I was the group leader. I would give myself a score of 8.5/10 for my performance. First of all, I checked my group's understanding about 4 times during my summary. Also, I encouraged all my group members to participate. I asked them directly for their opinions and asked them to make comments the opinions of other group members. However, I forgot to do a pronunciation practice for my vocabulary, so I need to do this for my next discussion.
Hi everyone,
Wow! We sure had a busy lesson today! There was so much to learn! Opinion Giving: We reviewed expressions to ask for and to give an opinion. We also learned expressions to agree and disagree with opinions. Remember that the expression "Tell me about it!" is to express agreement. It is slang and you can use it with your friends. However, you shouldn't use it with your parents or teachers. Discussion Schedule: In next week's class, we are going to start our discussions. Each students has to be a discussion leader twice during the spring semester. You can click on this link for the schedule: Oral English 1 Spring 2015 Discussion Schedule. Discussion Worksheet: For the last part of our lesson, we learned where to find articles for discussion topics on the website Breaking News English. We also learned how to complete your discussion worksheet. You'll need to complete a worksheet before you lead your discussion. You can find How to Complete Your Discussion Worksheet in the Discussion section of the website. Homework: 1. Blog Posting #2 2. Discussions (see schedule) 3. Bring the "Opinion Expressions" worksheet to class. Blog Question #2: Choose one of the topics below. Give your opinion on the topic. Use an opinion giving expression, and give a reason and an example to support your opinion. Remember to start your opinion with an opinion expressions (e.g. In my opinion, ... / As I see it, ...) the most annoying thing (In my opinion, the most annoying thing is ...) the best Japanese food (As I see it, the best Japanese food is...) learning languages (If you ask me, learning languages is ...) living in Tokyo (I think living in Tokyo is...) smart phones (In my opinion, smart phones are...) * Write 8-10 sentences. * Use capital letters, punctuation and spelling correctly. * Submit by Monday, April 20 by 6:00pm. Hi everyone,
It was really great to meet all of you today. You're such a lively group!!! I'm really looking forward to our lessons this year. Syllabus and Schedule: We had a short introduction activity and you got to meet your classmates. We then went looked at the syllabus and our course schedule. You can find all of this information in the Oral English 1 --> Course Information section. Opinion Giving: We had a short activity to help you learn some expressions for asking for and giving your opinion. Make sure to support your opinion with a reason and/or example. When you want to ask for somebody's opinion, you can use these expressions: 1. What are your feelings on this? 2. What do you think about this? When you give your opinion, you can use these expressions: 1. In my opinion, I think... 2. As I see it, ... Homework: 1. Blog Posting #1 2. Review Opinion Giving Expressions 3. Bring the "Opinion Expressions" worksheet to class. Blog Question #1: Choose one of the topics below. Give your opinion on the topic. Use an opinion giving expression, and give a reason and an example to support your opinion. smoking in public high school uniforms 2020 Tokyo Olympics traveling overseas today's Oral English lesson Aogaku Shibuya campus * Write 8-10 sentences. * Use capital letters, punctuation and spelling correctly. * Submit by Monday, April 13 by 6:00pm. |
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