Hi everyone,

I can't believe we have only three more lessons left before the summer break.  This also means we have just two more weeks until our group presentations.

Discussions:
Overall, everyone has shown a lot of improvement in their discussions.  Group leaders are directly asking for opinions and all group members participated in the discussions actively.  However, there are times when interactions are only between the group leader and each group members.  In our discussions, there also needs to be interactions between group members.  

In order to encourage interaction between group members, group leaders can ask these questions:

1. So, (Natsumi), do you have anything to add to (Shota)'s opinion?
2. So, (Yuta), do you have any questions about (Yurina)'s comment?

Presentation Preparation:
In next week's class, we'll spend about 45 minutes on activities to prepare you for your presentations (e.g. gestures review, eye contact, and voice inflection).  For the last part of class, you'll have time to work with your presentation groups to make final preparations. 

Homework:

1. Blog comment #9
2. Presentation Preparation

Blog Question #9:

Tell me about your presentation progress.  

Hi everyone!

I hope you're enjoying the weather this week.  It's beautiful.  I hope the rain stays away for a while!

Group Presentations:
For most of today's lesson, we went through the guidelines for your group presentations.  You were assigned a group and chose your presentation topic.  

We then completed activities about how to organization your presentation (structure and expressions) and how to prepare your outline 

You won't have a lot of time in class to prepare for your presentations, so make sure you arrange time with your group outside of class to plan and prepare your presentation.  

Discussions:
Since we spent most our our lesson on learning how to organize our presentations, we only have enough time for one round of discussions.  However, I'm quite impressed with how much everyone has improved this semester, especially with conversational style.  Keep up the good work!

For next week's discussions, remember these points:

1. Show interest when you are listening to others.  This lets the speaker know that you are interested in his/her comments (e.g. I see. / Yeah. / Uh-huh.)
2. No Japanese.  There are a few groups that are slipping in Japanese during discussions.  If you need to use Japanese for a vocabulary term, that is ok.  However, there should be NO long explanations in Japanese.  Please be aware that using Japanese (by the group leader or members) will result in a lower score for the group leader's discussion.   

Homework:

1. Blog comment #8
2. Discussion preparation
3. Presentation Research 
4. Start preparing presentation outline

• due June 19 before 12noon by email
• ntakeda.aogaku@yahoo.com

Blog Question #8:

What is your presentation topic?  Why did you choose this person?  

*Write 8-10 sentences.
*Use capitalization, punctuation & spelling correctly.
*Submit by Wednesday, June 12 by 6:00pm.