Category: Transitions

Oral English 2: Lesson 10

6/10/2015

Hi everyone,

I've returned all your presentation outlines with my comments. If you have any questions, you can email me or send me a message on Line.

Gestures:
After speed discussion, we learned about gestures. This is a type of body language and is part of "non-verbal communication." 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 explanation.

You can use four different types of gestures:
a. number / sequence
b. illustration / location
c. emphasis / focus
d. comparison

Discussions:
Overall, discussions were very well done today. I was very impressed that all leaders were checking understanding and had strong conversational style in the discussion part. For our last round of discussions next week, please remember these points:

Use transitions. Connect each part of your discussion with a transitional expression. You can say "Let's move onto..." (e.g. Let's move onto my summary.")
Increase Member-Member interactions: There are a lot of Leader-->Member interactions in your discussions. Try to have your group members ask questions and make comments among themselves. You can use these expressions:

What do you think of ...'s opinion?
Do you have any comments or questions about ...'s idea?

Homework:
1. Blog Comment #9
2. Discussion Preparation
3. Presentation Preparation

correct outline and make poster

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 ...

Write 8-10 sentences.
Use capitalization, punctuation & spelling correctly.
Submit by Wednesday, June 17 10 by 6:00pm

25 Comments

Oral English 2: Lesson 8

5/29/2015

22 Comments

Hi everyone,

We had a busier lesson than usual, especially since we started our presentation preparation today.

Vocabulary Building:
When you learn a new word, you should write it down in your notebook (with its form and a sentence). For example, news words from speed discussion and your group discussions. From today's speed discussion, we had these new words:

bullet train (noun) "I've never ridden the bullet train."
smoker (noun) / non-smoker (noun) "I'm a non-smoker."
second-hand smoke (noun) "Second-hand smoke can also cause cancer."
proficiency tests (noun) "There are many types of English proficiency tests like Eiken, TOEFL and TOEIC."
(do/practice) martial arts (verb) "Have you ever practiced a marial art?"
tournament (noun) "There was a big sumo tournament on the weekend."

Discussions:
For our next discussions, remember these points:

Pronunication practice. Remember to have a pronounciation practice with your new vocabulary before you start your discussion. You need to know how to say a word if you want to remember it. Have your group say each new word 4-5 times.
Transitions. Remember to use transitions to connect the different parts of your discussion. You can use the expression: "Let's move onto my..." (e.g. Let's move on to my summary.)

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.

In next week's class, we will learn how to make your presentations, such as presentation structure and expressions.

Homework:
1. Blog Post #8
2. Choose presentation topic

Group leaders need to email me their presentation topic by Wednesday, June 3 by 6:00pm.
contact: ntakeda.aogaku@yahoo.com
Use formal email writing when you contact me. Please see the model in our Student Guide.

Blog Question #8:

What do you think about your hometown?

Give your opinion with a reason and two examples to support your reason.
Use opinion giving expressions and expressions to give examples.

Example:
My hometown is Sault Ste. Marie. It's a small city in northern Ontario (Ontario is a province in Canada). In my opinion, my hometown is a great place to live because you can enjoy the outdoors all year around. For example, in the winter, you can go down-hill skiing or snowboarding on Searchmount, a mountain near my city. Also, in the summer, you can go hiking at Hiawatha Park, a big park in my city with many hiking trails, lakes and waterfalls.

Write 8-10 sentences.
Use capitalization, punctuation & spelling correctly.
Submit by Wednesday, June 3 by 6:00pm.

22 Comments

Oral English 2: Lesson 5

5/8/2015

23 Comments

Hi everyone,

I hope everyone had a great Golden Week vacation, and you're well-rested for a busy May.

Checking Understanding:
Before our discussions, we reviewed expressions that you can use to check your group's understanding. You can use these expressions;
a. Are you following me?
b. Are there any questions?
c. Do you understand?

Also, when you don't understand during a discussion, you can ask these questions:
a. Can you explain that again?
b. What was that again?
c. What does ... mean? (when you don't know a word)

Discussions:
For next week's discussions, remember these points:

Transitions. When you lead your discussion, you need to connect each section smoothly. You can use the expression: Let's move onto ... (e.g. Let's move onto my summary.)
Eye contact. Remember to make eye contact with each group member when you speak. Also, don't look up and don't look down. In some cultures, this means you are telling a lie.

Homework:
1. Discussion Preparation
2. Blog Post #5

Blog Question #5:

What suggestions do you have to stop bullying?

Example:
In my opinion, I think we should ... (1st suggestion).
In addition, we should ...2nd suggestion).

Write 8-10 sentences.
Use capitalization, punctuation & spelling correctly.
Submit by Wednesday, May 13 by 6:00pm.

23 Comments

Oral English 2: Lesson 10

Oral English 2: Lesson 8

Oral English 2: Lesson 5

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