Blog Homework 6: Dreams

Hi everyone,

I hope you found today’s and last week’s classes on “articles” and “pronouns” to be useful. Don’t forget to think about articles and pronouns when writing your essays and blog entries.

I enjoyed reading your blogs entries about “Studying English”. From reading your blogs, I felt that you all enjoy English and other foreign languages very much. And, I was very impressed with your ideas for studying English!

I really sympathize with the difficulties you feel when studying English. Yurika, Yukie, Hiroki, Chisato, Takaaki and Shotaro talked about the difficulties of English pronunciation. Ayano, Yoko, Toshiro, Yasuhiro T. and Yuki talked about having trouble with speaking. Kumiko, Chisato, Naoya, Shotaro, Natsumi and Yuri feel that listening is difficult. Kumiko, Hiroki, Naoya, Shotaro and Takaaki believe that vocabulary is the most difficult part of studying English, while Hiroki, Akihiro and Reiji think that grammar is challenging. Shihori thinks that everything about English is difficult, and Daigo said that learning not to hate English is hard. I totally agree with your opinions.

I think you had some very good ideas for studying English. You all agree that using or coming into contact with English EVERY DAY is extremely important. Yurika, Takaaki and Yuri suggest watching English-language movies, Ayano, Takaaki and Yuri recommend watching English-language tv shows, and Yukie, Chisato, Ayano, Takaaki and Yuri think that listening to English-language music is a great way to practice English. Yasuhiro T., Yuri, Hiroki and Reiji believe in the importance of practicing listening, and Yoko, Shihori and Yuki recommend listening to English textbook CDs every day. Yukie recommends actually going to an English-speaking country and making friends, while Yoko and Yuki also think that talking with foreigners is a good method. Kumiko thinks it’s good to practice English conversation, and Takaaki recommends speaking in English. Naoya recommends shadowing, Shotaro suggests studying vocabulary and Toshiro believes in the importance of reading. But, as Akihiro, Hiroki, Reiji and Natsumi say using creating opportunities to use and come in contact with English every day is crucial to become accustomed to English (Yuki). Hirotaka reminds us that it is also important to have a good understanding of our native language. But, as Daigo says, in the end, enjoying English is probably most important.

Thanks for your ideas, everyone!! And, keep studying English!!

===================================================================

Okay, on to this week’s topic. Do you have a dream for the future? Do you have any goals that you want to achieve? It is very important to have dreams and goals. These can be ideas about your “dream job” or even things that you want to do or experience during your life. Having dreams and goals helps us to plan for our future. It is very important for university students in particular to have dreams and goals. It can sometimes be difficult for us to decide what our dreams are. And, sometimes, or dreams and goals can change. For this week’s blog homework, I want you to write about your dreams and goals for the future.

As for me…When I was a high school student, I couldn’t decide what I wanted to do in the future. But, I knew I wanted to study at university, so I tried hard to enter my dream university. When I was in the second year of high school I went to Japan for 10 days, and stayed with a Japanese home stay family for 3 days. This experience helped me to realize that I wanted to go to Japan again in the future, and that I wanted to become able to speak Japanese fluently. So, I studied Japanese at high school and university, and in my third year of university I went on exchange in Japan for one year. And now I work in Japan! So, I guess I have kind of realized this dream.

At the end of my first year of university, I started to think that I wanted to work at a university in the future. I thought that I might want to teach about Japanese society or the Japanese language, or that I might want to work in the international affairs section of a university. And by luck… now I am working at a university! So, I guess I have kind of achieved this dream too.

I think I have been very lucky so far. And have realized many of my goals. But… I think as we get older, we have to keep changing our goals and dreams so we can live with some hope and excitement for the future. I guess my next goal is to help other people achieve their dreams and goals. I think that this is one job of a teacher. Having a goal for the future, no matter how big or small it is, gives us hope!!

So, please write about 150 words by next Monday (November 30) midnight. Please read the blog entry of the person who wrote before you and give them a small comment. Also, please try to read as many of your classmate’s blog entries as possible.

Have a good week,
Kris

Blog Homework 5: Studying English...

Hi everyone,

First, I’m very sorry for writing this week’s blog so late. As a result, I will extend the deadline for the blog homework until 9th November midnight. Also, as you know, classes on Wednesday are cancelled because of H1N1 influenza. So, we will need to change the deadline for your first essay. Let’s talk about this at our next class. I hope you are all well, and that anyone who has influenza feels better soon.

Okay, thank you so much for your blog comments last week. They were very enjoyable to read. It was very interesting to read about your hopes for the new government, and your concerns about society and the economy.

Many of you are concerned about finance issues. Natsumi wants a review of the use of government revenues. Yukie wants the government to absorb government bonds. Yukie and Toshiro want the government to eliminate the wasteful use of tax payer’s money.

Many of you are also concerned about employment. Hiroki, Naoya and Yukie hope the government will restore businesses and the economy. Takaaki, Narifusa, Kousei and Shihori hope the government will improve current employment problems. Shihori wants the government to improve the working environment of those working in the welfare sector. Yurika wants subsidies for vocational training, especially for those who have lost jobs. Hirotaka doesn’t want the government to stop public constructions.

Many of you are concerned about education. Akihiro, Ayato and Reizi want high school education to be free and Chisato and Reizi want more affordable university education. Ayano wants the education system to be more inclusive for students with disabilities.

And, of course, many of you are also concerned about other social policies. Toshiro wants the government to introduce child benefit payments, and Takaaki wants the government to solve the pension problem. Hiroki wants to see a cut in consumption taxes, Ayato wants the government to abolish gasoline taxes, and Yuri wants the government to ease the burden of the amount of taxes and welfare payments citizens have to make. Yuri and Shiho want highways to be toll-free. On the other hand, Kousei is against toll-free highways, while Yurika wants highways to be toll-free only for trucks and busses. Instead, she wants ship and train fares to be reduced. Hiroki wants more holidays, Takaaki wants the practice of high-ranking government officials obtaining executive posts in private firms to be abolished, and Yasuhiro H. wants the current government to work more positively than the previous government.

Thanks for all of your comments!!

==================================================================

Okay, in this week’s blog I want us to talk about studying English (or any other foreign languages that you study). All of you at the moment are studying at least one foreign language. Studying foreign languages can be fun, but there are also a lot of difficult things too. There is so much to know about a language; so, studying a foreign language can be endless – a life long task. Also, becoming proficient at speaking, writing, listening and reading is also challenging. In this week’s blog I want you to write about two things:
1) What do you find most difficult when studying English (or another foreign language)?
2) What is a good study method you use to study English (or another foreign language)?

When I first started studying Japanese, I found listening to be the most difficult thing. No matter how hard I listened, I couldn’t understand what I was listening to. I couldn’t tell the beginning of one word, and the ending of another. There were so many words that I didn’t know. And, I didn’t know much about Japanese dialects, etc. But, I was determined to become a master at listening to Japanese. So, I practiced for hours every day. I did many listening problems. I listened and listened until I could understand everything without looking at the script. I listened to Japanese songs, TV shows, news, movies… anything I could! I listened all the time!! I watched Japanese movies, and tried to write what was being said. I mimicked what I heard. Through this I learnt many new words, and also discovered many things about Japan and the Japanese language. And, finally, I could come to be able to understand things said in Japanese. In fact, listening is now the easiest thing for me.

Anyway, this is my story. But, I would like to hear yours!! Please try to write about 150 words. Read the comment left before yours and write that person a brief message. Try to read as many of your classmate’s comments as possible. Write your blog comment by November 9, midnight.

Best of luck everyone,
Kris