Cool, Fall Weather!

It's finally getting cooler in Japan! The cool air feels great after the hot summer we had. I was beginning to worry whether we'd ever feel the normal fall temperatures. On the other hand, cold season is coming, so we all have to be careful and get enough rest. Take care of yourself!

The next essay is not due until Nov. 17, but I will introduce it today so you have enough time to work on it. Next week (Nov. 3) is a holiday, so there is no class. That gives you 3 weeks to prepare! The next essay is a restaurant review. This can be really fun if you do your best. I will tell you about it in class and post more details about it on this site in the future. For now, please check out the restaurant reviews from last year at the special site for this purpose:

Tsurumi Eats!

Also, here is some online grammar practice for you to do during class:
Conjunctions
Connectives

Recently, there have been some interesting international news stories (Libya, for example), but I suppose the offbeat news and entertainment news from Japan are more interesting for students. Following are links to a mix of serious and not-so-serious news stories. Please comment on one, OR scroll down to the student essays posted below and comment on one of them:

Disaster recovery minister calls Tsunami victims "idiots"
Japanese nurse to get death penalty in Malaysia
Erika Sawajiri Snickers commercial
Popular UK fashion brand uses strange Japanese

Please check out these Change Essays from your fellow students:
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How My Attitude for Work Has Changed
by K.I.

Most university students have to look for jobs when they become third year students. When I went to Tsurumi University after study abroad and I met my friends, I heard the word "internship" for the first time. I was not totally interested in becoming a member of society yet, and I thought that I did not have to do job hunting yet. However, I decided to go to the placement office then because I was not so busy. After talking with the staff, I learned that nowadays, finding employment is not so easy. I decided to participate in an internship to change myself and become more positive. I wanted to know about the real business world.

And so my life commuting to the placement office began. I talked with counselors many times, and I practiced how to write a resume and how to respond in an interview. Before summer vacation of my third year, I got an internship in the apparel (clothing) industry. The apparel business was harder work than I thought. I had imagined only a gorgeous and simple work before my internship, but in fact, it is difficult to have contact with customers with a smile in high heels all day. When I began, my smile was unnatural, and I felt only loathsomeness for the service industry. My eyes sometimes filled with tears, and days of severe instruction continued. These were such hard days, but my weak points for the service of customers gradually disappeared, and I started to think that talking with customers was fun. My smile became natural, and I was praised by senior staff. On the last day of the internship, I achieved unprecedented sales from a customer I was in charge of.

The time for job hunting began in earnest in the winter of my third year. The job hunting that I had regarded as a pain became very fun and I met various companies and people. These encounters led me in a good direction, and I think I grew up as a person greatly. And fortunately, I obtained a job!

Now I am able to contact people with a smile even if I might be sad. I want to laugh with people any time and the people around me change with my smile.

My way of thinking about work changed dramatically. I thought that I would suffer to earn money, but it was a big misunderstanding. I find pleasure in work now, and I can manage even difficult work if I and other workers encourage each other and change our attitude. After this internship, I found these ideas. That helps my present life and I now spend more substantial days. Even though the internship was hard, I am glad I took part in it. Everything that I learned will stay in my memory and help me in my future life.

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I Changed My Way of Thinking about Contact with Handicapped People
by S.K.

When I was younger, I was not good at being sociable. I was uncomfortable talking to handicapped people in particular because I didn't understand how to communicate with them. I used to have a prejudice. I changed my way of thinking about contact with handicapped people because I met three handicapped people. Now I think that a handicapped person in not different from us except the handicapped people need assistance.

The first disabled person I met rode in a wheelchair and he couldn't talk with us. He needed assistance with everything, so we helped him. For example, I brought his lunch box and I pushed his wheelchair. Then he always smiled. I remember his smiles well.

The second person doesn't have hair, but she is not different from us except for her hair. She is of a cheerful disposition and positive. I made friends with her so she spoke to me many times. She was always dignified even when someone made fun of her and she said, "I have a disease, so I have to accept my fate." I have the best impression from these words.

Finally, I know a person who has autism. My school has a special class for handicapped people. We ate our school lunch and practiced sports day together. I remember particularly practicing sports day so hard. Making progress took more hours for the autistic person than the others. I felt a sense of fulfillment when we could make a good performance.

Many people have a prejudice against handicapped people. If you make contact with them, they are glad for your effort. You would find they are not different from us and they are such kind people. These experiences when I met three handicapped people were valuable, and they changed my way of thinking.

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How I Changed My Eating Habits
by C.H.

I used to eat a lot of potato chips, chocolates, hard candy and other junk foods. When I was a high school student, I often went to McDonald's with friends. I particularly liked cheeseburgers, but I disliked vegetables.

Some years back, the skin on my face became rough. Moreover, my face was covered with many pimples. I thought maybe the cause was my unhealthy meals. I tried many cosmetics to make it better afterward, but my face didn't heal. However, my mother recommended making fresh juice. I made fresh juice from apples, lemons, bananas, carrots and soy milk.

After drinking it twice a week, the effect was magical. Fresh juice is a good drink in the morning and at night. Also, I ate fermented soybeans (natto) and soft seaweed in order to cure my face. I became interested in healthy eating habits.

By changing my eating habits, I could improve my condition. My skin is much healthier now. I have been making fresh juice for about 3 years.

More About Graphs

Good morning everyone! How did you do on the data and graphs essay? Was it difficult to write about statistics? If it's any consolation, it will be just as difficult for me to edit your essays, so please think about me this weekend!

Let's spend a little more time on graphs and do some online exercises. These will give us additional practice with English expressions often used when working with graphs.

Line graphs
Column graphs
Bar graphs
Pie graphs

Next, please check the topics below, click on a link of your choice, read the article, and write a blog comment in English. Be sure to say which article you are commenting about and write your name, please.

English articles:
Temperature record of the past 1000 years
Japan vs. U.S. crime statistics
(You can also compare other countries with this site)

English article with Japanese video:
AU vs Softbank network speed

Japanese articles:
Japanese article on 2010 most popular companies for job hunting
Japanese survey on smart phone apps
Japanese survey on types of smart phones people have
Japan smart phone carriers
Japan middle & high school use of cell phones

Traditional Japanese Bonito Fisheries

by CCC

There are many traditional fisheries in Japan, but they are disappearing little by little because it is hard to catch fish by traditional fishing methods. People who catch fish in traditional fisheries are decreasing. In particular, people who catch bonitos by hook-and-line fishing, one of the traditional methods, are decreasing.

Please look at the bar graph (above). The vertical axis shows catches of bonito in tons and the horizontal axis shows years from 1960 to 2008. The bar’s contents shows the proportion of ways to catch bonitos. The dark gray bars at the bottom show the proportion of hook-and-line fishing, and the middle bars show the proportion using purse seine. The top bars show other methods. The largest proportion from 1960 to 1980 is hook-and-line fishing. But from 1980, the proportion using purse seine starts to increase rapidly, and most bonitos are caught by using purse seine now. The catches by hook-and-line fishing in 2000 are the same as in the 1960s.

This graph shows that most bonito fisheries between 1980 and the present use purse seine. Using purse seine catches many more bonitos than catching by hook-and-line fishing, so most fishermen now use purse seine. But hook-and-line fishing doesn’t catch too many bonitos and doesn’t put as much stress on the bonito population. People are talking about whales and tunas, but they aren’t talking about bonitos. If people don’t start to talk about bonitos, they may disappear faster than whales and tunes.

Source

http://database.asahi.com/library2/main/start.php
Kikuzo II visual Asahi Shinbun Database

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Using Data & Graphs in Your Essays

This week, you need to find a topic that interests you that has some data or statistics that you can present. You should write about the topic and include a graph to help the reader understand the information. There are two basic types of article you can write:

A general information essay with data -
For example, you might choose "cell phones market shares" as your topic, and you might find some data showing which cell phone companies have what market share now. If you have good market share data, you can make a pie chart showing which companies have what percentage of the market. Of course, you also must write in words what all the data means.

An advocacy essay with data -
This type of essay takes a point of view on a topic. For example, I am concerned about shark finning and the decline of sharks around the world. I can write an essay about the problem and show a graph with data on how sharks are declining in the world's oceans.

When you look for data on your topic, please try to use reliable sources. A student blog, for example, would not be considered reliable.

You must also list your sources at the end of the essay in this assignment. If your source is a website, you must write the name of the site, the date if known, and the URL.

When you put the data in your essay, please use the graph function in Word. Part of this assignment is learning how to use the graph function so you have experience with it if you need to make graphs in the future.

Be sure to choose the correct type of graph for the data you want to explain and be sure to represent the data accurately. Think carefully about your data. You can't, for example, simply compare the number of smokers in Japan to the number of smokers in China. Why? Because the populations are so different. It would be better to compare the percent of people in each country who smoke.

Today you will spend most of your time trying to find a topic to write about and search for reliable statistics that can be represented in a graph. Gambatte!

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Simple Past Tense & Present Perfect Tense

Today Kevin will talk about using the Simple Past Tense and the Present Perfect Tense, as well as how to choose which tense to use. Later, you will practice some online exercises. This is the link to Kevin's web site, where you will connect to the online exercises.

englisheveryday.weebly.com

A random topic, but what do you think of point cards? Do you carry many of them in your wallet? What do you think of this idea?

http://www.japanprobe.com/2011/09/25/fight-against-annoying-point-cards/

Let's check out some recent student essays

Good morning all you bright and cheery Essay Writing students! Today we will take a moment to read some Opinion Essays and How to ... Essays written by our classmates. If we have time, we will blog a comment about one of them later. But first ...

Please do the following ...
1) Correct your "I used to ..." sentence from last week. Kevin will give you a corrected sentence for you to type. Once your new, corrected sentence is online, Kevin will delete the old one.
2) Do Kevin's "I used to ..." practice in class.
3) Read the Opinion Essays and How to ... Essays posted below. Choose one and write a blog comment about it. You can agree with the original opinion or advice, disagree, or just add a comment. It's OK if your comment goes off the topic a bit if the comment has some connection with the original essay. Please write your name or nickname so I know who wrote the comment.

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Little Known Music Should Be More Highly Estimated
by M.Y.

What kind of music do you listen to? Many people listen to famous music such as AKB48, KARA, and EXILE. I think they are great, but music is not only famous music! You may think only famous music is good, but it is not true! Little known music should be more highly estimated.

First, people should look for a band or a singer who is not yet famous. A little known band may play a concert in a small live house. People can see the live performance at a low price. They will give a passionate performance and people will surely be enchanted by it.

Next, the music world would flourish. Japanese music industry is made up of pop idol groups. Korean idol groups are also very popular today. But in my opinion, they are selling their looks!!! I think people should listen to little known music which is on the cutting edge. These new innovative groups make their songs earnestly.

Finally, people can enjoy the growth of new bands. They are surely not good performers at first, but they will surely became good performers when many fans visit their live shows. The fans will think, “They are getting better day by day!!”

Almost all people listen to famous idol group music. But I think people should look for a band or singer who is not yet famous. The music world would be flourishing. And people can enjoy their growth. Let's go to a live house and put up our hands and shake our head!!!

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Trains Must Change
by A.K.

Are you someone who rides a train everyday? If so, have you ever been on a train early in the morning? If you travel a long distance to your school or job, you have probably ridden trains early in the morning. Do you feel comfortable on the train? Is there anything that bothers you about trains? The answer is certainly yes. There are too many things that are uncomfortable about trains, so trains must change!

First, trains are too small. There is just not enough space on a train for all the passengers early in the morning. It's true everybody might actually fit in the train, but most of the time it will be so crowded. Sometimes it's so crowded that you can't even move to fix your pants! And from the super-crowded atmosphere, there is less oxygen and the temperature rises. It is hell in the summer. Trains really need to become larger or the number of trains should be doubled. This will make it easier for everyone to travel and to get on the train.

Next, trains have serious safety issues. There is a problem of people falling or jumping in front of trains causing major delays. This is something that does not happen everyday, but it actually shouldn't happen at all. When things like this happen, not only is a life lost, but the plans of those who use the train become completely messed up. Sometimes this happens a couple of times a week! Trains need to have some type of guard rail on the platform that prevents people from falling or jumping in front of the train.

Finally, the trains have a terrible smell. This is the thing that most bothers me and probably others. You feel this especially when the train is crowded. Sometimes the train smells so bad, it's hard to breathe and you feel like you are going to throw up. There are some people who actually get so sick they have to get off the train. The smell is probably coming from all the passengers' sweat, perfume, and whatever they carry around. Once solution for this is to have a big fan to clear the polluted air. This should reduce the bad smell and make it a lot easier to breathe.

For people who use trains daily, the crowdedness, the safety problems that cause delays, and the terrible smell are major problems. That's why train cars should become larger or the number of cars doubled. There should also be guard rails to prevent train accidents, and a fan to clear the air. With these three points actually being executed, the long distress felt on trains will disappear and the daily commute will become just a short comfortable ride for everyone!

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Study Abroad is the Most Effective Way to Improve English
by K.I.

We have to study English when we are students. While we are studying in Japan, our pronunciation is not so good. Some people choose to go abroad for study. It is really useful for our skills. Study abroad is the most effective way to improve our English.

First, if we study abroad, we can speak English everywhere. If you do a home stay, you have to use English all the time. Also, you can speak with native speakers anytime, anywhere. However, if you do not communicate with your host family well, you might be in trouble about your daily life.

Second, by living abroad, we can know about a foreign country firsthand. It is truly a case of killing two birds with one stone. We can develop our global perspective. After you come back to Japan, you can still practice English with your foreign country friends.

Third, by studying abroad, we can develop not only our English skill, but also our personality. When we study abroad, it might be the first time for us to live on our own, so there may be many problems about study, living, and human relationships. We will experience many things which we have never done before. Therefore, we learn to solve our problems by ourselves. We can be more effective in handling adversity.

It is possible to learn English in Japan, but by studying abroad, we can speak English everywhere, we can learn about another country, and we can develop our personality. I think study abroad is the best way to study English. It costs a lot, but it is well worth it. If you have enough money and time, you had better study abroad, not in Japan.

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How to Sleep Better
by K.K.

Sleeping is so pleasant, but you can't sleep well if you are in the habit of playing until midnight. If you get enough sleep, you can concentrate on the next day's classes. I'll tell you how to sleep better.

First, you should be tired at bedtime, so go for a run before bedtime. Running makes you so tired. Running is a healthy recreation, but other sports are ok too. But running can be done anywhere, so it's convenient.

Next, you should prepare in advance for school the next day. If you are already prepared, you will feel relieved and relaxed. Taking a warm bath will help you to relax even more.

Finally, you should stretch. Stretching makes you warm. If you go to bed soon after stretching, you will sleep better.

To summarize, there are three steps to sleeping better. You should run, prepare in advance for school the next day, and stretch. If you can follow these three steps, you will sleep better.

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How to Make a Healthy Body
by Y.K.

I think that recently people are unhealthy. In comparison to the past, people today have changing meal times, less exercise and more stressful living. Various things became convenient and we depend on convenient things. Now I'll tell you how to make a healthy body in this changing and stressful world.

First, try to have a regular life every day. Go to bed early and get up early. Take three meals each day; morning, noon and night. Eat meals at fixed times and don't have an unbalanced diet.

Next, try to get moderate exercise. I think it's good to do sports once a week and stretch every day. In other words, don't take a bus, but go on foot instead. In the case of trains, get off before your destination and walk home.

Finally, don't hold in your stress. If you have stress, you will become sick. To not become sick, you need to blow off stress. Get more sleep, eat more, sing karaoke more. If you don't think about stressful things and do other things, you will relax.

Now you know how to make a healthy body. Get more sleep, take balanced meals, get daily exercise, and don't hold in your stress. You need to continue these three things. Decide a daily target and these steps will be more effective.

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The American Military is Necessary For Japan
by M.W.

Have you ever thought about the American military bases and people in Japan? I'm sure some of you have because we see a lot of news about it on TV or in newspapers. Do you think the American military should leave Japan? If you think so, is it just because all the news on TV or in the newspaper brings up the problems between Japan and the U.S. military? I think the American military is necessary for Japan and I am also going to tell you about a few things that you might not know about the U.S. military.

First, Japan is safer with the American military here. The U.S. will protect us in case another country attacks. Since we lost World WarⅡ, we can't have our own military now. We do have self-defense forces, but I don't believe they can protect this country. And I think even if we have our own military, people aren't going to join. Right now, we are having some problems with the American military about base transfer in Okinawa and so many people are protesting about it. They protest because of the sound pollution, aviation accidents and so on. I understand the feeling of those who live around the U.S. military base. But if we don't have them, how can they protect us since we don't have a military? I will bear with the noise pollution, etc, because I would rather be protected by the American military.

Next, nowadays, many companies hire people who can speak English because of internationalization. But we don't have much opportunity to communicate with foreigners or contact with the outside world. I have some foreigner friends and most of them live on the military base. Although studying English at school helped me, my time with my military friends helped me a lot to improve my English. If I didn't have that opportunity, I don't think I could speak English like I do now. Even If we go to school to study English, a lot of students don't try to speak English. I think it's because they aren't used to talking foreigners, but there are so many chances to talk to foreigners on a military base. For example, many military people teach English at their house on base. It's a great chance to speak to improve your English. And sometimes they have open base for everyone.

Finally, there are Japanese people who work on the U.S. military base and make their living there. Japan is currently in a recession and it's quite hard to find work, especially in Okinawa. Many people who can't find a job can find and work on the U.S. military base. In Okinawa, peoples, who work outside of the U.S. base earn about $25,000 a year, but those who work on the U.S. base earn about $40,000 a year. If the military leaves Japan, many people are going to lose their job and unemployment will be a bigger problem.

The American military is necessary for Japan. I think we will be safer with the U.S. military. Not everyone in the U.S. military is bad. Moreover, lots of Japanese people are working on the U.S military base to live. A lot of people think the American military should leave Japan and that is their choice, but please don't let the media make you think like that and don't stereotype. Think through your thoughts.

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Welcome back everyone!

Greetings Tsurumi University students! How was your summer? I hope you had a great time and are now feeling refreshed! Please tell me some things you did during the summer break!

Personally, I had a really great summer! I spent a few weeks in Virginia, then I flew to San Francisco to chaperon a group of Tsurumi University students at Dominican University in San Rafael, California. I was only there 10 days, but I learned a lot about San Rafael and San Francisco. It was a really fun time for me. You can see some photos from the trip by clicking here.

Now let's talk about today's class. We will do the following:
1) Check out the original comics we made in the last class of the Spring Semester. Just scroll down this page or click on the link from July on the right and find "Original Student Comics." You can do this while I take attendance.
2) Briefly talk about what we did this summer vacation. Please ask 1 question to someone in the class after they tell what they did.
3) Review some of the things we did during the Spring Semester. It's been a while, so we all need reminders about some writing rules and policies. You'll see a list below.
4) Kevin will introduce "A Change in Me" essay. You can read a sample essay written by a student from last year below. Your first draft is due next week.
5) Practice this pattern; "I used to ... but now I ...." Everyone must think of an example and say it to the class. For example, I used to practice my guitar every day, but now I spend most of my free time surfing the Internet.
6) Blog about a change in you. Tell us how you used to do something or believe something, but now that you are older, you don't do that or think like that anymore. You can talk about how you used to play a sport or have a hobby or have a certain belief, but now you have changed on that point (hopefully, for the better!) This topic is fun to think about, and the blog comments and essays are usually interesting to read, so please try to do a good job!

Review of Spring Semester
a. Attendance & grading policy
b. Always give me a 1st draft and final draft.
c. Always save your documents so you can edit and reprint.
d. Carry a current copy of your last essay on a USB drive or on your mail.
e. Essays should have good paragraph shape; don't type 'Enter' after each sentence.
f. There is always one space after a comma or period.
g. Follow capitalization rules
h. Use the correct verb form in your sentences.
i. Make comparisons correctly.
j. Your essays should have an introduction, body & conclusion.
k. Use transition words to link sentences and paragraphs.
l. Combine simple sentences to make complex sentences whenever possible.

"A Change in Me" student sample essay from 2010

How I Changed my Way of Thinking about Our Neighbor, Korea
by Swwie

Although I live in a country which is part of Asia, I used to believe I would not have opportunities to talk with Korean people. When I was young, I thought I might be able to talk to English speakers in the future because I had learned English in school. On the other hand, I had never learned any other languages besides Japanese and English. However, learning English gave me a lot of opportunities to talk with Korean people and changed my way of thinking about them. Now I know more about Korea, even though I live in Japan.

In 2009, I went to Canada to study English and had a lot of opportunities to meet students from all over the world. Of course, there were many people from Japan's neighboring country, South Korea. Before living in Canada, I had actually never talked to Korean people or been friends with them. But when school started, I soon made friends with some of the Korean students. We often chatted in English about the cultures of our countries, and we taught each other some words in our native language. Those times made me interested in Korea.

In 2010, I accidentally found a Korean TV drama, "Kun; Love in Palace," on a Japanese channel and it was really interesting to me. This is not a historical drama but a love comedy, so it is easy for me to understand Korean culture. Soon I began to like it. I gradually became interested in Korean TV dramas. They teach me about pop culture in Korea.

Now I am a person who likes Korea. This semester, I am taking a class about Korea and the culture of Korea. I hope I will be able to speak and write Korean a little through this class. I would also like to visit Korea in the near future.

People tend to dislike things they don't understand well. However, if we take a step to know other people's culture, we will hopefully like them and become interested in them as I am interested in Korea. Knowing about other cultures helps us keep a good relationship with foreigners.

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Now please blog about a change in yourself. This may be the topic for your essay, or you can write about something else. I'm looking forward to learning about an interesting change in you!

Original Student Comics

Last week was our final Essay Writing class for the spring semester. We had finished our Opinion Essays, so we spent the last period making original comics at makebeliefscomix.com. You'll find the results below. We hope they bring a smile to your day! - Kevin

HINT! - Click on the images to make them larger!