Momoji, Nagano, Japan, October 2010

1. Reports from students who did  not present last time.
2. What book did you choose from the list? (Many students chose “Robinson Crusoe”. I wonder why? Maybe it is a textbook in some other class…;0)
3. Reading and translating chapter 8. Today, I used a slightly different technique. I asked questions about the text. These were not just comprehension questions, but questions designed to help students become more familiar with English by hearing many repetitions of the same words and phrases. What did you think of this? Send me an email or leave a comment here on the blog.
4. Answering the study guide questions for chapters 8-9.

Homework:

Finish reading and translating chapters 8 and 9.

UPDATE: Test yourself! Try this vocabulary quiz about chapter 1 of Little Plum.

Test yourself! Try this quiz on some of the words we read today in chapter 2.

1. Review of basic rules of English writing:
   1. 5 conditions for a simple sentence
   2. complex sentences + common errors (fragments, run-ons, and comma splices)
   3. the paragraph – unity, grouping of sentences, topic sentence, major supports, transitions.
   4. the essay (according to Andy Gillett) –made up of several paragraphs; introduction, main body, conclusion; all written about one main topic; needs to have a clear purpose; “you should present ideas you have learned but in your own words, and say something for yourself about the subject; the ideas and people you refer to must be made explicit by a system of referencing.”  (c.f. Using English for Academic Purposes: A Guide for Students in Higher Education )
2. Show me your notebooks for “Little Plum“
3. Today, we will read the rest of Chapter 1 and Chapter 2.
4. Take notes (in Japanese OK) about today’s mini lecture　on British children’s author Enid Blyton.
5. We will begin to think about research projects.
   1. Rumer Godden’s life
   2. Rumer Godden’s books for children
   3. Rumer Godden’s books
   4. Famous British children’s authors and books
   5. Compare 1 British children’s book with 1 famous Japanese children’s book
   6. Compare Rumer Godden with a famous Japanese writer for children
   7. Compare British books for children with Japanese books for children.
6. We will learn about how to write a summary. From Andy Gillett’s page:

One of the most important aspects of academic writing is making use of the ideas of other people. This is important as you need to show that you have understood the materials and that you can use their ideas and findings in your own way. In fact, this is an essential skill for every student.

It is very important when you do this to make sure you use your own words, unless you are quoting. You must make it clear when the words or ideas that you are using are your own and when they are taken from another writer. You must not use another person’s words or ideas as if they were your own: this is Plagiarism and plagiarism is regarded as a very serious offence.

The object of academic writing is …  for you to present ideas you have learned in your own way. You can do this by reporting the works of others in your own words. You can either paraphrase if you want to keep the length the same, summarise if you want to make the text shorter or synthesise if you need to use information from several sources. In all cases you need to acknowledge other people’s work.

HOMEWORK:

1. Write a summary of Chapter 1 and 2
2. Write your notes (in Japanese) to today’s talk, and post them to your blog by Wednesday Oct. 21, 18:00
3. Visit Andy Gillett’s website Using English for Academic Purposes: A guide for students of higher education. Especially look at the sections on “Paragraph”
4. Watch theses slideshows on paragraph writing and on summarising.
   1. slideshow #1
   2. slideshow #2
   3. Slideshow #3
5. Prepare chapter 3 of “Little Plum”.

1. Review of basic rules of English writing:
   1. simple sentence 5 conditions: capital letter, subject, verb, period, space.
   2. complex sentences + common errors (fragments, run-ons, and comma splices)
   3. the nature of the paragraph – unity, grouping of sentences, topic sentence, major supports, transitions.
   4. the nature of the essay (according to Andy Gillett) –made up of several paragraphs; introduction, main body, conclusion; all written about one main topic; needs to have a clear purpose; “you should present ideas you have learned but in your own words, and say something for yourself about the subject; the ideas and people you refer to must be made explicit by a system of referencing.”  (c.f. Using English for Academic Purposes: A Guide for Students in Higher Education )
2. Discuss your answers to the questions on page 29
3. Discuss your questions and answers on page 31
4. Listen and read page 32 and answer the questions in the textbook.
5. Conduct a class survey, using the questions on page 29.

HOMEWORK:

1. Your Australian movie reports are due next week.
   1. Movie report: write a report about an Australian movie. The movie must be about Australia (not just filmed there).
      1. See a list of movies that students reported about in the spring semester here
      2. You will read your report aloud to the class (same as in the first semester).
      3. Your report should include some research about the movie, e.g. about the history or area of Australia which the movie is about, also critical reviews or interesting reviews by people on Amazon.
      4. Your report must show me (the instructor) that
         1. you have seen the movie (not just copied your friend’s notes)
         2. you have understood the key points of the movie
         3. you have thought about the movie (is it good? is it useful to learn about Australia?), i.e. you have an opinion about it
         4. you can express your opinion in English
         5. you can use the MLA style for references.
      5. Your report MUST INCLUDE the following information:
         1. movie title (in both English and Japanese)
         2. movie director’s name and the names of the main actors and actresses and the characters they play
         3. date the movie was made
         4. the company that made and distributed the movie
         5. a summary of the story (key points only)
      6. This information MUST BE WRITTEN USING MLA STYLE (see the handout from session #3)
      7. Your handout should include the title of the movie and other key information, and some brief notes and pictures that will make your presentation more interesting. (The information in the handout does not have to be in complete sentences.)
      8. The report is due Friday October 23rd.
2. Make a blog for your writing in this class, so you can share your thoughts and ideas with other students. Watch this video on how to create a blog in less than 5 minutes. (On the right side of this blog, you can see a list of blogs that my Interactive Writing I students made in the spring semester. Check them out!)
3. Read the slideshows about paragraph writing and summarising:
   1. slideshow #1
   2. slideshow #2
   3. slideshow #3

Today’s lesson plan:

Writing:

1. paragraph format and email format.
2. Interview a classmate
3. Complete a form letter about your classmate
4. Write out the letter, using correct paragraph format
5. Re-write 1 paragraph from your “Summer Vacation” (which you wrote last week) using correct paragraph format.

Assignment/HWK:

1. Type a self-introduction letter, using correct paragraph format in Microsoft Word, and send it to me as a file attachment 添付ファイル by email BY Wednesday October 7th, 12:00.
2. Read “Little Plum”, Chapter 1.

Today’s lesson plan:

Check the homework （ええ！宿題あったの？！）

Writing:

1. paragraph format and email format.
2. Interview a classmate
3. Complete a form letter about your classmate
4. Write out the letter, using correct paragraph format
5. Re-write 1 paragraph from your “Summer Vacation” (which you wrote last week) using correct paragraph format.

Assignment/HWK:

1. Chp 5 p. 30 Read. Look up words you don’t know. Write 6 questions about the reading.
2. Type a self-introduction letter, using correct paragraph format in Microsoft Word, and send it to me as a file attachment 添付ファイル by email BY Wednesday October 7th, 12:00.

Hi, Researchers! Welcome to Sheffner’s Research in English IID.

Homework:

1. Answer the questions in the textbook on page 29
2. Read some of the Australian news posts on this blog,
3. choose one that interests you, and
4. leave a comment about it.

The Australian news posts are

1. Unexpected visitor
2. Aborigines not getting the houses they were promised
3. The Cove… on Japanese TV
4. The power of film
5. Broome tells Japanese city to stop dolphin slaughter
6. Australian girl in Japan to learn sumo

To leave a comment,

1. click on “No comments” below
2. write a name (I suggest you use a nickname or pen-name) and
3. an email address (this email address is invisible to other users) – I suggest your university email address
4. type your comment (remember, you are writing for other students, not for the teacher),
5. click on “Submit Comment”
6. that’s it! (Your comment will appear after I have approved it; that will take a few hours).

Today’s lesson plan (#1):

Handout: rules, syllabus, contact details, objectives of this course

Assignment: Write 2 paragraphs about your summer vacation using paragraph formatting.

Hello,  Interactive Writers!

Welcome to Sheffner’s Interactive Writing II.

Students are still deciding which class to take, and some have not yet made up their minds. Some students would like to know more about this class before they make up their minds:

• what kind of class is it?
• what is the textbook like?
• what is the teacher like?
• is the class difficult?
• is there lots of homework?

EITHER A) If you took my class in the first semester, please leave a comment about the class to help other students who have not yet decided whether to take this class or not;

or B) If you did NOT take my class before, please leave a comment telling me why you are interested in this class.

To leave a comment,

1. click on “No comments” below
2. write a name (I suggest you use a nickname or pen-name) and
3. an email address (this email address is invisible to other users) – I suggest your university email address
4. type your comment (remember, you are writing for other students, not for the teacher),
5. click on “Submit Comment”
6. that’s it! (Your comment will appear after I have approved it; that will take a few hours).

Today was an introductory lesson.

Handout: Rules, syllabus, contact details, course objectives

Assignment: Write 2 paragraphs about your summer vacation.

IMPORTANT NOTICE

There WILL be an examination – July 24th. (In today’s class, I said there would not be an examination: that was incorrect).

I will tell you more about the examination next class – July 10th. It will be a reading and writing exam, based on the two textbooks we have used this semester.

July 3rd lesson plan.

1. “Diddakoi“, page 24 ~ page
2. Watch 2 sections of the movie Kes This movie was made at about the same time as the Diddakoi book was published. The main character, Caspar, is not a gypsy and he is older than Kizzy and has a brother. There are a few similarities: he has no friends (like Kizzy), is bullied (like Kizzy), and although he has a mother, she does not look after him well and they hardly ever see each other.
   1. Caspar steals a young kestrel and takes it home. Then he steals a book on falconry to learn how to train the kestrel. He trains the kestrel.
   2. We see Caspar at school, taking a sports lesson. He is not good at sports, he does not have any kit, and he is bullied by the sports teacher, who behaves rather childishly.
3. What differences or similarities do you see between Britain of the 1970s and Japan of today?

N.B.: many of you wrote that in Britain the age of voting is 21. This is incorrect. In Britain the age at which people can vote is 18. In the movie, the librarian tells Caspar that, in order to borrow a library book, he must get the card signed by someone over the age of 21 and on the electoral roll (i.e. someone who lives in that city).

Homework:

Write a report about chapter 3 of Diddakoi. Your report should be about 150 words. It must include:

1. a summary of the main (key) points or events of the chapter
2. an explanation of why these points or events are important for the story as a whole
3. a comparison with another story you know, your own experience, or a news item
4. your evaluation of the chapter: did you learn from it? If so, what? Be specific, and give details from the chapter.