Wednesday, April 28, 2010

Toyo Gakuen University 応用英語1-3A: Writing Lesson 3

Hey there!
Today we are going to do the first draft of Task 1: My letter of Introduction. Task 1 is an e-mail. Look at the picture below. Click the picture to make it bigger.


After we do pages 8-12 in our textbooks we will do the first draft of task 1.
First let's study vocabulary. Click this link: 基礎英語 ステップ2
Have a great Golden Week!

Monday, April 26, 2010

Toyo Gakuen University Introduction to Business English Lesson 3

Hi, todays lesson is about describing people. Today we will learn how to describe ourselves and we will learn how to describe others.

First let's review some vocabulary. Please click the link: Introduction to Business English A Vocabulary.

Next we are going to read "Meet Jeffrey Immelt" on page 9 of your textbook, but before we read about Jeffery Immelt, we are going to think about the topic.

Look at the picture. This is Nobuyuki Idei (出井伸之) He is the former CEO of Sony. What kind of company is Sony? Talk about it with your partner. Use your imagination (想像力). Answer the questions below:
1. Is this man rich?
2. How many days a week does this man work?
3. How many hours a day does this man work?
4. What are his interests and hobbies?

Now read the article about Jeffrey Immelt. After, do the activities on page 9.


Have a great Golden Week!

Friday, April 23, 2010

応用英語1-2A Reading Lesson 3:The Inverted Eagle - Chapter 1 Continued

Hi everyone,
Today we're going to finish Chapter One. Let's look at the mind map (思考マップ) we made on the whiteboard last class. Thanks to Yuichi for taking this picture. Click the picture to make it bigger.


Making a mind map is a great way to take notes. Taking notes helps us understand and remember the story. I made another mind map with more detail. Please look at the picture below. Click the picture to make it bigger.


Now let's review some vocabulary. Click this link:応用英語1-2A Reading Chapter 1 Vocabulary
Do the iKnow lesson, and play the Brainspeed game.

Next, let's check the homework. Did you solve the puzzle?
Our first quiz is next week. Please read Chapter 1 again. Please review your answers to the questions at the end of Chapter 1, and make notes.
Have a great Golden Week!

Wednesday, April 21, 2010

Toyo Gakuen University 応用英語1-3A Writing Lesson 2

Hey there! Great news. The authors of our textbook have sent us a message. Click the link to see it.

Today we will:
  • practice typing by playing a cool game called Qwerty Warriors
  • review old vocabulary and learn new vocabulary using smart.fm.
  • open and save a word document
  • brainstorm
Brainstorming is a great way to get ideas. It's a great way to start writing too. Click here to read an explanation of brainstorming in Japanese: ブレインストーム

Sometimes we brainstorm by drawing a picture. Look at the picture below. This is a picture I made. It has words, phrases and sentences about me!


OK, let's start. Let's review some old vocabulary. Click this link: 基礎英語 ステップ2
Now, let's open our textbooks to p.4. Let's start brainstorming.
Finally let's reply to Mr. Curtis Kelly and Ms. Arlen Gargagliano.
Please post your reply below.

Monday, April 19, 2010

Toyo Gakuen University Introduction to Business English A Lesson 2

Hello everyone! I hope you did your homework because today we are going to learn how to exchange business cards.

Please look at the picture on the left. The picture is from a useful webpage called work etiquette. What mistake is the man in front making?

Next, let's watch a video about exchanging business cards, then let's do a quiz. Please click this link: Exchanging Business Cards.
OK, now let's review some vocabulary and learn some more. Click this link please: TYG Introduction to Business English A Vocabulary

Now let's start using our textbook. Please turn to p. 6.
Finally, let's write a comment. Please tell me why you chose this course.

Friday, April 16, 2010

応用英語I-2A Lesson 2: The Inverted Eagle - Chapter 1



Hi!
Last lesson we learned how to bookmark a website. Let's bookmark another useful website. Click this link: space alc . Next let's review the new words we learned last lesson. Click this link: 応用英語I-2A Reading chapter 1 vocabulary list
Ok, now, finally we can start reading.
Enjoy!

Wednesday, April 14, 2010

Toyo Gakuen University 応用英語I-3A Writing Lesson 1

Hello everybody! Welcome to the first 応用英語I-3A Writing class. Today we will learn:
  • How to subscribe to this blog
  • How to register for smart.fm
  • How to use smart.fm
  • How to write a blog post
Also, today I will give you the course syllabus and show you the textbook. The textbook we will use is Writing from Within Intro. You can see a picture of the textbook above. Writing from Within Intro was written by Curtis Kelly and Arlen Gargagliano. Curtis Kelly is my friend. You can see a picture of him below.

I have used Writing from Within Intro before. You can see some of my former student's work. Click this link: Students write about their special places.

OK, let's take a look at the textbook now.
Now, please post a comment.
Finally, let's practice typing with a fun game called Qwerty Warriors
Enjoy!.

Monday, April 12, 2010

Toyo Gakuen University Introduction to Business English 1A Lesson 1

Welcome to Introduction to Business English A. Today's class is a short introduction to the course. The purpose of today's class is to help you decide if you want to take this course, or not. In today's class we are going to learn about meeting people. We will also learn how to make business cards.

Click this link to make your own business cards: http://bizcardcreator.com/

You will learn many new words in this class. We will use the internet to learn and practice new words. Click this link: http://smart.fm/goals/136449/content#set_130641

OK, that's all for today. I hope to see you next week.

Friday, April 09, 2010

応用英語I-2A Lesson 1: Introduction to the course and the textbook - Whodunit?

Well, today is the first day of the new academic year. I hope you enjoyed the break. This is also the first time I've taught this course. I'm really excited about it. We will be using a new text book called Whodunit.


One of the authors of Whodunit is my friend Marcos Benevides. You can see Marcos in the picture below.  The other author is Adam Gray.



There are two detective stories in Whodunit. This semester, we will read  the first one, called The Inverted Eagle.

Do you like detective stories? Detective Conan is a popular detective story in Japan. Watch the video clip from a Detective Conan cartoon. Listen and read the subtitles (字幕). What do you think is the Japanese translation of the following words: murder, investigate, case?



Now let's learn some useful vocabulary for understanding detective stories. Please click the link: smart.fm

Finally, please post a comment. Introduce yourself.

Thursday, April 08, 2010

The English Lounge Podcast 4: An interview with Amrik

Toyo Gakuen University has a podcast! Last year Toyo Gakuen University started a podcast. In December the postcast featured Kazuki and Hidenori talking about homestays. The newest podcast is a conversation with Amrik.
Amrik is a third-year student at Aston University. Amrik is spending his third year in Japan as an intern at Toyo Gakuen University. Amrik is the second Aston University student to do an internship at Toyo Gakuen University. Amrik spoke to Claire Taylor and Clare Murray. They are English Teachers in the English Education Develpment Centre at Toyo Gakuen University.
Listen to the conversation. When you have time, please go to the English Lounge and chat with Amrik. He's a really interesting young man.


Please subscribe to the English Lounge Podcast in iTunes.

A Note for teachers:

At the 2009 ETJ Tokyo Expo held at Toyo Gakuen University's Hongo campus in Tokyo, Andy Boon gave a presentation about our internship programme and he explained how educatators in Japan can set up their own programmes. Below is a video of his presentation. Andy has shared his powerpoint slides for this presentation too.


Please let me know what you think. Please post a comment.