Introduction to Business English 1A Lesson 6

Hi, today we are going to start Unit 3: Problems. In this unit we will learn how to report a business problem, how to complain, and how to solve a business problem.

Image by lumaxart www.lumaxart.com/

Let' s start with a video. Please click this link: http://mrstoutsblog.blogspot.com/2009/05/learn-english-22-complaining.html.

Now let's study some vocabulary. Please click this link: Introduction to Business English 1A

OK, now please post a comment below. Tell me a problem that you have in this class..

応用英語I-2A Reading 2011 Chapter 2 Review and Chapter 3 Preview

Hello everyone,
Today we are going to review Chapter 2 and preview Chapter 3. Let's start by studying some vocabulary.

Choose a Study ModeScatterLearnFlashcards

Study these flash cards

Choose a Study ModeScatterLearnFlashcards

Study these flash cards | Study stories flash cards

Now let's review the scene of the crime. Look at the mind map below.

Don't forget to make notes in your Detective's Notebook.
Now let's do the quiz. Good luck!

Toyo Gakuen University Extension Centre Class: Live from Oxford & Django Reinhart

Hi!
I've posted some listening materials for you from today's lesson.

Click the link  below to listen to the Live from Oxford interview. People in Oxford talk about their ideal summer.
Live from Oxford: Ideal summer | Onestopenglish

Now here's a video of Django Reinhart playing "Nagasaki". Enjoy!

英語総合1A Global Issues Unit ２：Values

Hello everyone,
Today we wil finish studying unit 1. After that, we will start studying unit 2.

First let's learn some vocabulary. Look at the flashcards below.

Choose a Study ModeScatterLearnFlashcards

Study these flash cards

Finally, what are your values? Please leave a comment below.
See you next week!

基礎英語1A Basic English Writing Lesson 5

Hello everyone! I hope you had a great weekend.

Today we are going to review vocabulary, learn how to organise a paragraph using order of importance, and learn about descriptive adjectives and synonyms (同義語). Then we are going to our class blog and we are going to answer our classmates questions about the places we'd like to visit.

First, let's review some vocabulary. Please click this link: NDSU English Japanese Word list 1.

You can find synonyms in a thesaurus. Click this link: Visual Thesaurus. How many words have almost the same meaning as "great"? Type the descriptive adjectives on p. 101 of your textbook. Make a note of all the synonyms you find.

Now let's go to our class blog. Please Click the link:

Togaku Basic English 1 Writing.

Read the questions that your classmates asked. Answer the questions.

Don't forget to keep on tweeting. see you Friday!

Introduction to Business English 1A Lesson 5: Unit 2 Case Study

Hi, today we are going to do the case study on p.21 of our textbook. In the case study you will learn how to do problem solving.


First, let's review some vocabulary. Click this link:
Introduction to Business English 1A Vocabulary.

Now let's review some grammar. Please click this link: Present Simple Verbs.

Finally, post your writing assignment as a comment below.
Enjoy!

英語総合1A Global Issues Unit 1: Identity

Hello everyone! I hope you had a great Golden Week. Today we start Unit 1 in our textbook. The topic is Identity.  After we do the tasks in the textbook we'll watch a video.

This is a video conversation between Sarah of the Daily English Show and a man called Achille. Achille was born in Quebec. Therefore, his mother tongue was French. He moved to the United States. Achille's experience was very interesting.
Watch the video. What do you think of Achille's experience? How do you think you would feel if your second language became your main language and you were unable to express yourself easily in your mother tongue? Post your answer as a comment below.

基礎英語1A Basic English Writing Lesson 4

Hello everyone, I hope you enjoyed the weekend. I enjoyed the weekend very much. I especially enjoyed tweeting with you. You can see an example of a twitter conversation I had this weekend. Look at the picture below.

Let's go to Twitter now. I made a list for our class. You can see the feed on the right side of this blog. Please click "Join the conversation". Now click the user name of one of your classmates. Then click "Follow". Finally, reply to one of your classmates' tweets.

I know some of you were studying vocabulary on Quizlet too. Let's study some more vocabulary. Please click this link: Togaku 英単 Set 3.

Now let's continue learning about paragraphs.
Don't forget to keep tweeting, and to write replies to your classmates' posts on our Posterous blog.
Your homework is to write about a place that you would like to visit. you should post your paragraph on our Posterous blog. Post to our groovy blog by e-mailing togakuwriting@posterous.com You should include a picture. You can use one of my pictures if you like. You can see them here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/mc_sensei/sets/?&page=1

See you Friday!

Introduction to Business English 1A Lesson 4

Photo by Eric Miller originally uploaded to flickr by World Economic Forum

Hello! Welcome back! I hope you enjoyed your weekend.
Today we are going to start Unit 2. First, look at the photo. Do you know this man? With a partner answer these questions:

1. What is this man's name?
2. What is his job?
3. Where is he from?
4. Where is his office?

Now let's learn some vocabulary. Click this link: Introduction to Business English 1A
Now let's do the tasks in Unit 2 of our textbook.
Finally, click comment below. Write a paragraph about yourself. Describe your daily routine. You can see some examples here:
http://mrstoutsblog.blogspot.com/2009/05/toyo-gakuen-university-introduction-to.html

Homework

* Read p.21. Prepare for the case study
* Do Unit 2 on your self-study CD ROM.

Class Rules 2011

Well, another academic year has begun. Every year I negotiate the class rules with some of my classes. This year some of the rules are very interesting.

Some of my favourite rules for the students are:

• We should make eye contact with each other
• We shouldn't be shy
• We should love Michael
• We must always maintain a passionate attitude
• We should laugh at the teacher's jokes
• We should take pride in the things we do

I was especially impressed that the students seemed to understand my explanation about eye contact and why it was important. I was also very happy to know that they wanted to take pride in the things they do. I think that is very important. Finally, I hope it is easy for them to laugh at my jokes.

Some of my favourite rules for me are:

• Our teacher must love us.
• Our teacher must get in shape
• Our teacher shouldn't lose weight
• Our teacher should tell a joke every lesson
• Our teacher should change his alarm sound
• Our teacher must finish this class 3 minutes early
• Our teacher should try to make explanations interesting

Many of the rules for me made me laugh. There was much laughter in all these first classes. I hope that there is always a lot of laughter in our classes. I think laughter is important.

I hope you'll leave a comment or a question.

Cheers!!

応用英語I-2A Reading 2011 Lesson 2: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: Inverted Eagle Crime Talk Vocabulary.
Ok, now, let's do the tasks in Chapter 1 and learn how to use the Detectives Notebook. There will be a quiz next week. Be sure to make good notes in your Dectective's notebook. Also you can review Chapter 1 here: http://mrstoutsblog.blogspot.com/2010/04/1-2a-reading-lesson-3the-inverted-eagle.html
Have a nice week-end!

基礎英語4 Basic English Writing Lesson 3

Hello everyone,
Today we are going to learn about writing topic sentences, and supporting sentences. We'll learn about signal words too. First, let's study some vocabulary. Please click the link: Togaku 英単 Set 3. Login in to Quizlet. Click "Learn". Study the words. After that you can play "Skatter" or "Space Race".

Now please read the paragraph below. How many sentences are there in the paragraph? Which sentence is the topic sentence? How many supporting sentences are there in the paragraph? Which sentence is the concluding sentence?

My Life at Shibaura by Hiroaki K.

           (A) I belong to the handball club and the fishing circle. (B) I like fishing. (C) I go fishing sometimes skipping lectures. (D) When I am not in class I go fishing. (E) I am a student of Applied Chemistry. (F) However, I am not so interested in chemistry. (G) I entered this school because there is a fishing circle. (H) I came to this school to fish.

Now do the tasks on your handouts. After we will look at the Hiroaki's paragraph and check the answers to the questions.

Now let's read our posts on our Posterous Blog. Please click the link: Togaku Basic English Writing 

Next look at the picture below. Let's write replies to our classmates' posts.

That's all for today. Have a great Golden Week!

Introduction to Business English 1A 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 study some vocabulary. Please click the link: Introduction to Business English 1A Vocabulary

Now let's 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 in your textbook. After, do the activities on page 9.

Do you know these famous Japanese CEOs: Masayoshi Son,  Tadashi Yanai,  Akira Mori. Write a description of ONE of these famous Japanese CEOs. Post your description as a comment below.
Have a nice Golden Week!

基礎英吾I-1 Basic English 1 Writing Lesson 2: Introduction to Brainstorming and Blogging

Hello Everyone!
Today we are going to learn about brainstorming (自己研鑽), and we'll learn about blogging. First, let's study some vocabulary. Please click the link: Togaku 英単 Set 3 Login in to Quizlet. Click "Learn". Study the words. After that you can play "Skatter" or "Space Race".
Now look at the picture below. The picture below is a mind map. A mind map is a great way to brainstorm. Now on an A4 size piece of paper make a mind map about you.

Now let's learn about blogging. Last night I sent you a message from Posterous. Please check your inbox now. Look at the picture below. Click the message from me. It's the highlighted message in the picture.

Next, open your e-mail. look at the picture below. Click the first link. Let's see our new group blog. I have posted on the blog. Please read the post.

Please write a comment on my post. Ask me a question.
Next, let's sign up for Twitter. After you sign in, please follow me. My twitter name is @mickstout.
Your homework is to write a self introductory post on our Posterous group blog. You can do it using Gmail, or on the web. Please post your self introduction by next Sunday at 6 pm.
Enjoy Golden Week!

Introduction to Business English 1A Lesson 2

Hello everyone!
Last week we had a very short class. We couldn't make business cards. So let's do it today. Then we can learn how to exchange business cards.
First, let's study some vocabulary. Please click the link: Introduction to Business English 1A Vocabulary Next, click "Learn". After that please play "Scatter".
Now let's make business cards. Please click this link: http://bizcardcreator.com/ After you have designed your business cards please print them, and cut them out.
Now let's watch a video. Watch the video and answer the questions. After that please practice exchanging business cards with your class mates.

Finally, please leave a comment below. Why do you want to take this class?

See you next week!

応用英語I-2A Reading 2011 Lesson 1: Introduction to the course and the textbook - Whodunit?

Hello everyone,
Today we are going to learn about this course, and about the textbook. First let's look at the textbook. The textbook is called Whodunit? What do you think Whodunit means? You can check your answer. Click here for the answer in English and click here for the answer in Japanese.
You can see the cover of the textbook below.

Front cover of Whodunnit by Adam Gray and Marcos Benevides, published by Abax. Some rights reserved.

One of the authors of Whodunit is my friend Marcos Benevides. Mr. Benevides is the man with dark brown hair on the left side. The other author is Adam Gray. Mr. Gray is the man in the middle wearing a silver striped tie. He is standing next to the Duke of Edinburgh (エディンバラ公爵フィリップ王配). Whodunit won the Duke of Edinburgh Award! It's a great book. You'll really enjoy it.

Photo by Roland Kemp

In this course you will read the first story in Whodunit called The Inverted Eagle" and you will do various tasks. After that you will have a quiz. There will be a quiz every week.
You will also use this blog. Let's learn how to subscribe to this blog.
Now let's learn how to use Quizlet.
Please click this link: Introduction to Quizlet (Quizletを始めるにあたって)
We will use Quizlet to learn new vocabulary this semester.
Finally, please leave a comment. Tell me about yourself.
See you next week!

基礎英吾I-1 Basic English 1 Writing Lesson 1: Introduction to the course

Hello everyone. Welcome to Basic English 1 Writing. In todays's lesson we will:

• Get to know each other
• Learn about this course
• Make Class Rules for each other
• Sign up for Gmail
• Subscribe to this blog (このブログを定期的に購読する)
• Learn about Twitter and Quizlet

Please click the link to see some class rules made by other students.

Next please click the link to sign up for Gmail.
Now let's learn about Quizlet.
Let's sign up for Twitter now.
Finally, your homework is to send an e-mail to me introducing yourself. Please send it to me by next Sunday at 6 pm.

Toyo Gakuen University Introduction to Business English 1A Lesson 1

business cards, originally uploaded by Tomasz Stasiuk.

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. First you will look at the course outline and the text book we will use. Click here to download the course outline: http://www.scribd.com/full/53209606?access_key=key-vv3j8ci6fl1sg4n8w28

Also in today's class we are going to learn how to make business cards. Click this link to make your own business cards: http://bizcardcreator.com/

We will use the internet to learn and practice new words. We will use an online flashcard site called Quizlet to learn and review vocabulary. Click this link to sign up for Quizlet: https://quizlet.com/sign_up/
Now let's review some vocabulary. Click here: http://quizlet.com/user/togaku/

That's all for today. Please bring your business cards to class next week.

Toyo Gakuen University 応用英語I-2B And the winner is...

Well everyone, we have a winner. Before the winter break I asked you to write stories about your favourite characters in Death on U Street. About half of you wrote the stories. I sent the stories to Adam Gray and Marcos Benevides, the authors of your textbook, Fiction in Action: Whodunit. They did not know the names of the students that wrote the stories. They read the stories. Both Mr. Gray and Mr. Benevides liked Michinori's story. Therefore, Michinori is the winner!

Here's what Mr. Gray said about Michinori's story:

"The author remembered that Ellie and Sofia were going to go to Peru and decided to continue the story that way. I think this author's English is very strong and that the story is very creative."

Mr. Benevides said that he "especially liked" Michinori's story and he said it was, "a tight little story that just felt complete."

I have corrected the grammar and vocabulary mistakes in Michinori's story. You can read it below.

Michinori's Story

Ellie and Sofia went to Peru. They visited their family and went to the beach with the family. When they got to the beach they started to play, but something came up, and Ellie left,  after asking another family member to watch Sofia. As Ellie left, she said to Sofia, “I will be back soon.”

There was a little island near the beach. Sofia found a narrow path which connected the beach and the island. She got interested in the island. She decided to explore the island without asking for permission from her family because she thought maybe they would stop her from going to the island. She thought, “There will be nothing to worry about because I will go to the island for just a little while.”

On the island, Sofia saw a girl who was the same age as her. Her name was Alice. Alice was exploring the island too. They became friends because they got along very well. They played together, but it started to rain. They decided to go back to the beach, but they couldn’t do it. The narrow path had disappeared because the tide had come in. 

They took shelter from the rain in a nearby cave. They waited to be rescued. Sofia mumbled “Mom will be worried about me.” Alice heard her and asked Sofia, “Is your mother kind?”

While they waited to be rescued, they talked about their mothers. According to Alice, her mother was a strict person and she disliked her mother. Sofia told to her, “I think your mother worries about you and loves you, so your mother is strict with you.” 

After a while, the weather became good. Then, Ellie came to rescue them by ship. Alice’s mother was in the ship too. As soon as Alice’s mother saw Alice, she hugged Alice, crying. Sofia was hugged hard by Ellie too. Sofia said to Alice, “Didn’t I tell you?” 

On their way home, Sofia was scolded by Ellie, but, she felt her mother’s love very much.

If you want to see the original unedited version of Michinori's story click this link: http://www.box.net/shared/b4mxlct7yi . Michinori's story is #7. You can read stories written by other students too.

Enjoy!

Toyo Gakuen University 応用英語I-3B Writing Unit 8: Movie Review Animated Video

Happy New Year. Today is the last class! Today we are going to make animated movies. Look at the movie below. In the movie the character reviews a movie. Which movie did the character review?



OK, now let's make a movie. Click this link: xtranormal

Now watch me and listen to me. Let's make a movie. After you finish I will post them here and we can enjoy everyone's movie reviews.
Enjoy!