2007年11月30日金曜日

どんなミニスピーチはいいスピーチですか

In order to have a good speech, one must not only be understood while speaking by your peers, but also speak with fluency and confidence. You have to be comfortable with what you're saying, and challenge yourself, but also not make something so difficult that there's no way you'll remember it. Use gestures, pace yourself, and be interesting. You want your peers to have interest in what you say, and in order for that to happen they have to understand you and engage in your ideas.

On a different note, I thought that peer-editing for the mini-speech was a really good idea. By reading someone else's work, you were able to better understand why errors are made. You can see errors that you've made in the past, or ones that maybe you've made recently. Another pair of eyes on your own paper helps to find typos and other errors that you would have otherwise skipped over as being correct. In addition to this, your peers were able to comment on whether or not they understood what you were trying to get across. These seemed especially important in relation to katakana, which for me is really difficult to translate in either direction. Having someone else's opinions and views on how to expand and improve your own writing was also really useful because it gave other viewpoints on the piece and allowed input on topics that you might not have thought of by yourself.

I definitely believe that the peer-editing was a good tool because it also forced you to learn more about grammar and writing to make sure that what you were suggesting wasn't incorrect. You had to be confident in the suggestions you were giving your classmates on their papers, forcing you to double-check and second-guess yourself when you normally wouldn't.

2007年11月15日木曜日

プロジェクト:ドラフト#1

Well, I've edited this a bit to include some more Kanji characters, as well as to fix some of my silly mistakes and add a few things. I'm not sure if I should choose one class and expand on it really well, or just keep it the way it is.




このセメスター私のクラスはかんきょうかがくと日本ごとせいじのかんきょうかがくです。私のセメスターはとてもいぞがしかったですよ。しゆくだいをたくさんしましたから。セメスターはたくさんべんきょすって、よかったです。

私のかんきょうかがくのクラスは月曜日と水曜日と金曜日があります。ちきゅう「earth」がすきですから、このクラスはとてもいもしろいです。かんきょうかがくの先生はたのしいです。先生は元気ですから。

私はまい日一時かん日本ごのクラスです。日本ごのクラスはむずかしいですが、たのしいです。私はともだちといっしょうに日本ごのクラスですから。さとう先生とかわい先生はたのしいですから。時々クラスメトは私に日本ごをてつだいました。だから、いっしょうに日本ごをはなして、日本ごをわすれません。

月曜日私のせえじのかんきょうかがくのクラスです。このクラスはちょっとつまらないです。クラスは二時かんですから。かんきょうかがくのせえじの本をたくさんよみます。

私はこのセメスターあたらしいともだちにあいました。いっしょうに日本ごとかんきょうかがくをたくさんべんきょうしました。まい日いっしょうにひろごはんを食べました。いいセメスターでしたよね!


かんきよかがく = environmental science

2007年11月8日木曜日

このセメスター

このセメスター私はとてもいぞがしかったですよ。しゆくだいをたくさんしましたから。このセメスター私のカラスはかんきょうかがくと日本ごとせいじのかんきょうかがくです。

私のかんきょうかがくのカラスは月曜日と水曜日ときにょうびがあります。このカラスはとてもいもしろいです。ちきゅう「earth」がすきですから。かんきょうかがくのせんせいはたのしいです。かんきょうかがくのせんせいはげんきですから。

私はまい日一時かん日本ごのカラスです。日本ごのカラスはむずかしいですが、たのしいです。私はともだちといっしょうに日本ごのカラスですから。さとうせんせいとかわいせんせいはたのしいですから。

月曜日私のせえじのかんきょうかがくのカラスです。このカラスはちょっとつまらないです。カラスは二時かんですから。かんきょうかがくのせえじの本をたくさんよみます。

私はこのセメスターあたらしいともだちにあいました。いっしょうに日本ごとかんきょうかがくをたくさんべんきょうしました。まい日いっしょうにひろごはんを食べました。いいセメスターでしたよね!


かんきよかがく = environmental science

2007年11月3日土曜日

日本ごのカラスは。。。

私は日本語のカラスがすきです。むずかしいですが、たのしいです。I never thought that I could be confident, so quickly, in saying, well, anything. The only thing I've been able to compare learning Japanese to was learning Spanish. スパにスごがすきじゃありません。私のせんせいはよくありませんでしたから。いちばんせんせいのスパにスご時々フレンチごをはなしましたから。わかりませんでした。にばんせんせいのスパにスごはこわいでした。とてもこわいでした。三ばんせんせいのスパにスごはいいでした。But by that time, it was almost too difficult to keep up. Having a poor background in anything and then trying to move on is incredibly hard. たのしくありませんでした。


しつもんがあります。Does anyone know いいれんしゅうのおおきいばんごおですか。Preferably something online? Or would anyone be interested in practicing at some point? I didn't find that the book went into really big numbers very well, and I know that I'm weak in doing that even with all the Mallard excersizes.

A Kappa Explanation

I'm sure by now some people are confused as to the images I've chosen and the video clip below. The clip below, in case you can't read the rather blurred kanji, is from the anime Gensomaden Saiyuki by Kazuya Minekura. The opening isn't as full of pretty fluorishes and whatnot like the actual episodes are.

Why am I explaining this, you may ask. Well, it all has to do with the kappa nickname that I tend to use - in case you didn't figure the kappa part out by now from the signature on the left. Kappa was the term incorrectly assigned to the Saiyuki character in the original Journey to the West series, Sha Gojyo. Gojyo was a sand demon in the original Buddhist myth about a Sanzo priest traveling to India to meet the Buddha. A kappa, however, is a water demon whose favorite food is cucmbers and who carry water dishes on their heads. This is not Minekura's Gojyo, either.

Still lost? That's good - I'm not there yet. In Kazuya Minekura's version, which is far more of an action and personal discovery piece where the four main characters (five if you count Hakuryuu the dragon who can turn into a Jeep) are trying to prevent Gyumaoh, the Demon King, from being reborn, than a religious treatise (though there are a lot of philosophical aspects and debates buried within it), Sha Gojyo is actually half kappa. You can tell he's not human or demon from his red hair and red eyes. I bet now you know who he is in the clip below.

I got the nickname Kappa from Minekura-san's Gensomaden Saiyuki series, prescribed by a group of friends that seems to perpetuate it regardless of who I'm around - it's actually migrated with me past highschool. Gojyo's personality has some rugged edges, though he's really a big brother type beyond that. He's also the fair bit of a romantic, once you get past the playboy aspect. While there are plenty of differences between myself and Gojyo (mainly the whole he's a guy and I'm not aspect), the name persists.

So, longer than anyone cares, this is your kappa signing off.

Gensomaden Saiyuki