Japan Day June 3rd

今週の日曜日、6月3日にセントラルパークでジャパンデーがあるそうです。
まだニューヨークにいる人は行きましょう！

http://www.japandaynyc.org/

What is a good narrative writing?

What are the qualities/elements of good narrative writing? Name some in comments in English.

If possible make reference to "Matches."　What are the strengths of this piece and what might be the possible areas of improvement?

法隆寺（ほうりゅうじ）

きょうかしょで法隆寺（ほうりゅうじ）について読みましたね。
法隆寺は　せかいで　いちばん　古い　木のたてものですが、ほうりゅうじのCMを見つけました。

JRという　しんかんせんのかいしゃの　テレビのCMの中にほうりゅうじがありました。



一瞬にして　　飛鳥の時代に　引き戻されるようです
（いっしゅんにして　あすかのじだいに　ひきもどされるようです）

斑鳩　法隆寺
（いかるが　ほうりゅうじ）

「和をもって　貴しとなす」
（わをもって　とおとしとなす）

ここから　生まれた　日本人の　心は　
（ここから　うまれた　にほんじんの　こころは）

今の世の人にこそ　大切なのかもしれません
（いまのよのひとにこそ　たいせつなのかもしれません）

今　再びの　奈良へ
（いま　ふたたびの　ならへ）

このCMで見に行きたくなりますか。

ハーバードの新しい学長（がくちょう）

今週の火曜日（2月13日）に、ドリュー・ギルピン・ファウストがハーバード大学の新しい学長になりました。学長（がくちょう）は大学でいちばん上の人です。会社（かいしゃ）のいちばん上の人は社長（しゃちょう）ですね。その「長（ちょう）」とおなじ漢字（かんじ）です。

えー、すみません、じつはファウストはほんとうには今年の7月1日に学長になります。だから、まだ学長じゃありませんが、ハーバード大学がファウストをえらびました。「えらびます」はえいごで、chooseです。

ハーバードは371年前からありますが、はじめてのおんなの人の学長だとききました。すごいですね。

ハーバードの前の学長のローレンス・サマーズは2年前に「おんなの人はかがく（science)のしごとの上のポジション（position)のしごとをもらうことができない。それは、たぶんおんなのひとのDNAがちがうからだ。」といいました。大きなもんだいになりました。

だから、わたしは新しい学長はたぶんおんなの人になるとおもいました。それはほんとうになりました。

「おんなの人だから学長になった」とおもう人は少なくないから、私はファウストさんのしごとはたいへんだとおもいます。そして、「はじめての何かの人」はたいへんですね。

ファウストさんは「私はハーバード大学学長です。おんなのハーバード大学学長じゃありません（"I'm not the woman president of Harvard, I'm the president of Harvard."）」といいました。そうですね。

ファウストさんはいい学長になるでしょうか。プレッシャー(pressure)がたくさんあってたいへんでしょうね。でもきっとなるでしょう。


CNNのニュースは　ここ　でよむことができます。

にちようび

日曜日にクイーンズで　ともだちとローラー・ホッケーをしました。朝９時半から、１２時半ごろまでしました。とてもさむかったから、はじめは　なかなか　からだが　うごきませんでした。（うごきますto move）

すこしして、からだが　あたたかく　なりました。でも、やすむ　ことが　できませんでした。やすむと（when I rested）、すぐにさむくなりましたから。

ホッケーをしてから、だいがくの　ともだちに　あいました。いっしょにフラッシングのかんこくりょうりのレストランへいきました。あまりやすくありませんでしたが、とてもおいしかったです。

そのともだちは、ロングアイランドのポートワシントンにすんでいます。きょねん日本から　きましたが、きのうはじめてあいました。そのともだちは、月曜日から金曜日までよるの１０時までかいしゃでしごとをしていて、とてもいそがしかったです。そして私もロングアイランドへなかなかいきませんから。

そのともだちは　４がつからカナダのトロントへ　いかなければなりません。ひっこしがおおくてたいへんですね。

>>>>>
Rikaichan dictionary for Firefox
を使っていますか。とても便利ですよ。
ブラウザーはFirefoxを使わなければなりませんが、Rikaichanはとてもいいです。

Typing
ちいさい「つ」 repeat the consonant
　とってください。totte kudasai.

「ん」 nn
　ほんをよんで　hon(n) o yonde

ブログをはじめましょう！

みなさん！

As I told you before, we'll try blogging in Japanese this semester.

But why?

Here are some reasons.

1. It's fun.

It might be intimidiating at the beginning but once you know that you can communicate so much in Japanese, it'll be fun. I hope so. I hope you hope so, too.

2. It gives you a chance to use your Japanese with other Japanese users (native or non-native; in Japan or anywhere) for real purposes.

What's the point of learning a language, if you are not goint to use it? Use Japanese to communicate with other Japaense learners in this class, other classes on our campus or other schools, "REAL" Japanese people in Japan (or anywhere else) who are not Japanese teacher like me.

3. You learn.
That's why you are here, right? You learn from your classmates, other bloggers, readers to your blog, readers to others' blog, etc. Actually you learn from yourself, too. As you write, you might discover things that you were not previously aware of...

Let me know when you think of more reasons...


Requirement:なにを　しなければなりませんか。

0. Know some common sense (I think you are all mature enough to know these. But to be safe, here's some.)

Be aware of risks on the internet including identity theft. Avoid using your real name or other personal information.

Be respectful and polite to others. When your classmates read your blog and leave you a comment, thank them in person or in the commenting section on your blog entry (by leaving a reply to their comment). You can also visit their blog and read (and maybe leave a comment), too.

Don't reveal others' sensitive information such as secret (dirty or not dirty), embarrassing stories, or anything that might harm their reputation or at risk.

Refrain from using abusive language.

１．じぶんのブログを　つくる。
Follow the directions（ブログのつくりかた） below.

２．ブログを　いっしゅうかんに　いちど　かく。
1st post is due by the end (midnight) of Sunday, 2/4.

３．ほかのひとのブログをよむ。
Regularly read classmates' blogs. You might find some of them more interesting than others. But, do try to at least scan what they wrote.

Email URL to me as well as the helpdesk.
I will link your blog to this classblog. You can follow those links or you can use your RSS reader(or aggregator). What is RSS reader?

４．コメントをかく。
If you find your classmate's blog post interesting, you have something to add, you want to ask a question for clarification or for any reason, you can leave a comment.

５．コメントの　へんじ(reply)を　かく
When you get a comment, try to reply to the comment. If you don't reply, they might be discouraged to come back and read your posts again because they might feel they were ignored.


ブログのつくりかた
1) Go to http://www.blogger.com to open your blog.

1. Select "Setting"s from the top tabs. Click "Formatting" and select "Universal" for "Encoding" so that you can type Japanese.
2. In order to receive comments from as many people as possible, please select "Comments" and choose "Anyone" for "Who can comment" section.
3. If you want to know how to type Japanese, please click any of these links listed below and on the right side.

• Windows/ Typing Japanese on computer
• Windows/ Japanese Language Typing Help
• Windows/ How to Display and Type Japanese on Your Computer
• Windows/ Using Japanese Text Input on a Microsoft Windows PC
• Mac/ Japanese for Your Mac
• Mac/ Japanese Text Input Guide for Mac OS X(PDF)

2) Send your blog address to the helpdesk (helpjpcu@gmail.com) and me.

• If you have trouble opening a new account, please let me know.
• If you already have a blog and if you can use Japanese (e.g., you opened a blog last semester in my class), you do not have to open a new account.
  

3) Post a blog entry once a week. The first entry is due Sunday, 2/4 .
Let's all introduce yourself in Japanese.

You can answer such questions as

どうして　にほんごを　べんきょうして　いますか。
しごとを　していますか。
せんもん（せんこう）は　なんですか。
なにが　すきですか。
やすみの　ひに　なにを　しますか。
しゅみ　が　ありますか。
どこから　きましたか。
にほんや　がいこくへ　いったことが　ありますか。
いま　なにが　しりたいですか。
いま　なにが　ほしいですか。

There is NO requirement for how long it should be. You can edit as many times as you wish.

What if you have grammar mistakes?
Try your best to be accurate as possible so that your readers will understand. But there is no penalty per se for making mistakes.

wimba スピーチのフィードバック

みなさん、

「２０ねんごのわたし」 のスピーチをWimbaにいれましたね。みんなよくできました。
みんなからのフィードバックをコピーします。

8 SoEun san:
-She sounded like she had good pronunciation.
-Her accent sounds like a native speaker's, at least to my ears
-Sakubun ga totemo suki desu. ichiban ryuuchou(?) desu kara, hanashikata wa yokute hayai desu ne? watashi wa urayamashii desu.
-I feel she really memorized the entire sakubun. Most prepared one. But a little harder than Elizabeth san's to comprehend.
-This composition is read effortlessly. It doesn't seem like SoEun　san has any difficult with the pronunciation. It sounds almost as natural as the voice files from language lab. In addition, the composition is grammatically accurate (as far as I can deduce). It is the most flawless piece.
-Humorous at several points and good command of the language
-Because she also was fluent...just sounded very "Japanese" as in like a native…
-(no reason)

7 Melissa san:
-Because she uses a lot of te form and a variety of verbs
-Because I thought her speech had a good flow, was easy to understand, and did not have any mistakes or unusual pauses. I thought it sounded natural and was kind of funny at some points where her speech was elevated.
-Ryuuchou desu kara, sakubun mo suki desu. desukara.... urayamashii desu.
-Because the intonation is very clear, and she uses a lot of 'te' forms!
-Good pronunciation- I think?
-Because she has expression in her reading and is very fluent (probably after all those practice runs)
-(no reason)

Dario san:　7 ひょう
- I thought his was hilarious. Funny and enjoyable listening.
-(no reason)
-The speech was funny.
-Because he said to vote for him and also because i thought his idea of being president was pretty clever.
-Because I liked the way he pretended he was really addressing a crowd & he must have practiced a lot because his intonation was pretty good
-Seikatsu wa ichiban omoshiroi desu kara. shigoto wa daitouryou desu yo! watashi wa urayamashii desu.
-This composition was one of the most original. It took a rather playful approach to the assignment, assuming the position of the president of the United States, but still managed to be effective. It is probably the most engaging and enjoyable to listen to.

4 Jaz san
-I also like Jasmina's, even though it was quite long, because it was interesting. She spoke about Japan, and it was believeable. She also justifies a lot of her statements by including a lot of details such as saying why she doesn't want children. She also opened and closed it as if she was in a conversation, which made it more familiar.
-To my untrained ear, the way she speaks sounds very Japanese. I also think it's cool that she says she's going to be living in Japan, because I think that's probably what I'll do once I'm finished with law school.
-A very detailed and lively performance.
-(no reason)

3 Ben San:
-I like his contents the best.
-Besides intonation and stresses, he read pretty naturally, speed-wise
-Because I thought his was interesting because of the things he said he wants to do in the future (buy and learn to fly an airplane).


2 Gregg san:
-I like his, even though the sound of the system made it very scratchy in the beginning. I like his because he attracted my attention by asking questions about his future in the beginning and in the middle. And was able to talk about the future in the present tense; something I didn’t even think about.
-I voted for him because I liked his introduction (how he asked questions first) which made it sound more like a speech.

2 Ifan san
-He used a lot of the vocabulary words, good negative forms, and his life sounds very comfortable
-Because I thought his speed was pretty natural and the composition was interesting

2 Liz san
- Very fluent. Not much of hesitation when speaking.Clear to understand.
-Because her reading very clean (as in each character pronounced) and fluent. she might want to slow down a bit though.

2 Margo san
-(no reason)
- I thought hers was probably the easiest for me to understnad.

1 Penny san
-Though this composition had a few errors, it had a good progression. The story flowed naturally. In addition, I like the realism of this composition. For example, she mentioned having a small apartment because she didn't have too much money. Realism didn't make the piece depressing, though. There are plenty of enjoyable aspects of her life in 20 years, such as going to the ocean with her dog.

1 Pedro san.
-Because I felt his speech was the most fleunt and easiest to understand


はい、じゃあ、おわります。
またらいねん、あいましょう。
あ、そのまえに、きまつしけん（Final)がありますね。
がんばってください。