Thursday, December 15, 2022

Week 14 - Blog Post #5 Presentations

On Dec. 20, you will present Blog Post #5. Have you made all corrections?

This is your blog, so you can present without reading. Practice in advance, know how to pronounce all words, and speak with feeling. This is your final presentation, so make it your best!

Today ...

1. Present Blog Post #5
2. Make any needed changes to your blogs.

There will be one more class; Jan. 10 (final class)

BTW, did you do the course survey? And did you choose your Graduation Seminar for next year? They are both on Manaba.

Did everyone post an audio clip on a blog post? And a comic?


Santa's Lonely Wife
Santa's wife was angry. Every year, her husband took presents to all the people of the world, and every year she had to stay home alone. As always, she had to stay at home alone this year too, so she was trying to enjoy Christmas alone. First, she went to the shopping mall to buy a present for herself. She found a beautiful glass and dishes, so she bought them. And she bought two each for her and him ,so she missed him more than ever.


Trouble at Christmas
Santa woke up on Christmas Eve and got dressed for his big night delivering toys to children. When he went outside, he saw a terrible thing. All of his reindeer had been shot by hunters. Santa felt very sad and he worried about how could he deliver toys to children. He went to a forest to find some animals that could fly. He felt that there was something behind him. He turned around and saw an eagle standing there. He decided to deliver the Christmas present on the eagle. And he successfully delivered toys to all the children. He delivered so many toys and finally arrived at the last home. He tried to get inside the home, but it was the home of the hunter who killed the reindeer. Santa could not forgive the hunter, so he didn't give any presents to the hunter's child.

Flight Accident in Hokkaido
There was terrible news on Christmas Eve. The newscaster said that Santa’s sleigh had been flying over Hokkaido when suddenly it disappeared from the radar. People everywhere were worried that Santa and his reindeer had crashed in Hokkaido. Everybody tried to find him, but he couldn't be found. But after 1 hour, radar finally located him. Santa was injured. Miraculously, he was alive, but his reindeer all died. Santa was disappointed. He was annoyed because he needed to look for the best way to deliver his presents. Finally, he gave up delivering presents to children. The children felt sad, but after a few weeks, Santa got better and delivered presents to the children who weren't able to get any. Finally, all children got presents and became so happy.

授業改善アンケート

If you didn't do the course survey yet, please do it. Thank you.

授業改善アンケート on Manaba. [Manaba ➔ My Page ➔ 授業改善アンケート ➔ 特別演習 II]


Sunday, December 11, 2022

Week 13 - Blog Post #5 Due

Blog Post #5 (final post!) is due today. You will present it on Dec. 20. There will be one more class after that in January.

By the way, did everyone post an audio file on their blog? Did you post a comic? And did you fix all blog errors in past blog posts?

When you have a free moment today, please do the course survey (授業改善アンケート) on Manaba. [Manaba ➔ My Page ➔ 授業改善アンケート ➔ 特別演習 II]

Christmas Story
Watch the John Lewis Christmas advertisement below. It's a nice Christmas story without any words. It's called "The Journey."


 

We will do a Christmas writing activity. Kevin will tell you what to do in class.


Christmas Story Writing Activity 

First, log in to Google so you can make comments on Kevin's site.

Kevin will give you a "Christmas story starter," which is the beginning of your story. When it's your turn, copy the sentences from the story and paste them in the comment box. Try to continue the story. Add one or two sentences of your own. Add your name at the bottom and post the comment.

The next person will copy all of the sentences from the story and continue as above. The story will get longer and longer. It should end when the last person on the list writes their sentences.

In principle, you should ...
1) Try to continue the story using the information already written. Don't make strange changes that make the story difficult to understand.
2) Stories are usually told in the past tense. There are exceptions, but basically, try to use the past tense, unless you have a reason not to.
3) If you notice a misspelled word or a minor grammar mistake in the sentences before yours, you can fix it. 
4) You shouldn't make sudden changes to the plot. Just add some description or minor details that make the story more interesting. Write something that will help the next person make an interesting story!
5) Make decisions quickly, write quickly, and pass the story to the next person as quickly as possible.
6) After you post, tell the next person on the list that you've posted. 
7) People near the end of the line must try to make an ending to the story. Kevin will tell you when to do this.

Merry Christmas!
* Writing order - seating order: 

Minami ➢ Ryosuke ➢ Yuka ➢ Shizuka ➢  Funo ➢ Chihiro ➢ Kaito ➢ Hiryu ➢ Aoi ➢ Minami, etc.  (Saki will be absent.)

Saturday, December 10, 2022

1. Santa's Lonely Wife

1. Santa's wife was angry. Every year, her husband took presents to all the people of the world, and every year she had to stay home alone.


[Copy and paste the sentence above into the comment box below and add a sentence or two. The next students will copy all of the sentences and add to them until we have a complete Christmas story! Gambatte!]


2. Reverse Christmas

2. An important message appeared in the newspapers all over the world. This year would be "Reverse Christmas." Instead of getting presents from Santa, everyone must give a present to Santa. And you had to carry it yourself to Santa's home at the North Pole.


[Copy and paste the sentence above into the comment box below and add a sentence or two. The next students will copy all of the sentences and add to them until we have a complete Christmas story! Gambatte!]


3. Christmas Vampire

3. A strange thing happened this year. Santa was bitten by a vampire and became a vampire himself. He killed all of his reindeer and used bats to pull his sleigh.


[Copy and paste the sentence above into the comment box below and add a sentence or two. The next students will copy all of the sentences and add to them until we have a complete Christmas story! Gambatte!]


4. Trouble at Christmas

4. Santa woke up on Christmas Eve and got dressed for his big night delivering toys to children. When he went outside, he saw a terrible thing. All of his reindeer had been shot by hunters.


[Copy and paste the sentence above into the comment box below and add a sentence or two. The next students will copy all of the sentences and add to them until we have a complete Christmas story! Gambatte!]


5. The Incredible Christmas

5. It had been a terrible year. Tom had lost his job in October. He had no money for presents. Now it was December, and his three little children were hoping for a nice Christmas.


[Copy and paste the sentence above into the comment box below and add a sentence or two. The next students will copy all of the sentences and add to them until we have a complete Christmas story! Gambatte!]


6. No Christmas this year?

6. The children of Japan were waiting for Santa to bring their presents, but at 12:00 noon on Christmas day, he still hadn't arrived.


[Copy and paste the sentence above into the comment box below and add a sentence or two. The next students will copy all of the sentences and add to them until we have a complete Christmas story! Gambatte!]



7. The Forgotten Present

7. It was Christmas Eve, and Kevin remembered he hadn't bought a Christmas present for his wife yet.


[Copy and paste the sentence above into the comment box below and add a sentence or two. The next students will copy all of the sentences and add to them until we have a complete Christmas story! Gambatte!]


8. Scary Christmas Doll

8. Melissa was 7 years old. She told Santa she wanted a doll for Christmas, But this doll had to be a special doll, the kind she saw in a horror movie that comes alive at night and kills people.


[Copy and paste the sentence above into the comment box below and add a sentence or two. The next students will copy all of the sentences and add to them until we have a complete Christmas story! Gambatte!]


9. Flight Accident in Hokkaido

9. There was terrible news on Christmas Eve. The newscaster said that Santa’s sleigh had been flying over Hokkaido when suddenly it disappeared from the radar. People everywhere were worried that Santa and his reindeer had crashed in Hokkaido.


[Copy and paste the sentence above into the comment box below and add a sentence or two. The next students will copy all of the sentences and add to them until we have a complete Christmas story! Gambatte!]

Wednesday, December 7, 2022

Graduation Seminar 2023

It's time to choose your Graduation Seminar for 2023. Communication major students should choose from A, B or C below. If you want to take another teacher's seminar, you should talk to that teacher directly. Suzuki-sensei always has many students, so he will probably not accept any Communication students (but you can still ask him). It will be difficult to change. - Kevin






Thursday, December 1, 2022

Week 12 - Adding a comic to a blog post

Don't forget to choose your graduation seminar.

Did you practice for your audio clip with Kevin? If not, do that. If yes, you can post your audio on the page where the related text is.

Next ...
Want to do some grammar practice? No? I didn't think so. Let's make a comic instead.

Make Beliefs Comix
Here's a comic I made with Make Beliefs Comix, an online comic building site. The scene is from 'Annie Hall,' Woody Allen's most famous movie. Here's the original scene from the movie.


Here's another comic from the same movie, but after the character, Alvy, has become an adult. And here's the original movie clip (scene starts at 1:40).






The comic below is from a Quentin Tarantino movie. Do you know it? The comic creator is called Strip Creator.














Here's the actual scene from "Pulp Fiction," (from 1:00 minute mark) for the dialog above. (The comic was edited slightly to remove profanity.)

Some ideas:

  • Movie or TV scene - like above
  • Manga scene - like above
  • Sports - a dialog from the news, such as a reporter and player; or an incident that happened on the field; a conversation between two players; something 
  • Restaurants, cafes or bars - a dialog between a customer and staff, a dialog between two customers or two staff members
  • Cooking - a guy telling someone how to cook something 
  • Or have some characters talking about the content of your blog post

Save the comic (or take a screen shot) and paste it into your blog post. Send me a link so I know where to find it! 

You can delete the comic if you like after the course grades have been given. (But you don't have to delete it.)

Blog Post #5 is due next week - Dec. 13.


Thursday, November 24, 2022

Week 11 - Blog Post #4 Presentations

Today you will present Blog Post #4. Have you made all corrections?


Today ...

1. Present Blog Post #4
2. Make any needed changes to your blogs.
3. Blog Post #5 is due Dec. 13 (or sooner)
4. Continue audio recording activity; actually, I would like to help you practice your pronunciation and intonation before you record. We can do that in class if there is time.



Thursday, November 17, 2022

Week 10 - Relative Clauses & Audio; Blog Post #4 Due

Hey guys! Are you genki today?

Today ...
1) Blog Post #4 is due. Kevin will give you corrections, either today or by email.
2) We will hear 3 more limericks.
3) We will do a Relative Clauses worksheet. PDF
Practice #1 / #2
4) If time, we will start an Audio Activity: Find a blog post that you'd like to add audio to.
5) Choose (or make) two to four sentences that capture the feel of your blog post. 
6) Practice the sentences until you sound like a native! You need good intonation! Have Kevin listen.
7) Record your sentences (on Voice Record Pro. *
8) Save the audio in your Google Drive or on Sound Cloud (you can log in with Google).
9) Copy the 'share' code. 
10) Paste or embed the audio clip in your blog post (at the bottom of the post).

* If you want to make a slideshow or video with a different app that includes audio, you can do that. However, you will have to figure out how to do it yourself.
  • Today you will download Voice Record Pro to your smartphone (if you haven't already).
  • Using your Google Drive is the easiest way to share the audio file.
  • You can make a SoundCloud account (with your Google login) if you prefer.
  • You will be ready to record after we practice a bit together!
Kevin's example: Talk Back - July 12, 2014
Student example, Ikegami Honmonji Temple

You will present Blog Post #4 next week (Nov. 29). 

Blog Post #5 (final post!) is due in three weeks! (Dec. 13); you will present it Dec. 20.

Monday, November 14, 2022

Week 9 - Limericks for Intonation


Today ...

1) We will practice saying some limericks for intonation (PDF)
2) Blog post #4 is due next week (Nov. 22)


Limericks to practice intonation:

There once were two cats from Kilkenny,
Each thought there was one cat too many.
They started to fight and
To scratch and to bite.
Now instead of two cats there aren't any.

Kevin will give you two limericks to practice saying in class. Each person will have different limericks to present.

Blog post #4 writing is due next week, Nov. 22 
Blog post #5 writing is due Dec. 13

Thursday, November 3, 2022

Week 8 - Blog Post #3 Presentations

Today you will present Blog Post #3! Have you made all corrections?


Blog Presentations #3

This is your blog! Present without reading, please! Practice in advance, know how to pronounce all words, and speak with feeling!

Today ...

1. Present Blog Post #3
2. Make any needed changes to your blogs.
3. Blog Post #4 is due Nov. 22 (or sooner)
4. Do a grammar exercise re. the Present Perfect Tense


Past Tense vs Present Perfect Tense

Past Tense example:
How long did you work at Starbucks?  I worked there for two years.

Present Perfect Tense example:
How long have you worked at Starbucks?  I have worked there since 2019.

Past Tense - the work is finished

Present Perfect Tense - the work started in the past and is still continuing

Present Perfect Tense Practice Exercise

Do the form!
Present Perfect Tense Form


Sunday, October 30, 2022

Week 7 - Blog Post #3 Due

Reminder: Tokubetsu Enshu II students will choose Graduation Seminars soon. I will not be here next year, so you have to choose another teacher.

Today (Nov. 1) ...

1) Thursday we will have a day off. How will you spend your day?

2) We will check to see that you posted Blog Post #3.

3) We will do another Passive vs Active exercise and a Word Families grammar exercise.

The results of the More Passive vs Active Sentences form were surprising. Students who got less than 20 out of 23 should review verb forms.

By the way, one answer was marked wrong even though it was not wrong. I fixed it (sorry).

#10. The teacher's accent ___ by the students. (not understand)

The teacher's accent is not understood by the students.  OR  The teacher's accent isn't understood by the students.

Both are OK!

Students who got less than 20 on the form should do the following:

Online Present Simple Exercise
Be Verbs Exercise
The forms of Be Exercise

  • When you finish, make a comment in the comment box like this: I finished the 3 grammar exercises. - Hana (your name)

Mana and Chihiro don't have to do the above 3 exercises.😀

Please look at these two sentences:
English is taught at Tsurumi University. / English was taught at Tsurumi University.

Both are passive, but the first is present tense, the second is past tense.

All students should do this form:
Still More Passive vs Active Sentences

All sentences on the form are in the present tense.



Word Families

adjective

adverb

verb

noun

 

free

freely

free (freed)

freedom

calm

calmly

calm (calmed)

calm, calmness

quiet

quietly

quiet (quieted)

quiet, quietness

perfect

perfectly

perfect (perfected)

perfection

deep

deeply

deepen (deepened)

depth

creative

creatively

create (created)

creation

decisive

decisively

decide (decided)

decision

lost

 

lose (lost)

loss

special

specially (especially)

specialize (specialized)

specialty

influential

influentially

influence (influenced)

influence

He’s a free man.       He spoke freely.      He freed the birds from the cage.    I like my freedom.

She’s a calm person.   She spoke calmly.  She calmed the crying baby.   I am enjoying the calm.

Word Families Exercise

More Word Families Exercise

joinmyquiz.com

Next week be ready to present Blog Post #3.


Monday, October 24, 2022

Week 6 - Active vs Passive


Greetings!

Blog Post #3 is due next week (Nov. 1). You will present it Nov. 8.
* Please make corrections to your blog as soon as possible after Kevin shows you the mistakes.

Today ...
1) Passive vs Active exercise (I gave you the paper last week in class.) PDF
    Jamboard
2) More Passive vs Active Sentences
3) Tokyo Theme restaurants & cafes

How to do the activity:
1) Choose a theme cafe or restaurant and reserve it in the blog comments (cafe/restaurant name & your name)
2) Research the cafe/restaurant and tell us:
   a) roughly where it's located (but not the whole address)
   b) the cafe/restaurant theme
   c) what you can do, see, eat or drink there
   d) anything interesting you want to say about it
   e) why you are interested in this place
   f) Is it still open? Some places closed because of Covid-19. Choose an open one!
3) Post on your practice blog with an image
4) Present to the class today! We should finish during the class period!

5 Must Try Japanese Food Experiences in Tokyo - link
In this video, the presenter identifies five "must try" food experiences for visitors in Tokyo. (There is also a 6th bonus experience.) What are the types of food? Which one do you think is the most essential for a tourist in Japan? Give a good reason (not "Because I like ...")

Sunday, October 16, 2022

Week 5 - Blog Post #2 Presentations

 You will present Blog Post #2 today! Have you made all corrections?

Blog Presentations #2 - Tuesday, Oct. 18

This is your blog! Present without reading, please! Practice in advance, know how to pronounce all words, and speak with feeling!

Today, you will ...

1. Present Blog Post #2
2. Make any needed changes to your blogs.
3. Blog Post #3 is due Nov. 1 (or sooner)
4. Do a grammar exercise re. passive & active verbs


Passive vs Active

Present
People say this class is difficult. (active)
This class is said to be difficult by many people. (passive)

Many people eat pancakes at breakfast. (active)
Pancakes are usually eaten at breakfast. (passive)

Past
I finished my homework in 10 minutes. (active)
My homework was finished in 10 minutes. (passive)

Everyone had fun. (active)
Fun was had by all. (passive)

In general, it's better to use active case, but sometimes, you need variation in your writing. Passive case is also useful sometimes for making the subject more vague.

Example of evading responsibility by using the passive case
I made a mistake. (active)
A mistake was made. (passive)


Saturday, October 15, 2022

Some Grammar Stuff

Recently we did 2 verbs exercises. Many students had trouble.


eat - ate - eaten

  • eat there every day.
  • ate there this morning.
  • Has he ever eaten there? Yes, he has eaten there before.


Things we do often, always, sometimes, never, etc. = present tense (現在形)

  • I often eat a donut in the morning.
  • I always eat breakfast.
  • I sometimes eat a banana.
  • I never eat natto.


Things done in the past = past tense. (過去形)

  • I ate there this morning.
  • She studied for the test last night.
  • We ordered that book online a week ago, but it hasn't arrived yet.


However, the question form is different!

  • Did you eat breakfast this morning?
  • Did she study for the test last night?
  • Did we order that book online?


Helping verbs 'have', 'has' = past participle (過去分詞)

  • have been to France.
  • She has seen that movie.
  • Has he ever eaten there?

He has eaten there.
そこで食べたことがあるそうです。

Has he ever eaten there?
彼はそこで食事をしたことがありますか?


Grammar Exercises (we did last week)


____

Causative Verbs

Last week ...
3) They made us ___ 12 hours a day. [to work, work, working, works]
4) The police ordered the man ___ out of the car. [getting, get, to get, gets]
*6) Jim was made ___ outside.  [to wait, waiting, wait, waits]

  • make someone do something  させる
  • have someone do something   させる
  • help someone do something  てつだう
  • let someone do something  やらせる

but ...
  • cause someone to do something  させる
  • force someone to do something  強いる
  • order someone to do something  命ずる
  • *be made to do something  やらされる

made her do the homework again.  もう一度、宿題をやらせた。
forced him to give me his money.  無理やり金を出させた。

The mother let her child ride on the horse.  母親は子供を馬に乗せた。
The father caused his child to laugh loudly.  父親は、子供を大笑いさせた。

*The smoker was made to use the smoking area.  喫煙者は喫煙所を利用させた。


Monday, October 10, 2022

Week 4 - Blog Post #2 due today

Greetings!

From Pixabay; by Chräcker Heller  •  Düsseldorf


Today Blog Post #2 is due. You will present it next week.
* Remember, you must make corrections to your blog as soon as possible after Kevin shows you the mistakes.

Today ...
1) Check Blog Post #1 for corrections 

2) Fix your blog description (if you haven't already)

3) Sentence corrections (see below)

4) Verb Forms Practice

Sentence Corrections (let's do them together):

  • They living from one to one and a half years. 
  • So they rests.
  • Basically not so many clients, so they often spend the time lazily in the club room.
  • I found a poster about it by accident when I'm on a train. 
  • Do you want be born again?
  • Directed by Peter Farrelly.
  • Finally, about his control.
  • Currently in second place.
  • Kimi is suffering pancreatic disease.
  • So in this time I would like to talk about Green Day.
  • You will definitely like him if you listen this song.
  • I think anyone thinks pancakes are made in America. It's not true.
  • And played DJ at the closing ceremony of the Olympics.
  • My parakeet name is Koko. He is orange head.
  • Please watching this interesting TV drama.
  • Their songs always make me feel comfortable. I always listen to it when I take the train. 


Blog Post #3 is due in 3 weeks (Nov. 1). All posts should be over 200 words.


Thursday, September 29, 2022

Week 3 - Presentation of Blog Post #1

Today you will present Blog Post #1 in class! Have you made all corrections? Kevin sent corrections to your email.


Blog Presentations #1 - Tuesday, Oct. 4

This is your blog! Present without reading, please! Practice in advance, know how to pronounce all words, and speak with feeling!

Last week, most students posted their blogs on time. Thank you. Students who did not, please to post on time or a little early so I can make corrections.

When you present, please try to ...
1) Present without reading; look at your classmates
2) Tell the blog title and the blog post title
3) Point out your Blog Description (I may ask you to make some changes)
4) Present Blog Post #1

* Remember, you must make corrections to your blog as soon as possible after Kevin shows you the mistakes.
** When you write, try to write specific details. You will be able to write more, with more sentences and longer sentences, if you find the specific details in your topic. Remember to use the 5 senses!
*** About blog length: you must write more than 200 words for each blog post. If you write less than 200 words, you will have trouble next year in graduation seminar. 

Blog Post #2 is due next week (Oct. 11).

Verb Forms Practice

Thursday, September 22, 2022

Week 2 - New blog & first blog posts

Today, we will ...

1) Check out your new blogs
2) Think about how the blog will look on different devices*
3) Write good blog descriptions**
4) Make edits to posts already written before next week
5) Prepare for presenting the blog post next week; you should try to present without only reading
6) Do some more HTML practice
7) If time, we may do a writing exercise about irrelevant sentences and some more grammar practice.

* Nowadays, people look at websites on PCs, tablets and smart phones. It should be viewable by all of those, so you need to check how it looks on various devices. However, the home PC will be our default view, so please be sure it looks the way you want it to on a PC. I will be evaluating your sites from my office PC, so please consider the PC view!

** It's good to have a brief introduction to your blog in the heading of your blog. That's at the top, just below the title. To type this, you go to Settings, then Description. Click Edit. This description of your blog will always appear at the top, so if someone starts to view your blog in the future, they don't have to go to your first post to find out about you and your blog theme. Everyone should make a blog description here!

Re. presentations next week:
When you present your blog posts next week; don’t just read them; look at the class and try to talk like you're talking to your friends. Below are some of the things you will mention when you present:

1) titles - blog title and post title
2) description
3) URL
4) summary of Blog Post #1

If you want to, you can comment on the background or template

More HTML practice
HTML Tags Worksheet
HTML Tutorial Code (this is the same as on the HTML Practice blog post)
HTML Cheat Sheet - a simple HTML guide


More Grammar


Wednesday, September 21, 2022

More HTML Practice

Please open 'Memo Cho' on your school PC. Kevin will show you how to make a very simple HTML document using only HTML code.

You will need these images for HTML practice. Please download both images and save them on your desktop.



HTML Practice
1) Copy the code below.
2) Paste it onto a blank Memo Cho page.
3) Save it on your desktop as Test2.html 

<html>
<head>
<title>HTML Document Tags Practice</title>
</head>

<body>
<img src="smile.jpg">
<center><h1>Making Web Pages (Size 1 Header)</h1>
<h2>Making Web Pages (Size 2 Header)</h2>
<h6>Making Web Pages (Size 6) Header)</h6>
</center>
The horizontal line below is created by using the "HR" tag.
<HR>
<H2>Text in an HTML document</H2>
The appearance of text on a Web page is mainly determined by settings in the browser. However, some changes can be made using tags. A tag is a "command" or specification in an HTML document; a tag is enclosed in "greater than" and "less than" symbols (< >). Text can appear in <b>bold</b>, <i>italics</i>, or both <b><i>bold and italics</i></b>. It can also be <u>underlined</u>.
<p>
HTML allows fonts and font sizes to be specified.  Font sizes from <font size="1">one (the smallest) to </font><font size="7">seven (the largest)</font>can be designated (size 3 is the default).  Also, <font face="helvetica, arial"> a particular font can be indicated, </font>but the font must be present on the user's computer.
<p>
Line breaks are determined by the size of the font and the width of the window on the computer.  It is possible to make a line break using the<br>"BR" command<br>where desired.  The "p" tag<p>creates a space between paragraphs.  Note that a

line break in the source document does not create a break when the document is viewed in a browser.
<p>
Information can be put into a table.  Tables are a little complex, but they are sometimes handy.
<p>
<center><table border=2>
<tr><td></td><td>Column 1</td><td>Column 2</td><td>Column 3</td></tr>
<tr><td>Row 1</td><td>Yuriko</td><td>Rie</td><td>Ikuko</td></tr>
<tr><td>Row 2</td><td>Akiko</td><td>Chisato</td><td>Yuka</td></tr>
<tr><td>Row 3</td><td>Risa</td><td>Kevin</td><td>Santa</td></tr></table></center>
<p>

Bulleted and numbered lists can be made.  This is an unordered or bulleted list with three items:
<BR>
<UL>
<LI> beer
<LI> wine
<LI> sake
</UL>

This is a numbered list:<P>
<OL>
<LI> beer
<LI> wine
<LI> sake
</OL>
<hr>

<H2>Links</H2>
A useful feature of HTML documents is that the author can create links to other places.
<p>
This link takes the user to another document called <a href="test1.html">Test1</a> located on the desktop, just like this document.
<p>
<b>Other Web Sites</b><br>
It is also possible to link to other web sites connected to the Internet.
<p>
Here are some links to some interesting sites:<br>
<a href="https://www.japantimes.co.jp/">The Japan Times</a><br>
<a href="https://onelook.com/">OneLook Dictionary Search</a><br>
<p>
<hr>
<H2>Graphics and Color</H2>
<IMG SRC="Oceanic_Whitetip_Shark.jpg" ALIGN=LEFT
HSPACE=6 VSPACE=3 BORDER=0> Graphics are made using a draw or paint program, scanned
from hard copy, or downloaded. The most common types of images are the JPG, GIF, and PNG. The photo on the left was saved in JPG format.
<p>
By default, the background color and the color of the text are determined by settings in the "preferences" or "options" menu of the browser. However, colors can be set for the background and for the text. Color names can be used for <font color="black">black, </font><font color="white">white,
</font><font color="red">red, </font><font color="green">green, </font><font color="blue">blue, </font><font color="yellow">yellow, </font><font color="magenta">magenta, </font><font
color="cyan">and cyan.</font> (Note that on a white background, white text is not visible).
<p>
Colors can also be chosen using color codes. For example, the instruction FONT="#000000" makes the text black. For a list of the codes for 216 colors, check out the <a href="https://www.w3schools.com/colors/colors_picker.asp">HTML Color Picker</a>.
</body>
</html>

Sunday, September 18, 2022

Fall Week 1 - Goals for Fall Semester

Welcome back to the Blogging in English Seminar 2022! I hope you had some fun this summer! My summer was like this ...

Summer Intensive Course 2022

How about your summer?

Goals for the Fall semester:

1) Make a new blog with a new URL and design.

* We will not use the practice blog for blog posts in the fall (but you can use it to try new things).

2) Write 5 blog posts (about 250 words is good; no less than 200 though)*

* The blog theme stays the same all semester, but each blog post should be interesting and unique!

3) Organize your writing *

* Think about your organization before you start writing. When you finish, read what you wrote and delete repetition and extra words. Move sentences to the place they belong. Put a space between each paragraph.

4) Have correct grammar *

* You can write first and fix later, but you must fix it! Fix misspelled words, wrong verb forms, and be careful of subject-verb agreement. Remember that every sentence needs a subject and verb.

5) Fix your blog posts immediately after Kevin sends you his corrections.*

* If you wait, it means you don't care about your blog, which is kind of sad.

Your first blog post is due next week! (Sept. 27)

About presentations ...

  • When you give a presentation, it's OK if you make speaking mistakes. However, you should research the pronunciation of words you don't know in advance.
  • Use your presentation time to become a better English speaker. That means 'don't just read!' Have your ideas organized and speak from notes instead of reading. Have good eye contact and talk to the class as if you're speaking to a friend. You will probably make mistakes, forget some things, have some pauses, etc. But that's OK because it's practice for speaking in front of a group. When you get a job in the future, you will be happy you got used to making presentations without just reading.
You are Communication majors! Let's get skilled at communicating in English!
___

Grammar Practice - Present Perfect Progressive exercise
  • Ex:  Kevin has been teaching at Tsurumi University since 2010.
___

Please send me your new blog URLs!

Now let's talk a little about internet browsers and the code HTML In preparation for this, please find and open 'Notepad" (メモ帳). (Go to "Programs', 'Accessories" and click on 'メモ帳'.)

Kevin will give you a copy of Tsurumi Review 52. You can see an example of a graduation report by Kevin's student. However, I will not be teaching this course next year. Good luck with your new teacher! Unfortunately, I have reached my 賞味期限.

To Do:
1) Make a new blog
2) Make your first blog post.(due Sept. 27)
3) Send Kevin your blog URL
4) Think about how you can customize your blog to match your theme

Saturday, September 17, 2022

HTML Practice #1

What is HTML code?

When you use Blogger to make a blog, you don't really need to know HTML coding. You just type in the white box, and if you want the text larger or a different color, or if you want to add a photo, it's easy to choose those features from the menu at the top. Before Blogger, we had to code with HTML code.

Please log in to Blogger (practice blog) and make a new blog page. Your post title can be HTML Practice.

On the blank page, type: This is the Blogging in English class 

The interesting thing is that browsers (like Firebox, Internet Explorer, Chrome, etc) can't read this text. The Blogger program turns your typed words into HTML code. The browser reads the code, and when you look at the page, it looks like you expected (hopefully!)

If you want to see what the code looks like, change from the Compose view and click on the HTML view at the top left of the page.

Go back to the Compose view. 

Now let's check to see what happens to the code if we make a small change. For example, lets change the words 'Blogging in English' into bold letters.

Look at the HTML view again. Can you see the new coding?

In the early 1990s, when the Internet was just starting out, we didn't have programs like Blogger to make HTML code for us. We had to type the code directly into a text file (but not a Word document). If we typed the code correctly, our web page could be read by the old browsers of the day, and our web page looked like we planned. 

Nowadays, most web pages are not made with only HTML coding, but you can still do it. Here's an old html example:

Strawberry Pop-tart Blow-torches

Here's a more recent one:

Ba Ba Dum

If you right-click on the page, then choose 'View Page Source,' you can see the HTML coding.

___________

Even though we don't really need to understand HTML code these days, it is sometimes helpful to know some basic things. If our web page on Blogger doesn't look exactly like what we want, we can check the HTML code and see what the problem is (sometimes!)

Also, if we want to embed a YouTube video, it's helpful to understand where to put the HTML code.

So ...
Please open 'Memo Cho' on your school PC. Kevin will show you how to make a very simple HTML document using only HTML code.

Next, please download the image below and save it on your desktop. Keep the name "pikachu". Notice that this is a png file. There are also jpg files and gif files for images.



Next, choose a color from the 6 choices below. (There are actually many more colors.)








HTML Practice 1
1) Copy the code below.
2) Paste it onto a blank Memo Cho page.
3) Change 'Kevin' to your name.
4) Type the color code you chose in the top line. (no caps OK)
5) Save it on your desktop as Test1.html 

<body style="background-color:#ff0000"> 
My name is Kevin
<br>
This is a <b>bold</b> word.
<br>
<i>Italics</i> are made like this.
<br>
<img src="pikachu.png">

Next week we'll learn a little more code.