This blog is for the Advanced English class taught by Abigail B. Capitin-Principe, in Aichi Shukutoku University.
This blog contains information for the AE students, and will be updated for each class.
If you’ve been in Japan for a while, you may have heard the word obon floating around during these excruciatingly hot summer months. Obon (お盆) or just bon (盆) is a Buddhist custom held in honor of one's ancestors. During obon, families prepare to receive the ones who have "gone on," typically by returning to their hometown and visiting the deceased’s grave, cleaning the tombstone and bringing fresh flowers.
Even though obon isn’t a national holiday, it’s not uncommon for the work force (who rarely take their paid holidays) to take leave during the second week of August to visit hometowns and be with family. The three days of obon depend on the area—if you live in Tokyo, Yokohama or in the Tohoku region you’ll have a Shichigatsu (July) Obon. In Shikoku, the Chugoku region and Okinawa, obon is called Kyu Bon (Old Obon). Elsewhere you celebrate Hachigatsu (August)Obon.
When I first heard of it being described as a celebration or festival, I thought to myself, surely it’s disrespectful to celebrate the death of one’s ancestors. Apparently, the Japanese are a glass-half-full type of people and rather see it as an opportunity to see loved ones again.
Obon has been celebrated in Japan for nearly 500 years, and traditionally people danced to lure the spirits of their ancestors home. This dance is called Bon Odori (盆踊り) or “bon dance.” The dance is a joyous one. You can’t help but smile when your hands are in the air, swaying from side to side, jostling with the random neighboring swayers. If I told you the story behind the bon dance, you’d mutter “uso!” (ウソ！), which literally means “lie.”
Bon Odori originates from the story of Maha Maudgalyayana (Mokuren), one of the disciples of Buddha, who used his supernatural powers to find his deceased mother. Upon finding her, he discovered that she was in the realm of the Hungry Ghosts and was suffering. Distressed, he consulted Buddha, who instructed Maha to make offerings to the many Buddhist monks on the fifteenth day of the seventh month. Maha bowed and obeyed. And upon his mother’s release, he put his arms in the air and did a victory dance, or rather, what we now know as the Bon Odori.
Bon Odori photos by Guilhem Vellut; cemetery photo by Emran Kassim.
Presentation TODAY is CANCELLED, instead today will be an additional day to prepare for your presentation. Please improve your slides, add more pictures, double-check your spelling.
A few suggestions for your slide presentations:
Put your names on the Title Slide.
Our topic this time is about JOB HUNTING, you may use charts, and graphs, to help you easily explain your data.
The last slide is usually a "Thank you" slide. You may write "Thank you for listening." Or if you have a last message for your listeners, you may put that in your closing slide.
Presentations will be NEXT WEEK (October 26, 2016). Please use the extra time for preparation. Feel free to email me if you have any questions.
I'd like to focus on one part of this list though, and that is suits. Recently there has been some controversy about this and a lot of raging has occurred on the Japanese internets.
It all started with an article in the "Weekly Toyo Keizai" titled "Choose a black suit for shuukatsu job hunting! – Do not try to stand out with clothes". This was published on October 28, 2014. According to the article, 90% of recruits wear black suits so it suggests that other applicants should follow the majority to be safe. As an example, they compared the reactions of what an interviewer might think if you wore a "unique" striped suit versus a normal black one:
What would an interviewer think if you wore a stripe designed suit for an interview? The reaction of the interviewer will be one of three types.
They'll evaluate it as a positive, as in "a striped suit is better because it's different from others."
They are not interested in a graduate's clothes, so they don't take it for a positive or a negative.
They evaluate it as a negative, as in "he/she doesn't know manners, wearing a striped suit for a job interview is too flashy to make a good impression."
We don't know which reaction is likely because we haven't researched it, but let's assume that each case has equal possibility – a three in one chance. In that case, if you wear a black simple suit to an interview, the interviewer wouldn't react in any particular way since most applicants wear a black plain suit anyways. It's neither positive or negative, but neutral, so it can be said there is no risk if you choose a black suit.
However, if you wear a striped suit to an interview, an interviewer could get a negative impression of you one-third of the time. It's quite a big difference, isn't it? You don't need to take any risks intentionally. Instead of standing out by appearance, you should try standing out by who you are and impress the interviewers with what you say.
What's the point of this article? A country where recruits wear "uniforms". I deliberately want to say that this is a worthless and pointless article. It's stupid. Adults who do or say such things are just idiots (regarding "choose black suits for shuukatsu job hunting!"). – @kenichiromogi
There are a lot of meaningless rules for appearances in Japan – @ys1dream
This article is really stupid, isn't it? Is it saying not to demonstrate personality? When I was job-hunting, it took me a while to get a job offer. I ended up hating both the look and wear of my suit and went to an interview in jeans and a jacket with a pair of sneakers in the end… then I got an offer. Wearing casual clothes makes you relaxed, so I recommend it." - @mii_sang3791
I think it's correct not to join a company which decides who to hire only by the color of their suits. - @mizutamabeat
For example, imagine if there was a child who doesn't want to use a satchel and his/her parents persuaded/begged/commanded/encouraged the child to use it. In that case, I respect parents who can tell their child not "you won't be bullied if you use the satchel" but "this country doesn't allow diversity, but hopefully it will change when you will become adult." I never ever want to be a person who confidently tells a child "when you graduate from university, you will have to wear a recruit suit, which is a satchel for adults, or else you won't be accepted. It's all for your benefit." Instead, I want to be someone who can talk about my true feelings about the recruit suit – containing opinions about both those who agree with the black suit and those who are not comfortable with it. That would be a steady step, though it's a small step, to reduce this country's stuffiness and light a fire of hope. I think an adult who can do such things is a wonderful adult. - @KOKAMIShoji
Of course, there were counterarguments to the counterarguments. Things are really getting heated! All just for the color of a suit!
Freelance writer Tomohiro Akagi wrote a blog post with his opinion. Aft first he took it for granted that there are people who feel uncomfortable or question if using black suits is the right thing to do after reading Toyo Keizai's original article. He said that if a recruit asked him what was best to wear for a job interview, he would tell them to choose a black suit because the purpose of job-hunting is not to wear a colorful suit but to obtain a job offer. If there is a risk in wearing a unique colored suit, then the best advice certainly would be to follow the majority. After making these introductory remarks, he took up the main subject, which is "where do Mr. Mogi and the others' angers come from?"
Akagi assumed that they got upset with the fact that an individual person with their own personality is treated in a uniform manner because they grew up in the period when people made a strong appeal not to wear school uniforms but to wear whatever they like in their school days. He concluded that their opinion comes from believing that accepting a variety of clothes equals accepting a variety of personalities.
Then he pointed out that graduates who were currently job-hunting were very used to wearing school uniforms so they know how to take advantage of it. Especially "high school girls", who have become a sort of icon, which means they benefit from a consumer society, which equals having their value recognized by society. Because of that, they don't have any doubts about wearing the same black suit like everybody else. This means that the "worthlessness" or "stuffiness" that Mr. Mogi and the others insist on only exists in their own generation and there is a high possibility that such ideas don't exist at all among the current recruits.
In that way, it clears up why I doubted their anger. I guess whoever feels worthless or stuffy from the sight of all applicants wearing black suits are only Mr. Mogi or Mr. Kokami. Therefore, I think the truth of their anger is that they are using recruits as chessmen in a proxy war to fulfill their self-respect.
Like the Eskimos and their many words for snow, there are quite a few words to describe job-hunting in Japan. Shokusagashi職探し and kyuushoku求職 have the same meaning as "job-hunting" in English, referring to the general act of looking for employment. Tenshoku katsudou転職活動 refers to looking for a change of occupation. Shuushoku katsudo就職活動, aka "shuukatsu" for short, refers to the job-hunting process of fresh high-school and college graduates.
The reason for all of these different "job-hunting" rules is thanks to the unique hiring practices of the Japanese. The biggest and uniquest of these has to be the shinsotsu ikkatsu saiyou新卒一括採用, where many companies simultaneously hire students in bulk. Before 1997 there was an official date where companies could start their recruitments. If you started before this date it was called aotagari青田刈り, which literally means "harvesting rice while still green." After 1997 the new guidelines suggested that companies should announce recruitments on December 1 (for third year students) and start screening applicants on April 1 (for fourth year students). Just recently, the Abe Cabinet requested these dates get pushed back further so that students could focus on their studies. 2016 graduates will now wait until March 1 for recruitment to begin and August 1 for the screening to start.
Because companies hire all at once, they compete first for the students of the better schools because they tend to have "better" students. This puts more pressure on high school students, because if you can get into a good university you're more likely to get a good job, even if you don't do much studying once you get there. This system also makes university students join companies earlier. If you wait too long, there are fewer of these finite jobs left remaining. To put it bluntly, students really feel like they need to get a job during this shinsotsu-ikkatsu-saiyou period. If they don't, they'll find it very difficult to find ideal work. They even lose their advantage for the next year, because companies focus on fresh graduates, not one-year-old meat.
Already, you can see there is a lot of pressure on students to get a job, with a lot of rules and order to go along with it. It doesn't stop there, though. A huge list of "unwritten rules" exists for these students too. If you don't do these things, it's more unlikely that you'll be able to get a job. Just in terms of your looks there's a huge list you need to follow.
HAIRSTYLE
Should be short enough for the ears to show and be combed neatly (men).
The ears should show and be combed or tied neatly (women).
You should wear a typical dark suit appropriate for a job interview.
A single suit with two buttons is better than a double suit.
The top button must be fastened.
The shirt must be white.
The necktie should be simple.
There should be a neat crease in the trousers.
The color of socks should be a similar color to the suit.
SHOES
They must be simple and the color should be black or brown.
They must be polished well.
MAKE-UP
It should be simple and not flashy.
It's better not to use perfume.
NAILS
Nails must be cut nicely.
It's better not to put on nail polish.
EARRING/PIERCING
It's better not to wear them
NECKLACE
Must be simple and not flashy.
WOMEN'S CLOTHING
It should be a typical dark suit appropriate for a job interview.
Black, dark blue, or gray is safe.
If it's a skirt, it must not be too short.
A white shirt is safe.
The pantyhose must not have a run.
WOMEN'S SHOES
They must be a simple pair of pumps.
Their color should match the color of the suit.
The heels shouldn't be too high.
They must be polished well.
Despite being "unwritten rules", a lot of people think they are very important (and many of these people are on the hiring end of the table). If you don't do all these things you're less likely to get hired, and with lifetime employment still "a thing" in Japan, you want to get the best job that you can as early as you can. That or risk living at home in your parent's shrine playing Pokémon cards for the rest of your life.
What is the difference between effective and efficient? Let's say you had to travel from Rome to Paris; what means of transportation would you use? You could walk, run, ride a bike, drive a car, use a motorcycle, take a train, or fly (by plane). All of these methods of transportation are effective, they work; you will get there. But, which methods require the least amount of energy and accomplish the job in the shortest period of time? These methods are the most efficient. I am sure you would agree that traveling by plane is more efficient than riding a bike although Lance Armstrong might not agree.
Learning English can be broken down into two areas: input and output. Input consists of reading and listening while output consists of writing and speaking. Clearly, in order to have good quality output, you must have a lot of good quality input. Think of how long a child listens before beginning to speak. As adults, we are not going to wait two years before attempting to speak, but the more input we get, the more output we can produce. The same applies for reading and writing. The more you read, the better you write. I can even say that the more you read, write and listen, the better you speak.
My advice to all serious English learners is to approach your goal with a sense of urgency. That means you need to work effectively, but more importantly, you need to work efficiently. Based on my years of teaching and studying foreign languages, I have put together what I consider to be the most effective and efficient ways to develop each area of language.
Input
Reading
Learn at least five new vocabulary words every day. My suggestion is to use index cards with the word on one side and the definition on the other. Keep the cards in a box and review them frequently by saying the word and trying to give the definition. Keep the definitions as short and concise as possible. Five to seven words is best. If you learn five words a day, that’s 1,825 words per year. Considering that the average high school student probably has a vocabulary of 5,000 to 6,000 words, in a few years your vocabulary should be sufficient enough to understand nearly everything written in English. Time commitment: 30 minutes.
Listening
Listen to talk radio. The objective of listening to English is to hear as many words as possible in as short a period as possible. The more times you hear a word, the better you will be able to use that word. There is no more efficient way to do this than talk radio. The vocabulary is very diverse and there are no periods of silence because unlike television, visuals cannot be used to keep an audiences attention. The key is to listen as often as possible. Maximize your time by listening to talk radio when doing other activities such as driving, walking, cooking, eating, getting dressed. If you can, try keeping the radio on while you go to sleep so it's the last thing you hear while falling asleep and the first thing you hear as you wake up. Time commitment: 0.
Output
Writing
Keep a journal and write at least 500 words per day. By writing every day you will be reinforcing everything you have learned. It will also force you to question the accuracy of what you are writing. This process of intense concentration will help organize the vast array of information you have in your subconscious mind. Write about whatever you want, but be sure to challenge yourself with new vocabulary and various grammar structures. Time commitment: 30 minutes.
Speaking
Read aloud. Reading aloud allows you to practice perfectly. Remember that it is perfect practice that makes perfect. By reading aloud you are speaking grammatically perfect English. If you have a typical conversation, errors will be made. Not just for English learners, but for native speakers as well. If errors are repeated continually, it becomes increasingly more difficult to correct those errors. Also, you will be using vocabulary words that you would not normally use. In a typical one hour conversation, you might speak for 30 minutes with a number of errors, but if you read aloud, you can speak for one hour without any grammar mistakes using new vocabulary words. Time commitment: 1-2 hours minimum.
Do these four things each day for one month and I promise you that you will be amazed at your improvement. There are no secrets to language acquisition, just a lot of hard work to accomplish something that will enhance your life forever.
Everyone likes music. However, in order to learn English, you must stick to English songs.
What are your favorite songs at the moment? Do you like Ed Sheeran or Maroon 5?
Practicing with popular songs is always better because you always hear them playing even if you’re in the car, the grocery store or the mall. You can also hear them on English radio stations online. As for the music genre, you may want to avoid rock and rap because the lyrics are often a blur(too fast or difficult to hear). It won’t be good practice for your diction and pronunciation.
For starters, go to YouTube and search for a music video or audio file that you like. Listen to it over and over again until you know the song very well.
After that, search for a lyric version of the song. For example, you can listen to Ed Sheeran’s “Thinking Out Loud” music video or song first and then sing along with the lyric version of the song.
Once you’re ready to do the entire song alone, maybe it’s time to do an acapella (no music) by yourself or a karaoke version (music only) of the song.
2. Watch English videos about your interests
While you’re already on YouTube, you can also watch YouTube videos.
This is good training for your English comprehension and communication. Watching interviews and reviews will help you become familiar with conversational English—how you should communicate with other people.
It doesn’t have to be a formal interview or review. Perhaps you like technology and want to know more about a specific model. Why not listen to a review? For example, you can watch Apple’s iPhone 6 Review by The Verge.
If you like movies, you can watch interviews of your favorite actors and actresses. What about watching Robert Downey Jr.’s interview for “The Avengers: Age of Ultron? It really doesn’t matter if the interview or review is recent, what’s important is that you are listening to and learning from real English content.
With FluentU’s videos, you can choose anything you’d like to watch and use the clickable subtitles to improve vocabulary, listening, pronunciation and fluency. How? With shadowing practice, interactive flashcards, vocabulary lists and a “loop” feature to repeat parts of videos that you couldn’t catch. Use these as a more “active” way of self-study!
3. Watch English movies and TV shows
Watching English movies and TV shows also helps improve how you speak and understand the language.
You’ll be able to hear a lot of people talking to each other using the most current forms of English. This will help you learn commonly used slang terms, English idioms and phrases and help you broaden your English vocabulary.
If you are having problems understanding what the actors are saying, you might try using subtitles at first. Once you are more familiar with the words, try removing the subtitles and test out your English comprehension.
Also, you can try to practice the lines as much as you can. If you don’t understand the lines, you can always search for the transcript of the movie online. The Internet Movie Script Database (IMSDb) has a good list of movie scripts that you can choose from. Simply search for any movie there and read along with the words as you watch the movies.
4. Test your grammar with online English quizzes
When you self-study, one possible problem is that you might miss the mistakes and errors you’re making.
On the other hand, this is why English self study is so great—you always get to double check if you’re right or wrong. For self-study learners, there is always the question “Am I right?”
One easy way to test yourself is to do free online English quizzes. These quizzes will test your grammar, sentence construction, comprehension and a whole lot more.
Do these quizzes weekly or monthly to make sure you are on the right track.
5. Chat with friends online
Chatting with friends online is a fun way to self-study English without even realizing it. It’s different from talking to a teacher, or studying in class, or even using English at work because it’s relaxed, and the language is easy.
Chatting is an amazing way to learn English because you’re putting into practice what you’ve learned in a casual, stress-free way.
Through keyboard chatting, you get tocheck for grammar errors before you hit that “enter” button. With online voice calls, you’re practicing your conversational English.
Additionally, getting your friends to speak in English with you makes it a more motivating task for you. Not only can you prove to them that your English is getting better, but you also feel more fulfilled knowing that you can speak English freely with your friends anytime.
6. Read e-books, articles and online magazines
Reading is as important as listening when learning English. Reading and listening both sharpen the mind and train you to think in English too.
Non-native English speakers always have to translate English in their minds, which causes the delay in their response. However, if the mind is trained to think in English, it will be easier to understand and speak the language. The more you read, the more exposure to English sentence structure, new vocabulary, and formal and casual speech patterns you get. This means you have a whole lot of sentences to choose from when you start to speak English.
The internet is a treasure trove of English e-books, articles and magazines. Find a resource with a topic that you’re really interested in.
Do you like cooking, gardening or reading about relationships?
You can read anything you want because every new word learned or old word re-learned is added knowledge and practice for you.
7. Write about something you’re thinking about
Eventually, you will have to put into practice what you have learned through self-study.
A great way to start is to write something of your own.
It doesn’t have to be a published article online, you can simply start with a personal journal. Writing your own piece puts all your learning together—how much you know about English grammar, vocabulary and overall understanding.
After writing, feel free to check your own work for any errors. To do this, it’s best to put your composition in a file so you can use grammar checker programs to locate mistakes and errors in your work.
8. Join language exchange websites online
English learners want to talk to fellow English learners, and the good news is that there are numerous websites that specifically focus on language exchanges.
Join the language exchange community so you can communicate with other self-study students like you.
One of the websites you can try is Speaky, where you can meet native English speakers who are glad to talk with you and help you out.
HowDoYou.Do is another easy website to navigate to find native English speakers.
You can also try Coeffee, which is a website where you can play online English vocabulary and pronunciation games with other people.
If you’re in an English-speaking country and you’re going to the mall to find a specific item, talk to a saleslady in English, and don’t be nervous! To prepare, before you leave your house, look up all the vocabulary you need to ask questions and buy your item. This helps you explain what you want, and also helps you understand the answers that you’ll hear.
And if you’re inquiring about a service or product over the phone, speak in English.
As much as possible, try and speak English wherever you are and wherever you go, even if the person you’re talking to isn’t really fluent. It’s all about communication!http://www.fluentu.com/english/blog/self-study-english/
