Self Introduction

Hello!I'm Ayano Senda. I came from Nagaokakyo-city,Kyoto Pre..I was a Rakuhoku highschool student.

 I play volleyball about three times a month.I started to play volleyball from 8 yeras old.So,I have played it for more than 10 yeras. Playing villeyball is a lot of fun!! I love volleyball very much.

And, I love listening to music.My favorite singer is Mao Abe,Flower,E-girls,Kana Nishino.However, recently,I have been lestening to Mao Abe.Her lyrics inspire me to achieve my goal.

I want to make more friends in this class.So, please speake to me!

Thank you.

Welcome to Fall Semester 2015 students!

This semester I have two sections of the class that was formerly known as English 3B (advanced composition) for which I created this blog. Welcome aboard, Thursday and Friday morning classes! Since you'll be sharing this blog I hope you'll take some time to get to know each other and exchange greetings and comments with each other.

I'm Professor Philips and I teach this class. You can find my campus website here, but I haven't updated it in a long time. You'll find links to other sites that might help you with your English on the side of this blog itself, as well as on the links section of my website. Please take some time to study what earlier classes have posted on the blog to familiarize yourself with the blog and the kinds of things I assign you to post about in this class. This is your blog now, so feel free to post messages.

I'm a historian by training and inclination, and I've published lots of articles and written or edited several books, but I have several hobbies as well. I like chess, photography, cooking and nature. Italian, Japanese, Chinese, Mexican and Greek and different African cuisines are among those I especially like. American music is a special love of mine, but I also enjoy European, Indian and African musics. Writing is part of my job as a historian and I love good writing. Some of my own writing is on my website, and some of my academic writing is available at academia.edu or google scholar. I have two grown children and a wife in Akita I try to see when I can. Don't ask how old I am, but I'll face mandatory retirement in a few years.

As I explained to you in the class, my main research focus is on Africa, especially Islamic Africa. Here I am talking to an elderly gentleman who helped me a lot with some research I did in Nigeria.

I want to mention something I forgot to mention for the Friday class, too. I have to be somewhere Friday, so class is cancelled for Friday the 9th of October. I'll see you all at the next class, though, and of course your blog assignment is still due. Maybe I should start posting the blog assignments on the blog so that you'll have to visit the blog more regularly. Comments and suggestions about that are welcome. 

I hope you enjoy the class and learn a lot of English. Remember to practice writing every day! 

Self introduction

I'm Tatsumi Korehiro.You may hear my family name "Korehiro" for the first time. I think this family name is very rare in Japan.
I am usually called "Weather Boy" by my friends because I love weather, climate and meteorology too much. If you see a boy who takes pictures about the sky in Hirosaki university, it may be me.
I made a circle about weather, "Weather circle WBG ～Weather Boys and Girls～"
If you interested in it, please ask me!

Thank you.

My introduction

Hello! My name is Atsushi Ono.

Now, I belong to basketball club. I play basketball from a fourth grader. Playing basketball is very fun and let's play with me!

My hobby is listening radio. I hear all night nippon and TBS JUNK in particular. My most favorite program is banana moon gold! It is very very fun! Also, when my mail is read, I am very happy!
If you are interested in radio, I introduce my recommend radio for you.

I'm looking forword to your English class.
Thank you.

self introduction

Hello!
I'm Takuya Shimanaka.

Now,I belong in rugby football club.
Did you watch the rugby world cup 2015 games?
I was really impressed the game "Japan vs south Africa"!
When I was college student,played rugby for the first time.
I really enjoy playing rugby now!
If you are interested in rugby,let's talk with me!

I'm looking forward to your class!
Thank you.

Here's the embedded form of that last music video

Click "share" beneath the video, then "embed". Copy what you find and paste it to the blog:

embed Music video

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QK8mJJJvaes





 I like this music video. I don't understand means of the lyrics enough, and exactly what the group is like. However, when I watched it, I feel it is cool and fanny.
 This time, I searched the Internet for this group Macklemore and Ryan Lewis, and I knew some of them a little.
 First, they received the Grammy 2014.
 Second, they sometimes express social problems in their works.
 Anyway, this music video makes me funny, and positive.
 I want to watch and hear other works of them, and I want to know them more.

My major

My major is Japanese. I have studied Japanese since I was a college graduate.It has passed six years.In 2013,I was lucky to be recommend for admission to Dalian University of Technology to continue my major as a graduate student.It usually takes three years for an academic graduate student in China.It’s the second year for my curriculum.

In fact, my major,Japanese is short for the linguistic and literature of Japanese. When asked that  what’s your major,I am always liking to say”Japanese”.The asking people is usually surprised and confused,saying”That’s all?”.

How to answer the question? I could say”YES!”.Because everything I have learned from my major is closely related to Japanese. Maybe, in many people’s opinion,language isn’t a major,it’s just a tool of communication. 

      

In other hand,I also want to answer it as “NO!”My major is not only learning how to talk with Japanese,but also consist of the essential things about this language. For instance,the linguistic theory,the origin and historical development of Japanese. From these points,we can study the similarity in two or three language and the essence in linguist.

Besides, the literature of Japanese,which is also my favourite ting about Japanese.The literature of Japanese,also has an important position in the literary world.There are some famous writers,who received the Nobel Prize of Literature in Japan.My favorite Japanese writer is Mulakami Haruki.He has written many works,such as<Norwegian Wood>,<1Q84>.It’s so pity that he always slipped the Nobel Prize,but which has no influence on his notability.From the most of Japanese literature, you can discover the “biyisiki”,which is an aesthetic sense in Japanese people.Just like the word of ”sakura”,it was used to show the feelings of character in many Japanese novel.The falling”sakura” could also express desolate beauty,which is a part of beauty in Japanese’s heart.

     

In conclusion, Japanese isn’t an easy major.

Golden week

On golden week,I had an amazing journey with my friends who coming to Japan from China.We rent a car,setting out from hirosaki and arriving at senndai. In the trip,I was responsible for translation as a guide.There are six people in my group,but only I can speak japanese.Thus,I had so much work to do either before or on the passage of the journey.For example,before the golden week,I had finished the trip plan.To make a good schedule,I searched what is the great spot on internet and read many guide book.Before the final plan,I had made many courses about the trip.On the passage of the journey,I had to introduce some information about sports for my friends,and if there are any questions,I had to answer it to them.So that,I was so busy with my work in the journey.

Though,I seemed to be a busy guide,I also enjoyed almost natural and human landscapes in the northeast of Japan.For instance,the world heritage forest— Shirakami mountain.The Shirakami mountain range has the world's vastest beechwood forest. It still retains old-growth forests and was registered as a Natural World Heritage Site in 1993. We enjoyed the fantastic view from the popular local "Gono Line" that passes through the base of the Shirakami mountain range and explore the mystical Juniko.

On the journey,I enjoyed many beautiful landscapes and ate much delicious food,of course I practise my japanese.

Self introduction

self introduction

 My name is Sun Lin. I come from Dalian university of technology, which is located in Dalian, China. My major is japanese. And now I’m studying here as an exchange  student for one year.My hometown is Qingdao,a very beautiful tourism city.

 I will introduce myself by six words .

The first one is “apple”.The apple is my favourite fruit. It’s very delicious and has much nutrition with vitaminC. There are not only sweet ones but also sour ones. Of course, I like the sweet ones. I like eating an apple when I’m not so happy. That has become my habit. I think apples seem to have a smiling face with its red colour. I just hope to be like an apple and always keep a smile on my face and sweetness in my heart to everybody and everything everyday in my life.  Actually, before I came to hirosaki, I didn’t know that Hirosaki is famous for its apples. Maybe, it is fate that I came here.

The next one is “spring”.Spring is my favourite season. I think it also can describe my personality. Summer is so hot and glows with enthusiasm. Winter is so cold. Autumn seems to make people disappointed with the falling leaves. But spring is a moderate season. It is full of vitality and filled with hope.

The third one ,I wii use “journey”.I like journeys because I like to discover new things that I didn’t previously know. I think it can make my life more colourful and varied, which is why I decided to come to Japan. Not only to improve my Japanese, but also to broaden my outlook.

The tea is my favorite drink. Maybe many people like coffee or cola, but I just like tea very well because of its delicate smell. I also like the process of making tea.

I have some special skills. I have been practicing calligraphy since I was a child. At first, I didn’t like to study it, and I was just forced to do it by my father. But I found that I can keep clam when practicing it. I began to like it gradually. It’s also one of the traditional art forms of Chinese culture. I’m very happy I didn’t give up calligraphy, and now I am proud of this skill.

I also like skating. I think there are not words to describe the feelings when I am skating on ice. It’s so exciting and free, just like a bird in the sky. The calligraphy seems to be still, but skating is moving.I think it is important to make a connection between movement and stillness in one’s life for these two elements balance out each other and bring about harmony.

My hometown—Qingdao

My  hometown

My hometown is Qingdao,which located in the southeast part of Shandong Province.It is a beautiful seaside city with clear air and enchanting sea view. This city,surrounded by the Yellow Sea on two sides, has the largest bathing beach in Aisa. In the media , Qingdao was usually described as a bright and colorful picture which formed by the red roofs,green trees,blue sea,and azure sky.

100 years ago,Qingdao was just a little fishing village.But now,it has improved to be an important international city in China.Surrounded by the sea on three sides,Qingdao attracts many tourists with its charming seascape. Some famous sights like the Zhan Bridge,WuSi Square,Mt.LaoShan,all of these will help you know the city.Just walking on the sand and listening to the surf breaking on the beach,you will become enjoyable.

Qingdao is not only famous for its tourism ,but also for its international  trade.The city is the home of the famous Qingdao Beer and the enterprise Hair.They make Qingdao become more well-known in the world.In summer,the Qingdao international Beer Festival is held by the city.You can drink Qingdao Beer and have the seafood with your friends there.

 

In cooperation with the Beijing Olympic Games 2008,Qingdao held the sailing competition in 2008.This great event brings a great opportunity for this charming city to walk towards the whole world.

10 Minute history of English

Here's "The History of English in Ten Minutes" I mentioned in today's class:

My Golden Week

 This could really be the most boring and unhealthy golden week that I've ever had.

 Everyday I woke up at 8 and to start off the day I would switch on my laptop to watch two nba playoff games the same time as I had breakfast, which was also my lunch. After that I would take a nap till 4pm and then listen to some music or play some stupid games on my cellphone while I was still in bed. And when I was finally too hungry to continue, which was usually around 6:30, I would cook my dinner and eat while watching a Japanese TV drama about samurai, which was actually not completely boring. Then I would play video games for hours until I got exhausted and after setting my alarm clock to 8 for the next morning again I would go to bed to end my meaningless day knowing it would be exactly a same day tomorrow. Every single morning was like ‘here we go again’ and I couldn't even tell the date.

 But I guess I did have a pretty good rest.

Golden Week

 I spent almost the whole Golden Week with my best friend Jiangjun in college life. She came to Japan as an exchange student as well. She came to Hirosaki from Tokyo.

 We spent the whole week cooking and watching movies together. We both have come to Japan for half a year. And we missed Chinese Food very much. Although the Japanese Food is also very delicious, we still not are accustomed to it very well. So we decided to make the most traditional food of China----dumplings by ourselves.

 Making dumplings is a hard work. The first step is making covers. Of course you can buy them in a supermarket, but it is too tough to stick them. The covers made by hands are very soft. The second step is making stuffing. I like the dumplings of leeks and eggs.

The third step is wrapping. After these three steps, you can put the raw dumplings into boiling water. When it is cooked, you can eat them. But you should be careful not to be scald, because it is very hot.

Hometown

My hometown is Anshan, which is located in the central part of Liaoning Province. The longest distance from north to south is 175 kilometers and the wide distance from west to east is 133 kilometers.

There are three key words about Anshan, steel, bolder, and pears.

The first one is steel. Since The Han Dynasty, there is a record of mining ironstone in Anshan. And the biggest factory in Anshan, Anshan Steel Factory, was built by the same time when The People's Republic of China was built. The intra-city of Anshan is divided into four districts by railway. And the west area in Anshan, one of the four districts, is almost the factory. The factory brings Anshan not only very big economics benefits but also make the air polluted. My family lived near the railway, so it is near to the factory too. I am very worried my parents’ health when I see the polluted smoke flying from the big chimneys. I will let my parents move to another place after I decide my work place.

The second key word is bolder. The biggest joss made of bolder is in Anshan. It is 5.23 meters tall. I have seen the joss by my eyes, and it’s amazing. Around the temple, where the joss is located, there are lots of mountains. Although it is polluted in west area, the east of Anshan is full of mountains. It is said that there are 999 peaks in this resort, so the resort is called of Thousand Mountain Resort. A lot of people who are interested in climbing mountain from everywhere rushed to Anshan every summer. I would like to see the scenery from the top of mountains, but I don’t want go outside in hot weather, so nearly every summer, I hide in my room and eat ice-cream and be fatter and fatter.

 The last one is my favorite, pears. The pears are named Nanguo Pear. They are so delicious that you can smell them when you enter the room even without seeing them. Nanguo pears are smaller than ordinary pears, and you can buy it only in Anshan. No other city is the Nanguo produced. It tastes not only sweet but also a little sour. You would like to have another one after you have one, and then never want to stop having them.

 Anshan is not a big city like Shenyang, so it is not so convenient and crowded. But I like it very much, though it is polluted very much. I think this is the mystery of hometown. You may not satisfied with it and complain about it but nothing can stop you from coming back. In my opinion, everyone has special emotions about his hometown where he was given birth to. 

Self-introduction

My name is JiangMing. I was born on 14th February in 1994. My father always says I was the best Valentine's Day gift that he got from my mother ever.

My parents are just ordinary people and don’t have much money, but we live a very happy life. They never force me to do anything but always ask for my consent before they make some big decisions. Just like my father, I am open-minded, quick in thought and very humorous. And like my mother, I am sensible, industrious and good at cooking.

When I was 12 years old, at which time I was just a little girl, my parents decided to send me to a private school in another city. From that time, I began my in-residence life which meant I could go home only weekends or when there was a holiday or vacation. It was really a hard time for me. I missed home so much that I cried in my quilt every night at the beginning. But soon I accustomed to it. The in-residence life did make me independent and learn to solve problems by myself. Until now, I have been lived in school for nearly 10 years.

　Granted, before I went to the college I have spent much time in studying in the front 6 years. So I try to make my college life more abundant in the later 4 years. I often worked as a volunteer in unities to take care of the aged whose daughters or sons were not beside. And sometimes I went to the seashore to pick up rubbish with other volunteers. Besides these outdoor activities, I also used to do some indoor activities, like calling my friends to play badminton in gym or gathering to watch a movie. My favorite movies are fiction movies or action movies. I am a little poor at remembering foreigners’ faces and names, so in the class I said NO when was asked that who my favorite actor was. But after I went home, I inquired my favorite movies and then I found my favorite actors and actress, their names are Jason Michael Statham, Robert Downey Jr., Angelina Jolie, and Anne Hathaway et cetera. Strictly, I was not fascinated with them; I loved the characters they acted in the movies.

 Before I studied Japanese, I was good at English especially in high school. But in college, when I learn more Japanese grammar, I forgot English grammar more. That is such a sad thing. And the worst thing is that when I want to speak Japanese now, I always think of English; when I try to express myself in English, Japanese always comes out to disturb me. I always feel excruciating these time.

My wish for next 2 months is that I can improve both two languages and speak them out fluently in the appropriate time. 

Hometown

 My hometown is Dalian, a coast city in the north east of China. It’s a modern but crowded city with a population of 7 million and lots of tall buildings. The pace of life here is pretty fast and there are always traffic jams. But also there are many beautiful squares and other places of entertainment. So basically, Dalian is a thriving city of noise and excitement.

 One thing I really love about Dalian is the climate. It’s never too hot in summer nor too cold in winter. And because of that a great number of outsiders have chosen to settle down in Dalian, which actually improves the local economic development. Dalian has four distinct seasons and personally I find Dalian most attractive in summer. Almost every summer my family and I would go to the sea and swim. The dazzling sunlight, the hot sand, the sound of waves and the smell of barbecue, everything just makes you feel so alive.

 Dalian is also a nice city for tourism. If you love animals, you can always go to the city zoo which has a large variety of animals including pandas, or you can watch a dolphin show in a polar marine animal museum. If you’re interested in architecture, the Russian street might be worth seeing. And if all you want is to try some decent local food, there are restaurants that serve some really serious seafood which you just can’t miss. What’s more, we’ve got some interesting local festivals such as the Chinese international beer festival and the fashion festival. During beer festival, which is held in summer once a year, guests can enjoy all kinds of beers and snacks while watching performances. The fashion festival on the other hand is mainly about showing well-designed clothes alone with performances which I have to admit could be kind of boring.

 Most natives of Dalian are passionate and hospitable. If you ask them the way to a place and it’s not far, the chances are they’re going to lead you there, or at least give you a detailed description to make sure you can get there. People of Dalian are usually simple and honest which sadly makes them bad businessmen, which is also why most rich people in Dalian are actually from other cities and sometimes the fact that these people are slowly taking over the city really bothers me. But who knows, maybe at the end of the day, these things won’t matter after all.

 And here are some pictures of Dalian.

Self-introduction

 Hi, my name is Sun Yibo. I’m a senior college student majored in mechanics and Japanese from Dalian University of Technology in China. However, I’m now studying mechanics in Hirosaki University in Japan as an exchange student, which has truly been a fantastic experience so far. And though my major seems to have everything to do with math and physics, I have to admit that I find myself even more interested in words other than figures or mathematical notations. And the reason why I ended up with mechanics and Japanese was that I believed I could just learn English by myself anyway, which obviously didn't turn out as my expectation. So now, my goal is to improve both my English and Japanese as much as I could.

 Life in China as a student could be a little boring because the intense competition just kind of forces you to keep studying all kinds of stuff in school, no matter you have interests or not. But luckily, I still keep a few hobbies to entertain myself such as basketball, which I can’t really say I’m good at. Basically it’s just for fun and to keep fit both physically and mentally, as I find playing basketball a pretty good way to get all my negative emotions out of my system. I also joined a school basketball club in Hirosaki University, which was supposed to be relaxing instead of tiring. 

 Besides basketball, I’m also a big fan of music. I love all kinds of music, country and R&B especially. I even have this Karaoke software on my cell phone, with which I could record my own singing. But then the fact is I’m not really good at singing, which is why I’m usually just an audience everytime I go to Karaoke with my friends. If only I had a better voice, I probably would be a street singer, which is the closest lifestyle I can think of to freedom and happiness. 

 There is not really much to say about my family. Just like most Chinese of my age, I don’t have any sibling because of the law. I’m not exactly the most outgoing type of person but I do have a few friends that I can share things with. My life has never been adventurous since I tend not to aim high or take unnecessary risks. To me, making decisions has always been about keeping things in balance and avoiding extremes. After all, extremes could be dangerous.

 Ok, that should cover most about me and thanks for reading all my nonsense.

My hometown

 I had never moved out from my hometown, Sapporo, for eighteen years. So, I know some attraction of there.
 Sapporo is surrounded by small mountains and hills. I like the views from those mountains and hills. For example, the scenery of Sapporo from the top of Mt. Maru (円山） is one of the most beautiful scenery, I think. Mt. Maru is 225 meter high, so it's easy to hike there. Some wild birds that inhabit there are fed by some hiker, and get used to people. Last January, I went up there with my friend, and it's a very exciting memory for me.
 Other than that, when I lived there, I had been to many places and events by myself, or with my friends or family.For instance, Odori park, the central municipal city  library, Sapporo station, some festivals be held at a park or a shrine, and so on.
 I love my hometown because, I have many memories in there.

Happy 10th anniversary, blog!

The class is no longer called English 3B, but Advanced English B, and the students don't seem scared of computers or the Internet anymore, but it's still the same class and still the same blog for 10 years today. Welcome new students, and I hope you have a good time and learn something in this semester's English composition class. Please take some time to read old blog posts first. -JP http://iiibclassblog.blogspot.jp/2005/04/welcome.html