Tag: English as a second language (ESL)

If you could change one important thing about your hometown,
what would you change? Use reasons and specific examples to
support your answer.

My home town is Fukuoka city which locate at north Kyushu island in Japan. Kyushu island’s GDP is 460 Billion US $ which is almost same these of Poland and Belgium. The Fukuoka is the largest and most important city in Kyushu.

In history, Fukuoka was one of the most important cities to communicate with the rest of the world.

The Mongol tried to Invade Japan for 2 times in 1274 (Bunei no eki) 1281 (Kouan no eki), and Mongolian army landed from Kyushu.  However, Gokenin around Kyoshu fought against Mongolian well and Kamikaze saved both of fights. Even now, there is huge wall to fight against them.

But also, because Fukuoka is the nearest city to Asia, Fukuoka was open to Asia and world. Hakata (Almost same meaning is Fukuoka) merchant did worked well. People are open to meet the people outside of the country. 

Because Fukuoka located at middle of Asia. Fukuoka has good access to main Asian cities like Seoul Taipei and Shanghai, which takes a few hour to get there by airplane. And also education in Fukuoka is very good. Several university is good source of intelligent workers in Kyushu.

But, I believe Fukuoka could not take advantage of these factors. Like as the other cities in Japan. Economically, Fukuoka is going not so well. I believe that is because the working population is decreasing and the city is getting older. Fukuoka needs to open again to get young Asian people ask them to help find the way to new economic growth.

Being open to the world and Asia again is key. Like I said before, Fukuoka is good access to Asia, has a chance to meet 1 billion people in Asian people. One thing I want Fukuoka to change to take measure to access to highly fluid labor market in Asia, which would help Fukuoka vitalizing.

Writing is process always. How to write well is never ending work. I found tips online.

7 Tips for Editing to Improve Usage

Addition to these, I would add three. I would love to keep learning how to write well.

1. Look up the definition of an unfamiliar word and make sure you understand the meaning. 

We should have responsibility for what we wrote. Why don’t we check words you are using in your writing?.

2. Use a thesaurus or a synonym finder for the precise meaning, taking care to notice the different connotations of similar words.

Thesaurus offer easy access to synonyms and antonyms. Thesaurus is good tool to expand the vocabulary. I always keep pocket thesaurus beside me.

3. Keep your writing clear and coherent, and avoid pretentious.

Write to communicate, not to impress. Sharpen what we want to describe and think about clearance and coherence.

4. Select the strongest nouns and verbs before you select adjectives and adverbs.

What is true message that we would like the reader to understand? We can simply say using only nouns and verbs, and then add adjectives and adverbs if we need.

5. Watch for careless redundancy.

Keep our writing simple. Fight against redundancy.

6. Read your draft aloud to help you refine grammar and usage. If something doesn’t sound right to you, it probably doesn’t read right to your audience, either.

We can find awkward words and sentences by reading aloud.

7. Ask someone else to read your writing and critique it.

We need peer review to improve writing.

8. Read books, become good reader.

No input, no output. We can learn a lot from other writers.

9. Rewrite and rewrite.

Writing is process, if we write something and leave it for a while and check it again. Keep thinking what is good English.

10. Do not be afraid of making mistake.

I used to be afraid of making mistakes grammatically. But good writing is not always needed to be grammatically correct. Keep writing.

Let’s start review University word list.

http://shinichiroyano.wordpress.com/2013/02/05/university-word-list/

1. analysis – Careful study was made based on new analysis method.
2. approach – Her approach to prove sandwich theory is intriguing.
3. assessment – Various assessments are needed before building large the hotel.
4. assume – We assume this theory is correct.
5. authority – The officer has the authority to issue warrants.
6. available – The cafeteria is available from 11 a.m. to 15 a.m.
7. benefit – The field trip was of great benefit to the students.
8. concept – The concept of frustration is also applied for magnetism in Physics.
9. consistent – This result is consistent with the other group observed.
10. constitutional – the private advocacy can interfere with individuals’ constitutional rights.
11. context – You should not judge just what happened, you should think in the context.
12. contract – I renewed my contract with the company.
13. create – God created the world.
14. data – Could you see your experimental data?
15. definition – What is definition of magnetic frustration?
16. derived – The velocity distributions of neutron would be well-described by a single Maxwell–Boltzmann distribution.
17. economic – During the babble economy, Japanese business man sometimes called economic animal.
18. environment – He grew up in a loving environment.
19. established – He has a established career.
20. estimate – We can estimated the amount of rice we consume in this year.
21. evidence – You need the evidence to prove your thought.
22. export – Exports of goods and services represent the value of all goods and other market services provided to the rest of the world.
23. factors – Which factor did contribute the most to the incident?
24. financial – Because of their financial condition, they could enroll in the University.
25. formula – A formula is an entity constructed using the symbols and formation rules of a given logical language.
26. function – You should measure order parameter as a function of temperature.
27. identified –  The 3 years old boy was able to correctly identify the mushroom.
28. income – Japanese government decided to raise income tax.
29. indicate – The map indicates where the treasure is buried.
30. individual – We must respect will of individuals.
31. interpretation – The interpretation seems to be wrong.
32. involved – Our car was involved terrible car accident.
33. issues – The issues will be discussed at tomorrow’s meeting.
34. labor – The company tried to reduce the labor cost.
35. legal – He was able to correctly identify the mushroom.
36. legislation – More legislation is needed on this matter.
37. major – What is your major?
38. occur – Magnetic ordering occurs below critical temperature.
39. percent – The value has increased half a percent.
40. period – We should be careful to measure in this
41. principle – In principle, there must be no difference between two experimental results.
42. process – We need to clarify the process of the accident.
43. required – Getting local driver license is required, international license is valid only a half year.
44. research – I would like to apply to this new research project.
45. role – Electromagnetism plays important role modern developed world.
46. section – In this section, we will learn how to teach ESL.
47. sector – This sector will be closed.
48. significant – Changing the lenses of camera bring significant improvement
49. source – This information seem not to be correct, check the source.
50. specific – Do you have any specific idea to get over this situation.
51. structure – We can tell whether or not this material shows ferroelectricity is from crystal structure.
52. theory – Theory without being proven by experiment is not actual proof science.
53. variable – What is a variable? It is a box, and it exists to contain a value.

For nonnative speaker, it is difficult to decide which position we should use on the writings.  Why don’t you review type of prepositions? List is from ‘’Eye on Editing 2’ written by Joyce S. Cain’

1. Prepositions of time.

month/year     in : She was born in May.

This university was established in 1993

day/date         on : We have class on Monday.

Why don’t you start field research on June 5?

Specific time    at : The class started at 9 a.m.

General time    in : We have meeting in the afternoon.

Approximate time    about : I will be at home about 5:30 p.m.

around : I will be there around 6:00 p.m.

between : I am coming at the Hall between 9 and 10 o’clock.

duration      for : I have lived here for six years.

through: I have thought of you often through the past years.

2. Prepositions of place

city/country     in : He lived in the U.S. for ten years.

street              on : He bought his house on the Wall street

address           at : He lives at University Heights.

motion              to : He went to National institute to do experiment.

toward : He walk toward me.

3. Prepositions of position

on : This book is on the desk.

in : The camera is in my bag.

at : Let’s meet at library.

beside : The dog is sitting beside its owner.

between : My office is between Smith’s and Jason’s.

4. Prepositions of reason

for : I do my job for living.

by : He was pleased by her kind words.

about : We are concerned about the news.

5. Preposition of manner

by : He can understand what she is saying by listening carefully.

at : He is good at playing the guitar.

with : They fisnished the test with ease.

6. Preposition of comparison

like : We are so close that he is like my brother.

as :  I play guitar only as amateus.

7.Preposition of possession

of : She is a good friend of mine.

These are basics proposition and examples. Let’s check these out!!

1. Expectation is the root of all headaches –William Shakespeare.

I found this on Facebook post by English literature and Language.

2. You are writing primarily for please yourself, and if you go about it with enjoyment you will also entertain the readers who are worth writing for. If you lose the dullards back in the dust, you don’t want them anyway.

The book ’’On writing well’’ chaper5, The audience.

3. If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together – African proverb.

I found this on Facebook post by English literature and Language

4. The best revenge is not to be like your enemy – Marcus Aurelius.

I found this on Facebook post by English literature and Language

5. The Changing Taste of Beer: Qualia are qualitative experiences such as tastes and smells, but how real are they? As an example, the philosopher Daniel Dennett cites the typical first reaction to the taste of beer: “What awful stuff!” But suppose you become a beer lover—has the taste of beer changed? Do you have different qualia, or do you have the same qualia but are just reacting differently?

I found in the course description for “Philosophy of Mind: Brains, Consciousness, and Thinking Machines”. I am so curious. I would like to buy this DVD in the near future.

http://www.thegreatcourses.com/tgc/courses/course_detail.aspx?cid=4278&ai=81259&cm_mmc=email-_-Mag7TopRatedActNMRHO20130212-_-courses-_-moreinfo&cm_mmca1=81259&cm_mmca2=4278

6. Anxiety, you’re not the boss of me.

I found this online article written by Richard Lucas, Special to CNN.

http://www.cnn.com/2013/02/11/health/anxiety-first-person-irpt/index.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+rss%2Fcnn_topstories+%28RSS%3A+Top+Stories%29

7. I just posted your passwords on Facebook – your Ex

Email advertisement from MacAfee. Haha!!

8. If you don’t like something, stop reading it. You’re under no obligation to finish. It’s not required reading. You’re not being graded.   This one is hard for me. I like commitment. When I start something I want to finish it. If I’ve invested time into reading so many pages, I might as well see it through.   But I’ve learned how quickly this can kill my momentum and enthusiasm.

Hendricks, Kevin D. (2013-01-19). 137 Books in One Year: How to Fall in Love With Reading (Kindle Locations 303-306).Kindle Edition.

9. Confession time: I’ve had plenty of “classics” I stopped reading because I didn’t like them.

Hendricks, Kevin D. (2013-01-19). 137 Books in One Year: How to Fall in Love With Reading (Kindle Locations 310-311). Kindle Edition.

10. If you want to read a lot of books you have to finish them. You can’t just jump to the next one every time you see something shiny. Have the discipline to finish a book before moving on to the next one.   If you’re tempted to start up a new book before you finish the old one, pay attention.

Hendricks, Kevin D. (2013-01-19). 137 Books in One Year: How to Fall in Love With Reading (Kindle Locations 567-569). Kindle Edition.

1. It is a truth universally acknowledged that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife.

Jane Austen “Pride and Predudice” found at The Great Course DVD “how to write about anything”

2. Great writers are always great readers.

The Great Course DVD “how to write about anything” Chap1

3. We haven’t closed the wealth gap between black and white Americans.

The Huffington Post  |  By Bonnie Kavoussi.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/01/21/martin-luther-king_n_2498349.html

4. Writing is easy. All you do is stare at a blank sheet of paper until drops of blood form on your forehead. — Gene Fowler

Writing research papers at http://www.ruf.rice.edu/~bioslabs/tools/report/reportform.html

5. Remember you are smarter than the calculator. Check your answer to make sure it is reasonable.

CK-12 Basic Physics – Second Edition (Kindle Locations 62-63).

6. “I often think about music. I daydream about music. I see my life in the form of music.” – Albert Einstein

CK-12 Basic Physics – Second Edition (Kindle Locations 151-152).

7. We may not able to avoid pain, but we don’t need to add suffering on top of it.-Dalai Lama.

 I found this phrase on the book ‘Lifelong love’.

8. 4000 years of medicine.

2000 BC: Here, eat this root.

1000 AD: That root is heathen!! Here say this prayer.

1865 AD: That prayer is superstition!! Here, drink this potion.

1935 AD: That potion is snake oil!! Here swallow this pill.

1975 AD: That pill is ineffective!!  Here, take this antibiotic.

2000 AD: That antibiotic is poison!! Here, eat this root.

By unknown, I found facebook post by English language and literature.

9. If you are not willing to learn, no one can help you. If you are determined to learn, no one can stop you!!

By unknown, I found it on Facebook post by English language and literature.

10. No matter how busy you may think you are, you must find time for reading, or surrender yourself to self-chosen ignorance.

By Confucius

If you are English learner and want to understand and use academic words, learning University Word List is definitely beneficial. So, what is University Word List?

International student who enter academic program as undergraduate or graduate students in the U.S. face considerable hurdles, not least of which is the daunting amount of and type of vocabulary they are likely to encounter in their academic fields, and be expected to use in their academic writing. Student with advanced proficiency in English may generally be expected to have acquired a minimum productive English vocabulary of 2000 head words (plus derivatives) along with a larger receptive vocabulary, while an average American undergraduate is estimated to have a vocabulary of about 20000 words. This wide gap in vocabulary knowledge would seem likely to penalize international students from the beginning by slowing down their rate of reading and compromising their comprehension of study material overall. In wiring, it has been noted that international student tend to use less academic vocabulary than their native born peers.

Studies of vocabulary reported by Paul Nation (1990) have shown that a basic 2000 words vocabulary of high frequency items actually comprise 87 percent of words in an academic text. A further 800 words academic words have been identified which comprise an additional 8 percent (95 percent of total) of textual items. Three percent (98 percent of total) of remaining words are technical items, which differ from on field to another, generally consisting of 1000 to 2000 items, which are usually taught or acquired in the academic program. The remaining 2 percent (100 percent of total) of words in any text are considered to be low frequency words, numbering up to 123000 (they may be mentioned only once in a given text).

So that, knowledge of a further 800 academic words can significantly boost the comprehension level of academic text and activities. Nation combined these word lists into 800 items University Word List (Xue & Nations, 1984), with the aim of having the lists into serve as a guide and focus for teachers and as a check list and goal for students. The University Word List consists of vocabulary that students are likely to encounter across all academic fields, concentrating on the language of research, analysis, and evaluation. Students who activate this vocabulary and use it in their academic writing will be more successful in effectively communicating their ideas as students and scholars.

You can practice these words.
http://www.englishvocabularyexercises.com/AWL/index.htm

University Word List divides into the sublist. So let’s learn with me on this blog step by step!!