Academic Discutssion and Writing Is allocating funds ot preserve traditional culture a priority？

Question

Considering the myriad of urgent needs a nation might have, do you agree or disagree that allocating funds to preserve traditional culture is a priority? Why? Why not?

 

 

☆Let’s think

1.        What are the examples of culture?

Note: Not only the so-called culture like art, music, or dancing but also everything related to human life like tableware or marriage celebration are called culture.

2.        Name the traditional culture that no longer holds a significant place in contemporary society.

Note: In the case of Japan, gagaku, noh, sumi-e, and classical Japanese are some of its traditional cultures.

3.        Are your answers to Question 2 really insignificant in modern society?

 

 

☆Hints for Points

Yes

1.        Humans don’t just live on food. They need mental support.

2.        Traditional culture holds significance in that it shows what the people are and what humans are.

 

No

1.        Pressing issues like climate crisis are to be prioritized.

2.        Protecting the subsistence of all people must be done.

 

Neither

1.        We should stop spending on military instead.

2.        We can do both based on MMT.

 

 

☆Sample Responses

Preservation of the traditional culture is a priority because it is not only the identity of the people but also the identity of human being. Traditional culture teaches us what we humans are. Through learning traditional culture and learning how our ancestors ate, dressed, sang, danced, celebrated, or said farewell to the deceased, we understand what is in the core of our existence and see what is the true priority in our life. Modern life is homogenized and it dehumanizes us. We live and work in comfortable but tasteless buildings, wear functional but plain clothes, and are fed with impressive and beautiful enough but not stunning or heart-wrenching art, music, or movies in this world controlled by capitalism. As a result, we now have deteriorated to the point where we consume others’ private lives, tragedy, or catastrophe as the medium for stress release or sublimation because modern culture doesn’t fulfill our spiritual hunger. In other words, modern culture is barbaric and perverse. To rediscover and restore humanity, we need to consult what our ancestors left. Traditional culture is the treasure trove for this purpose. Therefore, I agree with prioritizing preservation of it. (192 words)

 

 

 

Your Sample Response

Introduction (Outline)

Supporting Details

Conclusion (Wrap-up)

 

Write your response in 10 minutes. Show each other your responses. Write down questions or suggestions to each other’s response.

 

                                               DRAFT

 

 

                                                                                                        

                                                                                                        

                                                                                                        

                                                                                                        

                                                                                                        

                                                                                                        

                                                                                                        

                                                                                                        

                                                                                                        

                                                                                                        

                                                                                                        

                                                                                                        

                                                                                                         

Academic Discussion and Writing Has the integration of technology in education enhanced the learning experience of students?

Question

Do you believe that the integration of technology in education has overall enhanced the learning experience for students? Why? Why not?

 

 

☆Let’s think

1         Have you ever used any of the following in your studies? How much do you think you learned with it?

YouTube video  vocabulary building app  language learning software  online school  Skype

 

2         Is technology good for any of the following? Why?

information search  widening views  memorization  experiments  learning languages

critical thinking   learning practical skills like dancing or drawing pictures 

 

3         Do you think students nowadays are learning much more effectively with the help of technology?

 

 

☆Hints for Points

Yes

1.        Educational materials and sites help students understand subjects more effectively than before.

2.        Information search and comparison of multiple materials have become more efficient than before.

 

No

1.        Fewer students have the ability to read complicated materials than before because most students do not read books anymore due to social media.

2.        Many students learn less than before because they copy and paste information.

 

 

☆Sample Responses

A

I think information Technology has enhanced our learning experience mainly because it has made information search and comparison of multiple materials efficient than before. It now allows us to get necessary information for studies anytime and anywhere. This has made it unnecessary to go to the library or bookstores to find related materials. Google search provides numerous sources, including newspapers and magazines, instantly. Even when a certain book is necessary, ordering from online bookstores allows us to download a copy in a few seconds or have it sent within a day or two. As Taylor says, the distraction of social media can offset the time earned by this efficiency, but the fact that information technology has made it physically efficient to collect good materials won’t change. In the end, learning depends on the individual’s concentration and IT definitely facilitates it. (140 words)

 

B

With reservation, I’m also concerned about the fragmentation of attention. Integration of information technology and education exposed the workstation to infinite and constant flows of distractors like notices or news feed, which can keep students away from work till they lose track of their researches and thoughts. Insights and inspiration require certain amount of time for the brain to work on the subject undisturbed by the unrelated factors, but work on the screen never allows it. Especially, time for reading on the tablet gets fragmented and this directly affects the quality of reading. It is like a disturbed sleep. Even if the total length of the activity is the same, the highest point of the brain activity cannot often be reached in disturbed reading. However, Gen Z are tech-savvy and multitaskers. They might not be so distracted by the incessant assault of notices and alerts as to lose sight of the tasks they are working on. They might even be taking advantage of the state of mind that is constantly open to the online world, sorting out and processing information they get, and get the task done utilizing the sense of reality they get from the process. Therefore, I conclude that attention span can be short without intentionally constant intensive reading while free working of mind can be maintained even when it is hooked up to the Internet. (229 words)

 

 

Your Sample Response

Introduction (Outline)

Supporting Details

Conclusion (Wrap-up)

 

Write your response in 10 minutes. Show each other your responses. Write down questions or suggestions to each other’s response.

 

                                               DRAFT

 

 

                                                                                                        

                                                                                                        

                                                                                                        

                                                                                                        

                                                                                                        

                                                                                                        

                                                                                                        

                                                                                                        

                                                                                                        

                                                                                                        

                                                                                                        

                                                                                                        

                                                                                                         

Academic Discussion and Writing What kind of institution should a new university envision in our times?

Lesson 20  Question

If your nation were contemplating the construction of a new university, what kind of institution should it envision to best address the evolving demands of our times?

 

 

☆Let’s think

1.        What are two main functions of a university?

Note: A university is for research and education.

2.        What are the main issues of our time?

Note: Climate crisis, nuclear crisis, pandemics, pollutions, wealth gap, white-supremacy and other discriminations, capitalism and neoliberalism, lack of diversity, lack of ethics of technology are some of the main issues of our time.

3.        Which issue you named as answers to Question 2 is the most serious to you? Why?

 

 

☆Hints for points

1.     War: Similarities to the prewar period of Imperial Japan of the current government and society in Japan has been pointed out. It is clear that Japan learned nothing from its past mistakes and sins and is to repeat them in the near future.

 

2.     Climate Change: Global warming impacts not only ecosystem but also politics. It is the urgent issue that could threaten the survival of humanity and the effect is already evident in our country.

 

3.     Food and Water Security: Pursuing the short-time profits and bound by unfair treaties like Japan-US FTA, Japan has been punishing the domestic agriculture. Now the self-sufficiency is said to be 40% while a professor of Tokyo University calculates that it is actually 10% if the import of fertilizer, 99% of which is from China, is taken into account.

 

4.     Political Reform: The ruling party, Liberal Democratic Party, has been in power technically continuously since the end of WWII except for a couple of years around 2011 under the Democratic party. This is rare worldwide and problematic as a static political situation leads to corruption. Now the government is in its terminal condition with cronyism and plutocracy, rewarding only the billionaires while exploiting the rest.

 

5.     Aging Society: Tax increase on the working class and increase of non-regular employment is the root cause of low birthrate because they discourage people from marrying and having children.

 

6.     Industry Revival: Bid-rigging and monopolization have killed the vitality and enterprise of the Japanese industry. Immediate reform in this structural problem is needed for our industry sector to start all over again.

 

 

☆Sample Responses

I would like my country to build a new institution for peace studies. We are in dire need of a university devoted to peaceful coexistence of all kinds of people. As of 2023, we have yet to overcome as humankind our bigotry and discrimination. Hate suffers minorities and dehumanize all involved. Today’s world is full of crimes, conflicts, and wars, torturing and killing countless number of people, while nobles oblige is lost among those who are less unfortunate. This deterioration of human species is threatening its continuation as we can see in the recent pandemic and threat of nuclear war. Not only do the perverted activities of haters help cause these problems but also they hamper their solutions. Therefore, the events related to hate must be studied in an interdisciplinary approach for the whole picture of this issue to stop the predicament of the disadvantaged and prevent another distress of any human in the future.  (142 words)

 

Your Sample Response

Introduction (Outline)

Supporting Details

Conclusion (Wrap-up)

 

Write your response in 10 minutes. Show each other your responses. Write down questions or suggestions to each other’s response.

 

                                               DRAFT

 

 

                                                                                                        

                                                                                                        

                                                                                                        

                                                                                                        

                                                                                                        

                                                                                                        

                                                                                                        

                                                                                                        

                                                                                                        

                                                                                                        

                                                                                                        

                                                                                                        

                                                                                                         

TOEFL iBT Academic Discussion and Writing Sometimes doing what you don't enjoy or focusing on what you like

Question

Is it more beneficial for individuals to sometimes engage in activities they might not enjoy or to solely focus on endeavors that bring them joy?

 

 

☆Let’s think

1.        If you had children now, which educational policy would you exercise, having them sometimes do what they don’t enjoy or letting them focus only on what they enjoy doing?

 

2.        Do you sometimes do the following activities? Why/Why not?

・eating what you don’t usually eat

・playing a sport or game you don’t usually play

・hanging out with people that you don’t usually talk to

 

 

☆Hints for points

Sometimes doing what you don’t enjoy doing

1.     There might be a discovery like a new perspective.

2.     You find something new about yourself.

3.     People can overcome their weakness and become confident.

 

Focusing on activities that you can enjoy making efforts for

1.     What one likes, one will do well.

2.     Stress is harmful.

3.     People can become truly happy by doing what is true to their nature.

 

 

☆Sample Responses

A        By doing things that you do not enjoy doing, you can be more aware of the reality you live in, and this will provide you with true joy of life. We humans tend to cocoon ourselves from the assault of harsh reality, even if it could be depriving us of good experiences and precious awakening. We avoid interacting with obnoxious individuals, who might have become less hardened or with whom we may have empathy as a result of personal development. We read and watch what we already know well, staying ignorant of most of what is in the world. Some people never read novels or spend a day cut off from the outside world, not knowing the spiritual satisfaction and insight in life that self-seclusion provides. We cherry pick reality and try to believe that everything is all right. This psychological defense mechanism is a trap that makes us conceited and out of touch, because the reality is always there regardless of what we want to believe it to be. Thus, doing what you don’t enjoy doing once in a while will help you break the bubble you are in, face the reality, and get a real life by actively committing ourselves to the reality. Of course, you do not always have to be alert, which is stressful. However, you need to update your reality once in a while by going out of your comfort zone so that you will not get lost in the journey of your life.

(250 words)

 

B        I don’t think it is beneficial to do what you don’t enjoy doing, unless it is due. Rather, focusing on what you like so much as to make you forget time doing it will make you and your society happy. Each individual is born with natural characteristics such as aptitude, palate, and capability. They are unchangeable and determine our ability and behavior. So doing activities we naturally tend to choose or actively get engaged is the most productive as they are naturally most suitable to our health and happiness. For instance, a mathematician or an artist can keep doing their job non-stop. So much so that they even starve themselves by forgetting to consume food because of their extreme concentration on their vocation. Making these people do what is not their cup of tea is nothing but a waste. More or less the same can be said about all people. All individuals are born to enjoy their lives and therefore, we should nurture ourselves in the area where our nature fits into. Doing what you like is the best way to bring the best out of you.

 (188 words)

 

 

Your Sample Response

Introduction (Outline)

Supporting Details

Conclusion (Wrap-up)

 

Write your response in 10 minutes. Show each other your responses. Write down questions or suggestions to each other’s response.

 

                                               DRAFT