2023年12月18日月曜日

Pre-TOEFL Writing Teachers should have experiences of other jobs before becoming teachers.

Winter   Writing Topic

Do you agree or disagree with the following statement? Teachers should have experiences of other jobs before becoming teachers. Give specific reasons and examples to support your opinion.

以下の意見に賛成ですか反対ですか?教師は教師になる前に他の仕事の経験を積むべきだ。答えを支持するために具体的な理由と例を示してください。

 

 

☆Let’s Think  考えてみよう

When he was in jail as a political prisoner, Shoin Yoshida, who taught people who later played important roles in changing the regime, asked the other prisoners, including a woman, to be his teacher. This shows that Shouin thought that anyone can teach something to others and that life experience makes the person a good teacher. Then, a teacher may need to have some jobs before starting to teach. Why?

政治犯として投獄されていた時、吉田松陰(後に政体を変えるときに重要な役割を果たした人たちの教師)は女性を含む他の囚人たちに彼の教師になるよう頼んだ。これにより、誰でも他人に何か教えられるし、人生経験で人は良い教師になると松陰は考えていたことが分かる。なぜだろう?

 

 

☆Words and Expressions

1.     What a teacher teaches must be related to real life.

教師が教えることは現実の生活と関係がなくてはならない。

2.     Some people become teachers after they retire from their career.

キャリアを引退した後、教師になる人たちがいる。

3.     Social experience makes teachers can acquire expand their views and become well-rounded.

社会経験によって、教師は視野を広げ、博識になれる。

4.     Teachers should be given plenty of time to brush up their teaching skills by actually teaching children.

教師は、実際に子供たちを教えることによって自分の教授技術を磨く十分な時間を与えられるべきだ。

5.     Other occupations cannot afford to train people who are trained only to be a teacher.

結局教師になるために訓練を受ける人たちを訓練する余裕は、他の職業にはない。                         

 

 

☆Your Essay Structure  エッセイ構成

【Introduction = Outline】I do not agree with the statement that teachers should have experiences of other jobs before becoming teachers. There are three reasons and specific examples to support my opinion.

【Point 1】          

【Point 2】

【Point 3】

【Conclusion = Wrap-up】For the reasons above, I do not think it is necessary for teachers to be immersed in jobs that are different from teaching.

 

 

☆Sample Paragraph Development  段落展開例

A.      【Main Idea】What a teacher teaches must be related to real life, and experiences of having other jobs can help teachers give better lessons.

【Reasons and Examples】As part of motivation for learning, teachers must connect what is written in the textbook to what students can relate to. Real life experience, especially those acquired from on-the-job training, makes it easier for teachers to come up with good introductions to the subjects. For example, if the teacher uses a safety device in a factory to teach a law in physics, the phenomenon related to the law will become more familiar. If teachers experience the job of other essential workers, they will be more passionate in teaching civics.

【Wrap-up】Job experiences are the best realia in teaching.

【主張】教師が教えることは現実生活と関係がなくてはならず、他の仕事をした経験は教師がよりよい授業をする助けとなり得る。

【理由・具体例】学習の動機付けの一環として、教師は教科書に書かれたことを生徒が関連付けることのできることと結び付けなくてはならない。実生活の経験、特に実地訓練から獲得した経験は、教師が科目の良い導入を思いつくことを容易にする。例えば、もし教師が物理の法則を教えるときに、工場の安全装置を使えばその法則に関連する現象はより身近になるだろう。もし教師たちが、他のエッセンシャル・ワーカーの仕事を経験したら、公民を教えるときにより情熱的になるだろう。

【まとめ】仕事の経験は教えるときの最善の実物教材なのだ。

 

B.      【Main Idea】Teaching skills develop mainly through teaching, not having other jobs.

【Reasons and Examples】The best teachers of teachers are students. By actually preparing for the class, teaching in class, seeing the reactions of the students, and observing their achievement as feedback, teachers learn how to teach better.

【Wrap-up】Therefore, doing other jobs before starting their teaching career, just delays this process.

【主張】教授技術は、他の仕事をすることではなく、思の教えることを通して発達する。

【理由・具体例】教師の最善の教師は生徒達であり、実際に授業の準備をし、クラスで教え、生徒の反応を見、そしてフィードバックとして生徒の達成を観察することにより、教師はよりよく教える方法を学ぶ。

【まとめ】。従って、教師の仕事を始める間あえに他の仕事をすることはこの過程を遅らせるに過ぎない。

2023年12月15日金曜日

Academic Discussion and Writing Scientific research or training teachers?

Drill  Read the following question and two answers and answer the question below bellow them.

 

Question:  Which do you think is worth spending the tax money on, research on infectious diseases or space exploration?

 

Answer A: I think it is worthwhile to spend the tax money on infectious diseases. When COVID-19 spread around the world in 2020, schools were shut down. I could not see my classmates, so it was frustrating. My mother was worried about my education. I took online courses. Although some were good, but I was not so motivated to continue studies with my tablet, which is tiring to use. We could not go out to have fun or take a trip, either. I was not able to see my grandparents for two years. I missed them, and they missed me, too. Pandemic causes so many problems and pains. On the other hand, I have no idea about space exploration. It would be a good thing if humans could go to Mars, but it is not directly related to my life. Therefore, I want governments to do enough research on new viruses.

 

Answer B: I think it is necessary for governments to spend money on pandemic prevention. Governments used to do it before. For example, the Obama administration had spent liberal amount of budget on CDC, the agency for pandemic prevention and control. They even used to simulate operation in case a breakout should happen. Unfortunately, the Trump administration had cut the budget and reduced the number of the leaders when the coronavirus pandemic broke out. As a result, almost 800,000 people died in the U.S. alone. Small businesses went bankrupt, and suicide rates went up. As it is expected new viruses are at the gate, epidemiology must be prioritized in budget allocation. Humans must survive before we go farther into the space for a new planet to settle on.

 

Question: Which of the following two answers to the question below sounds more academic? Why?

Hint: Count the number of the “I”s in each Answer.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Question   Which area do you believe the government should prioritize in its spending, scientific research or teacher training? Why?

 

 

☆Let’s think

1         Research the government spending of your country. Which does it spend more money on, scientific research or training programs for teachers?

Hint: See: https://www.nta.go.jp/taxes/kids/hatten/page06.htm

2         How will the government benefit from spending money on scientific research?

3         How will the government benefit from spending money on training programs for teachers?

 

 

☆Ideas and Expressions

About scientific research

1.        Scientific research is indispensable to the development of the industry, which has a huge impact on economic development.

2.        To build and maintain the infrastructure of the country, governments should subsidize research and development to increase knowledge and skills for the purpose.

3.        To cope with the impact of climate crisis, we need to increase research and reward the experts.

4.        Japan, for example, has had budget cuts over the past decade especially on basic researches, which has seen breakthroughs so far but will stop seeing it from now on if this trend continues.

 

About teacher training

1.         It will benefit the government in the long run. It will raise the academic level of the whole population, who will build a good county. It will also raise the levels of both science and humanities.

2.        Good education will reduce the number of health and social problems. The more educated people are, the fewer health and social problems they are likely to have. It will increase education continuance rates. It will also reduce the number of bullying.

3.        Trained teachers can find and develop talents. Many people who are as good as any successful people are doing menial jobs because they were not taught properly and recognized when they were in school. They could have contributed to the country if they had received a good education.

4.        The budget on scientific research equals the total budget for education including salary for teachers. This means that training teachers is not prioritized at all. In fact, capitalist countries have cut costs for education, and our children are not doing well compared to children of the socialist countries that prioritized education. This reflects on the difference in recent development between the West and the rest.

 

 

Reasons for your choice

1.       New information costs money to acquire, and science is all about new information. On the other hand, education is to pass down information that is already shared.

2.       Teachers are too busy to educate themselves. They also lack resources for training by themselves.

3.       Money for science is directed to military, for developing weapons. 

 

☆Sample Response

Seeing the situation that we are in, I believe training teachers should be put before scientific research. Although science and technology have made our lives comfortable and convenient, they also have put life on earth in danger. Life has been suffering and dying from diseases and injuries that are caused by the impact of scientific discoveries and inventions. The scientific endeavor to solve these new problems have not achieved much because it is controlled by capitalism, which prioritizes profits than life. In a sci-fi movie called “Extrapolation”, humans will not have done little to tackle climate change around 2070 even though innovation on smart phones and other profitable technology has advanced extremely. This is a good satire and tells the truth of modern society, And in such society, educators are attacked because they are regarded to have dangerous ideas to disturb society while actually teachers are the people who tell the truth and show children the right path for the survival of themselves and the planet. This has been going on for generations and consequently deteriorated teachers’ qualities as well. Therefore, education of teachers must be prioritized over scientific researches.

 

 

☆Sample Response Structures

Sample A

【Advantages of spending money on scientific research】

【Advantages of spending money on training programs of teachers】

【Your choice】

 

Sample B

【Advantage 1】

【Advantage 2】

【Counterargument-treatment: The reason why the advantages of the other choice does not matter】

 

 

Your Sample Essay Structure

【Thesis = Outline】

【                    】

【                    】

【                    】

【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

 

 

                                                                                                        

                                                                                                        

                                                                                                        

                                                                                                        

                                                                                                        

                                                                                                        

                                                                                                        

                                                                                                        

                                                                                                        

                                                                                                        

                                                                                                        

                                                                                                        

 

2023年12月12日火曜日

Academic Discutssion and Writing Large groups of friends or a few close friends?

Drill  Read the following question and answers, and answer the following question.

 

Question: Which do you prefer, cats or dogs? Why?

 

Answer A: I prefer dogs to cats. Dogs are cute. I have had my dog since he was a puppy. He is so cute that I spend most of my free time with him. Dogs are also smart. They learn many tricks. My dog can sit, stay, and fetch a ball. He also plays frisbee and ball. He sings and dances with me, too. He’s so smart. Therefore, I like dogs better than cats.

 

Answer B: I prefer dogs to cats. Dogs show feelings and sympathy more often than cats. Dogs are also smarter than cats. Cats never learn tricks, but dogs do. My dog also plays ball and dances with me. My cat never joins us. She comes close to me only when she is hungry. I think cats are like that. Therefore, I like dogs better than cats.

 

Question: Which do you think is the more appropriate way to answer the question? Why? Hint: Circle dog(s) and cat(s) in the answers in different colors respectively, and compare how many and where the words are.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Question

Some people enjoy socializing in large groups, finding energy and excitement in the diverse interactions. Others prefer spending time with a few close friends, valuing deep and meaningful conversations. Which of these two ways of spending social time do you prefer and why?

 

 

☆Let’s think

1.        Are you an extrovert or and introvert? Why do you think so?

2.        What are the advantages of these two choices?

 

 

☆Hints for Points

Advantages of socializing with large groups of friends

1.        It involves activities that requires a large number of participants such as sporting events.

2.        It offers various experiences, information, and opportunities.

3.        It nurtures social skills.

4.        A large group has magic moments of many people laughing together or collaborating in a project.

 

Advantages of having a few close friends

1.        It is more relaxing.

2.        Discussions about sensitive issues such as politics and religion are made possible.

3.        Knowing a person deeply can help develop a long-lasting intimate relationship.

4.        Decision-making is easy because of mutual interests.

 

 

☆Sample Responses

Read and study the structures of each sample. Note that they both compare and contrast the two choices and tell the decisive reason why they choose one over the other.

 

Sample A

【Thesis】Although I may want to have a few close friends in the future, I would like to socialize with as many kinds of people as possible for the time being.

【Point One】Interactions with various individuals, especially those with people with different backgrounds from yours help know yourself through self-reflection in the awareness of the difference.

【Point Two】Another reason is a large network, which will keep you informed of general affairs and facilitate solutions in case of problems. For example, it is easy to find company for a new kind of music or movie from a wide range of acquaintances.

【Counterargument-treatment】The drawback is lack of mutual interests. For instance, a protest group sharing a cause is usually made up of members that do not always share the same stands on the other causes not to speak of the same backgrounds such as religion or custom. Such relations hardly lead to deep and emotional ties. But such a friend is difficult to find anyway, since even family members do not always share the same values and tastes.

【Conclusion】Therefore, I would rather have a wide circle of friends, hoping to get a soul mate in the course of mingling with them.  (197 words)

 

Sample B

【Thesis】Both types of approaches to socialization have good points, but I prefer to be with a few close friends due to my personality.

【Large Groups】Socializing with large groups of people makes you more accustomed to people. You will be freer from prejudice and tolerant to small differences in habits and customs. This helps build more worldly and mature character, which can contribute to becoming a good member of society.

【Close Friends】On the other hand, close relationship with a small group of people helps bonding. As Mia points out, intimate interactions with only a few friends helps you know each other well and build close-knit friendships. This will lead to feeling of security and happiness in daily lives.

【Your Choice】Although I know the necessity of networking with various people to make the most out of life, I am too shy and tactless to handle a variety of acquaintances simultaneously, which makes me exhausted without feeling of any satisfaction that I expect from a friend.

【Conclusion】So, I would rather spend time with a few close friends. (181 words)

 

 

 

For Your Note

【  Thesis  】

 

【     】

 

【     】

 

【     】

 

【Conclusion】  


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

 

                                               DRAFT