Impact Issues Lesson 3 - Teacher's Notes

Impact Issues Teacher's Notes
Lesson 3 – What's For Dinner?

Comprehension questions:

1. Who is Dr. Heidi Cornfield? (a professor of food science)
2. What is she being interviewed about? (her new book)
3. What’s her book called? (“What’s for Dinner”)
4. What does Dr. Cornfield think American’s eat too much of? (meat)
5. What kind of food besides meat will give us protein? (tofu)
6. Do we need to eat meat to live? (no)
7. Why do people eat hamburgers if they don’t need them to live? (they like them)
8. Why should people stop eating meat? (it causes health problems)
9. What kind of health problems can meat cause? (heart disease)
10. What is another reason why people should stop eating meat? (It hurts the environment)
11. How does eating meat hurt the environment? (rain forests are destroyed to make cheap beef)
12. How much rain forest is destroyed for each hamburger a person eats? (20 sq. meters)
13. Do you have to eat tofu or meat to get protein? (No, there are other foods.)
14. In the last 300 years, how much American forest land has been cut down to grow food for cattle? (more than half/50%)

Opinion questions (all followed by why/why not?):

• What do you think of Dr. Cornfield’s views on eating meat?
• Do you think everyone should stop eating meat?
• How much meat do you eat?
• Do you ever eat hamburgers at fast food restaurants?
• Would you feel bad if you had to stop eating meat?
• Do you think eating meat is unhealthy?
• Do you worry that eating meat will make you sick?
• Would you stop eating some foods if you learned their production hurt the environment? Why? Why not?
• Do you think about the environment when you choose the food you buy and eat?
• What does the word “diet” mean to you? (use this to explain the true meaning of the word and not the limited weight loss version)
• Have you ever read about any reasons why meat is important in our diets?
• Do you ever read or study about nutrition and food?
• What foods do you feel are good for you and why?

Homework:

Write an essay about what you feel is the best eating style/diet for people.

This material is (c) The Home Sensei

Cultural Discussion - Being "Japanese"

Being “Japanese” Discussion Lesson

What does it mean to be Japanese? Write 3 things which are very important for being “Japanese”:

1. _______________________________________________

2. _______________________________________________

3. _______________________________________________


How important are each of these factors in deciding how “Japanese” a person is? Rate each factor from 1 to 5.
1= unimportant
2=a little important
3=important
4=very important
5=very, very important

1. speak Japanese
2. read/write Japanese
3. epicanthic fold (eyes)
4. straight hair
5. black hair
6. brown eyes
7. born in Japan
8. unselfish
9. hard working
10. likes Japanese cuisine
11. likes alcohol
12. has many friends
13. has Japanese ancestors
14. follows societal rules
15. polite
16. shy
17. knows Japanese traditional culture (sumo, kimono, ikebana, tea ceremony, etc.)

Consider whether or not the following people are “Japanese” and explain why they are or are not Japanese:

• The son of Japanese parents who were born in Japan but moved to Peru before their son was born.

• A British man who applied for Japanese citizenship and has been accepted as a naturalized Japanese citizen.

• The daughter of Japanese parents. She was born in Japan and lived there until she was 2 years old but moved to Australia and lived there until she was 16.

• The son of American parents who was born in Tokyo and lived there until he was 15 years old. He speaks, reads, and writes Japanese at the same level as Japanese 15-year-olds.

• The daughter of Japanese parents who was born in California but moved back to Japan just before she was one year old.

• The son of an American man and a Japanese woman who was born and grew up in Osaka.

This material is (c) The Home Sensei

Teaching TOEIC Reading

There are two levels of reading comprehension to consider with students. One is their actual level when reading "real life" materials such as magazines, newspapers, novels, etc. The other is their ability to handle TOEIC reading section questions quickly and accurately. These two tasks are related but not necessarily the same.

The TOEIC test reading section requires speed as well as understanding. Students who learn how to take the test in an efficient manner will get a higher score than those who simply read and answer questions in a "normal" fashion. This is not dissimilar from other standardized tests such as the SAT (Scholastic Aptitude Test) in the United States. Learning to manage the test often increases scores more than an overall increase in English ability.

The TOEIC Reading Tips lesson is designed to guide the student through some methods of improving their ability to answer questions without understanding every word of a reading passage as well as their test-taking speed.

The teacher should review the lesson first and consider the best way to cover the material with the student. This section of tips should be used in conjunction with other reading material or a TOEIC practice book. After covering the tips, the teacher should have the student attempt to apply them to reading passages.

TOEIC Reading Techniques

TOEIC Reading Tips

Basic Technique:

1. Read the questions and answers first. Think about what kind of answer the question needs.
2. Skim read the keywords of the reading passage.
3. Answer the questions to which you know the answers.
4. Scan the reading passage for answers to questions to which you don’t know the answers.

How to Skim Read:

When you read, you don’t need to read and understand every word. In fact, to answer questions in the TOEIC reading sections, you often do not have to understand all the words. You just have to find the answers. You don’t have to understand the answer.

Skim reading will help you read quickly so that you have more time to finish the test or to go back and check your answers. When you skim, you only read the key words in the sentence. You skip over the small words which are not necessary in understanding the content of the lesson.

The passage below has the key words in bold. The bold words are the ones you want to quickly read to "skim" read. Read it quickly and don't worry about understanding it yet:

In terms of personal tax responsibility, Americans don't need to pay income taxes in the United States unless they make more than $84,000 a year. Needless to say, few of us are in any danger of losing our tax-exempt status. We have to file a tax form regardless of whether we owe money or not. This was a fact that my husband and I were unaware of for an extended period of time while living here and there was quite a bit of panic when we discovered we hadn't filed for well over a decade and it may result in some problems despite the fact that we owed nothing. Fortunately, we didn't get in trouble. In fact, the IRS seemed to take it all in stride and sent us 3 years of back tax forms which we filled out and sent in. Now, we're on a regular schedule but it was a bit of a worry for awhile.

The key words are usually:

• Nouns (the subject of the sentence and direct objects especially)
• Verbs
• Adverbs of frequency or time (usually, now, etc.)
• Numbers

The non-key words are usually:

• Prepositions (in, on, out)
• Conjunctions (and, but, or)
• Idioms (needless, regardless of, in terms of)
• Descriptive adverbs (fortunately, unfortunately)
  

If you read only the key words, you should be able to answer the questions and read much more quickly and you will have the same chance of answering the questions correctly as if you had read every word.

Here are some questions for the passage above:

1. Do Americans who make $60,000 a year need to pay income taxes?
2. Do they have to file a form if they do not need to pay taxes?
3. Was the writer worried about not filing a tax form?
4. How long had it been since the writer last filed a tax form?
5. Did the writer get in trouble with the IRS?
6. What did the IRS send the writer?
   

…personal tax responsibility, Americans don't need to pay income … United States unless … make more than $75,000 a year. … few of … losing our tax-exempt status. We have to file a tax form … whether we owe money or not. … my husband and I were unaware of … period of time … there was … panic … we hadn't filed for … over a decade … may result in some problems … we owed nothing. … we didn't get in trouble. … the IRS … sent us 3 years of back tax forms … we filled out … sent in. Now, we're on a regular schedule ...

Can you answer the questions by reading only the key words?

Types of Reading/Questions:

There are two types of questions on the TOEIC test.

Specific information:

A specific information question will ask about a detail mentioned in the passage. For instance, it the passage above, $75,000 is a piece of specific information.

These questions would be “specific information” questions:

How much must you make less than in order to be tax-exempt?
How many years worth of tax forms was the writer sent?

These kind of questions can be answered by scanning a reading passage. Scanning is when you search through a reading passage to find a detail. You don’t have to understand anything but the sentence that contains that information.

“How much” and “how many” questions are often asking for specific information. You can usually scan a reading passage for numbers and find answers to these kinds of questions. These questions are easy to answer compared to the other kind of question.

Overall understanding:

The other kind of question is about overall understanding. This kind of question requires you to read a lot of information and then reach a conclusion about the passage. The conclusion you have to reach is not something that is clearly stated in the reading. You have to understand and decide for yourself.

For example:

John Brown works with animals. He gives them medicine and sometimes performs surgery on them. He works in the afternoon and evenings most of the time because that’s when people have free time to bring their pets to him.

What is John Brown’s job?

You will notice that John Brown’s job is not mentioned in the reading. You have to read the information and then reach a logical conclusion.

Overall understanding questions are more difficult than specific information questions. These questions often take this type of form:

What is this article/passage about?
Who is this advertisement directed at?
What is this advertisement for?

Test Taking Advice:

When you take the test, do not struggle to answer every question. Answer the questions you are sure of the answer to. If a question is tough and taking a lot of time, guess at an answer and continue to take the test. If you finish the test, go back and try to answer those tough questions in the time remaining.

If there are any pictures included as part of a reading lesson, do not rely on them to tell you what a reading passage is about. Sometimes the pictures are misleading in the reading section.

Do not panic if you don’t understand the vocabulary. The grammar of a sentence and the questions can help you answer even if you don’t know the vocabulary.

If you can’t tell which answer is correct, think about which answers are not correct. If you can see that 2 of the 4 answers are wrong, then you have a 50% chance of guessing which one is right instead of a 25% chance.

For example:

The widget was wonky and Wilbur’s knees grew wobbly as he was afraid it would go kablooie.

What was having problems?
a. the widget
b. Wilbur’s knees
c. Wilbur
d. Kablooie

Look at the question. What verb is being used? What is the question word? Which part of the sentence is the likely answer based on the verb and the use of the word “what”?

What was Wilbur afraid of?
a. The widget would be wonky
b. His knees would give out.
c. The widget would break.
d. He wasn’t afraid of anything.

Look at the structure of the sentences and see where “afraid” is positioned. Can Wilbur be afraid of anything mentioned before the word “afraid”?

What does “wobbly” mean?
a. broken
b. weak
c. fearful
d. explosive

Think about what is “wobbly”. Think about what adjective cannot be used to describe “knees”. Even if you don’t know the word, knowing the noun it describes will help you guess the answer. Only one of these words can describe a “knee”.

This material is (c) The Home Sensei

Cultural Discussion - Sightseeing in Japan

Sightseeing in Japan

What are your favorite sightseeing spots in Japan?

What do you like best about each of them?

If a foreign friend were to visit you, what places would you recommend to him or her? Why are these good places?

Are these places different from those you'd recommend to a Japanese friend?

A survey was done of the top 10 locations for taking pictures in Japan. What do you think are the best places for taking pictures in Japan?

Survey results:

10. Tsukiji Fish Market
9. Kimono
8. Japanese street signs
7. Mt. Fuji
6. Vending machines
5. Narita Airport
4. Shibuya Crossing
3. Asahi Beer Headquarters
2. Tokyo Imperial Palace
1. Kaminari-mon

Have you ever been to any of these places?

What is the best site at each of these places?

Do you think there are more interesting places than these in Japan?

This material is (c) The Home Sensei

Punctuality

Japanese people as a rule tend to be fairly punctual for appointments. However, since cell phones have become ubiquitous, more and more people have become relaxed about being late.

For the teacher, there are several ways to approach students who are late for lessons conducted in the teacher's home or at a cafe or other meeting place. Strictly speaking, the teacher does not have to do anything differently when the student is late. She may choose to simply finish the lesson on time as usual and the student receives a shorter lesson because he was late. This is a perfectly acceptable way of handling lateness provided the teacher herself is never late.

If the teacher is sometimes late, then the best thing to do is exercise equal tolerance when the student is late. Obviously though, it's rather unprofessional for the teacher to be late for lessons at an external meeting place. While many teachers in Japan feel friendly with their students and that the lesson experience is rather casual, it's important to remember that the teacher is being paid and must act in accordance with professional standards.

In regards to student lateness, it's important to consider circumstances. If the student is infrequently late due to unavoidable circumstances such as train delay, weather conditions, or an unexpected problem at work, then it is advisable that the teacher extend the lesson to give the student the full time. By offering flexibility to students who are unavoidably late, the teacher shows reasonable tolerance and that there is a benefit to having a private lesson with the teacher which isn't usually extended in other settings.

If a student is habitually late though, it is perfectly acceptable to end the lesson on time as usual every time. While it is important to be reasonable, it's also important that students respect your time. A student who is frequently late is taking it for granted that you will accommodate him. Students shouldn't be taking advantage of the teacher's flexibility or kindness.

Beginning a Lesson

Before starting the lesson material, it is a good idea to engage in a little small talk with your student. Japanese people, in general, feel more comfortable with this because it is a part of their daily life in Japan.

The easiest topic to start with for small talk is the weather. The teacher can ask the student if it is hot or cold outside and what the student feels the temperature is. Asking if the weather is usual or unusual for the season is a good expansion on the topic. If the teacher talks about the weather each time, it gives her a chance to slowly introduce vocabulary related to the weather which the student may not know such as "humid". Many Japanese students have difficulty using warm/hot and cool/cold properly so you'll have a chance to discuss the difference as well as give the students a chance to practice using these adjectives in every lesson.

Another good topic of small talk is holidays that occur near the date of the lesson. The teacher can ask what the name of the holiday is in English, how it is celebrated, and whether or not the student will be doing anything special to celebrate it. If the student is of relatively low level, it may be helpful to know about the holiday before the lesson in case the student lacks the vocabulary to answer all your questions. You can see a list of all the holidays celebrated in Japan here.

If the student has children or lives with other family members, the teacher can also ask how they are or what they've been doing. If the student has a regular interest or hobby, asking about whether or not the student has engaged in that activity in the past week is also a possibility.

Asking a student about his work is another source of small talk but it's a good idea to measure the student's reaction to the topic. Some people are uncomfortable talking about their work and others are very happy to do so.

Keep in mind that the main purpose of small talk is to relax the student and give him a chance to talk in some semblance of a "real" conversation regardless of level. Some students will find it easier than others but it's worthwhile to give students of all levels a chance to casually speak about themselves.