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Patterns and Targets
(Week One)

http:// www.agu.ac.jp / ~vicks62 / jeffreyb / oral / Aweek1. html

This is a lesson for Blair's Oral English class at Aichi Gakuin University on:
Monday for the Jr. College Dept. on the Kusumoto Campus

1-minute Level Checks and Pattern Practice
Target Sentences and Review

English listening and background.

[Eng to Jpn] translate [Jpn to Eng]

Online Lessons
and Webfolder

Welcome. My name is Jeff Blair. I will be your teacher, your navigator on the Internet, and your Engish coach. We will be USING materials on Prof. Ssali's website. You will be SPEAKING English and RECORDING the coversations in written English on paper (size B5) and on Microsoft Teams. You WILL be USING your cellphones OR computers (laptops and tablets) on top of your desk (NOT under the desk), so please TAKE them out now.

(( Google Search 「jeffreyb」
((online lessons -- Oral lessons with purple background
((website index -- teaching schedule and useful information
((bulletin board -- time and place (room numbers)

Goal: English Conversation
Are We There Yet?

Our goal in this class is to be able to SPEAK English quickly, easily, and automatically. The only way to LEARN a skill is by DOING. If you want to learn to SWIM, then you have to get in the water and swim. If you want to learn to PLAY the guitar, then you have to PICK UP a guitar and PLAY it. There is NO substitute for practice. You must PAY attention to patterns (scales and chord progressions) and PRACTICE them.

I PLAY guitar. I MAKE mistakes, yet I HAVE fun doing it. We are going to LEARN to SPEAK English ... by HAVING English conversaitons ... by SPEAKING English and MAKING mistakes. I hope that you will have fun doing it.

How do you START a conversation? Let's TAKE a look at a normal conversation. It BEGINS with a sentence: a declarative sentence, a yes/no question, or a wh- question. These are the only three choices.

Let's get started ... TAKE OUT a sheet of size-B5 paper.
FOLD the paper into 4区 AND INTRODUCE the heading (class, student number, and full name)

Introduce sentence structure: S // mV // O/C // +A
WRITE the first example: Hanako // arrived // _ // ...

In this class we WANT to MAKE friends. It is much easier to have conversations with friends than with strangers. Let's TRY to LEARN other students' names and birthdays.

WRITE two sentences: I // was born // _ // ((on May 30)). and ....
... one setence about yourself.

Four Steps to Fluency

    1. Recitation
    2. Speech
    3. Target Sentences
    4. Conversation

((Give students 15 minutes to THINK of 5 sentences and WRITE them.))

TAKE OUT a new sheet of paper and WRITE the heading "DAY __"
INTRODUCE Target Sentences AND daily Homework

Conversations BEGIN with a sentence and CONTINUE sentence by sentence. Step 1 is the first sentence, the Conversation Starter. Who WANTS to START? When you are ready to SPEAK, please RAISE your hand and KEEP it high in the air. I'll GIVE you one minute to THINK ... and RAISE your hand.

Step One ...
Think, raise your hand,
SPEAK (Conversation Starter)

Example: An orange tried to warn an apple
that he (=the apple) was in danger.

... then continue
((Thought Question)) ... or ... a real Question
Full Sentence Answer ... or ... Short Answer

Example: The annoying orange said , " ...".

((Thought Question)) ... or ... a real Question
Full Sentence Answer ... or ... Short Answer

Example: He also tried to warn Dough Boy.

((Thought Question)) ... or ... a real Question
Full Sentence Answer ... or ... Short Answer

... (continue as long as you can)

Language Patterns

In this class you will LEARN (a) how to START a converstion and (b) how to CONTINUE a conversation. You will have to PRODUCE full sentences, and the sentences will FOLLOW the same language patterns that you have LEARNED in school. Let's TAKE a look at some simple sentences and BREAK them DOWN into four parts（4区）in order to MAKE the patterns easier to UNDERSTAND, to PRACTICE, and to REMEMBER:

Department　　　　　　X2　　　　　　Number　　　　　　Full Name
S 区 V 区 O/C 区 +A 区
A family of fourwent on a long trip
by car.
The two childrenwerebored. 
They played a simple game. 
Theysaidthe names of
things that ...		 
... theysaw___along the way.

Table 1. Sentences

READ them out loud（声を出す）and LISTEN to yourself. You will then be TRAINING three different parts of your brain: the reading part, the speaking part, and the listening part. Do you HAVE a visual image of each of those sentences in the visual part of your brain? WATCHING the video clip while REPEATING the sentence will HELP your brain MAKE a connection between the English words (in the speaking and listening parts of the brain) and the image (in the visual part of your brain). That is the only way to LEARN to SPEAK a language quickly, easily, and automatically.

Now I want you to TELL that story in your Groups USING a special 3-Minute Routine. You do NOT have to USE the exact words in the table above, but TRY to INCLUDE all the information. You might even WANT to MAKE some new sentenceces of your own.

1st Minute 2nd Minute  3rd Minute
Think Listen Carefully  Write
Raise 手  Speak clearly  Repeat
Speak  Imitate OR Improve  Divide 4区

((EXPLAIN the Groups of four students.

During the Group Work all students that are online should HAVE your microphones ON (so that you can SPEAK) AND your cameras ON (so that you can SEE each other).

会議 Chat
 
Group X2　Week 1
Leader: Hanako
Plan A: 3-Minute Routine
Level 3: Full sentences
 
((鈴)): A family of four // went // on a long trip // by car.
((高)): The two children // were // bored.
Now LET's GO to your channels on Teams to ENJOY some English practice in your discussion groups.

Your teacher will SEND online students from the (general) Class Meeting to your Group Channels. MAKE sure that you KNOW which group you are in, so that you do NOT JOIN the wrong group. There should be three or four students in your Group Meeting. You will WRITE your Group Report (see the example to the right) in the Chat Box（会議 Chat）.

You NEED to CHOOSE a group leader for the day.

At the top of your report WRITE four messages:
(message #1) your group's name, "Week 1",
(message #2) the leader's name,
(message #3) Plan A: 3-Minute Routine, and
(message #4) Level 3: Full sentences.

THEN START WRITING your sentences about the video clip.
In the first minute a students SAYS one sentence, in the third minute they WRITE it (while everyone REPEATS). DIVIDE each phrase into 4区.

If you HAVE any questions about what you are supposed to be DOING, first DISCUSS it in your group, then ... if you are still in doubt, DO what you THINK is right, RAISE your hand and SHOW it to the teacher (the PDS Cycle, aka PDCA Cycle).

1st min.
THINK & SPEAK
 Within one minute someone in the group (anyone), RAISES their hand and SPEAKS. That student DESCRIBES what happened ... in a single sentence. (DO NOT WRITE the sentence yet.)

At first everyone is THINKING about (a) what to SAY and (b) how to SAY it in English. When they SEE that someone else has RAISED their hand, however, they immediately STOP THINKING and START to LISTEN carefully.

 
2nd min.
COMMUNICATE & COMPARE
 During the second minute, all members of the group (in turn) quickly REPEAT the sentence, or IMPROVE it (out loud in a clear voice). NO Grammar discussion, NO Japanese

If a student STOPS or STUMBLES, SKIP them and GO to the next person. Everyone should then SLOW down (with small breaks between phrases) and SPEAK clearly.

Everyone LISTENS carefully and THINKS about the sentences that they HEAR. (DO NOT WRITE anything yet.)
 
3rd min.
REPEAT & WRITE
 Then the person who RAISED their hand and said the sentence (in the first minute) STARTS to WRITE it in the Chat Box of your group meeting on Teams. The writer REPEATS the sentence or parts of it as they WRITE. Everyone else in the group REPEATS after them. This is the third minute.

Be sure to DIVIDE the sentence into 4区, after WRITING it.

Next ... I want you to TELL me what the children SAW. I want you to WRITE the noun phrases DOWN on a piece of paper (B5).

At the top of the paper in large letters you should WRITE: your department (Nutrition, Dental, or Economics), your Group's name 「X2」, then your student number（学籍番号, 22 を抜く）, and finally your full name（名前が先に名字は後で）.

Department　　　　　　X2　　　　　　Number　　　　　　Full Name
1 区 2 区 3 区 +a 区
some  pills  

We will DIVIDE the paper into four equal columns: 1区　2区　3区 and　+a区. Be sure to PUT the noun（中心の名詞）into the third column from the left（3 区 , yellow hightlight）. When the video STOPS you will have only 1 minute to WRITE your answers.

Look at the Target Sentences for days 8 and 9 (noun phrases, rather than sentences). Do you SEE the difference between these Noun Phrases and the full Sentences in the Table 1 above? Sentences HAVE verbs, simple noun phrases (those without clauses) do NOT. Sentences typically CONTAIN two or more noun phrases. Can you FIND some noun phrases in Table 1? WRITE them on your paper. What did the children SEE [1] [2] [3]?

Target Sentences
and Your Homework

Now let's TALK about homework. You should WATCH the assigned videos. What (noun phrase) did you SEE? What (full sentence) HAPPENED? How would you EXPLAIN your answers in English?

In addition you should READ through one set of Target Sentences every day and WRITE them DOWN on a sheet of paper in four columns（4区）. WRITE the verb cluster（助動詞と動詞）in red ink. ADD some new sentences of your own to the list. WRITE one of those new sentences on Microsoft Teams in the channel called 「Target Sentences」and DIVIDE it into 4区 .

At the top of the paper in large letters you should WRITE: your department (Nutrition, Dental, or Economics), your Group's name 「X2」, then your student number（学籍番号, 22 を抜く）, and finally your full name（名前が先に名字は後で）.

If you are ANALYZING noun phrases, PUT the noun（中心の名詞）in the third column from the left（3 区 , yellow hightlight）. If you are WRITING sentences, however, never DIVIDE the noun phrases. The entire phrase goes in the same slot（区）. Always PUT the verb（動詞）in the second column from the left（V 区 , yellow highlight）.

Department　　　　　　X2　　　　　　Number　　　　　　Full Name
1 区 2 区 3 区 +a 区
Kobayshi'slittle yellow pills for depression
S 区 V 区 O/C 区 +A 区
She took three of the tabletswith a cup of water.

As you WRITE ... REPEAT the phrases（声を出す）in each 区 (about 5 times). Then when you are FINISHED WRITING, ... PRACTICE SAYING the full sentence 2 or 3 times, without looking at what you have WRITTEN. TRY to SPEED the sentence UP (like the Bounce Patrol does with numbers).

Last updated May 27, 2024
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These lessons are DESIGNED to HELP Japanese students
to LEARN to SPEAK English as a foreign language. They could
be REVERSE ENGINEERED to help English speakers learn to
speak Japanese as a foreign language.

I would be happy to SHARE my ideas about teaching foreign
languages with other teachers. You can CLICK the link above
to FIND my contact information.