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01 .164 Ways to Improve Your Presentation
How do you feel about giving a presentation? It can be quite a scary experience, especially in a foreign language. Practicing and improving your skills in explaining research results, expressing your opinions, introducing your ideas, and answering questions from an audience are all valuable skills for your future. Not only will those skills be useful in the workplace, but they will also give you more confidence in your social life.
This checklist of questions and advice will help you prepare for your presentation, improve your delivery, and hopefully result in a better score for your grade! Let’s look at two presentation formats: (A) poster and (B) projected. They have some similarities, but their differences are important to think about.
Topic - Q1. Are you interested in your presentation topic? If you’re not interested, your research will probably be poor, and your audience will become bored easily. Ask your teacher if you can change the topic to something you want to talk about and have strong opinions about.
Content – Q2. Does your research information match your English ability? If your research information is difficult for you to understand, it will be difficult to explain and probably very difficult for your audience to understand too. Make your content easier by first describing examples of difficult vocabulary.
Materials – Q3A. Can you read and see all the important details on your poster from 2 meters away? For a poster presentation, you will talk to a small group, face-to-face. Before you give your presentation, print a first draft, look at your poster through your audience’s eyes, and then edit it for your final draft.
Materials – Q3B. Is there too much or too little information on each slide? For a projected presentation you will stand at the front of the room and your audience will be far from you and the screen. Your speech should be more detailed than your slides, so don’t write full sentences! Also, titles can be large, but all other key words should not be smaller than 24-point font.
Rehearsal = Better Delivery – Q4A. How can you create appeal for your audience? A poster presentation environment is similar to a conversation, so by rehearsing in advance, it will be much easier to make eye contact, relax, and enjoy your speech. This will make a bond between you and your audience, helping them to focus and relax too.
Rehearsal = Better Delivery – Q4B. Can your audience hear you? A projected presentation is often done in a large room, so if you are looking down at the computer screen, the sound of your speech will go down to the floor! Rehearse your presentation 10 times. Then on presentation day, speak to the people at the back of the room. Good luck!
Photo Credit: Christina Morillo@pexels.com
Blog Quiz
Q1. What should you do if you’re not interested in your presentation topic?
Q2. How can you make your presentation content easier to understand for
your audience?
Q3. For a Projected Presentation, what is the smallest size your key words
should be?
Scroll down ↓ for the answers to the quiz.
Quiz Answers
Q1. You should ask your teacher if you can change it.
Q2. By first describing examples of difficult vocabulary.
Q3. 24-point font
Ben McDonough -
01 .09Living with Poison
How do you feel when you hear the word "poison"? You will probably feel scared, or you might remember scenes from some detective movies or TV programs. Obviously, the term does not have any positive connotations.
Despite the impression we receive from the word, poison sometimes plays an essential role in our lives. For example, professor Funayama at Nihon Pharmaceutical University explains that there is basically no distinction between "poison" and "medicine". According to him, we distinguish the words only by whether the element is beneficial to the human body. We call it “poison” when it does harm to our bodies. Medicine, on the other hand, does good for our bodies. Both have in common that they have a particular influence on our bodies. We, in a sense, live with poison.
A lot of creatures live with the poison as well. For example, some animals risk their mobility to eat poison, and others intake it to protect themselves from predators. You often see sleeping koalas when you visit a zoo. They often spend their days sleeping most of the time. This is because they cannot survive without eating eucalyptus leaves, a plant which is poisonous to their body. They sleep to digest the harmful substances in the leaves.
Some frogs and snakes intake poison from their food and utilize it to protect themselves. Toads, for example, have a potent poison called bufotoxin in their body. Dogs and cats sometimes, unfortunately, lose their lives when they eat the frog while they are taking a walk. The tiger keelback, yamakagashi in Japanese, are bold enough to eat the poisonous toads, and they use the toad-derived poison as a weapon against their predators. Poison dart frogs, toxic frogs, save poison in their body using the same method. Wild poison dart frogs eat some ants and millipedes (yasude in Japanese) with poison and keep the poison in their skins. Interestingly, captive-bred poison frogs lose their toxicity because they don't have the chance to capture such food.
"Poison" might sound scary, but the substance with the label can be a blessing to animals, including us. It will be interesting to see how other creatures make use of poison.
Photo Credit: Doug Brown@pexels.com
Blog Quiz
Q1. According to professor Funayama, how are poison and medicine different?
Q2. What can happen when dogs eat a toad?
Q3. What do tiger keelbacks and wild poison dart frogs have in common?
Scroll down ↓ for the answers to the quiz.
Quiz Answers
Q1. A substance is called poison when it has a negative influence on the human body. Medicine refers to a substance with a positive effect on the human body.
Q2. It can lead to a deadly accident for the pet.
Q3. They both capture poisonous creatures and save the poison in their body.
Yoshitaka Seto -
12 .26Owning Your BestDuring Spring 2022 of this year, I saw off a large batch of students, both Japanese and International at Ritsumeikan University’s Graduation Ceremony. It is indeed amazing to witness the growth of students during their time in what I call the “World of Ritsumeikan.” Seeing them so full of life, energy, and great anticipation motivated me to do what I love to do – dedicate a poem filled with all of my thoughts.
To those who I saw on graduation day March 20, 2022 and those who I did not get a chance to see and congratulate, I am sending a poem filled with much Love and Pride for you. Thank you for allowing me to witness your growth during your four years. I am so very proud. Good Luck and please keep in touch.
Owning Your Best
Glittering eyes
Shy side-smiles
Energetic cheerfulness
Nervous anticipation
Desire to do well
Dreaming to achieve
Sigh of relief, the rushed passing of the first year
Shoulders broaden with a bit more confidence
That wasn’t so bad, what’s next
Ears open to growing new knowledge
Formulating own thoughts, trying out new verbal
Testing uncertain shallow waters
Can I do it, can I make it, the waves may be a bit high
Paddling the mid-line, groping in the subliminal
Say goodbye to the growing pains of the terrible twos
A junior already, feeling quite grown-up
Got to make plans
Intern here, intern there
What’s the plan, gotta get concrete
Not a minute to waste
A glimmer of light, a glimpse flickering at the end of the tunnel
Three times a charm
It went by so fast
Giddy greetings of let’s keep in touch
Humble thank you to all those who mattered
A flash, a click, a heartfelt smile for the camera
The final day, unbelievable, but it’s here
A sigh of relief, tinged with a sweet sadness
Descended a small hill
A new peak awaits
Strengthened with knowledge
Assured with the certainty of experience
Discovering confidence in the growing personhood
I watched you grow from that first hello
Up, down, up again
Becoming You of Now that I behold
I gaze as you slowly turn towards the invitation
Called to challenge by the beaming light
Beckoning the You that I witnessed grow
A future all your own
My heart beats with quiet pride
With a tinge of warm nostalgia
I send you off, with great expectations, to a very lucky future
Whispering a prayer for the Best that You will own
Photo Credit: Tara Winstead @pexels.com
Blog Quiz
Q1. Who is the poem written for?
Q2. How many years does the poem reflect upon?
Q3. What does "Owning Your Best" mean?
Scroll down ↓ for the answers to the quiz.
Quiz Answers
Q1. Graduating students of Spring 2022.
Q2. 4 years
Q3. Having pride in one's ability and taking ownership of all given talents
Jackie Kim-Wachutka -
12 .19Life with MasksDon’t you naturally wear a mask when you go outside today? Don’t you even feel insecure sometimes when you go outside without a mask? In both 2021 and 2022, more than 85 % of Japanese people wore masks in public. On the other hand, in the U.S., 69% of American people wore masks in public in April of 2021; however, the percentage decreased to less than 45% in March of 2022. In Sweden, 43% of Swedish people wore masks in public in April of 2021, but only 12 % of them wore masks in April of 2022.
The numbers above include people who are above 18 years old. In Japan, it is recommended that even 2-year-old children wear masks. I have a daughter who is one and a half years old. It is unrealistic to put masks on children around that age. They would be full of drool, and I can’t even imagine how many times we would have to change their masks because they get too wet. Even if 2-year-old children wear masks, they share toys at nursery school, and they put everything in their mouth, they lick their hands, and they touch everything. Therefore, I feel wearing a mask would not prevent them from making close contact at that age.
Even for adults, wearing a mask all the time is hard; however, it is good manners to wear a mask when you are in public today. In my opinion, there are few things you have to be careful of. First, wearing masks all the time can cause oxygen deficiency. When you wear a mask, you inhale the carbon dioxide that you have exhaled, and that can lead to the lack of oxygen. It can cause headache, decrease immunity, decrease concentration, and increase anxiety and irritation. Second, wearing a mask in summer can increase the risk of heatstroke. When you wear a mask in summer, try to avoid vigorous exercise and keep in mind not to get dehydrated. Don’t forget you can take off your mask when you are two meters away from other people. It is important to wear masks to avoid getting infected, but at the same time, you should be careful when you wear a mask. I’m looking forward to the day when we do not have to wear masks, so I can see people’s smiles and their expressions.
Photo Credit: Tuấn Kiệt Jr.@pexels.com
Blog Quiz
Q1. Which country wears masks the least?
A: Japan
B: Sweden
C: The U.S.
Q2. In the author’s opinion, why is it unrealistic for 2-year-old children to wear masks?
A: Because most of the masks are too big.
B: Because they do not like to wear masks.
C: Because they are usually full of drool and the masks get too wet.
Q3: According to the author, what are two things we have to be careful of when we wear masks?
A: Heatstroke
B: Masks getting too wet
C: Changing masks every day
D: Oxygen deficiency
E: The materials of the masks
Scroll down ↓ for the answers to the quiz.
Quiz Answers
Q1. B
Q2. C
Q3. A & D
Aoi Katagiri -
12 .12How to Make Friends in Case of a Toddler
My daughter is a super-friendly two-year-old girl. Every time she goes to the park near our house, she tries to talk to the children there. My husband and I are happy about her outgoing attitude. Some people had said that this social distancing under the Covid-19 pandemic would harm the children's ability to communicate, but her attitude seemed to drown out our concerns.
Her motivation is great, but there is always something wrong. Her routine at the park is like this. First, she approaches the targeted child. Then, she speaks to them. This is the strange part. She describes what the child is doing: "(He’s) playing with the ball," "(She’s) riding her bike," and so on. The children she talks to usually ignore her or give her a quick glance and resume what they were doing as if nothing had happened. If you were nearby, you would feel sorry for my little one. The problem is not only about what she says. She usually talks to older children, like primary school students. In their eyes, a two-year-old is just a baby. Babies are not good for their playmates.
Looking back on my own childhood, I don't remember how I made friends. Do you remember what you did? Perhaps I made friends during activities in kindergarten or when I had the opportunity to meet the children of my parents’ friends, and we played together. I never really thought much about how I made friends myself.
Let us look at her situation. She also goes to daycare every day. But there are few children, and she has only about 10 friends there. According to the teachers, she is having a good time with her friends there. Since parents are not allowed to enter the nursing rooms to see their children, we learn how our children are doing through the notebook we exchange with the teachers. When my friends bring their children to our home, of course she’s happy to play with them. The other day, my friends came over to see us from Nagoya with their children. Their four-year-old daughter was kind enough to take care of my daughter, and they became nice friends right away! I wish they would live around here.
As a parent, I want to fulfill her desire to make more friends. One option might be to send her to a larger daycare or kindergarten. Another option would be to send her to a music club or an exercise class. We’d like to take her to places where she can interact with other children. But the important thing is that when she gets a little older, she will have the skills to initiate friendships on her own. I hope she will bring her best friends to our home in the future.
Photo Credit: Anna Shvets@pexels.com
Blog Quiz
Q1. What is the second thing the author’s daughter does when she finds children at the park?
Q2. According to the daycare teacher, how is the author’s daughter doing at school?
Q3. How old was the author’s friends’ daughter?
Scroll down ↓ for the answers to the quiz.
Quiz Answers
A1. She talks to the children.
A2. She’s having a good time with her friends.
A3. Four years old.
Yumi Yamamoto -
12 .05Why Not Work for an Innovative Company?
My students in a business administration presentation class asked this question and in groups researched and presented on five companies that you may not have heard of doing interesting things. Here is a description of them.
One interesting company is called Caulipower, which has a range of food in which high calorie ingredients are replaced with low-calorie cauliflower. The presenter opened by asking the audience if they like eating junk food. Most of the audience raised their hands. Then she followed up by asking for a show of hands of people who think junk food is bad for them. Again, almost everyone raised their hands. However, with Caulipower, people can eat pizza, pasta, and even fried chicken made with low-calorie ingredients. The group presented some interesting charts comparing the calorie differences between Caulipower and its rivals and displayed some pictures of mouth-watering examples of tasty meals, such as Buffalo wings pizzas and cauliflower linguine. In addition, the products are gluten-free. The presenters ended with the company slogan, urging the audience to come on and “Join the Vegolution!”
Another delicious-sounding company was Oishii Farms, founded by a Japanese CEO and operating in the United States, which uses vertical farming to produce strawberries all year round. The strawberries are just like those that you can get in Japan, and the environment they are grown in is exactly like a perfect day in Japan and yet, the farms are in New Jersey in the United States. Furthermore, there is no need for pesticides or GMOs. The presenters made good use of satellite images to show where the farms are located and pointed out that there were opportunities within the company for those with skills in sales or engineering.
Innovation can also include how people live. Two companies were presented that aimed to revolutionize our lifestyles, and these were Sonder and VR Chat. Sonder is ranked as the number one most innovative travel company by the online magazine Fast Company. It is a competitor of Airbnb and has a similar booking system, but it also includes design and furnishing to guarantee quality accommodation. Finally, VR Chat takes its customers into cyberspace using virtual reality. In addition, those who work for the company have a lot of freedom by being able to work from home, play games, and work on their own projects.
From food to virtual reality, innovative technology, and social concerns means work opportunities will continue to change in the future. There are many more innovative companies in the world, so consider researching something fresh and interesting!
Photo Credit: Solare Flares@pexels.com
Blog Quiz
Q1. What makes Caulipower low calorie?
Q2. Where is the strawberry farm run by Oishii farms?
Q3. Which company is a big rival for Sonder?
Scroll down ↓ for the answers to the quiz.
Quiz Answers
A1. High calorie ingredients are substituted with cauliflower
A2. In New Jersey, USA
A3. Airbnb
Robert Andrews -
11 .28Has Finding New Music Changed?
In the past, how we listened to music was fairly simple. Personally, I listened to the radio, watched music TV channels, and bought music in stores to listen to on cassette players or CD players. Then came the technological changes of MP3 players, such as the iPod by Apple. The rest is history. But has this changed how we consume music?
Growing up in the United States, a big emphasis was put on listening to the radio. Radio was simple, and each radio station had its own themes: top 20 music, country, hip-hop, classic rock, classical, and so on. People listened to what they were interested in, and this was the best way to listen to the newest music. Now people listen to playlists online that are curated by the music apps or services to listen to the latest music. Now listening to specific artists is easier than ever. However, listening to a new playlist is not so different from what I did when I was younger, listening to the radio. Each playlist is like a different radio station with its own music genres and music selection that brings the same excitement as when I was young.
I’ve recently found new types of music I like and found songs that I’d never imagined I would enjoy. For example, I’ve been enjoying country music for the last few months. As a young boy, I’d never have imagined enjoying country music, but listening to a “New Music” playlist, sometimes country music is played, which has caught my ear. So maybe you can even find something new you might like, or there might be a genre of music you thought you didn’t like that might grow on you.
From listening to playlists for studying, top music, or even new genre playlists, there are so many new and old types of music that are more easily accessible. Instead of listening to the radio in the car or using a radio at home, we can listen to the newest music on our PCs or on our phones. However, the joys of hearing new music have never been more easily accessible. Even though the radio has lost popularity, finding new music will continue to be something that excites all people. The next time you open up your music app, try a new playlist. Listen to something new or something different. Give it a try. You never know what you might enjoy.
Photo Credit: Charlotte May@pexels.com
Blog Quiz
Q1. How did people listen to new music in the past?
a. Music applications
b. Concerts
c. Radios
Q2. In the past, what device did the author use to listen to music?
a. Smart phone
b. CD player
c. MP3 Player
Q3. What genre of music did the author like after listening to a new music playlist?
a. Top 20 music
b. Rock music
c. Country music
Scroll down ↓ for the answers to the quiz.
Quiz Answers
Q1. C
Q2. B
Q3. C
Nicholas Marx -
11 .21Great Big Story
If you like watching and listening to authentic spoken World Englishes or first language content with English subtitles, you’ll love the YouTube channel Great Big Story (GBS). It’s a great archive for discovering a diverse variety of people, places, and things all over the world. Each short video allows the viewer to experience new perspectives and widen their understanding and imagination, not only about what occurs on this planet daily, but also the new possibilities they may adopt in their own lives.
GBS had described itself as “a global media company devoted to cinematic storytelling”. Based in New York with an office in London, GBS was creating micro-documentaries (about 5 minutes long) and short films and releasing them on YouTube. This came to an end after five years in October, 2020, when the parent company CNN shut them down, citing dwindling advertising revenues due to the Coronavirus pandemic. Sadly, the weekly YouTube uploads stopped. Despite this, GBS still has an amazing 6.03 million subscribers, demonstrating that the available content continues to maintain popularity. The topics featured in the videos are mostly obscure, niche vignettes which are compelling and fascinating to watch.
I first heard about GBS from a former English teaching colleague way back in 2016, about a year after the channel had been launched. I realized immediately it was a gold mine of content for English lessons and wasted no time hitting the subscribe button. In no time, I’d binge-watched at least half a dozen videos and was well and truly hooked! Very quickly it became much more than a go-to-site for English language lesson content. I was watching every upload as soon as it was available. I still remember my first Great Big Story with its punchy title, “I live in a plane.” This particular two-minute documentary tells the story of a Portland-based aeronautics enthusiast, Bruce Campbell, who lives in a converted 1960s Boeing 727 jet deep in a forest. It was mind-blowing to see how spacious the plane’s interior was when all the seats and fixtures had been removed. Campbell had installed basic living necessities and improved on existing features to make a home out of something that had been destined for the scrap heap. In just two minutes, I had a concrete understanding of the idea of “repurposing” which as we move forward into our climate-challenged future is something we need to take heed of. Watch a Great Big Story video today, and have your eyes opened!
Photo Credit: Joyce Busola@unsplash.com
Blog Quiz
Select the meaning of the word or phrase as it is used in the text.
Q1. dwindling
a. increasing
b. decreasing
c. neither increasing or decreasing
Q2. a gold mine
a. a good source of something
b. a money maker
c. an underground place where gold is found
Q3. go-to-site
a. travel website
b. preferred and often used website
c. English learning website
Scroll down ↓ for the answers to the quiz.
Quiz Answers
Q1. B
Q2. A
Q3. B
The BBP Staff -
11 .14Reverse Culture Shock
Have you ever experienced culture shock? You may be familiar with the term as a description of the emotions you feel while traveling or living abroad and encountering feelings of shock, disappointment, or loneliness due to differences from your home country and culture. More shocking than regular culture shock, however, is another type of culture shock known as “reverse culture shock.”
Reverse culture shock is the shock you feel when returning to your home country after spending time living abroad. Reverse culture shock is interesting because not everyone experiences it, but for those who do, it can be a very strange experience bringing about many complex emotions.
Five years ago, I visited my hometown in the United States, and I experienced very strong reverse culture shock. What is very normal in the US made me feel shocked after living many years in Japan. Below I have described three of my reverse culture shock experiences:
Reverse Culture Shock Experience #1: Everyone in the US Is Always Smiling
One thing I forgot about the US from years of living in Japan is that everyone in the US is always smiling. In Japan, you may only smile in photos or when you feel happy, but in the US, it is common for people to smile often as a sign of friendliness. It is common in the US to smile at strangers, and staff at stores and supermarkets frequently smile at customers. I felt strong reverse culture shock when I saw complete strangers everywhere in the US smiling at me so often!
Reverse Culture Shock Experience # 2: Everyone Does Small Talk and Even with Strangers
Small talk is a normal way to “break the ice” when speaking to people, but what about doing small talk with complete strangers? It may sound strange, but small talk with complete strangers is very normal in the US. People frequently do small talk and strike up conversations with each other while out shopping, at the gym, or even while waiting at a bus stop. Once while shopping during New Year’s Eve at my neighborhood mall, the cashier began asking me about my plans for the night. Another time, while waiting at a bus stop reading a book, another person who had also read the same book, began asking me about my thoughts on it! It might be strange in other cultures, but small talk and talking to complete strangers in the US is very common and a sign of friendliness.
Reverse Culture Shock Experience # 3: Everyone Dresses Very Casually
Another source of reverse culture shock for me whenever I visit the US is how casual everyone dresses. Jeans, T-shirts, sneakers, and sweatpants are a common outfit for many Americans. Compared to Japan, where many people are often focused on their appearance and looking very nice before going outside, it almost feels like everyone in the US is competing against each other to dress in the most casual way possible!
Photo Credit: Ketut Subiyanto@pexels.com
Blog Quiz
Q1. What is culture shock?
Q2. What is reverse culture shock?
Q3. What are the three examples of reverse culture shock mentioned in the
Scroll down ↓ for the answers to the quiz.
Quiz Answers
A1. The emotions you feel while traveling or living abroad and encountering feelings of shock, disappointment, or loneliness due to differences from your home country and culture.
A2. Reverse culture shock is the shock you feel when returning to your home country after spending time living abroad.
A3. 1. Everyone in the US is always smiling. 2. Small talk is very common. 3. Everyone dresses very casually.
Alexander Sheffrin -
11 .07Have you heard of Mirei Shigemori?
At Ritsumeikan, we are very fortunate because two of the most famous temples in Kyoto, Kinkaku-ji and Ryoan-ji, are just a few minutes walk from our campus. As most people know, Kinkaku-ji is famous for the Golden Pavilion, and Ryoan-ji is famous for its karesansui garden. In English, karesansui gardens are known as dry landscape gardens or Zen gardens.
There are many famous dry landscape gardens in Kyoto, and many of them, like Ryoan-ji, were made hundreds of years ago. However, did you know that some of the most famous Zen gardens in Kyoto were made less than a hundred years ago? And they were designed by the same person? Do you know who that person is?
The answer is Mirei Shigemori (1896-1975). Shigemori studied traditional Japanese culture growing up, including flower arrangement, tea ceremony, and philosophy. However, his gardens are famous for being a mixture of the traditional and modern. He designed more than 200 gardens, including many at temples and shrines, both in Kyoto and in other places in Japan.
He thought gardens are art forms like painting and sculpture. In fact, one of his disciples said that Shigemori viewed gardens as works of art, not living environments. In fact, some of his gardens were influenced by the paintings of famous European artists, such as Kandinsky, Matisse, and Mondrian.
Some of Mirei Shigemori’s most famous gardens in Kyoto are at Tofuku-ji; Zuiho-in, a sub-temple of Daitoku-ji; and Matsuo Taisha Shrine. All of these gardens are quite unique.
At Tofuku-ji, he designed both the “Garden of the Big Dipper” and the “Garden of Eight Phases.” The “Garden of the Big Dipper” is based on the constellation the Big Dipper, and Shigemori used seven columns taken from the temple’s outhouse to represent the stars in the constellation. The “Garden of Eight Phases” is named after the eight phases in the life of the Buddha and features stones that represent islands in a sea of white gravel.
At Zuiho-in, Shigemori made the “Garden of the Solitary Meditation” and the “Quietly Sleeping Garden.” Both are Zen gardens, but the design of the “Quietly Sleeping Garden” takes inspiration from Christianity, not Buddhism. In the garden, there are seven stones that form the shape of a cross. Shigemori designed the garden this way because Otomo Yoshishige, the founder of Zuiho-in, was baptized as a Christian.
Mirei’s last masterpiece, the “Garden of Ancient Times,” can be found at Matsuo Taisha Shrine. The design is quite simple, with only stones and bamboo grass, but it is quite modern and beautiful. If you’d like to know why, I suggest you visit the shrine and see for yourself!
If you are at all interested in traditional Japanese culture, these gardens are well worth a visit, whether you are a Japanese or international student. These gardens are great places to learn about culture, but also wonderful places to just sit quietly and relax without having to think about anything, especially your classes!
Blog Quiz
True or False?
Q1. Mirei Shigemori was a Christian.
Q2. Mirei Shigemori used pieces of a temple bathroom in a garden design.
Q3. Mirei Shigemori designed the gardens at 20 different temples and shrines in Japan.
Scroll down ↓ for the answers to the quiz.
Quiz Answers
Q1. False
Q2. True
Q3. False
John Paul Foster