Date: Saturday, October 10th, 2009
Time: 10:00-11:20 Communication Session by Mr. Wayne Malcolm from America
Topic: Using Art to Awaken Passive Vocabulary, and Utilize Active Vocabulary
Here's his message:
In studying a language we acquire huge amounts of vocabulary, some we remember,
but a lot we relegate to the sub-regions of our memory. All of these words swirl around
lying in wait until something calls them forth for us to use. And as we all know,
some words come forth more rapidly and frequently than others.
In this session we will do some individual, pair, and group activities using forms
of art to jog our memories and the vocabulary we have acquired. The goal is
not only to rediscover what we already know, but to hopefully move our acquired vocabulary
from the passive regions of our mind to the active areas.
Another goal of this session is finding alternate ways of studying vocabulary.
It is my sincere hope everyone involved will leave having achieved one of these goals.
Time: 11:30-12:30 Impromptu Speech
1) vocabulary 2) art 3) President Obama
10 people attended.
The 216th Communication Session
Date: Sunday, September 27th, 2009
Time: 10:00-11:20 Communication Session by Ms. Terri Lee Nagahashi from America
Topic: Marmots, Mare's Milk and Mutton: My VIP Adventure in Mongolia
Here's her message:
Summary: This presentation will focus on the speaker`s recent visit
to Mongolia as a guest of Mr. Ch. Naranbaatar, Chairman of the State
Committee of Physical Culture and Sports and Mr. Mamoru Sasaki,
businessman, philanthropist, and Hokkaido soft tennis champion.
Ms. Nagahashi will explain her relationship to the hosts and describe
the extraordinary week that she spent as a participant in several
national award ceremonies and as an advisor to Mr. Ch. Naranbaatar.
Time: 11:30-12:30 Debate Practice
no time for the debate practice
8 people attended.
The 215th Communication Session
Date: Saturday, September 12th, 2009
Time: 10:00-11:20 Communication Session by Ms. Rebecca Oishi from America
Topic:"Ways we hope that Akita can improve as a place to live" and
"What are things that people hope will improve in Akita"
Time: 11:30-12:30 Impromptu Speech
no time for the speech
9 people attended.
The 214th Communication Session
Date: Sunday, August 23rd, 2009
Time: 10:00-11:20 Communication Session by Mr. Anders Lundberg from Sweden
Topic: Cognitive Dissonance
He says that he's been reading a book about Cognitive
Dissonance which he finds extraordinarily interesting.
So he'd like to talk about that.
Description:
Cognitive Dissonance is a theory about how people make up
their minds and then justify the decisions they've made –even
when they're wrong or when the decision has turned out bad.
Sometimes this justification can lead people to do what any
normal person would consider atrocious things. In one study
for example, people were asked to administer electric shocks
to another person, and almost all subjects would go so far as
to administer what they believed to be lethal levels of electricity.
Cognitive Dissonance can be said to be the culprit behind
everything from bullying to the Holocaust.
Time: 11:30-12:30 Debate Practice
No time for the practice.
7 people attended.
The 213th Communication Session
Date: Sunday, July 26th, 2009
Time: 10:00-11:20 Communication Session by Mr. Thorfinn Tait from Scotland
Topic: Politeness and Formality in English and Japanese
Here's his message.
I'm very happy to be joining you all at this Sunday's ACES.
I always enjoy speaking with all the members.
Now, formalities aside, this time I'd like to talk with you about the issue of politeness
- always a thorny issue for English learners.
How do we make our speech more polite, and when should we do so?
What are the most polite phrases, and which phrases should be avoided in polite speech?
Aren't there any rules we can follow?
Please have a think about what politeness is, and what it means to you.
What situations do you think require politeness, and when should we use casual speech?
What is politeness anyway, and what function does it serve?
Is politeness necessary? Do you think politeness is very different between Japanese and English?
What is your impression of English politeness, of Japanese people's politeness
when speaking English, and of foreigners' politeness when speaking Japanese?
Do you have any stories about your own experiences with politeness?
Through examining some role-play scenarios we will have a look at politeness in action,
and see what effect different levels of politeness can have in different situations.
Hopefully we will end up with a better idea of what politeness is for, when and how to use it.
See you on Sunday!
Thorfinn
Time: 11:30-12:30 Debate Practice
No time for the practice.
8 people attended.
The 212th Communication Session
Date: Saturday, July 11h, 2009
Time: 10:00-11:20 Communication Session by Mr. Wayne Malcolm from America
Topic: The Unnaturalness of Something So Natural
Here's his message:
"Why is it that when the topic of sex is brought up in conversation
people shy away, and look uncomfortable just saying the word.
Some high schools refuse to teach sex education to the students.
Governments sometimes reject giving aid to developing nations
based on certain ideas about sex, contraception use, and other
variables. I mean, Without it we would not be here. Why are
some societies and cultures so reluctant to have open discussions about sex?"
Time: 11:30-12:30 Impromptu Speech
We didn't have time to make a speech.
9 people attended.
The 211th Communication Session
Date: Sunday, June 28h, 2009
Time: 10:00-11:20 Communication Session by Mr. Shane Knight from Australia
Topic: Economic Recession and its Causes
This will be his last talk as he's leaving this summer.
The current and past financial climate has been a global challenge for many companies and individuals. In this presentation we discussed the definitions of key financial terms such as banking panics, recessions, stock market crashes, the bursting of financial bubble, currency crises and sovereign defaults. We then talked about the history of past recessions such as the great depression and the Japanese asset market crash. The main discussion of the presentation was the background and current position of the 2008 financial crisis and it's effects. We looked closely at the American market and the Japanese market to examine the strengths and weaknesses of both respective economies. Finally we discussed potential solutions to financial problems and whether it was a viable option.
Time: 11:30-12:30 Debate Practice
We enjoyed chatting.
11 people attended.
The 210th Communication Session
Date: Saturday, June 13th, 2009
Time: 10:00-11:20 Communication Session by Ms. Heather Mulhern from America
Topic: Happiness is a Serious Problem
I shared with you some of the ideas about happiness that I have gained from my life experience and from the wise words of Dennis Prager.
I told you about my history with tragedy: my father, my older brother, and many high school friends who died too early in their lives. I was a very angry and unhappy teenager and in return I made my family’s life miserable. Then about 5 years ago two things happened to me that changed my life. First, I became a Christian. Second, I started listening to Dennis Prager. I chose to tell you about how listening to Dennis Prager talk specifically about happiness has made me into a better person for my family and ultimately society.
Dennis Prager often says that we have a moral obligation to society to be as happy as possible. Just like you don’t want to spread your bad breath on those around you, you don’t want to spread your bad mood.
We talked about what things make us unhappy, and by recognizing those we can work on not being unhappy and ultimately being happy. The “Missing Tile Syndrome” is when we focus on the things that are missing rather than focusing on the things we have. We also discussed “Equating Happiness with Fun” and the difference between fun that adds to your life versus fun that detracts from your life. Both topics are explained in more detail in his book Happiness is a Serious Problem.
Just this past week he released a 5-minute video on the internet talking just about happiness. You can watch the video at this website
Here are links to some other Dennis Prager websites:
www.dennisprager.com
www.pragerradio.com
Time: 11:30-12:30 Impromptu Speech
1) swine flu 2) nature 3) ray of hope in economy 4) family power to educate your children and yourself
15 people attended.
The 209th Communication Session
Date: Sunday, May 24th, 2009
Time: 10:00-11:20 Communication Session by Mr. Roddie MacDonald from Canada
Topic: International Aid for Developing Countries
INTERNATIONAL AID;IT`S EFFECTIVNESS,AND FOR WHO`s BENEFIT?
I addressed the rational for giving aid to Developing Countries. I presented the question to the audience "Why do Developed coutries feel the need to give aid?" Some members felt aid was given to establish international status.
The 2nd part of the presentation dealt with the question of where the aid goes and it`s impact on the local populations. I based my limited experience on International Aid on my one-month visit to Zambia;a country currently recieving a large amount of AID annually.
Many of the students were very knowledgeable about International Aid and the discussion was very satisfying.
Time: 11:30-12:30 Debate Practice
We continued the communication session.
16 people attended.
The 208th Communication Session
Date: Saturday, May 9th, 2009
Time: 10:00-11:20 Communication Session by Mr. Shane Knight from Australia
Topic: Cartel Conduct in Business
Here's his message:
It's when businesses do deals with each other to keep
the price high for customers. It's illegal but very hard to police.
Basically it's anti-competitive business.
Cartel conduct refers to anti-competitive behaviour by an organisation or group of organisations. It creates competitive advantages for all firms involved and disadvantages to all other rival firms and customers. Examples of Cartel Conduct include price fixing, market sharing, bid rigging, production quotas and any form of communication between organisations that does not promote free competition. Fair Trade Organisations around the world have recognised a large amount of anti-competitive behaviour in the last twenty years. Therefore policies such as the immunity policy have become common in many countries.
The immunity policy is a detection tool that the government uses to discover anti-competitive behaviour, give incentives for organisations to come forth with information, and to dissuade cartel conduct. It states that if an organisation admits cartel behaviour and follows a number of guidelines then it may be immune from prosecution and financial penalties.
Time: 11:30-12:30 Impromptu Speech
We enjoyed chatting.
9 people attended.
more pictures of AES past meetings to photo album 34
go
back to "genki" homepage index