Presentations: What makes a good presentation?

In the next 6-7 weeks we will spend a lot of time working on your presentations, which will be your final exam! Presentations are used to share knowledge and ideas with other people.

Presentations are really composed of two parts: 1. Preparation and 2. Performance. A good presentation should have both of these.

Preparation includes research and understanding your topic well. It also includes organizing your ideas and your slides. Good preparation makes your presentation informative and interesting and it really helps your performance. When you know your topic well, it's easier to speak clearly and have confidence.

Performance is also important. We talked about some tips for good performance in class this week, including speaking loudly and clearly, looking at the audience, smiling and using hand gestures. We will take some time in class to work on performance over the following weeks. Below is the video we watched in class this week, in case you would like to watch it again!

What do you think are the most important tips for making a good presentation? Have you ever seen a great presentation? What was the topic? If you have seen a great presentation or speech online, please share a link in the comments!

See everyone soon!

"The Secret Garden" Yorkshire Dialect

In "The Secret Garden" several characters speak the Yorkshire dialect, a special variety of English. If you're curious what this dialect sounds like, here's a video!

What do you think about this dialect? Can you understand it? In Korea, are there different dialects and accents? What variety of Korean do you speak?

Why You Shouldn't Use an Internet Translator - Funny Examples from "Google Translate Sings!"

So, you might think that your teachers are exaggerating when they tell you not to use an internet translator to write your essay or help write your essay. Trust me, we're not. Sentences that have been through translators are nearly always obvious and wrong and strange. A singer named Malinda Kathleen Reese has started a project called Google Translate Sings! which shows what happens to language when it is translated by a computer instead of a human. http://www.fastcompany.com/3036603/the-recommender/what-american-pop-songs-sound-like-after-google-translate-butchers-them Here are some videos that show what happens to popular songs when they are translated. Real lyrics at the top, new translated lyrics at the bottom. First, "Do You Want to Build a Snowman?" the crazy version!

Now a popular American song, "Wrecking Ball" by Miley Cyrus.

Finally, one of my favorite Disney songs which is really really really messed up by translation!!!!

So, trust us, guys, when we say - use your own words. A simple sentence that you have put together with your own knowledge will always be better than relying on internet translation! You can also, always, get help from a native English teacher who can help you find the best words to say what you mean! See you all soon! 

Rick Steves' Europe - A Good Research Resource

Hey, everyone! I wanted to post a link to a useful resource for students who are doing their essay and presentation on European cities - Rick Steves' Europe Youtube channel. http://www.youtube.com/user/RickSteves

Rick Steves is a professional guidebook author and television presenter. He's very knowledgeable about Europe, so you can trust his videos. We watched his "Christiania" video in class this week (or for Tuesday and Wednesday classes - we will watch it!) He has videos on almost every city in Europe. Some of them have good English captions, but some of them say "automatic captions." If it says "automatic captions" it is probably not correct, so be careful! Look for captions that just say "English."Remember, you can watch a video just to look at the attraction or city so that you can describe what it looks like or see what people do there. Of course you can also pause the video to get facts from it. 

If you watch a video make sure to copy and paste the web address into your Works Cited! Rick Steves has short video clips about attractions, but he also has half hour long shows about whole cities, regions or countries! 

Here are some Rick Steves' Europe video clips! 

Here's a video about some of Vienna's famous food with good subtitles. I am SO HUNGRY after watching it!!!!!!

Here's a whole episode about Paris!

A video with good captions about Rome's Colosseum!

Finally, if you want to rewatch it - the video about Christiania and another about Copenhagen! If you haven't chosen a city, yet, also consider Copenhagen! It's a very interesting place! 

I hope you've enjoyed seeing some videos by one of my favorite TV personalities and authors, Rick Steves! If you have any comments or questions, please feel free to leave them below! :)  

Choosing a Topic: IDEAS #3 Kyoto, Japan

Kyoto, Japan is one of the places on the topic list that I have visited! I have been to Kyoto twice - once on an exchange program when I was 15 years old, and again in 2011 with my husband, Lee. Both times I really enjoyed myself.

The gate at Kiyomizudera, a temple in Kyoto.

Both times I visited Japan, I went to Kiyomizudera, one of Kyoto's most famous temples. Of course, this is only one of many temples and shrines in Kyoto, but I really appreciated this temple's simple beauty. It is named the "pure water" temple, because of a waterfall at the temple.

Another picture I took at Kiyomizudera. In the Edo era apparently at least 200 people jumped off the terrace in the picture. They believed that jumping off the terrace would bring them luck and that they would survive the fall thanks to the temple's guardian gods. Though the temple is about 4 stories up, apparently 85% of the people who jumped actually did survive. 

Another special feature of Kyoto is the chance to glimpse Japan's geisha and maiko tradition. This tradition is almost lost, but in Kyoto there are still maiko - geishas in training. Lee and I went to see a free maiko dance performance at a cultural center.

A maiko is a geisha-in-training. There are very few geisha and maiko in modern Japan, but Kyoto is one of the main places to see them.

My favorite part of the trip, however, was visiting the monkeys at the Iwatayama Monkey Park in the Kyoto suburb of Arashiyama. It was a quick train ride and a short mountain hike away. We spent a few hours feeding and hanging out with the monkeys!

 This baby monkey is not in a zoo - he is outside, and I am watching and feeding him from inside a small building! The monkeys live on the mountainside, and people come to visit.

My husband, Lee, hanging out with a monkey!

 

This trip to Kyoto is one of my happiest memories of all time.

This is just a small assortment of what there is to see and do in Kyoto, however. Kyoto has many other temples and shrines, special festivals, famous foods and other attractions to offer. Kyoto would definitely make an interesting topic for an essay and presentation! Do you have any questions about Kyoto or any of the other presentation topics? Just ask! Happy Choosing!

Choosing a Topic: IDEAS #2 Vienna, Austria

I have never been to Vienna, but I hope to go next summer. There are so many reasons that I dream of going to Vienna. Art, culture and music are three of the biggest reasons.

First, Vienna is home to tons of great European art, including Albrecht Dürer’s “Hare” and the works of Gustav Klimt, which are all over the city. 

Albrecht Dürer’s "Hare."

Gustav Klimt's "The Kiss." 

Vienna is also famous for its music! Here is an article about four of the most famous musicians who worked in Vienna: http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/01/10/top-10-composers-the-vienna-four/?_php=true&_type=blogs&_r=0

Finally, I am interested in the general culture of Vienna - great coffee, beautiful architecture, and great food like apple strudel (Apfelstrudel!) Personally, I can't wait to go there and speak German to the natives!

Vienna is making me hungry!!!!!!

To wrap up, here's a video (in German - but with English subtitles) interviewing Viennese people on the street about their city. Maybe you can get some ideas about what Vienna looks like and what kind of people live there from the video! Happy choosing!

Choosing a Topic! IDEAS #1: Portland, Oregon

This week or next week you will be choosing a topic for the essay and the presentation. Because you will work on this topic for the rest of the semester, it's important to choose wisely! Choose a city you feel interested in, a city that will be fun, a city that has a lot to write about!

I'm sure you already know a lot about the Korean cities on the list, so I'm going to write a few brief introductions to world cities you might be interested in. First up, my adopted hometown - 

PORTLAND, OREGON

Portland, Oregon was my home for 7 years! It's a very cool city which has attracted many young people in the last 10+ years. It's known for its eco-friendly lifestyle and biking culture. There are many great parks, gardens, and other interesting attractions in Portland! 

Biking is VERY popular in Portland. This is me with my bike "Old Gray" in 2007. I'm biking on the Springwater Trail next to the river. It's safe to bike all around Portland, and there are many bike festivals and events during the year!

There is a lot of beautiful street art in Portland!

Portland has become so popular in the U.S. that there's a television comedy show "Portlandia" made about the city and the strange people who live there! The video below is a comedy song about the strange young people who live in Portland. Even though it's a comedy, the people in the video are real Portland people. I even met a few of them! Portland's city motto is: Keep Portland Weird

Portland is a very strange city, but I love it. If you have any questions about Portland, Oregon, or any of the cities on the topics list, please feel free to ask in the comments! Happy choosing!