On my own motivation

After discussing in class, I have realized that motivation is really important to do anything.

Academic activities are sometimes unenjoyable, but we have to study in class, and read lots of books as university students. I have few classes which are not motivating, and also I have few classes which are motivating.
For example, English is one of the most motivating class for me. Especially, I like English reading class. Reading text book which is not interesting is boring, but in reading class, the articles are interesting and I don't feel boring. I like gaining my knowledge I think I am motivated intrinsically.

What motivates people?

I think rewards motivate people. For this experiment, rewards strongly motivate group A to complete the problem. However, I guess group B figure out the problem quicker than group A.

First reason is that people in group A think about the other thing. People in group Awould think that "I want to be the quickest!! I want to get rewards!!". They also think about the other people, like "how are their solutions going?", while they solve the problem. Thinking about the other people interrupt solving the problem.

Second reason is that people feel pressure. I think  if people try to do something quick and correct, like exams, they would feel nervous. It make people take more time to do it.

For these reasons, I guess group B completes the problem quicker.

The Candle Problem

When I first saw the picture in last class, I thought the answer was attaching the pins on the wall at the corner and making the base by matches. But I realized that it was too hard to make it. At home, I could not find the answer...and later, I just solved it! I should atteach the box an the wall. This is the answer!

And I think reward motivates people more.However, it depends on people. If someone does something interesting, it could be sutisfying. For me, I like fixing someone's cloth and things which are broken, because I like sewing. It is my pleasure. But this is not the same for someone else.I think the way of thinking is important.

No Reservations -Vietnam-

I watched the show, 'No Reservations' which introduced Vietnam. It was interesting and enjoyable to watch for me.

At first, I was surprised at the sound of motorbikes. I did not know that motorbikes are more common in Vietnam.
The show made me want to eat Vietnamese food because the way of cook was different from Japanese food. It was very interesting! I was surprised at mixing flour and coconut juice, and having strong coffee with condensed milk. I really want to try them! I also enjoyed the colorful food.

During the show, Anthony tried many kinds of food with no reluctance or hesitation. I think having no reluctance or hesitation is the best way to enjoy in overseas.

Cooking Meals at Home...Advantagse and Disadvantages

I am going to write about the positive and negaive points of cooking meals at home.
Recentry, people feel busier because of their jobs and so on, and they have a lot of things to do. So some people buy prepared food or go to restaurants. I think cooking meals at home is better. However, there are some positive and negative points.

The first positive point of cooking meals at home is that we can save money.For example, if we keep going to restaurants or buying prepared food from convenience stores and supermurkets, the cost will be higher than cooking at home. The second positive point is that we can have healthier and safer food. If we cook by ourselves, we can know all of the ingredients. Also we can cut down on our intake of salt and sugar if we are worried about our health.

On the other hand, there are some negative points. The negative point is that it takes time more than buying prepared food. To cook meals, we have to go to supermarkets and buy ingredients. Some people feel it is tiring and think waste of time.

As a result, keep cooking every meals is hard for busy people. Actually, many people buy prepared meals for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. I think buying prepared food is not bad, but choosing healthier food and knowing ingredients is important to be healthy.

My Writing Topic

I am interested in people who study Japanese as second language. So I want to write about that for the essay.

This semester, I take classes of “Japanese as second language”, and I studied that the number of people who study Japanese in the world is over 3.6million. Also I studied that Japanese is one of the most difficult language to master as second language, especially for native English speakers. And then I wondered about why many foreigners study such a complicated language.

The classes are very interesting and the writing would be enjoyable for me.

Insularity

Last week, we discussed the problem that fewer Japanese students go abroad for their education. As Glen Fukushima mentioned, the number of Japanese students at Harvard had declined. It is true, and he mentioned some reasons of the problem in the article.

I agree with almost all the reasons he mentioned, but I disagree with that young Japanese are not interested in going abroad. I think many Japanese students are interested in going abroad, but the cost is high, so they abandon to go abroad as undergraduates. And I think the length of stay is getting shorter. There are some schools which have the systems of studying abroad, and most of the students stay less than a year.

Insularity makes Japanese feel foreign countries are far away. It is difficult to find solutions of the problem, but I think we need to be more interested in overseas.

On Success

In the first video, Richard St. John's talks about success. He worked hard and pushed himself, and he got success. After that, he felt relax and stopped working hard. Then he failed. He should have continued working. If this presentation ware an essay, I think the thesis statement is " Success is a continuous journey".

In the second video, Joachim de posada talks that children who can implement self-discipline will success in the future. Now, my "marshmallows" is watching movies! I will watch lots of movies after exams, so I study hard right now...

Respond to Oktapodi

I watched three videos and I liked second one "Oktapodi" the most.
The interesting point in this short film is that no one speaks at all. Instead of speaking nothing, the sound of violin makes the short film enjoyable. I think the filmmakers wants everyone who does not speak particular language to understand the story.
while I watched the short film, I could understand what the characters wanted and tryed to do without any words. It made me realize that the importance of action and expression. When I try to tell something to other people, only talking is not enough. I think I should talk with gestures.
This film also made me think of the greediness of human.

My dream trip...

There are so many countries that I have never been and I want to visit some of them. I want to visit Europe, epecially France.
I have never been to Europe, but I'm really interested in the culture. I found many differences while I study French and they attract my interest. France is in the forefront of fashion. So I extremely want to go to Paris and see modern fashions one day. Also I have some friends in France so I want to see them again.
There are a lot of things that I want to do during my trip. I want to make my dreams come true!

The Impact of Media

There are many kinds of media and many people are greatly influenced by them. I am also influenced by media, especialy movies.

When I was a high school student, a movie called "Life Is Beautiful" made me think about some things differently. This movie is about a family during World War II. The father, Guido and his son are taken to a concentration camp but  he tells his son that the camp is just a game. He tries to keep his son safe with his funny ideas. Before watcing the movie, I didn't really understund that I was grew up in a good environment and think about my life deeply. However, many scenes in the movie changed my mind. The movie showed me that if we did something good, the favor would return. I also learned the importance of thinking things good way.

Cultural misunderstanding

When I was a high school student, I went to New Zealand and I have experienced some cultural misunderstandings.

One day, my friend asked me about whale hunting of Japan. She said, "Why do Japanese hunt and eat whales?" She thought every Japanese eat it as we eat beef, chicken, and pork. I explained to her that many Japanese haven't eaten whale meat. Actually, I wasn't really interested in it until she asked me.

Also I experienced a misunderstanding about Japanese greeting. Some people know Japanese words such as "Konnichiwa" and "Arigatou" and when they say that, they bow with their hands together. It looked very weird for me. I don't know why they believe that's Japanese greeting. I think they confuse it with Indian greeting.

There are many misunderstandings between cultures. I think it's very important to deepen our understanding of other cultures.

Being a sophomore

My freshman year is over and  1 month has passed since I became a sophomore. I was a little bit nervous about my second year in KG, but now I feel more comfortable than last month. I was worried about new classes, study abroad, part-time job and my life-style. and I can see some differences from last yaer.

In English class, I've got some new things to do. I haven't done blogging, English Central and graded reader last year and teachers changed. So I feel many differences in this English class. I think doing these works are good to improve my English skill.

I also feel a defference about my will to learn English. In this summer, I will go to England to study abroad and I have to study hard to get ready for it. So I will do my best!