What's New at Kyoto NHK ESS?

Topic: Trump’s First 100 Days
How do you evaluate his first 100 days in office? How do you think he will shape the U.S. and the rest of the world? Reference:1.

I will take the chair in the following way:
1. Topic: Trump’s First 100 Days
2. Genre: Discussion
3. Procedure:
• 1. Presentation: Toki will give a 10-minute presentation.
• 2. Buzz Session: Participants will divide into groups of approximately five people
and begin discussing the topic.
• 3. Group Sharing: After hearing from each group, an open discussion will begin.
• 4. Summary: The chair will summarize what was discussed.

土岐泉

京都ESSの皆さんへ： 5月17日プラクティスの予告を昨日送信しましたが、修正版との差し替えをお願いいたします。（年齢が進むとどうやら向学心も？、らしいです）今回はすこしむずかしいのでは、とのご感想も聞かれますが、お願い、私の暴走に伴走してキバってみてください
な。おく。 　　―　―　―　―　―　―

ESS Practice on May 17, ’25, Octane.
Keep Cool to Swim the Ocean of Fake Words　(level 4/5) Hi, respectful members of Kyoto ESS: We live in the ocean of catchy but fake words and phrases of business together with some good ones, thanks to God. There, fish use charming language to hook-up people and this is how the social structure is designed strategically by business and industry. For years, this system has been regarded acceptable until recently when we started to learn that the ecological capacity is approaching its finitude as the event of growing businesses. Nevertheless, we still ignore the grim reality that we should change the lifestyle smaller. In other words, we still refuse to know that the depletion of global environments is attributed to our greedy desire in economy and lifestyle. Indeed, the desire has overweighed the limitation long ago. We live on this small but only planet. Nevertheless, we don’t stop using excessive energy and resources under dressy words such as “clean”, “green”, “renewable”, “environment-friendly”, etc. Is there another planet to live? Genre: Search, Report and Talk.Wish you prepare in advance. Pick up some fake words and phrases of your choice from newspapers, websites and whatever media you like. (some examples are shown in Part II).Procedures:
1. Make some groups consisting of 3～4 people.
2. Assign the group chairperson who organizes the procedure.
3. First, 10 min is allotted for reading this handout to pick up examples of fake and false words as shown in Part I.
4. Second, 30 min for in-group presentation and discussion on the matters of Part I and II. Explain the reason why the words are fake.
5. Last, 10 min to summarize the group discussion. Make report of it including proposals to the request of Part III.
6. Report.―　―　―　―　―Part I. Answer to the following questions.
Q1: Do you know any artificial energy that doesn’t give a burden on the environment?
Q2: Pick up a dig-and-throw technology based on finite resources like oil, metal, lumber. Can you make its consumption smaller?
Q3: 　Show catchy words and phrases that fool you: for example, economy the first; green plastics; eco-friendly material; hydrogen and ammonia are green fuels.
Q4: Show some example of politics, business people, scientists and engineers who pretend the ecologist or environmentalist. Part II. Now, a lot of trickers in politics, business, journalism and science and technology dominatethe society to make consumers’ eyes blind. Why don’t we unveil these hidden tricks behind their words and phrases as follows:
・II-1: Environmental matter: environmentally-kind (benign); eco-friendly; carbon-free; water-footprint; tourist-footprint; etc.
・II-2: Energy matter:clean energy; renewable energy; zero-emission; incineration of used plastics is the energy-recovery technology, and it is equivalent to the plastic recycling; solar electricity generated in the space is clean; space business can pay off its environmental burden; etc.
・II-3: Lifestyle matter:Is there any sustainable lifestyle in this environment? Is there any example of smart life-style? etc.
・II-4: Business & Economy matter:Do you know something about SDGs? Can you explain that it deals with UN’s deep concern about the sustainability? Do you know SDGs help to found and activate “green-capped” campaigns in Japan? Let us exchange the information about their activity.
・II-5: Food, Medical and Medicinal matter:advertisement of supplements, vitamins, enzyme-reinforced foods, website commercials of god-hand surgeons, etc. Part III. Set-up of ombudsman group or system for the surveillance of improper business words and phrases. Another option: proposal of curricula to business, industry, and wherever the use of environment and lifestyle-related vocabularies are essential. -over-

Dear ESS member
This is the announcement of latter half part of practice on May 24.
Theme: Walking and health Genre: Group Talk What makes walking so great for your health and what else do you need to do Health experts say walking is an easy way to improve physical and mental health, bolster fitness and prevent disease. Doctors say people should also add other activities to their fitness routines, including resistance exercises like lifting weights and activities that keep you flexible like yoga or stretching. “You don’t need equipment and you don’t need a gym membership,” says Dr. Sarah Eby, a sports medicine physician with Mass General Brigham. “And the benefits are so vast.” Walking can help meet the U.S. surgeon general’s recommendation that adults get at least 2 1/2 hours of moderate-intensity physical activity every week. This helps lower the risk of heart disease, high blood pressure, dementia, depression and many types of cancer. Walking also improves blood sugar levels, is good for bone health and can help you lose weight and sleep better. Another advantage? It’s a low-impact exercise that puts less pressure on joints as it strengthens your heart and lungs. But is it enough to maintain overall health and well-being? Walking doesn’t provide resistance training that builds muscle strength and endurance and it is a good idea to incorporate that into your routine says Eby, “Additionally we recommend two days at a minimum of strength building, kind of muscular building exercises. Whether that’s body weight exercises, true kind of weight training, or resistance band exercises. Something that’s kind of working the muscles to build strength more than just kind of day-to-day activities.” But do you really need 10,000 steps a day? Nearly everyone has heard about this walking goal, which dates back to a 1960s marketing campaign in Japan. But experts stress that it’s just a guideline. “We’ve all heard of 10,000 steps a day, and that’s—was an ad campaign launched in the 1960s that has somehow had had some significant staying power despite not really being based on any true science, ” explains Eby. “What we know now is that we see significant health benefits from even a modest amount of activity. And if we’re talking specifically about walking even 2 1/2 to 3 thousand steps a day is—we see some health benefits from that,” she adds.
Discussion
1. Do you walk every day? And how many steps or distance do you walk every day?
2. If you have your special walking route or path please share it with your member group. Is there something special for you?
3. What do you think about an effect of walking for your health?
4. Walking has many benefits such as improving mood and reducing stress. Do you feel that walking helps you improve your mood and reduce stress? What do you feel when you take long walks?
5. Other than walking, is/are there something which you do to keep healthy. Ex) sports, hobby. Procedures: I’m going to make several groups of 3 or 4 people and you can enjoy discussion on the topic! When the time is up, this practice ends.
Thank you. Hiroaki Ishizaki

Dear Kyoto NHK ESS members
This is the announcement of the latter half practice on May 31.
Theme: Tea vs. Coffee
Genre: Group Talk
Kyoto is famous for its traditional tea culture, particularly its exquisite matcha and elegant tea houses. At the same time, the city has a thriving coffee scene, with charming cafés offering artisanal brews. Would you like to share more about Kyoto's tea and coffee traditions, or maybe recommendations for places to visit?
Procedure:
1. Make some groups consisting of 3～4 people.
2.Choose the chief in each group.
3. Choose topics from the list below and discuss them.
4. Share the group's discussion with everyone.
Part 1: Warm-Up
・Introduction: Do you prefer tea or coffee? Why?
・Personal Experience: Share a memory related to tea or coffee (e.g., first time drinking it, a special café visit). Do you have any recommendations for places to visit?
・Daily Habits: How often do you drink tea or coffee? Has your preference changed over time?
Part 2: Comparison
・Flavor & Aroma: How would you describe the taste of tea vs. coffee?
・Health Benefits: Which do you think is healthier? Why?
・Caffeine & Energy: How does tea and coffee affect your mood and productivity?
・Social Aspect: Do you think tea or coffee is more suited for social gatherings?
Part 3: Debate
Topic 1: "Tea is better than coffee!" Do you agree or disagree? Why?
Topic 2: "Coffee is essential for a productive day!" Would you say this is true for you?
Topic 3: "Tea is more calming, while coffee is energizing." What’s your opinion?
Part 4: Conclusion
・Final Thoughts: Has your opinion changed after the discussion?
・Favorites: If you had to drink only tea or coffee for the rest of your life, which would it be?
・Closing: What is one new thing you learned today? I hope you'll enjoy the practice.
I am looking forward to seeing you on that day!
Best regards
Yu Fang Lai

Dear members of Kyoto NHK ESS.

Here is the announcement for the second practice on June 7th, for which I am in charge.
So, I want to let you know in advance.
Firstly, we make some groups have 4-5 members as usual.
and please assign a leader in each group.

【Genre: Mini Game and Talk】 The practice has two sections below.

Section 1【Mini Game : Quiz】 (10-15minutes)
1. There’s a paper-written quiz.
2. First, please read a paper and answer the quizzes individually for about 5 minutes.
3. Next, each group leader shows the correct answer. Please check and discuss the answer in each group.

Section 2【Talk: About some short articles】 (30-40minutes )
1. Materials will be distributed.
2. Please select articles and read and talk about them in each group.
Lastly, we will summarize the group discussion for today’s talk and share it with everyone. Could the each-group leader, make a one-minute presentation about your group’s story regarding the topics? (5 minutes)
I hope you’ll enjoy the practice.
By Yasuhiko Fujioka (the name of the person in charge)