Informational Essays by Our Advanced ESL Students

           Kentaro Harasaki - 1st Place

Japanese

            How did your language form? As you know, there are many languages in the world, and they have different beginnings from each other. They have their own ways of usage, and sometimes they are very unique. Japanese is one of the most unique languages in the world in the form of written communication. It has three different systems of writing: Kanji, Hiragana, and Katakana.

            Kanji was brought into Japan from China long ago. A long time ago, the Chinese used Kanji as the way to show the shapes of things around them such as body parts, animals, and plants. Therefore, it is possible for us to recognize what it means by looking at the shapes of them. For example, “口” means “mouth” and “森” means “forest”.  According to the Kanjigraphy website in their article the “Origin of Kanji”, they report that a Chinese historiographer named Ts'ang discovered how to represent things in writing with a symbol called Kanji about 5000 years ago. He got a clue by a footmark of a bird on the ground covered with snow (2005). In addition, the Japanese also used a Kanji character to show different meanings. For instance, “空” means “sky” and also “empty”. In fact, this later function makes it difficult to learn how to read and write Japanese. People use Kanji in the same way today as they did years ago.

            Hiragana is the Japanese letters which were made by Japanese in the 9^th century, and it is very essential for understanding Japanese. In the olden days, the Japanese tended to write as fast as possible so that they could write a lot of documents in a short time. As a result, its shape was broken down, and Hiragana was formed: 安→あ. It was mainly used on a personal level like a diary, which was more common among women than men. According to Simon Ager (2011) in his article “Japanese Hiragana” from Omniglot website, he says that the original name of Hiragana was “Onnade” or “women’s hand”, and it was mostly used by women until the 10^th. Now, its important function is to be a connection between words and also within words. The highlights in the following sentence shows how Hiragana connects words: 私は音楽が好きです。When Hiragana helps to make words, it looks like this: 愛する。Hiragana can be connected because it has no meaning unless you use it in a proper way.

            Katakana is another type of letter which was made by the Japanese, and it is very useful. In the olden days, the Japanese used to use Katakana to help them understand documents from China, and it was also easy to write. Katakana was made from a part of Kanji. Today, it is used to represent words from other countries. For example, “America” is “アメリカ”　and “food” is “フード”.  According to the Nihongo o Narau website in their article “Katakana Writing”, they explain “Non-Japanese names are written in katakana. Sometimes it is also used as a replacement for ‘difficult’ kanji or for emphasis. Animal and fruit names are often written in katakana for these reasons” (2006).         

The Japanese use these three different types of writing systems, which have their own origins and functions. Kanji was introduced into Japan from China and it shows different meanings. Hiragana was made from Kanji and it works as a connection. Katakana was made from a part of Kanji, and it is used to show foreign words in Japanese. Therefore, written Japanese is one of the most interesting and amazing languages in the world.

 

References

Ager, S. (2011, February 30). Japanese Hiragana. Retrieved

September 27, 2012, from Omniglot website:

http://www.omniglot.com/writing/japanese_hiragana.htm

Katakana Writing. (2006, September 9). Retrieved

September 27, 2012, from Nihongo o Narau website:

http://www.learn-japanese.info/writing/kwriting_rules.html

Origin of Kanji. (2005, November). Retrieved

September 27, 2012, from Kanjigraphy.com website:

http://www.kanjigraphy.com/mainpages/info/history.html

 

Dickson Paz - 2nd Place

Venezuelan Sports

Most of the people in Venezuela like to have a sports life.  In Venezuela, most of the people like to play sports because this is the best way to have a healthy life. However, a Venezuelan baseball player needs to start to play at a very young age to get new abilities sooner. Soccer in Venezuela is one the most played sports because it is the oldest sport in Venezuela. Nowadays, some Venezuelans do not like to play basketball because basketball in Venezuela only has a short tournament each year, and athletes like to play all year. Venezuela has different kinds of sports to play such as baseball, soccer, and basketball.

The most important sport in Venezuela is baseball because it is one of the oldest and most popular sports in the country. Venezuela is like a factory for making good baseball players because they begin to play very young, and that is the reason that a Venezuelan baseball player gets abilities to play very well. Venezuela has the most important little league baseball corporation, where children play from three years old to eighteen years old. After this period, some baseball players are chosen to play on a professional baseball team. The Venezuelan Baseball Professional League is constituted by eight teams, and this league has one of the most popular teams in the Caribbean, which is Leones del Caracas. Venezuela has won seven Series del Caribe, and Leones del Caracas has won three of them. This league has a high level of baseball teams, so Venezuela has a lot of professional players playing in the major league such as Miguel Cabrera, Carlos Gonzalez, and Felix Hernandez. Venezuelans also have a hall of fame player, which is Luis Aparicio. In the article “Sports and Baseball,” the Embassy of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela says that in seventy-two years, 270 professional players from Venezuela have been playing for many major league teams. In 2006 and 2008, eighteen Venezuelan baseball players were called from the minor leagues to play at the highest level, and this is a new record established by Venezuelan players.

Soccer is the oldest sport in Venezuela, and it is one of the most popular because it has been played for over 100 years. A soccer player in Venezuela begins to practice very young with a professional team, so each team has a lot of players that can play at a high level. Venezuela has a professional soccer league, and it is constituted by two divisions: Division I and Division II. Venezuela has one of the most popular soccer teams in South America, which is the Caracas FC, and this team has won eleven titles in Venezuela. Venezuela has a professional team that represents Venezuela in international tournaments, and this team is called La Vinotinto. When La Vinotinto plays, the fans fill the whole stadium for support, and they scream at the top of their lungs. According to Bell (2004) in the article “Soccer Report; Venezuela Showing Progress” from The New York Times, Venezuela is the only country that has never participated in the FIFA World Cup. Venezuela has a horrible record, 7-51-7, in qualifying matches since 1965.

Basketball in Venezuela has been becoming popular through the years. In the article “Basketball Becomes Infectious in Venezuela,” National Public Radio says that a few years ago, basketball became a domestic craze, one of the reasons it is becoming popular is because of Greivis Vasquez. Greivis Vasquez starts on offensives as a point-guard, and he plays for the University of Maryland (2009). The Venezuelan Professional Basketball League is the top competition in this sport. The Venezuelan Professional Basketball League has a short tournament where the best team of ten teams is the champion. The Basketball Professional League has one of the most popular basketball teams in the Caribbean, which is the Marinos de Anzoátegui, and they have nine titles in this professional league. Venezuela has a professional basketball team with a high level of skill, and they play in a division that is called FIBA. The Venezuelan professional basketball team has never won an international tournament, so they are creating a corporation to promote parents bringing in their children at early ages to learn new basketball abilities so that the Venezuelan Professional League will be more popular.

Venezuela has different kinds of sports to play such as baseball, soccer, and basketball. Venezuela has the most important little league baseball corporation where children can begin to play to get new abilities faster so they can be a professional player in the future. Venezuela has a professional soccer team that is called La Vinotinto, and this team has been the motivation for everyone in Venezuela; the fans fill the whole stadium for support, and they scream at the top of their lungs. The Venezuelan professional basketball team has never won an international tournament, so they are creating a corporation to try to improve their talent. Venezuelans need to continue working hard on these sports like they have been doing so that they can get to an elite level, and in this way, they can start to win a lot of tournaments around the world.

 References

Basketball becomes infectious in Venezuela. (November 11, 2009). Retrieved

September 09, 2012, from National Public Radio website:

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=120305038

Bell, J (April 13, 2004). Soccer report; Venezuela showing progress. Retrieved

September 27, 2012, from The New York Times website:

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/04/13/sports/soccer-report-venezuela-showing-        progress.html?pagewanted=all&src=pm

Embassy of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela. Sports and Baseball. Retrieved from

http://venezuela-us.org/deportes/

 

Diego Castaneda - 3rd Place

 

Game Consoles          

            Our ancestors played with stones, we play with videogames, with what are our children going to play? Nowadays videogames are very common in our homes and are a very easy way to be entertained. Electronic games are one of the most popular ways of entertainment (Arriaga, Esteves, & Gaspar, 2004). Every console has a different area were they are specialized for. There are three major game consoles in the market that are frequently played: PlayStation 3, Xbox, and Wii.

            The PlayStation 3 is a very nice console developed by Sony. It is probably the most common console because of the PlayStation Network. The PlayStation Network allows you to play online with players all over the world and it is free. You can also download games directly to your PlayStation 3 using the PlayStation network. According to PlayStation 3 official website, the PlayStation 3 is the only console in which you can reproduce Blue-Ray movies (2012).This makes the PlayStation 3 have good quality graphics, making the player feel like it was real life. The PlayStation 3 has the biggest amount of games, and also the biggest variety of game types.

            Another good console is the Xbox. This console is developed by Microsoft. It is very famous for having a game that no other console has; Halo video game. Halo is a very recognized game for its multiplayer maps and game types. The Xbox Live gives you the opportunity to play online with other players, but the membership for the Xbox Live is $ 79.99 for one year. The Xbox also has an application called “Kinect”. This application’s function is to read your body’s movements without using any type of control on your body. Xbox’s official website says “There’s just you. And if you ask us, that’s all you need”(2012). Xbox is the first console to have this type of technology.

The Wii is a console developed by Nintendo, and this console is popular because of its classic games. The Wii is a console in which you will not always use a common control, and the Wii is more focused on using your body to play such as your arms and legs. This works by grabbing a control and moving the arm in the direction you are asked or with platforms in which you stand up and balance your body. The Wii was one of the first videogames in history to bring us great classics to play such as Mario and Donkey Kong.

All three of these consoles accomplish their purpose to entertain people. We now know that there is a console for every one of us. These consoles can call our attention by their variety of games, multiplayer platforms and great classics.  We cannot tell which one is the best because each one has a unique feature. At least we know that there is not a specific age for play video games, so we all can enjoy playing them.

References

Arriaga, A. & Esteves, F. &Gaspar, A. (2004). Playing with Violence. In Business,

Technological, and Dimension of Computer: Multidisciplinary Developments (Chapter 17). Retrieve from http://uiu-sun.uiu.edu/cgi-bin/Pwebrecon.cgi?v1=8&ti=1,8&Search_Arg=video%20games&Search_Code=GKEY^*&SL=None&CNT=10&PID=RvxWXMbiumsI3Kc5pfWaXsb&SEQ=20121009213359&SID=1

 Xbox 360 + Kinect.(2012). Retrieved September 17, 2012, from

Xbox official website: http://www.xbox.com/en-US/xbox360?xr=shellnav 

Long Live Play.(2012). Retrieved September 17, 2012, form

PlayStation official site website: http://us.playstation.com/ps3/