Column Discussion (Expert)｜コラムディスカッション（上級）Lesson9 : 'Firewalker' Dinosaurs Survived South Africa's Land of Lava

PART A_1

Let’s learn vocabulary. Listen and repeat the words and the sentences with your tutor.

PART A_2

1.　eruption	/ih-RUHP-shuhn/
	-an occasion when a volcano explodes, and flames and rocks come out of it; (of a volcano) the act of doing this
	A volcanic eruption destroyed their town in 1991.
2.　evidence	/EV-i-duhns/
	-one or more reasons for believing that something is or is not true
	The evidence points to the accident.
3.　trail	/treyl/
	– a path made by the passage of people or animals.
	The lost hikers followed the trail to get out of the woods.
4.　attribute	/uh-TRIB-yoot/
	-to regard as resulting from a specified cause
	The winner attributed her success to her team’s unfailing support.
5.　phenomenon	/fi-NOM-uh-non/
	-a fact, occurrence, or circumstance observed
	Aurora Borealis is a dazzling astronomical phenomenon.

PART B_1

Let’s read the article. Please read it aloud, and I will check your pronunciation and intonation.

PART B_2

Study: Dinosaur species survived extreme volcanic eruptions

Some dinosaur species survived horrendous volcanic eruptions about 183 million years ago, a study shows.A crew of scientists located fossilized trails from dinosaurs on a farm in South Africa. Evidence shows that extreme volcanic activities took place in the said area during the Early Jurassic period. Fossils found from the period mentioned support the idea that the mass extinction of both land and ocean species is attributed to the catastrophic volcanic phenomenon. On top of that, this natural phenomenon is also believed to have triggered the change in the chemical composition and structure of the atmosphere.

When there is a scarcity of skeletons in sight, fossil footprints are used as evidence to identify which animals were present in earlier eras. These traces are often found on layers of volcanic rocks. The fossil footprints belonged to a minimum of three dinosaur species — a small two-legged carnivore, a similarly four-legged herbivore, and a possibly ancient mammal species.

PART C_1

Let’s answer comprehension questions. Please answer them based on the article.

PART C_2

1.	What kind of phenomenon did some dinosaurs deal with 183 million years ago?
2.	Where were the fossilized trails discovered?
3.	What did the phenomenon result into?

PART D_1

Let’s discuss the article. Please answer the questions below and express your opinions.

PART D_2

1.	What are your thoughts about the findings of the study?
2.	Do you think fossil footprints are as reliable as fossils?
3.	How do you think some dinosaurs survived such intense volcanic explosions?
4.	In your opinion, what caused dinosaurs to go extinct?
5.	Do you think dinosaur museums are worth visiting?

REVIEW AND FEEDBACK

Now, let us review the things that you learned in this lesson.

ではこのレッスンで学んだことを振り返りましょう。

(Please give a short feedback on how your student did on your class.)

	Grammar 文法	Pronunciation 発音	Vocabulary 単語	Comprehension 理解
GOOD	文法の誤りはほとんどなく、完全な文章で話すことができる	ほとんどの単語をはっきりと正しく発音することができる	習った表現を適切に使うことができる	文章を理解し、質問に正しく答えることができる
FAIR	文法の誤りはあるが、完全な文章で話すことができる	発音の練習が必要な言葉がいくつかある	たまにミスはあるが、習った表現を適切に使うことができる	文章を完全に理解するのは難しく、質問に正しく答えられないときもある
POOR	文章で話すのは難しく、単語だけで話すことができる	発音の練習が必要である	習った単語と表現を少しだけ使うことができる	文章を理解するのは難しく、質問に答えるのは難しい

TUTOR FEEDBACK

GRAMMAR
Good:	Was able to speak in complete sentences with minimal grammatical errors.
Fair:	Was able to speak in complete sentences with evident grammatical errors.
Poor:	Was able to speak using words only.
PRONUNCIATION
Good:	Was able to pronounce most of the words clearly and correctly.
Fair:	Mispronounced a few words.
Poor:	Mispronounced most of the words.
VOCABULARY
Good:	Used appropriate expressions learned in class.
Fair:	Used appropriate expressions learned in class and made a few errors in word choice.
Poor:	Used only a few words and expressions.
COMPREHENSION
Good:	Was able to understand the passages and answer the questions correctly.
Fair:	Had a little difficulty in understanding passages and answering questions.
Poor:	Had a hard time understanding passages and answering questions.

Parts of this lesson material are based on:
An article by Voice of America