Making English with Pictures and
    Observation on Questions with Terada Method

    1 .   Making English with Pictures

    Reading a text saying “English through Pictures” seems to gives us a feeling that there may be a tendency for a learner to have a loss of interest because it is not easy for a picture to cover what a story is telling. If we make a story from a picture with a look at it, such a story may go more with what the picture says and then a learner may be kept from having a loss of interest. A picture is already telling us something about which it has a desire to say. If we make a story from what a picture wants to talk, our story may get near what a picture is giving.

    By the way a story is judgment. Judgment is an act of seeking after sense. A story of a story is judgment of judgment and, therefore, it makes an attempt to get sense of sense. We are living for searching sense of sense. We have an intuitive feeling that our interest is rooted in the fact that we are living for going after sense of sense. If we see a picture and make a story to get it in touch with what a picture wants to talk, we are making a story or its sense from a picture or its sense, namely, we are getting sense of sense. So we are interested in such a story. Terada Method may give another interest if a story made that way is changed to conversation in Terada Method.

    2 .   How to make Questions in Terada Method.

    The most important thing to make conversation in Terada Method is how to put an original statement into parts which are being able to be made into questions right away.

    We get a knowledge of the types of statements ready for being made into questions. Then we make an original statement into all the types or some of them. For this purpose we give our thought to what the types are.

    Every statement has a form and, when it is voiced, it has a sound. To get the visible power of reading or writing, we have forms of statements by heart. Then we get a knowledge of word forms in statements. To get the sound power of talking, we have a memory of sounds of statements. Then we get a knowledge of word sounds in them. We keep in memory these word forms for writing or reading and these word sounds for talking. Talking and making statements are given birth through conversation in our everyday living.

    When we make English conversation in Terada Method, we make an original statement into all or some of the types of statements right before being changed into questions. In the following way we give the types of them and how to give our thoughts to them.

    2 - 1. Types of Statements formed right before Questions are formed
        and How to give our thoughts to them.

    2 - 2 - 1 . These statements have 4 types of A, B, C, and D as given below.
      A.   An original statement.
      B.   Statements analyzed from an original statement
      C.   Statements analyzed from an original statement and the original statement to question.
      D.   Statements analyzed from an original statement and the original statement to decompose.

    2 - 2 - 2 . Types of Statements formed before being made into questions and How to give thoughts to the Types.
      A.   An original statement which can not be made into any more question than made into a question by itself.
      B.   Statements analyzed from an original statement.
      C.   Statements analyzed from an original statement + the original statement which is made into a question as a whole.
      The original statement has verbs in subordinate relation, and so it can be made into a question as a whole.
      It is named an original statement to question.
      When such an original statement is made into a question, a pronoun is properly used wherever it is possible.
      D.   Statements analyzed from an original statement + the original statement which is made into questions after decomposition.
      The original statement has verbs in subordinate relation and so it is decomposed into parts which are made into questions. It is named an original statement to decompose.
      When such an original statement is made into questions, a pronoun is properly used wherever it is possible.

    3 . Observation on Questions.

    It is easy to make questions out of A, B, C, and D because these four types are ready for making questions without leaving almost any more room for making questions. It is not easy to make these four types of A, B, C, and D.

    These A, B, C, and D have statements which are voiced right before questions are voiced and therefore learners are able to be dependent for their answer on such statements, which make learners easy to answer questions even if questions become somewhat indirect to original statements.

    4 .   Indication of Specific Examples

    The indication of many specific examples of A, B, C, and D types of statements gives learners a chance of intuitively understanding the structure of English statements and the work of English words and the power of making English conversation in Terada Method.

    Attached few pages here show some English stories made with pictures in "The Basic Teacher" by L.W. Lockhart, and examples of A, B, C, and D types.

    Saburo Terada
    Saitama Prefecture
    Tuesday, September 13, 2005



    FAMILY

    Type

    Original statements are shown in red and questioned statements in black.

    B

    I do the work at the store.

     

    I do the work.

     

    I do it at the store.

    C

    The store is in the town where we are living.

     

    The store is in the town.

     

    We are living in the town.

     

    The store is in the town where we are living.

    B

    In the morning my wife does the work of the house.

     

    She does the work of the house.

     

    In the morning she does it.

    B

    After that she goes across the street to the store and gets food for the meal at night.

     

    She goes across the street.

     

    After that she goes.

     

    She goes to the store.

     

    She gets food for the meal at night.

     

    The food is for the meal at night.

    C

    When the family comes in, she will put some potatoes and plates of meat on the table.

     

    The family comes in.

     

    She will put some potatoes and plates of meat.

     

    She will put them on the table.

     

    When the family comes in, she will put them on the table.

    B

    I am the manager of a small store in the town.

     

    I am the manager.

     

    The small store is in the town.

     

    The store is small.

     

    I am the manager of a small store in the town.

    B

    I do not take food with me.

     

    I do not take food.

     

    I do not take it with me.

    B

    I get a meal at the store or at a place at the other side of the street.

     

    I get a meal.

     

    I get it at the store.

     

    I get it at a place at the other side of the street.

     

    The place is at the other side of the street.

    B

    I may not have my meal with my family.

     

    I may not have my meal.

     

    I may not have it with my family.

    C

    On the days when I do late work at the store, I have a late meal after the others.

     

    I do late work.

     

    I do it at the store.

     

    I have a late meal.

     

    I have it after the others.

     

    On the days when I do late work at the store, I have a late meal after the others.

    B

    After the meal I take a book and go to my place by the fire.

     

    I take a book.

     

    I go to my place by the fire.

     

    My place is by the fire.

     

    After the meal I take a book and go to my place by the fire.

    C

    While I am reading a book my wife and my daughter Ellen take the plates off the table.

     

    I am reading a book.

     

    They take the plates.

     

    They take them off the table.

     

    While I am reading a book they take them off the table.

    B

    I and my wife have the front bedroom.

     

    The bedroom is front.

     

    They have the front bedroom.

    B

    Tom has a bedroom at the back of the house.

     

    Tom has a bedroom.

     

    The bedroom is at the back of the house.

     

    He has a bedroom at the back of the house.

    B

    Ellen has the small room under Tom’s room.

     

    She has the small room.

     

    The room is small.

     

    She has the room under Tom’s room.

    C

    Tom will do the work at the store where his father is the manager.

     

    He will do the work.

     

    He will do the work at the store.

     

    His father is the manager.

     

    He is the manager at the store.

     

    The manager is at the store.

     

    He will do the work at the store where his father is the manager.

    B

    Ellen will make cushions and curtains in the work room of a great store.

     

    She will make cushions and curtains.

     

    The store is great.

     

    She will make them in the work room of a great store.

     

    WORK

    Type

    Original statements are shown in red and questioned statements in black.

     

    Left Picture (a)

    A

    They are doing the work.

    A

    They are putting up houses.

    A

    A man is taking a pallet.

    A

    A man is getting up on the loading platform.

    C

    He is waiting for the two other men to lift something to the platform.

     

    He is waiting for the two men.

     

    The two men are lifting something

     

    They are lifting it to the platform.

     

    He is waiting for them to lift something to the platform.

    C

    The man on the platform is stretching his arms to get a grip of the things which the other men are lifting.

     

    The man is on the platform.

     

    He is stretching his arms.

     

    He is going to get a grip of the things.

     

    The other men are lifting the things.

     

    He is stretching his arms to get a grip of the things.

     

    He gets a grip of the things which they are lifting.

     

    He is stretching his arms to get a grip of the things which they are lifting.

    B

    The man with a pickax in his hands is digging the earth with it.

     

    He has a pickax.

     

    He has it in his hands.

     

    He is digging the earth.

     

    He is digging the earth with his pickax.

    A

    A man is walking with a shovel.

     

    Middle Picture (b)

    B

    The woman on the right is making pots.

     

    She is making pots.

     

    She is on the right.

    B

    She is putting the pot between her both hands.

     

    She is putting the pot.

     

    She is putting it between her both hands.

    B

    She is touching the pot with her both hands.

     

    She is touching the pot.

     

    She is touching it with her both hands.

    C

    The other woman getting up at the table is putting pots in the order.

     

    She is getting up at the table.

     

    She is putting pots in the order.

     

    The other woman getting up at the table is putting pots in the order.

    B

    The table is full of pots

     

    The table is full

     

    The table is full of pots.

     

    Right Picture (c)

    B

    The man is bending his right arm with a bit of meat in his hand.

     

    He is bending his right arm.

     

    A bit of meat is in his hand.

     

    He is bending his right arm with a bit of meat in his hand.

    A

    Some bits of meat are on the table

    A

    Some material meats are hanging from the ceiling.

     

    STATION


    The following story goes in the turn of the pictures.
     

    Type

    Original statements are shown in red and questioned statements in black.

    B

    A woman comes into the station with flowers in her right hand and a box in her left hand

     

    A woman comes into the station.

     

    A woman comes with flowers in her right hand and a box in her left hand. .

     

    The flowers are in her right hand.

     

    The box is in her left hand.

    B

    She gets a ticket from the man at the window.

     

    She gets a ticket.

     

    She gets it from the man at the window.

     

    The man is at the window.

    C

    While she is at the window for her ticket she puts down the box and puts the flowers
    on the box

     

    She is at the window.

     

    She is there for her ticket.

     

    She puts down the box.

     

    She puts the flowers.

     

    She puts them on the box.

     

    While she is at the window for her ticket she puts down the box and puts the flowers on the box.

    C

    She takes the flowers off the box and puts them in her right hand again and takes up the box after she gets her ticket.

     

    She takes the flowers.

     

    She takes them off the box.

     

    She puts them in her right hand again.

     

    She takes up the box.

     

    She gets her ticket.

     

    She takes up the box after she gets her ticket.

    C

    She goes to the place where her train is waiting.

     

    She goes to the place.

     

    Her train is waiting.

     

    She goes to the place where her train is waiting

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