Happy New Year!--An Old Entry Re-posted

Today is New Year's Eve.  Again, the song sung by ABBA "Happy New Year" flashed into my mind.  Here I'd like to post the entry I kept on Life Type system a year ago in which the video of the song was presented.   Just sing along.  This song is 30 years old!

http://www.tiec.tp.edu.tw/lifetype/post/1130/19093

May everyone have a beautiful and happy 2009!

 

Keep Moving Up

The result of the 2nd mock exam came out this moring.  Some students were exhilarated that they had made a great improvement; some were frustrated, dissatisfied with their performance.  What I'd like to tell those who have lost or are about to lose heart is

"This is not the end of the game.  Keep moving up.  Things can go better."

To Losan (羅珊老師)

Dear Losan,

Thank you for visiting my blog, and the sweet words.  You're always generous in encouraging others.  Those who know you love you.

To Sandy (黃馨儀老師)

Dear Sandy,

Thank you for the comments on my two entries. 

I found you a great singer the day we encountered at Lungshan Junior High School.  Besides, the enthusiasm you showed was really impressive.  My intuition told me that you are a born teacher.  Annie spoke highly of you. 

Teaching Vocabulary

When I teach vocabulary, what I like to do most is use the new words to chat with the students and have the students make sentences.  For example, I've finished the discussion of the reading text of Unit 11 "The Cellist of Sarajevo," so what was left for today's class was the vocabulary part. 

"Speaking Passport"--a Way to Get Students to Talk

Last Monday, after my speech at Lungshan Junior High School, I drove Ms. Hsin-yi Huang (黃馨儀老師), a teacher from Blessed Imelda's School (靜修女中), to the MRT station.  In my car, she told me that her school has an English Day every week.  On that day students have to bring their "speaking passport" and went to a teacher to tell him/her the answer to the question the school posed on the previous day, for example, "What did you do last Sunday?" so that they can have their passport stamped.

The Secret to Happiness

"The Secret to Happiness:  Singing some songs when feeling nervous."  This is the title of an article on the front page of today's United Daily News as follows.

http://udn.com/NEWS/NATIONAL/NAT5/4662005.shtml

About Poetry Recitation

Today I told Class 314 why I'd like them to recite the poem "The Road Not Taken" to me individually.  I don't want them to learn English just to pass the tests, be they the mid-terms, the finals, the UEE, or even TOEFL.  

Merry Christmas!

I'm happy that we still sang two Christmas songs in class today.   Seeing students so excited about  Christmas, I cannot but let them sing.  We sang "Happy Xams War Is Over" and "I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus."  Most of them preferred the latter because "it's cute," as they told me.  Well, I love the naivety of the kid in the song.  He really believed in Santa Claus and so, when he saw his mom kissing Santa Claus, he thought she was having an affair.  He didn't know the Santa Claus, in fact, was his father. 

Happy Xmas

It is Xmas Eve. Merry Xmas!

Here is a song I'd like to teach students tomorrow but might not have time to. That's why I put the video on my blog for whoever wants to sing it. The title of the song is "Happy Xmas War Is Over," an anti-war song. It was written by John Lennon and his wife Yoko Ono.

Unit 11 in our textbook "The Cellist of Sarajevo" is about how the cellist Vedran Smailovic conveyed his outrage over war through music. This song can be used as a supplement.

happy christmas war is over

Advice on How to Prepare for Biology on the SAT

An article on how to prepare for Biology on the SAT.

http://mag.udn.com/mag/campus/storypage.jsp?f_ART_ID=167711

Advice on How to Prepare for Earth Science on the SAT

An article on how to prepare for Earth Science on the SAT.

http://mag.udn.com/mag/campus/storypage.jsp?f_ART_ID=167890

Thank you, Annie (詹麗馨老師)

Dear Annie,

This is a thank-you note to you. Thinking that I might be too tired to cook dinner tonight after going back home from your school, you prepared tonight's dinner and even tomorrow's breakfast and lunch for me:curry beef, curry fried rice, marinated bean curd, stir-fried ground pork, and weet soup. Thank you. After the speech, I drove home with a heart filled with gratitude. You're always like this, ready to take care of people around you. You're an angel.

A Talk on "Teaching English Through Songs" at Lunhshan Junior High School

This afternoon, I was invited by one of my best friends Annie (詹麗馨老師) to give a talk on "Teaching English Through Songs" at her school.

To Someone

The following are the comments from "Someone" on my "Photos of My 2008-2009 Classes" and my response.

Advice on How to Prepare for Chemistry on the SAT

Here is an article on how to prepare for chemistry on the SAT.

http://mag.udn.com/mag/campus/storypage.jsp?f_ART_ID=167627

Please read on if you cannot get linked to the website.

Advice on How to Prepare for Civics on the SAT

An article on how to prepare for civics on the SAT.

http://mag.udn.com/mag/campus/storypage.jsp?f_ART_ID=167510

If you cannot get connected, just read on.

To Varren

Another former student Varren (洪儷珊) also gave her comments on "Photos of My 2008-2009 Classes." Here are her comments and my response.

To Eric

My former student Eric (李鎮宇) left his comments on my "Photos of My 2008-2009 Classes."  The following are his comments and my response.

Photos of My 2008-2009 Classes

These are the three classes I'm teaching now. They are all seniors. Each class is unique.

To 曉芳

The following are the comments from Hsiao-fang on "Still more reading lists for high school freshmen" and my response.

To Gara

The following are the comments from Gara on "Teaching the Song 'Whatever Will Be Will Be' and my response.

To Bubble

The following are the comments from Bubble on "Teaching the Song "Whatever Will Be Will Be" and my response.

To Sylvia

The following are the comments from Sylvia on an old entry of mine and my response.

Advice on How to Prepare for Physics on the SAT

An article on how to prepare for physics on the SAT:

http://mag.udn.com/mag/campus/storypage.jsp?f_ART_ID=167278

 

學測考前衝刺系列》物理 歷屆考題算3遍

Advice on How to Prepare for Geography on the SAT

Advice on How to Prepare for Geography on the SAT

 

Advice on how to prepare for geography on the SAT:

http://mag.udn.com/mag/campus/storypage.jsp?f_ART_ID=167044

Or read on in case you can't get linked to the Net.

 

學測考前衝刺系統》地理 一定會考地圖

Teaching the Song "Whatever Will Be Will Be"

Seeing that many students are in distress after the mock exam, I decided to teach them the song, "Whatever Will Be Will Be."  In fact, last night, I had intended to teach them "Hero;" however, I changed my mind after Se-heng sent me a text message after hanging up the phone telling me her favorite song was "Whatever Will Be Will Be."  It was the happy tune of the song.

如何準備學測及指考英文--鄭思恆學姐的經驗談

I intereviewed Ms. Se-heng Cheng on the phone about how she prepared for English on the SAT and the UEE. Se-heng, a classmate of Miranda, didn't go to cram school. She just followed the teachers in school. She did quite well on the UEE and is studying at NTU. Her UEE English score was 90.xx. The following is how she studied English in high school: She

如何準備學測及指考英文--萬修安學姐的個人經驗談

The 2nd mock exam was over this afternoon. It means that the SAT is just a few weeks away. Tonight, I called and asked Miranda, a former student who is majoring in English at National Central University, for her advice on how to prepare for English on the SAT and the UEE. Miranda got a 14 ranking score in English on the SAT and a 93.xx on the UEE. The following is her advice:

Advice on How to Prepare for History on the SAT

An article on how to prepare for history on the SAT:

http://mag.udn.com/mag/campus/storypage.jsp?f_ART_ID=166816

學測考前衝刺系列》中國史、世界史 要加強

Advice on How to Prepare for math on the SAT

An article on how to prepare for math on the SAT:

http://mag.udn.com/mag/campus/storypage.jsp?f_ART_ID=166640

Also, in case you can't get connected, here is the article:

學測考前衝刺系列》數學 留意時事+觀念題

An Inspiring Blog--Xuite 日誌

This is a blog you would like to visit for some inspiration. It is kept by Mr. Pei-kang Hsu (徐培剛先生). Reading it and knowing what somebody is doing for everybody will bring you strength to move on.  When you're at a crossroads in life, it might help you in the decision-making. Make sure you visit it once in a while.

http://blog.xuite.net/erickhera.tw/nomore

Advice on How to Prepare for Chinese on the SAT

This article provides tips on how to prepare for Chinese on the SAT.  It is also available on the webpage: http://mag.udn.com/mag/campus/storypage.jsp?f_ART_ID=166423 學測考前衝刺系列》國文 多看名家作品

Tips on Writing the SAT Composition

In the following article are some tips on writing the SAT composition. You can also visit the webpage:

http://mag.udn.com/mag/campus/storypage.jsp?f_ART_ID=166340

學測考前衝刺系列》堆單字套公式 作文難拿分

Advice on How to Prepare for English on the SAT

The following is an article in yesterday’s United Daily News. There is advice on how to prepare for English on the SAT. You can also read the article on the UDN webpage:

http://mag.udn.com/mag/campus/storypage.jsp?f_MAIN_ID=12&f_SUB_ID=611&f_ART_ID=166339

2008/12/14

學測考前衝刺系列》英文 熟背5千字

How Long Hasn't Your Heart Leapt Up?

Words from Albert Einstein:

“There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle.”

I came across this in the December issue of Reader's Digest. This reminds me of William Wordswoth's poem “My Heart Leaps Up When I Behold.”

A Touching Video: Chile's Highway Hero Dog

This surveillance video touched hearts worldwide.   On a busy highway in Chile, a dog ran the risk of losing his own life in attempt to rescue his canine buddy by draggin it to the side of the highway. The poor dog which had got hit did not make it, though. 

Students' Compositions: Apology Letters (SAT 2008)

On the 2008 SAT, the examinees were asked to write an apology letter.  

She is really in love with English

Pei-ling (陳培玲), a student in Class 310 was the first one to recite to me the whole poem "The Road Not Taken."   To my surprise, she later even memorized Hemingway's "True Nobility."   Today, after reciting it to me, she asked me to give her another great article.  I first thought of "General MacArthur's Prayer for His Son."  Pei-ling is a science major, but it seems that she has been much engrossed in English recently. 

My Assignment for Tonight

This evening when I listed the things to do, I was surprised.  The following is what the list looks like:

1. Grade 310 compositions.  (Thankfully, I have finished two-thirds in school this afternoon.)

How to Prepare for English on the SAT--過來人的話

Today, Sun sent me an email answering the question I posed the day before yesterday: "How did you get the highest ranking–15–in English on the 2008 SAT?"  With her persmission, I posted her mail here, in the hope that some students will benefit from the answer:

 

 

陳 桑 to me              show details 7:51 AM (11 hours ago) Reply

Reading Assignment

Last Friday before I handed out two stories to a class so that they could read them on the weekend, I asked the students how many of them had read Obama's winning speech, which I handed out three weeks ago.   As expected, I saw only a few hands up.  

To Sun

Dear Sun,

Thank you for the comments. Hmm, I can imagine your sweet smile when seeing the concluding sentence in "The Buzz of a Mosquito." :)

BTW, would you please answer the following question:

How did you get the highest ranking--15--in English on the 2008 SAT?

Your experience will be of great help to many high school students. Please feel free to answer in Chinese. After all, what's important is to get your message across.

To Der-chen

My 314 student Der-chen made comments on the entry "Teaching 'The Road Not Taken'" in verse form as follows. After that is my response.

Re:Teaching ["The Road Not Taken"]

What a spectacle [it] is.

A Teacher is A Teacher always.

I can`t touch the sky,

so I leave with a sigh.

Posted by Der Chen.Lin at 06/12/2008, 20:28

Dear Der-chen,

What Those Highest SAT Scorers Have in Common

An article in the United Daily News dated Dec. 5 was about the common behavior of 8 examinees who scored highest on the SAT.  It was a study done by an NTU student.  Quite interesting.

http://mag.udn.com/mag/campus/storypage.jsp?f_ART_ID=164449

According to her study, the 8 highest SAT scorers take a nap, love reading and writing, and exercise regularly.

If you have difficulty getting linked to the webpage, just read on.

Teaching "The Road Not Taken"

I did teach Unit 12 “The Road Not Taken” before Unit 11. Before I did so, I told the students why: First, they just read the poem on the 2nd mid-term, which involved choice-making. Second, they are now facing a crossroads in their life. They have to decide whether to apply to university in February or not and, if yes, which school/depeartment to apply to. Third, I’d like them to memorize such a beautiful and meaningful poem and recite it to me. That takes time.

Then we started our contact with the poem.

The Buzz of a Mosquito

Now I'm feeling very sleepy because I slept for only one or two hours last night. A mosquito kept buzzing around my ears. Though trying to imagining it talking to me, I just couldn't take the buzzing as sweet whispers. And whenever I turned on the lights and sought for it, it got out of my sight. The buzz of mosquitoes is really something unbearable to me. How I wish all mosquitoes went to bed at night, too!

Good night.

A Celebration of Perseverance

Today I celebrated my 1st blog anniversary by giving each of my students a piece of chocolate. I should have celebrated yesterday; however, yesterday I could only met two classes, 310 and 313. In order not to leave Class 314 out, I had the celebration today.

To Annie

Dear Annie,

Thanks for the encouraging words.   It is you that inspired me to keep a blog of my own.  Remember that you started your blog much earlier than I?  I believe that in the blog there is the spirit of sharing. 

Sorry that I usually keep my blog late at night.  There are so many things at hand to tackle every night, you know.

Your blog is also a valuable trove for teachers.  In there we can find your love for your students, teaching, and books.  I also enjoy reading your blog.

Thank you for being my friend.

My 1st Blog Anniversary

Today is my 1st blog anniversary.  I learned blogging on December 3, 2007 for the first time at Ching-mei Senior High School （景美女中）.  It was a Monday afternoon.  The instructor were Mr. Yi-chieh Chen (陳怡杰老師) and his lovely wife Ming-hsuan (明璇老師).  Then we had our 2nd class on December 17.

A Smiling Sky

This evening one of the TV news reports presented a smiling sky.  Then I went out searching for it, only to find a few stars twinkling in the dark night. 

Visit this webpage, take a look at the smiling sky, and smile. :)

http://blog.roodo.com/magthepig/archives/7746449.html

 

To Sandra from Taipei County

Sandra, a member of Taipei County English Education Advisory Group,  kindly posted her comments on my Life Type blog.  The following are her comments and my response.

Re:What Good Does Keeping a Blog Do?

Dear June,

It's really a pleasure to read your blog. Thank you for being such a diligent blogger that I can learn from your entries on a daily basis.

By keeping blogs, we English teachers can reflect on our teaching, share our experiences, and learn from each other. Therefore, blogging for me is also a good way to facilitate teachers' professional development, particularly when we have role models to follow, just like you.

       Posted by Sandra from Taipei County at 02/12/2008, 11:20

Dear Sandra,

What Good Does Keeping a Blog Do?

This afternoon, we English teachers had a meeting.  During the meeting, the chairperson Ms. Chang (張倚鳳老師) asked if anyone could share with all the teachers what they learned at any recent workshop.  Melody (陳美麗老師) said something about last Monday's speech, the one on how to guide high school students to write a good English composition.  She mentioned many good points.  Then Ms. Chang asked if anyone would like to say more about the speech.  To share what I learned, I raised my hand and invited the teachers tor read the notes I took in my blog. 

大學入學甄選：杭老師的演講 我的筆記--An Old Entry Reposted

Those NHSH students who are considering getting admitted to university earlier might find the information this entry provides helpful:

http://www.tiec.tp.edu.tw/lifetype/post/1130/18322

Li-hsin's wedding

Yesterday I went to my former student Li-hsin's wedding banquet at Taipei Imperial Hotel (華國大飯店）. I taught Li-hsin (張立欣) for two years at Chieh-show Junior High School right before I came to teach at NHSH. His mother was my colleague. At that time she was Dean of Academic Affairs. Here are some photos taken at the banquet. Those who graduated from Chieh-show could have a look at their dear teachers.

Making a Choice

The following is a poem which appeared on the 2nd mid-term:

 

Each of us begins with a garment of different weave and design,

Which in time's passage becomes worn, washed, wrinkled,

How One Looks When Taking an Exam

When I stand in front of a class, proctoring a test, I can always see clearly who has the intention to cheat.  It shows!  If there were a mirror before those cheaters, they would be shocked, even disgusted, by how they look at the attempt. 

On the other hand, those who behave well look different.  They look confident.  Fortunately, most students belong to this category. 

To Fei

I was thrilled to receive a response to "How Students Address Their Teachers" from Fei, a student I taught in Chieh-show Junior High School.   The following are the response copied from my Life Type blog (http://www.tiec.tp.edu.tw/lifetype/post/1130/28634#comments)

and my feedback to it.

How Students Address Their Teachers

How could students address their teachers besides calling them "Teacher" in Chinese?

I love/miss the way my former class 316 called me: Ms. Lee, and how some students in my former class 314 addressed me: 欣～～蓉～～.  Sweet!

A Way to Learn English

The other day, a student asked me about ways to learn English. I mentioned to her a way my former colleague used. She taught history but was quite interested in English. To polish her English up, she read the editorial of the China Post and translated it into Chinese. Then, she read her Chinese translation and then translated it back into English. Now, she could compare her English translation and the original editorial in the newspaper.

如何讓高中生寫出漂亮作文--郭岱宗教授演講‧我的筆記

演講題目：如何讓高中生寫出漂亮作文

講者：郭岱宗教授‧淡江大學英文系副教授

時間：2008年11月24日下午1:00~3:00

地點：本校A1大階梯教室

演講內容：

要寫出漂亮的作文，要從下面四點著手：

The Tail Is Wagging the Dog--An Essay by a Student

The following is an essay written by a student in Class 314:

The Tail Is Wagging the Dog

Buddha's Hand--a Masterpiece by Nature

This morning I picked a Buddha's Hand from the tree in my mother-in-law's garden for a colleague.  (I said sorry to the tree.)  It is in the first two photos. 







Isn't it amazing that Mother Nature can produce such a masterpiece?  

"Thank Buddha. Thank Dad and Mom" --an Article

The day before yesterday I read an article in the United Daily News.  The writer told his friend and his friend's wife a story of his to remind his friend not to take his wife for granted. 

Curiosity

A student in Class 310 asked me this afternoon why I didn't hold any negative attitude toward studies or tests when I was their age.  I told her because I have always been full of curiosity.   I just wanted to learn more, not only from the textbooks, my teachers, but from the mistakes I made on the tests. 

I remember when i was in high school, I spent a lot of my free time listening to classical music.  While I was listening, I would read the score of the music, because I couldn't just be satisfied with hearing the notes.  Out of curiosity, I wanted to see how the notes went up and down.  That's me.

Earning Grains of Rice for Hungry People

This evening, I got a mail from Konraad, a friend from the US.  He has always been enthusiastic about charitable activities.  The following is the mail:

Shopping Coupons

To boost economy, our government is going to distribute NT$3,600 worth of shopping coupons to each of the 23 million people next year.  

A Lesson from Someone Who Has a "Not-So-Perfect" Body

"I had the blues because I had no shoes,

Until upon the street, I met a man who had no feet."

The Secret to Losing Weight

According to The Secret, those who want to lose weight should not dwell on the thought "I have to lose weight," because this would attract more I-have-to-lose-weight thought to them, and thus, they will always have to lose weight.  What would really help is to keep thinking about their perfect weight, about how they look with their perfect figures.  Then the dream will come true.  I like this mindset.  Very positive.

When You're Feeling Down--a Passage from The Secret

Last night before I went to sleep, I re-opened The Secret and read it. Here is a passage from the book that might help lift you up when you are feeling down.

Reading comprehension exercise from Sanmin

Sanmin emailed me a reading comprehension exercise, with explicit explanations of the words and a Chinese translation.  It's about the recent global economic chaos. Those who are interested in this issue or who would like to test their reading ability may download it.

reading-comprehension-1

 

A Way to Get Students to Speak English

When I finish discussing and teaching a paragraph, I usually have the students do the read-look up-and-say activity in pairs.  Then I ask them to tell me from their memory the language items they have learned from that paragraph.  This is an exciting moment. 

An Interesting Letter Written by a Student

The following is a letter written by a student. The writing task requires students to write a letter to someone in the past or in a story.

Modal Verbs--Two Old Entries

For those who want to learn more about modal verbs, here are two old entries which might help you have a better understanding of these confusing words:

http://www.tiec.tp.edu.tw/lifetype/post/1130/25216

http://www.tiec.tp.edu.tw/lifetype/post/1130/25254

The best way to master them is to make sentences with them.

To Varren

The following are Varren's response to my yesterday's entry "We Never Told Him He Couldn't Do It" and my feedback to her:

Varren's comments on "A Powerful Sentence"

Varren emailed me her response to the Nov. 8 entry "A Powerful Sentence" for fear that it might take up too much space on my blog.  With her permission, I put her comments here because some of her points are really good.

Varren: 

It is too much to post on yout blog, so...here it is

"We Never Told Him He Couldn't Do It"

This afternoon, after finishing Unit 6 "Body Imperfect," I had the 314 students read an article together.  The title was "We Never Told Him He Couldn't Do It."  It was about how a boy born with club feet acted as normal children and finally even made the cross-country team when he was in seventh grade. It happened because his parents never told him he couldn't do what other children could do. 

The Parallel Structure

Parallel structures make a speech more powerful. We find many in Dr. King's "I Have a Dream." In Obama's speech in Chicago after winning the presidency, we can find some more examples. Here I'd like to list two:

"A Serious Mistake"--student's essay

The following is an essay by a student from Class 314:

                              A Serious Mistake

Former Students and I--Reunion on School Founding Anniversary

School Anniversary: the Race and the Garden Party

 

To Varren

Here is the reponse to Etta from Varren, both of whom are my former students. This response was posted on my Life Type blog.

To Etta

Dear Etta,

Of course, there are police who commit crime. Then they should also be put into jail.

I just don't like to see violence. You know how blacks were treated by the KKK members, some of whom lynced black people and got away with it, under cover of some White police. However, Dr. King still insisted on "nonviolent resistance."

A Powerful Sentence

Today I wrapped up Unit 5 "I Have a Dream" by re-mentioning the sentence from the Alchemist:

"When you really want something to happen, the whole universe conspires so that your wish comes true."

How I love this sentence!

Nonviolent Protest, Please

Watching "Yellow-Ribbon Siege" organized by the DPP turning into violence, I turned off the TV, with Martin Luther King's words echoing in my mind:

"We must meet hatred with love."

"Darkeness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that."

Lunch with Tracy

* This photo is put on my blog with Tracy's permission. Respecting students' privacy, normally, I don't post students' individual photos.

This noon I had lunch with Tracy, an NHSH graduate who is practicing teaching English in the school. She was not in my class, but we got to know each other somehow.

In our conversation, I could feel her love for students and her passion for teaching. She told me she enjoyed sharing her thoughts with students. That was why she chose teaching as her career instead of doing research. I believe she will be an excellent teacher. Tracy, a born teacher.

New USA President

Obama won the election and became the first African-American to sit in the White House. I like the sentences in the Internation Herald Tribune (Wed, Nov. 5):

"Even during the darkest hours of his presidential campaign, Barack Obama held on to his improbable, unshakable conviction that America was ready to step across the color line.

On Tuesday, America leaped....

Interlanguage--> Target Language

I found the way for students to go from an interlanguage to the target langauge seems quite long.  For example, in this morning's quiz, there was a translation item:

交通安全的重要性再怎麼強調也不為過...

Food Nutrition

Want to know the nutrition quality of different kinds of food?  At the following webpage you can find an interesting list made by Yale University, which appeared in the United Daily News (Oct. 26, 2008):

http://mag.udn.com/mag/life/storypage.jsp?f_MAIN_ID=211&f_SUB_ID=1404&f_ART_ID=156200

The Egret

Here are three photos I took of an egret at the Pihu Park yesterday afternoon.  I was attracted to its elegance.

To Chun-chieh

Dear Chun-chieh,

Though your mother called the other day and told me that you'd like to visit me, I was still very surprised when seeing you.  It's been nine years since I last saw you, right?  I still remember how you made 317 laugh when you studied at NHSH.

Yes. I agree with you that "keeping learning may lead another dream to come true in the next decade."  Is that the belief which prompted you to pursue a master's degree in Museum Studies in Britain after you taught elementary school for only a few years?   Who knows?  Some day, you might be working in a museum.

A Visit by Former Students

Three former students paid me a visit today: Yi-wen, Chia-ling, and Chun-chieh.  They graduated 9 years ago and are pursuing their dreams in different fields now. 

To Etta

In response to my "Homosexuality" entry, Etta invited me to read an article written by her on her blog recently. It's her comments on a recent issue in the States "Yes on Prop. No. 8," which is intended to illegalize gay marriage. Here, Prop. stands for "proposition." If you are interested in this issue, please read her blog:

http://blog.ettachou.com/2008/10/26/california-prop-no-8/#comment-19330

After reading her article, I left my comments on her blog as follows:

Teaching Collocation

After the discussion of the reading, we finally came to vocabulary study today.   Now I don't avoid speaking Chinese.  Instead, I will say the Chinese chunk and ask students to find the English equivalent in the example sentence.  For example, the students see the following example sentence for the new word "resist" in their textbook:

The robber was hurt while resisting arrest.

Homosexuality

This morning in Class 313, when we came to the word "homosexual," I told them we should not have a bias against homosexuals.  When I was studying in the US, I watched a news report on TV and came to realize that homosexuality is biologically determined.  Those gays and lesbians are wired to be so before they are born, with something additional in their brains.  That news really impressed me because it totally changed my attitude toward homosexuality. 

An Essay by a Student

Students in Class 314 like to write extra compositions for me to read. Among them are some good works. Here is an example:

A Happy Encounter & Teaching English Through Songs

This afternoon I was invited to share my experience with members of Taipei County English Education Advisory Group at Chiang-Tsui Junior High Schol.  My topic was Teaching English Through Songs.  I talked about the reasons for using songs in class, what songs to teach, and how such an activity can be conducted. 

A Good Website for Teaching English Through Songs

I found a good website for teaching/learning English through songs.  The URL is a little bit scary, though.

http://www.ylsh.chc.edu.tw/%E8%8B%B1%E6%96%87%E7%A7%91/%E8%8B%B1%E6%96%87%E6%AD%8C%E6%9B%B2%E6%95%99%E5%AD%B8%E8%AC%9B%E7%BE%A9/%E8%8B%B1%E6%96%87%E6%AD%8C%E6%9B%B2%E6%95%99%E5%AD%B8%E8%AC%9B%E7%BE%A9%E9%A6%96%E9%A0%81.htm

This website belongs to Yuanlin Senior High School.  It contains songs with their lyrics, Chinese translation, vocabulary, and sentence patterns.   Amazing!

An Interesting Website--Songs for Teaching

Last night, I found an amazing website, Songs for Teaching.  Though it's a commercial one, intended to sell CDs and books, it's worth visiting.  There you can find songs written to teach certain things, for example, character building, geography, math, classroom management, science, holidays and seasons, etc.  I even found a song for the 43 American presidents, another for the 50 states in the US with their capitals, and still another for Michelangelo's biography!  Here is the website URL. 

http://www.songsforteaching.com

 

 

•

 

The Aim of Education--Part 2

"The aim of education is not knowledge, but action." I've kept thinking about the topic since yesterday. The following is what I wrote but didn't put on my blog yesterday:

The Aim of Education

Tracy told me this afternoon the topic of this year's citywide speech contest is "The Aim of Education Is Not Knowledge, but Action."  We discussed it and tried to define the topic.  

In my opinion, this idea is like the saying "Instead of giving someone a fish, teach him how to fish." 

What do you think?

Is Grammar Helpful or Harmful?

A student who is excellent in English told me this noon that she found her English has been getting worse since she started to pay more attention to grammar.  She used to use her intuition to tell if a sentence is correct or not, but now she will think about the grammatical analysis we do in class when she is taking a test.

Chit-chat & Memory Power

On today's test, there is a passage about how to improve our memory.  The sentence  "Now it's proved that it can be easily achieved simply by chatting ten minutes daily"  sounds quite shocking to me.  I've never associated such social activity with memory enhancement.  At the end of the passage, the writer suggested teachers do some chit-chat with their students before starting a lesson.  This is interesting and I'd like to give it a try.

You see what you want to see

I came across an envelope this morning when I was looking for one.   On the envelope was a line of words: 你的心，決定你所看見的。Seeing the sentence, I thought of a photo taken at Mr. Wei's wedding a few days ago.  Here is the photo:

At first sight in the camera, I was shocked because I coudln't tell what was behind me.  A man in black standing against the wall, with his arms crossed in front and no head?  

A Visit to the Palace Museum

Today I went to the Palace Museum with three high school classmates.  We spent most of our time  on three current exhibits: Masterpieces of Chin and T'ang Dynasty Calligraphy (晉唐法書名蹟), Tracing the Che School in Chinese Painting (追索浙派), and Stunning Decorative Porcelains from the Ch'ien-lung Reign (華麗彩瓷).   Huai-su's (懷素) cursive script puzzled me because I could barely understand what he wrote.  Here is an example:

Can you recognize the words on the first line?

Advice from An-yu, a former student

Yesterday morning, An-yu （彭安愉), a former student who graduated 5 years ago came to visit me. We had a long chat until around 3pm. In our talk, she said it was not until she graduated from college and went to work that she realized how wonderful and easy it was to be a student.

Wang Yung-ching, God of Management

Taiwan's God of Management, Mr. Wang Yung-ching, died in his sleep this Wednesday, Oct. 15, in New Jersey, at the age of 91.  He was definitely a respectable person.  His unequaled hard work took him from rags to riches.  I solute him from the bottom of my heart.  Here's a story about him I found in today's China Post: 

http://www.chinapost.com.tw/taiwan/national/national-news/2008/10/17/179042/Hard%2Dwork.htm

 

If

We were reviewing if-clauses today, which seem very complicated to students.  However, there is only one principle to follow:

Real or Unreal:

"I Have a Dream"--an old entry re-posted

I'd like to re-post an old entry for the lesson "I Have a Dream."

http://june.ettachou.com/2007/12/23/martin-luther-kings-famous-speech-i-have-a-dream/

Watch the video, and you'll be touched by the power of language. I remember a former student of mine told me that, while we were discussing this lesson last year, she went to the entry every time she turned on her computer. She then watched/listened to the speech and read along with Martin Luther King. She is now majoring in English at National Tsing Hua University.

The Carpenter: A Story

"The Carpenter" is a simple but inspiring story. It's worth reading and remembering for life.

Here is the story:

Perseverance

「過程中一定會很辛苦，但只要有決心，撐一下就過去了。」This was what one interviewee from NTU EMBA said in the news when asked how he felt about traveling around island in nine days on a bike. 

Words from Mr. Yang Chen-ning (楊振寧) and Mr. Chu Ching-wu (朱經武）

Mr. Yang Chen-ning, a Novel Physics Prize Winner, and Mr. Chu Ching-wu, President of Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, had a talk on the allure of physics yesterday.  The following is a news report by the Liberty Times:

Mr. Wei Kuang-liang's Wedding (魏光亮老師的婚禮)

Tonight I went to Kuang-liang's wedding. He is a very nice/good math teacher at our school. We taught the same class for two years--Class 316. Four of the girls went to the wedding too.

The upward spiral

It seems the approval of the American bailout plan didn't have any good effect on the world economy.  Now what can start the upward spiral? 

To Ms. Hung on how to spark enthusiasm for the English language and literature

Here is my response to Ms. Hung, who left a comment on my Oct. 8 entry Ithe Life Type blog) as follows:

Re:Enthusiasm

I have to find the enthusiasm of Foreign Language and Literature. God bless me. haha

Posted by hung at 10/10/2008, 11:34

Dear Ms. Hung,

Definitely, to enjoy your life now, you've got to love what you're doing. Remember Steve Job's "You've Got to Find What You Love"? He had every reason to tell those college graduates so, right?

SMART students

Today I got an article from our principal 吳正東先生 through his secretary by email.  The title is 協助孩子成為一位SMART學生, written by  Mr. Wu, Ching-shan （吳清山）, commissioner of the Department of Education, Taipei City Government. 

Here, SMART is the acronym of

Smile, Morality, Action, Respect, Tolerance.

The following is the article.

Enthusiasm

Yesterday when we came to the word "spark" in Unit 3, I told the students that without a spark of enthusiasm, one couldn't learn English well.  Then I mentioned a former student who is a junior at NTU now.  I told them about the passion she showed in learning English. 

Quotes from TIME on the virtue of thrift

Quotes from the essay by Nancy Gibbs, "Real Patriots Don't Spend," in the current issue of Time (October 13, 2008):

"'Thrift comes too late when you find it at the bottom of your purse.'"
~ from Nero's adviser Seneca

英語看圖說故事比賽注意事項 --Words from Brandon Bryant after the speech contest

This afternoon the school held the annual English contest, story-telling for the freshmen, picture-telling for the juniors, and composition for the seniors. I was a judge for the picture-telling contest. We had a guest judge from Studio Classroom, Mr. Brandon Bryant.

To Ben

In her response to my blog dated Oct. 2, "The Art of Leadership," Ben, a former student, showed her interest in reading the whole article.  Here is what she said:

Live on!

Today's United Daily News runs a column "自殺防治 用閱讀找回感動," intended to remind people of the meaning and value of life. 

http://mag.udn.com/mag/campus/storypage.jsp?f_ART_ID=152381

What It Takes to Be a Good Doctor

Last night, before I went to sleep, I read an article in Reader's Digest (Oct. 2008).  Its title is  "My Unexpected Teacher,"  with the subtitle: Sometimes the best thing a doctor can do is to listen.  It's a true story about the encounter of the writer, then a medical student, and a stroke patient in the hospital. 

To Ya-han

Ya-han (曾雅韓), a former student who graduated this summer, sent me a note through my LifeType blog, telling me that she missed me.  She is majoring in Engish at NTU. 

Here is my response to her:

The Art of Leadership

"A leader must stir people's blood, not appeal to their reason.  When times get tough, people don't want ot be told what went wrong, or lectured, or given a lot of complicated statistics and plans they don't understand.  People want to be excited, inspired, consoled, or uplifted; that is, they want to be led!"

This is an excerpt from Unit 3 "What It Takes to Be a Good Leader" in the Sanmin textbook, Book 5.  A very powerful passage.  It can serve as a reminder for all kinds of leaders.

 

A Simple But Inspiring Sentence

Today I introduced the book Harvard Style to Classes 313 and 310. And I read the following sentence from the book.

只要徹底盡到應盡的義務，往前跨一部就會比想像中更容易。

An Article to Read on Leadership

I once posted an entry in my blog about leadership.  That was after I read an article about Mandela "The Secrets of Leadership" in Time.  Since we are discussing Unit 3 "What It Takes to Be a Good Leader," I would like to re-post that entry here.  With a click on the URL offered in that entry, you can read the article in Time.

http://june.ettachou.com/2008/07/15/an-article-on-leadership/

A Dream

Last night, I had a strange dream.  It was a long dream, but I only remember part of it. 

Ten Commandments for Bloggers

I was surprised to find "Ten Commandments for Bloggers" in the United Daily News today.   Then I found the English version on the Internet. 

http://coastalpastor.wordpress.com/2008/09/27/ten-commandments-for-bloggers/

Happy Teacher's Day

This is how Lungshan Junior High School celebrated Teacher's Day.  They took it seriously.  Quite touching.

http://blog.roodo.com/anniechan/archives/7247485.html

 

To College Freshmen--from the book Harvard Style

On page 86 of the book Harvard Style, there are a list of Dos and Don'ts for college freshmen:

1. Don't take part in too many extracurricular activities. (不要參加太多課外活動﹗）

Harvard Style 上哈佛真正學到的事

Today I came across a book in the bookstore, 上哈佛真正學到的事 (Harvard Style).  It was written by 姜仁仙 (Kang In-Sun), a Korean journalist and translated by 蕭素菁.  On the cover are the words as follows:

The toxic milk scandal

Recently, the public has been panicking over the Chinese toxic milk scandal.  I don't understand why there were people who would put money before others' life.  If they had felt empathy for those consumers, they wouldn't have produced the toxic milk.  They need empathy training.

Warm up for Unit 3 "What It Takes to Be a Good Leader"

The title of Unit 3 seems very serious.  So I had to try to arouse students' interest in discussing this topic.  The following is my lead-in activity:

To Etta

Dear Etta,

Then since you've taken the TOEFL, do you have any advice for both English learners and teachers?

 

Tests

A student walked up to me during the break this afternoon.   Appearing a little sad, she told me that she got only an 87 on this morning's review quiz.  Eighty-seven!  It was quite good for many students! 

Learning English is not a matter of months.

A former student who graduated from NHSH about 7 years ago called me last night and we chatted over the phone for about 40 minutes. 

He has been very good at math since I taught him English in his 2nd year of high school.  He was studying math textbooks in English then.  Later, he was admitted to National Chinghua University and then NTU graduate school.  Now he is planning to go abroad for his PhD degree. 

Secret to success on the UEE

To go to the university of your first choice is not that hard.   Determination, concentration, and health are the key. 

http://mag.udn.com/mag/campus/storypage.jsp?f_ART_ID=149998

You don't need to go to cram school.  In fact, having too many cram school classes will deprive you of time to study and think on your own.

 

Use English in English Class

According to today's United Daily News, Taiwan, as a whole, is weak at English.

http://mag.udn.com/mag/campus/storypage.jsp?f_ART_ID=149845

Prof. Lee suggested that listening, speaking, and writing should be covered in English tests.  Besides, he mentioned English teachers are a decisive factor too.  According to him, though students in Taiwan start to learn English in third grade, some are not taught by English teachers, but by teachers who can't really speak English. 

Personally, I believe only by using as much English as possible in class can we improve the English ability of learners in Taiwan.  Language is a habit.  To form a habit, continual reinforcement is a must. 

 

A Flasher!

The day before yesterday, at the beginning of the eighth period of class, Class 310 told me during the break they saw a flasher in the park by our school. 

Time Tested Beauty Tips by Sam Levenson

For attractive lips, speak words of kindness.

For lovely eyes, seek out the good in people.

For a slim figure, share your food with the hungry.

For beautiful hair, let a child run his or her fingers through it once a day.

I came across the first four lines of this poem in Audrey Hepburn, An Elegant Spirt, a book written by Hepburn's son, Sean Hepburn Ferrer.  Audrey Hepburn was beauty itself, and "Time Tested Beauty Tips" was one of her favorite poems. 

time-tested-beauty-tips

 

A good sleep

This afternoon I asked Class 310 what is most important to them.  Many of them said having friends.  A student answered, "Sleep."  I remember when I asked my former students what they wanted to do most, many of them would answer, "Sleep."   It seems that generally speaking, high school students in Taipei don't get enough sleep.  Is it because they have so much to do--homework, preparation for countless tests, cram school to attend, etc.--or because they don't manage their time well? 

 

What is most important to you?

In the last paragraph of Unit 1 "Dying to Look Beautiful," a question is raised: "What is most important to you?" 

Libraries of English Books and Magazines

Today two more students in Class 313 came to borrow Reader's Digest.  Pei-ling (陳培玲), a student in Class 310, came and told me she had read 3 articles in the Reader's Digest I lent her last Friday.  Good for her!  All of them made my day.

TED (Technology, Entertainment, Design)

TED is a website where you can watch/listen to some outstanding thinkers and doers, for example, Jane Goodall and Amy Tan, talk about their lives or interesting issues in 18 minutes, for free.   Click the following URL and you can reach it.

http://www.ted.com/

To Tracy

Tracy left her comments on my "A Lead-in Activity for Unit 1" in my Life Type blog as follows:

Dear June,

Thank you so much for allowing me to sit in on your class, and I really enjoyed it! To my amazement, you taught in almost all-English, but still, the class was so attentive and responsive. I am always curious in what way the top-down teaching method can be effective, and your teaching method certainly inspired me a lot. :D If you don't find that bothering, may I sit in on your class for a few more times, please?

Posted by Tracy at 12/09/2008, 21:20

Here is my response to her:

Please read

Today I lent 6 students different back issues of Reader's Digest. I told them to read under no pressure. They don't need to give any report or take any quiz. I suggested they just read a few pages before they go to sleep. They can even read only one article in the magazine, return it to me, and borrow another one. In my opinion, getting into the habit of reading plays a crucial role in learning a language. By reading, they review hundreds or even thousands of words at a time. If they feel at ease reading English, they won't find it hard to take the English test, because that's what they do in their daily lives.

I hope they will enjoy reading the magazine.

A Lead-in Activity for Unit 1 "Dying to Look Beautiful"

I started Unit 1 in Class 314 today. The title is "Dying to Look Beautiful." Because their class starts right after the nap time, I played a slow song first, "Yesterday Once More," to help them wake up. I asked them who the singers were. They replied, "The Carpenters." Then I mentioned Karen Carpenter and asked the students if they knew how she died. They knew it! She died from anorexia nervosa. Of course, they gave me the answer in Chinese. So I wrote the English term on the blackboard. Then I asked them how she got the illness. With these questions, I gradually led them into the topic, "Dying to Look Beautiful."

Using English in Class

This noon, Yi-ching (陳怡晴) paid me a visit and we had a good 2-hour chat over lunch.  In our conversation, Yi-ching asked if my new students were shocked at our first encounter by my speaking English for almost the whole class period.  I said some were and some weren't. 

A Correction

Today when I was teaching Class 314, I mentioned Jimmy's story. However, a student told me that he has already recovered from his sickness. After I went home, I checked online and found that Jimmy got leukemia 13 years ago, but, thanks to the doctor's treatment, he recovered.

Last Saturday, I just read the headline of the news. And that was why I made the mistake. I feel sorry about my lazy eyes.

The following is the complete news story.

http://www.udn.com/2008/9/6/NEWS/READING/REA8/4505727.shtml

Now I'm very happy to say, "Congratulations, Jimmy!"

The only certainty is the uncertainty.

I was shocked by two pieces of news last Saturday.  One was that the famous writer Chao-ning (趙寧)passed away on Friday, at the age of 66.  The other was that Jimmy (幾米), a well-known illustrator, suffered from leukemia.  The headline said Jimmy has cried every day since he got to know he had cancer.  I feel great sympathy for him, not only for his physical pain but also for his mental suffering.

Max

This evening, my former student Max, his girlfriend, and I had dinner together. Max talked about the second business he is going to start.

The Secret

I started to read the book The Secret the day before yesterday. Though I haven't had half done, I've already got the gist. According to the book, our thoughts lead us to where we belong. If we always have good thoughts, good things will be around us. If we have bad thoughts all the time, bad things will certainly come to us. This is the law of attraction.

I like a sentence on page 21, "Your mind is actually shaping the world around you."

Do we really see what we are supposed to see?

Today I didn't have to proctor the test, but since this is the students' first mock exam, I still went to school and went to each of the three classes to remind them of the dos and don'ts.  The first thing I said to them was the English test lasted only 100 minutes, unlike the Chinese test, which lasted 120 minutes.  However, when I turned and looked, I found on the blackboards of two classes the time schedules for the test were wrong. 

Beyond Genius -- Sep. 4, 2008 entry

Sep. 4, 2008

This evening starting from 8:00, my phone line got disconnected. I put it on my calendar a few days ago to remind myself to write my blog before 8pm, but I still forgot it. A sign of aging?

However, I still have a way to keep my blog. I kept it on Word so that I could copy and paste it in my blog later.

Challenge

Being an English teacher, I have to face challenges from students every day.  Yesterday, a student asked me how to say 圓周率 in English.  I said Pi, but not sure if it was English. 

Including English tests in national exams

On the front page of today's United Daily runs the story news that President Ma proposed at a luncheon yesterday to include English tests in all national exams so as to enhance our public servants' global competitiveness.

http://udn.com/NEWS/NATIONAL/NATS4/4499665.shtml

In my opinion, whether our government employees need to master English depends on what they are supposed to do at their jobs.  Are they required to use a lot of English at work?  If not, their expertise should come first.

 

Thanks, Annie and Hung

In my LifeType blog, my former students Annie and Hung left their response to the "English song" question. 

http://www.tiec.tp.edu.tw/lifetype/post/1130/27088#comments

Here is my response to their answers.

Dear Annie and Hung,

Thank you for your response. All the three songs are among my favorites. Not only are their melodies beautiful but their lyrics inspire. Among the three, I taught "the Rose" almost every year. Its lyrics are as follows:

The Most Impressive English Song

For those who read my blog, here I have a question. 

What is the most impressive English song you've learned in class?

Please answer the question by leaving it as a comment.  If you forget the title of the song, you can just key in a line or two.  Thank you.  Reason(s) for choosing the song would be more than welcome.

A very touching story at the Olympic Games

A very touching story at this year's Beijing Olympic Games.  My student Etta sent me a Chinese version by email.  When I read it, I just couldn't stop my tears from flowing down my cheeks. 

Then I found this story run by The Taipei Times. 

http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/sport/archives/2008/08/20/2003420908

Self-discipline

Finally, I finished the story of the three-day trip in Macau. In fact, I regretted a little bit after I wrote about the first day because it took me a lot of time to type Chinese and add photos.  However, I told myself, "You can't quit."  And finally I finished it. 

When I asked Diego to give the NHSH students a piece of advice yesterday at our gathering, he said that being able to control oneself is the key to success.  I can't agree more.  Self-discipline counts a lot.

澳門行之回憶 Part 3 (Day 3, Aug. 24)

最後一天在澳門了，吃完早餐，十點checked out，提著行李往著名的威尼斯人酒店出發，這樣傍晚就可以直接從威尼斯人搭coach往飛機場。

澳門行之回憶 Part 2 (Day 2, Aug. 23)

第二天竟然睡到8：20才起床。

決定先去漁人碼頭走走。颱風警報解除了，有公車可以搭，真好！澳門的公車站牌好體貼，顧及到向我這種個兒小的人，看站名時不必仰天長嘯。

在澳門搭公車若在澳門本島車資是澳幣2.5元，若要離島，則要3.3元。

澳門行之回憶：Part 1 (Day 1, Aug. 22)

難得用中文寫網誌。為了提供資訊給更多人，這次遊記及心得就用中文寫吧。

從未想過要去澳門，印象中澳門就等於賭場。但因只安排了三天行程，只好選擇近的地方，香港又去過了，最後決定去澳門。

行前上網看了一點資訊，學生Diego也建議了一些可去看的地方，KK Travel也提供了一小冊澳門介紹。

To Etta

Dear Etta,

You must have been to Macau. Only those who've been there know three days is too short for this fascinating place. Though far smaller than Hong Kong, Macau is rich in culture in its own way. Before I went there, I thought three days might be too long. However, on the third day, I found there were still many places I had planned to visit but didn't. Well, a good excuse for me to go there again.

Going back to Taiwan

It's my third and last day in Macau. This evening I'll return to Taiwan. I might feel reluctant to leave Macau because there are still many places I haven't had the chance to visit. However, as a line in a song says, "east, west, home is best." The feeling of going home is definitely sweet.

The second day in Macau

Today is the second day of my trip to Macau. Of course, I'm going to open my eyes and ears to every new place and new thing. Being a curious person, I love traveling. How I wish I could travel around the world one day!

Thank you, Diego.

I'm going to Macau today for a 3-day vacation. My former studnet Diego (邱元亨) will spend time with Classes 313 and 314 in the morning. I believe my students will learn a lot from him. He is a special person, knowing a lot about many things, such as Asia, fashion, cars, sports, etc. When he was in his second year at NHSH, he used to talk to me at noon, in English. I was amazed at how much he knew and his good memory of the historical events and geographical facts. A very special student.

English as a tool

Today I told my students that if they learn English as a tool instead of a school subject, they would find it more fun and learn better.   For this reason, I invited these new students of mine to visit my blog, which is written mostly in English and intended to create some sort of English environment for English learners in high school.  Though they won't learn "big words" from my blog, since people seldom use big words in blogs, they will get accustomed to reading something in English.  It would be better If they can leave their comments in English.  I believe that "learning by doing" is still the most effective way to learn a language. 

Besides, I told them when they were taking English tests or doing English exercises, taking all the passages they read on them as something which provide them with new information will make the tests or exercise more fun.

 

Just get started

"When you have loads of work to do, it is no use complaining.  Complaining doesn't get the work done.  Just get started and you'll finally complete it."  This is what I like to tell my students, knowing many of them feel overwhelmed when given assignments from all the teachers.   Of course, I practice what I preach. 

Yi-hsin (羅翊芯) told me one day in June that these words gave her power when she was preparing for the UEE. 

Ben's visit & a good article worth reading

Today Ben visited me. We had a wonderful afternoon. She showed me a book she bought during the summer vacation, Don't Worry, Make Money, which was written by Richard Carlson, the author of Don't Sweat the Small Stuff series. She bought the book second-hand for NT$70. Hmm, it's a good buy.

Ben invited me to read the 3rd chapter "Learn the Magic of Nonattachment," which impressed her deeply. After reading it, I told her the idea Mr. Carlson tried to convey was part of my philosophy of life, which, in fact, I often conveyed to my students.

The beauty of education

"Little did I know how to write a composition in English," a student in Class 310 made this sentence druing the break.  She came to clarify some grammatical points we discussed in class.  Then, with the belief that making sentences with the pattern students are learning works better than mere explanation, I asked her to make a sentence starting with "Little...."  And this is the sentence she made.  Hearing this and noticing that she used the past tense, I asked, "So you know how to write one now?"  She nodded and said, "Yes." 

Sample compositions by

Over the weekend, I read three classes' compositions.  Two of the classes were asked to write a paragraph starting with the topic sentence, "I am a(n)...person." or "I am a person who..."  The other class began their paragraph with the same topic sentence or "... is my favorite season."  I gave them this in-class writing assignment right after the discussion of paragraph writing in English.  We talked about the topic sentence, the supporting sentences, and the concluding sentence.  This assignment was intended to check if they understood the concept of "paragraph unity."   Most of the students did a good job in maintaining paragraph unity.

Last Friday I came across a handout I made last year.  It contains sample compositions of the students who just graduated this May.  They also did this assignment when they first learned paragraph writing last summer.  Quite a few of the paragraphs are really good.

I am a... person.

 

 

在大學上山下海 打開你的眼睛: A letter to college freshmen from Jiang, Xun (蔣勳)

This is a letter to college freshmen from Jiang, Xun (蔣勳).

給大學新鮮人》在大學上山下海 打開你的眼睛

http://mag.udn.com/mag/campus/storypage.jsp?f_ART_ID=143124

A very touching story

I came across this story in a teacher's blog and read it with tears keeping rolling down.

http://www.tiec.tp.edu.tw/lifetype/post/634/26771

Whether it is a true story or not, the love in it will definitely touch one's heart.

Who's to blame?

Today Ms. Chang (張俐俐老師) told me what she had told her students, "If we always put the blame on others, we won't get improved." (「一直怪別人，自己就不會進步。」) I can't agree more.

Still more reading lists for high school freshmen

More reading lists for high school freshmen:

成功高中：

http://mag.udn.com/mag/campus/storypage.jsp?f_ART_ID=142821

台南一中及台南女中：

http://mag.udn.com/mag/campus/storypage.jsp?f_ART_ID=142571

高雄中學：

http://mag.udn.com/mag/campus/storypage.jsp?f_ART_ID=142276

師大附中：

http://mag.udn.com/mag/campus/storypage.jsp?f_ART_ID=141660

 

Peer Support, plus An Act of Kindness

                     

Today in class I told the students the news story of the class of which all the students entered the high school of their first choice. 

http://mag.udn.com/mag/campus/storypage.jsp?f_ART_ID=142001

I told them the power of peer support and encouraged them to go together for their dreams.  However, I said that what impressed me most was their act of kindness.  Each of the 30 students deposited NT$1 every day.  So every month they gathered NT$900.  With the extra NT$100 from their homeroom teacher, they had NT$1,000 every month to help a child. 

I told the students that we don't do good things in the hope of getting something in return.  However, the goodness in our heart will surely lead us upward.   

A wonderful gathering with two former students

I had a wonderful lunch with two former students, Chun-yuen (邱俊淵)and Hung-sheng (廖鴻聲). They graduated from NHSH 7 years ago. Chun-yuen majored in math (undergraduate) and computer engineering (graduate) at NTU, and Hung-sheng majored in computer engineering at Tsing-hua University.

Word power

This evening, I chatted with Diego (邱元亨), a former student who is studying at NTU, on the phone.   Among other things, he mentioned ways to learn English.  According to him, he jots down new words when he listens to English programs, for example, BBC Top Gear.  He told me his experience taught him that to make a big progress in English, vocabulary size plays a crucial role since grammar is finite while words can expand infinitely.   Then I asked him if he memorized vocabulary lists.  His answer was no way.  He would rather read a lot to learn words.  

"Reading is the only way to expand one's vocabulary," a teacher from Studio Classroom once made the remark at her speech.  What impressed me most was she said "the only way," not "one way."

Another letter to college freshmen: Improve your foreign language ability

Here is another letter to college freshman, which was written by Prof. Chen (陳超明).  The title is 強化外語能力 與世界對話. 

http://mag.udn.com/mag/campus/storypage.jsp?f_ART_ID=141490

Several of the points he mentioned are what I also told my students every year. 

Three more reading lists for high school freshmen

Here are three more reading lists.

麗山高中

http://mag.udn.com/mag/campus/storypage.jsp?f_ART_ID=140661

建國中學

http://mag.udn.com/mag/campus/storypage.jsp?f_ART_ID=140923

高雄鳳新高中

http://mag.udn.com/mag/campus/storypage.jsp?f_ART_ID=141491

Two more letters to college freshmen

Click and you can read two more letters to college freshmen.

http://mag.udn.com/mag/campus/storypage.jsp?f_ART_ID=140944

http://mag.udn.com/mag/campus/storypage.jsp?f_ART_ID=141286

7.69

This year, the lowest score to enter college is 7.69.  

In my opinion, if the person decides to and can learn something which interests him in college, 7.69 will be a lucky number for him/her.  However, if he/she doesn't know what going to college is for and decides to fool around in the following four years, it will be a curse for him because he will waste four very important years in his life.

The Opening Ceremony of the Olympic Games

Now, I'm watching the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games.  I was touched by the performances.  China is a country with a rich tradition, so it has a lot to show to the world. I applauded for several times and even gave the performers a standing ovation. 

Now the athletes from different coutries are coming into the stadium. A good chance to get to know their names and see people of different races! In fact, I don't even know many of the countries. It's amazing to see people from different corners of the world gathering together. Only the Olympic Games can. I love the theme of this year's Olympic Games, "One world, one dream."

Letters to College Freshmen

The United Daily News is running letters to college freshmen.  Here is the fourth letter.  And you can get connected to the previous three on the same webpage.

http://mag.udn.com/mag/campus/storypage.jsp?f_ART_ID=140654

In today's letter, Prof. Peng encouraged college students to fall in love.  He mentioned that the best gift one gets in college is falling in love.   By falling in love, you stop living only for yourself, but begin to care about another person.  Though it might leave a scar in your life, you learn something--the opposite sex, relationships, and your own strengths and weaknesses. 

Reading lists for high school freshmen

This webpage offers a reading list for TFG freshmen. 

http://mag.udn.com/mag/campus/storypage.jsp?f_MAIN_ID=11&f_SUB_ID=23&f_ART_ID=140220

 

You can find another reading list made by Zhongshan Girls High School.

http://mag.udn.com/mag/campus/storypage.jsp?f_MAIN_ID=11&f_SUB_ID=23&f_ART_ID=140470