台大FunLearn

The following website offers some teaching videos for juniior and senior high school students, including math and physics. It was set up by a group of NTU students, aiming to help those who need to relearn but has no money to go to cram school. Who teaches in these videos? Well, some are teachers and some students.

http://www.wretch.cc/blog/FunLearn&article_id=9347409

I am happy to know this about website from the United Daily News. After all, those NTU students have the underprivileged in mind.

316 compositions for Meow-meow 19

The following are four compositions by students in Class 316. In fact, there are many good pieces of writing this time.

The students were asked to write a letter to someone who has a great influence on them. In the first paragraph they had to write about the influence. In the second paragraph they wrote what they wanted to say to the person.

Bill Gates' address at Harvard

Shiew-an (萬修安) gave me Bill Gates' address at Harvard yesterday, along with her reflection. I read the speech in bed, before I went to sleep. Gates' speech is different from the address made by Steve Jobs at Standford. The former focuses more on a global issue--how to eliminate the inequities in the world, how those privileged help those unprivileged while the latter focuses on a personal issue--the importantce of finding what one loves. Both are wonderful.

If you are interested in reading Bill Gates' speech, please visit the following website:

http://www.smh.com.au/news/technology/speech-at-harvard-by-bill-gates/2007/06/08/1181089292159.html

A blog worth visiting

If you want to know what life of overseas students in the US is like , here is a blog for you to visit:

http://blog.ettachou.com/

Amazing!

This morning, Sze-heng (鄭思恆) came to me and asked if I could give her MacArthur's speech that I mentioned in class yesterday. Her request amazed me.

Ben has finished Tuesdays with Morrie

Today Ben (吳怡貞) told me that she had finished reading Tuesdays with Morrie (the English version). She told me that she loved this book better than The Five People You Meet in Heaven or For One More Day, all of which were written by Mitch Albom because the latter two jump around in time.

video of Jobs' speech "You've Got to Find What You Love"

Click this web address, and you can watch and listen to Steve Jobs' commencement speech at Stanford University.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D1R-jKKp3NA

You've got to find what you love

This afternoon, I got a call from Hong-ren, a student at NHSH almost seven years ago. In fact, since he graduated, we have stayed in touch till now. He told me on the phone that he is very busy now. His life has only math and three meals. He is now a graduate student majoring in math at NTU. I told him not to work too hard. He gave me a very good answer: he enjoyed working hard on math.

This reminds me of Steve Job's speech "You've Got to Find What You Love." It's worth reading, especially for those who are at the crossroads of life. You can read the speech on the following webpage.

http://news-service.stanford.edu/news/2005/june15/jobs-061505.html

看圖演說注意事項

This morning I was invited to judge the junior high school English speech contest at Hsi-chi Elementary School. There were 12 contestants from different schools in Chi-hsing District. They all had the same pictures to tell a story about for 2 to 3 minutes. All of the contestants tried their very best and some of them were quite impressive. The following are some tips I’d like to give after listening to their speech.

I. Content:

1. Think about/Tell the logical relationships between the characters and between the pictures. Besides what, who, where, when, think/talk more about how and why.

2. Give the characters names--easy names.

3. Do not use too much role play. It’s easy for both the speaker and the listeners to get lost.

4. Let imagination fly, but not too far.

5. Add a touch of humor.

6. A strong conclusion would definitely be a plus.

II. Language

1. Project your voice well. Have some variation in your tone.

2. Be consistent in the tense.

3. Be careful about your grammar. This is a contest, not a daily conversation. Pay attention to the third singular verb, the use of the adjective and the adverb, the verb in make/let + O + V, etc.

4. Use the right words. For example, two students said “tomorrow” instead of “the next day.” This should be avoided.

III. Manners

1. Make eye contact! This is very very important. Do not appear to talk to yourself.

2. Use appropriate gestures or body language.

3. Be or appear to be confident.

4. Smile when greeting the judges and the fellow contestants.

英文單字王大賽以及學生如何更改內中英文科網頁上自己的密碼

內中單字王大賽即將在三月中(3/19~3/26)展開，到時需要上網參加比賽，上本校英文科網頁後務必先更改自己的密碼。更改程序如下：進入內中首頁--> (左上角)英文科教學平台--> (上方）線上卷庫系統--> 單字王大賽--> 初賽檢定--> 填入學號/帳號--> 密碼：st學號（預設）--> 更改密碼

歡迎大家都來試試！尤其高三學生更可藉此測試自己的英文字彙實力。 目前系統開放讓同學們模擬測驗(請於網頁中點選線上卷庫系統-->單字王大賽，需要音響設備。

Key to Lungteng Workbook 6, Textbook Grammar Exercises, and In-class Quizzes

Please click Lungteng_Wookbook_Textbook Grammar Exercise_In-class Quiz__解答.doc.

Where There Is a Will, There Is a Way

This is a composition written by a student in Class 314.

Where There Is a Will, There Is a Way

To me, the old saying, "Where there is a will, there is a way" is more than a saying.

When I was in junior high school, I participated in a speech contest. Actually, I’d never taken part in such a contest and I had no idea about how to give a speech. Worst of all, I was such a shy girl that I was not sure if I dared make a speech in front of a crowd of people. As time passed, I knew that it was time to do something rather than do nothing but worry. Therefore, I turned to my Chinese teacher for help. She gave me some articles and asked me to read them aloud in front of a mirror every day after school and gave me suggestions. I was grateful to her and decided to go all out for the contest. With many practices, I conquered my stage fright and did very well in the contest. To my amazement, I got the championship.

After the contest, the proverb “Where there is a will, there is a way” is more than a proverb to me. It is a truth. (192 words)

Very cute Chinglish

Today, I read a student's composition and found a very cute Chinglish phrase.

The student wrote about having an automatic door which can detect and keep strangers from entering the house. With the door, "the thief will not steal my house." (小偷就不會偷我家) Isn't it cute?

Very

To Shih-huai: 如何準備全民英檢中高級口說與寫作

Dear Shih-huai,

To get prepared for the oral test of the GEPT, you can use the technique of "shadowing," which you must have heard about in a speech held at NHSH about two years ago. When you listen to Studio Classroom or any other English learning program, just repeat what the teacher says while listening. So what you say is just like a shadow of the teacher's words. This is how I practiced speaking several years ago.

An English composition graded 16 on the 1st mock exam

This is a composition written by a student in Class 317. It got a 16. The original version, with no modification made.

Please click If I can invent a new product.doc.

Students' problems in writing

Today the students got their compositions back. I quickly went over some before I handed them back. The most common problems the students had in the writing part on this mock exam are as follows.

1. Some didn't even read the Chinese instructions carefully. So they didn't write what they are required to.

2. Some sentences in the compositions were not logically connected. In fact, logic is very important in writing and using right transitional words helps the reader follow the logic.

3. Some conclusions were irrelevant to the main idea. You'll think the writer wrote on something else.

4. Some sounded didactic. This may be because students in Taiwan are always told to do thus-and-thus.

5. Many misspelled words or used the wrong word.

The original of Amy Tan's Mother Tongue

Click Mother Tongue.doc, and you can read the original of Amy Tan's Mother Tongue.

Key to the 2007 UEE translation

The key is provided by CEEC. Click 96指考英文翻譯參考答案.doc.