Class 214 Homepage

Finally, my homeroom Class 214 has their class homepage. It was set up by Hsin-yu (張昕妤), with the help of Tze-ying (周芷瑩) and Hsuei-ling (廖雪伶). Sweet!

http://stuweb.nhsh.tp.edu.tw/~c98214/

9 "Brain Foods"

Want to boost your brainpower? An article in the April issue of Common Health Magazine (康健) lists 9 "brain foods" as follows:

Bananas

Wholegrains

Eggs

List of Past College Admission Interview Questions Recalled by NHSH Students

Here are some past college admission interview questions for those who would like to major in English or other foreign languages. They were recalled by students who graduated form NHSH. Very valuable information. Since I spent quite a while collecting and typing the questions up, I'd like to share so that more people can benefit from the list.

Common College Admission Interview Questions

For tomorrow's mock interview held for those who are applying for earlier admission to English Department at different universities, I collected quite a few past questions. Here are some common ones:

1. Give a one-minute self-introduction.

2. Why do you want to major in English?

Earth Hour

Today is 2010 Earth Hour Day. Those who are interested in this activity can visit the web:

http://www.earthhour.org/

To respond to "Earth Hour," you have the lights off from 8:30 to 9:30 this evening. "Small actions will make big changes," as its theme goes.

Some Tips on Giving an Impressive Interview--熟練基本題 可對鏡子多練習

Next Monday, I'm going to conduct a mock interview with five candidates for different universities. Three of them are applying to the Department of Japanese at different universities, one that of Spanish, and the other English.

Yesterday, the UDN ran the following article, which provides good tips for a successful interview.

http://mag.udn.com/mag/campus/storypage.jsp?f_ART_ID=240881

熟練基本題 可對鏡子多練習

【聯合報╱記者陳智華、李威儀、薛荷玉／專題報導】2010/03/25

How to Write an Autobiography--自傳寫重點 當心膨風被抓包

This article is intended for those who are applying for admission to college. It happens that my current students are required by their dear Chinese teacher Ms. Lin (林雅婷老師) to write their autobiography so that they can use it next year. Hopefully, this article is helpful to them.

http://mag.udn.com/mag/campus/storypage.jsp?f_ART_ID=240880

自傳寫重點 當心膨風被抓包

【聯合報╱記者陳智華、李威儀、薛荷玉／專題報導】2010/03/25

"Make Yourself a Blessing to Someone..."

Here is a quote I found in Chicken Soup for the Teenage Soul II (p. 98):

"Make yourself a blessing to someone. Your kind smile or pat on the back just might pull someone back from the edge."

--Carmelia Elliot

Show Time

 

This semester, each student still has to give an oral report. They can either give a summary of an article in their reading book or talk on a topic they like.

Sunshine on My Shoulder

With All Your Heart

(photo source: http://www.douban.com/note/20166230/)

How I love these four words!

Good 2010 SAT Essays

 The CEEC has put 20 good 2010 SAT essays on its website, including ten Chinese ones and ten English ones, with comments for each. 

99學測國英佳作

Desirable Qualities in Prospective Employees--勤學習、能抗壓 高科技廠最愛

http://udn.com/NEWS/LIFE/LIF6/5475200.shtml

【聯合報╱記者李威儀／台北報導】

2010.03.15 02:26 am

Self-discipline. Can It Be Taught?

This afternoon, when I was keying in at the computer desk some practice questions for the Q & A section of the GEPT intermediate level, a colleague sitting opposite me told me she had been wondering why some students, after 10 years of education, were still late for school. It seemed to her that quite a few students just waited to be disciplined.

About Earlier Admission to College--準備甄試必勝技 專家獻策

Though my students are only in their second year, they will need this information next year. Hopefully, they will find this helpful.

http://mag.udn.com/mag/campus/storypage.jsp?f_ART_ID=239574

準備甄試必勝技 專家獻策

【聯合報╱記者張錦弘／報導】2010/03/14

Passion!--李國修：熱情、傻勁 最重要的成長能源

http://mag.udn.com/mag/campus/storypage.jsp?f_ART_ID=239499

李國修：熱情、傻勁 最重要的成長能源

【聯合報校園特約記者劉桂君／報導】2010/03/15

When to Start Learning English as a Foreign Language--張曼君「學英語 小一就可以」

http://mag.udn.com/mag/campus/storypage.jsp?f_ART_ID=239465

張曼君「學英語 小一就可以」

【聯合報╱記者薛荷玉／台北報導】2010/03/15

Have Fun!--張明正回母校 勉學弟「have fun」

While I was browsing the UDN website for some good "food for thought," this title caught my eye. I remember very well KK's words to my class, Class 313, about 5 years ago--Have fun! I like these uplifting words, indeed.

http://mag.udn.com/mag/campus/storypage.jsp?f_ART_ID=239402

張明正回母校 勉學弟「have fun」

【聯合報╱記者劉星君／屏東縣報導】 2010/03/14

On Death Penalty

In today's UDN, two articles taking different sides on the death penalty issue are run on different pages. Quite interesting. From the titles, you can have a clear idea who takes which side. Before reading them, you must have taken one side. After you read both, see if you will be influenced by their arguments.

李家同：如果我被殺！http://udn.com/NEWS/OPINION/OPI4/5472174.shtml

星雲：造因不受果報 不合天理 

http://udn.com/NEWS/OPINION/X1/5472166.shtml

A Pride of NHSH

On weekends, she doesn't go to cram school; instead, she worked part-time to help support her family. Now, she has been admitted to the Department of Electrical Engineering of National Chiao Tung University. Here is her story:

http://udn.com/NEWS/DOMESTIC/DOM2/5472143.shtml

假日端茶水 繁星上交大

【聯合報╱記者邱瓊玉／台北報導】

2010.03.13 03:03 am

Be Humble. Be Helpful

This is a news report about a speech made by Cardinal Paul Shan Kuo-hsi (單國璽) to students at a senionr high school in Tainan. According to the March issue of Reader's Digest, Mr. Shan is one of the most trusted individual in Taiwan; the other four are Master Cheng Yen, Li Chang Yu, Ang Lee, and Lin Hwai-Min.

http://mag.udn.com/mag/campus/storypage.jsp?f_ART_ID=238881

單國璽：知識大海前 要更謙卑

【聯合報╱記者謝進盛／台南縣報導】2010/03/11

Discussion on a Current Issue

This morning, at the very beginning of class, I had Classes 214 and 209 read a short passage from The Taipei Times as follows:

Oral Reports

This semester, the students still need to give a 5-minute oral report in turn. However, instead of giving a summary of an article they read in our reading book, they can talk about anything they like. Besides, they signed up for the date they'd like to give their talk.

Look Beyond a Comfortable Life--洪蘭：年輕人 不要只求溫飽

http://www.cw.com.tw/article/index.jsp?id=40278

年輕人 不要只求溫飽

作者：洪 蘭 　出處：天下雜誌 441期 2010/02

 一個比名不名校更大的危機存在台灣，如果對自己沒期望、對未來沒希望，台灣孩子畢業後，到底留下了什麼？

Ken's Visit & the Strait Talk Symposium

This morning, Ken (王慶剛), a former student who now is a senior at National Chengchi University double-majoring in journalism and English, paid me a visit. He told me he had three pieces of big news to share. The first one is he has been selected as one of the five delegates of Taiwan to participate in the Strait Talk Symposium, which will be held at Berkeley University from April 2 to 10. To be selected, he had to answer some questions on the application form and be interviewed by someone at Berkeley through Skype. Good for him! During the symposium, the five delegates from Taiwan will talk face-to-face with the five delegates from mainland China and five from the USA.

To Go for Further Studies, Or Not To?

While I was searching at the UDN website for an article on the importance of cultivating children's kind hearts, I came across this good article.

http://mag.udn.com/mag/campus/storypage.jsp?f_ART_ID=237174

嚴長壽開講：別再追求高學歷了

【聯合報╱記者陳靜宜／台北報導】2010/02/28

How to Score High on the SAT or UEE?--學測滿級分 靠的是認真

http://mag.udn.com/mag/campus/storypage.jsp?f_ART_ID=236938

民意論壇／學測滿級分 靠的是認真

 

【聯合報╱劉韻詩／退休教師（台北市）】2010/02/26

今年學測成績公布，報載出現不少位令人亮眼的滿級分考生。他們能在學測拿高分，靠的是「認真」：上課認真、讀書認真、讀課外書也認真。

A Song That Tells a Story

Unit 2 "The Chain of Love" in Book 3 is a touching story. Though it's a self-study lesson, I still had students read it in class, in the hope that they bear the idea of love in mind all their life.

First, the students sat back and read the story silently. Next, I handed out the lyrics of the song "The Chain of Love" with some words missing. Since the song was written based on the story, the students could figure out most of the missing words if they knew what the story is about. Then the students discussed in groups. Finally, they listened to the song to see if they got the right words.

The following is the song sung by Clay Walker. It's amazing that someone could have written this song to tell such a touching story.

 



I have to thank Julie (陳育萱老師) and Chris (林詠梅老師) for sharing this song.

A Way to Make a Summary

In today's class, I had Class 214 and Class 209 read an article on time management for 2 minutes. Then they gave a summary orally. After that, I told them a way to make a summary is to tell the main idea in the first sentence followed by the main point from each paragraph. Take today's article for example. They can start their summary with "This article is about time management," and then summarize the body with "It suggests three ways to manage study time: prioritization, planning, and using time management tools."

Who Studies What? --民意論壇／男學理工、女學文史？

http://mag.udn.com/mag/campus/storypage.jsp?f_ART_ID=237745

民意論壇／男學理工、女學文史？ 2010/03/03

【聯合報╱吳武典／台灣師大特殊教育系名譽教授（台北市）】

About Mingkun's Speech

This afternoon, in the first 8 minutes, I asked Class 209 to write down whatever they remembered about or learned from Mingkun's speech last Friday. Here is what they mentioned:

1. HOPEFUL。

2. 成功背後總有許多努力，每天讀書三小時，對於不在行的科目更加以練習及複習。每個人一天都有24小時，能夠充實的利用且不懈的努力，或許不行也能變成可能。

About Max's Speech

In the first five minutes of today's class, to make sure they did get something from Max's speech last Friday, I had Class 214 write down what they heard or learned from it. The following are some points the students mentioned:

1. 不要怕失敗，去嘗試。

2. 錢不要看太重，去找自己的理想。