The End of the Year 2012

After surviving the supposed end of the world on Dec. 21, people around the world now are celebrating the last day of the year 2012 before ushering in a brand new year.

2012 is a special year to me, during which three major things happened.

Student Exchange Programs--頂尖大學拚國際化 出國交換變熱門

http://mag.udn.com/mag/campus/storypage.jsp?f_ART_ID=433098

頂尖大學拚國際化 出國交換變熱門

【聯合晚報╱記者游婉琪╱台北報導】2012/12/31

Happy Marriage, My Dear Students

        

The beautifully-designed wedding invitation from Hungzen.



The creative wedding invitation from Chung-chun.

 

Do You Need a Hug?--"Cuddling - How Important Is It (and Should We Pay for It)?"--an Article from Psychology Today

The following is an interesting article on hugging.

http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/love-science/201212/cuddling-how-important-is-it-and-should-we-pay-it?utm_medium=referral&utm_source=pulsenews

Cuddling - How Important Is It (and Should We Pay for It)?

A hug can make us feel good. But are you willing to pay for one? Should you be?

Published on December 25, 2012 by Pamela Regan, Ph.D. in Love Science

Save Them from Hunger--讓飢童免費飽餐 兼顧營養效果加乘

http://udn.com/NEWS/OPINION/X1/7596173.shtml

讓飢童免費飽餐 兼顧營養效果加乘

【聯合報╱蕭嘉弘／旅遊業（台北市）】

2012.12.28 02:37 am

Animated Stories: BookBox Inc.

My dear friend Annie (詹麗馨老師) introduced to me this wonderful website at which you can find numerous stories told in English at a slow pace, with animation and subtitles.  Each story is not more  than 7 minutes long.  A good website for high beginners.

http://www.youtube.com/user/bookboxinc/videos

Animated Stories: BookBox Inc.

Netglish?

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/1235945.stm

Internet + English = Netglish

Friday, 23 March, 2001, 11:39 GMT 12:39 UK

Merry Christmas, or Merry Xmas?

Merry Christmas, or Merry Xmas?  Well, watch the video, and you'll know where the word "Xmas" came from and how it should be used.

Taiwan condemned over executions--A BBC Article

What do you think of the death penalty?  This issue has long been hotly debated.  Last Friday, six death row inmates were executed.  This stirred a huge amount of attention at home and abroad.  The following is a news report from BBC.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-20822542

Taiwan condemned over executions

22 December 2012 Last updated at 11:34 GMT

A Review of the Movie "Life of Pie"

My son emailed me a review of the movie "Life of Pie" last night.  The review wows me.  It discusses the movie in terms of id, ego, and super-ego.   Though the movie still keeps making me think, I've never gone so deep.  My reflection seems so superficial compared to Mr. Tsai's insightful analysis.

https://m.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=10151138718870764&__user=1281684161

The following is an excerpt from the review:

A Happy Reunion

 

[caption id="attachment_6561" align="alignnone" width="300"] Taken in the 305 reunion_20121223[/caption]

On Reading Literacy--平路：「閱讀素養」有排名？

http://udn.com/NEWS/OPINION/OPI4/7583332.shtml

平路：「閱讀素養」有排名？

【聯合報╱平路】

2012.12.22 03:13 am

Quotes from "Life of Pie"

This afternoon I went to see the movie "Life of Pie."  It is based on the novel written by Yann Martel.  The story centers around a young Indian boy's experience of surviving a shipwreck.  What makes the experience special is the company of a Bangladesh tiger, which in the beginning the protagonist might fall prey to at any moment when they are on the same boat, getting through the ordeal.  Pie finally tames the tiger, but still loses their connection when their boat finally gets stranded on a beach, ending their days on the sea, the tiger disappears in the forest, Pie passes out and later is rescued.

Notes from 2012 International Reading Education Forum

Yesterday I attended 2012 International Reading Education Forum held by CommonWealth Magazine (天下雜誌).  The speakers included

101 Ways to Positively Reinforece

Click the link, and you'll get a list of different ways to say "Very Good!"

http://www.pecentral.org/climate/101_ways_to_say_good_job.pdf

 

Give Them the Stage--人才培育／那孩子給他舞台 真的改變他！

http://udn.com/NEWS/OPINION/X1/7569344.shtml

人才培育／那孩子給他舞台 真的改變他！

【聯合報╱李枝桃／國中校長（南投市）】

2012.12.16 03:29 am

Health Tips--生活習慣病了？ 力行健康7戒

http://mag.udn.com/mag/life/storypage.jsp?f_ART_ID=430542

生活習慣病了？ 力行健康7戒

【聯合晚報╱記者李樹人╱台北報導】2012/12/17

Learning English Happily--快樂學習 小兄弟倆英文呱呱叫

http://mag.udn.com/mag/campus/storypage.jsp?f_ART_ID=427508

快樂學習 小兄弟倆英文呱呱叫

【聯合報╱記者曹馥年／嘉義報導】2012/12/03

A Helpless College Student at the Crossroads--親子俱樂部／無助的大學生

http://udn.com/NEWS/LIFE/X1/7567303.shtml

親子俱樂部／無助的大學生

【聯合報╱梁旅珠(親子作家)】

2012.12.15 03:09 am

"Learn English online: How the internet is changing language"--a BBC Article

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-20332763

Learn English online: How the internet is changing language

By Jane O'Brien / BBC News Magazine

14 December 2012 Last updated at 00:46 GMT

I Believe in You--你相不相信「相信的力量」？

http://www.parenting.com.tw/blog/blogTopic.action?id=61&nid=906

你相不相信「相信的力量」？

• 作者：李偉文


• 2011.08.25

A Lesson from Michael J. Sandel--桑德爾教台灣的一堂課

http://udn.com/NEWS/OPINION/X1/7560399.shtml

桑德爾教台灣的一堂課

【聯合報╱鄭博文／雲林科大工業管理研究所教授（雲縣斗六）】

2012.12.12 12:55 pm

Knowing How to Live--夏烈：最強的高中生 懂得決定生活

http://mag.udn.com/mag/campus/storypage.jsp?f_MAIN_ID=11&f_SUB_ID=270&f_ART_ID=428804

夏烈：最強的高中生 懂得決定生活

【聯合報╱記者劉盈慧／台北報導】2012/12/08

A Website For IELTS Test Takers

Those who want to study in the UK, Australia, New Zealand,or Canada are required to take IELTS, an English language assessment.  Besides the official IELTS website, the following site would be of great help.

http://www.ielts-exam.net/index.php

Amazing!

Was the little born with such amazing piano skills? Of course not. I'm wondering how much time and effort he has put into practicing these two pieces.

Friends

Yesterday was Mei-ying's birthday.  To celebrate it, Wei-yun and I invited her to have a trip to Yangmingshan.   Before we meandered in the Yangmingshan National Park, we had the picture taken in front of the iconic flower clock.

"10 Ways to Be and Have a Best Friend"--An Article from Psychology Today

http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/emotional-fitness/201212/10-ways-be-and-have-best-friend?utm_medium=referral&utm_source=pulsenews

10 Ways to Be and Have a Best Friend

      Tips and tools to make your friendships better than ever

Published on December 3, 2012 by Barton Goldsmith, Ph.D. in Emotional Fitness

Infuse Your Life with Passion--根岸英一勉學生：多努力 投入熱情

http://mag.udn.com/mag/campus/storypage.jsp?f_ART_ID=427860

根岸英一勉學生：多努力 投入熱情

【聯合晚報╱記者嚴文廷╱台北報導】2012/12/04

Minus or Plus?--洪蘭談教養：加分取代減分

http://mag.udn.com/mag/campus/storypage.jsp?f_ART_ID=428125

洪蘭談教養：加分取代減分

【聯合晚報╱記者游婉琪╱台北報導】2012/12/05

The Other Side of the Coin--"Don't insist on English!"--Speech from TED

What if Albert Einstein had had to pass the TOEFL?  Patricia Ryan, though didn't dismiss the importance of English, pointed out the possible risk of putting too high a premium on English.

A very insightful speech.  If you need to read the transcript, please visit the TED site:

http://www.ted.com/talks/patricia_ryan_ideas_in_all_languages_not_just_english.html

Patricia Ryan: Don't insist on English!

Filmed Dec 2010 • Posted Mar 2011 • TEDxDubai

"Does migrants' English test split families?"--a BBC News Story

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-20540425

Does migrants' English test split families?

By Catrin Nye

BBC Asian  Network

Growth Through Learning--吳寶春 一個大專兵教會我的事

http://www.parenting.com.tw/article/article.action?id=5030168&page=3

吳寶春　一個大專兵教會我的事

• 2012-01


• 親子天下雜誌31期


• 作者：許芳菊 採訪整理

How to Learn English Survey--from Lash World Tour

The following is an interesting article I bumped into online yesterday. It is about a survey of the best ways to learn English and the writer, who herself is an English teacher, made some comments on it.

http://www.lashworldtour.com/2012/10/learn-english-survey.html

How To Learn English--Survey

by Lash WorldTour 2012/10/29