Carla Visiting 109

This morning, Carla visited Class 109 and had a conversation with the students. Weeks ago, at a gathering, knowing I was going to teach as a substitute, Carla asked if she could visit my school to see what high school in Taiwan is like, and I said yes. Last Saturday evening, it occurred to me that this week is my last week to teach the three classes, so I LINEd my invitation to Carla. Happily, she agreed to come on Monday. Since she lives far from school, we decided on the 4th class periold.

Mass protest held in Taiwan against China trade deal

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-26809066

Mass protest held in Taiwan against China trade deal
30 March 2014 Last updated at 11:06

At least 100,000 people have taken to the streets of Taiwan's capital Taipei, to protest against a controversial trade agreement with China.

Dr. Daniel Amen's Talk on Differences Between the Male and Female Brain

In Unit 5 "Blame It on the Brain," Dr. Amen's research is also mentioned. The above TV interview of Dr. Amen sheds light on how men's brains are different from women's, and how it affects what they do, including language, sense of direction, etc.

"Be Happy for No Reason"

I really love the words and the photo shared by a FB friend, but sorry I forgot his/her name.

A Tale of Two Brains by Dr. Mark Gungor--Video for Unit 5, Sanmin Book 2

You can choose to watch the video with the subtitles on or off, which come in different languages. My suggestion is watching it without subtitles first and then with the English subtitles. There are some mistakes in the subtitles, though.

Unit 5 in Sanmin Book 2 "Blame It on the Brain" analyzes the differences between men's and women's brains, which causes the misunderstanding and even friction between the two sexes.

Photos Taken Before and After the Relay Races

Blog is a good place to share photos. My students can just save the photos as long as they know my blog name or URL. Facebook or email isn't this convenient. If I posted photos on my FB page, the students have to be my FB friend first. If I use email, I have to know all of my students' email address.

Say Words Aloud

On the first mid-term, which was held yesterday, the misspelling of the word "gratitude" surprised me. Go over the following misspellings, and you'll know where the problem is:

An Interesting Webpage for English Proverbs--from Really Learn English

This webpage was recommended by my friend Sarah (殷彩鳳老師) on her FB page. It contains common English proverbs, with explanation for each and illustrations.

http://www.really-learn-english.com/english-proverbs.html#List_of_common_English_proverbs:

 

"Taiwan's president asks protesters to talk over trade deal"--from CNN

There are photos on the webpage.

http://edition.cnn.com/2014/03/26/world/asia/taiwan-trade-deal-protest/index.html

Taiwan's president asks protesters to talk over trade deal

By Sophie Brown, CNN

March 26, 2014 -- Updated 1113 GMT (1913 HKT)

(CNN) -- A week after students seized Taiwan's legislative building over a controversial trade deal with China, Taiwan's president Ma Ying-jeou agreed to meet with protest leaders to help end the standoff and allow the legislature to get back on track, a spokesperson for the president's office said.

TPR & Relative Clause

What are the students doing?

English 4U Review Exercises for Classes 109, 116, & 120

English 4U Review Exercises_20140325

Key to Workbook Unit 3 and Some Exercises for Classes 109, 116 & 120

KEY to Workbook Unit 3 and others

Stop and Smell the Rose

This is a picture I took yesterday morning in front of my office when I didn't have class. It's the biggest rose I've ever seen. I don't know how many teachers and students who passed by ever noticed such a big rose. They might not know it was a rose, but how many have stopped and asked?

"Clashes as Taiwan students storm government HQ"--BBC

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-26705779

Clashes as Taiwan students storm government HQ

24 March 2014 Last updated at 05:06

Taiwanese police have clashed with hundreds of students who occupied government headquarters to protest at a trade deal with China.

Relative Causes_Basics_ppt_for 109, 116, and 120

Recently I re-used a good function of blogs. I posted three vocabulary review lists on my blog so that students who need one of them can just download it.

Here is a ppt I've used to review the relative clause for the past few days.

Relative Clauses-20140324_basics

 

Talk on Teaching English Listening Skills in Taipei

This afternoon from 2 to 4:20pm, at National Taipei University of Technology, along with Annie (詹麗馨老師), I shared with around 200 English teachers in Taipei some tips for teaching English listening skills. This was not the first time we completed a mission together, but it was the first time we two gave a talk together to a big audience. On March 9 and 16, I went alone to Kaohsiung and Taichung to have an exchange of ideas on the same topic.

"Shift workers beware: Sleep loss may cause brain damage, new research says"--from CNN

http://edition.cnn.com/2014/03/19/health/sleep-loss-brain-damage/index.html

Shift workers beware: Sleep loss may cause brain damage, new research says

By Ben Brumfield, CNN

March 19, 2014 -- Updated 1208 GMT (2008 HKT)

(CNN) -- Are you a truck driver or shift worker planning to catch up on some sleep this weekend?

English Vocabulary Lists for Self-test_for Classes 109, 116 & 120

Classes 109, 116 & 120:

Please select from the following three lists the one you like. Download it and give yourself a self-test. You don't need to finish reviewing all at a time.  There are four to days to go before the mid-term. So divide the vocabulary into four or five units so that the review task wouldn't be too overwhelming. How about a page a day? While doing the self-test, mark the words which are unfamiliar to you and review it the next day before going over the new unit. Good luck!

"Protesters occupy Taiwan parliament over China trade deal"--from BBC

Take a look at how BBC reported this protest in Taiwan.

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-26641525

Protesters occupy Taiwan parliament over China trade deal

19 March 2014 Last updated at 05:59

Hundreds of students and activists opposed to a trade deal with China have occupied Taiwan's parliament and defied police efforts to evict them.

Good SAT English Essays_2014

http://mag.udn.com/mag/edu/storypage.jsp?f_MAIN_ID=12&f_SUB_ID=27&f_ART_ID=504215

英文奇想：考生玩創意 低頭族奪諾貝爾獎

【聯合報╱記者鄭語謙／台北報導】2014/03/18

"How to Be a Good Teacher"--Slide Show by Jeremy Harmer

This is a YouTube clip shared by my friend Sarah Yin (殷彩鳳老師) on her FB page. The slide show made by Jeremy Harmer gives some guideline for being a good teacher.

On Creativity--洪蘭／大人放不了手 孩子何來創意

http://udn.com/NEWS/OPINION/OPI4/8548705.shtml

洪蘭／大人放不了手 孩子何來創意

【聯合報╱洪蘭】

2014.03.15 04:26 am

最近有幸應香港中文大學之邀，擔任邵逸夫爵士傑出訪問學人講座，有一周的時間與逸夫學院的學生老師切磋。因為台灣學生被批評缺少國際觀，我便留心看他們是怎麼做。

Happy Sharing

Taken after the talk around 4:15pm by John.

This afternoon I was in Taichung at China Medical University sharing for two hours tips on helping students improve their listening skills. The audience's active participation powered me up and made me feel really at home in a new place, for which I'm really grateful.

Shadow Act by Attraction

A remarkable, emotional shadow theater performance by Attraction at Britan's Got Talent. Watch it and be ready to be touched!

Among the three shown at YouTube, I chose the longest one, which lasts around 6 minutes, because more English can be heard in it..

ICRT & Its Program Schedule

ICRT (International Community Radio Taipei) is one of the few radio stations where news of Taiwan in English can be heard. Years ago when CD players were not commonly used, I often recorded segments from the 7-8am Morning News and selected some for my classes to listen to. Then in class, I would challenge the students to catch the main idea. I would have them listen for more than once, usually two or three times. Sometimes, before having the students listen for the gist of one piece, I would made the task very easy first by playing a few and just asking them how many pieces of news they heard.

"The Impossible Dream" Sung by Richard & Adam at Britan's Got Talent

When talents get found, ecstasy fills the air! Listen to the beauty, the effort, and the passion revealed in Richard's and Adam's singing. "Gorgeous harmony," said Amanda Holden, one of the judges.

)

"The Impossible Dream" Sung by IL DIVO

At yesterday evening's IL DIVO concert, I heard this old song and was so touched by its lyrics. In fact, I am familiar with the melody of the song but never paid attention to its lyrics. Yesterday evening, somehow the words "To reach the unreachable star" sounded so powerful to me! The last stanza reminds me of those who made the world a better place

"And the world will be better for this
That one man, scorned and covered with scars
Still strove with his last ounce of courage
To reach the unreachable star"

)

"The Impossible Dream"

"Brain-based Suggestions for Teaching Reading"--from Cerebrum

This is an article recommended by my freind Sharon Yin (殷彩鳳老師) on her FB page.

http://www.dana.org/Cerebrum/Default.aspx?id=39427

Brain-based Suggestions for Teaching Reading

Reading in the Brain: The Science and Evolution of a Human Invention

Tuesday, December 15, 2009

In this excerpt from Reading in the Brain, author and French neuroscientist Stanislas Dehaene suggests how teachers might draw from scientific advances to help their students learn to read, though he notes that caution is necessary.

ESL Podcast--Webiste Aiming to Help Improve Users' Listening Skills

Most high school students in Taiwan are required to listen to English learning programs, such as LIVE, Studio Classroom, and Ivy League. A freind of mine, an English teacher at TFG then, once told me that her daughter, when in her third year of high school, wrote better English than she and that her daughter attributed her good English greatly to Studio Classroom. ESL Podcast, produced by the Center of Educational Development in Los Angeles, California, is an English learning website for intermediate and advanced learners where the text in each episode is first read out very slowly and then explained in English clearly at a slow speed, followed by a normal-speed reading of the text again.

http://www.eslpod.com/website/index_new.html

"News in Levels"--Website Recommended by Tara Arnsten, TESOL blogger

http://blog.tesol.org/teaching-the-news-a-great-site-for-everyone/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=teaching-the-news-a-great-site-for-everyone&utm_medium=referral&utm_source=pulsenews

Teaching the News: A Great Site for Everyone

Posted on 4 February 2014 by Tara Arntsen

From time to time, I worry that I might run out of topics for these posts. It happened today, and then I remembered a great site that I use with my students called News in Levels. News in Levels is a site with the tagline “News for students of English,” and that’s exactly what it is.

Nice Encounter in Kaohsiung

Today, I went to Kaohsiung to share with 150 teachers there some ideas about teaching English listening. I was told beforehand that teachers in Kaohsiung were shy and not active in answering questions. However, to my surprise, today's audience was supportive. Quite a few of them paricipated in discussion actively.

Learning Platform for Youth--"青少年學習平台 educoco上線了"--from UDN

http://udn.com/NEWS/NATIONAL/NAT5/8533691.shtml

青少年學習平台 educoco上線了
【聯合報╱記者沈育如／台北報導】

2014.03.08 11:10 am

VoiceTube--Good Website for English Learners

Yesterday I spent almost the whole evening browsing VoiceTube and was impressed by it.  This site, which is intended for English learners, contains films of different types for different purposes, such as cartoons, songs, news, English learning skills, speeches and even video games. Most of the films offer both English and Chinese subtitles, which can be turned off. Each video is labeled as beginners, intermediate, or advanced. While watching a film, you can click on any word to see its definition and mark it as My Vocabulary and take a vocabulary quiz based on the list. Also every sentence can be repeatedly played with a click. Videos can be bookmarked for later watch. For those who are going to take TOEIC or TOEFL, there are videos providing tips. What's best, users can practice speaking by saying the sentences from a video, which will be graded. Why not surf and explore this wonderful website? You'll love it!

http://voicetube.tw/

"How English Evolved into a Modern Language"--from 51VOA

While browsing 51VOA.com, I ran into this news story. You can click the link and listen to it read at a slow speed. Listen to it without looking at the transcript in the first place and see how much you can understand. For the second time listening, read the transcript while listening to learn some new words or phrases.

http://www.51voa.com/VOA_Special_English/how-english-evolved-into-a-modern-language-48063.html

How English Evolved into a Modern Language

By Paul Thompson
01 January, 2013

This is Steve Ember. And this is Shirley Griffith with the VOA Special English program, EXPLORATIONS. Today we present the second of our two programs about the history of the English Language.

Can 10,000 hours of practice make you an expert?

This BBC news stroy caught my eye because I always told my students that, based on what I read in the newspaper years ago, it took one 10,000 hours to master a language and that if they spent one hour studying English every day, it would take them more than 27 years to have a good command of English. However, is the time spent the major factor?

http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-26384712

Can 10,000 hours of practice make you an expert?

By Ben Carter BBC News

1 March 2014

A much-touted theory suggests that practising any skill for 10,000 hours is sufficient to make you an expert. No innate talent? Not a problem. You just practice. But is it true?

Flipped Classroom--翻轉教育！老師是課堂「主持人和追問者」，讓「學」變最大

http://www.parenting.com.tw/article/article.action?id=5055642

翻轉教育！老師是課堂「主持人和追問者」，讓「學」變最大

• 2014-01


• Web only


• 作者：李岳霞

上週六，在台大有一場很不一樣的教師研習，這個研習顛覆傳統：不是被規定、事前要預習、上課要帶平板或是筆電實際操作……在陽光普照很適合出遊的周六，現場卻座無虛席。

Language by the Book, As That Book Evolves--牛津詞典與語文一同進化

On the following UDN webpage, you can find an NYT article with its Chinese translation.

http://mag.udn.com/mag/edu/storypage.jsp?f_ART_ID=499003

Language by the Book, As That Book Evolves

牛津詞典與語文一同進化

【聯合報／By TOM RACHMAN／任中原譯】2014/02/13

"The 10 best new books to read"--from BBC

The following webpage listed 10 best news books to read picked by BBC, with a brief description of each.

http://www.bbc.com/culture/story/20140227-the-10-best-new-books-to-read

The 10 best new books to read

Jane Ciabattari

27 Feb. 2014

kekenet.com 可可英語--Website to Listen to News in English from Different Sources

Recently, to prepare for a "mission," I've learned of quite a few good website to practice English listening. Among others, kekenet.com is a comprehensive site where you can listen to news from BBC, CNN, VOA, NPR, Scientific American 60, etc. Just pay a visit to the site, and you'll be amazed at such a wonderful news-listening resource center. The news comes with translation and vocabulary self-test. Besides listening to news, there are other treasures for English learners to explore.

http://www.kekenet.com/broadcast/