2015年2月28日 星期六

What and How to Learn--"年輕人的知識、視野、態度"

I came across this UDN article while doing the cleaning today. Happily, I could find it online, though not at the UDN website.

http://blog.xuite.net/m9313119383/wretch/89217842-%E5%B9%B4%E8%BC%95%E4%BA%BA%E7%9A%84%E7%9F%A5%E8%AD%98%E3%80%81%E8%A6%96%E9%87%8E%E3%80%81%E6%85%8B%E5%BA%A6

年輕人的知識、視野、態度

--誠品全台高中職校園講座

殷允芃/主講

如果要問我,我最感恩的人誰?答案必定是我的母親。母親對我最大的幫助,是她鼓勵我閱讀閱讀是不分階級、貴賤,只要你願意,每個人都可以掌握的,所以有時候我會說:〝You are what you reading 〞你是一個什麼樣的人,跟你閱讀的書籍有關,你看到的東西跟你腦子裡組成的東西事實上也有絕對的關聯,”You see what you think.”。

2015年2月27日 星期五

Admiring Manglietia Fordiana (木蓮花)





Annie called me late the night before last to tell me about her trip to Tamsui to admire manglietia fordianas. She highly recommended me to go take a look. This afternoon George and I decided to go. We arrived near Fengshuhu Road around 3:30pm. A police officer showed us the way but told us we were too late. However, we persisted in the visit and after an around-50-minute hike in the mountains, we made it!

2015年2月26日 星期四

A Happy Gathering with Junior High Schoolmates; a Serendipity



Today from 1pm to 10:30pm, I was with around 20 junior high schoolmates at our former chemistry teacher Ms. Lee's home in Taoyuan. Two schoolmates couldn't come, but their wives joined us! Surely, we had a great time! Whenever we get together, it seems that there is a little kid in everyone's heart.

2015年2月25日 星期三

An Heartwarming Invitation

Late last night, before sleeping, I checked my Facebook page and found a private message from a former student Dao-ching (林道慶), who is currently an accounting major at Soochow University. He asked me if I am available on June 13. I replied that I was not sure since it is a long time from now, but that I'd like to say "Yes." Then, based on my intuition, I guessed it is his graduation day. My guess was confirmed. He was inviting me to celebrate his graduation from college.

2015年2月24日 星期二

"Oscars: The Best Dresses of All Time"--from CNN

http://edition.cnn.com/2014/02/26/showbiz/gallery/best-oscars-dresses/index.html

Oscars: The Best Dresses of All Time

Seeing the title of this article, I thought of what my beloved deceased father said to me around 30 years ago, "Take a look at how those female passersby are dressed, and you'll learn to dress better." I used to dress very casually even when I taught at school, not caring much about how I looked to others. My focus was on how to arouse and maintain students' interest in learning English. When I taught at Chieh-show Junior High, one day a boy student asked me in class, "Ms. Lee, don't you have other clothes to wear?" Also, at NHSH, a boy student who was close to me once told me I never dressed beautifully. Perhaps because of my bad taste of dress, in 2006, before the graduation ceremony, Spencer kept reminding me to dress differently to the ceremony. I knew he expected me to wear a dress; however, without a formal dress in my closet, I finally went in a light blue suit. 

2015年2月23日 星期一

A Heartfelt Gathering



(Photo From Annie)



(Photo from Annie)

This afternoon at Yung-ho, I had a gathering with four inspiring teacher friends, Mr. Chou (周中天老師), Mr. Peng (彭道明老師), Annie (詹麗馨老師), Sarah (殷彩鳳老師). As usual, we chatted to our hearts' content. We stayed in the cafe from 12:30pm to around 5pm. If we hadn't needed to go home to eat dinner with our families, we could have talked on and on until the cafe closed.

2015年2月22日 星期日

Gifts Not to Give During the New Year--"老外送書安全牌 國人收書「怪怪的」"--from UDN

An interesting article.

http://udn.com/news/story/7266/717082-%E8%80%81%E5%A4%96%E9%80%81%E6%9B%B8%E5%AE%89%E5%85%A8%E7%89%8C%20%E5%9C%8B%E4%BA%BA%E6%94%B6%E6%9B%B8%E3%80%8C%E6%80%AA%E6%80%AA%E7%9A%84%E3%80%8D

老外送書安全牌 國人收書「怪怪的」

2015-02-20 08:50:53      聯合報 記者許雅筑/台北報導

年節到親友家走春總得帶上伴手禮,也難免會遇到要送外國友人禮或外國友人送禮。台北市長柯文哲年前的懷表事件引發爭議,中外的送禮的忌諱也很不一樣。像許多國人在春節假期喜歡打牌怡情,如果有外國友人送來一本「書」,難免會覺得「怪怪的」。

2015年2月21日 星期六

"Lunar New Year celebrations begin in China and across Asia"--from BBC

This BBC news story presents quite a few wonderful pictures of how the Chinese New Year is celebrated.

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-31514220

Lunar New Year celebrations begin in China and across Asia

18 February 2015 Last updated at 10:57

Countries across Asia are beginning Lunar New Year celebrations to welcome in the year of the sheep.


In China, hundreds of millions of people are travelling home in what is considered the world's biggest annual human migration.

2015年2月20日 星期五

Second Day of Chinese New Year

The second day of the Chinese New Year. A day for married daughters to visit their parents, with their husband and children.

2015年2月19日 星期四

2015年2月18日 星期三

One Day When We Worked Together



When I was doing the cleaning at home yesterday, I bumped into this. It was just a page of a document which recorded who proposed what at a meeting held by CAVES. It was 11 years ago! The 李 is me.

2015年2月17日 星期二

Best Wishes to You, Solo



(Photo from Solo)

Solo, an NHSH student I taught around 14 years ago, is back in Taiwan. We had a gathering this noon, before he leaves for the States on Feb. 22. He's just graduated from music school in the US and has been writing film scores. He told me that before coming back to Taiwan, he'd finished writing music for a TV series about Mr. Yang Ri-sung (楊日松), a renowned forensics expert dubbed "Taiwan's Sherlock Holmes." The series is coming out in May on Hakka TV.

His portfolio can be found at IMDb (Internet Movie Database):

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm6073687/?ref_=fn_al_nm_1

I'm really happy for Solo about his doing what he loves and believe he's going to land a great career.

Good for you, Solo, and best wishes!

 

 

2015年2月16日 星期一

Guess Where I've Been to Today

How To Improve Your English

I bumped into a print-out dated Oct. 1, 2001, in which is the following article. Can't believe it is available online! The website is worth visiting.

http://esl.about.com/od/englishlearningresources/ht/how_to_improve_english.htm

How To Improve Your English

By                     

Learning English (or any language for that matter) is a process. You are continually improving your English and the following "How to" describes a strategy to make sure that you continue to improve effectively. The most important thing to do is to create a plan and follow that plan. Start with your English learning goals, and then make a specific plan to succeed. Patience is key to improving your English, so go slowly and focus on your goals. You'll speak English well soon if you keep to the plan.

2015年2月15日 星期日

"Young Children need moral instruction in school"--from China Post

Another China Post article I typed up and shared here. It's about character building at a young age.

Young Children need moral instruction in school


Teaching children about enduring values is the best educational gift we can offer them

By Jack Valenti

Special to the Los Angeles Times

[Sep. 5, 1999 in The China Post]

Valenti is president and CEO of Motion Picture Association of America.

WASHINGTON—Some politicians, not all, are scurrying about with much zest and anticipation. It’s time, their polls inform them, to find the quick fix for what they have determined is a society plagued by the irregular heartbeat of deficient values.

2015年2月14日 星期六

Happy Valentine's Day! &Watch First Graders Explain Valentine’s Day



A day to remember love...

********

I could not believe first graders know anything about Valentine's Day. In the video presentend by TIME, the teacher taught first graders about Valentine's Day and had the kids make a card. Lovely!

http://time.com/3709054/valentines-day-first-graders/?utm_medium=referral&utm_source=pulsenews

Watch First Graders Explain Valentine’s Day

 

 

2015年2月13日 星期五

"The individual student: Our most precious asset as teachers"--from China Post

This afternoon, I bumped into the following China Post article written by Daniel J. Bauer, which was run on Sep. 29, 2002, the day after Teacher's Day. Since I cannot find the article online, I typed it up in 10 minutes.

It reminds me of the time I spent with each student. Yes, each student deserves their teachers' attention.

The individual student: Our most precious asset as teachers

Daniel J. Bauer

Sep. 29, 2002

One of the most effective ways to teach English composition is to use what I call the coaching method. I try very hard to fit coaching time into my writing classes.

2015年2月12日 星期四

Life after Retirement--"青春名人堂/如何規畫退休生活?"--from UDN

http://udn.com/news/story/7046/702932-%E9%9D%92%E6%98%A5%E5%90%8D%E4%BA%BA%E5%A0%82%EF%BC%8F%E5%A6%82%E4%BD%95%E8%A6%8F%E7%95%AB%E9%80%80%E4%BC%91%E7%94%9F%E6%B4%BB%EF%BC%9F

青春名人堂/如何規畫退休生活?

2015-02-12 02:41:54      聯合報 今日登場焦元溥

在我最後一篇青春名人堂的文章裡,我想不合群的來談一點都不青春的「老人生活」,雖然我還是會從古典音樂談起。

My comments: I'm a classical music lover. When I was in my first year of high school, my leisure activity on Wednesday afternoon, when students at TFG didn't have class, was visiting a record store and purchasing one or two records, which I would listen to while reading the music score. I felt the greatest joy when "reading" the beautiful music.

2015年2月11日 星期三

The Good Backwash of 2015 SAT English Test--"3招學好 學測英文反映出的正面現象"--from UDN

http://udn.com/news/story/7339/701036-3%E6%8B%9B%E5%AD%B8%E5%A5%BD%20%E5%AD%B8%E6%B8%AC%E8%8B%B1%E6%96%87%E5%8F%8D%E6%98%A0%E5%87%BA%E7%9A%84%E6%AD%A3%E9%9D%A2%E7%8F%BE%E8%B1%A1

3招學好 學測英文反映出的正面現象

2015-02-11 03:56:20      聯合報 李振清/大學退休教授(台北市)

根據聯合報最近的系列報導,今年大學學測英語施測後,一度讓考生、高中老師驚呼太難、恐慌不已。對於英文作文能力檢測,原本擔心考生會回答不出來。然而,在大考中心七日閱卷四分之一後,發現考生掌握題意的能力良好、佳作不少,也沒看到繳白卷者。這種令人雀躍的現象,證明了台灣學生具有英語文學習的高度潛能;只是長期填鴨式的教學模式、迷失的學習方法,與誤導的語言教育觀念,一直影響英(外)語的教育成效

2015年2月10日 星期二

Reunion with Ken



This evening, I met up with Ken, who graduated from NHSH around 10 years ago and who I taught in the Advanced English class in his first year. The class met only two hours a week on Friday afternoon, but his passion for English and hard work impressed me deeply and since then we've had a lot to share whenever we met. We often talk about the books we are reading or have read. Like today, he recommended the novel Still Alice, which he's finished. The novel was adapted into a movie playing in Taiwan now.

Ken is serving in the army. He asked for leave this evening so that he didn't need to hurry back by 9 o'clock. We did enjoy our chat until around 9:20.

The Best on the Web for Teachers--a Teachers' Treasure Trove

This website was introduced in a 2002 FarEast Textbook publication which I found this morning. The article mentioned the website listed 200 websites in order of ranking, but now it has 400. On the list are not only the names of the websites but also a clear brief introduction to each site. Teachers can find lesson plans, worksheets, teaching tips,online quizzes, games, storybooks, etc. Worth a visit!

http://teachers.teach-nology.com/

2015年2月9日 星期一

Long Time No See, Ms. Gu



This afternoon, I attended a small gathering with three TFG classmates and a special guest, Ms. Gu, Ai-mei (谷愛梅老師), who was our homeroom and English teacher in our second year of high school.  We haven't seen Ms. Gu since graduating from high school. So you can imagine how happy and excited we were. At first, I didn't think I could make it because I had to take my mother to the hospital. After the hospital visit, knowing about the meet-up, my understanding mom declined my invitation to lunch. Then after driving her home, I headed for the reunion. I'm glad that I went.

"How I Mastered English" by Chang, Chia-chien

Another valuable old newspaper clipping I bumped into while doing the cleaning-up. The article, entitled "How I Mastered English," was written by Chia-chien Chang (張嘉倩), a lady in Taiwan who got full score on TOEFL. I broke the whole article into 4 parts so that the article can be clearly read.

In her article, Ms. Chang emphasizes the importance of extensive reading, using dictionaries, and not being afraid of making mistakes. She had more than 80 dictionaries and placed a high premium on collocations.

2015年2月8日 星期日

"TransAsia GE235 crash: Flights cancelled to train Taiwan pilots"--from BBC

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-31204059

TransAsia GE235 crash: Flights cancelled to train Taiwan pilots

7 February 2015 Last updated at 15:55

Taiwanese airline TransAsia Airways says it is cancelling 90 flights so that its pilots can attend training, after one of its planes crashed on Wednesday.

2015年2月7日 星期六

2015年2月6日 星期五

How Do You Say That in American English?--from KOJEN

This is from the same issue of KOJEN newsletter mentioned in the previous entry.

The dilaogue was written by John Harper, in which readers learn a lot of authentic American English. I'll underline the phrases as they were done in the newsletter. See if you can guess the meaning of each.

A Typical Day--A Model Essay from KOJEN

Before I threw this KOJEN English Language Schools newletter away, I'd like to type up the model essay in it for English learners' reference. This newsletter was published on Sep. 1, 2001; that is, 13 years ago.

Happy TFG Class Reunion



(Photo from Meichu)

(

 

2015年2月5日 星期四

"Why Taiwan is right to ban iPads for kids"--from CNN

http://edition.cnn.com/2015/02/03/intl_opinion/taiwan-ipads-kids/index.html

Why Taiwan is right to ban iPads for kids

By Jake Wallis Simons, for CNN

Updated 1442 GMT (2242 HKT) February 4, 2015

Editor's Notes: Jake Wallis Simons is a journalist, novelist and broadcaster. The views expressed in this commentary are solely those of the author.


(CNN)--Being a parent has suddenly become a lot more stressful. At least it has if you live in Taiwan.


Lawmakers in the island have outlawed iPads and other electronic gadgets for children under the age of two, and demanded that those under the age of 18 do not use digital media for "a period of time that is not reasonable."

2015年2月4日 星期三

Extensive Reading and Writing--"廣泛閱讀 英文作文難不倒"--from UDN; plus "In the Business of Feeling Good" from NYT

http://udn.com/news/story/7339/685876-%E5%BB%A3%E6%B3%9B%E9%96%B1%E8%AE%80-%E8%8B%B1%E6%96%87%E4%BD%9C%E6%96%87%E9%9B%A3%E4%B8%8D%E5%80%92

廣泛閱讀 英文作文難不倒

2015-02-04 01:52:47      聯合報 李振清/大學退休教授(台北市)

報載大學學測英語考科,學生普遍認為作文太難。主要的原因是此次學測的英文作文要考生根據兩本書的書名,選一本並依書名寫出該書可能的內容,以及選擇該書的理由。就評量理論來看,這是歷年來最具創意、最客觀、鑑別度最高的英文作文測驗

My comments: I love the writing task!

2015年2月3日 星期二

"Four Tips for Teaching English Through Music"--TESOL Blog

http://blog.tesol.org/four-tips-for-teaching-english-through-music/?utm_medium=referral&utm_source=pulsenews

Four Tips for Teaching English Through Music

Posted on 29 January 2015 by Judie Haynes

One effective method of teaching language to your ELs is through music and songs. It is remarkable how quickly children pick up words and sentences and remember them for a long time when music is integrated into a lesson.

My comments: This is true. A former student who I met at Chiehshow Junior High once said he'd forgotten everything learned in junior high school except the English songs I taught and what amazed me was he emailed me a list of every song I taught.

2015年2月2日 星期一

On 2015 SAT English Test_3--"一看見那兩本書封 愣住30分鐘"--from UDN

http://udn.com/news/story/6925/681871-一看見那兩本書封-愣住30分鐘

一看見那兩本書封 愣住30分鐘

2015-02-02 15:07:32      聯合晚報 記者鄭語謙、劉開元/台北報導

考完英文 滿場哀號聲 考生直呼作文太難、傻眼 今年題目答案很相似 陷阱題不少

大學學測今天上午考英文,不少考生一步出考場都大聲哀號,英文作文題目太難,有別於過去都考看圖說故事,這次題目只有兩本英文書封,一本談領導,一本談尊重,要學生選出一本寫下書的內容、選書原因,讓考生直呼「傻眼」,不少人花了30分鐘還寫不出來。

英文選擇題則出現伊波拉病毒、食品安全、太極拳、台東太武國小赴國外演出、醫學新知坐太久會血糖降低、藍鳥的習性等時事和生活應用題。師大附中考生郭彥廷說,往年英文閱讀測驗許多答案都可在文章中找到,今年題目特色是,考生一定要先了解題目在問什麼,才找得出答案,且答案很相似,屬「陷阱」題,鑑別度很高。

On 2015 SAT English Test_2 --"難!英文作文首見選書寫作"--from UDN

http://udn.com/news/story/6925/681986

難!英文作文首見選書寫作

2015-02-02 15:07:28      聯合晚報 記者王彩鸝/台北報導

英文作文這樣考

第一段說明你會選哪一本書及你認為該書的內容大概會是什麼。 第二段提出你選擇該書的理由。

On 2015 SAT English Test--"學測英文作文首見指考題型 補教師:讓學生措手不及"--from NOWnews

https://tw.news.yahoo.com/%E5%AD%B8%E6%B8%AC%E8%8B%B1%E6%96%87%E4%BD%9C%E6%96%87%E9%A6%96%E8%A6%8B%E6%8C%87%E8%80%83%E9%A1%8C%E5%9E%8B-%E8%A3%9C%E6%95%99%E5%B8%AB-%E8%AE%93%E5%AD%B8%E7%94%9F%E6%8E%AA%E6%89%8B%E4%B8%8D%E5%8F%8A-054422231.html

學測英文作文首見指考題型 補教師:讓學生措手不及

記者葉立斌/台北報導  20150202 1:44pm

今年(104學年度)的學測不只數學難,英文也難。在大考中心解題教師說明時,也直言這份題目是5年最難特別是非選擇題的第二大題,作文首次將指考的考題拿來考,補教老師林揚也認為,作文題目對於考過全民英檢中高級以上、或是出國留學考試的學生很吃香。

On 2015 Chinese Test on SAT & Flipped Classrom--"翻轉教學 國文教育不「孤獨」"--from UDN

Mr. Chen, a high school Chinese teacher, made favorable comments on this year's SAT Chinese test, which was taken yesterday by high school graduates nationwide.

http://udn.com/news/story/7339/681204

翻轉教學 國文教育不「孤獨」

2015-02-02 02:48:37      聯合報 陳禹齊/高中國文教師(台南市)

今年大學學測國文試題,是自教育部實施九九新課綱後,命題範圍精確勻稱,取材出入古今,題型變化靈活,質量堪稱歷年最優的大考考題。尤其題意概念明確,不設陷阱,考生平時認真上課,具備扎實國文訓練,拿高分不成問題。

2015年2月1日 星期日

Many Thanks to Digital Camera

Recently I've been cleaning up my home. It's not an easy process because I feel reluctant to say goodbye to so much old stuff, including books, magazines, cards, newspaper clippings, copies of students' essays, etc.

However, to clear some space out, I decided to throw away those newspaper clippings and copies of students' essays. Thanks to my digital camera, I finally found it not that hard. The following are photos of some old clippings of Ann Landers' columns run in the China Post, which, though old, still bear valuable wisdom.