Friends

It's been a long time since we five last got together. That was why we stayed in the restaurant for almost hours. Friends expands my horizons. Different experiences, varied perspectives, and diverse opinions.

It Is Not That Hot!

This afternoon when I was working in my study, analyzing the English listening test on the 2015 CA and later writing items for a mock, I didn't have the air conditioner or even the fan on. Though sweat kept flooding down my face, I didn't find it unbearable at all. Focusing on what I was doing, I didn't pay much attention to the heat. In fact, my mind was peaceful.

"Five Myths About Learning English"--破除五個台灣人英文學習的錯誤觀念

An article from VoiceTube:

http://tw.blog.voicetube.com/2015/03/26/%E3%80%90%E5%BF%85%E5%AD%B8%E3%80%91%E7%A0%B4%E9%99%A4%E4%BA%94%E5%80%8B%E5%8F%B0%E7%81%A3%E4%BA%BA%E8%8B%B1%E6%96%87%E5%AD%B8%E7%BF%92%E7%9A%84%E9%8C%AF%E8%AA%A4%E8%A7%80%E5%BF%B5

破除五個台灣人英文學習的錯誤觀念

20150326

錯誤一：用字不精確、不道地

錯誤二：別人怎麼問，你開頭就怎麼答

錯誤三：學英文可以短期速成

"Cheerleading world mourns 'founder' Lawrence Herkimer"--from BBC

Everything has a founder. However, I've never wondered how cheerleading started until I came across this news story.

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-33393756

Cheerleading world mourns 'founder' Lawrence Herkimer

4 July 2015

Tributes have been paid to the founder of modern cheerleading who has died at the age of 89.

Lawrence Herkimer, known as "Herkie", built a successful business by setting up cheerleading camps and developing equipment - including the pom-pom.

How He Learned 20 Languages on His Own--"我是怎麼自學20種語言的？"

An article shared by Annie (詹麗馨老師).

http://www.cw.com.tw/article/article.action?id=5068851&utm_source=dailybrief&utm_medium=Email&utm_campaign=dailybeirf#

我是怎麼自學20種語言的？

作者：Timothy Doner／熊玠非編譯  2015-07-01                                        Web Only

紐約青少年杜納(Timothy Doner)，靠著聽唱片和線上線下聊天和字典，自學20種語言，被稱為最年輕的人肉翻譯機。媒體的閃光燈模糊了焦點，學習外語不是為了耍酷，而是讓不同文化的人交流，跨過文化的界限，找到不同文化中共同的特性和好的特質。

在過去的幾年裡，我一直被媒體譽為『世界上最年輕的人肉版世界語言翻譯機』，一個聽起來像一種罕見疾病的名詞。其實它是用來描述一種，可以講非常多種外國語言的人。除此之外，這種人對語言的熱情，足以讓他的獨處時間都被文法書占滿。

Solo's Music

This morning I got an FB private message from Solo, a student I taught 14 years ago who is studying film scoring in the States. He sent me a link to an FB page to share with me his new scoring for a TV series Sunset.

https://www.facebook.com/solo.wang/posts/10207250644128992?__mref=message_bubble

For his talent to be "heard," I posted the link in messages to several LINE groups and friends.

Storybird--an English Learning Website

A reading/writing website recommended by I Simply Love to Share, an FB group started by Sarah Yin (殷彩鳳老師), a teacher friend who, though not teaching in a formal school, have inexhaustible passion for and a great commitment to teaching English.

https://storybird.com/

At this site, one can not only read a variety of stories but also create their own stories.

 

"Everything I Own"--a Song

This is a good song to teach the idea of expressing love before it's too late and not taking things for granted, and grammatically, the relative clause. How I love this stanza:

Is there someone you know, /You're loving them so, /But taking them all for granted? /You may lose them one day. /Someone takes them away,/And they don't hear the words you long to say.

Test Writing

This evening I was writing a practice test for a publishing company. The test contains eight sections. Given five sample tests, including one from my friend Annie, I had to figure out myself what is tested in each part. 

Can you teach people to have empathy?

A topic I have been curious about.

http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-33287727

Can you teach people to have empathy? 

29 June 2015

Empathy is a quality that is integral to most people's lives - and yet the modern world makes it easy to lose sight of the feelings of others. But almost everyone can learn to develop this crucial personality trait, says Roman Krznaric.

Open Harper Lee's classic novel To Kill A Mockingbird and one line will jump out at you: "You never really understand another person until you consider things from his point of view - until you climb inside of his skin and walk around in it."

Admirable No Impact Man

Looking for ideas for test writing, I came across an article on a past test held at NHSH. Curious about the protagonist, I surfed the Internet and found this website. What Beavan and his family are doing is incredible!

http://colinbeavan.com/

On Our Way Back to Taipei

We are on our way back to our hime.

Trip to Hsi-tou with Mom

Today my hus and I took my mom and sister to Hsi-tou for a two-day trip. I hadn't expected my mom would immediately agree to come with us. Usually, she would say she would rather stay home because it would be inconvenient for her to travel around. So the moment she said yes, I was more than happy!

And here we are at Hsi-tou, one of my favorite places in Taiwan. My mom talked and laughed a lot during the trip. Her happy smile is one of the most beautiful things in the world!

 

A Break

After reading Kay Koplovitz's "Get in touch with nature" in the TIME article "10 Business Leaders on Creating a Productive Lifestyle," I decided to take a walk first thing this morning. A nature lover, how I wish to stay in the mountains or by the sea for some time!

"10 Business Leaders on Creating a Productive Lifestyle"--from TIME

http://time.com/3930622/tips-create-productive-lifestyle/

10 Business Leaders on Creating a Productive Lifestyle

Michael Simmons / Entrepreneur

June 23, 2015     

Set one priority for the day

Productivity tips come in all shapes and sizes.

Just look at Warren Buffett, a man considered one of the best investors in the history of human civilization. But what might be more impressive than his track record is his schedule. It is the exact opposite of what you’d expect out of the CEO of a $350 billion company. It has been reported that he generally reads for 80 percent of his day and spends the rest having one-on-one conversations with long-time friends who happen to be CEOs of the companies that Berkshire owns, according to the book The Outsiders. This has been his schedule for decades.

Remedial Teaching--"補救教學／提升教師編制 別學半套"--from UDN

http://udn.com/news/story/7339/1009726-補救教學／提升教師編制-別學半套

補救教學／提升教師編制 別學半套

2015-06-23 02:22:54      聯合報 成靜傑／國中導師（台南市）

拜讀廿二日「分科能力分班才能真補救」一文，實心有戚戚焉！何以教育部在「補救教學」措施上花了大錢，卻得不到好的效果呢？這又是一個「學半套」所致「橘逾淮為枳」的政策案例。

偏鄉教育／分科能力分班 才能真「補救」

http://udn.com/news/story/7339/1007626-%E5%81%8F%E9%84%89%E6%95%99%E8%82%B2%EF%BC%8F%E5%88%86%E7%A7%91%E8%83%BD%E5%8A%9B%E5%88%86%E7%8F%AD-%E6%89%8D%E8%83%BD%E7%9C%9F%E3%80%8C%E8%A3%9C%E6%95%91%E3%80%8D

偏鄉教育／分科能力分班 才能真「補救」

2015-06-22 01:51:10      聯合報 呂健吉／華梵大學哲學系主任、宜蘭縣前教育處長（宜縣礁溪）

聯合報對偏鄉教育和補救教學提出願景工程，教育部長也回應提出將提高偏鄉教師員額做為補救教學之用。

The Problems of Education--"教育的問題 是人的問題"--from UDN

http://udn.com/news/story/7339/1006134-%E6%95%99%E8%82%B2%E7%9A%84%E5%95%8F%E9%A1%8C-%E6%98%AF%E4%BA%BA%E7%9A%84%E5%95%8F%E9%A1%8C

教育的問題 是人的問題

2015-06-21 02:57:19      聯合報 李枝桃／國中校長

佐藤學、合作學習、翻轉教學…，在教育現場，每隔一段時間，便會出現一個有關教學法，只要有成功案例，社會便競相追逐，一窩蜂跟進，甚至主管機關也如火如荼辦理研習，儼然該方法是救世主，或是強心針。

My comments: There is no "the only way"! All roads lead to Rome. Take English learning for example. What makes a good learner? I believe it is the motivation, sufficient exposure, and practice that count. Any approach that takes care of these three helps. Teachers can use different methods in different classes or even in the same class for some change.

Nice Seeing You Again, My Dear 314!

Time: 6pm, Saturday, June 20, 2015

Place: The chips in Neihu.

Learning English Through Games--"「課本收起來！」國姓生玩遊戲學英語"--from UDN

http://udn.com/news/story/6901/1000412-「課本收起來！」國姓生玩遊戲學英語

「課本收起來！」國姓生玩遊戲學英語

2015-06-18 11:27:41      聯合報 記者陳妍霖／國姓報導

玩遊戲學英語！南投縣國姓國中英文教師李沛鴻教學走美式風格，將英文融入生活，自創玩躲避球學英語，還能邊吃烤雞邊學英語，讓學生不怕說英語，敢和外國人輕鬆對話。

My comments: Sometimes I used a soft ball or a stuffed toy in class. Whoever had the ball in hand got the  right to answer a question.