Happy New Year! And homework.

OK.  First of all, do NOT do any homework tonight.  Go out and enjoy Boston, have dinner with your friends, and celebrate the beginning of a great new year!

We started class today with the beginning of the movie Sixth Sense.  I'm not sure how it's possible, but Youtube has the movie on its site, so if you want to see what happens, watch it.  Under no circumstances should you miss it!

We used the first part of the movie to make "fronted" sentences like:

    During the couple's celebration the crazy man broke into the house.
    Never before had Malcolm received such an honor.
    Little did the couple know that violence would soon occur.
    With great pride Malcom's wife read the award.
    On the floor was broken glass.
    From the bathroom came some strange sounds.
     Hiding in the bathroom was a weird man wearing only underpants.
      More frightening than a crazy man with a gun is a ghost!

On Thursday and Friday we'll watch the movie again and make more sentences.

So, tomorrow, while you're relaxing or recovering from tonight, please do Exercise 3 on page 425.  This is a little tough, so be careful!  Also, write your sentences with Exercise 4 on page 427.  Please do this on a piece of paper to hand into me.  I'll return it before your quiz on Friday.

Our quiz will cover Focus points one through three.  There will also be listening based on the section about forest fires.

Okay, it's time for the celebration to begin!  Have a great time and see you in 2014!

Monday Homework, Writing Assingment

Welcome Jeong, and congratulations!  You've reached Proficiency!  I wish I could stay to teach you longer, but this is my last week.  And because of that, we're going to have our "test" again on Friday, which will be a quiz: short and relatively easy.

Our homework tonight is easy, too.  Only Exercise 1 on pages 420 -1.  Find the subject and circle it, then circle the verbs and auxiliary verbs.

We'll have to cover a lot of territory tomorrow (New Year's Eve!) so come prepared to work!

Also, I'd like to ask you to do a writing assignment which will be due on Monday.  Even if you have done a similar one before, I'd like to ask you to introduce yourself to your new teacher, Greg, and outline your goals.  Write about your strengths, weaknesses, and preferences.  Are there any class games or activities that you like?  Let him know!    As usual, write in essay form, about 300 words, with introduction, body and conclusion.

One more week!

Hey guys.

I'm not sure if this is good or bad news for you, but I'll be teaching Proficiency one more week!  I'm excited about it and looking forward to seeing all of you again!  Yeah!

So just in case anybody is checking this blog, we're going to be looking at Unit 24 of Grammar Dimensions, which deals with "Fronting."  This means sentences like:

                Not for anything would I miss this last week of Proficiency!

               So wonderful is my class that I wouldn't mind teaching them for 8 hours  a day!

So, see you on Monday in YMCA 203!

By the way, Oswaldo Sira, a student who was here in the summer, was visiting Boston in December and we got together.  Here's a picture of him and one of me during my Christmas vacation.  This was at the No Name restaurant and was Oswaldo's first lobster.

Last Post

Sigh.

I'm going to miss posting things on this blog.

I'm going to miss the presentations.

I'm going to miss giving homework assignments and hearing "C'mon, John!"

But most of all, I'm going to miss the greatest bunch of students a teacher could hope for.  Thank you for putting up with me, for all your hard work, for the joy of discussing so many topics together, and every moment.  I hope to continue to see some of you in my Current Events class.

I'm pretty sure who your next teacher will be--it's someone I like and think is extra good (if it wasn't, I wouldn't even mention this!) so I know you'll be in good hands.

And now, some pictures.  Thanks, Rawan, for sending me some of these!

So for all of my students now, and those of you who check in on this blog even though you've moved on, thanks for everything and keep in touch.  This blog will be here for a while--I'm not sure how long Google will leave it up before they eventually take it down, but enjoy it while it's here.

And come back and visit when you're in Boston.  Some of you who have been gone for a while might not know that Kaplan NEU is moving to the Hilton Hotel on Broad Street, the place where we were last summer.  All the classes will be held there and the office will be there as well as of January, 2014.  

Good luck, and keep in touch!

John

So long Eman and Nicolas, Quiz Study Sheet

Eman and Nicolas left for their vacations today, but for me it's my last class with them--and tomorrow's my last class in Proficiency!  (Today I didn't forget to take pictures!)  

As I mentioned, I just found out yesterday that I'm going to be moved to the TOEFL class.  I can't tell everyone how much I've enjoyed teaching Proficiency and what amazing students I've had the opportunity to teach and make friends with.   I'm looking forward to a new challenge, but very sad that I won't be able to continue with my dear, dear students that will be continuing.  

I guess tomorrow will be the last blog for this class--another sad thing for me, but it will be on the internet for anybody who feels nostalgic--including me!

Today we went over the topic of rhetorical questions a bit more, looking at Exercise 12 and last night's homework, exercise 13.

We also checked the reading homework and identified the type of organization.

No homework tonight--and no essay due!  Enjoy your holiday!

Finally, here is the study sheet.  We'll have a short quiz that should take only 30 minutes or so.  Then we can enjoy the rest of the movie and discuss it.

Also, I'm going to bring some snacks.  If you'd like to bring anything, please do, but you don't have to.

Proficiency Week 11 Vocabulary for Friday Quiz

Grammar Dimensions Unit 14

Grammar Dimensions U14 p 260-1

illiteracy

to address (a problem, issue, etc)

Grammar Dimensions U14 p 262

 a drawback

juvenile

Grammar Dimensions U14 p 264-5

an expenditure

an adversary

a stand (on an issue)

Grammar Dimensions U14 p 268

an aspect

a principle

a stage

Grammar Dimensions U14 p 271

all in all

overall

Grammar Dimensions U14 p 273

fatigue

dumb

Grammar Dimensions U14 p 274

committed to/ to commit/commitment

Grammar Dimensions U14 p 277

suppose/let’s suppose

demographic/demography

per annum

to colonize

solar system

Academic Connections

Academic Connections p28

to divulge

founding

“fall victim to its own success”

mediocrity/mediocre

profound

to haul/a haul

virtually

at every turn

to turn s.t. around/a turnaround

to revitalize

a defect/defective

“whopping”

enviable (to envy)

to implement/ an implement/implementation

“period” (that's it, I'm very serious and won't change anything!)

implicit

to advocate for

diverse

to differentiate

to orchestrate

prominent

to occupy ( a role)

dominant

to diagnose

crucial

Wednesday Homework

I feel so stupid!  Today, Lujain and Young Jin had their last class in Proficiency.  Of course, we said good-bye, but I should have taken some pictures!  What was I thinking?  (Rhetorical question--real meaning: I wasn't thinking!)

I'm going to miss them a lot.  I hate saying goodbye, but that's part of the business of being a teacher.  They are both wonderful students and super nice people!  Good luck Lujain and Young Jin!

Today we covered a lot of Focus Points in Grammar Dimensions, but there really wasn't anything so complicated or difficult to remember.  Mostly "discourse organizers" and rhetorical questions, which we are all familiar with in our own languages.  Sometimes they are used to emphasize a point, like in my example above ("What was I thinking," meaning that I wasn't thinking about the right things).

Rhetorical questions can also be used to introduce topics and are frequently the titles of books, films, articles, and lectures.

For homework, let's do Exercise 13 on page, "Let's Suppose..."  Find the six rhetorical questions and be prepared to discuss them.  Also, read page 28 of the handout from Academic Connections and do the four questions on page 29.

On the quiz on Friday, I'll give you examples of different forms of organizations in writing--all that you will have to do is identify which ones they are.

Finally, we watched the next segment of It's a Wonderful Life.  As I mentioned, the scene we saw about the bank run is often used by economics classes to illustrate what a "bank run" is--a situation in which the customers of a bank rush to get their money out.  How will George save his business?  You'll find out in the next class (or you can watch it on youtube if you scroll down a bit to yesterday's post).  And don't forget, the complete script is also available through a link.

That's it for today--see you tomorrow!

Tuesday Homework, It's A Wonderful Life

We decided that we're going to quickly go through Unit 14 of Grammar Dimensions  (most of you already know the information in it) and Unit Two of Academic Connections, watch the movie It's A Wonderful Life throughout the week, and take a little quiz on Friday instead of a test on the Monday after the holiday.

Sound good?

Today we talked about "discourse organizers," the expressions that we use to help our readers understand the time relations and importance of our statements.

There's just a little homework: Exercise 2 on page 266.  You'll have to make your own sentences.  We'll check them together in class.

By the way, we started watching the cinema classic "It's A Wonderful Life."  I have the DVD (an old Japanese copy--sorry about the Japanese subtitles!), but it's also available on Youtube.  It may be taken down, so watch it while you can!

Here it is.

By the way, if it's tough to catch everything, there's a script available on the web as well.  Click here to find it.  Maybe while we watch it, you can look at it on your iPhones!

Twas The Week Before Christmas...

"Twas," in case you're wondering, is an archaic (old) way of writing "It was."  It's very rare now, but there is an old poem that most Americans know called "The Night Before Christmas" which begins "Twas the night before Christmas and all through the house/not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse."

Today we met in our new room.  I want to apologize to anyone who went to the YMCA and looked for us there.  On Friday, Hope and Corey came to our class and told everyone that Northeastern suddenly told us that they were going to do a lot of work in the YMCA and that all our classes would be moved to Ryder for this week.  I thought, "Oh, there are a lot of students absent today, but I'll put the information on the blog!"  But I had so much fun putting pictures and vocabulary on the blog that I forgot about adding the most important thing: our move to Ryder.  I assumed that you would receive emails about the room change, but apparently, that didn't happen.  SORRY!!!

So if you missed Friday and Monday, today, please go to room 157 in Ryder Hall.  If you're facing the stairs near Subway, go to the right and down the hall on the far right side.  Room 157 is  on the right side of the corridor.

Because of the change, the snow, and other reasons I suppose, a lot of people didn't come and most people were late (if you weren't late, thank you!!!).  We started the test after the 9:30 break and didn't have enough time to finish.  I let students take them home to finish them there.  Remember, you're on the honor system!  That means I trust you to not use books, dictionaries, notes, or anything else--just like on the test.  But I know I can trust you, so I'm not worried.

I want to discuss one more thing today: what are we going to do this week?  Our grammar subject this week is "discourse organizers," Unit 14 of Grammar Dimensions.    There are extremely useful in writing paragraphs and essays.  It would normally take us a full week to cover this, but we're going to have a week between the last class day and the test.  I don't think this is fair to you.  So here are some ideas:

1  Who care about being fair?  Do it the normal way!  Have classes until Friday, go on vacation, then come back and take the test just as if it were only a couple days since the last class.

2   Have a mini test or quiz on Friday based on Tuesday through Thursday's classes.

3  Goof off (fool around, play, have fun, etc.) all week, have a little quiz on Friday, then a party on Friday.

I'm leaning towards number two.  How about you?  Or do you have any better ideas?  Let me know by email or in class this week!

RYDER 157

I realize that I didn't put this on the blog--this week, our class is not in the YMCA.  It will meet in Ryder 157.  I'm sure you got an email from the Kaplan NEU office, but I should have posted this.

So, just in case someone who wasn't in class on Friday and didn't check their email this weekend checks this site, I'm putting this here.

See you in Ryder 157!

Friday Homework, THe House That Jack Built, Study Sheet, Farewell SeokJoon and Carmen

No presentations or birthdays today, but we did go through three focus points of Grammar Dimensions (Unit 8), and watch a fun video about an old story/poem that I used to hear when I was a child.

Focus Three taught us how to make sentences with multiple restrictive clauses, and we watched "This Is The House That Jack Built."  Of course, when we kids listened to it, we didn't think we were learning about restrictive clauses--we just thought it was a fun story.  Listen to it again and pay attention to how each modified noun is modified by another restrictive clause.  Can you make a story like that?  How many times can you create another restrictive clause that continues your story?

We also covered Focus 4 and 5.  Four showed most of the same points about omitting relative pronouns and be verbs that we studied in Unit 7 but added one more: omitting them in the case of adjectives.

Another example:

               Everything (that was) valuable was stolen during the night.


Finally, in Unit 5 we studied how we can make restrictive clauses with prepositions at the end (less formal) or prepositions before the relative clause (more formal).  Some students said the latter sounds strange--that's because most people don't speak that way.  However, the formal way is often used in business and academic situations.

            He lost the letter in which I stated the information.

             He lost the letter which I stated the information in.

We can switch the position of the clauses--in this case, the preposition is not at the end of the sentence, but it's still at the end of the restrictive clause.

            The letter in which I stated the information was lost

             The letter which I stated the information in was lost.


There is a little homework for the weekend: Exercise 5 on page 156 and Exercise 8 on page 160.  We'll check them on Monday.

Pay special attention to Exercise 5 because there will be a similar exercise on the test.  Also, go back and look at Exercise 1 on page 138, as I'm going to have a similar cartoon and ask you to describe it using relative clauses.

Another sad day: two students said good-bye.  One has been with us for a little while: Carmen; the other was with us only a week, although I've taught him before in other classes.    Farewell Carmen and SeokJoon--good luck and keep in touch!

AM Proficiency Week Eleven Study Sheet

Grammar Dimensions Units 7 & 8

Grammar Dimensions Unit 7, p136-7

to modify

valid

a realtor

Grammar Dimensions U7 p138

catch fire

to put out (a fire)

a pulley

a pup

a cradle/to cradle

to soothe/soothing

a stool

Grammar Dimensions U7 p141

a (light) switch, to switch

Grammar Dimensions U7 p142-3

to evaporate

a board (committee)

credentials

to lean (towards, on)

authoritative

determination/to be determined

Grammar Dimensions Unit 8 (p150)

to be acquainted with/an acquaintance

to pat

to pile/a pile

Grammar Dimensions U8 p151

plain

clumsy

fancy

to mingle

to flee/fled/fled

fellow (adj)  fellow + kind of person

starve/starved/starvation

a preoccupation/to be preoccupied

to resemble/resemblance

to last/lasting

prestigious/prestige

to liberate

“believe it or not”

a cottage

Grammar Dimensions U8 p153

a scratch/to scratch

to startle/startled

Grammar Dimensions U8 p154-5

a carcass

to stuff

a pouch

awkward

Grammar Dimensions U8 p156

disabled

a booth

legible/illegible

a thug

the black market

(to hold) hostage/a hostage

to clasp/a clasp

a locket

Grammar Dimensions U8 p160

a royalty

to come up short

Academic Connections Unit 1

metropolitan/ metropolis

rural

the suburbs, suburban

Academic Connections U1 p6

a corridor

to sprinkle

subtle

volatile

Academic Connections U1

 to dismiss (an idea, a theory)

to foster

visionary/a visionary

Academic Connections U1 p7

to diminish

bedrock

a vendor

to augment

to discredit

to prevail

a slum

at all cost(s)

vandalism

territory

to insulate

Academic Connections U1 p8

an insight

a buzzer

to drop in

to drop out

to arrive at (a vision, a conclusion)

Academic Connections U1  Listening

impoverished

disgust

the countryside

to lounge around

“you get the idea”

residential

a core

civic

a boulevard

to be drawn into

And finally, here's one of the class today.  

Lujain Presentation and Birthday, Thursday Homework, Broad Street

We've had a lot of first-time presentations lately, but here's a last-time presentation by Lujain, whose last week is next week.  Be extra nice to her!  Today, she spoke about fashion don'ts, that is, things that we shouldn't do in fashion.  I made sure to pull up my pants after her talk!    Lujain's got a great sense of humor and good fashion sense--everyone enjoyed her presentation.  Nice job!

I hadn't realized it, but Lujain's presentation happened to be on the same day as her 25th birthday!  Wow!  She has a wonderful friend in Rawan, who had prepared a special cake for her and shared it with all of us.  Thanks, and happy birthday, Lujain!

This is a great picture, don't you think so?

And we did have a chance to do a little studying--we went over the homework from last night and started to study Unit 8--not much new information!  We've talked about the differences between who and that (both can be used for people), that and which (which can be used for animals and things), who and whom (subject and object relative pronouns) and when we can omit them.

Our homework is Exercise 1 on page 151 and Exercise 3 on page 153 (only step 1--you don't have to do step two).  No really new material but excellent practice and good vocabulary words.  You can do it in the book or your notes--you don't have to hand it in.  But I will check!

Finally, we went on ANOTHER field trip!  We paid a visit to the Hilton Hotel on Broad Street, where all our Kaplan NEU classes will be held after the Christmas break.  It's very easy to get to!  Take the Orange Line to State Street, exit at the Old State House and walk down the hill, down State Street.  Take a right at Broad Street (there's a Dunkin Donuts there--I think we lost a couple students there on the way back), go a few blocks and look for the "Northeastern University" banners on the Hilton Hotel.  Then go up one floor.

Here we are checking out our new area, which looks BEAUTIFUL!

By the way, Fatimah will be taking a break, so we won't see her for a few weeks.  Hurry back!

Tomorrow we'll finish up Unit 8, go over the reading and do some listening.  We'll have a busy day, so come on time and be ready to learn!

Young Jin Presentation, Wednesday Homework, Broad Street Visit

Before his presentation, Young Jin told me that he was pretty nervous and that he really didn't like to speak in front of a lot of people.  However, nobody in class thought that--he seemed quite natural and actually appeared to be enjoying himself.  His topic: Korea, as you can see from the pictures below.  We learned how a country that was destroyed by war and dirt poor rose to become one of the richest nations in the world, and went from becoming a recipient of aid to a provider of charity.  Amazing!  I can still see that work ethic in many of out Korean students...usually!

I got so involved in Young Jin talk that I forgot to keep taking pictures!  Sorry--none of the audience!

Today we covered Focus Points 2 and 3 of Unit 7 of Grammar Dimensions.  Pay close attention to Focus 3 on page 142--make sure you know in what cases and how to omit relative pronouns (whom, that, which, etc.) and in some cases be verbs and perfective constructions (have/had been...).

Please do Exercises 4 and 5 on page 143 for homework tonight and read the copies I handed out to you (pages 6 -8) of Academic Connections.  While we'll talk about the vocabulary if we get a chance, we won't go into the article in any depth.  But please read it carefully and be ready to discuss it by Friday.

Tomorrow we're going to go to Broad Street around 10 am to show the students who will be here in January where our classes will be.  Think of it as another field trip!  Wow!  So many!

Thanks everybody and see you tomorrow!

Fatimah Presentation, Tuesday Homework, ANOTHER Evacuation! Welcome New Students!

Meta-Presentation

What is a meta-presentation?  It's a presentation about presentations!  That's what Fatimah gave today, and she had excellent timing as we have four (really five!) new students who have to do presentations in our class.  It's obvious that Fatimah has a lot of experience, as her advice was excellent and most importantly, she taught by example.  Good eye contact, posture, volume, intonation, organization, illustrations--everything!  I should have filmed it so that I can make all my new students in the future watch it before they do their presentations.

Tomorrow Young Jin will have his first presentation--I'm sure he'll be sorry to have missed Fatimah's  Please remember that CLASS BEGINS AT 8:00 and inside our room it's ENGLISH ONLY!

On Thursday, about 10 or so, we'll take a trip to see the new Kaplan NEU Site at Broad Street.  It doesn't take very long to get there, just 20 or 30 minutes.  I'll make sure that everyone knows the way.  If you take the Orange Line, it's very convenient.

We began Unit 7 today, focusing on relative clauses.  We finished Focus 1 and will do Exercise 1 on page 138 and Exercise 2 on page 139.  Please write Exercise 2 on a separate sheet of paper and hand it in tomorrow.

Also, don't forget that for students who have been here since at least last week, your essays are due today by email and by tomorrow in class on paper!

We had to evacuate the building due to a fire alarm today--again!--and had a chance to stand in the lovely snow.  I know some of you were hoping that it would be impossible to continue class, but no such luck.  We were soon back in the building, but here's a picture!

Finally, I'd like to welcome our new students!  Some of you I know from Specific Skills classes, others I've met for the first time.  It's great to have you in Proficiency--congratulations!  You worked hard to get here, and I hope you take advantage of the greater challenges to improve your English even more.

Writing Assignment, Eman's Presentation, Field Trip, Friday Study Sheet

I'm going to put this first because most of you didn't receive this in class on Friday.  It's been a couple of weeks since we've had an essay due, so pay close attention to the following information.

ESSAY

Please write a 350 word essay on the following topic.  It will be due by email on Tuesday night or hand it in to me on paper by Wednesday morning at the beginning of class.  Be sure to double-space your essay, especially if you are planning to print it out.   Of course, this will be a typical TOEFL independent style with introductory, concluding and body paragraphs.

TOPIC:   The green movement has changed our lives.  We can see it in marketing, in messages from our countries, in schools—everywhere.  Summarize what you have been told about “saving the planet” in your country and either A: what you do or feel you should do to support it, or B: why you are skeptical of it or don’t support it.

In this essay, try to use subjunctive with that expressions about what we have been told; for example:

                

                It is recommended that we recycle metals, glass and plastics.

               

               That we reduce our consumption of fossil fuels is essential.

WHERE WAS EVERYONE????  We had a great presentation by Eman about weddings in Saudi Arabia but there were only three students watching it...and two of them were Saudi!  You missed a great chance to learn about some interesting customs!  Eman spoke very well, had lovely illustrations and kept us all paying close attention.

I also want to say  goodbye to Young Bok, Rika, and Sohyun.  I wish I could have seen you to say  good-bye!  Good luck to all of you and keep in touch!  And keep learning!

Young Jin was the only one who could ask questions (because Fatimah and Rawan knew all the answers), but he was genuinely interested and kept the girls busy explaining the different aspects of Saudi customs.  A small but very involved audience!

About 9:00 we left the classroom and began to walk to the Fenway, discussing the various sights along the way: New England Conservatory, Symphony Sushi, Whole Foods, and then the park, where we stopped and took a picture on the bridge.

Our next stop was the world-famous Fenway Park, home of the Boston Red Sox.  Just over a month ago, everyone in the country and many people around the world were focusing their attention on this very place as the Red Sox became the World Champions again, our third time in just nine years!  We took a picture in front of a group of statues that many people call "Four Friends," which I thought was appropriate.

It was so quiet there--hard to believe that this place was surrounded by thousands of cheering, happy fans.  We then continued on our way, walking down Lansdowne Street.  We had originally talked about having something to eat in The Bleacher Bar, the only restaurant in the world built into a stadium, with one window looking out directly onto the playing field...but the place doesn't open until 11:00.  Oh well.  Now you know where it is, so if you're 21 or over and you want to enjoy a hamburger in an absolutely unique environment, give it a try!

From there it was just a short walk to Boylston Street, then over to Commonwealth Avenue and Kenmore Square.  The Eastern Standard Kitchen had plenty of seats available, and we relaxed, enjoyed a nice breakfast in a luxurious setting and had a nice conversation.

Young Jin was amused at how all the girls took pictures of their food before they ate it.  I agree.  When I see food, I don't think about pictures, I just start eating!  Then I start thinking about my next meal!

We had a great time, learned a few things, and got to spend some time together outside of the classroom.  I just wish that more of us could have done it together.  Will we do something like this again?  I don't know...should we?  What do you think?


And finally, here it is.  Most of you will really need this, as only the students you see in the pictures above got the paper copy.

Please note the last list of words on the vocabulary sheet.  There will be a reading section and you'll have to answer questions based on the passage "Biofuel Myths."  Of course, if you have any questions about these words, ask on Monday in the review session before the test.

AM PROFICIENCY WEEK 10 STUDY SHEET

Grammar Dimensions U22

Opening Task  Grammar Dimensions 398-9

not uncommon

an arbitrator

to favor

advisory

well-rounded

to call s.o. names

Grammar Dimensions 400

beg

to command

to determine

to move (to suggest in a meeting)

to pledge

to propose

to stipulate

deadly

Grammar Dimensions  401

disagreeable

‘to meet with resistance’

‘to file a complaint’

premature

to peep

a Peeping Tom

to stomp

to heed

Grammar Dimensions  402 (Focus 2)

a shed

to tear s.t. down

to cover (costs)

deathly

to confiscate

Grammar Dimensions p402 (Focus 3)

punctual

advisable

desirable

imperative

mandatory

vital

Grammar Dimensions  403

‘a plus’

a mentality

-oriented

clean-cut

to supervise

to oversee

a command of s.t. (English, etc.)

a shift (working hours)

relief/to relieve (or a responsibility)

Raise the Issues

p185-6

procurement

to set one’s sights on

to wean s.o. off s.t.

abundant

to harness/a harness

commensurate with

a byproduct

to weigh in

to marshal

sustainable

to usher s.t. in

costly

emissions

close to (almost)

to embrace (to accept)

Raise the Issues: Biofuel  Myths

renewable

cornucopian/cornucopia

to obscure/obscure (adj)

arable

to swamp/a swamp

hectares

apt

gargantuan

scarcity/scarce/scarcely

staples

piecemeal

to accrue

a moratorium

profound

antitrust

foster

photosynthesis

subsistence

scant

That's all!   Have a great weekend and see you bright and early on Monday morning.

HeeJun Presentation, Thursday Homework, Eastern Standard Kitchen

FIELD TRIP

First of all, if you haven't been in class for a couple of days (you know who you are!), we have a field trip tomorrow!  We're going to have a look at Fenway Park and eat in a nearby restaurant, Eastern Standard Kitchen on Commonwealth Avenue in Kenmore Square.  We're going to meet as usual at 8:00 in our classroom at the YMCA, then after Eman's presentation, walk through the Fenway neighborhood towards our goal.  If for some reason you can't make it to class before we leave--8:45 most likely--then you can meet us at Eastern Standard Kitchen at 528 Commonwealth Avenue.   It's just a few steps away from the Kenmore Square T Stop--easy to find, easy to get to!

Now, back to business!

You would never have known that it was HeeJun's first presentation.  She was confident and well-organized, and taught us all about Chu-Seok, an August festival in Korea similar to Thanksgiving in some ways.  The food looked delicious and the games looked like fun!  HeeJun's talk was informative and interesting.  I can't wait for her next one!

And finally, we finished up Unit 22, covering Focus 3, an explanation of subjunctives in adjective complements.  (Note the difference between compliment and complement!)

For homework, that you do Exercise 5 on page 403  is mandatory.  Also, it is imperative that you write it on a sheet of paper and hand it in to me tomorrow before Eman's presentation.

Once again: tomorrow, we'll meet as usual at 8:00.  Eman will do her presentation, and then we'll head over to the Fenway are, soak in the atmosphere of the home of the Red Sox, and then have a bite at Eastern Standard Kitchen.  Instead of a break time, we'll leave Eastern Standard around 11 (ten minutes early) so we have time to get back to school by 11:20 (of course, you can go directly home if you want).

See you tomorrow--and be punctual!

Janet Presentation, Wednesday Homework, Field Trip

Even though Janet was feeling under the weather, she still put together a wonderful presentation, giving us a very comprehensive overview of the HIV/AIDS problem, highlighting facts and exposing myths.  This, in turn, led to much class discussion about difficult and often controversial topics.  I think Janet held up our high standards for presentations; she gave us a clear outline, explained each part thoroughly, and spoke in fluent, clear, and expressive English!  Bravo!

Tomorrow, HeeJun will make her first presentation and Eman will do her first on Friday.

And more firsts next week!  Fatimah and Young Jin will do their presentations next Tuesday and Wednesday, respectively.

We continued in Grammar Dimensions on to Focus 2 and learned how to use subjunctive phrases with nouns.  For homework, we'll do Exercise 4 on page 402.  Change the verbs to nouns and add a comment.  We'll check these in class tomorrow.

Also, please read the passage on Alternative Energy from Raise the Issues  that I passed out and also do the vocabulary exercise.

Finally, we discussed our field trip on Friday.  I recommended taking a hike through the Fenway Neighborhood to Fenway Park, which is, of course, associated with the Boston Red Sox, winners of the 2013 World Series!  Unfortunately, the pub called The Bleacher Bar, which has a window which looks into the baseball stadium, doesn't open until 11.    That means we won't be able to have brunch there.  Boo!

The decision that we go to The Bleacher Bar will have to be changed.

Here are a couple of suggestions.  In nearby Kenmore Square, on Commonwealth Avenue, there is a restaurant called Eastern Standard Kitchen.  It's kind of expensive, but their brunch menu is reasonable.  For example, they have a $12 omelette, $10 chicken salad, and a $13 burger.  They also have "chicken fried rabbit" for $18!  It might be a nice chance to check out a costly restaurant on the cheap!  You can check out their menu here--scroll down for "brunch."

There's also a Pavement coffee house with light food and, of course, coffee.  It might be a great place for conversation.  

Friday is supposed to be about as warm as today but it will probably be rainy.  How rainy remains to be seen.  The suggestion that we walk might have been premature!

Let me know what you think.  Also, if we have any ex-students out there who might still be in town checking out the blog, feel free to join us!  Just write me at my email address.  We'll meet in class as usual, study a bit, then make our way to the Fenway area around 9 or 9:30.  Can't wait!

Carmen Presentation, Tuesday Homework

It seems like it has been a long time since our last presentation--thanks, Carmen, for remembering and being ready.  China has a lot of famous places, but Shenzhen is not one of the best known.  But thanks to Carmen, we now know that Shenzhen has the highest GDP among large Chinese cities--maybe that's why housing prices have skyrocketed there in recent years.  Carmen's talk also spurred an interesting discussion about the gender gap in China, namely, there are more women there than men, mainly due to the single child policy.  What will Chinese men do if they want girlfriends and wives?  I think they should all study at Kaplan and find girlfriends over here!  Problem solved.  You're welcome.

Tomorrow, Janet is scheduled to do a presentations, although I hear that's she's been feeling unwell lately.  Janet, if you're reading this, it's OK to take tomorrow off if you're still sick!  Just write me a message by email and I'll prepare another activity.

In the middle of Carmen's presentation, we all heard a strange sound--fire alarm!  We had to run outside and stand in the cold wind for a while.  Meanwhile, two big, red firetrucks rolled up and the brave members of Boston's fire brigade checked the building.  Soon, we got the all safe signal!  But while we were outside we had a chance to have our picture taken (see below).  Again, does this count as a field trip?  I think it does.  But in case you don't, please think of a place you'd like to go to, perhaps this Friday.  I would prefer that it be educational, but food's OK.

After we got back in class, we were able to go over the test and begin our next unit in Grammar Dimensions: Unit 22 on subjunctives with "that."

The secret to understanding this grammar is to know that there is a hidden "should"--a modal--in these sentences.

                         The doctor recommended that Jim take a few days off.

Why "take?"  Why not "takes?"  What about subject-verb agreement?   Because of that hidden "should."

                        The doctor recommended that Jim should take a few days off.

Ahh!  Now that makes sense!  This week, we'll learn the magic words that we can use with this grammar--mostly words that are related giving advice, commands, and requests.  There's a good list on page 400.

For homework tonight, please do Exercise 1 on page 400.  Please write your sentences on a sheet of paper and hand them in tomorrow.

See you tomorrow!