To go to the university of your first choice is not that hard. Determination, concentration, and health are the key.
http://mag.udn.com/mag/campus/storypage.jsp?f_ART_ID=149998
You don’t need to go to cram school. In fact, having too many cram school classes will deprive you of time to study and think on your own.
According to today’s United Daily News, Taiwan, as a whole, is weak at English.
http://mag.udn.com/mag/campus/storypage.jsp?f_ART_ID=149845
Prof. Lee suggested that listening, speaking, and writing should be covered in English tests. Besides, he mentioned English teachers are a decisive factor too. According to him, though students in Taiwan start to learn English in third grade, some are not taught by English teachers, but by teachers who can’t really speak English.
Personally, I believe only by using as much English as possible in class can we improve the English ability of learners in Taiwan. Language is a habit. To form a habit, continual reinforcement is a must.
The day before yesterday, at the beginning of the eighth period of class, Class 310 told me during the break they saw a flasher in the park by our school. (more…)
For attractive lips, speak words of kindness.
For lovely eyes, seek out the good in people.
For a slim figure, share your food with the hungry.
For beautiful hair, let a child run his or her fingers through it once a day.
I came across the first four lines of this poem in Audrey Hepburn, An Elegant Spirt, a book written by Hepburn’s son, Sean Hepburn Ferrer. Audrey Hepburn was beauty itself, and “Time Tested Beauty Tips” was one of her favorite poems.
This afternoon I asked Class 310 what is most important to them. Many of them said having friends. A student answered, “Sleep.” I remember when I asked my former students what they wanted to do most, many of them would answer, “Sleep.” It seems that generally speaking, high school students in Taipei don’t get enough sleep. Is it because they have so much to do–homework, preparation for countless tests, cram school to attend, etc.–or because they don’t manage their time well?
In the last paragraph of Unit 1 “Dying to Look Beautiful,” a question is raised: “What is most important to you?” (more…)
Today two more students in Class 313 came to borrow Reader’s Digest. Pei-ling (陳培玲), a student in Class 310, came and told me she had read 3 articles in the Reader’s Digest I lent her last Friday. Good for her! All of them made my day.
TED is a website where you can watch/listen to some outstanding thinkers and doers, for example, Jane Goodall and Amy Tan, talk about their lives or interesting issues in 18 minutes, for free. Click the following URL and you can reach it.
Tracy left her comments on my “A Lead-in Activity for Unit 1″ in my Life Type blog as follows:
Dear June,
Thank you so much for allowing me to sit in on your class, and I really enjoyed it! To my amazement, you taught in almost all-English, but still, the class was so attentive and responsive. I am always curious in what way the top-down teaching method can be effective, and your teaching method certainly inspired me a lot. 
If you don’t find that bothering, may I sit in on your class for a few more times, please?
Today I lent 6 students different back issues of Reader’s Digest. I told them to read under no pressure. They don’t need to give any report or take any quiz. I suggested they just read a few pages before they go to sleep. They can even read only one article in the magazine, return it to me, and borrow another one. In my opinion, getting into the habit of reading plays a crucial role in learning a language. By reading, they review hundreds or even thousands of words at a time. If they feel at ease reading English, they won’t find it hard to take the English test, because that’s what they do in their daily lives.
I hope they will enjoy reading the magazine.