I started Unit 1 in Class 314 today. The title is “Dying to Look Beautiful.” Because their class starts right after the nap time, I played a slow song first, “Yesterday Once More,” to help them wake up. I asked them who the singers were. They replied, “The Carpenters.” Then I mentioned Karen Carpenter and asked the students if they knew how she died. They knew it! She died from anorexia nervosa. Of course, they gave me the answer in Chinese. So I wrote the English term on the blackboard. Then I asked them how she got the illness. With these questions, I gradually led them into the topic, “Dying to Look Beautiful.” (more…)
Archive for September, 2008
A Lead-in Activity for Unit 1 “Dying to Look Beautiful”
Thursday, September 11th, 2008Using English in Class
Wednesday, September 10th, 2008This noon, Yi-ching (陳怡晴) paid me a visit and we had a good 2-hour chat over lunch. In our conversation, Yi-ching asked if my new students were shocked at our first encounter by my speaking English for almost the whole class period. I said some were and some weren’t.
A Correction
Tuesday, September 9th, 2008Today when I was teaching Class 314, I mentioned Jimmy’s story. However, a student told me that he has already recovered from his sickness. After I went home, I checked online and found that Jimmy got leukemia 13 years ago, but, thanks to the doctor’s treatment, he recovered.
Last Saturday, I just read the headline of the news. And that was why I made the mistake. I feel sorry about my lazy eyes.
The following is the complete news story.
http://www.udn.com/2008/9/6/NEWS/READING/REA8/4505727.shtml
Now I’m very happy to say, “Congratulations, Jimmy!”
The only certainty is the uncertainty.
Monday, September 8th, 2008I was shocked by two pieces of news last Saturday. One was that the famous writer Chao-ning (趙寧)passed away on Friday, at the age of 66. The other was that Jimmy (幾米), a well-known illustrator, suffered from leukemia. The headline said Jimmy has cried every day since he got to know he had cancer. I feel great sympathy for him, not only for his physical pain but also for his mental suffering. (more…)
Max
Sunday, September 7th, 2008This evening, my former student Max, his girlfriend, and I had dinner together. Max talked about the second business he is going to start. (more…)
The Secret
Saturday, September 6th, 2008I started to read the book The Secret the day before yesterday. Though I haven’t had half done, I’ve already got the gist. According to the book, our thoughts lead us to where we belong. If we always have good thoughts, good things will be around us. If we have bad thoughts all the time, bad things will certainly come to us. This is the law of attraction.
I like a sentence on page 21, “Your mind is actually shaping the world around you.”
Do we really see what we are supposed to see?
Friday, September 5th, 2008Today I didn’t have to proctor the test, but since this is the students’ first mock exam, I still went to school and went to each of the three classes to remind them of the dos and don’ts. The first thing I said to them was the English test lasted only 100 minutes, unlike the Chinese test, which lasted 120 minutes. However, when I turned and looked, I found on the blackboards of two classes the time schedules for the test were wrong. (more…)
Beyond Genius — Sep. 4, 2008 entry
Friday, September 5th, 2008Sep. 4, 2008
This evening starting from 8:00, my phone line got disconnected. I put it on my calendar a few days ago to remind myself to write my blog before 8pm, but I still forgot it. A sign of aging?
However, I still have a way to keep my blog. I kept it on Word so that I could copy and paste it in my blog later. (more…)
Challenge
Wednesday, September 3rd, 2008Being an English teacher, I have to face challenges from students every day. Yesterday, a student asked me how to say 圓周率 in English. I said Pi, but not sure if it was English. (more…)
Including English tests in national exams
Tuesday, September 2nd, 2008On the front page of today’s United Daily runs the story news that President Ma proposed at a luncheon yesterday to include English tests in all national exams so as to enhance our public servants’ global competitiveness.
http://udn.com/NEWS/NATIONAL/NATS4/4499665.shtml
In my opinion, whether our government employees need to master English depends on what they are supposed to do at their jobs. Are they required to use a lot of English at work? If not, their expertise should come first.