In Unit 10 “The Teacher Who Changed My Life,” Nicholas Gage mentioned he started to understand the power of the written word after his essay about the story of his family aroused sympathy among his classamtes and later won a medal in a contest, which brought glory to the Greek community. (more…)
Archive for April, 2009
The Power of the Written Word
Monday, April 20th, 2009The Reader, the Movie
Sunday, April 19th, 2009Yesterday evening I went to see the movie “The Reader.” It made me sigh for the unavoidable tragedy of the wartime. Hanan, the heroine, applied for the job when she was young as a guard working for the Nazi Party, killing many Jews. In her middle age, she faced the trial and was finally sentenced to life imprisonment. When asked in court by the chief judge why she killed, she retorted, “What would YOU do?” Hearing her question, I asked myself what I would have done if I were her but couldn’t offer an answer. (more…)
Great Teachers
Saturday, April 18th, 2009Here is a list of the qualities of the teachers who Class 313 described as having a great influence on them.
1. Kind
2. Encouraging/Inspiring (more…)
What Is He Doing?
Friday, April 17th, 2009
Yesterday afternoon, while I was answering some 314 students’ questions during the break, I caught a glimpse of Alex (張智堯) standing in the garbage can. (more…)
Warm-up Activities for Unit 10 “The Teacher Who Changed My Life”
Thursday, April 16th, 2009Today I started Unit 10, “The Teacher Who Changed My Life” in Class 313. Since I promised them yesterday that I would teach them a song first thing in today’s class, I began the class with the song “To Sir with Love.” They listened to it once very quietly and then tried to sing along. The students said the song was beautiful but hard to sing. I wished then that I could let them sing with the CD for ten times so that they would find it easier. (more…)
Attacked by a Bird
Wednesday, April 15th, 2009This evening, around 5:30, while I was walking on campus toward my car, I felt something hit me on the right part of my head. Looking around, I saw nothing but a beautiful long-tailed bird, which just perched on a tree. My conclusion was: I was attacked by the bird! Never have I had the slightest idea that I would have this kind of encounter with a bird.
Well, I didn’t blame it, though my head hurt a little then. Maybe it didn’t hit me on purpose. It just passed by, with its wing or tail sweeping across part of my head.
Congratulations, Derek!
Tuesday, April 14th, 2009Yesterday the result of NTU application came out. Derek (董德), one of my assistants in Class 310, got admitted to the Department of Entomology at NTU. He was exhilarated, and I was too. We hugged for a while, our joy bankrupting any language. (more…)
生活化的「新聞英語」–楊欣欣教授演講，我的筆記
Monday, April 13th, 2009This noon I attended Ms. Yang’s speech on news English. Ms. Yang is a correspondent of AFP (法新社) and a teacher at NTU. The following are my notes.
Topic: 生活化的「新聞英語」
Speaker: 楊欣欣女士
Place: 台灣大學應用力學館400室
Time: 2-4pm, Apr. 13, 2009 (more…)
A Fantastic Blog about England
Sunday, April 12th, 2009http://tw.myblog.yahoo.com/shiny-shine/
While doing the peer evaluation for the blog competition, I came across this fantastic blog. Shinyshine used the blog to recorded his life in England when he was studying there. I admired his insight and commitment. All of the entries are in Chinese except one “番言英語,” in which he wrote bilingually; that is, in English with Chinese translation. This blog would be highly appreciated by those who are interested in British culture.
Singing in Class
Saturday, April 11th, 2009Since I taught Class 314 a song at the beginning of the class one Friday in March, they have been looking forward to singing every Friday. So far, we have sung “If,” “When You Believe,” “Rhythm of the Rain,” ”Hero,” and “Perhaps Love.” All these songs have beautiful melody, and most of them are inspriing. Ying-zi (張盈姿) told me that when she was preparing for the 2nd-stage screening, she often hummed the song “Hero” to herself. I am glad that the song reassured and helped her, giving her more strength. (more…)