9/24 Speaking/Listening Class:
We discussed listening for gist and filling in vocabulary for a story we listened to.  It was especially challenging since some of the words were not readily available on our worksheet and we had to stretch our memory or use different words to make the sentence meaningful.

We also watched a video with no sound and discussed what was happening to our partner who could not see the screen! It was interesting to see what words and actions we knew spontaneously.

Some pronunciation videos were watched also, as I finished interviewing the class.

9/28 S&Listening

Discovering some of the challenges an English Language Learners encounter every day is so fascinating.  Today we learned about common expressions to remember:
I beg your pardon? (more formal)
I'm sorry?
Excuse me?
I didn't catch that?
Can you please slow down?
Can you repeat that?

And we learned some expressions like :
I'll figure it out - or getting 'the shakes' from too much coffee.

We listened to a report about Soda and its bad effects on children.  We will discuss more about that next week as well as alcoholism and withdrawal.

Have a great week!
podcast:
http://learningenglish.voanews.com/content/soda-soft-drinks-aggressive-behavior-alcoholism-cdc/1743447.html

Extra Practice Sites

Games and Practice: http://a4esl.org/ http://www.esl-galaxy.com/adults.html http://www.eslcafe.com/students/ Tutoring Suppport: http://www.eastsideliteracy.org/tutorsupportfESLlESLRes.htm

Opportunity for students from Japan, Korea and China!

Below is an email I received from a fellow student who is conducting research.....read below - you could win a prize and help be a part of some interesting research!

My name is Tristan, and I'm an MA student in applied linguistics at Teachers College, Columbia University.  As part of my MA project, I'm conducting an online survey about how Japanese, Korean, and Chinese adults living in the United States introduce themselves to English speakers.  I thought I would reach out to this group in an effort to attract more participants, because I'm seeking as many as possible!

Participants must be at least 18 years old, come from Japan, Korea, or a primarily Chinese-speaking country or territory, and currently live in the New York City area.  Participants' results are confidential, and participants can also enter to win one of two $20 Amazon gift cards.  On average, the survey takes less than 5 minutes.  Because I did not need IRB approval for this project, informed consent is not needed.

Here is the link to the survey:   http://goo.gl/O1R5X4

9/24 Reading/Writing Class: This week we covered getting to know one another - what fun that was!  Everyone joined in a circle and introduced themselves with a custom 'sign' or 'signal'.  We all had to repeat everyone's name and signal as we went around the room!  As I discussed, this is a great way to learn though all of our learning modalities - seeing, speaking, listening, and moving.

Welcome Hunter College COPE Students

I just wanted to thank you all for such a wonderful first day - I hope it was the same for you!
It was a pleasure to meet with you all and discuss your hopes in becoming a better English Language Learner!

I figured out our problem with the afternoon class and its overcrowding!  My morning students will be moved to another classroom (so they won't have me for the afternoon) and have Mrs. Ashmede who is a wonderful teacher and writer!

Things to remember:

Bring in two notebooks to class on Saturday!
Bring in your $10.00 for class materials (if you have not paid me already :}

My afternoon students should remember their newspaper so we can have an excellent class discussion and writing assignment!

Have a wonderful week!