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Education Focus: Snow Days

Posted on 2012/01/16
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snow dayMany places in the United States get snow in the winter. If it is very cold, like this year, even states like Texas or Florida can get snow. Sometimes there is so much snow that is it difficult or dangerous to drive. If this happens, schools often declare a “snow day.” When a school has a snow day, classes are canceled for that day, and children don’t have to attend.

How much snow is necessary to get a snow day? It depends. In southern states like Texas or Florida, drivers are not used to driving in snow. Also, most southern towns would probably not have snow plows or other equipment to clear the roads of snow. Consequently, even only a few centimeters of snow would create dangerous driving for most drivers in southern states. Children living in these states would most likely get a snow day if there were only a few centimeters of snow.

Northern states like Minnesota or North Dakota, though, are accustomed to winter driving with lots of snow, so a few centimeters of snow would mean nothing to them. Snow plows come and clear the roads, but sometimes they only put out salt or gravel if it is a minor amount of snow. Children living in these states would probably not get a snow day if there were only a few centimeters of snow. It would have to snow a lot more – maybe 15 cm or so – before the schools would consider granting a snow day. If there is a lot of wind, though, the snow can form big drifts, which would make the roads difficult or dangerous to drive. So if there is drifting snow, children would probably get a snow day.

Sometimes a snow day is declared because the weather is very cold, instead of because of the snow. Some Januarys have several days where the temperature stays below -25 degrees Celsius. Even the high temperature of the day doesn’t get above -20 – that is extremely cold!! In these cases, it is too cold to walk to school, or to wait outside for a school bus to come. So sometimes schools will also cancel classes due to extreme cold.

Of course, most children enjoy playing in the snow and having a day off from school. And you can be sure that if a student hasn’t studied for a test as much as he should, he will fervently hope for a snow day to give him some extra study time!

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Writing Assignment: The Classroom (Solution)

Posted on 2012/01/14
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1. Who is standing at the desk in the front of the room?
The teacher is standing at the desk in the front of the room.

2. How many students are in the picture?
There are four students in the picture.

3. Are most of the students sitting or standing?
Most of the students are sitting at their desks.

4. Who is writing on the blackboard?
A girl is writing on the blackboard.

5. Is the girl writing in English?
Yes, the girl is writing in English.

6. Which subject are they learning in this classroom?
They are learning English in this classroom.

7. With what is the girl writing on the chalkboard?
The girl is writing with a piece of chalk on the blackboard.

8. How many blackboards are in the picture?
There are two blackboards in the picture.

9. Where is the clock? What time is it?
The clock is on the wall between the two blackboards. It is about 1:30.

10. Is the teacher standing in the front or the back of the classroom?
The teacher is standing in the front of the classroom.

11. What is the teacher holding in his right hand?
The teacher is holding a pen (or a pencil) in his right hand.

12. What is under the desk on the right hand side?
A wastepaper basket is under the desk on the right hand side.

13. Where is the ink?
The ink is in a bottle on the teacher’s desk.

14. Are the two books on the teacher’s desk opened or closed?
The two books on the teacher’s desk are closed.

15. In which hand is the teacher holding the box?
The teacher is holding the box in his left hand.

16. With what are the students writing on the school desk?
The students are writing with a pen (pencil) on the school desk.

17. Is the girl sitting to the right or the left of the two male students?
The girl is sitting to the right of the two male students.

18. Who is wearing glasses?
The teacher is wearing glasses.

19. What is the girl reading out loud?
The girl is reading a book out loud.

20. Do you like to translate from your mother tongue into English?
Yes, I enjoy translating from my mother tongue into English!

Paragraph: My English Class

Write a paragraph about your English class.

In our English class there are many people. Some are businessmen. Some have their own dry cleaning or nail shop. Some are retired and just want to improve their English. All of them had some English when they were in school, but they realize that they have to study more to be able to talk to their customers.

We practice English in various ways. Sometimes we read a book that is not too difficult, like a children’s book, and then translate it. Sometimes we read aloud to practice our pronunciation. Sometimes we write a letter or a short paragraph, like this exercise. Another good activity is to play a puzzle or a game, to get us thinking in English instead of our mother tongue. Sometimes we watch a TV program or a movie for listening practice. All these different activities help us to understand and use English better.

At the end of the semester, we have a little class party. In the summertime we can go somewhere and have a picnic. Otherwise, we just go out to a restaurant, or have a pizza party in the classroom. It all depends on what the class wants to do. No matter what, we learn English together and have fun doing it!

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Writing Assignment: The Classroom

Posted on 2012/01/13
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classroom

Vocabulary

1. pair of glasses
2. in the back
3. in the front
4. desk
5. book
6. textbook
7. box
8. classroom
9. student
10. late
11. English class
12. teacher
13. blackboard
14. white board
15. ink
16. to learn, study
17. to translate
18. in English
19. into English
20. most (of them)
21. subject (of study)
22. open
23. closed
24. clock
25. gladly, like to
26. to write
27. to write on
28. to write to
29. to read out loud
30. to hold

Use the above vocabulary to help you in answering the following questions. Try to write in complete sentences, as much as you can.

1. Who is standing at the desk in the front of the room?

2. How many students are in the picture?

3. Are most of the students sitting or standing?

4. Who is writing on the blackboard?

5. Is the girl writing in English?

6. Which subject are they learning in this classroom?

7. With what is the girl writing on the chalkboard?

8. How many blackboards are in the picture?

9. Where is the clock? What time is it?

10. Is the teacher standing in the front or the back of the classroom?

11. What is the teacher holding in his right hand?

12. What is under the desk on the right hand side?

13. Where is the ink?

14. Are the two books on the teacher’s desk opened or closed?

15. In which hand is the teacher holding the box?

16. With what are the students writing on the school desk?

17. Is the girl sitting to the right or the left of the two male students?

18. Who is wearing glasses?

19. What is the girl reading out loud?

20. Do you like to translate from your mother tongue into English?

Paragraph: My English Class

Write a paragraph about your English class.

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Culture Focus: US Presidential Elections, Part 1 – The Primary Process: Caucuses

Posted on 2012/01/11
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For this week’s culture focus, I thought I’d give a brief introduction to the U.S. political system. Eligible American citizens have started the process of determining whom they want to see as the Republican nominee for the Presidential election to be held on November 6, 2012.  Each state holds either a primary or a caucus to determine which candidates will receive delegates to the national conventions that will be held later in the year. The Democratic Party and the Republic party each have separate primaries/caucuses, generally held on the same day. Democratic delegates will attend the 2012 Democratic National Convention from September 3 – 6 in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Republican delegates will attend the 2012 Republican National Convention from August 27 – 30 in Tampa, Florida.

Last week, Iowa officially started the 2012 Presidential election cycle by holding its caucuses.  Yesterday, New Hampshire held the nation’s first Presidential primary.  Caucuses and primaries are both used to select delegates for the Democratic and Republican National Conventions, but caucuses are quite different from primaries.  Primaries are conducted much like a regular election.  How about caucuses?

In a caucus, people in a certain area (usually some local political district, such as a township or a precinct) get together and discuss as a group which candidate they think deserves their support.  Different people may speak to the group on behalf of a particular candidate, seeking to persuade others to support that candidate as well.  After discussion, the caucus participants cast their vote for the candidate of their choice.  Properly speaking, the people vote for delegates for that particular candidate, and these are the delegates that will go to a county convention and/or the national convention.  (Some caucuses are more complicated than what I’ve just described here, but this description gives you the general idea.)

Perhaps one reason why caucuses are more complicated than primaries is because they are an older method of selecting delegates for the political conventions.  One drawback of such a system is that caucuses are more open to influence to control from party leaders.  Consequently, many states switched over to a primary system, beginning with Florida in 1901.  Today, only a handful of states still hold caucuses rather than primaries:  Alaska, Colorado, Hawaii, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana (Democrats, Republicans hold a Primary), Maine, Minnesota, Montana (Republicans, Democrats hold a Primary, Nebraska (Democrats, Republicans hold a Primary), Nevada, North Dakota, Washington, and Wyoming.

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Education Focus: American Education System, Part 2

Posted on 2012/01/09
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Last week we looked at the American Educational System from Kindergarten through High School. Today we’ll take a brief look at post-secondary education in the U.S.: American colleges and universities.

After completion of high school, many students continue their education by attending a college or a university. Although most people use the terms interchangeably, there is a difference between a college and a university. A college generally has a smaller student enrollment and consists of one school (the college). On the other hand, a university usually has a larger student enrollment and consists of several schools: for example, a typical university can have a college of liberal arts and sciences, a college of engineering, and a college of education. For the student there is little practical difference; both colleges and universities are degree-granting institutions, enabling their graduates to have better job prospects than they would otherwise with only a high school education.

When a student attends college/university, he chooses a major, or area of concentration and specialization. Many different types of majors are available. Ideally, a student chooses his major first (or at least has some idea of what he’d like to concentrate on), and then chooses a school based on major he’d like to study. Typical majors would include: engineering (mechanical engineering, industrial engineering, electrical engineering, or chemical engineering), physics, chemistry, biology, pre-med, pre-law, history, English/literature, a foreign language, education, mathematics, statistics, computer science/IT, physical education, physical therapy, accounting, business, marketing, hotel and restaurant management, fashion design, fine arts (music, art, theater), and nursing. Each major has its own degree requirements in addition to the general education requirements of the college/university. Students can double major (complete the requirements for two majors simultaneously) or major in one area and minor in another.

Like high school, most students take four years to complete the degree requirements, and so we have the corresponding classes for college/university: first-year students are freshmen, second-year students are sophomores, third-year students are juniors, and fourth-year students are seniors. Freshmen and sophomores are underclassmen; juniors and seniors are upperclassmen. In reality, four years to complete the degree is an average. Some students may complete their degree early by taking summer school and interim classes; others may take longer than four years due to poor schedules, having to repeat courses, or by working on two majors. Consequently, in college, years are determined largely by how many credit hours one has. Each course is worth a set number of credit hours; for example, a course that meets three hours per week for the semester would be worth three credit hours. The more courses a student takes, the more credit hours he earns upon completion of the course. 12 – 15 credit hours are considered a normal (full-time) class load, and would be the equivalent of four or five classes of three credit hours each. In addition to the time spent in class, students are expected to spend a minimum of two hours study outside of class for every hour spent in class. Thus, 12 – 15 credit hours represent a minimum of 36 – 45 hours each week that a student should devote to his education.

After completing the degree requirements as set forth by the college/university, students are awarded a bachelor’s degree. A bachelor’s degree is the lowest post-secondary degree awarded by four-year institutions like colleges and universities. A student typically earns either a bachelor of arts degree (B.A.) or a bachelor of science degree (B.S.). There is little practical difference between a B.A. and a B.S., as most employers are satisfied that their employees have a degree. Accordingly, completion of college represents the final stage of education for most people: after graduation, students look for a job and enter the world of work.

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Culture Focus – Names

Posted on 2012/01/04
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English names follow a typically Western naming convention: first name, middle name, and last name. A child is given his name at birth, which is recorded with the hospital and county before the child goes home from the hospital. In olden days when babies were born at home, the official name registration was more likely to done at the time of the child’s christening, or baptism, which was generally held sometime during the child’s first month.

The first name is also called the given name, since it is the name given to the child at birth by the parents. Middle names are also typically given to a child, but they are seldom used except in official documents. Also, since parents usually use a child’s full name (first, middle, last) when reprimanding the child, most people associate the use of the full name with getting in trouble. The last name (also known as family name or surname) comes from the father. Girls have their father’s name until they are married, at which time they generally give it up and assume their husband’s family name. For this reason, we speak of a woman’s maiden name (the name she had before she married) and her married name.

Typical boys’ names (with shorter versions in parentheses) are: John, David (Dave), Michael (Mike), Mark, Stephen (Steve), Robert (Bob, Rob), Timothy (Tim), Bradley (Brad), William (Will, Bill), and Thomas (Tom). Typical girls’ names are: Mary, Diane (Diana), Cheryl (Sherry, Sheri), Sarah, Julia (Julie), Ann, Nancy, Deborah (Debby, Deb), Barbara (Barb), and Carol. According to the Social Security website, the top ten baby names for boys and girls in 2010 are:

Boys:
1. Jacob
2. Ethan
3. Michael
4. Jayden
5. William
6. Alexander
7. Noah
8. Daniel
9. Aiden
10. Anthony

Girls:
1. Isabella
2. Sophia
3. Emma
4. Olivia
5. Ava
6. Emily
7. Abigail
8. Madison
9. Chloe
10. Mia

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Education Focus: American Educational System

Posted on 2012/01/02
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In this post I want to give you an introduction to the American Educational System. We’ll start off with some general information.

The United States has compulsory education. This means that children are obligated to attend school for a certain number of years, for a specific age range. The actual ages depends on which state you live in. Generally, children in Illinois must attend school from the ages of 7 to 17. The school may be public or private.

Some children attend a pre-school (nursery school) prior to attending Kindergarten. The pre-school format varies greatly, but generally is only a few hours a day, a couple days a week, since the children are as young as 3 or 4 years old. Pre-school is not mandatory, although some states are considering adopting “universal pre-school” legislation. This would make pre-school available for all children, but it would not necessarily mean that all children would be required to attend.

Most children begin attending school by entering Kindergarten at age 5 or 6. Like pre-school, Kindergarten not mandatory, and is not full-time. Kindergarten is generally only a half-day of school; some children attend in the morning, while others attend in the afternoon. The subjects that children learn in kindergarten vary, but the emphasis tends to be on social skills and reading readiness.

More formal education starts with First Grade. It is in the First Grade that children are required to attend school full-time – typically, about six hours a day, five days a week. Grades 1 – 5 are variously called primary grades or elementary grades, and a school that teaches these grades is typically called a grade school or an elementary school.

Children in Grades 6 – 8 are said to attend junior high school, or middle school. The term “middle school” is becoming increasingly more common. Junior high can be thought of as a transition from the lower grades to high school. In grade school, children stay in one classroom and are taught nearly all subjects by the same teacher. In high school, children move from classroom to classroom to take different subjects taught by different teachers. By contrast, in junior high, children move from classroom to classroom similar to high school, but the children all move together and take the same subjects.

High school represents the final stage of compulsory education. There are four grades in high school: Grades 9 – 12, with the students in each year (or class) designated according to which grade they are in. Ninth graders are in their first year of high school, and are called “freshmen.” Tenth graders, or second-year students, are called “sophomores.” Together, freshmen and sophomores are known as “underclassmen.” Students in their last two years of high school have the status of “upperclassmen”: third-year students are “juniors,” and fourth-year students are “seniors.”

Once a child has completed high school, or attained the age set forth in compulsory education laws (17 years old in Illinois), the child has satisfied the compulsory education requirements and is free. Many students, however, choose to continue their education by attending college or university.

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Happy New Year!

Posted on 2012/01/01
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Today is New Year’s Day. One popular thing to do for New Year’s is to make some New Year’s resolutions. When people make a resolution, they think about some bad habits they want to quit, or maybe start some good habits, and then resolve (make a promise and determine to yourself to keep it) to make the change for the new year. So, for example, many people resolve to lose weight, give up smoking, get more exercise, eat more healthful foods, and so on.

Although many resolutions have to do with one’s physical health, resolutions can also be in regards to other habits as well. For example, someone might resolve to read more books in the coming year, and then set a goal of reading 3 books a month. Someone else might resolve to spend more time with their children, and take them camping in the summer. Still others might make resolutions concerning a hobby – some might resolve to take cooking classes, tennis lessons, or play the piano more often.

For those of us learning a language, an obvious resolution would have to do with language study. I want to study more Korean and Japanese, and take the JLPT Level 2 at the end of this year. I’m going to try to set aside time each day to study – 30 minutes every day is much better than 3 1/2 hours only once a week, even though the total minutes is the same. Practicing by writing in a journal every day is also a good idea.

Have you made any resolutions? May 2012 be a breakthrough year for you in English!

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Culture Focus: Refunds & Exchanges

Posted on 2011/12/28
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Usually, when people buy a gift for someone else, they try to get a gift that is suitable for the recipient. If they want to give some clothes as a gift, they try to get clothes that are the right size. They try to get clothes that are in the style that the recipient likes. If they want to give a book, they try to get something from a favorite author. If they give some music as a gift, they try to get something from a favorite band. Sometimes, though, it is difficult to know exactly what kind of present would make the recipient happy. This means that sometimes, despite our best efforts, a present is not always what the recipient likes. Because of this, people often give a gift receipt along with the present. A gift receipt makes it easier for the recipient to exchange the gift or get a refund.

What is a gift receipt? In general, a receipt is a piece of paper from a store that shows 1) when something was bought, 2) what price was paid for the item, and 3) from which store the item was purchased. A gift receipt contains all this information too, except the price of the item is coded. Why is the price coded? We consider it impolite to let a person know how much was paid for the present, so gift receipts are coded to hide the price.

So, if a person is unhappy with a present he’s gotten, he has two options: 1) He can exchange the present for something more to his liking, or 2) he can get a refund.

1) Exchange

Sometimes, the person likes the present, except it is the wrong size, wrong color, etc. He can take the item and the gift receipt back to the store. Then he can pick out a present that is the right size, right color, etc. This situation is easier for the clerk, since there is generally no difference in price between the original present and the exchange. Usually, the clerk will scan the information from the receipt. Then the clerk will scan the information from the exchange. This is so the store’s inventory will remain accurate and up-to-date. The clerk will probably make a note of the exchange on the receipt.

exchanging a purchase

Sometimes, the person will want to exchange the old present for another item that is completely different. For example, maybe a person got a sweater as a gift, but they want to have a pair of shoes instead. In this case, the clerk usually treats this as two separate transactions: one return, and one purchase. The clerk scans the gift receipt for the original purchase information. The person returning the present will get a store credit equal to the amount paid for the original purchase. This credit is then applied to the purchase of the new item. If the cost of the new item is less than the cost of the original present, the person will get a refund for the difference, or get a store credit. If the cost of the new item is greater than the cost of the original present, the person will have to pay the difference.

Both cases are good from the store’s perspective, because the sale is saved, and the customer is happy. It is a “win-win” situation: both sides benefit from the deal.

2) Refund

Sometimes, the person likes nothing about the present. He would rather have the money instead of the present. In this case, he can be refunded the price of the gift. The clerk will scan the information about the original purchase and determine how much money the person will get back. From the store’s perspective, this is not a good thing, because it is the same as a lost sale. But the store will do it anyhow, because it is good for customer relations: “The customer is always right.”

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Education Focus: Winter Break

Posted on 2011/12/26
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Most American students are on Christmas break. This year, most students’ Christmas vacation (here in Illinois) is from 12/19 through 1/2. This means that their last day of school before Christmas was 12/16, and their first day back to school will be 1/3.
Having fun on Christmas break
Schools generally give about two weeks’ vacation around Christmas time. So most students get two weeks off to relax, get together with friends, and maybe go on a family vacation. Some families go to Florida or someplace warm for a Christmas vacation. Other families like spend their winter vacation skiing or doing some other outdoor winter activity. This year, because of the poor economy, most families probably stayed home and enjoyed time with one another and with friends.

College and university students usually have a longer Christmas break. Their semester ends around the second week of December. After they finish their final exams, they head home. It is very convenient to have the finals prior to winter break. Then students don’t have to study on their vacation. Some college students might take the opportunity to earn some money by working on their Christmas break. But many college students spend their winter vacation sleeping late (“sleeping in”), enjoying Mom’s home cooking, meeting with friends who are attending other colleges or universities, and relaxing.

Christmas vacation is a good time for students to relax and have some fun before they go back to school and work hard in the spring semester.

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