Listening

September 7, 2007

Movie: Step Up
15:00-16:40

Brief summary: The movie is about a boy named Tyler who lived in a poor neighbourhood in Baltimore. He and his best friend went to parties very often. Once they broke into a school of arts; they messed things up, but they were discovered by a security guard, who caught Tyler. As a punishment, Tyler was assigned work as a janitor assistant. While doing his work, he observed Nora, a girl who was rehearsing for her senior showcase. Nora needed a dancer for her showcase; Tyler convinced her to accept him as her dancer. They both went through some problems and, also, they fell in love with each other. Tyler demonstrated to be a good dancer; moreover, he suggested Nora a mix of classical and hip-hop music, which resulted in a very good showcase that made her be accepted in university. On the other hand, Tyler, a no-future boy just a few weeks earlier, is accepted in the school of arts.

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September 21, 2007

Movie: Fahrenheit 451
16:15-17:00

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September 26, 2007

Movie: Fahrenheit 451
14:00-15:00

Brief summary: This movie is in British English. It is about a community in which people are not allowed to read since books have only lies and unreal people.
People in this town are very focused on technology and superfluous things. Nevertheless, they are not happy; they need love.
The books in this town are banned and burned at 457ºF. The men who burn these books are called “firemen”. One of these firemen is Montague. One day, Montague runs into a young girl who changes his mind with respect to books. Montague starts to read and finds this amazing. However, when his wife realizes about this, she threatens him to leave him if he does not stop reading. Montague takes no notice of this.
Montague escapes from that town and finds the book town. This is the place where people read books and memorize them so they do not perish.

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September 28, 2007

Movie: The Core
13:30-14:00

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October 23, 2007

Movie: Finding Neverland
14:00-15:30

Brief summary: The movie is about a man called Mr. Barrie who seemed to never have grown up. He would write plays for a man. Once, Mr. Barrie ran into four children and their mother. Mr. Barrie became very fond of them; moreover, he fell in love with Mrs. Llewelyn. In spite of loving each other, Mr. Barrie and Mrs. Llewelyn never showed their affection toward each other, except for the good friendship they shared. Mr. Barrie decided to write a great play about a boy who never grew up: Peter Pan. This play was dedicated to Peter, one of Mrs. Llewelyn’s sons, and his brothers.
Once, Mrs. Llewlyn and Mr. Barrie were talking. Mr. Barrie told Mrs. Llewlyn that he had a drem place: Neverland. Immediately, Mrs. Llewelyn said that she wanted to go there.
Mrs. Llewelyn was badly sick and she was expected to die soon. The day the play was on, Mrs. Llewelyn got very sick; therefore, neither she nor her sons were able to go, except for Peter, who did go to the play since Mrs. Llewelyn had asked him to. After the play ended, Mr. Barrie gave Mrs. Llewelyn a great surprise: Neverland at home.
The movie ends when Mrs. Llewelyn dies and Mr. Barrie and Mrs. Llewelyn’s mother take care of the children.

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November 12, 2007

Listening 1: It’s a Home Run (Exercise on the internet)
Level: Difficult
Listening 2: Radio Commercial (Exercise on the internet)
Level: Difficult
4:30-5:30

Listening 1: The exercise was about a radio (locutor) who is telling the baseball game. The Cardinals are batting; Mark Sosa is up to the plate with a 0-for-3 this game and the bases loaded. Mark Sosa hits the ball and it’s a homerun that makes him the Home Run King.

This exercise has five questions, four of which I answered correctly.
My score was 80%.

Listening 2: This exercise was about a radio commercial. The man is advertising some furniture such as color TVs, video machine, washers, dryers, stereos and others. The man says some of the prices as well as the hours they are open and their location.

This exercise has five questions, five of which I answered correctly.
My score was 100%
From: http://www.esl-lab.com/index.htm

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November 19, 2007

Listening 1: Friendly Dental Care
Listening 2: Car Accident
Level: Difficult
12:00-13:00

Listening 1: The exercise is about a man who goes to the dentist to have his teeth checked up and cleaned. The dentist finds out that one of the man’s wisdom teeth is in not very good conditions; moreover, there is some plaque buildup. The man is almost shocked when the dentist tells him what he has to do, so he asks the dentist to use some local anesthetic.

The exercise has five questions, four of which I answered correctly.
My score was 80%

Listening 2: It is about a girl who wrecks her father’s car right in the front yard of her house. She drives over the mailbox and hits a tree. The girl’s father is very worried about his car, and her mother is worried about her. The girl explains that the accident was due to something that rolled to the pedals, and also to the windshield wipers that did not work very well.

The exercise has five questions, five of which I answered correctly.
My score was 100%

Note: The webpage had a problem. When I checked my score, it was 0%; then, I decided to check the script and I could learn that my answers were right. So, I went back to the questions and changed the answers incorrectly, and the score remained the same: 0%.

From: http://www.esl-lab.com/index.htm

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November 24, 2007

Listening 1: Summer Camp

Listening 2: Dating Woes
Level: Difficult
18:00-19:00

Listening 1: The exercise was about a boy who is writing a letter for his parents. In the letter, he tells his parents what he does every day in the camp. He also tells about some bad things that have happened to him, for example, he lost his fishing pole, he dropped some hot-dogs, he got lost in the dark, among other things. He finishes his letter saying that camping is not for him.

This exercise has five questions, four of which I answered correctly.
My score was 80%

Listening 2: The exercise is about a boy who calls a friend. The boy is complaining because his friend did not tell him that Cindy, the girl he was dating, was not completely single.
This exercise is the most difficult I have done since the boy speaks very fast.

This exercise has five questions, three of which I answered correctly.
My score was 60%

Speaking

September 3, 2007

Conversation Club in the classroom
9:00-10:00

-Participants: Diana, Beatriz, José Ramón, Adriana, Rose, Selenne.
-Who brought the activity? (No activity; discussion about the conversation club formation)
-Who led the activity? (No)
-Topic discussed: (conversation club formation)
-Did you like the activity? Why?
Ideas for Next meeting: Board games.

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September 10, 2007

Conversation Club in the classroom
9:00-10:00

-Participants: Diana, Beatriz, José Ramón, Adriana, Rose, Selenne.
-Who brought the activity? Beatriz did.
-Who led the activity? Beatriz did.
-Topic discussed: We played “Flabergast”; it consists of rolling the dice in order to have a time (45, 60 or 75 seconds) either to speak or act (a set of cards have these two options) a word (another set of cards has different words in groups of four). The team to guess the words the most is the winner.
-Did you like the activity? Yes, I did.
-Why? Because I have learned some new words and, since I have had to speak sometimes, I have to think what to say quickly in order to have enough time to finish my four words.
-Ideas for next meeting: Continue playing in order to have a winner team.

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September 19, 2007

Conversation Club with Karen
13:00-14:00

Participants: Karen, Selenne.
-Who brought the activity? Karen did.
-Who led the activity? Karen did.
-Topic discussed: We talked about our lives and daily routine; we also talked on our likes and dislikes, and on my feeling about my parents’ getting back to Granados.
-Did you like the activity? Yes, I did.
-Why? Our meeting was very pleasing; I practiced my speaking and my listening very much. I really enjoyed talking with Karen. Moreover, I did not feel pressed to talk since we were having a talk as though we had been talking in Spanish, with nobody checking our fluency.
-Ideas for next meeting: Karen is in charged of planning activities.

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September 21, 2007

Conversation Club with Karen
13:00-14:00

Participants: Karen, Nereyda, Selenne, Yesenia.
-Who brought the activity? Karen did.
-Who led the activity? Karen did.
-Topic discussed: Famous stars, fame, stars’ lives, favorite famous characters, fanatic people.
-Did you like the activity? Yes, I did.
-Why? We talked about likes and dislikes regarding famous people. We agreed in some aspects or opinions about famous people’s lives, and we imagined that our favorite character has asked us to be his girlfriend. The answers we gave were very alike.
-Ideas for next meeting: Karen is in charged of planning activities.

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September 27, 2007

Conversation Club with Karen
13:00-14:00

Participants: Karen, Yessenia, Selenne.
-Who brought the activity? Karen did.
-Who led the activity? Karen did.
-Topic discussed: Graphic humor.
-Did you like the activity? Yes, I did.
-Why? Karen gave us some pictures about graphic humor. I liked this activity because it made me laugh, and I love laughing. Besides, we could express what we thought those pictures meant. We learned that we have different perspectives of viewing the same things.
-Ideas for next meeting: Karen is in charge of planning activities.

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October 1, 2007

Conversation Club with Karen
13:30-14:00

Participants: Karen, Luis, Selenne.
-Who brought the activity? Karen did.
-Who led the activity? Karen did.
-Topic discussed: How to prevent accidents in the kitchen. History of Root Beer in Hermosillo.
-Did you like the activity? Yes, I did.
-Why? Because we talked about Root Beer stores in Hermosillo. Luis told us that these places have about 100 years working.
-Ideas for next meeting: Karen is in charge of planning activities.

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October 2, 2007

Conversation Club with Karen
13:30-14:00

Participants: Karen, Luis, Selenne, Jesús.
-Who brought the activity? Karen did.
-Who led the activity? Karen did.
-Topic discussed: We listened to a song -100 years by Five For Fighting- and filled in the gaps according to what we heard.
-Did you like the activity? Yes, I did.
-Why? I considered this activity good since I have to pay close attention to what the song says. This kind of exercises can help me improve my listening.
-Ideas for next meeting: Karen is in charge of planning activities.

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October 3, 2007

Conversation Club with Karen
13:00-14:00

Participants: Jesús, Yessenia, Karen, Selenne.
-Who brought the activity? Karen did.
-Who led the activity? Karen did.
-Topic discussed: Mexican culture and trips.
-Did you like the activity? Yes, I did.
-Why? Because I think that talking about Mexican culture is very exciting. Mexican people often feel proud of traveling around the world, but they do not say anything about traveling all over Mexico, and it is a very interesting place.
-Ideas for next meeting: Karen is in charge of planning activities.

Conversation Club with Diana
15:00-16:00

Participants: Diana, Jesús, Dorys, Osvaldo, Nereyda, Selenne.
-Who brought the activity? Diana did.
-Who led the activity? Diana did.
-Topic discussed: Beauty and intelligence.
-Did you like the activity? Yes, I did.
-Why? Because I learned about the different opinions that we have about these two topics. It’s very interesting to know about how people may differ regarding a topic, and learn to respect each other’s ideas.
-Ideas for next meeting: Diana is in charge of planning activities.

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October 8, 2007

Conversation Club with Diana
9:00-10:00

Participants: Diana, Selenne, Beatriz, Rose, Adriana, José Ramón.
-Who brought the activity? Diana did.
-Who led the activity? Diana did.
-Topic discussed: Beauty and physical attractiveness.
-Did you like the activity? Yes, I did.
-Why? Because it was very interesting to know about my classmates’ opinions about beauty. Also, we had fun discussing this topic.
-Ideas for next meeting: A game.

Conversation Club with Karen
13:00-14:00

Participants: Jesús, Yessenia, Luis, Karen, Selenne.
-Who brought the activity? Karen did.
-Who led the activity? Karen did.
-Topic discussed: Family and relationship with them.
-Did you like the activity? Yes, I did.
-Why? We might sometimes think that all the families are alike; however, by having a discussion about this topic, I learned that there are families in which relationships are not very good. This can be a factor that shapes our behavior.
-Ideas for next meeting: Karen is in charge of planning activities.

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October 15, 2007

Conversation Club in the classroom
8:00-9:00

Participants: Diana, Iran, Beatriz, Adriana, Rose, Mariela, Paulina, José Ramón, Martín, Rocío Tapia, Selenne.
-Who brought the activity? Adriana, Diana and Paulina did.
-Who led the activity? All of us did.
-Topic discussed: Literature.
-Did you like the activity? Yes, I did.
-Why? Because we had a great discussion of different Shakespeare’s plays such as Othello, The Merchant of Venice, and Romeo and Juliet.
-Ideas for next meeting: A game.

Conversation Club with Diana
15:00-16:00

Participants: Jesús, Diana, Selenne.
-Who brought the activity? Diana did.
-Who led the activity? Diana did.
-Topic discussed: The paranormal.
-Did you like the activity? Yes, I did.
-Why? We talked about strange things and gave our opinions about them. We learned that everybody thinks of the paranormal in a different way.
-Ideas for next meeting: Diana is in charge of the activities.

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October 22, 2007

Conversation Club in the classroom
9:00-10:00

Participants: Iran, Diana, Selenne, Adriana, Beatriz, Rose, Mariela, José Ramón.
-Who brought the activity? Beatriz did.
-Who led the activity? Beatriz and José Ramón did.
-Topic discussed: Game: Flabbergast (a different version).
-Did you like the activity? Yes, I did.
-Why? Because we played in a way that we had to talk and guess some words –many of which were not known for us.
-Ideas for next meeting: Discussion about an interesting topic.

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October 23, 2007

Conversation Club with Karen
13:00-14:00

Participants: Karen, Jesús, Yessenia, Luis, Iran, Selenne.
-Who brought the activity? Karen did.
-Who led the activity? Karen did.
-Topic discussed: Places to visit.
-Did you like the activity? Yes, I did.
-Why? Because we discussed about the most amazing places to visit around the world. We also said that Mexico has many very interesting places to visit.
-Ideas for next meeting: Karen is in charge of the activities.

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October 29, 2007

Conversation Club with Diana
15:00-16:00

Participants: Jesús, Diana, Iran, Selenne.
-Who brought the activity? Diana did.
-Who led the activity? Diana did.
-Topic discussed: Food and music of church.
-Did you like the activity? Yes, I did.
-Why? Because we talked about foods we had never heard of. We also talked about our opinions about dancing at the church.
-Ideas for next meeting: Diana is in charge of the activities.

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October 29, 2007

Conversation Club with Diana

Participants: Jesús, Diana, Iran, Selenne.
-Who brought the activity? Diana did.
-Who led the activity? Diana did.
-Topic discussed: Politics.
-Did you like the activity? Yes, I did.
-Why? Even though I don’t like politics, I found this topic interesting since we could discuss aspects of our political system.
-Ideas for next meeting: Diana is in charge of the activities.

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November 1, 2007

Conversation Club with Diana
15:00-16:00

Participants: Jesús, Diana, Selenne, Dorys, Abril, Erika.
-Who brought the activity? Diana did.
-Who led the activity? Diana did.
-Topic discussed: Game: Scrabble.
-Did you like the activity? Yes, I did.
-Why? I was really curious about how to play scrabble since I had never played it before. It was good because it was create since we had to form words with letters on the board.
-Ideas for next meeting: Diana is in charge of the activities.

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November 5, 2007

Conversation Club in the classroom
9:00-10:00

Participants: Diana, Iran, Adriana, Rose, Selenne.
-Who brought the activity? Diana did.
-Who led the activity? Diana did.
-Topic discussed: Movies.
-Did you like the activity? Yes, I did.
-Why? Because movies is one topic I like to talk about very much.
-Ideas for next meeting:

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November 12, 2007

Conversation Club in the classroom
9:00-10:00

Participants: Iran, Diana, Beatriz, José Ramón, Selenne, Adriana, Rose.
-Who brought the activity?
-Who led the activity? All of us did.
-Topic discussed: Types of music
-Did you like the activity? Yes, I did.
-Why? Because we talked about the music we enjoy listening to. We sometimes differ from the type of music we like, but we also have some similarities.
-Ideas for next meeting:

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November 15, 2007

Conversation Club with Diana
15:00-16:00

Participants: Jesús, Érika, Diana, Iran, Mariela, Selenne.
-Who brought the activity? Diana did.
-Who led the activity? Diana did.
-Topic discussed: Immigration.
-Did you like the activity? Yes, I did.
-Why? I am really concerned about this situation in our country. We shared some opinions about what the Mexican government should do to overcome this problem.
-Ideas for next meeting: Diana is in charge of the activities.

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November 20, 2007

Conversation Club with Diana
15:00-16:00

Participants: Jesús, Diana, Iran, Selenne.
-Who brought the activity? Diana did.
-Who led the activity? Diana did.
-Topic discussed: Dating and relationships.
-Did you like the activity? Yes, I did.
-Why? It is very interesting to know about what people think about marriage, friendship and partnership relations. I liked this topic because we also compared the customs regarding dating in our country and the customs in the U.S.A.
-Ideas for next meeting: Diana is in charge of the activities.

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November 28, 2007

Conversation Club with Diana
15:00-16:00

Participants: Jesús, Diana, Erica, Iran, Selenne.
-Who brought the activity? Diana did.
-Who led the activity? Diana did.
-Topic discussed: Getting to know each other.
-Did you like the activity? Yes, I did.
-Why? Because we discussed and shared information about ourselves. The questions we asked were very interesting and helped us know more about ourselves.
-Ideas for next meeting: Diana is in charge of the activities.

Reading

August 29, 2007

Book: The Piano
Border, Rosemary. The Piano. New York: Oxford University Press, 1989.
8:00 a.m.-9:00 a.m.
Pages 1-12

Sentences or phrases which structure were useful for me:
“… picture of Sir Anthony at the piano.”
“On my way upstairs…”
“Tony and his mother got on a bus…”

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September 7, 2007

Book: The Piano (cont.)
Border, Rosemary. The Piano. New York: Oxford University Press, 1989.
8:00 a.m.-9:00 a.m.
Pages 12-24

Sentences or phrases which structure were useful for me:
“Mr Wood came into the field.”
“Now,” said Mr Wood. “My new car…”
“School doesn’t start again until September.”


Book: The Piano (cont.)
Border, Rosemary. The Piano. New York: Oxford University Press, 1989.
13:00 a.m.-14:00 a.m.
Pages 24-39 (finished)

Sentences or phrases which structure were useful for me:
“It isn’t far away.”
“We can put it on Mr Wood’s lorry.”

Lorry: A large vehicle for transporting goods by road.
(from www.encarta.msn.com)


Brief summary: Sir Anthony is a very famous pianist who is about to give a concert; suddenly, a reporter enters his room. She explains that she wants a brief interview about his life. Sir Anthony tells his story to the girl.
Sir Anthony had four brothers; her mother was having economic problems; consequently, he decided to drop school and work. He got a job at a farm with the Wood family.
One day, Sir Anthony –who was Tony in that time- was working along with other two boys who were there on vacation. Mr Wood asked them to get rid of everything that was in a garage. Tony and the boys found a piano, and Tony felt attraction toward it immediately. Tony sat down at the piano and started to play something. Since Mr Wood wanted the garage to be clean, Tony asked their friends to help him hind the piano at a school, which was empty due to the vacation period.
Tony would go to the school every evening after work. One day, he was discovered by a teacher. This teacher talked to Mr and Mrs Wood, and recommended them to send Tony to a music school. Mr and Mrs Wood decided to pay a school for him.
Tony studied, came back to the farm and married Mr Wood’s daughter.
Now, Sir Anthony is going to give the last concert. He assures to be very happy about being married for so long.

Magazine: Traveler
Article: Series of Constellations.
14:00-15:00
Page 38

Sentences or phrases which structure were useful for me:
“… the very least Continental should have done is issue a prompt refund.”

Issue: To supply or distribute something officially.
Prompt: Done at once and without delay.
(from http://www.encarta.msn.com/)

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September 14, 2007

Book: The Rainmaker
Grisham, John. The Rainmaker. England: Text Copyright, Penguin Books, 1999.
8:00-9:00
Pages 1-4

Sentences or phrases which structure were useful for me:
“To get experience we visit a club for elderly people…”
“Benefit won’t pay for a bone marrow transplant.”

Marrow: Soft red or yellow fatty tissue that fills the central cavities of bones. Red marrow is the site of blood cell production.
(from www.encarta.msn.com)

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September 21, 2007

Book: The Rainmaker
Grisham, John. The Rainmaker. England: Text Copyright, Penguin Books, 1999.
8:00-9:00
Pages 4-14

Sentences or phrases which structure were useful for me:
“Don’t they get sued?”

Sue: To take legal action against somebody to obtain something, usually compensation for a wrong.
(from http://www.encarta.msn.com/)

Book: The Rainmaker
Grisham, John. The Rainmaker. England: Text Copyright, Penguin Books, 1999.
14:00-15:30
Pages 14-20

Sentences or phrases which structure were useful for me:
“… who drove through a red light.”
“Let me sleep on it.”

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September 25, 2007

Book: The Rainmaker
Grisham, John. The Rainmaker. England: Text Copyright, Penguin Books, 1999.
13:00 -15:30
Pages 20-40

Sentences or phrases which structure were useful for me:
“Let me sleep on it.”

Idiom: “Sleep on something”
Consider something overnight before deciding, as in I don't know if I want to go on such a long hike; let me sleep on it. This usage was first recorded in 1519 in the state papers of King Henry VIII: "His Grace ... said that he would sleep and dream upon the matter."
From http://www.answers.com/topic/sleep-on-something

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September 26, 2007

Book: The Rainmaker
Grisham, John. The Rainmaker. England: Text Copyright, Penguin Books, 1999.
9:30-10:00
Pages 40-53

Sentences or phrases which structure were useful for me:
“It’s a gray, cloudy day, a day for a burial.”

Burial: The act or ceremony of putting a dead body into the ground or into the sea.

Book: The Rainmaker
Grisham, John. The Rainmaker. England: Text Copyright, Penguin Books, 1999.
16:00-17:00
Pages 53-71

Sentences or phrases which structure were useful for me:
“I hang up and play the tape.”
“I look through the manuals.”
“You came by today.”
“… and everybody rises.”
“I call that greedy.”

Greedy: Having an overwhelming desire to have more of something such as money than is actually needed.

“I don’t want your rotten money.”

Rotten: Characterized by a lack of honesty or moral principles.

From http://www.answers.com/topic/lump-in-my-throat

“… I have a lump in my throat.”

Idiom: “Lump in my throat.”
A feeling of constriction in the throat caused by emotion, as in The bride's mother had a lump in her throat. This expression likens the sense of a physical swelling to the tight sensation caused by strong feelings. [Mid-1800s]
From http://www.answers.com/topic/lump-in-my-throat

Brief summary: Rudy is about to graduate from law school; he just needs to pass the bar exam. Certain day, a friend of his calls him and tells him about an insurance company. This company is Great Benefit. The problem with this company is that Dot Black, who is Rudy’s friend, and her husband, Bud Black, have been paying a medical policy for years. Recently, one of their sons, who are twins, is diagnosed leukemia. The boy, Donny Ray, needs a bone marrow transplant that costs $150,000. Great Benefit does not want to pay for it, alleging that the illness was diagnosed before signing the policy.
Rudy, who has neither a job nor enough money, takes this case to a trial. While doing this, he meets a girl named Kelly. Kelly is beaten by her husband. Rudy also takes this case to divorce Kelly from that man.
While the trial against Great Benefit is on course, Donny Ray dies since he did not receive the transplant.
Great Benefit is found guilty and is punished. They are also supposed to pay millions of dollars, which are going to be allocated to a leukemia association by Dot Black. However, the money seems not to be paid to anybody.
Kelly is released from her husband, and she and Rudy go to a far away place where he can work as a History teacher and they can be happy. Rudy decides to forget about laws.

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October 3, 2007

Magazine: Family Circle
Article: Meringue (recipe)
9:00-10:00

Sentences or phrases which structure were useful for me:
“caster sugar”
Caster sugar: Finely ground white sugar, often used in baking. It is finer than granulated sugar but not as fine as icing sugar.
(from http://www.encarta.msn.com/)

“Line a large baking sheet with parchment…”
Parchment: Strong, smooth or textured, usually off-white paper used for special documents, letters, or artwork.
(from http://www.encarta.msn.com/)

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October 30, 2007

Magazine: Newsweek
Article: Bipolar Basics by Kathleen Leighton
13:00-15:00

Sentences or phrases which structure were useful for me:
“Patients have persistent mood swings –far more extreme than the ones that most people have…”
Swing: To change from one feeling or condition to another, sometimes quickly or suddenly, or make something or somebody change in this way.

“There is some degree of shrinkage in the brain cells of bipolar patients.”
Shrinkage: The amount lost when something is decreased or reduced, or when it shrinks.

“This illness robs people of their lives.”
Rob: To deprive somebody or something of something, causing harm.

Article: Shot Talk, Vaccine Myths

“Now that the scourges of the past have been defeated…”
Scourges: Somebody or something that is perceived as an agent of punishment, destruction, or severe criticism.

“… outbreaks can –and do- occur.”
Outbreak: A sudden occurrence, usually of something unpleasant or dangerous such as illness or fighting.

“… and let vaccine rates lapse…”
Lapse: To come to an end or stop doing something gradually.

“After measles immunization rates dropped…”
Measles: A contagious acute viral disease with symptoms that include a bright red rash of small spots that spread to cover the whole body.

(from http://www.encarta.msn.com/)

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October 31, 2007

Magazine: Newsweek
Article: Restless Legs, Sleepless Nights by Avery Hurt
15:30-16:00

Sentences or phrases which structure were useful for me:
“… meaning that it flares with inactivity.”
Flare: To burn suddenly and brightly, or cause something to burn in this way.

“… can set off an attack…”
Set off: To make something start happening.

(from http://www.encarta.msn.com/)

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November 1, 2007

Book: I Know Whe the Caged Bird Sings
Angelou, Maya. I Know Whe the Caged Bird Sings. Random House, New York (1969)
14:00-15:00
Pages 1-5

Sentences or phrases which structure were useful for me:

“… was wiggling and giggling…”
Wiggling: To move side to side in small quick movements, or make something move in this way.
Giggling: To laugh audibly but not loudly, sometimes without meaning to, in a way that is characteristic of children.

(from http://www.encarta.msn.com/)

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November 12, 2007

Book: I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings
Angelou, Maya. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. Random House, New York (1969)
14:00-15:00

Sentences or phrases which structure were useful for me:

“… my dad must of been a Chinaman…”
Chinaman: An offensive term for a man of Chinese.

“… because my eyes were so small and squinty.”
Squinty: Ahe act of narrowing the eyes to try to see better.

“… to eat pig’s tails and snouts.”
Snouts: The projecting part of a vertebrate's head, consisting of the nose and mouth, especially that of a mammal such as a pig.

“… the rear of the church.”
Rear: The back of something, or the area near the back of something.

“Dimly, somewhere over my head…”
Dimly: Not clearly recalled or perceived.

(from http://www.encarta.msn.com/)

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November 27, 2007

Magazine: People
Article: Back on Track
16:00-17:00

Sentences or phrases whose structure was useful for me:

“Perennial party guy Colin Farrell has always thrived on living dangerously…”
Thrive: To be successful and often profitable.

“… while lifting weights to bulk up.”
Bulk up: To increase in size or volume, or make somebody or something do this.

“… when he tore up the town each night.”
Tear up: To tear something into small pieces, e.g. in order to destroy it.

“… to tame his way goes to his son…”
Tame: To make something much less harsh or extreme.

“… who has sued him three times for harassment…”
Harassment: To persistently annoy, attack, or bother somebody.

“… who is in London shooting Woody Allen’s next film…”
Shoot: To record a shot, scene, movie, or program on film with a camera.

F(from http://www.encarta.msn.com/)

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November 28, 2007

Book: I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings
9:00-10:00

Sentences or phrases whose structure was useful for me:

“… nature’s blessing of grogginess…”
Grogginess: Feeling weak or dizzy, especially because of illness or overindulgence.

“.. his left hand was only a mite bigger than Bailey’s…”
Mite: A tiny eight-legged invertebrate animal related to spiders and ticks. Some mites live freely and some as parasites that can carry disease, attack plants, and cause human allergies.

“Not frequently, but often enough, travelers pulled off the main road…”
Pull off: To achieve something impressive, particularly through a combination of skill and luck ( informal ).

“… I watched the red car scare chickens, raise dust and disappear toward Magnolia.”
(from http://www.encarta.msn.com/)

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November 30, 2007

Book: I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings
13:00-15:00

Sentences or phrases whose structure was useful for me:

“… excluding the scoop…”
Scoop: A utensil with a short handle and deep rounded sides, used for shoveling or ladling grain, flour, or other dry or semisolid substances.

“Put some more in that sack…”
Sack: A large bag, especially one that is made from coarse cloth or thick heavy-duty paper.

“… shredding off the fruit until nothing was left…”
Shredding: To cut or tear something into shreds.

(from http://www.encarta.msn.com/)

Reading Report 10

Opinion.

If I got much more convincing information, maybe I would agree with spending money on space. According to NSS (National Space Society), the amount of money spent on “useless” things in USA is bigger than the amount spent on space. Scientists argue that the amount of money spent on space would not be enough for helping people dying or suffering. I don’t think so. I don’t understand why they say that they are looking for a place in space to go in case our planet is in danger. If our planet is danger, what we should do is to care for our planet. There are many people who need help and, with that money, they could be helped. Of course the money is not going to be enough but the problem can be solved by parts. I really like to know about space and stars but that is not going to feed the hungry people nor is it going to cure the sick ones. Maybe it’s true; the amount of money is little but the pollution is not. Human beings are not satisfied with polluting the earth and they also pollute the space; although space is perhaps infinite, it doesn’t dodge the human pollution.

Vocabulary
span (spin). Intr. verb. To turn round and round rapidly, or make something turn round and round rapidly, as if on an axis.
“The Genesis mission capsule carrying the dust particles span out of control…”
Although the coin was spinning, she could cheat.

gamble. Noun. The practice of playing games of chance or betting in the hope of winning money.
“… spent every year in the US on pets, toys, gambling…”
Gambling is very silly and useless.

Reading Report 9

Opinion
Most of today's students don't like reading. If we went to a secondary or high school and asked the students about their hobbies, most of their hobbies would probably be chatting on line, playing video games, talking by cell phone, among many other new-born hobbies. We should not judge the students but analize the way they were taught to read. If they were asked just to read what the teacher said, the topics might have been unattractive for some students. When encouraging students to read, we have to search for the appropriate way, topic, and time to do it. We should take into account the students, their needs, their likes, their reactions to some issues. It's not just about reading louder and asking the students what they do not understand. We have to help the students to discover the topics they are interested in if they don't still know it. Sometimes teachers are a bit tough and say the students don't want to read anymore. Maybe it's not just the students' fault. The love of the reading begins when we are little most of the times -when our mothers, grandmothers, or even our teachers read a tale for us. So, why do people teach children how to play video games or how to use the computer if they want them to read? There are many devices that prevent children and even adults from learning to read. One of the devices that prevent students from reading, I think, is the computer since they spend long time chatting on line, playing cards, looking up information about their favorite artists, and so forth. Although they could find interesting readings on the internet, students -mainly yougsters- have to be guided in their researches. Most of the students want to read everything on the internet -which I think it's a bit acceptable but for high school or college students. Young students only want funny readings and they don't take books without drawings seriously. As teachers, we can increase their like for reading and their creativity for writing; if we want them to be creative, we have also to be creative and persistent on our attempt to make students have fun, learn, and enjoy by reading good texts.


Vocabulary
bound. adj. Certain to reach or achieve something. "... reading skills of college-bound students who took ..." The dancing-bound girls are very eager to begin the lesson.

startling. adj. Provoking surprise, fright, wonder, or alarm. "... is the most startling and..." This situation is startling.

striving. intr. verb. To try hard to achieve or get something. "... the Bush administration launched the Striving Readers program..." I'm striving to make this easier.

gap. noun. A significant difference between two situations, attitudes, or perceptions. Disparity. "And efforts to close the achievement gap between black and Hispanic students..." The meeting was uncomfortable due to the gap between European and American people.

Reading Report 8

Opinion
As an English learner, I feel really motivated to learn when I’m asked to talk about topics I really like. I think most of the students –either English or any other kinds of students- feel the same. As human beings, it’s our nature to engage in conversations in we are interested in and concerned about. This is because we like to be listened, we like to share our ideas and opinions, we like to know who thinks in the same way we do or at least more or less the same; in short, we like to discuss. So, if I think in that way, I want to be sure my students do so. I’d like to teach teenagers; I’ve said it many times. I think adolescence is the stage of our lives in which we enjoy the most being the attention focus; it’s the stage in which we like to keep everybody’s attention; it’s the stage in which we like to talk about ourselves and our likes and dislikes. I think this is a very good age for students to learn English since they like to communicate and talk about themselves and their likes. Therefore, topics that are relevant for students are very useful when learning English because they won’t be reluctant to working on and talking about something they like; that is one of the best ways we learn the most. We have to understand that every student is different and has different points of view about different topics; so, their opinions are very relevant and should be taken with respect. No opinion is better than other. We all differ from others; it’s the best part of us: we are different because if we weren’t, we’d know the same things and wouldn’t learn anything else. As English teachers, we can create a community in the classroom in which we all learn to teach one another in a very respectful environment by talking about what we really like and enjoy learning about. This is a real communication and this is the objective of a communicative approach.

Vocabulary.
freshmen. noun. A student in the first year of high school or college. “In my freshmen English class…” I’d like to work with freshmen since they’re more likely to learn.

rote. noun. Mechanical repetition of something so that it is remembered, often without real understanding of its meaning or significance. “… focused on grammar and rote memorization. ”It’s not good for you to learn this lesson by rote.

Reading Report 5

Opinion
When students are taught only with books and written exercises, they get tired, bored, and stressed. Music is a very good alternative when classes stop being appealing. Music makes students relax, create, imagine. Through music we can say many things: what we feel or felt, what we think, what we want, the experiences we have had or expect to have. When we create a song -especially if those songs are going to be known and sung just by us- we use our own words since books don't have our ideas or feelings. We learn to communicate our real needs not by memorizing words but by having the necessity to find the word we are looking for and that we need for that specific situation. As the article said, besides being helpful, music is fun. Even the most shy students sing when they have to do it at the same time. The learners will enjoy the song if they really like it. So, the teacher should look up a song that is appropriate to the students acquired language, to their needs, and to their likes. The song also should allow the learners to acquire more vocabulary and good pronunciation. In short, learning a second language means not only to be in classroom with books but to share our ideas and feelings.

Vocabulary
conducive. adj. Tending to bring about an intended result. "... teachers must provide a positive atmosphere conducive to language learning." The sports class should be conducive to practice a sport not to work out.

genuinely. adv.
genuine. adj. Not affected or pretended. "...to use target utterances in a genuinely communicative fashion." Susy cried genuinely this morning.

intertwined. trans. and intr. verb. To become closely and intricately linked with each other, or link something closely and intricately with something else. "...the three theoretical reasons are all intertwined and help to..." The classes we attend are intertwined.

Reading Report 2

Opinion
I found this article very, very interesting. Now, I can understand why our English class includes listening, speaking, and reading besides writing. I didn’t like the Product Approach because it could really affect students’ self-esteem I mean, as the process includes correction constantly, students could feel they don’t have the ability to write in a foreign language. I know writing in a foreign language is difficult; I’ve had many troubles with it and, at some point, I thought I wasn’t capable of writing anything in English well. But we can’t improve our skills without practicing and making mistakes. I enjoy writing but when the topic is about something interesting to me. Sometimes I have to write about something I don’t care but, anyway, it helps me to learn new vocabulary in every article I read. So, I think it’s important for the students to write about topics they like and the ones they don’t, too. I think they do a better work when they like the topic, though. If I ever become a teacher, I’ll take into account these processes especially the Process Genre Approach since it is a combination of the two main processes –Process and Genre Approaches- because it cares about students’ personal experiences and allows students to choose their topics, and it also allows the teacher to have an approach to the students since the teacher will be a guide. If I ever become a teacher, I would like my students to consider me not just as a teacher but as a person who can help them as much as possible in their school activities.

Vocabulary

churning. trans. verb. To produce or issue something quickly or regularly and in large quantities.
"Instead, it focuses in imitation and churning out a perfect product."
The reading says we have to churn out a good script.

esteem. noun. A high opinion and appreciation of somebody or something.
"... and that affects sutdents' motivation and self-esteem."
Their relationship is based on mutual esteem.

trigger. trans. verb. To set something off, bring something about, or make something happen.
"Many student writers do not possess the strategies to recall, trigger, and activate these stored experiences..."
She has the ability to trigger old memories.

paramount. adj. Greatest in importance or significance.
"... the role of the teacher in strategy training is paramount."
Your attitude towards him is paramount.

enhances. trans. verb. To improve or add to the strength, worth, beauty, or other desirable quality of something.
"Introducing authentic texts enhances student involvement."
This exercie will enhance her writing skill.

arouse. trans. verb. To evoke a feeling, response, or desire.
"Teachers also can make efforts to arouse curiosity..."
You only arouse my disdain.

feasible. adj. Capable of being achieved or put into effect.
"The process genre approach makes this feasible."
The theory about talking robots is not feasible.

unison. noun. At the same time as somebody or something else.
"... also illustrate how elements of the process and genre approaches work in unison."
I don't like it when singers sing in unison.

Speaking

Introduction.
I need to improve my speaking. I talk to myself while I'm sitting on the roof and I do it very well. The problem is when I have to speak in class. Honestly, I don't like to record my voice because I always find it rare and I laugh at it. Anyway, it can help me in my learning.

Listening

Intoduction.

This is a very important point. I like to listen to music as long as it's the kind I like. I need to listen to anything in order to improve my listening. It's kind of difficult for me to understand what people is saying in the movies but I can understand when peole talks to me -whenever she or he is not grading me.

Reading

from www.fromoldbooks.org

Introduction.
I love it when I read something I agree with but, through reading, I've learned that every single person thinks in a different way than I do. Every time I read a novel, for instance, I feel I'm living what the author has written. I enjoy reading but I don't have a favorite genre; it just depends on the topic for example sports -mainly baseball,- nature, animals, scientific articles, mystery -though I don't believe in most of them. I can say that reading is another of my favorite hobbies but it also can be one my pet-peeves when the information is not my interest.

Writing

from www.pbs.org


Introduction.
I like to write correctly. I like to be corrected in order to improve my writing skills. I don't like to use pompous words; I say just what I have to say. Sincerely, writing is one of my favorite hobbies. I learned to write when I was in kindergarden. Since then I enjoy writing even my name. I've realized I've learned a lot by writing. I love to write stories that I never end or poems that don't rhyme. Besides being useful, writing is a way of keeping stress away and release our feelings.



A New Classmate is Here

I had the opportunity to interview a girl I didn’t know until I entered the third semester; her name is Norma Ballesteros Negrete and she was born in Hermosillo on March 7th, 1985. She told me a bit about her life. The first thing she said was that she spends much time with the computer –mainly to chat on line-. Besides that, she listens to music every time she can, and she also watches TV very often. Some of her favorite programs are series such as Gilmore Girls, Grey’s Anatomy, and CSI. Norma said something about the weather: she hates summer because it makes her get angry, but she loves winter. When talking about pets, Norma said her favorite ones are dogs but she feels special attraction to puppies. In fact, she said all the animals – but reptiles- are adorable. When she’s hungry she thinks of her favorite food: Italian and Chinese food. A food she’s never going to think of is seafood. She just doesn’t like it. After having a great dish is good to have a good time and, for that, Norma needs music, any kind of music but cheras and banda –she hardly can stand them-. When I asked her about shopping, she answered me, among laughs, that she spends all the money she gets on buying stuff that she doesn’t even need and that she will end up throwing them away. And finally, the sports section took a turn. It’s unbelievable: Norma loves eating junk food as often as possible but she also loves sports; it’s like committing a crime and then paying for it. That’s really good because it’s the best way of burning all the calories she gets from junk food. Getting back to the sports section, Norma practices kick boxing and aerobics but her favorite sports are baseball and basketball –she doesn’t practice either of them-. To finish this interview, Norma said she was happy to be in our class because it has a good environment, and that she had enjoyed being interviewed.

_____________________________________

Well-educated People

Thanks to history, we know that women were not allowed to study in the past; only men had the right to do so. However, with the pass of the years, many brave women decided to stop this situation and ask for the rights they also deserved. That’s how both women and men started sharing a treasure called “education”. Even though the benefits of this achievement are for most of the cultures in the world, there are differences regarding educational systems all over the world; two of those examples are Mexico and France.
First of all, according to French teacher Clotilde Barbier, “education in France began in the 6th century” –much earlier than in Mexico, - but only for the privileged classes; in Mexico the official education began after the colonial period –after the 19th century. With the French Revolution in 1789, all the classes were given the right to study –only men- but it wasn’t until 1888 that a man whose last name was Ferry imposed free education, and, in 1968 women were received in French schools for the first time. In Mexico, free education was official when President Benito Juárez made a change in education in the year 1867. The same as in Mexico, education in France is free, as I already said, mandatory, and laical, and people can choose between private and public schools. In France, the difference between private and public school is religion teaching.
Although characteristics of education in France and Mexico are similar, there are some differences in age required to enter the school. In Mexico, two years of kinder garden are mandatory and children must enter primary school at age 6; afterward, children must enter secondary school at age 12; after secondary school, they must enter preparatory at age 15; therefore, youngsters will have turned 18 by the time they finish the preparatory . In France, kinder garden is not mandatory; at age 6, children must enter elementary school (primary) and finish it at 12; then, children must enter collège (secondary) and finish it at age 12; and then, they must to enter lycée at age 15 and finish it at age 18. Supposedly, for people to work in Mexico they must finish secondary school; in France, for people to work they must finish the baccalauréat. In Mexico the school is from Monday to Friday, at morning or afternoon. In contrast, French students go to school from Monday to Saturday at morning and afternoon when they’re in lycée. With regard to money, Mexican government allocates little money taking into account the amount of students in school. On the other hand, France has fewer students than Mexico but the French government allocates more money to education. Another difference between Mexican and French education is the uniform, “French students do not wear uniforms since it is seen as authoritarian,” Clotilde Barbier stated. On the other hand, in Mexico uniform is seen as very practical clothing since it’s the same –in most of the schools- every day for everybody. Besides the uniform, relationship between teacher and student in France is strict; the opposite in Mexico, relationship between teacher and student is friendlier and most of the teachers are “bearable”.
Education is a right for everybody; it’s something that will last forever. It doesn’t matter the educational system but the way we give and receive education. Mexico and France share some aspects of their educational system and also differ in some of them. The most important thing here is that both of them are forming educated people.

______________________________

Space is Taking Over our Space

Even though human being likes mystery, there are many phenomena he has wondered about and tried to find an answer for each of them. Human beings have discovered cures for many diseases, causes of certain facts, and even clues about the formation of Earth. Precisely, the latter is one of the topics that the human being is more concerned about lately. Many spacecrafts have been sent to space for the past few years. In spite of having valuable information about Earth’s and Solar System formation, is it worth spending great amounts of money on those investigations? We are passing through a hard stage in which the most important thing to do is to save our home, Earth.
The countries that are involved in space investigations are the US, China, The European Union (ESA), Canada, Japan and India. The country that spends the greatest amount of money on space investigations is the US (NASA). Just in 2005, NASA had a budget of 16.2 billion dollars for spaceflights, engineering projects, and science. The new space policy of the Bush administration has been criticized by several politicians who argue that the money spent on space can be spent on better things on Earth. There are many people dying of hunger; there are many people dying because they have no money to buy medicaments; there are many animals that are in danger of extinction; and the Earth’s pollution is a huge problem. A scientist from NASA argues that 976.3 billion dollars are spent in US on pets, gambling, toys, alcohol, and tobacco every year; this amount is 63 times the amount that is spent on space and, he argued, “… with the difference that NASA has not destroyed lives as the alcohol, tobacco and gambling did.” That’s completely true. However, if we really want to do something to save our home, we can quit doing things that affect us and contaminate Earth.
Many people from all over the world disagree with this way of spending money. For example, some people from UK spoke to this respect: “It’s cool to know about space and all but I think they should stop spending more money on finding out HOW we were made and more on keeping us alive,” as Natalie, a fifteen-year-old girl, said. Another boy, Coco, stated, “Ok, it’s nice to know when we are going to be invaded by little green men- but come on?! Save our planet and stop the killing of innocent lives due to malnutrition first!” The governments are willing o spend on wars, industries, and space, and other silly things; however, they find spending on Earth a waste of money and an impossible mission to accomplish. Is it more important to know about “little green men”, as Coco called them, than to know about our own people who lives here, on Earth, and need us? Is it easier and faster to travel hundreds of thousands of kilometers to unknown places on space than to travel just a few hours and few kilometers to places already known on Earth? Is it better to spend money on missions that may fail or to spend it on missions that are going to improve many people’s lives? We are not acting as human beings, then. If we think of knowing other places out of Earth despite people’s suffering, then we are acting as machines with no feelings or awareness of the real life on Earth.
As I already said, the US spent 16.2 billion dollars in 2005; besides the US, the ESA, 3.5 billion dollars; Russia and India, 800-900 million dollars; Japan, 1.8 billion dollars; and China, 1.2 billion dollars. Those amounts of money are enough to start doing something about any problem on Earth. It’s not easy to begin and neither is it quick to end but if we never begin we’ll never end.