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Classrooms Without BordersTeaching the World English as a Second Language
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April 16 Learning English and Other LanguagesI teach English as a Second Language. An important aspect to teaching is to stay fresh. I never want to get too involved with technique and lose site of my goal. One way that I accomplish this to to learn other languages. As a teacher, it is easy for me to decide that the students need to learn this and that. While that is useful, it is more important for me to think what it is like for a student to learn a new language. What is it like to think in another language? I know the words but how do I say those words in the new language? In future posts I'll talk about different foreign language learning software and web-based approaches. I'll share my thoughts with you as I learn other languages. An excellent place to start is the BBC website. They offer a variety of language courses free of charge. They also have excellent ESL materials. December 08 The Musicians - Writing Assignment Using PhotographsMusicians are communicators. They use their craft to express many different ideas. Each one does it differently in their own style. Here are some pictures of musicians. Write a short story about some or all of these photos. The story should tell me the following:
Be creative. Use your imagination.
December 05 Writing TipsWriting is not that hard. Like any discipline, following guidelines simplifies the process. In school, I was taught to answer the 5 "Ws - Who, What, Where, Why, and When". This is great for newspaper writing and for describing events. Who was there? What happened or what is the event about? Where was it? Why is this important? When did it happen. If there is a technical aspect, answering "how" is also important - How does it work? How do I join? I attended a writing seminar last week. I learned another important aspect - personalize, add an emotional component. If you write about a concert, tell the reader why you liked or disliked it. If you write about something that happened to you, tell the reader why it is important. Answer the "so what" question. As a writer, you want to give your readers a reason to read what you write. You want your readers to become emotional about your characters. Love them or hate them. That is fine. Not caring either way does you no good. The best way to write is to practice. Write often. The more you write, the better writer you become. Remember - give your readers a reason to read your work. Answer the "so what" question. December 04 Learning ESL Through WritingI am willing to help anyone improve their grammar or writing free of charge. We can use email and blogs. For those that prefer a Pen Pal that is also fine. If you are a member of Pen Pal World, my id is 566U8H. Due to my work schedule, I can't offer speaking lessons using Skype. Speaking lessons will resume when my schedule allows for it. December 03 PhotographyI love photography. It is my passion. My favorite style is architectural. I love taking pictures of cities, especially gritty cities, those cities that are a bit rundown; those with both old and new houses. I thought it would be fun to mix photography and writing. I'll post a photo and write about it. You'll do the same. We can create a "photo chain". Someone posts a photo and writes about it. This acts as the beginning of the story. Another person adds the second photo which continues the story. This process continues until the story is completed. The story is completely improvisational. The challenge is to use language to tie the pictures together into one story. It would also be fun for all of us to include photos of our locales and culture. It would be educational and could generate interesting conversation. I'm also working on a Google Earth idea. I'll write about it when I know exactly what I want to do. Technology can be a great tool for learning. Let's explore the possibilities.
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