Monday, let's begin at 9:00 a.m.

Hi everyone,

I have had a chance to grade 4 of the exams so far. It seems that REPORTING VERBS were tough for most of you. So, on Monday, after I show you your grades I definitely want to review reporting verbs with you.

Tuesday we could go on a field trip!

See you all on Monday, have a great weekend,

Denise

No school tomorrow, Thursday 12/11 due to the weather advisory - Quiz Monday

Hi everyone,

Tracy sent an email canceling school tomorrow ~ thought I would write about it here too.

We will take the quiz on Monday instead!

Stay safe and dry!

HW for 12/11 and Quiz

Hi everyone,

The quiz will include:

• discourse markers - unit 9
• reporting verbs - unit 8
• anything in unit 7
• anything in unit 6
• vocabulary - 6, 7, 8 and 9

So.... please study. Also, come to school with questions if you have any!

Keep warm and dry and see you tomorrow!

HW for 12/10

Hi everyone,

Forgive me for not posting the HW for Tuesday - at any rate, here is the HW for Tuesday AND Wednesday 12/10.

In the workbook -

Tuesday's HW: complete pp. 76, 77 and 78.

Tomorrow's HW: complete pp. 60, 61 and 62.

Today in class we reviewed discourse markers, reporting verbs and some vocabulary.

If you have been absent for whatever reason, I hope you are keeping up with the material. The final exam is coming up and you will be responsible for knowing the material in Units 6-10.

See you tomorrow and remember to brace for the storm ~ wear rain gear, bring umbrellas! The big rain is coming!

HW for 12/4

Hi everyone!

In the workbook, please do exercise 3 on page 64. Choose 3 situations to write about.

In the active book, please do exercise 4 on page 99.

BTW - my car was stolen again, I can't believe it! Just called the police... argh

HW for 12/3

Hi everyone,

Please do the reading on page 80 and answer questions 1-4, exercise 2.

Also go to page 133 and look at both grammatical concepts and vocabulary. Make sure you know the terms and bring questions to class for me tomorrow if you have any.

See you all tomorrow 

HW for 12/2

Wow, it's December!

Big picture stuff:

Our session ends 12/23. Our final exam will be split over two days.

12/17 - reading, listening and writing

12/22 - grammar and vocabulary

----

We have LOTS to cover over a short span of time, but no worries, we can do this, but it does mean that you will be getting a little more homework than usual!  HW for tomorrow:

Unit 6
p. 46, Ex. 1a, b and c
p. 49, Ex. 4

Unit 7
p. 53, Grammar, Ex. 2 and 3

See you tomorrow ~

Wednesday 11/26 what to expect

Hi all,

I hope to have completed the grading of your midterms by about 10 a.m. tomorrow, so.... you are welcome to show up at 10 a.m. tomorrow morning and I will NOT mark you late.

I would like to leave for a field trip around 10:45, so show up before because I want to share your test score with you and also review what you might have missed!

I think it would be nice to walk over to the gourmet ghetto in North Berkeley, I know some of you have already done this before, but hopefully it will still be fun for you. If everyone is up for it, we could get a pizza at the Berkeley Cheese Collective, we could walk around Walnut Square and then walk back to the school.

Before we leave for the field trip, I would like for us to talk about what we will be looking at on Monday so we have a head's up of what to expect next in the curriculum. Obviously we will tackle Unit 6 immediately, so if you are ambitious, take a look at that Unit before Monday.

See you in the morning around 10. Feel free to come at 9 if you prefer.

MIDTERM 11/25

Hi everyone,

Tomorrow as you know we will have our midterm exam which covers Units 1-5.

Please study the grammar and the vocabulary of all of these units.

Make sure to get plenty of rest and above all, do not stress about this.

I will administer the exam at 9:15, so please arrive before!

Suggested amount of time for the test is 100 minutes, that is one hour and 40 minutes, broken down as follows:

40 minutes for Grammar, Vocabulary and Pronunciation

30 minutes for Reading and Writing

30 minutes for Listening and Speaking.

Beginning at 9:15 means we will break at 10:55 - let's say at 11.

At 11 we will take a 20 minute break.  At 11:20 we will grade the exams together.  I will need you here, so please stay in class. Many of you have been leaving early, this hurts your attendance and you are learning less! Let's stay together!

See you tomorrow ~

HW for 11/21 and Quiz info

Hi everyone,

For HW please complete pp. 41 and 42 in the workbook.

Also please review for the quiz tomorrow.  What will be on the quiz?

• The vocabulary of Units 1, 2, 3 and 4, which we reviewed today in class 
• Grammar points of Units 4 and 5

(I have given some grammar examples, these are in no way all-inclusive of course, they are just meant to refresh your memory of the grammar point. Please go to the book and/or check any handouts I have given you, for a more comprehensive review!)

subject-verb inversions out of unit 4,
ex.: At no time     did      he      consider     surgery. (He didn't consider surgery)
       Neg. Adv.      Aux     S       Main V           O

conditionals, out of unit 5
ex. (again, these are just some examples, they are not exhaustive - check your handout and the book)

zero conditional: If you want to improve your English you have to read everyday!

first conditional: If I haven't finished the homework, I won't go to that party.

second conditional: If I were you, I'd learn the grammar inside out!

third conditional: If Moises had studied the vocabulary from the beginning, he wouldn't have to cram now!  =)

cleft sentences, out of unit 5
ex.
It was Marzouk who figured out the HDMI cable for us today!
I could have said: 'Marzouk figured out the HDMI cable for us' but this sentence gives less importance to Marzouk!

What I want is something to eat now!
I could have said: 'I want something to eat now' and the sentence is fine, but it lacks emphasis. By starting with the cleft 'What I want now' I demonstrate to the other interlocutors that what I want is important!

OK, that does it for the quiz.


READING CLUB is still happening - please share with your classmates what you are reading, you ARE reading right?!? If you're not, then it's never too late, read something NOW!

See you all tomorrow, have a great evening ~

HW for 11/19

Hi everyone,

If you were in class today, please complete the second side of the handout 'conditionals.'

Everyone please complete the exercises on page 65, the unit wrap up.

Our midterm exam is scheduled for Tuesday, November 25th and we will be completing the exam in one day. In the past I have divided the test into two sections, this time that won't work, given the format of the test.

Remember to read so you will be prepared to share what you are reading on Thursday.

We will review for the midterm, tomorrow, Thursday and Monday. Of course I hope you will study and review over the upcoming weekend as well.

See you all tomorrow. Remember too, if you have a communicable illness (i.e., your illness is contagious), please, please stay home and spare the rest of us! Send me a text via WhatsApp and I will excuse your absence. Again, use your judgment wisely, ONLY do this if you are really sick with a cold or a flu!

Cheers!

HW for 11/18

In the active book on page 63, please do exercise 4.

In the workbook please complete exercises 2 and 3 on page 34 also do the reading on page 37 and do exercises 4a, 4b and 5.

HW for 11/17

Hi everyone, thank you for another great week together.

For HW please begin working on Unit 5. On page 55 of the active book, read the warm-up, part 1 and make sure you understand the terms in bold such as 'came into a fortune,' or 'went bankrupt.'

Then please read the story on page 56, 'Zingerman's Community of Businesses.' Look at the Grammar section, part 4 on page 57 and complete exercise 5a.

Also please continue TO READ! Reading is key for your continued success learning the English language!

See you on Monday. Stay warm and stay healthy. Remember you can get some Ester C quick release vitamins - it's cold and flu season, pop one of those vitamins here and there as a preventive measure!

HW 11/13

For homework please complete ex. 3 on page 47 - future probability

Also please read the article on page 50, "How to Make your Child a Genius." Find the inversions in the text and underline them, then complete matching exercise 2 on the same page. If you do not know the meaning of the words, then check the learner dictionaries on the right banner (underneath the California poppy here on the blog) for help.

Quiz tomorrow, please review pp. 46, 47 and p. 130.
Grammar-
Future probability

Vocabulary-
Arrangements

Reading club
Please be prepared to share what you are reading with your group. If you are reading the same story or novel, give your group an update. Remember that you may read ANY form of literature you like, including comics, magazine articles, recipes, whatever floats your boat!

See you tomorrow!

HW for 11/12 - NO SCHOOL Tues. 11/11!

Hi everyone,

Here is the HW for Wednesday.

In the active book, please read pp. 44 and 45 "How to be a Super Hero." Be prepared to discuss the questions on page 45 in class on Wednesday, so PLEASE do the reading, we will not be rereading this in class. If you don't have the book, ask someone for a picture of the pages?

In the workbook, please complete exercise 3 on page 29. This is a review of the future probability phrases we went over today in class.

Our midterm exam will occur the week of 11/24. It was originally scheduled for 11/19, but I don't think we have enough time to prepare all units, 1-5, that are featured on the midterm.

Have a great holiday, it's Veterans Day tomorrow.

See you soon ~

HW for 11/10

Hi everyone,

Here is the HW for Monday:

Review the answers for Grammar exercise 2, page 25, in the workbook, about the days of cowboys and saloons. This exercise was not so easy, this is why I am asking you to review it. Please consult 'Active Grammar' on page 39 of your active book to see the reason for the answers.

Additionally please complete -

exercise 3 in the workbook on page 25

and exercise 7 in the active book, page 40.

Exercise 7 on page 40 is about genres of humor. If you are unsure what some of the terms mean, please look them up. You could even use the dictionaries I have loaded here on our blog on the right banner.

The midterm is scheduled for 11/19 and it covers Lessons 1-5, we may need to postpone the midterm to the week of 11/20, we will discuss this on Monday in class.

Thank you to Bow for her presentation and thank you all for sharing what you are reading. Keep reading and have a wonderful weekend!

HW for 11/6

Hi all,

HW is in the workbook, p. 23, exercise 4b, p. 24, exercises 1a and 1b.

Also -

• if you have not given me a story, fable, myth, legend, tall tale, story about a hoax or fake, please do so tomorrow;
• quiz - past tenses and compound adjectives;
• reading club - be prepared to share what you are reading, I will come around to check in with each group tomorrow.

Have a great afternoon and see you soon!

HW for 11/5

Hi everyone,
Please complete pp. 20, 21, 22 and 23 in the workbook. I know this is a lot of homework, but we need to move a little more quickly since we are a bit behind per Tracy's schedule and the midterm coming up.
We will review only some sections of the homework tomorrow.

Reading club: please make sure you are reading something so that I may record your progress and what you are reading. Thursday we will have a chance to talk to each other about what we are reading. Hopefully we will all inspire each other to read more!

Thank you to those students who shared their stories today, I look forward to hearing more stories tomorrow.

See you soon, have a great afternoon!

HW for 11/4

Hi everyone! Hope you had a fabulous Halloween weekend. Here is the homework for tomorrow:

In the workbook, please complete the exercises on pp. 16, 17, 18 and 19.

We are a bit behind, this is why I am assigning a bit more homework, so we can catch up. The mid-term exam is coming up in a couple of weeks, we will talk about this tomorrow.

See you soon ~

HW for 10/29

Hi everyone,

My apologies for not having posted the HW yesterday!

Here it is for tomorrow:

on page 13 of the workbook, please complete exercises 4 and 5.

Also tomorrow Egor and CJ will be doing presentations, looking forward to that!

See you all tomorrow, have a terrific afternoon ~

HW for 10/23

Wow, another week just flew by!

For tomorrow:

1- if you have not already shown me your work, please make sure you show me your writing about an achievement you are proud of.  I will be working with you one-on-one to make sure you understand any editing your work may require;

2-study for the weekly test, questions will be similar to what you see on pp. 10-11 of the workbook;

3-bring your questions about the English language, as usual!

I forgot to mention that I would like to take you to the Berkeley Public Library tomorrow, so please bring your ID and some utility bill you may have (PGE, land line telephone or cable bill) so you can get a library card if you are interested.  I think we should go around 11:30 so we have about an hour there.

Have a splendid afternoon and evening and see you tomorrow ~

HW for 10/21

Hi everyone,

Please complete pp. 6 and 7 in the workbook.

See you all tomorrow ~  

HW for Monday, the 20th of October

Hi everyone,

Thank you for another great week together.  The presentations are going very well.  Thank you to Chart and to Ying today for their presentations.  Looking forward to next week's presentations!

For homework:

• as always - try to read, listen and speak in English as much as you can;

• make sure you have the book, next week the HW will come from the text;

• write a page about an achievement you are proud of that you would like to share with the class.

Have a fabulous weekend and see you soon ~

HW and quiz grade for Thursday

Hi everyone,

The HW is to write two more paragraphs - a free write.

I will grade your HW this week for your weekly quiz grade.  Next week on Thursday we will have a real quiz.

We will also enjoy more student presentations tomorrow.  Thank you to Ki and Nook today for your presentations!

See you soon ~

10/15 HW and presentations begin

Hi all!

Please do a free write (write about something you are interested in) of at least 2 paragraphs.  I will be reviewing each person's writing in class, one and one and this should be helpful for you.

Tomorrow presentations begin.  Nook and Ki are our presenters tomorrow, Wednesday.  Who is going on Thursday?  Presentations should last no longer than 10 minutes.  Feel free to use the technology or to present something creative.

See you tomorrow ~

For 10/14 - NO school Monday!

Hi everyone,

Remember that this Monday we celebrate Indigenous People's day, so no school!

Thank you to Elena for recommending the comedy Hitch to the class, I think we all enjoyed it.  If you missed the end, Albert ends up marrying Allegra and Hitch reconciles with Sara!

I did not assign any homework in class, but of course I hope you will work with the English language in some way over the weekend.  As always I welcome any questions you may have about English, so please bring those to class!

Enjoy your long weekend and see you on Tuesday!

HW for 10/9 and QUIZ on the History of the English language

Hi everyone,

The homework for tomorrow is to read the Introduction and the American English sections of the reading packet I gave to you in class.

If you were not in class, please click the link below so you may read as well!

http://www.anglik.net/englishlanguagehistory.htm

THE QUIZ tomorrow will be based on what you read for tomorrow, so definitely READ! =)

Also, we will have student presentations beginning next week on Tuesday, the 14th of October. Choose from one of the following topics:

• Music - a piece of music you like, or a composer, band you would like to tell us about.  Or... maybe you want to sing us a song or play some music for us?

• Art - an artist, or a piece of art that you would like to tell us about, that you like

• Sports - tell us about some sport you like, or about a team, or a player that you want us to know about

• Science and/or technology - any information that you find interesting and wish to share with the class

See you all tomorrow!

Welcome and HW for 10/8

Hi all,

Welcome to our new session.

For tomorrow please write a short paragraph about a challenge you have faced in your life.

Also, please order your books ASAP (as soon as possible).

English in Common - 6 - Pearson

ALSO

Racing to Zero is showing for the last time tomorrow Wednesday at 2:30 at:

The Rafael Theater #2
1118 4th St, San Rafael

I recommend seeing it, as it makes audiences rethink the concept of trash.  Strive for #zerowaste!

See you tomorrow!

ALERT: Final exam covers YIKES 4-7!!!!

Hi everyone,

Well, I took a look at the test, and saw that in fact it is comprehensive of the total session and covers chapters 4-7.  So that means, please also review Unit 4, including the following grammar points (see page 138)
4A
- second conditionals
ex.  If I were you, I'd practice more.

- third conditionals
ex.  If they had known you were coming, they might have stayed longer.

4B
past modals
ex.  I must have passed the exam.  I'm sure I got the answers right.

4C
verbs of the senses
ex. look, feel, smell, sound, taste

It smells as if it's raining.

----

Optional:

Write out a 75-100 composition on one of the topics I mentioned to you in class.  I will look over your writing on Monday, briefly and expect you to churn out a second, edited version in class.  This gives us a chance to work together on your writing and for me to work with you one on one.  If you prefer to sit this out, then be prepared to read and study independently while I review other students' writings.

----

Have a great weekend - remember the Telegraph avenue world music festival, this coming Saturday and Sunday http://www.berkeleyworldmusic.org/

HW for 9/16/14

Hi everyone!

Here is the hw for tomorrow:

Workbook pages 70, 71 and 72 - Chapter 7C

Also please read page 109 in the Student Book

See you tomorrow and thank you for your patience with my car situation!

=)

HW for 9/15 - Also reminder - final exam 9/22 and 9/23

Hi everyone,

Thanks again for another fine set of student presentations.  Today we heard from Marc, Amy, Nook and Nom, very good job everyone!

Monday we have a full day of presentations, so please try to limit your presentation to 5-7 minutes.

Here is the HW:

on page 144 please read about the relative clauses in the 7C box, this information is a review for most of you at this point.  Of course we will have a lesson about this on Monday and probably Tuesday as well.

Once you have reviewed the lesson on the purple page, then please complete the questions on page 145, 7C, a and b.

Also a reminder

The final exam will be divided between 9/22 and 9/23, so next week is our last week of instruction. We will complete both 7C and 7B (in that order) this coming week and we will also review Unit 6.

Please get together with the students to have fun and even to do HW or go over it?

Have a great weekend everyone and thanks again for all of your lovely presentations.  It makes all of us want to learn more about you and your culture and possibly travel to see these places in person!

HW for 9/11 and quiz too!

Hi everyone,

Again, thank you for your presentations, CJ, Sirirat and Ki - thank you also to Ki for delighting us with the Korean BBQ.

Looking forward to tomorrow's presentations!

For tomorrow, please review all of Chapter 7A and be prepared for the quiz tomorrow covering:

• the "wish" construct with the simple past, the past perfect and the modals 'could' or 'would'
• adjectives ending in -ed and -ing

Also please read the article I handed out to you today.  My apologies for the missing second page for Egor and Juliana.  Here is the link to the article:

http://www.epa.gov/ozone/science/sc_fact.html

HW for 9/10

Thanks for your presentations today: Juliana, Egor, Chart and Wendy, very good job everyone!

Looking forward to tomorrow's presenters:

CJ
Nom
Sirirat
and anyone else who would like to present in addition!

For tomorrow please complete

page 64, exercise 2, a and b
page 65, exercise 3, a, b and c
page 66, exercise 6, just 'More words to learn'

Remember the final exam is coming up 9/22 and 9/23, so please review the vocabulary on page 155, which you are responsible for. You could also start to look at the vocabulary on page 156, because we will be covering that soon and it too will be covered in the final.

See you all tomorrow

Here is a preview of what we will be reading tomorrow, as a segue to Wendy's presentation of today about the ozone depletion:

http://www.epa.gov/ozone/science/sc_fact.html

HW for 9/8

Hi everyone!

Please make sure you understand the concept of THE ARTICLES in English!  This is included in chapter 6A.

If you feel "iffy" (unsure) about it, then please review chapter 6A in the student book and fall in love with PAGE 142      =)

Review all of Unit 6, ensure that you feel comfortable with all the grammar, the vocabulary and the pronunciation.

You need to know the vocabulary on page 155 really well because you will be asked questions containing these words on the final exam.  (I will give you the final exam on 9/22 and 9/23.)

Also, remember to bring photographs to share about your country and/or your city.

Have a great weekend and see you on Monday!

HW for 9/4

Hi everyone,

In the workbook please complete:

p. 61, 3., Vocabulary (science)
p. 62, 3 b, c and exercise 4.

Review any new vocabulary.

HW for 8/28 and FIELD TRIP

Hi everyone,

Even though we have a field trip, please complete this homework, we will be checking it before we leave.

Chapter 6B

In the Student Book


Complete
on page 89

• Exercise 2 Vocabulary

• Exercise 4 Grammar

on page 155

• Review the Vocabulary Bank 

In the Workbook

on page 58

Complete exercises 2, 3 and 4.

About the field trip:

Come to class on time!  We will be leaving at 9:30 so we can be in Jack London Square before 10 a.m.  We will visit the square for about an hour and then have lunch at Venga Paella at 11.  We will leave the restaurant before 12:15 so we can be back in Berkeley by 12:45.

Bring a minimum of $20 for the BART fare and for lunch.

Wear comfortable shoes, bring a hat?  If you wear sunscreen, put it on!

See you tomorrow!

HW 8/26/14

Hi all!

• Please review the terms we worked on today, relative to the documentary film we watched last Thursday Last Call at the Oasis about the global drought we are facing.  These are some of the terms we reviewed:

denominator
ripple effect
out of sight, out of mind
dole out
to pull the rug out from underneath s.one
tough call

There were quite a few others!

If you were absent, look up these 6 terms.  The other students who were present in class today, will help you with the other terms that are not listed here tomorrow.

• Today I gave a handout to students that included the Summary of Jack London's Call of the Wild. Click Summary Call of the Wild for that handout.

• I have to reschedule the field trip!  I can't go tomorrow and Amy can't make it either most Tuesdays.

Let's talk about this in class.

See you tomorrow ~

HW for 8/25

Hi everyone,

After watching the documentary Last Call at the Oasis, remember to please share 3 items that you took note of while you watched.  These could include themes, facts or questions about vocabulary.

Also I found this link, take a look, what can we do to take part?

http://www.takepart.com/lastcall

See you all on Monday.  Have a great weekend.

HW for 8/19/14

Hi everyone,

Today we began chapter 6A, an important chapter because we are looking at the usage of articles.

For homework please complete the first two pages of 6A in your student work book, sorry I don't have the book, so I don't remember the page numbers!  If anyone is reading this, can you please post the page numbers in the comments?

This Friday there is a school BBQ in SF, sign up with V.

There is also a trip to Napa if you want to go, $50 per person, sounds like fun!

We are going to take a field trip next week Tuesday, Aug. 26th to Jack London square, to see the little house Jack London stayed in and also to have lunch at Marc's family restaurant - Venga Paella!  So remember to bring enough money for the BART trip and for lunch Tuesday, next week, let's talk about how much we should bring to make sure we can all cover our expenses!

See you tomorrow ~

HW for 8/4

Hi everyone,

Please write a formal letter, following the prompt on page 81 of your student book.

Also prepare for your oral presentation.  Presentations last 3-5 minutes and we will begin on Tuesday.


For the students who were absent today, please complete the test sheets I gave you and be prepared to hand them in on Monday.

The midterm exam will be on 8/13, and it will cover chapters 4 and 5, so begin reviewing vocabulary, grammar and pronunciation.  On the exam you will have to write a formal letter and answer questions about a reading as well as some listening exercises.

Have a great weekend and see you on Monday.

HW for 7/31

Hi all,

Please prepare for the test on Chapter 5A, B and C.

The test is going to be page 82 of the student book, so please fill out the answers for tomorrow and check with your classmates if you are able, to make sure your answers are good.

Tomorrow we will continue to do some listening exercises, we will review some grammar points and we will watch a documentary on Netflix!

For those of you going to Napa Valley, have fun!  Moises, have fun in Lake Tahoe.  Tomorrow is also Jake's last day, we will miss you Jake, good luck with all of your creative endeavors!

See you tomorrow ~

HW for 7/29/14

HW for tomorrow:

1)
Please write a paragraph explaining your reaction to Annie Leonard's "Story of Stuff."  Write 4 to 5 sentences.  What did you learn from this video?  If you didn't learning anything, what is your critique of the video?  Did you learn any new words or expressions?

2)
Go to the American Corpus link, sign up and register for this program, it is free.

Look up a word of your choice and then either copy and paste or write out 3 sentences containing your target word.  Be prepared to share what you found with the class.

If you are still confused about the word, then look it up in the dictionary.

See you tomorrow.

HW for Monday, 7/28 and short IPA quiz

Prepare for a 5 minute quiz on these IPA symbols and the sounds they represent:

/ʃ,ʒ/  /k/  /tʃ,dʒ/

Workbook
Complete the work on pages 48 and 49.

Student book:
Review get used to, be used to, used to, usually - p. 72 and p. 140

Have a great weekend everyone and try to READ as much as you can!

Sorry the documentary about Jimi Hendrix was a bit too long - I hope you did enjoy some of the video.  He is a major N. American guitar ICON and it is good for you to be familiar with him and his work.

See you soon!

Test tomorrow, Thursday, 7/24/14

Hi all, here is what will be on the test:

Grammar
infinitives and gerunds

Vocabulary
Music and sleep

Reading - about sleep, sorry don't have my book right now so don't know the page number - it is the page with the design of the bed on the right side.  I will ask you to answer 4 of those questions with complete sentences.

IPA - I will test you on Monday! 

HW for 7/23 and information about the presentations next week

Hi everyone, here is the HW for tomorrow:

Student book:

Read p. 71 and do exercise 6 a, b, c, d, e and f

Workbook:

p. 45, exercise 3, Pronunciation, a, b and c
p. 46, exercise 4

PRESENTATIONS next week:

Please start to think about your presentations for next week. Tuesday the 29th, Wednesday the 30th and Thursday the 31st.    By this Thursday, the 24th you need to tell me what you will talk about and share your ideas with me. You will speak for 3-5 minutes about any of the following topics:

your country
sports
relationship
travel

culture
which may include, but is NOT limited to:
food
music
art
hi-tech
etc., etc.

You will be graded on

use of correct grammar
good usage of vocabulary
the volume of your voice
eye contact with your audience
ability to answer questions your classmates may ask you

See you tomorrow - I will be checking your homework, so PLEASE do it!  

HW for 7/22

Hey everyone and welcome aboard the blog again!

HW for tomorrow:

Write a paragraph, consisting of 4-5 sentences about a musician or a musical genre you enjoy and why.
Include the use of gerunds and infinitives when applicable.

Also, please review the grammar of 5A, gerunds and infinitives, on page 140.  Try to memorize which verbs trigger the use of the gerund, the infinitive or the base form of the verb.

See you tomorrow!  

OMG - FINAL IS ONLY FOR CHAPTERS 1-3!!!

Hi everyone,

I got this amazing news from Tracy today - the final covers only chapters 1-3, no wonder we were feeling so rushed and it seemed we didn't have enough time.  This news is a huge relief for us.

Knowing this - let us complete the HW that is due for tomorrow and then we will JUST focus on Chapters 1, 2 and 3.  I am also happy to review other grammar points/vocabulary if you would like me to.

Here is the HW for tomorrow:

In the workbook -
p. 58, 2 a, b and c.
3 pronunciation
5 have done something
More words to learn

VOCABULARY FOR CHAPTERS 1-3 - it is good to know the city vocabulary of course, but you will not be tested on this next week!

Wow, I am in shock, A good shock.  Please know that because I have my other job I missed the teacher's meetings on Fridays... so I did not realize that we were only supposed to focus on chapters 1-3!  It seems like a very small amount to learn for one session, but so it is!

What does this mean?

This means that for the next level - the upper high intermediate, we will work on chapters 4-7 in more depth.  We will already have done a lot of the work, but then we will be able to really solidify the information, also we will have more time for presentations, writing, reading material from other sources besides the book, CORPUS and FIELD TRIPS!

OK everyone, see you tomorrow ~

HW for 6/17/14

Hi everyone,

Here is the HW for 6/17/14:

In the WB:
Chapter 6A

page 54, read Space... the final frontier, Exercise 1, a, b and c.

page 56 complete Ex. 4, a and b.

Look at the vocabulary under More Words to Learn.

Chapter 6B
Do the reading on page 57, do exercise 1, a, b and c.

pages 58 and 59, do exercise 4a and b - Complete the sentences with 'is' or 'are.'

ALSO - last but not least:

in the STUDENT BOOK - page. 87
prepare to speak to the class, a mini presentation 1-3 mins, choose one of the topics to share with your classmates.

See you tomorrow

HW for 6/16

Hi everyone,

Here is the homework for Monday:

In the student book

p. 86  - Do the reading, ex. 5
p. 87, Ex. 6, a,b,c,e and f.  (Not d)
p.143, Ex. 6A, a and b

pg. 82, complete the exercises for Chapter 5 (review)

Have a great weekend, see you soon

HW for 6/12 - also QUIZ on 5A and 5B

Hi everyone,

Please complete pages 50 and 51 in the WB - this is work for chapter 5C.

The quiz tomorrow however will be on the grammar of chapters 5A and 5B

gerunds and infinitives


used to, be used to, get used to

Be here on time please - we will review till 9:00 and then you will take the quiz.

See you soon!

HW for 6/11

Hi everyone,

Nice job today, we packed in 5B - rock and roll!

HW for tomorrow:

Look over page 72, 2.C, make some notes about these questions, 'When you were a child, did you use to be frightened of the dark?'  etc.  You will check in with a partner tomorrow and share your answers.

In the workbook:

Complete 5B, pp. 47-49 - if you have time PLEASE also complete 5A, pp. 44-46... 5A must be completed by this Thursday.

Review page 140, 5B if you need to.

Good work everyone and wonderful participation - see you tomorrow.

HW for 6/10 - FINAL IS COMING UP -STUDY everyday!

Hi everyone!

HW for tomorrow:

Read p. 63, Let your body do the talking.  What do the highlighted words mean?  Try to guess their meaning from the context.

Complete p. 66  WHAT DO YOU REMEMBER - UNIT 4

Read p. 71, complete exercise 6, a-f.

Please begin to review everything we have done so far.

Get together with a STUDY BUDDY!  It's good for you and good for your buddy ~  See you soon

HW for 6/9/14 and final is coming up 6/24

HW
in the WB p. 37, please do 1, c, d.
2.  Reading a,b
4. Vocabulary
5. Mini grammar

in the Student book
p. 60

Start looking at Chapter 4C, and do ex. 1, a-e.

And the final is coming up - so we are going to have to work quickly and stay on track with everything!

HW for 6/5 STUDY for the quiz!

Hi everyone!

Today we reviewed the 2nd and 3rd conditional, if you were absent, please review this very well as this will be part of the quiz tomorrow.

The quiz tomorrow includes:

2nd and 3rd conditionals
Vocabulary - feelings, p. 151

likely versus probably - chapter 3C

Please study everyone!

I will review for about 15 minutes tomorrow morning before we begin at 9 a.m.

HW 6/4 and FINAL IS COMING UP

Hi everyone,

Here is the HW for tomorrow:

Workbook: page 34, Ex. 1, a and b.
                   page 35, Ex. 3, Grammar

Student book: page 54, Exercise 5, a and b.
                       page 139, Exercise 4A, part b.  If you were absent today, please also do part a.

Wow - the final is around the corner - 3 more weeks - so we need to move a bit more quickly than we have.  We need to cover Units 4, 5, 6 and 7 in a pretty short time, and we can and will do this, but this means you need to come to class, participate and DO your homework!

See you tomorrow morning!

Hi everyone! HW for 6/3/14

Hi everyone,

So sorry for not posting the homework last Thursday.  I had wanted you to check the American Corpus (linked here on this blog) for adverbs like 'whereas' or 'instead,' also for the phrasal verbs that have 'take' as the head of the verbal phrase, such as 'take note' or 'take up.'  Make sure you know how to use these adverbs and these phrasal verbs.  You can find them in your student book pp. 44-45.

HW for Tuesday:

Make sure you understand the reading of today: 'Japan's children play safe.'

Go to the workbook and complete pp. 30, 31 and 32.  On page 31 you may omit exercise 3, since we have not covered this grammar yet in class.  Please do the listening on page 32, your CD is in the jacket of the back page of your workbook.

See  you tomorrow!

Oh - also today we spoke about sleep, REM and non REM (Rapid Eye Movement).  I want to thank both Moises and Yutaka for taking time today to explain sleep cycles to the class.  Good job!  Also we found out about the app Sleep Cycle from Yutaka, I already got it, only 99 cents, it's worth it!

HW for 5/29 - QUIZ tomorrow

Hi there!

Please study for the quiz of tomorrow covering chapter 3B in your student book.

To that end, please study everything in the chapter including the future perfect, the future continuous, the vocabulary about weather and global climate change as well as the vowel sounds we reviewed.

I will also ask you to do a little writing (1-2 paragraphs) explaining what you are doing to help reduce carbon outputs.  Carbon outputs result from burning fossil fuels, remember this language?

See you tomorrow ~

HW for Wednesday, 5/28/14

Hi everyone!

Please read page 43 in the student book, Chapter 3B:
What can YOU do to help?
Make sure you understand the language and try to be more GREEN!  =)

Here are two websites for you to check out!  They're cool!

www.greenpeace.org

http://www.foei.org/

Please also complete page 29 in the student book, also do the LISTENING.  The CD is in the back pocket of your workbook.

See you tomorrow.

HW for 5/27

NO SCHOOL ON MONDAY, it is Memorial Day!

Thank you for being such a great class and for giving a good impression to Brenda of ACCET.

Here is your homework for Tuesday, 5/27/14

Chapter 3b, Stormy Weather, pp. 27 and 28, except Ex. 4/Grammar.  Also look at More Words to Learn on page 29.

Please make sure you write 1-3 paragraphs about Climate Change and how it is affecting life globally.

See you Tuesday!  Have a great weekend!

HW for 5/21/14

Hi everyone!

Remember that 5/21/ and 5/22 we have the government people coming by to check out our school, so PLEASE make sure you are on time and that you leave on time!

We will have class from 9 a.m. till 1:15 on these two days.  These are the official school hours.

HW for tomorrow:

1- Write 1-3 paragraphs about climate change.  Please write about what you told the class today about how the weather has changed in your country.

Below are some questions to help you write, you don't have to answer these questions, they are suggestions to guide you:

What is climate change?  (If you don't know, please google it!)
How has it affected you?  Your country?  Your country's crops?  The animals and migration patterns?


2- Do the reading on page 25, Sid the Shoplifter, please do exercise 3, a, b and c.  Also complete the grammar questions, exercise 4 a, b and c.

See you tomorrow!

HW for 5/20/14

Hi guys!

HW for tomorrow:  do the reading on page 39 and answer the questions.

Review the passive form in chapter 3A.

Ex:

ACTIVE
The politicians made mistakes.    (made is in the simple past and agency is clear: the politicians)

PASSIVE
Mistakes were made.                  

(were is in the simple past and is followed by the main verb in the past participle made, agency is not clear,  politicians are not mentioned.)

*  *  *

Today we learned some more impersonal ways of stating information.

It is said that mistakes were made.

We use these expressions when we don't know who the agent is.

*   *   *

Today we also looked at:

I think they should be made to ...... (suffer? work hard? go to prison?)

We were looking at how some people should be punished for crimes or offenses.

We will continue to review this tomorrow.

In the example above I briefly shared some information about causative verbs utilizing the verb MAKE.

My father made me wash the car.

Thank you for the LOVE ~ and... here's some HW for 5/19 =)

Hi everyone,

Thank you so much for the elegant cake and the little party you prepared for me to honor my achievement with my master's in Linguistics!!! I am beyond happy and your party made me even happier!

Here is some homework... we need to get ahead with the book!

Please look at chapter 3A and on p. 38,  complete exercises a, b, c, d and e.

Also, go to page 149, the vocabulary bank for crime/criminals and complete exercise 2.

Have a wonderful weekend, and thanks again for the LOVE!  I love you guys!

HW for 5/12 - MIDTERM!

STUDY FOR THE MIDTERM - Units 1 and 2 of the Student book

Complete the two work sheets I gave you for review.  Look over all the work sheets we did together in class.

Monday - beginning of MIDTERM

Writing - you will write a 140-180 word essay. You will not be able to use your dictionaries or your first draft, so make sure you reviewed your edits very well!

Pronunciation and stress

Listening - maybe - depends on whether Tracy sends me the file.

Tuesday - review with a sub

Wednesday - THE MAIN PART OF THE MIDTERM

Grammar
Vocabulary
Reading
Listening

Have a great weekend, see you on Monday

HW for 5/8

Hi everyone,

Your homework for tomorrow is to study for the weekly test.  The test is for Chapter 2C - adverbs and adverbial clauses.  Review the RULES on p. 134 and look over the chapter.

Also, in preparation for the MIDTERM EXAM, continue reviewing vocabulary for

PERSONALITY:  p. 146
ILLNESS AND TREATMENT: p. 147
CLOTHES AND FASHION: P. 148

Review the sounds we looked at today and the IPA symbols!

Also review your essay and try to understand your mistakes.  Bring questions to class!

After you take the test tomorrow, we will review for the MIDTERM exam.  Focus will be on differentiating when to use the past tenses including:

THE SIMPLE PAST
THE PAST CONTINUOUS
THE PRESENT PERFECT
THE PAST PERFECT
THE PRESENT PERFECT CONTINUOUS
THE PAST PERFECT CONTINUOUS

We will also review when we use 'the one' or the 'the ones' to replace nouns in a sentence, for ex.

A:  Could you pass me the books?
B:  The ones on the table?

A:  I like my friend's poodle.
B:  The black one?

'the one' or 'the ones' refers to a noun that has been mentioned previously.

See you tomorrow 

HW for 5/7 and MIDTERM EXAM 5/12 and 5/14!!!

Hi everyone,

HW for tomorrow:

1-page 33 - b (fill in the blanks) and d.
2- write your 140 word essay: how fashion changed you or someone you know.  For the writing:  please write an essay that is 140 words long for tomorrow.  Write about how fashion can change a person's life (yours or somebody else's).  Use the advice from page 33 to help you write your essay.  You can also google some information about clothing and fashion if you would like to.

Remember that you will be taking part 1 of the midterm exam on Monday 5/12

The Monday exam will include:

1- The writing piece

2-The listening

3- the pronunciation

TO REVIEW:

The midterm will occur:

Monday, 5/12 - writing, pronunciation and listening

Wednesday 5/14 -  reading, grammar, vocabulary, speaking

Tuesday 5/13, I will be absent because I will be at the university defending my papers, so you will have a substitute teacher and you will review.

See you tomorrow, have a wonderful afternoon!

HW for 5/6

Hi everyone,

Please sign up for the American Corpus.  Your homework is to register and to look up an adverb of your choice, please look at a verb in the COLLOCATES list.  Then either copy and paste 10 sample sentences, or write them out if you don't have access to a computer.

By checking the usage of words in corpus, you should be able to understand better HOW words are used by native speakers!

Complete the HW pp. 21 and 22.

Start thinking about what you will write about in terms of the person whose life changes due to his/her choice of clothes.

See you tomorrow!

HW for 4/30

Hi everyone,

Presentations begin tomorrow.  You will speak for 3-5 minutes, or longer, IF YOU LIKE.  Tell us something about your country, something you think the world should know!  You may use some notes to help you, but please do not just read from your notes.  Look at your audience, speak clearly, smile and relax, we love you!

Complete the story you began preparing in class on page 27 in chapter 2B.

Also... go to page 134 and REVIEW the verb tenses and CLICK on the stative/active verb link I have here on the blog.  This link lists stative verbs for your review.

Remember that stative verbs do not like to be in the -ING form (the present participle form)

I have known her for many years.   GOOD

I have been knowing her for many years.  NOOOO!

See you tomorrow

HW for 4/28

Hi everyone!

HW for Monday:

Read p. 19 - Passwords - complete ex. a

Review Adjective order on page. 23, also review the use of 'one' and 'ones.'
Ex:     Give me the books.  The ones that are on the shelf.
          This is the apartment I was telling you about.  It's the one I really want to live in!

Memorize vocabulary on page 148 - clothing and verbs describing how we get dressed.

Also review page 134, section 2A.

Have a great weekend!

Quiz #3, tomorrow, Thursday, 4/24/14

Hi everyone!

This is a reminder that we have a quiz tomorrow beginning at 9 a.m.

Quiz #3 will cover chapter 1C and parts of 2A.

Please study the present perfect and the present perfect continuous, and be sure to know when to use one or the other.

I will not be quizzing you on the vocabulary for illnesses and remedies, we already did that last week.

Review nationalities as well as how to speak of groups like 'the unemployed,' or 'the poor.'  This section dealt with how adjectives can be used as nouns.

Review the IPA and any new vocabulary.

Be on time!  See you tomorrow.

HW for Tuesday 4/22

Hi everyone,

If you were not in class today Monday, you will receive the HW sheet in class when you return.  For those who got the sheet, please complete both sides.

Review chapter 1C, what is the difference between the present perfect and the present perfect continuous?  Generally the difference is that for the continuous aspect we do not use stative verbs.

See you in class soon. 

A cool link for metaphor usage

check out this link

http://www.macmillandictionaries.com/MED-Magazine/June2005/31-Phrasal-Verbs-Metaphor.htm#e

I think it's interesting and I hope you do too!

HW for 4/18

Hi everyone,

Here is your homework for Monday:

1.  Write a first aid story.  Refer to chapter 1C if you are unsure of what first aid is.

2.  Go to page 15 and complete the reading exercise.

3.  Go to page 132 and review the GRAMMAR RULES for chapter 1C.

Have a fabulous weekend!  Bring questions to class and study with a buddy!

HW for 4/14 and other information

Hi everyone,
Today we had our first weekly test.   Will have a test each Thursday at 9:00 a.m.

HW for Monday:

Watch either a movie or a YouTube and write about it.  You will present for the class what you have seen and written about.

Review chapter 1A, question formation and the new vocabulary about personality types in chapter 1B.

Have a wonderful weekend, see you on Monday.

Also, please see Tracy about your attendance if you have any issues, or questions about this, as this is not my area of responsibility.  If you have to leave early or arrive late, I have to mark you as such, I cannot pretend you are here if you are not!  I hope you understand this!

HW for 4/10 - also first quiz

Hi everyone,

Please complete hw for chapter 1A.  If you have the workbook, pp. 4, 5 and 6.

Our first quiz is tomorrow.  What do you need to know?

1- question formation
2- some IPA
3- word stress
4- vocabulary

giggle
chat
small talk
raise your eyebrows
grimace
prospective
courtship
Mr. or Mrs. Right
quick-fire
score-card
a "match"
your type

HW for 3/17

Please complete the workbook pages 70, 71 and 72 for chapter 7C.  Also review the phrasal verbs on page 155.

We finished the book!  Next week we will review for the final on Tuesday, 3/25.

Have a great weekend, see you on Monday!

HW for 3/13/14

Please complete pp. 68 and 69, chapter 7B in the workbook.

See you tomorrow ~

HW for Wednesday, 3/12

Hi everyone,

HW for tomorrow:

Please complete page 67 in the workbook (WB).

If you were in class, please complete part b of the 7A handout of today.

Everyone please try to review all the vocabulary and grammar we have studied this session.  The final exam is coming up on 3/25, two weeks from today.

See you tomorrow ~

HW for 3/6

Hi there,

I am so sorry, I totally forgot to post the HW!

Here it is:

If you were in class:  complete the handout for lesson 6C.

Everyone:  review the entire book, Chapters 1-6.  Tomorrow we start chapter 7A.

See you soon!

HW for 2/26/14

Hi everyone,

Please complete pp. 54, 55 and 56 in the workbook, equivalent to lesson 6A.

See you tomorrow ~

HW for 1/24/14

Hi everyone!

For homework please complete pages 81, 82 and the left column of page 83.

I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend, see you on Monday ~

Thursday - what we will do

Hi everyone,

Phew!  We are done with the mid-term.

The pronunciation section did not go so well for most students, so we will review this in class.

Also, regarding the question about "more slowly" versus "slowlier"- the correct form is "more slowly."  I did a bit of research and found this:

The Oxford English Dictionary has two citations for slowlier, including this from the
seventeenth century philosopher Thomas Hobbes: 'They marched the slowlier for the
rain which had fallen the same night.' It is, however, rare: I have never seen or heard
it until now.

So, I did accept "slowlier" but it really isn't used these days.  Know that we say "more slowly" and this works for all adverbs.  

"She walks more quickly than me."  

"That dress is more lovely than the other one."

We will look at your writing and I will ask you to rewrite what you wrote with corrections so that you learn how to write better.

Sorry things got a bit rushed at the end and thank you for helping me to grade the exams!

See you tomorrow

Midterm exam tomorrow, Wednesday, February 19, 2014

Hi everyone,

Sorry for not posting here for about a week.  We have been reviewing all week and we just had a long weekend.  Hope everyone is doing well and that you are prepared for the test tomorrow.

I will administer the test beginning at 9:00 a.m., so please be on time.  Please plan to be here tomorrow till 12:30 as we will be correcting the exam together after you take the test.

See you bright and early!  Remember to sleep enough hours!

Denise

HW for 2/10

Dear students,

I hope you are staying cozy and warm during this rainy weekend.

I had a great time with everyone on the field trip, I hope you did too!

Your homework is to write about the field trip and on Monday you will talk about your experience to your classmates.  Ideas for writing may include: did you enjoy a favorite art piece or a favorite moment during the field trip?  Do you like art?  Are you an artist?  Do you know someone who is, if you aren't?

Also, please review the book up through chapter 5B, the midterm is coming up in a little over a week!

See you on Monday.

HW 2/6

Hi everyone!

HW for tomorrow:

Please complete pp. 47, 48 and 49 in the workbook for chapter 5B.  Also, if you haven't already, please write about your name.  In the morning we will quickly review the homework and you will present what you wrote about your name.

To the students who were absent today and might be sick - I hope you feel better soon.  Also, EVERYONE, if you invest in some Ester C vitamins, 1,000 mg., I'm sure you won't regret it, this stuff REALLY works to prevent and to get rid of colds!

See you tomorrow - remember - FIELD TRIP TO THE BAM - Berkeley Art Museum, should be fun!

I wonder if anyone is reading this?  haha!    =)

HW for 2/5

Students!  HW for tomorrow: complete chapter 5A in the workbook.  Also, write about your name, tomorrow you will share with your classmates what you wrote.  Answer the question about what you ate yesterday too (quantifier exercise relating to chapter 5A).

See you tomorrow 

HW for 2/4

Hello students,

We finished Chapter 4, so please complete the "What do you remember?" for Chapter 4 and the previous page... I am so sorry, but I don't know the exact page numbers since I don't have the student book with me!  If anyone is reading this, could you share which pages are due for tomorrow in the comments section?

Also our field trip is Thursday, to the Berkeley Art Museum, BAM.  The BAM opens at 11 a.m., so we will leave the school at 10:00 a.m.  On the way to the museum we can pick up some snacks or coffee/tea, or if you would like, you can bring your own snacks.  The plan is for you to look around the museum for a little over an hour, we will leave the museum around 12:10.  Your task is to write about and then talk about what you saw and what you might have liked there.  

See you tomorrow!

Field trip change

Hi everyone,

I just saw that the SFMOMA is closed for renovations!  So the field trip has changed.  We will go to the Berkeley Art Museum on the U.C. Berkeley campus, Thursday 2/6.  Admission is FREE.  I think this will be a wonderful field trip and it's walking distance from the school.  Here is a link to the museum:

http://bampfa.berkeley.edu/exhibition/

See you tomorrow!  Hope you did the homework!

HW for 2/3

Hi everyone,

Today we began to review material from Unit 1 and Unit 2.  Please try to complete the worksheets I gave you in class today, covering Units 1-4.  If you were absent I will give you those sheets when you return to class.

Have a great weekend and see you on Monday.  

HW 1/30/14

Hi everyone,

HW for tomorrow: complete 4C in the workbook, 40, 41 and 42.

Also, field trip to the SFMOMA, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, Tuesday, February 4th.
We will discuss this more tomorrow.  You will need $7.80 for the round trip ticket by BART.

See you tomorrow! 

HW for 1/29/14

Hi everyone,

The HW for tomorrow:

In the student book, chapter 4B, page 58, exercise 5a and b.

For exercise 5a, write about a house where a famous person was born or has lived.  If you have not visited a house where a famous person was born or has lived, then please write about a house that you have visited and liked.  This may also include your house if you like!

Then please in the workbook, complete pp. 37, 38 and 39.

See you tomorrow!  

HW 1/28/14

Hi everyone!

Glad we went to the Berkeley Public Library today at the end of class and I hope everyone will get a library card!

HW for tomorrow - I don't have the page numbers but basically in the Student Book - complete the pages for 'What do you remember?' and the following page.  There are two pages to complete right before Chapter 4A.

Workbook - complete the exercises for chapter 4A.

See you tomorrow ~

HW for 1/27/14

Hi everyone!

Remember, we have no school tomorrow, but we do have the volunteer project in San Francisco, at the Presidio.  Meet everyone at the San Francisco school between 8:30-8:45 a.m tomorrow morning if you would like to participate.  Everyone will leave the SF school together, so BE ON TIME.  Otherwise you need to get to the Presidio on your own.

*   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *  *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *

Here is the homework for 1/27/14:

In the student book:

p. 47, read 6 and complete exercises a, b, c, d and e.

p. 49, read the letter and complete exercises a, b, c and d.

p. 50, 51, complete the exercises for Unit 3.


In the workbook:

Complete pp. 30, 31 and 32.

*   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *  *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *

HW for 1/21/14 and Martin Luther King Day events on 1/20/14

Hi everyone!  Wow we have a very long weekend ahead of us, so.... I have given you a lot of homework!

In the student book:

On page 33 please read about the Nightmare trip and answer the questions, also write a short story about a nightmare trip you may have had.

Complete the work on pages 34 and on page 38


In the workbook:

Complete the work for chapter 3A.


*     *     *     *     *     *     *     *     *     *     *     *     *     *     *     *     *     *     *     *     *     *     *

Today we spoke a little bit about Martin Luther King because we celebrate MLK day January 20th.

Martin Luther King was a great political activist who worked tirelessly for the advancement of African American people and the eradication of racism.  He was a pastor and a great orator.  He was a pacifist, he believed in peaceful activism and his great hero and idol was Gandhi, from India.  One of Martin Luther King's great speeches was "I have a dream," in which he famously said:

I look to a day when people will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.

August, 1963

Unfortunately Martin Luther King was assassinated in 1968.  Many believe he was killed because he was too powerful of a leader.  The status quo was against the emancipation of the African American people.  Today we celebrate the greatness of Martin Luther King who worked so hard for his people and who delivered some of the most powerful oratories in American history.

*     *     *     *     *     *     *     *     *     *     *     *     *     *     *     *     *     *     *     *     *     *     *

Here are a few events I found to celebrate Martin Luther King:


In Oakland, at the Scottish Rite Center, the cost is $23 in advance, $25 at the door.  I recommend this event.  I'm not sure if I can go, but I will try to! This event is on Sunday, January 19th at 7 pm.

http://mlktribute.com/

And here is a link to a song on youtube by one of the performers at this event:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CrQh0oSBcC4




In San Francisco at the Museum of the African diaspora, free event:

http://www.moadsf.org/visit/calendar.html?month=1&year=2014&id=842



At the Berkeley Marina -a breakfast at H.S. Lordships - you must buy tickets for this event:

http://www.berkeleymlkjrday.com/

*     *     *     *     *     *     *     *     *     *     *     *     *     *     *     *     *     *     *     *     *     *     *

Hi everyone, I had to make a change on this posting, the speech "I have a dream" was from 1963, not 1968, so now it says 1963, sorry about that!

HW for 1/16/14

Please complete the HW for chapter 2C of the workbook.

Let us think about a field trip we should take together.

We can either see some art at the SFMOMA, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, or we can go to hear some music at the Herz Hall on the U.C. Berkeley campus, or we can go to walk on the Bay Bridge together!  We have to decide what we want to do and which day we should go.

See you tomorrow!

HW 1/15/14

Hi everyone!  HW for tomorrow: complete chapter 2B of the workbook.

We have been working on the present perfect continuous.  Remember that we use this tense and aspect for actions that have happened and continue as well as recent actions that have just occurred.  Also, as with all continuous aspected verbs, we tend NOT to use stative verbs.

If you did not complete the writing about 1) Your family and 2) Money - can we live without it?  Please do so for tomorrow!

See you soon ~

HW for 1/14/14

Hi everyone,

Happy Monday!

For tomorrow please write about

LIFE WITHOUT MONEY, IS IT POSSIBLE?

Write 2 paragraphs explaining your opinion, do you agree or not?   Why or why not?

Also please study the verbs on page 156, book #3.  If you do not have the new book, review the verbs on page 155 of book #2.

See you tomorrow!

HW for 1/13/14

Hi everyone,

We have already completed the first week in the new year!  How time flies!

For Monday please review chapters 1A, 1B and 1C.  Complete the workbook homework, 'What do you remember?' and please write one or two paragraphs about your family.  Is your family big or small?  Are you the oldest, middle, youngest or only child?

Also review all vocabulary from the book and what we learned in class.

Have a great weekend and see you on Monday!

HW for 1/9

Dear students,

Thank you for being flexible today when we worked with Daniel's students.  I enjoyed my day with you and with them and I found the TED talks to be very educational, I hope you did too.

Please, if you were here today, write a short summary of each of the videos for tomorrow.  Even if it is very short, it doesn't matter, I want to see what you understood.  Tomorrow we will talk about the videos a little bit more and review some of the new vocabulary.  We will also of course continue with the grammar in our book, chapter 1C!

See you tomorrow!

Welcome to the January 2014 session!

Hi everyone!  Welcome back and welcome to all of you!

I'm glad we started looking at the American Corpus today as this will be a great tool for you to examine native speaker word usage more closely.

For tomorrow please complete Chapter 1B in the workbook, also review all new vocabulary.  As always, try to speak as much English as possible, watch some videos, listen to music, or go to the movies!  Also, read, read, read as much as you can in English.

See you tomorrow!  Denise