What's your motto?

Please fill in the blanks;  it's _____________ to _________________.  What does your mother teach you?/What do you teach your children?   What is your family's motto?

Can't Buy Love

Do you need money to be happy?  Do you need money to be successful?  Is communal living -- like the Shakers do -- a good idea?  Is it easy?

PM Melancholy Baby

World War 1 History

What do you know about World War I?  What do you want to remember the most about your life?

Tis the Gift to Be Simple

What should a simple life look like?  Do you want your life to be simple?

Superstitions....

I think many people today agree with this song.  No one wanted to admit to being superstitious!

Did any of the superstitions we talked about surprise you?  Which ones?  Are there any common superstitions in your country that you want to write about?  Do superstitions ever scare you?  

Do they ever make people happy?

Challenging Videos

It'd amazing how often I read about simplifying my life.  I rarely take the advice for more than one day.  Here are some videos about simplifying your life.

This comedian speaks fast.  How much can you understand?

One of my students recently requested grammar practice.  

Practice Simple Present

practice simple past

Using Prepositions

I really love the thoughtful writing you turned in today.  Would you like your life to be simpler or more complicated?  How?

Have you simplified your life?  How?

What do you do every day?

Grammar Teacher Notes:  When you write, put a space between every and day unless it's an adjective right before a noun.  Also don't put an a between is and getting.

simple present grammar practice

Tell me about yourself and your routines.  What do you do every day?  Can you tell me about changing a routine so that it worked better?

What did you do for love?

Man carves steps for his wife

Chinese Pop song with English translation

English version:

Please tell me a story about something you or your friend did for love.

Organ Donation in the USA

Medical Vocabulary

Organ Donor FAQs

In this next video, a Mayo clinic doctor explains what is involved in giving someone part of your liver.

Cultural Differences between men and women -- what is your opinion?

Last morning class, I gave you a paper that had some suggestions for small talk.  This extremely fast video from "The Art of Manliness" has some good advice for starting conversations that should work for women too.  Also in that morning class, Peter said that men like to solve problems, but women just want to listen and empathize.  That reminded me of this video:

"It's not about the nail"

Is it true that men want to solve problems, but women prefer to talk about them?

Last evening class, I got worried about my plan to talk about feelings and romance when I realized that most of my students were men.  I thought about the stereotype that women love to talk about feelings and romance, but men don't.  Do you think that stereotype is true?  If it's true, why are there so many male psychologists?

Another student said that many mothers in her country are sexist and treat sons better than daughters.
Sheryl Wudunn--a speaker for TedTalks-- says that rural poor people mistreating their daughters because they are girls is the biggest social problem in the 21st century.

Whenever I think about sexism and culture, I think of this cartoon -- a bikini and.a burka

I also didn't know how to answer when a student asked me if women clean their houses here.  Many women do, but I'm not sure how time and techniques would compare with her culture.

Do men and women have different routines?  These filmmakers show their different days in the USA.
Can you describe their routines?  What are the differences?

Do you think men and women act differently here?  How?

You've Got a Friend

Nancy pointed out last class that this Carole King song is similar to "Lean on Me."  Thanks Nancy!

Can you find the misspelled word(s)?

Do you know which word in this song is never used in "educated" proper English?
Have you heard this song before?  Does it remind you of anyone?  If so, please describe the time, situation, or friend you think about.

Challenging Lecture Video

Do you understand this video?  Can you write the main points?

Ring of Fire (pm)

Do you think love is really like fire?  Who do you love?  Can you describe that person?

Lean on Me

Has anyone helped you when you needed it?  Many people have helped me.

(PM) Sunshine

Does weather change how you feel?  How do you feel this week?  What is your favorite season?

Take Me Out to the Ball Game

Potomac Nationals (minor league) Schedule

Washington Nationals "Nats" Schedule

Cartoon: Foghorn Leghorn (old stereotype of someone from the Southeastern USA) teaches baseball (with uneducated English)

Every minor and major league baseball game I've attended played "Take Me Out to the Ball Game" and "YMCA"


Do you like to watch baseball?  What is your favorite team?  Have you ever played baseball?  Do you have a favorite position?

Do you know someone who is obsessed with one activity (like Pokemon Go) and never wants to do anything else?  Write about it!

(PM Class) Here comes the sun....

Top Ten Rock Bands

Weather words by www.languageguide.org

Grammar Video: Pronouns & their antecedents

  I love to see the sun!!  This morning was overcast, but now at 1:30, it's sunny!

 Write about a memory on a sunny day or write about a time that you felt sad until something or someone made you feel better.  What made you feel better?

Stalin

Video about Joseph Stalin

7 11

You can get a free slurpee (sweet frozen drink) at 7 11 today!
(The offer is only good from 11AM-7PM)

Where is a close (nearby) 7 11?  Type in a zip code and check the map.

Read about 7 11 and take a quiz!

 I used to go to 7 11 a lot before I had children.  I even worked at 7 11 one summer when I was in college.  Now, I rarely shop at 7 11, but I usually go on July 11 when they offer free slurpees!

How often do you go to 7 11?  What do you like to buy there?  Did you get a free slurpee?  What is your favorite drink?

You're Beautiful

Tell me about a beautiful person that you admire.  What makes the person beautiful?  What does she (or he) do?

Hello

This was my favorite song when I was twenty years old.  Are there any songs that remind you of certain times in your life?

Do you believe in love at first sight?  I know a woman that did.  She married a man two weeks after they met.  Eight years later, they were still married.  I had a long engagement to a man I'd known since I was 12.   Are you married?  If yes, did you know your spouse well before you got married?

If a stranger sang this song to you, would you think he was romantic?

You are so beautiful

What makes someone beautiful?  Describe someone who is beautiful to you.

Adele

What makes you feel young and happy?  What makes you feel comfortable?  What makes you feel free?

Heal the World

What do you do to make the world a better place?  What do you think most needs to be done?

Let it Be

Do you ever worry?  I worry a lot.  What do you worry about?

 I worry about my family, my students, and my friends,  Worry has never helped me, but I worry anyway.  Sometimes when I feel worried, I play this song, and then I feel better.  What makes you feel better when you worry?

We are the World!

Can you find all the words in this video that really need an apostrophe to be correct?  Can you find the sentence or question that uses the wrong form of "to be?"

Please tell me about a time that you helped a child or found out that someone else had helped a child.

Stairway to Heaven

Don't spend time trying to understand this song.  This song doesn't make sense to native speakers.  It's a lovely example of how "wonder" means unfocused thoughts about and around a topic.  This song is also amazing music.

Can you play a guitar?  Can you play any instrument?  Tell me about learning to play music.  Do you have a favorite musician?

Titanic

Describe someone you will always love.

Hello

This was my favorite song when I was twenty years old.  Do any songs remind you of certain times in your life?

Do you believe in love at first sight?  Do you know anyone who married someone else that they barely knew?  If a stranger sang this song to you, would you feel like he was romantic?

Faded

Tonight is the first time I've ever heard this song.  I think it's beautiful and sad.  This is not a common way to use "faded."  Usually, we use "faded" for jeans or curtains that lost their color in the laundry or sun.

Do you wonder where some of your old friends are right now?  One thing I love about Facebook is that it helped me contact friends I hadn't seen in a really long time.

What do you do to keep your old friendships from fading?

Are you celebrating Eid al-Fitr? What are you doing?

A reading to explain Eid Fitr to non muslims




Happy Eid al-fitr!  If you celebrate this holiday, please describe the celebration!!

Welcome new students!

Please write about yourself and your life.  What's your name?  Do you have a big family?  What do you like to talk and write about?  Do you like your job?  Is the USA a really big change for you? What are your goals?

Happy Fourth of July!

Virginia Places to Go See Fireworks! 

History of Independence Day -- it's a little fast, but I think you can understand.

Some patriotic songs you may hear today....

God Bless America-- A Christian Patriotic song 

"Stars and Stripes Forever" often plays during fireworks

Did your native country celebrate an Independence Day?  When?  What do people do to celebrate?