A Message and Some Final Presentation Tips!

Dear Students,

I'm really excited to see your presentations this week! I was really impressed by your work last week! I felt really proud that I was your teacher this semester! Thank you all so much for working hard with each other to create great things! I hope that you have learned something useful this semester and that it hasn't been too hard for you! I was really happy to be your teacher.

Thanks for your hard work this semester! You've made me a really happy teacher! 

I have also learned a lot from your essays and your presentations (the parts I saw so far). That's pretty cool! I want you to remember that you have the power to use English in your life and your future! Remember that being perfect isn't the most important thing - being understood is enough and telling people useful information. I hope you will feel confident to keep doing that in your futures! If you ever need any help from me, too, please feel free to come see me in Office 1! I want to finish up by giving you some reminders on how to do your best in your presentation!

FINAL TIPS!

Before the Presentation:

1. During your preparation time, make sure to: Check your videos, check the volume on the computer, double-check who will change the slides for each student, make sure you have your note cards ready.

2. Open your presentations in Google Chrome, not Internet Explorer (many school computers have old versions of Explorer, which may not open your slides or play your videos).

3. Make sure your notecards have SHORT notes not paragraphs!

4. Practice your advertisement with your group to make sure everyone knows when to speak!

During the Presentation:

1. Breathe deeply. Take a deep breath before starting each section. Pause and take a deep breath if you start to feel nervous or speak quickly. It helps! Trust me! I often do this in class!

2. Remember to speak LOUDLY. Clarity and intonation will also improve when you speak loudly enough. Imagine that you must speak to the people at the back of the classroom.

My friend Peter Starr Northrop with some good advice for parties or presentations! :) 

3. Remember to speak slowly enough. A good rule is to speak a little more slowly than you think you should. Pause after making an important or main point. People will pay more attention to you if you pause sometimes. People will understand you better if you speak slowly.

4. To have good intonation, imagine you are speaking to a friend and giving advice about traveling to your city. When you speak to a friend, you will naturally have more feeling about the facts and information you talk about. You may also decide to change some sentences to be more simple or less formal. That's fine!

5. Remember that EVERY STUDENT IS NERVOUS. Everyone. Everyone will probably make some mistakes, too. That's okay. Even professional presenters make mistakes. To succeed, all you need to do is to keep going!

6. Remember that everyone did a great job this past week. I was really impressed. You're going to be okay! You've achieved a lot this semester. Now, take a breath, slow down and share your great information with me and the class! I'm looking forward to it!

Korean Students Writing About Places!

I was on Facebook when I came across this website where students and other people are writing about Korea in English to help visitors enjoy Korean cities. Here is a section that someone prepared about Busan at night! There are many different themes you can look at!

http://www.trazy.com/theme/busan_night
http://www.trazy.com/theme/category

If you notice, you can see that the writers are using many of the things we have learned in class, such as command verbs and superlatives. They are telling about interesting things to do in the city, as you will do in your presentation!

After class is finished, you won't have a required English class anymore. However, if writing, travel or English are interests of yours, consider joining a site like this and sharing what you know about Korea or the world! You have the skills now to increase visitors' knowledge of your country and to share what is great about Korea!

Trip Advisor is another great site for learning about attractions, restaurants and hotels around the world, and you can also join and write a review of Korean attractions or of attractions and facilities around the world which you have visited! By giving your advice, you can help other people to have a great vacation!

How about you? Do you know of any interesting websites where you can share travel information? Have you ever written a review on-line? When you take a trip, how do you usually learn about the best attractions, hotels and restaurants in town?

Advertisement Examples

This week you should prepare a script for your advertisement with your presentation partner(s). The advertisement should use superlative and comparative adjectives and command verbs. It should tell about the most fun, exciting and beautiful things the city you are presenting on has to offer! You may or may not use a theme. Here are some example ads I've written about Gyeongju to help you out! Each one uses a different slogan/theme. Later you will add pictures during your presentation, so keep that in mind too!

Gyeongju: A Great Date City!

Come to Gyeongju for a romantic weekend! Enjoy a quiet stroll through the peaceful tomb parks. Sip coffee together at one of downtown's unique cafes. Ride a tandem bike to Baru and enjoy the healthiest meal in town! Bomun Lake is even better for couples! Steer a swan boat together in one of Korea's prettiest resort areas. Walk around the lake holding hands. Take pictures together in front of the cherry trees. Enjoy a romantic meal by the lake! At night, return downtown for the night views. Don't miss the lights of Anapji! Marvel at Cheomseongdae, the oldest standing observatory in East Asia. Then, spend the night in one of Gyeongju's convenient hotels, or return home on a convenient KTX train from Singyeongju!

Gyeongju: Fun for the Whole Family

Gyeongju is a fun city for people of all ages! Enjoy active family fun at Bomun Lake! Enjoy the most exciting ride in town on an ATV! Take a bike ride around the lake! Go to Gyeongju World for exciting rollercoasters or fun-filled children's rides. View Bomun from above from Gyeongju World's ferris wheel. For a quieter time, have fun at the Teddy Bear Museum or experience Korea's history at Silla Millenium Park. Sit down with the whole family for a relaxing meal in one of Bomun's many restaurants. Downtown has even more exciting Silla Dynasty sites. Learn about history in Gyeongu's National Museum. Experience the life of royalty, strolling around Anapji. Check out Cheomseongdae - the oldest surviving observatory in East Asia. Then fly kites together in the nearby fields. After a long day, relax and have a snack in Gyeongju's modern downtown.

Beautiful, Natural Gyeongju:

Full of UNESCO World Heritage Sites, Gyeongju is one of the most beautiful cities in Korea. Spend an early morning at Bulguksa and Seokguram Grotto. Experience the peace of nature in a pristine forested landscape. Hike Namsan and hear the birds sing in the trees! Visit the Dongguk University campus to see beautiful nesting water birds in their natural habitat! Some of the best natural views are right downtown! Stroll through the historic Gyerim Forest! Enjoy a restful time at the tomb parks! Experience the most gorgeous night views at Anapji and the nearby lotus ponds. Before leaving town, don't miss the beautiful, traditional performances at the Silla Millenium Park and the view of the sunset at Bomun Lake! Gyeongju truly is "Beautiful Gyeongju."

Website and Search Tips for Adding a Little More Information

When rewriting or preparing a presentation, it's always a good idea to keep searching for more helpful information and details about your topic. Just this week I noticed that many students needed help finding better websites. Many students had only looked at Wikipedia or other difficult-to-read websites. Here are some ideas on expanding your search to find better and easier-to-read information!

1. Check the homepage for your city or attraction! 

Most cities have a tourism homepage and so do most attractions. Do a Google search for your attraction and look for the attraction's name in the web address or the term "official website" or "homepage." It will usually be one of the top websites on a Google Search. Check out this cool video that you can find on the Tokyo Tower homepage! http://www.tokyotower.co.jp/eng/secret/ You could find almost all the information for a paragraph on the Tokyo Tower just by watching this video and taking notes! It's also much more interesting and easy to understand than the Wikipedia page. How about your attraction? Have you visited its homepage? Check it out!

Here's a link to Paris, France's official website. It has tons of information that is up-to-date, along with many pictures! http://en.parisinfo.com/  Have you checked your city's official website? Take a look!

2, For easy-to-read information, do a Google search using the word "facts." 

For example, you can search for "Rome facts" or "the colosseum facts." By doing this search I found some really interesting and easier to read websites. Here was the top result: http://www.eatingitalyfoodtours.com/blog/ancient-rome-for-kids/  It included a cool picture of a statue which represents the legend of the founders of Rome, Romulus and Remus:

There was also a really interesting article about the Colosseum, which was MUCH EASIER TO READ than the Wikipedia page. http://www.localnomad.com/en/blog/2013/10/01/10-interesting-facts-about-the-colosseum-in-rome/ This article has tons of interesting facts and great pictures!

Have you tried doing a Google search for your city or attraction using the word "facts"? Give it a try! You might find some great extra information for your essay or presentation!

3. Search Youtube! 

You never know what you will find - some videos will not be useful, but it's no big deal - click on another one! Here's an interesting video about the Berlin Wall where you can see different sites along the wall!

4. Try some other search words in Google. 

For example: "Wellington travel advice", "Seattle travel tips", "Beijing tour." To find good information it takes what we call in America "Google-fu" (this word combines "Google" and "kung-fu.")

5. Finally, try searching with the specific question you need to answer:

 "What is the climate in London?", "How old is The Eiffel Tower?" "What can you buy at the Floating Market in Bangkok?", etc. This is often the fastest way to find the information you need. However, be careful. Do not trust a site like Yahoo Answers or Ask.com, unless the person answering gives a website to a more reliable article you can trust! Check that article!

Alright, I hope these tips can help you with your last pieces of research! If you want any help finding information, please also feel free to visit me or to ask the people at the lounge!

What are your tips for finding good information? Have you found any really excellent websites or videos? Do you have any other questions about searching? Let me know in the comments!

Presentation Recommended Sites from Other Students!

Hey, everyone!

Sorry it's been a while since I posted last! Today I just want to quickly share a few videos and sites with you that other students recommended on my last post on presentations! Thanks, everyone, for adding your useful websites in the comments!

First, a video I have also watched and enjoyed on presenting like Steve Jobs, recommended by Kim Sang Jo. (Thank you!)

Next, a speech by Barack Obama submitted by Lee Seung Hwan, who recommends speaking in a strong and clear voice. (I agree!)

Last of all, a presentation tips checklist submitted by Wang So Min - Thanks for the helpful site!

http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newCS_96.htm

If you have any more useful websites or videos, please do submit them! Thanks for your hard work and enthusiasm everyone!

Presentations: What makes a good presentation?

In the next 6-7 weeks we will spend a lot of time working on your presentations, which will be your final exam! Presentations are used to share knowledge and ideas with other people.

Presentations are really composed of two parts: 1. Preparation and 2. Performance. A good presentation should have both of these.

Preparation includes research and understanding your topic well. It also includes organizing your ideas and your slides. Good preparation makes your presentation informative and interesting and it really helps your performance. When you know your topic well, it's easier to speak clearly and have confidence.

Performance is also important. We talked about some tips for good performance in class this week, including speaking loudly and clearly, looking at the audience, smiling and using hand gestures. We will take some time in class to work on performance over the following weeks. Below is the video we watched in class this week, in case you would like to watch it again!

What do you think are the most important tips for making a good presentation? Have you ever seen a great presentation? What was the topic? If you have seen a great presentation or speech online, please share a link in the comments!

See everyone soon!

"The Secret Garden" Yorkshire Dialect

In "The Secret Garden" several characters speak the Yorkshire dialect, a special variety of English. If you're curious what this dialect sounds like, here's a video!

What do you think about this dialect? Can you understand it? In Korea, are there different dialects and accents? What variety of Korean do you speak?

Why You Shouldn't Use an Internet Translator - Funny Examples from "Google Translate Sings!"

So, you might think that your teachers are exaggerating when they tell you not to use an internet translator to write your essay or help write your essay. Trust me, we're not. Sentences that have been through translators are nearly always obvious and wrong and strange. A singer named Malinda Kathleen Reese has started a project called Google Translate Sings! which shows what happens to language when it is translated by a computer instead of a human. http://www.fastcompany.com/3036603/the-recommender/what-american-pop-songs-sound-like-after-google-translate-butchers-them Here are some videos that show what happens to popular songs when they are translated. Real lyrics at the top, new translated lyrics at the bottom. First, "Do You Want to Build a Snowman?" the crazy version!

Now a popular American song, "Wrecking Ball" by Miley Cyrus.

Finally, one of my favorite Disney songs which is really really really messed up by translation!!!!

So, trust us, guys, when we say - use your own words. A simple sentence that you have put together with your own knowledge will always be better than relying on internet translation! You can also, always, get help from a native English teacher who can help you find the best words to say what you mean! See you all soon! 

Rick Steves' Europe - A Good Research Resource

Hey, everyone! I wanted to post a link to a useful resource for students who are doing their essay and presentation on European cities - Rick Steves' Europe Youtube channel. http://www.youtube.com/user/RickSteves

Rick Steves is a professional guidebook author and television presenter. He's very knowledgeable about Europe, so you can trust his videos. We watched his "Christiania" video in class this week (or for Tuesday and Wednesday classes - we will watch it!) He has videos on almost every city in Europe. Some of them have good English captions, but some of them say "automatic captions." If it says "automatic captions" it is probably not correct, so be careful! Look for captions that just say "English."Remember, you can watch a video just to look at the attraction or city so that you can describe what it looks like or see what people do there. Of course you can also pause the video to get facts from it. 

If you watch a video make sure to copy and paste the web address into your Works Cited! Rick Steves has short video clips about attractions, but he also has half hour long shows about whole cities, regions or countries! 

Here are some Rick Steves' Europe video clips! 

Here's a video about some of Vienna's famous food with good subtitles. I am SO HUNGRY after watching it!!!!!!

Here's a whole episode about Paris!

A video with good captions about Rome's Colosseum!

Finally, if you want to rewatch it - the video about Christiania and another about Copenhagen! If you haven't chosen a city, yet, also consider Copenhagen! It's a very interesting place! 

I hope you've enjoyed seeing some videos by one of my favorite TV personalities and authors, Rick Steves! If you have any comments or questions, please feel free to leave them below! :)  

Choosing a Topic: IDEAS #3 Kyoto, Japan

Kyoto, Japan is one of the places on the topic list that I have visited! I have been to Kyoto twice - once on an exchange program when I was 15 years old, and again in 2011 with my husband, Lee. Both times I really enjoyed myself.

The gate at Kiyomizudera, a temple in Kyoto.

Both times I visited Japan, I went to Kiyomizudera, one of Kyoto's most famous temples. Of course, this is only one of many temples and shrines in Kyoto, but I really appreciated this temple's simple beauty. It is named the "pure water" temple, because of a waterfall at the temple.

Another picture I took at Kiyomizudera. In the Edo era apparently at least 200 people jumped off the terrace in the picture. They believed that jumping off the terrace would bring them luck and that they would survive the fall thanks to the temple's guardian gods. Though the temple is about 4 stories up, apparently 85% of the people who jumped actually did survive. 

Another special feature of Kyoto is the chance to glimpse Japan's geisha and maiko tradition. This tradition is almost lost, but in Kyoto there are still maiko - geishas in training. Lee and I went to see a free maiko dance performance at a cultural center.

A maiko is a geisha-in-training. There are very few geisha and maiko in modern Japan, but Kyoto is one of the main places to see them.

My favorite part of the trip, however, was visiting the monkeys at the Iwatayama Monkey Park in the Kyoto suburb of Arashiyama. It was a quick train ride and a short mountain hike away. We spent a few hours feeding and hanging out with the monkeys!

 This baby monkey is not in a zoo - he is outside, and I am watching and feeding him from inside a small building! The monkeys live on the mountainside, and people come to visit.

My husband, Lee, hanging out with a monkey!

 

This trip to Kyoto is one of my happiest memories of all time.

This is just a small assortment of what there is to see and do in Kyoto, however. Kyoto has many other temples and shrines, special festivals, famous foods and other attractions to offer. Kyoto would definitely make an interesting topic for an essay and presentation! Do you have any questions about Kyoto or any of the other presentation topics? Just ask! Happy Choosing!

Choosing a Topic: IDEAS #2 Vienna, Austria

I have never been to Vienna, but I hope to go next summer. There are so many reasons that I dream of going to Vienna. Art, culture and music are three of the biggest reasons.

First, Vienna is home to tons of great European art, including Albrecht Dürer’s “Hare” and the works of Gustav Klimt, which are all over the city. 

Albrecht Dürer’s "Hare."

Gustav Klimt's "The Kiss." 

Vienna is also famous for its music! Here is an article about four of the most famous musicians who worked in Vienna: http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/01/10/top-10-composers-the-vienna-four/?_php=true&_type=blogs&_r=0

Finally, I am interested in the general culture of Vienna - great coffee, beautiful architecture, and great food like apple strudel (Apfelstrudel!) Personally, I can't wait to go there and speak German to the natives!

Vienna is making me hungry!!!!!!

To wrap up, here's a video (in German - but with English subtitles) interviewing Viennese people on the street about their city. Maybe you can get some ideas about what Vienna looks like and what kind of people live there from the video! Happy choosing!

Choosing a Topic! IDEAS #1: Portland, Oregon

This week or next week you will be choosing a topic for the essay and the presentation. Because you will work on this topic for the rest of the semester, it's important to choose wisely! Choose a city you feel interested in, a city that will be fun, a city that has a lot to write about!

I'm sure you already know a lot about the Korean cities on the list, so I'm going to write a few brief introductions to world cities you might be interested in. First up, my adopted hometown - 

PORTLAND, OREGON

Portland, Oregon was my home for 7 years! It's a very cool city which has attracted many young people in the last 10+ years. It's known for its eco-friendly lifestyle and biking culture. There are many great parks, gardens, and other interesting attractions in Portland! 

Biking is VERY popular in Portland. This is me with my bike "Old Gray" in 2007. I'm biking on the Springwater Trail next to the river. It's safe to bike all around Portland, and there are many bike festivals and events during the year!

There is a lot of beautiful street art in Portland!

Portland has become so popular in the U.S. that there's a television comedy show "Portlandia" made about the city and the strange people who live there! The video below is a comedy song about the strange young people who live in Portland. Even though it's a comedy, the people in the video are real Portland people. I even met a few of them! Portland's city motto is: Keep Portland Weird

Portland is a very strange city, but I love it. If you have any questions about Portland, Oregon, or any of the cities on the topics list, please feel free to ask in the comments! Happy choosing!

The Secret Garden: What is a moor?

When you get to the end of Chapter 1 you'll see the word "moor" and read a description of a moor in the book. The moors are an important part of the English landscape. They appear in "The Secret Garden" as well as in many other famous English novels including "Jane Eyre" and "Wuthering Heights" by the Bronte sisters. To get a better look at the moors, here are some videos where you can see this famous landscape. Don't worry about understanding all the English in these videos. You can also watch travel videos as a way to see a landscape so that you can imagine or describe it more easily.


A photographer talks about photographing the moors.

Various views of the landscape of the moors!

This final video is a movie trailer for "Jane Eyre" based on the famous novel by the same name. You can see a dark side of the moors in this video. The movie is really good too! I recommend it for people who enjoy mysterious romance movies or just good stories!

What do you think about the moors? I've never been there, but they look very interesting to me. Would you want to visit? Have you ever visited an interesting landscape?

Revising My Hometown Paragraph: An Example

Part of your homework is to rewrite your hometown and summer paragraphs. Even teachers can do a better job if they revise! Let's look at the example paragraph and fix it!

1. TOPIC SENTENCE and CONTROLLING IDEA         

Here the topic is "Lake Geneva" and the controlling idea is "beautiful." Is this a good controlling idea for the whole paragraph? 

        My hometown, Lake Geneva, is a beautiful place. Lake Geneva is in southern Wisconsin in the United States. It’s a small town with only about 5,000 residents. However, in the summer Lake Geneva is very crowded and full of tourists. People come to see our lake. The lake is very beautiful, clear and it’s fairly big. It’s a good lake for swimming, boating or doing other water sports. In the fall, winter and spring, Lake Geneva is more peaceful. It’s nice to take a walk to the lake. In the winter sometimes it is so quiet that you can hear the snow fall. I really miss my hometown!

Maybe it's not. Let's change the topic sentence. In the paragraph I describe Lake Geneva as: small, crowded, beautiful and peaceful. That's a lot of different ideas! It would be hard to add them all to one topic sentence. What can I do instead?

A.  I could make a general topic sentence: "I really like my hometown, Lake Geneva" or "Lake Geneva is a great place." Since every sentence is positive, that would be okay. 

B. I could think about how my paragraph is organized. I talk about Lake Geneva in the summer, fall, winter and spring. How about this, then?: "My hometown, Lake Geneva, is a great place to visit in every season." We could also use the more common collocation "year-round." "My hometown, Lake Geneva, is a great place to visit year-round." 

2. ADDING DETAILS

Now that I have a new topic sentence, I should add details. Thankfully, many students asked me follow-up questions about my hometown, so I can answer some of them in my writing. Here are some questions and answers:

How expensive is it? - it is cheaper than other parts of the U.S.

Can you fish there? What kinds of fish do people catch? - Yes, fishing is popular. Bass, trout... 

What is Lake Geneva's famous food? - bratwurst, cheese, fish fry  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bratwurst

I will add some of these details to my paragraph now. I don't need to use all the answers to the follow-up questions. I should choose details that match my controlling idea. 

3. CHANGE ONE THING, CHANGE OTHER THINGS.

Remember, when you change one thing, you may need to change other things. You might add transition signals: First, second, finally... You might take out a sentence that doesn't match or change a word. 

FINAL REVISION!!!!

         My hometown, Lake Geneva, is a great place to visit year-round. Lake Geneva is in southern Wisconsin in the United States. It’s a small town with only about 5,000 residents. However, in the summer Lake Geneva is very crowded and full of tourists. People come to see our lake. The lake is very beautiful and clear, and it’s fairly big. It’s a good lake for swimming, boating or doing other water sports. It's also a good place to catch fish. People catch bass and trout in the lake. In the fall and spring, Lake Geneva is more peaceful. It’s nice to take a walk to the lake. You can also enjoy some popular Wisconsin foods, such as bratwurst or cheese. Bratwurst is a kind of sausage, originally from Germany. In the spring you can also eat maple syrup fresh from the tree at the Maple Syrup Festival. In the winter, you can ski, snowboard or sled in Lake Geneva, but there aren't many visitors. The town can be very quiet. Sometimes it is so quiet that you can hear the snow fall. I really miss my hometown, and I hope I can visit again soon. 

My brother, Thomas "Ishtar" Howell, in front of the fountain at the Riviera, a popular meeting place in town. 

The Secret Garden

Hello, everyone! I was really happy to talk with some of you on the last blog entry! Please keep commenting if you have any questions you'd like to ask or if you want to introduce yourself! I will post some cool videos and other information about Lake Geneva in a week or so.

For now, though, I want to talk about "The Secret Garden" by Frances Hodgson Burnett. This is the book we're going to read together this semester.

"The Secret Garden" was one of my favorite books when I was a child. I probably read it over 10 times. I really liked reading about the house in the book, Misselthwaite Manor, which had so many different rooms - almost 100! I used to imagine what was in all the different rooms.

When I was growing up, my copy of the book had this cover. 

"The Secret Garden" was written in 1910, but it is still very popular in English-speaking countries. It has been made into many different movie versions and a Broadway play! Here are some of the different versions.

"The Secret Garden" 1987, made for American TV. This has the whole movie, but it doesn't have subtitles, so it could be difficult to understand.

"The Secret Garden" 1993, feature film. This is just a short movie clip!

It's even been made into a Japanese anime called Anime Himitsu no Hanazono (アニメ ひみつの花園). You can't get this version in English. If anyone decides to watch it in Japanese, please tell me your opinion of it!

Finally, it became a Broadway musical!

If you like, watch some of these videos and see what you think! Remember, however, that the book will not be exactly the same as the movies! The movies can help you understand better or enjoy the book, but to really know the story, you must read! :) 

COMMENT! - What do you think of these videos? Have you seen any of these movies or shows? What were some of your favorite books when you were a child? 

Descriptive Paragraph 1: My Hometown

My Hometown: Lake Geneva

               

                My hometown, Lake Geneva, is a beautiful place. Lake Geneva is in southern Wisconsin in the United States. It’s a small town with only about 5,000 residents. However, in the summer Lake Geneva is very crowded and full of tourists. People come to see our lake. The lake is very beautiful, clear and it’s fairly big. It’s a good lake for swimming, boating or doing other water sports. In the fall, winter and spring, Lake Geneva is more peaceful. It’s nice to take a walk to the lake. In the winter sometimes it is so quiet that you can hear the snow fall. I really miss my hometown!

Walking with my friend Karin and her dog Audie along the lake path in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin. 

WRITING YOUR HOMETOWN PARAGRAPH

1. Make sure to include a topic sentence. Give the name of your hometown and an honest description. 

2. Make sure all the details/supporting sentences describe your hometown. Don't start to talk about your hobbies, your family or a different topic.

3. Answer some of the questions from class today (What can you do there?, What is it like in the fall? etc.)

4. Describe your hometown with adjectives.

5. Tell about what interests you. If something is interesting to you, it will probably be interesting to other people. If it bores you, it will probably bore other people.

6. REMEMBER - Don't use a translator! Your own writing is always best! If you want help to correct your grammar, share your writing with a classmate or with me on Google Docs. We'll also talk about it in class next time!

I can't wait to hear about your hometowns! Do you have any questions about my hometown, Lake Geneva? Ask below in the comments and I'll be happy to answer!  

Welcome!

Hello, everyone, and welcome to the Sophomore Level B blog! I'm Jennifer! I'm pleased to have the chance to teach Sophomore B again this semester. My students last semester were so ambitious, creative and friendly.  Here's a bit about me and how to use this blog!

This is me with my husband, Lee Gumienny, at Haeundae Beach. He also teaches at Dongguk!

ABOUT ME:

 I've taught at Dongguk for almost 3 years. I'm from the United States (Portland, Oregon and Wisconsin). I love cats, theater, writing, singing, reading and movies. I'm a strict vegetarian, but I love food and eating out. I really like teaching. If you ever need help, I am always happy to help you!

ABOUT THIS BLOG: 

I will update the blog at least once a week, sometimes more. I will post all the example essays here. I will also post videos, articles, and discussion topics from time to time. You can ask questions here if you need help with something. You can also earn points for making comments on the blog. 3 good comments (at least one sentence, preferably longer)=1 point. You can earn up to 15 homework points. Make sure that you are signed in with gmail when you make your comments and include your student number so I can find you easily!

YOUR OWN BLOG: 

You can also earn extra credit points by making your own blog. It's very easy once you have a gmail account. Having a blog is a great way to share your work. You can also use it to show employers and schools your English ability. Finally, it's a great way to reach people around the world and tell them about your life and interests. My personal blog: http://jensroadtoeurope.blogspot.kr/ has readers in the U.S., Korea, Germany, Poland, Canada, Turkey, Vietnam, Japan and several other countries. It's a very cool feeling to know that strangers in other countries are reading what you write!

COMMENT ON THIS ENTRY: 

If you like, comment on this entry and tell me a bit about yourself! What are your interests and hobbies? Where are you from? What is your major? What do you want to learn this semester?

Alright! Welcome to Sophomore Level B and welcome to the blog! See you soon!