Picnic / Potluck / BBQ

http://nooshaesl331.blogspot.com/2017/07/picnic-potluck-bbq.html?m=1

FRIDAY, JUNE 9TH, IS THE LAST DAY OF CLASS.

Assignment - Fridays 05/26/17 & 06/02/17 & 06/09/17

Use Ignite Talk to prepare your next presentation.  The topic is your FAVORITE HOLIDAY.

Pay close attention to the set of rules and guidelines for Ignite Talks: time limit, visual aid, ...


Here are a few links that can help you:

http://www.ignitetalks.io/

http://scottberkun.com/2009/how-to-give-a-great-ignite-talk/



☺

Assignment - Friday 05/19/17

Prepare a presentation using Ignite Talks as a model.  Your topic?

Some of you will continue talking about your topic, and we look forward to it.

Others, you may choose anything you want!  You choose your own topic, something you're comfortable talking about,  and you present it.

Pay close attention to the set of rules and guidelines for Ignite Talks: time limit, visual aid, ...


Here are a few links that can help you:

http://www.ignitetalks.io/

http://scottberkun.com/2009/how-to-give-a-great-ignite-talk/

A Few Notes...

We had EXCELLENT presentations on Friday, May 12th. 

I can still hear a lot of mistakes with verbs, though. 
It's important for you to use verbs correctly.
You need to pay attention to verb tenses, agreement with subject, gerunds & infinitives, modals, etc.
It's time to review the grammar books and/or find the right information on the internet.

Pronunciation Blog

nooshaesl333.blogspot.com

Assignment - Friday 05/12/17

Prepare a presentation using Ignite Talks as a model.  Your topic?  Anything you want!  You choose your own topic, something you're comfortable talking about,  and you present it.  Pay close attention to the set of rules and guidelines for Ignite Talks: time limit, visual aid, ...

Those of you who have already presented using Ignite guidelines must choose a new topic.

Thanks! :-)

Assignment - Friday 05/05/17

Prepare a presentation using Ignite Talks as a model.  Your topic?  Anything you want!  You choose your own topic, something you're comfortable talking about,  and you present it.  Pay close attention to the set of rules and guidelines for Ignite Talks: time limit, visual aid, ...

AGREE

Ignite Talk Video - Scott Berkun

http://scottberkun.com/2009/how-to-give-a-great-ignite-talk/

Assignment - April 28th

Review all my posts, and listen to a few Ignite talks.

On Friday...
First, we will listen to three presenters on "gender roles."
Then we will go over some elements of public speaking.
Finally, we will do quick presentations on a topic I will give you in class.

IGNITE

http://www.ignitetalks.io/

Useful Links...

Physical Aspects:
http://www.presentationtrainers.com/Free-Stuff/Fundamentals-of-Public-Speaking.php

General Tips
http://www.selfgrowth.com/articles/Evans24.html

#1, #2, and #7

http://www.amanet.org/training/articles/Seven-Principles-of-Effective-Public-Speaking.aspx

Audience:
https://www.boundless.com/communications/textbooks/boundless-communications-textbook/analyzing-the-audience-7/the-importance-of-audience-analysis-37/the-benefits-of-understanding-your-audience-161-8007/

Tone & Pitch & Vocal Fry + TED Talk
https://www.ethos3.com/2015/10/how-your-voice-impacts-your-public-speaking-success/

Vocabulary (word list with definition, pronunciation, and example)
https://www.vocabulary.com/lists/184869

Glossary - Comprehensive List of Terms with Definitions
http://www.speaking-tips.com/Glossary.aspx

Build Vocabulary - Avoid Repetition
https://youtu.be/jdGgDEjmGhM

Tips on Using Vocabulary in Public Speaking
https://www.ethos3.com/2012/04/choosing-appropriate-vocab-in-presentations/

SINGULAR NOUNS / PLURAL NOUNS

http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/plurals.htm

MAKE / DO

http://www.vocabulary.cl/Intermediate/Do_Make.htm

Verbs

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B-2fvJUBid2yN043V1NIN05PQm8/view?usp=sharing

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B-2fvJUBid2yVldfTEJEOGthVm8/view?usp=sharing

http://www.perfect-english-grammar.com/present-perfect-use.html

http://esl.fis.edu/grammar/rules/future.htm

http://grammar.yourdictionary.com/parts-of-speech/verbs/subject-verb-agreement-worksheet.html 
 
https://owl.english.purdue.edu/exercises/5/13/34

Prepositions...

http://www.grammar-quizzes.com/gerund2c.html

Friday 04/21/17

We had excellent presentations!  Thank you!
Irma, Hui, and Jiman will present next week... on Friday 04/28/17.

I noticed some mistakes in the new students' introductions and the presentations.  I will list them here so that students can pay more attention in the future.

1 - verbs: subject-verb agreement and verb tenses
2 - prepositions
3 - do / make
4 - plural of nouns

Practice...

Practice your presentation in front of mirror.  This will help you fix some problems.  Also, you will be able to time yourself.

See you Friday!

Syllabus - Spring 2017

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B-2fvJUBid2yVHJDa1dJYlBOc0k/view?usp=sharing

Enunciation

http://giftarist.expertscolumn.com/article/speech-delivery-importance-enunciation-and-pronunciation

Pronunciation...

You can learn a lot of aspects of pronunciation by going to YouTube and searching for "pronunciation esl rachel"... There are a few that I really like, and they can be accessed by typing "pronunciation esl rachel intonation" in YouTube.

Also, here are some other links to useful websites:

Sounds
https://pronuncian.com/sounds/

Diphtongs
 http://clas.mq.edu.au/speech/phonetics/phonetics/vowelgraphs/USE_Diphthongs.html

Stress
http://www.eslfocus.com/articles/phonology_syllable_stress-491.html

 https://www.toeflgoanywhere.org/learn-these-4-word-stress-rules-improve-your-pronunciation

http://www.really-learn-english.com/word-stress.html

Linking
https://pronuncian.com/introduction-to-linking/

 http://www.elementalenglish.com/connected-speech-linking-american-english-pronunciation/
  

... Gender Roles...

Here's an interesting site on gender roles:

http://educateinspirechange.org/alternative-news/european-christians-forced-gender-roles-native-americans-acknowledged-5-genders/

NO CLASS ON FRIDAY, APRIL 14. ENJOY SPRING BREAK!!!

Assignment - APRIL 21st PRESENTATION

Your topic for Friday, April 21st, will be on GENDER ROLES.

Prepare a short presentation, between three (3) and five (5) minutes.  Using images and videos helps, so you can prepare something and put it on a flash drive or email it to yourself.  Make sure you know your email account username and password.

Here are some questions on "gender roles" to help you prepare...

Gender Roles

• Do you see yourself as a typical man or woman? Why or why not?
• In your country are the responsibilities of a mother the same as the responsibilities of a father to their families?
• What are the responsibilities of a father to his family?
• What are the responsibilities of a mother to her family?
• Are fathers capable of carrying out the duties of a mother and vice versa?
• Are there different expectations for sons and daughters?
• What habits are deemed as appropriate for men but inappropriate for women?
• What behaviors are deemed as appropriate for men but inappropriate for women?
• What jobs are deemed as appropriate for men but inappropriate for women?
• Are more doctors female or male in your country?
• Are more nurses female or male in your country?
• Are more professional musicians female or male in your country?
• Are more teachers female or male in your country?
• Are more truck drivers female or male in your country?
• Are men and women equal in ability and intelligence?
• What things can either men or women do that the other cannot do and why?
• What type of clothing do men wear?
• What type of clothing do women wear?
• Can men wear women's clothing or can women wear men's clothing? Why or why not?
• Can men wear pink clothes?
• Is it OK for men to cry?
• Is it OK for women to cry?
• What do people think of men or women crying?
• What would people think of a man who backs down from a fight?
• What would people think of two women involved in a fist fight?
• Is it OK for men to appear sad?
• Is it OK for women to appear angry?
• Is it OK for men to appear weak?

Is it common for women and men to take part in sporting activities? Do they take part in the same type of sporting activities?

In you home, who does the cooking, cleaning and household chores?

Is it possible for women to join the army in your country?

Is it compulsory for men and women to join the army in your country?

Do women swear a lot?

Are there more male or female managers and executives? Why do you think this is?

What jobs do men do and women not do in your country?

Who is regarded as the head of the family?

Should boys and girls be brought up differently?

Should boys and girls be treated differently on the part of the parents?

What would happen if your parents changed their place for one day?

How would the world look like without men?

How would the world look like without women?

When a woman and a man are together, who does most of the talking? What makes you think so?

Can a man and a woman be only friends?

Do men/men friendships differ from women/men or women/women friendships? How?

Who do you think has life easier, girls or guys? Why?

Do you see yourself as a typical man/woman? Why or why not?

What things can men or women do that the other cannot do and why?

In your country

What are the responsibilities of a father to his family?

What are the responsibilities of a mother to her family?

Are fathers capable of carrying out the duties of a mother and vice versa?

Who is regarded as the head of the family?

Who do the children go to for emotional support? For financial support?

Are there different expectations for sons and daughters?

Should boys and girls be brought up differently?

What habits are deemed as appropriate for women but not for men?

What behaviors are deemed as appropriate for men but inappropriate for women?

What jobs are deemed as appropriate for men but inappropriate for women?

Are more doctors female or male in your country?

Are more nurses female or male in your country?

Are more professional musicians female or male in your country?

Are more teachers female or male in your country?

Are there more male or female managers and executives? Why do you think this is?

What type of clothing do men wear?

What type of clothing do women wear?

Can men wear women's clothing or can women wear men's clothing?

Can men wear pink clothes?

Is it OK for men to cry?

Is it OK for women to cry?

Is it OK for men to appear sad?

s it OK for women to appear angry?

Is it OK for men to appear weak?

What would people think of a man who backs down from a fight?

What would people think of two women involved in a fist fight?

Is it OK for women to swear (to cuss)?

Is it common for women and men to take part in sporting activities? Do they take part in the same sports? Are there famous women athletes?

Do you think it's permissible for a woman to show her face to a stranger?

TED.COM - PLAYLIST

https://www.ted.com/playlists/226/before_public_speaking

Thanks!

Many thanks to all those who participated in the potluck.   You made our last day of the winter session merrier!

Also, thanks to all those who made it to the last phase of presentations.  I learned a lot from you.  Your ideas were definitely worth spreading.

I look forward to working with you again!

Nooshafarin

My Pronunciation Blogs

http://nooshaesl323.blogspot.com/

http://nooshaesl333.blogspot.com

Which Is Scarier?

FINAL PRESENTATIONS

The final presentations will be on Friday,  March 17 and Friday, March 24.

On the last Friday of class, March 31st, three students will receive prizes for their presentations.

INTONATION...

http://usefulenglish.ru/phonetics/listening-for-falling-and-rising-intonation

https://englishwithjennifer.files.wordpress.com/2011/06/intonation-patterns_handout.pdf

http://magoosh.com/toefl/2015/english-intonation-knowing-when-to-rise-and-fall/

 

 

https://youtu.be/GPcBJfBTlNo


https://youtu.be/p8DJFNjZiIM


https://youtu.be/qLGJb63mkyA


https://youtu.be/Aoj4HZlLQBY

PRESENTATIONS BEGIN ON FRIDAY 2/24/17!

BE PREPARED!!!

Prepare Your Speech

http://www.lifehack.org/articles/communication/speak-like-pro-15-lessons-learned-from-watching-ted-talks-2.html

THERE IS NO CLASS ON FRIDAY 2/17/17

PRESENTATION

Dear Students,

Start working on your presentations.

You already have your topic.

Make an outline of the most important points your want to discuss in your presentation.

Then do your research and get ready to present.

Everyone will do their first 5-minute presentation on Friday 2/24/17.

Noosha :-)

Speak...

https://youtu.be/nc6LQPmppVU

NO CLASS ON FRIDAY 2/17/17

11 Tips

http://www.marketingforowners.com/speak-like-pro-11-tips-make-sound-professional/

Elephants & Sweaters

http://nationalviral.com/people-are-knitting-enormous-sweaters-to-keep-rescued-elephants-warm

Pronunciation & Public Speaking

https://www.ministrymagazine.org/archive/1933/04/pronunciation-in-public-speaking

PRACTICE

http://www.manythings.org/e/pronunciation.html

Reflexive Pronouns

Please click on the following link and study REFLEXIVE PRONOUNS.

http://www.5minuteenglish.com/jun3.htm

A Few Points...

I enjoyed listening to your pronunciation improvement methods on Friday.  While I was listening to you, I noted some mistakes.  Please read these carefully.  Hopefully, these mistakes will not be repeated:

The verb used with "mistake" is "to make"...
examples: 
I made a mistake.
She makes many mistakes.

Always use "each other" -- no "s"
"each others" is WRONG.
In fact, when you use "each" or "every" you can never use the noun after it in plural form.
examples:
Each child deserves a good education.
Every time I open the mailbox, I see bills.

When you use "even though" in a sentence, you don't use "but"...
examples:
Even though I was thirsty, I didn't drink anything.
I was thirsty, but I didn't drink anything.
Even though I was thirsty, but I didn't drink anything.  WRONG

Friday 02/03/17

This week, I posted several links about pronunciation.   You will use the information on Friday in class.

Be ready to talk about THREE things you can do to improve your English pronunciation.

You MUST talk for at least FIVE minutes.

I suggest using examples to illustrate your point.

REVIEW...

Please go back to the January 20 post.
There are some good resources there.
Please check them out.
Also, check out the comments.

http://ps2017.blogspot.com/2017/01/012017.html

Enunciation

http://giftarist.expertscolumn.com/article/speech-delivery-importance-enunciation-and-pronunciation

Effortless...

http://effortlessenglishclub.com/english-pronunciation-public-speaking

TED Talk: The Power of Introverts - Susan Cain

http://www.ted.com/talks/susan_cain_the_power_of_introverts

For Future Reference...

In the future, when you have free topics, you MUST NOT talk about religious or political issues in the classroom.  These topics are not allowed. 

Are You Ready?

I will give you a surprise topic on Friday, and you will talk for 3 minutes.

Intonation

Intonation:
https://youtu.be/GPcBJfBTlNo


1.
https://youtu.be/p8DJFNjZiIM


2.
https://youtu.be/qLGJb63mkyA


3.
https://youtu.be/Aoj4HZlLQBY

Rachel - Intonation

http://rachelsenglish.com/intonation/

Video Text:

Today I’m going to talk about intonation. I’ve touched on this subject in various other videos without ever explicitly defining it. And today, that’s what we’re going to do. But I’m also going to reference these other videos, and I really encourage you to go watch those as well.

If you’ve seen my videos on word stress, then you’ve already heard me talk a little about pitch. Stressed syllables will be higher in pitch, and often a little longer and a little louder than unstressed syllables. And there are certain words that will have a stress within a sentence, content words. And certain words that will generally be unstressed, and those are function words. For information on that, I invite you to watch those videos.

Intonation is the idea that these different pitches across a phrase form a pattern, and that those patterns characterize speech. In American English, statements tend to start higher in pitch and end lower in pitch. You know this if you’ve seen my video questions vs. statements. In that video, we learned that statements, me, go down in pitch. And questions, me?, go up in pitch at the end. So these pitch patterns across a phrase that characterize a language are little melodies. that characterize a language are little melodies. for example, the melodies of Chinese. If you haven’t already seen the blog I did on the podcast Musical Language, I encourage you to take a look at that. It talks about the melody of speech.

Understanding and using correct intonation is a very important part to sounding natural. Even if you’re making the correct sounds of American English, but you’re speaking in the speech patterns, or intonation of another language, it will still sound very foreign.

Intonation can also convey meaning or an opinion, an attitude. Let’s take for example the statement ‘I’m dropping out of school and the response ‘Are you serious?’ Are you serious? A question going up in pitch conveys, perhaps, an open attitude, concern for the person. Are you serious? But, are you serious? Down in pitch, more what you would expect of a statement, are you serious? The same words, but when it is intoned this way, it is conveying a judgement. Are you serious, a negative one. I don’t agree that you should be dropping out of school. I’m dropping out of school. Are you serious? I’m dropping out of school. Are you serious? With the same words, very different meanings can be conveyed. So intonation is the stress pattern, the pitch pattern, of speech. The melody of speech. If you’ve read my bio on my website, you know melody is something I’m especially keen on, as I studied music through the master’s level. Yes, that was yours truly, thinking a lot about melody. Now, you know that in American English, statements will tend to go down in pitch.

Let’s look at some examples. Here we see two short sentences. Today it’s sunny. I wish I’d been there. And you can see for both of them, that the pitch goes down throughout the sentence. Here we have two longer sentences, and though there is some up and down throughout the sentences, for both sentences, the lowest point is at the end. I’m going to France next month to visit a friend who’s studying there. It’s finally starting to feel like spring in New York.

The software I used to look at the pitch of those sentences is called Pratt, and there’s a link in the footer of my website. So it’s at the very bottom of every page. I hope you’re getting a feel for how important intonation is to sounding natural and native in American English. I hope you’ll listen for this as you listen to native speakers, and that if you haven’t already done so, that you’ll go to my website and do that you’ll go to my website and do so you hear them several times to get the melody. That’s it, and thanks so much for using Rachel’s English.

Syllable Rules

Top Ten Syllable Rules

1. Every syllable has only one vowel sound. Some syllables have just one vowel; others have two. But even when there are two vowels, there can be only one vowel sound in each syllable, so the two vowels say one sound.

For example, out-side.

2. When the vowel’s at the end of a syllable, it has a long sound. Reading specialists call the Consonant-Vowel (CV) pattern an open syllable.

For example, be-low.

3. When the vowel is not at the end of a syllable, it has a short sound. Reading specialists call the Consonant-Vowel-Consonant (CVC) pattern a closed syllable.

For example, bas-ket.

4. Divide syllables between doubled consonants, unless the doubled consonant is part of a syllable that is a base word.

For example, din-ner and tell-er.

5. Usually keep vowel teams together in the same syllable.

For example, boat-ing.

6. Keep the silent final “e” and the vowel before in the same syllable. The silent final “e” makes the vowel before a long sound if there is only one consonant in between the vowel and the “e”.

For example, basement.

7. Keep the r-controlled vowels (ar, er, ir, or, and ur) in the same syllable.

For example, or-al-ly.

8. Keep the consonant-“le” sounds (ble, cle, dle, fle, gle, and ple) in the same syllable. These syllables have the schwa sound between the consonant and the “le”. The schwa sound sounds like a nasal short u.

For example, cra-dle.

9. All words have one syllable that has a primary accent. The vowel in the accented syllable receives the stress. Words may also have secondary accents. The primary accent is usually found on the vowel in the root, not the prefix or suffix. Also, the syllable before a double consonant is usually accented.

For example, slów-ly and swím-ming.

10. Unaccented vowel sounds frequently have the schwa sound, especially when there is only one letter in the syllable. All vowels can have the schwa sound.

For example, a-boút.

(http://blog.penningtonpublishing.com/reading/the-top-ten-syllable-rules/)

01/20/17

Dear Students,

I enjoyed listening to your goals and dreams! 

Here are a few things to check out:

The Bucket List (movie)

The Joy Luck Club (movie)

The Way (movie)

http://www.volunteermatch.org/ (website)

Veronika Decides to Die  (book) Paulo Coelho

http://www.webmd.com/balance/guide/ayurvedic-treatments#1 (website)

Are You Ready?

Are you ready to talk about three things you want to do before you die?

Practice your speech in front of a mirror.

When you speak in class, remember to speak clearly and to make eye contact with your audience.

Review the basic rules: http://www.presentationtrainers.com/Free-Stuff/Fundamentals-of-Public-Speaking.php

See you Friday at 8:30am.

TED

What would happen if you didn’t sleep?

https://youtu.be/dqONk48l5vY

ESL CLASSES

I am also teaching ESL at the Downtown Anaheim Community Center, located at 250 E. Center Street, Anaheim, CA 92805, from 8:30am to 11:00am, Monday through Thursday.

If you are interested in joining the class, you can just show up and I will give you a form to register for the class.

Remember that Monday January 16 is a holiday.  The next class will be on Tuesday, January 17.

Participial Adjectives

Check out these three websites on participial adjectives:

http://web2.uvcs.uvic.ca/courses/ELC/STUDYZONE/490/grammar/participial-adjectives.htm

http://www.ucl.ac.uk/internet-grammar/adjectiv/particip.htm

http://www.perfect-english-grammar.com/participle-adjectives.html

TED TALKS

Check out this website:
http://www.ted.com/

Find a topic that interests you; then listen to a full talk.

Miss Congeniality

https://youtu.be/tcItlVmksyM

https://youtu.be/dQreewCwGQg?t=30s

Public Speaking Glossary

These words are not necessarily words that you use when you speak.
They are words that are used when you learn about public speaking.
Just take a quick look and get familiar...

 

Vocabulary 

(This is a word list with the definition, the pronunciation, and an example for each word.)
https://www.vocabulary.com/lists/184869

Glossary - Comprehensive List of Terms with Definitions
http://www.speaking-tips.com/Glossary.aspx

TOASTMASTERS

TOASTMASTERS

Toastmasters International is a world leader in communication and leadership development. Our organization has more than 345,000 memberships. Members improve their speaking and leadership skills by attending one of the 15,900 clubs in 142 countries that make up our global network of meeting locations.
The world needs leaders. Leaders head families, coach teams, run businesses and mentor others. These leaders must not only accomplish, they must communicate. By regularly giving speeches, gaining feedback, leading teams and guiding others to achieve their goals in a supportive atmosphere, leaders emerge from the Toastmasters program. Every Toastmasters journey begins with a single speech. During their journey, they learn to tell their stories. They listen and answer. They plan and lead. They give feedback—and accept it. Through our community of learners, they find their path to leadership.

https://www.toastmasters.org/

Warm Up...

Fundamentals of Public Speaking
http://www.presentationtrainers.com/Free-Stuff/Fundamentals-of-Public-Speaking.php