Season's Greetings from the Buckeye Country

International students from Turkey, China, Libya, Gabon, Taiwan, Brazil, South Korea and Saudi Arabia spend their first Christmas at ELS Language Centers, Columbus located on the campus of Ohio Dominican University.  (12/23/2010)

http://daniel-j-stone.blogspot.com (C) 2009-10

Ordering at Subway Checklist

Ordering at Subway Checklist
1. Size
6-inch
Footlong

2. Bread
Italian
white
wheat
honey oat
Hearty Italian
(sprinkled with cornmeal)
herbs and cheese

3. Sandwich
Meatball Marinara

Italian B.M.T®

Subway® Melt

Tuna

Cold Cut Combo

Spicy Italian

BLT

Roast Beef

The Big Philly Cheesesteak

Chicken & Bacon Ranch

The Feast

Turkey Breast

Turkey Breast & Black Forest Ham

Oven Roasted Chicken

Sweet Onion Chicken Teriyaki

Black Forest Ham

Subway® Club

Veggie Delite®

4. Toast
Yes
No


5. Cheese
Swiss
White American
Provolone
Pepper Jack
Cheddar

6. Vegetables
Lettuce
Tomato
Onion
Pickles
Olives
Banana Peppers


7. Condiments
Mayonnaise
Mustard
Oil
Vinegar
Salt
Pepper


8. Extras
Drink
Chips
Cookie
Soup


http://daniel-j-stone.blogspot.com (C) 2009-10

Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages: Teaching Methods

• The Language Experience Approach- students orally relate their personal experiences to the teacher; teacher transcribes these experiences complete with errors and then develops other reading and writing activities based on the transcription.

• Bottom-up Reading Strategies- the strategies that focus primarily on actual words in a text instead of general meanings. For example, analyzing relationships between words in a sentence and deciphering the meanings of individual words in a sentence.

• Suggestopedia- a relaxed approach to learning a foreign language where a student’s first language may be used freely during instruction. “Make sure the students feel comfortable and confident.”

• Community Language Learning- students work together to develop what aspect of a language they would like to learn. Teacher acts as a counselor and a paraphrase. Students act like a collaborator. A student’s first language may be used freely during instruction.

• The Writing Process- 1- Brainstorm, 2- First Draft, 3- Peer Review (feedback about changes), 4- Revise, 5- Proofread, 6- Submit final draft

• Correcting Speech Errors- for beginners, correct only those errors that interfere with communicating meaning

• Home Language Survey- a federal law that requires school administrators to determine if a language other than or in addition to English is spoken at student’s home.

• Identifying semantic and syntactic gaps- prior to the beginning of a unit discuss student’s prior experiences related to the topic. By doing this, the teacher can identify specific gaps in the student’s understanding and build-them into the development of a lesson.

http://daniel-j-stone.blogspot.com (C) 2009-10

You don't live in Cleveland, you live in Cincinati

Sam Wyche Sports World

Years ago, I bought my first pair of Air Jordans at a place now known as the Cherrydale area of Greenville called Sam Wyche Sports World. They were Tarheel Blue, the color of Jordan's college. Coach Wyche graduated from the university in my hometown, Furman where he played quarterback. He later went on to the NFL as a player then coach.

Today, he gave a speech at the local chamber office for free and I was extremely fortunate to attend. If there ever was a motivational speaker, he would be the one. Here is a bit that I was able to take down from his speech:

1- Why? Always know why you are doing something that way when the chips are down and everything is on the line you will know what to do without even thinking. The hesitation to think about it may be the difference in getting the desired results required.

2- Washington Redskin's coach George Allen's lesson on being persistant and focusing effort. Setting an objective and achieving it. For example, if a certain portion of a day is set aside for a certain task, then make sure that you are getting things done at the right time.

3- San Francisco 49ers's coach Bill Walsh's lesson on being decisive/specific. If somebody does a job well, you need to tell them what exactly they are doing so that they will continue to do it. He gave an example of how the great Joe Montana would inadvertly point the nose of the ball down instead of tipping it back before throwing the ball. A ball pointing down forces the thrower to make unecessary motions causing the ball to get knocked down or intercepted. Montana was known for his warm ups to always take his non-throwing hand and place it on the tip and tilt it back to remind himself to keep the ball in the right position.

4- Six candles away. It is important to finish everything. Follow thru till the end. Don't be the organization who looses out because they were six candles away from getting the job done.

5- Shell Oil- A person in uniform is an extention of the uniform that they are representing. Have energy, enthusiasm and passion in everything that you do. Too many people, like the man who pumped gas for Coach Brown of the Bengals the time when Wyche hitched a ride from training camp operate in a inferior fashion making their organization look bad.

6- Make the effort to win. (Vince L.)

7- Do more than just want to win. Be part of the reason to win.

8- Get into a routine. Be willing to be taken out of your comfort zone from time to time.

9- Never drop your guard-

Wyche coaches as speaker, Greenville News, Greater Greer Edition



http://daniel-j-stone.blogspot.com (C) 2009-10

The Writing Process

1. Prewriting: invention, research, note-taking and outlining.

2. Write first/rough draft.

3. Revise: (look at main points, thesis, support, paragraph order, structure).

These items may need to be moved, more information may need to be added or material may need to be deleted.

4. Edit: grammar and meaning are addressed.

5. Proofread: spelling and punctuation issues are addressed.

6. Publish final draft.
http://daniel-j-stone.blogspot.com/ (C) 2009-10

What is a Descriptive Essay?

Purdue OWL


The descriptive essay is a genre of essay that asks the student to describe an object, person, place, experience, emotion, situation, etc. This genre encourages the student’s ability to create a written account of a particular experience. What is more, this genre allows for a great deal of artistic freedom (the goal of which is to paint an image that is vivid and moving in the mind of the reader).

One might benefit from keeping in mind this simple maxim: If the reader is unable to clearly form an impression of the thing that you are describing, try, try again!

Here are some guidelines for writing a descriptive essay:

Take time to brainstorm

If your instructor asks you to describe your favorite food, make sure that you jot down some ideas before you begin describing it. For instance, if you choose pizza, you might start by writing down a few words: sauce, cheese, crust, pepperoni, sausage, spices, hot, melted, etc. Once you have written down some words, you can begin by compiling descriptive lists for each one.

Use clear and concise language.

This means that words are chosen carefully, particularly for their relevancy in relation to that which you are intending to describe.

Choose vivid language.

Why use ‘horse’ when you can choose ‘stallion’? Why not use ‘tempestuous’ instead of ‘violent’? Or why not ‘miserly’ in place of ‘cheap’? Such choices form a firmer image in the mind of the reader and often times offer nuanced meanings that serve better one’s purpose.

Use your senses!

Remember, if you are describing something, you need to be appealing to the senses of the reader. Explain how the thing smelled, felt, sounded, tasted, or looked. Embellish the moment with senses.

What were you thinking?!

If you can describe emotions or feelings related to your topic, you will connect with the reader on a deeper level. Many have felt crushing loss in their lives, or ecstatic joy, or mild complacency. Tap into this emotional reservoir in order to achieve your full descriptive potential.

Leave the reader with a clear impression.

One of your goals is to evoke a strong sense of familiarity and appreciation in the reader. If your reader can walk away from the essay craving the very pizza you just described, you are on your way to writing effective descriptive essays.

Be organized!

It is easy to fall into an incoherent rambling of emotions and senses when writing a descriptive essay. However, you must strive to present an organized and logical description if the reader is to come away from the essay with a cogent sense of what it is you are attempting to describe.

Writing Strategies

Skimming for the Main Ideas

Practice: Skimming for the Main Idea: 27-28

Main Idea by reading only the first and last paragraphs (intro and conclusion)

What are the topic sentences for the body paragraphs

Title

Bold words

Italic words

Capital words

http://daniel-j-stone.blogspot.com (C) 2009-10

Listening and Pronunciation: Word Stress & Vowel Length

English speakers store vocabulary items according to stress patterns. Learning a word must include learning its stress patterns. Speakers say a word in its correct stress pattern; the listener finds it easier to understand them even if each individual sound is not pronounced correctly. When a word is said with an incorrect stress pattern, the listener may spend time searching for the word in the wrong stress category. A stress pattern mistake causes a great deal of confusion.

Reasons for Word Stress Errors:

L1 transfer from learner’s first language. In English, stress can be on any syllable whereas in other languages it could be systematically either the first or last syllable for example.

1. Stress Rule for Two-Syllable Words- With the exception to verbs, two-syllable words are usually stressed on the first syllable.

2. Stress Rule for the “-ion” ending- the stressed syllable comes just before the “-ion” ending.

Example: prediction

3. Stress Rule for the “-ic” and “-ical” ending- the stressed syllable comes just before the “-ic” and “ical” ending.

Example: Atlantic

4. Stress Rule for Two Clear Vowels Together- When two vowels are next to each other in a word but in separate syllables, they are both clear. Usually, the second clear vowel has the stress, so it is longer. Example: Biology

5. Stress Rule for Two-Syllable Nouns and Verbs- When the word is a noun, its first syllable gets the stress. When the word is a verb, its second syllable gets the stress.

Noun: The politician when on record as a supporter for healthcare reform.

Verb: The politician recorded a commercial to support healthcare reform.

6. Stress Rule for two-word verbs- Two-word verbs are commonly stressed on the second syllable.

7. Stress Rule for compound nouns- English combines two nouns to make a new word. For example, the combination of “house” and “boat” to make “houseboat”. Compound nouns are produced as a single word with stress on the first part.

http://daniel-j-stone.blogspot.com/ (C) 2009-10