Friday, December 31, 2010

A New Year's Eve English Corner Plan

2010: A retrospective English Corner

How was 2010 for you?  Was it a good year or a bad year?  Why?
Was it a good year for China?  For Wuxi?
What will you never forget about 2010?  What would you like to forget about 2010?

Who was the person of  2010 in your life?  Did you lose any friends or relatives in the past year?

Finish this sentence:  In 2010, I ______________________  for the first time.
Or  2010 was the first year I ever___________________.
In 2010,______________________________.

Who was the most famous person in the news from 2010?
Who would be your man of the year?  Woman of the year?  Sportsman of the year?
In 2009, did you make resolutions for 2010?  What were they?  Did you follow through with your resolutions?   Did 2010 go as planned for you?
What was the most important or best date of 2010 for you? (e.g. Wedding, Births, 9/11 type event)

2010 Events Quiz
What famous golfer was disgraced when it was found out he was a playboy?
What American Political Party did well in 2010 elections?  
Which team won the World Cup?  Which team came in third place?
This team won the NBA championship?  Who did they beat in the finals?
This player made a lot of enemies of changing teams.  Who is he?
This island country was hit by a massive earthquake.
In January 2010, Apple unveiled this new gadget.
This car company had to recall calls for pedal trouble.
The Winter Olympics were held here.
What country's president was killed in a plane crash in Russia?
This Company has an oilwell explosion.
This man became PM of Great Britain.  (David Cameron)
This man is famous for wikileaks.
Miners were rescued in this country.


New's Year Countdown
Sing auld sang syne!

Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
and never brought to mind?
Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
and days of auld lang syne?
CHORUS: 
For auld lang syne, my dear, 
for auld lang syne, 
we'll take a cup of kindness yet, 
for auld lang syne.

Thursday, December 30, 2010

What are you looking forward to? A lesson plan.

This is a good conversation topic for a English conversation class or English Corner:


Explain what looking forward to means.  (It means we are anticipating some future occurrence or activity that will happen)  (Some students seem to mistaekn think it means hope.)

Ask short-term. 
What are you looking forward to this afternoon?
Do you look forward to English Corner?
What are you looking forward to this weekend.
What do you look forward to every day? (ask Monday, Tuesday,....)
Who do you look forward to seeing?
What do you look forward to you when you are tired?
What do you look forward to after a long day or a long trip away?
When do you look forward to going to work?
Where do you look forward to going on the weekend?

Long-term  What are you looking forward to:
Next Year?
Next season?
Talk about every month of the next year.

What are the Chinese looking forward to?
What do sports fans look forward to?
What do movie fans or music fans look forward to?
What about computer game fans?

What would be the opposite of looking forward to?  Dreading. Being afraid of.
What things do people dread?
What are you dreading about today, this week, this month?
Who do you dread to see?
What are you dreading about next year?
Do you put off the dreadful things that you must do?

How do we feel when the thing we look forward to is not good?   (Disappointed)
How do we feel when the thing we dread is not so bad?  (relieved. Pleasantly surprised.
Ask students for examples of times when they were disappointed and pleasantly surprised.

Optimists versus pessimists
Who looks forward?  Who looks at the ground?

Expectations:  Explain.  Then ask how high we should keep our expectations.

Monday, December 27, 2010

More China ESL Jeopardy Questions -- Beginner Level

Jeopardy Beginner Level

Numbers
100   This is the answer to what is two plus two.
200 This is how many hundreds are in a thousand.
300 This is what we can say instead of one over three.
400 This is the answer to what is fourteen plus fourteen.
500 In Chinese, you say this is one hundred ten thousands.
600 This is what we call a thousand millions.


Home
100 This is the room we sleep in.
200 This is where we cook food.
300 This machine keeps our food cold.
400 This will help us read in the night (lamp)
500 We put our clothes in these (drawers or chest of closet)
600 We use this to cover the windows (curtains or blinds)


Movies
100 This kind of movie is about love.
200 These kind of movies make us laugh.
300 This kind of movie scares us.
400 There is singing and dancing in these movies
500 These movies have cowboys
600 In this movie, a ship goes underwater.

Transport
100 This train goes underground.
200 This costs 10 rmb, at least, in Wuxi.
300 You would take this to go to Canada quickly.
400 This goes underwater.
500 This can carry many people
600 This is what you call the person who flies the plane.

More Numbers
100 an example of this is 28 below zero
200 one third or one over three is an example of this.
300 This what what we call a number out of 100.
400 we can say this or two times a week.
500 we can also say this is 25 percent.
600 This is what we call the numbers we see in the market.

Sunday, December 26, 2010

Discussion Questions about Boxing Day and Beautiful English Words.

My plan for my Boxing Day English Corner:

Warmup

Are you cold?
Were there Christmas Day sales?
Did you celebrate Christmas?
Do you like listening to Christmas Music being played in stores and restaurants?
20,000 rmb a night to stay in a Canadian Hospital.  My mother has to wait 12 to 18 months for a hip operation.


Do you know any of these words?

Becoming
Comely
Glamour
Gossamer
Leisure
Love
Opulent
Summery
Sumptuous
Umbrella

They come from a list of the 100 most ____?_____ words in English.

What do you think are the most beautiful words in English?  What are the ugliest?  What about Chinese?
Are beautiful words soft or hard sounding.

Boxing Day. (Day of Sales.  Such a day in China?)
The Day after feeling. (How do you feel the day after CNY?)
Hangover.  A headache from a previous day's activities.
What is like to go to work after a hard day's leisure.
Can you think of a time you wanted to end but didn't.
Play with the 100 beautiful word list.
What things are ephemeral?
Are you ever in a brooding mood?
What kind of elixir do you want to make?
Can you thinks of some examples of Onomatopoeia?
When do you feel woebegone?

Thursday, December 23, 2010

HyLite looking for an English Trainer: December 22, 2010.

If you interested, email me at akaulins@gmail.com. But you must have a bachelor's degree, a teaching certificate, and be from the Anglo-sphere.

ESL Discussion Questions about Santa Claus

What do you know about Santa Claus? Santa Claus, also known as Saint Nicholas, Father Christmas, Kris Kringle, or simply "Santa", is a legendary figure who, in many Western cultures, is said to bring gifts to the homes of the good children during the late evening and overnight hours of Christmas Eve, December 24.

Describe what he looks like? Santa Claus is generally depicted as a plump, jolly, white-bearded man wearing a red coat with white collar and cuffs, white-cuffed red trousers, and black leather belt and boots (images of him rarely have a beard with no moustache).

Is he a popular figure in China? Is there a Chinese equivalent to Santa Claus?

If you meet the real Santa Claus, what would you do?

Where does Santa Claus live? Who does he live with? Santa lives at the North Pole with his wife, magic elves, and flying reindeer? (Where did Santa Claus meet Mrs. Claus?)

Ladies. Would you marry Santa Claus? Why? Why not?

Where does Santa get his toys?

What does Santa make a list of? Which children are naughty or nice?

Would you rather work for Santa or a Chinese manufacturing company?

What does Santa Claus do on Christmas Night?

What would you say in an e-mail to Santa Claus?

How does Santa get into people’s homes?

Are there Mall or Department Store Santas in China?

Who does not like Santa Claus? Those who think it is a symbol of secularism and commercialization.

What would Chairman Mao think of Santa Claus? What about Hu Jiantao? Does Wen Jiabao try to be like Santa Claus?

Do you think Santa Claus can go to everyone’s house in the world? Does he sub-contract?

Where did the story of Santa Claus come from?

Death Matches:

Santa Claus versus Confucius
Who is currently more famous in China?
Who would win a match of mah jong?
Who would win a Chess match?
Who would win a wrestling match?

Santa Claus versus Obama
Who would you vote for?
Who would win a wrestling match?
Who would win a ping pong match?

Santa Claus versus Superman
Who would deliver Christmas Presents faster?
Who would win a game of Chess?
Whose record would sell more?

His elves versus the Chinese Football team. Who wins?


Santa Claus versus Ronald McDonald and Colonel Sanders (KFC)
Who is more famous in China?
Who would you vote for?
Who would win a boxing match?
Who would win a race?


Santa Claus versus Tony Schumacher
Who would go faster?

Santa Claus versus Michael Jordan and/or Yao Ming.
Who flies higher?
Who is more famous in China?


Wednesday, December 22, 2010

HyLite Language School in Wuxi, China looking for a full-time trainer.

If you are from the Anglo-sphere, have proven native English speaking abilities, have a bachelor's degree, and a English teaching certificate, you can email me at akaulins@gmail.com for more details about this exciting position.

Saturday, December 18, 2010

HyLite looking for an English Trainer: December 18, 2010.

If you are from the Anglosphere, have a bachelor's degree, have an English teaching certificate, and are interested in teaching in Wuxi, China please email me at akaulins@gmail.com.

Monday, December 13, 2010

ESL Discussion Questions about Boredom

Are you bored or boring? What is the difference between I am bored and I am boring?

What is the opposite of boring? Exciting, interesting?

What is the most boring thing you have to do in your life?

What bores you? Who bores you? When are you most bored? What is the most boring time of your week? Why?

What is the most boring job? What is the most exciting? Do you think astronauts have interesting lives?

How does boredom make you feel? What do you do if you are bored?

Is boredom necessary? Do we sometimes need boredom? Yes or no? Why?

Does doing boring things have a reward at the end?

Is boredom a failure of one’s imagination? Does being bored mean you have a weak mind?

What can you do if you are waiting to line to stop the boredom?

Who is more bored? People now, people before the Internet, people 200 years ago.

Do you think that now we have too many entertainment choices?

The most boring movie or t.v. Show you can remember?

Does the Internet ever bore you? Do computer games ever bore you?

Does everything eventually becoming boring?

Are you a boring person? To yourself or to others? Why? Who is the most boring famous person in the world.

You have no electricty and it is raining outside. What do you do to stop boredom?

Could you not have a computer for a month?

Jeopardy Questions to use in China

Jeopardy

answer in form of question
if your answer is wrong, you lose points.
in bonus round you can bet up to 2000 points
there is a secret triple score and a secret double score.

World War Two
100 This Country attacked Pearl Harbour.
200 He was the Prime Minister of the England.
300 He was the President of the United States
400 The first nuclear bomb was dropped on this city.
500 This place was attacked on December 7, 1941
600 This was the code-name for the attack of June 6, 1944 *double score*

Chinese Cities
100 This city is the capital of Jiangsu province
200 The Jin Mao Tower is in the city.
300 This city is the capital of Anhui province (Heifi)
400 This city was the capital of the Chinese Republic (Nanjing)
500 This city is the capital of Yunnan province. (Kunming)
600 This city is the capital of Sichuan province (Chengdu)

Computers
100 This is where we like to surf.
200 We use this instead of the post office.
300 These programs are bad for your compter.
400 This is what they call on-line diaries or journals.
500 This is the name of Window's lastest operating system
600 This is where you can see Andis's videos.


Famous Americans
100 She is the American Secretary of State
200 This basketball player finished his career with the Washington Wizards. He is considered one of the greatest players.
300 This man was a champion boxer and went to jail.
400 This man was governor of the State of Texas. His father was the president of the USA.
500 Barack and Michelle Obama lives in this house.
600 This man created an operating system for computers called DOS. *daily triple*

Body Parts
100 you can see with these.
200 You can stand on these.
300 you have ten of these
400 You can clap with these.
500 You have two of these (any proper answer is acceptable)
600 You can point with this.

Colours
100 Andis's eyes are this colour.
200 These are the colours of the Japanese Flag
300 (a student's) eyes are this colour.
400 These are the colours of the American Flag
500 Your wedding dress would be this colour in a western wedding
600 These are the colours of the German Flag

Continents

100 The USA is on this continent.
200 France is on this continent (Europe)
300 This is the biggest continent (Asia)
400 Russia is on these two continents (Asia and Europe)
500 Rawanda is on this continent
600 Columbia is on this continent (South America)

Numbers
100 A football game is about this long.
200 This is how many stars are on the chinese flag.
300 this is how many countries played in the world cup in World Cup.
400 Yao Ming wears this number for the Houston Rockets: 11 *double score*
500 This number is also a thousand thousand.
600 The American Flag has this many stars.

Movies
100 Tom Cruise goes to Shanghai in this movie.
200 This romance movie is also about a ship going under water.
300 This movie star is now governor of the American state of California.
400 Audrey Hepburn and Gregory Peck star in this movie. (*daily double*)
500 This recent popular movie was made by the creator of titanic
600 In this movie, a big monkey goes to New York.

The Olympics
100 This man won eight gold medals
200 This country won the Men's Basketball Silver medal
300 This man was injured disappointing all of China.
400 This is Liu Xiang's event
500 This man directed the Olympic Opening Ceremonies
600 The Beijing olympic stadium looks like this.









Current Events
100 America has stopped fighting a war in this country.
200 These countires will host the 2018 and 2022 World Cups
300 This man won the 2008 Presidential Election
400 This women is America’s secretary of state
500 This country will host the 2016 Olympics
600 This basketball player doesn’t play for Cleveland anymore.

Barack Obama
100 Obama won this famous award.
200 She is Barack’s wife
300 Obama was born on this famous American island
400 Obama entered politics in this city
500 This is Obama’s middle name.
600 Obama did this before he entered politics.

Animals
100 This animal is man's best friend.
200 A famous Mickey is this animal.
300 This animal is black and white and comes from sichuan province.
400 This animal is the king of the jungle.
500 This animal goes "quack, quack"!
600 This animal has a large "hump" on its back.

Football World Cup
100 This Country won the world cup in 2010.
200 This Country won the world cup in 2006.
300 This Country won the world cup in 1974
400 This country has lost three world cup finals in 74, 78, and recently
500 This player scored the “hand of god” goal against England in1982
600 This Country won the first World Cup held in 1930

Wuxi
100 This Wuxi Park is near #1 High School
200 The Big Buddha is here.
300 On Renmin Road, you can find this Computer Market.
400 This city is famous for Tea Pots
500 This city has a long bridge crossing the Yangtze River
600 This is the best English School in Wuxi.

Movies
100 In this movie, a ship sinks after hitting a big ice piece.
200 In these movies school children do magic and ride brooms
300 He was the star of Enter the Dragon
400 She was the star of Roman Holiday
500 Dorothy sings the Rainbow song in this movie
600 This movie says the world will end in two years (2012)



Canada
100 This man is famous in China for his English speaking abilities
200 This Canadian doctor was praised by Chairman Mao
300 This is the national sport of Canada
400 This is the biggest city in Canada
500 This famous singer sang the theme song for the movie Titanic
600 This city is the capital of Canada

Chinese Provinces
100 Wuxi is located in this Chinese province.
200 Kunming is in this province
300 This province is north of Yunnan (Sichuan)
400 The Capital of this proinve is Changchun (Jilin)
500 This province is close to Taiwan (Fujian)
600 These two provinces are on the Korean Border (Liaoning and Jilin)

Chinese Dynasties
100 This was the last Chinese Dynasty (Qing)
200 This Dynasty has such great poets as Li Bai and Tu Fu (Tang)
300 Cheng He was a great explorer of this dynasty (Ming)
400 The Eastern period of this dynasty is known in history by the name 'The Spring and Autumn Period.' (Zhou)
500 This dynasty is seen as the first to unite China proper (Qin)
600 This dynasty was founded by Ghengis Khan in 1271 (Yuan)

Famous Chinese
100 This man plays basketball for the Houston Rockets
200 This man was the first premier of the PRC (Zhou Enlai)
300 This man is known as the last emperor (Pu Yi)
400 This Pistol Shooter was the first person to win a olympic gold medal for China (Xu Haifeng)
500 This ping-pong player won the world men’s championship in 2003 and 2005 (Wang Liqin).
600 This famous actress, born in 1965, starred in Zhang Yimou’s The Story of Qiuju in 1992 (Gong LI)


Bonus Questions 500 points plus amount betted if correct.
This popular search engine has become a verb in the english language.
This is what we call people who love themselves too much.
a monkey has this but a man does not.


Discussion Questions about Villains

You can use these in an English Corner:



What is a villain?
Other words for villain? Bad Guy, Heavy, Black Hat. Chinese words for villain?
A female villain is sometimes called a villainess. Are there more villains or villainesses
Will everyone think a person is a villain?
Who do we agree are villains?
Who may we say are not villains?
Do you know any villains? Who are the villains in your life? Does anyone think you are a villain? Have you ever felt yourself to be a villain?
Can you tell me some famous villains from history or stories? movies. t.v.
Mad Scientist. Evil Genius.
Famous acts of villainy?
Are these famous Chinese villains?
Who do the Chinese think are villains?
Are there villains in school?
Who are some famous foreign villains?
What do villains do?
Robin Hood: steal from the rich, give to the poor. villain?
The WikiLeaks man? villain?
What is the opposite of a villain? A saint. A good guy.
How do villains dress? What color clothes do they wear?
What do the good guys wear?
What body movements do villains make?
How do villains smile?
How do villains laugh?
How do villains look?
Are villains more interesting than good guys? Do you have a favorite villain?
Are we fascinated with villains? why?
Who is your favorite good guy from films and t.v.?

Villian idioms
He is the villain of the piece.

Friday, March 19, 2010

March 19, 2010 Job Posting

Here is the ad posted in Dave's ESL Cafe:

English Trainers needed at HyLite School in Wuxi starting immediately, 8500 RMB / Month.

Required
*Native speakers from Australia, Britain, Canada, New Zealand and USA.
*Age: 25 – 60
*1-2 years experience.
*Bachelors degree or higher
*Teaching qualification(TESOL or TEFL).
*Sound understanding of SLA theory and modern language teaching methodology
*Excellent communication and organizational skills
*A high degree of professionalism
*A high degree of enthusiasm for quality education.

Benefits
*Two weeks paid vacation and national holidays.
* Monthly salary 7500RMB plus 1000RMB living allowance. For first year trainers, there is a 500RMB Holdback which is paid at the end of the contract. As well, the first month for a new trainer is probationary.
* Return airfare at the end of the contract.
* All Visa costs will be reimbursed with receipts, at the end of the contract. Residency permits and working permits will be arranged by the school.
*Airport pick up
* Accommodation provided in an excellent hotel while you are assisted in finding a suitable living location.


The job is 5 days per week comprising 25 fifty-five minute classes and 15 hours prep. time with optional overtime classes. The trainer has 2 consecutive days off each week. The teaching materials are all supplied to which trainers add their own ideas to enhance the learning experience of both students and themselves.

At Hylite, you will teach a wide variety of class sizes from 1 to 50. The majority of classes you teach will be private classes (max. 4) and salon classes (max 8). We are teaching more and more corporate classes so those teachers with business experience are especially needed. As well, you will have the opportunity to teach an occasional primary and middle school class.

HyLite School is located in downtown Wuxi close to McDonalds, KFC , Starbucks and major shopping areas. The school has modern classrooms, a library full of foreign books, a table-tennis table and a snack bar selling drinks and snacks.

The foreign trainers come from a variety of backgrounds and experiences, but they are qualified, experienced and dedicated to teaching. You will never feel like you are alone in a foreign country. Currently, we have trainers from Australia, Canada, Ireland and England. The Foreign Trainer department is managed by Westerners.
The students are motivated adults (the youngest students are 15) and they will surprise you with their tenacity and eagerness to learn. Trainers are also expected to join in the fun of such off-campus events like day trips to visit local sights Ma(Lake Taihu, The Ling Shan Bhudda-88 meters high!) and all kinds of parks and festivals that happen year round.

Most trainers now live less than a 5 minute walk from the school.

The city of Wuxi is s mall bustling city of 4.5 million people located in Jiangsu province about 70 minutes by train from Shanghai. There is excellent public transportation, the city is clean and on the whole it is a friendly and well-off community with many things to see and do. There are several large Western-owned super markets so if you like to cook you will find all the "home cookin" foodstuffs you need. There are Western restaurants and all kinds of different styles of Chinese restaurants such as Cantonese, Sechuan, Peking etc. A plate full of noodles with vegetables, very tasty, is about 7rmb.There are local Gyms to keep fit and other sports centers to play basketball, volleyball, table tennis and even a summer softball league.

We are looking for teachers who want to begin their ESL career as well as those who are enjoying the beginning of a 2nd career. Age isn't a factor, however, attitude certainly is. If you work and play well with others, enjoy the team approach to work, enjoy laughing and learning then this may be the place for you. We are a diverse group by age and nationality and welcome your interest in joining our school.

We hope to hear from you soon.

All applications should be submitted in MS Word, and the must contain COPIES OF:
1.a valid passport with photo
2.a TESOL, CELTA ETC. diploma
3.a minimum college diploma
4.a MAXIMUM 2 page resume
5.a letter of reference with e-mail contact
6.a phone number where you can be reached
Mail all applications to akaulins@gmail.com attention: Andis Kaulins