Teaching English in Wuxi, China

ESL Discussion Questions about Mobile Phones

2012-02-18T15:34:00.001+08:00

What brand name of mobile phone do you use?

What can you do with your Mobile phone?

What do you mostly do with your mobile phone?

What is your favourite mobile phone function? Do you have a phone with many functions or do you have a phone with basic functions?

What functions would you like your phone to have?

What are the new functions on you latest mobile phone? (touchscreen?)

What are some of the annoyances of your mobile phone?

What image do you use as your wallpaper?

What do you think mobile phones will be like in fifty years? Will computers/televisions/phones be all together in one device?

What is your ring tone?

Which do you prefer: the clamshell/flip phone or the candybar/block phone?

When did you get your first mobile phone?

Can you imagine a time when people didn't have mobile phones?

Ask the students if they ever experienced crank phone calls.

When in life should a person have his/her own mobile phone? (What age?)

Where do you put your mobile phone? Is your mobile phone always with you? Do you have your mobile beside you when you sleep?

Where do you shop for mobile phones?

Who did you make your first mobile phone call to?

Who do you always call with your mobile phone?

Do you answer your phone if you don't know who is calling?

Why are I-phones so popular? Do you have an I-phone? Do you want to buy an I-phone? Are other phones just as good?

Why do I see people on the street selling old mobile phones?

Do you go to use mobile phone shops?

How do you choose to buy a new mobile phone? Do you need it to look "cool"? Does it have to be a popular brand name?

How many mobile phones have you had in your life?

How long have you used your current mobile phone?

How long should you expect to use a mobile phone for?

Do you decorate your mobile phone? How do you decorate your mobile phone? Is a mobile phone a fashion accessory like a purse?

How do you customize your phone?

How do you feel if you don't have your mobile phone with you?

How have mobile phones changed our lives?

How long can you use your mobile phone between recharges?

Have you ever had your mobile phone stolen?

A Golden Age

2012-02-16T17:28:00.001+08:00

There is good eating to be had around my school. I'd say that when it comes to there being good eating around the school, that it is now a golden age.

Near the school, there is a good Japanese Restaurant, a good noodle and rice restaurant, an 85 bakery, McDonald's, KFC, Dico's Chicken, Buddy Chicken, and the Trattoria Ferarrara Italian Restaurant.

At the Italian Restaurant, I can get a drink, a small pizza and an order of fries for 14 rmb!!!

ESL Discussion Questions about the Moon

2012-02-16T09:39:00.001+08:00

The Moon

What is it?

What does it mean to moon someone?

Do you look at the moon? Did you ancestors look at the moon? Why? Why not?

Do you like to look at the moon? Have you looked at the moon through a telescope? What did you see?

What images come to mind when you think of the moon?

What do you know about the moon?

What significance does the moon have for people? For Chinese culture?

What would happen if the moon disappeared?

What are the phases of the moon?

What does the moon cause? What are some effects that of the moon that we can see?

Do people act crazily on the night of a full moon?

When did America go to the moon?

When will China go to the moon?

Where to live on the moon?

Where can you see the moon in your hometown?

Who has gone to the moon?

Who is on the moon now (according to legend)?

Why go to the moon?

Why haven't we been to the moon for forty years?

How to get to the moon? Would you like to go to the moon?

Do you think that humans will one day live on the moon?

An American politician talked of establishing a moon base? Was he crazy?

Did the Americans really go the moon?

Do you prefer the moon or the sun?

Are there many popular songs written about the moon?

Moon expressions and idioms

ask for the moon

once in a blue moon

promise someone the moon

many moons ago

to reach for the moon

Scenes from my life in China #5

2012-02-14T17:29:00.000+08:00

ESL Discussion Questions about Romance

2012-02-14T11:14:00.003+08:00

Romance

What?

What is romance? Is romance a feeling or an idea?

What does it mean to be romantic? What is romantic ? What things symbolize romance?

What does it mean to romanticize?

What are we doing when we are romantic?

What does Confucius say about romance? What about Chairman Mao?

What do women want from romance? Men?

What were the famous romances of history or legend or story?

When?

When during the week do you feel romantic? Best day of the week for romance?

Were you romantic today? Can we be romantic everyday?

When in our lives are we romantic?

Does the romance stop after marriage? Marriage without love means love with marriage?

When was the most romantic day of your life?

Is getting a wedding license romantic?

Where?

Where can we be romantic? Where do people go to be romantic?

Where are the romantic places in Wuxi, China, the World?

Where can we go to find romance?

Does romance come from the brain or the heart?

Who? Whose?

Who can we be romantic with? Can we be romantic about things, ideas or places?

Are you romantic? Why? Why not?

Is romance more for females than males?

Who takes the initiative in romance?

Why?

Why are we romantic? Are animals romantic? Is romance a recent idea? Were people wanting romance a thousand years ago?

How?

How to find romance?

How to find romance in our everyday lives?

What things do we do during romance? We flirt, sigh, coo, act coy, kiss, adore, worship, sing, recite lyrics,...

A good romance is _______________________.

ESL Discussion Questions about Memory

2012-02-14T11:14:00.001+08:00

What is memory?

What are memories?

What does it mean to remember?

What is the opposite of to remember?

What does it mean to memorize?

What does it mean to remind?

Do you have a good memory?

What would life be like if you had a perfect memory?

Are you good at remembering names?

Do you see people and recognize them but you can't place them?

Can you read a page once and remember everything?

Can you remember what you did last week? Last year at this date?

Are you always forgetful? Do you always forget things?

What do you do to remind yourself or to remember things?

Do you believe in suppressed memories? (Explain suppressed memories to the students.)

What are some dates that we need to remember?

What is something you always forget to do?

Do you sometimes put a thing down and then forget where you put it?

Does a memory come into your mind for no reason?

What is your first memory?

What is your best memory?

What is your worst memory?

What is your funniest memory?

What is your best memory of growing up?

What is your best memory from school?

What is a day you will always remember?

Finish this sentence: I will never forget the day that I heard the news of _______________________.

Idioms about memories:

Commit to memory.

If memory serves me correctly

In recent memory.

Jog someone's memory.

In memory of ___________.

Know something by memory.

Know something by heart.

Take a trip down memory lane.

Have a memory like an elephant.

Refresh your memory.

ESL Discussion Questions about Mathematics

2012-02-14T11:12:00.001+08:00

Mathematics

What is it?

Do you like it? Why? Why not?

Are numbers romantic? Are numbers magical?

Do you have a head for numbers?

How do you feel about Math?

Were you good at Math in school? Did you like your math teachers?

Do you have a math horror story?

If I gave you a math book, what would you do with it?

Finish this sentence: People who like math are __________________.

Is math something that only men can do? Are women good at math?

Do you use math everyday?

Are you superstitious about numbers?

What are your favourite and least-favourite numbers?

I want to be number ___________.

I want to wear number ____________.

My birthday is 12/24/64 12+24+64=100.

What do these numbers make you think of: 13,65,89,94,60,35,23,7,118,21400

Can you use an abacus?

Can you do calculations in your head?

Quantify your goals. e.g. I want to have ________ girlfriends.

Would you rather be a name or a number? Why?

Do these math problems orally: 3+3, 12-3, 8x3, 123+245, 50/2, 1/3 of 33, 3.2+1.1, 898x1, 9321+1

How many zeroes in a million.

Are there differences between Chinese Numbers and English Numbers?

Expressions

You do the Math.

Back to square one.

Divide it 50-50.

Do a number on someone.

Dressed to the nines.

I feel like a million dollars

One and all.

One and only.

One in a million

Your number is up.

Asides and Coincidences

2012-02-11T20:44:00.001+08:00

Funny thing. I recently finished reading Lord Acton'sLectures about the French Revolution in Epub format on my Ipod as well as finished listening to a five hour Hardcore History Podcast about the Fall of the Roman Republic. On Friday, the topics came up in class with my students.

A female student was reading a book about a family of executioners that lived in France from 1688 to 1847. I noticed the book and it got us to talking about the French Revolution.

Another student, this one male, told me his favourite movie was Cleopatra. This lead to us talking about Julius Caesar, Marc Anthony and Cleopatra. The student was keen to know about this stuff.

These little asides are what make teaching fun.

ESL Discussion Questions about Legs

2012-02-03T14:32:00.001+08:00

Legs

What are they? Why do we have them?

What can we do with our legs?

How many do you have? Do you wish you had more legs?

What are some parts of the leg? Feet, knees, thighs, calves, shin, hips, ankles, toes, heel.

Do you like your legs? How would you describe your legs?

Do you think you have good-looking legs?

She has shapely legs. What does this mean?

Who has better looking legs? Men or Women? Why?

Ladies! Do you want your husband to have nice looking legs? What do women want male legs to look like?

Guys! Do you want your wife to have nice looking legs? What do men want female legs to look like?

Who has the most beautiful legs?

Who has the most famous legs? Whose legs would be insured for lots of money?

In what occupations, are your legs important?

Finish this sentence: Good-looking legs are ________________.

What can we do to make our legs look better?

Should men shave their legs?

Do women's legs look better when they wear high heel shoes?

Do you cross your legs? Is it okay for men to cross their legs? Why do women cross their legs?

Have you ever hurt your legs? Have you broken your leg?

Do you get leg cramps? What do you do if you have leg cramps?

You must choose between having only legs or having only arms? Which would you choose? Why?

A famous song called "Legs" says the following: She has got legs. She knows how to use them. What do you think that means?

Idioms (What do you think they mean?)

He has a leg up on me. (advantage)

Break a leg! (good luck!)

The machine is on its last legs.

It is going to cost you an arm and a leg.

You are pulling my leg!

Shake a leg! (a command to move or move faster)

It is the first leg of our trip.

After we robbed the bank, we had to leg it.

He doesn't have a leg to stand on. (you have no case or no proof)

This idea has legs.

I need to get out of the car and stretch me legs.

The man walked away with his tail between his legs. (he was embarrassed or full of shame)

Nice Legs. Shame about her face.

He puts his pants on, one leg at a time. (Ask students if they put their legs on, one pant at a time)

Wuxi, China HyLite Language School Chinese New Year Commercial

2012-01-29T13:19:00.000+08:00

ESL Discussion Questions about Dragons

2012-01-19T11:59:00.002+08:00

What are Dragons? They are legendary creatures that breathe fire, look like lizards, have big teeth, guard castles against knights seeking to rescue damsels in distress.

Do dragons have wings? How many legs do dragons have?

Dragons represent __________? Primal forces of nature. Wisdom. The Chinese Emperor. China. Power. Majesty.

Is the dragon the symbol of China?

Can Dragons talk?

Are Dragons good or bad creatures?

Are Dragons good luck or bad luck?

Do you like Dragons?

Do you like Dragon imagery? Do you have Dragon images on your computer, your clothes, or on your things.

Dragons are __________________. What adjectives can we use to describe dragons?

Dragons can __________________. What can dragons do?

2012 is the year of the Dragon. Are there any dragons in the room? That is, is there anyone born in the year of the Dragon? What do Dragon people have to do in the year of the Dragon? What do Chinese people do in the year of the dragon? Will they buy lots of dragon images?

Is the Dragon the most popular of the twelve animal years? Why? Why not?

Why is the Dragon the only mythological creature of the 12 animals on the Chinese calendar?

Is the year of the Dragon a good year to have a baby or get married?

What are Chinese Dragons like? How many kinds of Chinese Dragons are there? Are they like western dragons? In Western stories, men often have to fight Dragons. Do men have to fight Chinese Dragons? How old is the idea of the Chinese Dragon?

Why do many buildings in Wuxi have dragons in front of them?

Why are Dragons such popular animals? Are Dragons cool?

Would Dragons make good Pets

ESL Discussion Questions about Junk Food

2012-01-18T12:20:00.001+08:00

What is Junk Food? What images come into your minds?

Tell me some kinds of Junk Food.

Did KFC bring Junk Food to China?

Was there Junk Food before KFC came to China?

Do you eat Junk Food? Why? Why not?

Do you have Junk Food in your house now? What do you have?

Do you like Junk Food? Why?

Are you addicted to Junk Food? What Junk Food are you addicted to?

What is the most delicious Junk Food?

What is the most worst-tasting (yucky) Junk Food? What Junk Food do you really hate?

How does eating Junk Food make your feel?

How do you feel after eating Junk Food?

Is Junk Food expensive?

Is Junk Food too easy to eat?

How often did you eat Junk Food? Did you eat Junk Food today? What did you eat?

Why is Junk Food bad for us?

Why do we eat Junk Food?

Do older Chinese eat Junk Food?

Do lots of Chinese eat Junk Food?

What kinds of Chinese Junk Food is there?

Do your parents eat Junk Food? Do your parents eat Junk Food?

Do bad parents let their children eat Junk Food?

What do you think of people who eat always eat Junk Food?

Is Heaven full of Junk Food?

Should there be a Junk Food tax?

Should Junk Food be banned?

Will there be more junk food in the future?

Ideas, Ideals, Idols: ESL Discussion Questions

2012-01-12T11:24:00.002+08:00

Ideas

What are they? Notions, Opinions, Thoughts, Views

Examples of ideas: You should treat others as you treat yourself. Let's go shopping. I think I will buy a car. I think he is a bad man.

What is a good idea you have had? What was the best idea you ever had?

Do you ever have bad ideas? What was the worst idea you have ever had?

What is the craziest idea you have had? What ideas did you have in your youth?

What is an idea you disagree with?

Tell me an idea that you got from a teacher or friend or parent.

Do you like to debate ideas?

What is an idea you have now?

Ideals

What are they? Dreams. What we would like. What we think is perfect. Examples: Everyone should be peaceful. Everyone should have a house. Everyone should love one another. There should be no war. The weather should always be nice. There should be no car accidents. I should live in a big house and have a handsome husband. I should never fight with my relatives.

What is an ideal you have?

Explain Idealism and Idealistic.

What is Idealism's opposite? Realism and being realistic. Is it realistic to think that we can never fight?

The young are idealistic, the old are realistic. Agree? Disagree?

Have you lost your idealism?

What would be your ideal day, ideal place, ideal job?

Is your life ideal now? What people do you think have ideal lives?

Do we live in an ideal world?

Idols

What are they? Things we worship and adore. Examples: Gods, famous people, images, money, ideas, symbols, sports teams.

Do you have any idols?

Why do people have idols?

Idolatry: the worship of ideals.

Do you have shrines in your home?

Is money an idol for many people?

Are pop stars, sports stars, sport teams, fashions the idols of many people today?

Who are the pop and sports idols in China today?

Guys and Gals at the 2012 HyLite Spring Festival Dinner

2012-01-10T21:59:00.002+08:00

ESL Discussion Questions about Honesty

2012-01-06T14:38:00.001+08:00

What is honesty?

Honesty is hard to find? Agree? Disagree?

Honesty is easy? Why? Why not?

Finish this sentence: Honesty is _________

Are you honest?

Are you always honest? Can you always be honest? Should you always be honest?

Are you honest with your family? Your boss? Yourself? The government?

Do you say things that are partially true? Why do we do that?

Do you say things that are true but you leave out some details?

We say a person is honest? What do we mean?

Are there people you know who are honest? What do they do?

Are there people you know who are dishonest? What do they do?

Honesty is the best policy. Agree? Disagree?

Do you want honesty from everyone else? Do You really?????

Can you stand honesty?

Do you appreciate honesty?

What would happen if everyone was completely 100 percent honest?

When we say we want honesty, we want __________ (the truth among other things.)

What is the opposite of honesty? Dishonesty, Lies, fiction.

How can you tell if someone is being honest or dishonest?

When (What situations?) are people dishonest? In what situations are people always honest?

Are you a good liar?

What occupations are honest? Which ones are dishonest?

Are hypocrites dishonest? (You will need to explain hypocrisy)

Who are more honest? Adults or children? Teachers or students? Fiction writers or history writers? Managers or workers? Police or Shopkeepers? Government workers or businessman?

Finish this sentence: Honestly, I __________________________________.

You can become successful by lying?

You can become successful by being honest?

Playing the lying game:

Students tell three things about themselves. One of them is not true. Students have to guess which statement in untrue.

The Eight Days of Spring Festival -- An English song about Chinese New Year

2012-01-06T12:05:00.001+08:00

Have to do a performance at your Spring Festival / Chinese New Year Dinner? You can't go wrong with this song.

On the first day of Spring Festival

my true love gave to me

Money in a red envelope!

On the second day of Spring Festival

my true love gave to me

Two bottles of Baijoe,

and money in a red envelope!

On the third day of Spring Festival

my true love gave to me,

Three cartons of cigarettes,

Two bottles of Baijoe,

and money in a red envelope!

On the fourth day of Spring Festival

my true love gave to me,

Four chicken's feet,

Three cartons of cigarettes,

Two bottles of Baijoe,

and money in a red envelope!

On the fifth day of Spring Festival

my true love gave to me,

Five sets of new clothes,

Four chicken's feet,

Three cartons of cigarettes,

Two bottles of Baijoe,

and money in a red envelope!

On the sixth day of Spring Festival

my true love gave to me,

Six sets of quilting,

Five sets of new clothes,

Four chicken's feet,

Three cartons of cigarettes,

Two bottles of Baijoe,

and money in a red envelope!

On the seventh day of Spring Festival

my true love gave to me,

Seven fireworks a-bursting,

Six sets of quilting,

Five sets of new clothes,

Four chicken's feet,

Three cartons of cigarettes,

Two bottles of Baijoe,

and money in a red envelope!

On the eighth day of Spring Festival

my true love gave to me,

Eight dragons dancing,

Seven fireworks a-bursting,

Six sets of quilting,

Five sets of new clothes,

Four chicken's feet,

Three cartons of cigarettes,

Two bottles of Baijoe,

and money in a red envelope!

ESL Discussion Questions about Happiness

2012-01-05T12:08:00.001+08:00

What is happiness?

Finish this sentence: Happiness is ___________.

Explain the words: happy, happily, happiness, happier, happiest.

Are you happy now?

Are you happy all the time? Why? Why not?

Finish this sentence: I am happy ____ percent of the time.

Is it possible to be happy all the time? Why not?

Is it good to be happy all the time?

Are there people who seem to be happy always?

Can you be happy on a rainy day?

Is it your goal to be happy?

Do you think that happiness is the goal of every person?

What things do you do happily?

Can people die happily?

Finish this sentence: Happily, I __________

Do you ever happily: Go to school? Go to work? Clean the house?

Finish this sentence: I am happiest when ________

At what age, are people the happiest?

What was the happiest time of your life?

What is the happiest time of: Your day? Your week? Your year?

What makes you happy?

What three things make you happy?

What is the secret to happiness? (Is gratitude the secret to happiness?)

Are rich people always happier than poor people?

Are you happier than your friends?

Finish this sentence: The happiest people ___________.

Do you share your happiness with others?

Do you think some people hate it when others are happy?

Can happiness be a weapon?

Is Wuxi a happy city?

Is China a happy country?

Sometimes you are so happy, you become giddy (you can't concentrate). Is this a good feeling?

Can we be happy for shameful reasons?

Scenes from my life in Wuxi, China #2

2012-01-04T22:44:00.000+08:00

Scenes from the life of an English Teacher who lives in Wuxi, China.

2011: Year in Review ESL Discussion Questions

2011-12-30T12:24:00.001+08:00

What does it mean to review? Re-again. View – look.

Was 2011 a good year for you? Why? Why not?

Was 2011 a good year for everyone you know?

Was 2011 a good year for Wuxi? For China? For the world?

What was your best moment of 2011?

What was your worst?

What was your biggest regret?

Did you lost somebody?

What was the funniest?

What did you learn in 2011?

What was the best movie you saw?

Did you travel anywhere?

Did you meet anyone interesting?

Did you start a new relationship?

What new things did you buy in 2011?

Was 2011 a year of big changes for you?

Was 2011 a milestone year for you?

What did you accomplish in 2011?

Are you richer now than when you were in January?

Who was the most interesting person of 2011?

Who were the 2011's bad guys?

What famous people had a good 2011?

What famous people had a bad 2011?

Did the American president have a good year?

What famous people left us?

What were the biggest news stories? Big sports stories? Local stories? Stories in your hometown? Celebrity stories?

What will be most remembered about 2011?

What was the biggest fad of 2011? What were the fashions like?

If you could change one thing about 2011, what would you change?

English Teacher dances at Wuxi China Christmas Party

2011-12-29T22:41:00.000+08:00

Words that begin with the letter "F"

2011-12-16T10:49:00.002+08:00

What is your favorite word that starts with “F”? (Free Food)

What are some of the most commonly used words in English starting with “F”? Below is the top 25 in order by use and then listed alphabetically.

1	for
2	from
3	first
4	find
5	form
6	follow
7	father
8	found
9	food
10	four
11	far
12	few
13	feet
14	friend
15	fish
16	face
17	feel
18	family
19	fire
20	farm
21	fast
22	five
23	fall
24	fine
25	fly

face

fall

family

far

farm

fast

father

feel

feet

few

find

fine

fire

first

fish

five

fly

food

for

form

found

four

friend

from

Divide the class into two or three teams and give points to each team that can guess a word.

Now ask them what their favorite word is?

Here is a list of discussion question topics starting with the letter “F”

Facebook
Fads & Trends
Faith & Faithlessness
Family
Family & Alternative Lifestyles
Famous People
Fashion
Favorites
Fears
Feelings
Films in Your own Language
Fire Safety
First Dates
Food & Eating

Free Time
Friends
Fruits
Future

Take a poll to see which topic the student would most like to discuss. Then have the students formulate questions about the topic.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) ESL Discussion Questions

2011-12-15T11:33:00.001+08:00

What does "frequently" mean?

What questions are frequently asked? (Tell the students to use the five W questions and how. Yes-No Questions. Have other students try to answer the questions.)

When you first meet a person?
When young men meet young women?
When you buy something? (e.g. Cars, televisions, computers, mobile phones, food)
To a teacher?
To a Language Teacher?
To a government official?
To a foreigner? (e.g. American, Japanese, German, Canadian)
To Chinese by foreigners?
When you have a visitor?
To a policeman?
To a computer technician?
To a financial expert?
To a child?
To a pet owner?
To a store clerk?
To a movie or pop star?
To a sports star?
To a scientist?
To a doctor?
To a Taxi driver?
To a bus driver?
To you?
To someone who just went to the cinema?
To parents (of twins and so on)?
To an ninety year old person?
To someone who just did a stupid thing?
To someone who just did something very clever?
To another person after you both saw a UFO?
To someone who is in the hospital?
To some who has just been in an accident?
To someone on a day with good or bad weather?
To someone who looks tired or sick?

At the end of the class:

What questions are you frequently asked?
Are there questions that you hate being asked?
Is there a question you would like to be asked?

Words that begin with “E”

2011-12-08T11:22:00.001+08:00

Have students brainstorm a list of words that begin with the letter "E"

Add these words to the mix if the students can think of many. Perhaps, match a word for every word suggested by the students

eye excellence elegant earnest each explode

earn easy extra eat eccentric echo

ecstasy edge educate entertain effective effort

ego eject elaborate elastic energy electric

elephant elevate elite embarrass empty enough

encourage end enemy energy engineer English

enjoy entire equal erase error escape

eternal evade even ever every evil

exact exam excite exist exit expert

explode

Once, you have a good list, play with the words.

Think of questions you can ask about the word.

Try using the five W question words and how.

What do the words mean?

Ask the students to try to make sentences or questions with the words.

Ask the students to think of famous people of places that begin with the letter "E."

ESL Discussion Questions about Trust

2011-11-12T11:24:00.001+08:00

What is trust?

Words made from trust: Trustworthy, Trusting

Who do you trust? Why? What do you trust?

Who don't you trust? Why? What don't you trust?

Can we trust anyone in this world?

What would happen if we couldn't trust anyone? What do we need to trust people?

Did you need trust to come to school?

How can we get your trust? How do we gain others' trust?

Is trust an easy thing to get?

Is the level of trust in Wuxi or China high or low?

When you have someone's trust, what will you do with them?

What occupations do you trust? What occupations don't you trust?

What kind of people don't you trust?

Do you trust your neighbors?

Do you trust foreigners?

Do you trust the opposite sex? Which sex is most trustworthy? Which age group is most trustworthy?

Who is the most trustworthy person you know?

What kind of people will we quickly trust?

Do you trust the police? Do you trust shop keepers? Do you trust your neighbors?

Do you trust young people?

What happens if you lose trust in a person?

What do you do if you feel your trust has been betrayed?

Can you tell if people are trustworthy by how their appearance or mannerisms? What physical action do untrustworthy people do?

When do you know you can trust a person?

What is the meaning of these expressions using "Trust":

You have broken a trust.
I will put my baby in your trust.
My trust in that person was misplaced.
I will take what you say on trust. (*What do you take on trust?*)
I trust him to finish the work on time.
I wouldn't trust him a inch (a millimeter).
Trust me!
I wouldn't trust him as far as I could him.
We will have a brain trust look into the matter.

ESL Discussion Questions about Rules

2011-11-11T10:39:00.001+08:00

What are rules?

Give some examples of rules.

Fill in the blank:

We _____________________ rules.

Why do we have rules?

What would happen if we didn't have rules?

Who makes rules? Who should make rules?

What do we call leaders rulers? Where are you the ruler?

Do bosses always to get make the rules?

Do you always follow rules exactly?

Do you cheat on a rule? Did you break a rule today?

Is there a rule you hate? What rule would you like to make?

Guys and Gals! What rules would you make for the opposite sex?

There is an object called a ruler. What do we use if for?

Does everyone in society follow the same rules?

What rules do you follow at work?

What rules do you have for your children?

What rules do students have to follow?

What rules do you have for yourself?

What rules do your parents make for you?

Can we have one set of rules for the whole world?

What is the number one rule of living?

Expressions using "rule". What do they mean?

Rules are made to be broken.

As a general rule, he can be found in the pub.

You are bending the rules.

I think we can rule out him as a possible friend.

The judge ruled against the man.

The Court ruled for the woman.

Qaddifi no longer rules the roost in Libya.

As a rule of thumb, I say use "in" if you sleep there, "at" if you visit there.

Would you prefer I rule with an iron fist or a velvet glove?

Chinese Halloween Pumpkins

2011-11-05T15:45:00.000+08:00

ESL Discussion Questions about Freaks

2011-11-04T10:51:00.001+08:00

Freaks

What are Freaks? What is a Freak?

1. A thing or occurrence that is markedly unusual or irregular: A freak of nature produced the midsummer snow. Have you seen any freaks of nature? Has the weather been freakish?

2. An abnormally formed organism, especially a person or animal regarded as a curiosity or monstrosity. We would think of dwarves, midgets, and two-headed people as freaks. Have you ever seen human freaks? Animal freaks? Do these freaks scare you? Do they interest you? Do you feel pity for them?

3. A sudden capricious turn of mind; a whim:"The freaks of the psyche can no more be explained than the Devil"

4. Slang:

a. A drug user or addict: a speed freak. Are there any drug freaks in Wuxi? Have you seen any?

b. An eccentric or nonconformist person, especially a member of a counterculture. Are there counterculture type people in Wuxi or China?

c. An enthusiast:rock music freaks. Is there anything you would be a freak for? e.g. Sprorts freak.

What does freak mean as an adjective?

Highly unusual or irregular:a freak accident; a freak storm. Any freak incidents in your memory?

What does freak mean as a verb?

1. To experience or cause to experience frightening hallucinations or feelings of paranoia, especially as a result of taking a drug. Often used with out. Does alcohol make you freak out?

2. To behave or cause to behave irrationally and uncontrollably. Often used with out. Mice cause women to freak out. What can cause you to freak out?

3. To become or cause to become greatly excited or upset. Often used with out. The long wait caused me to freak out. The customer freaked out on the service people. Have you freaked out? Have you seen others freak out?

Are you a freak? Do you know any freaks? Tell me about them? Have you seen any freaks? Have you ever seen a circus freak show?

Finish this sentence: Freaks are_______________________.

How would you feel if you were a freak?

What would you do if your child was a freak?

Are all people freaks in their own way? Was Steve Jobs a freak? Adolf Hitler? Osama Bin Laden?

Do you like stories full of freaks?

These times have more freaks or less?

Are there more freaks in the city or the countryside?

What do the following sentences using freak mean?

The boy staring at me freaked me out.

Don't freak out when I tell you the bad news.

I am freaked out after seeing a tiger in my apartment.

HyLite Halloween Party 2011

2011-10-30T12:07:00.002+08:00

HyLite Halloween Party 2011

2011-10-30T12:03:00.003+08:00

ESL Discussion Questions about Death

2011-10-22T09:40:00.001+08:00

Death

What is it?

Whose death has affected you the most?

Have you ever been to a funeral?

Have you seen a person alive one day, only to hear that he died soon after?

Is there an honorable way to die?

What is a dishonorable way to die?

Are you afraid to die?

How do you want to die?

The most famous death in history?

What happens when we die? Is there anything for us after death?

We must live like we are about to die?

Idioms and expressions about death:

I had a brush with death

matter of life and death

sick to death

at death's door

frighten to death

nothing is certain by death and taxes

the kiss of death

will be the death of me

ESL Discussion Questions about Beginnings

2011-10-21T09:48:00.001+08:00

Beginnings

What does it mean to begin?

What is the opposite of begin?

What have you begun lately?

Did you begin anything today?

Are there things you want to begin, but never do?

What do you want to begin?

Is every day a new beginning?

What is more satisfying? A good beginning or a good ending?

Is a perfect beginning a good thing?

Is there something you wish you could begin again?

Is it easy to overcome a bad beginning?

What is a good way to begin a story or a movie?

What is the best way to begin a class?

What is the best way to begin the day?

What is the worst way to begin the day?

What is the best way to begin a meal?

What is the best way to begin a game?

Are you always beginning but never finishing things?

What have you finished recently?

Expressions

To begin on the wrong foot.

Begin to see the light.

Charity begins at home.

Life begins at forty.

Jumping Off Point.

He is a good beginner, but a bad finisher.

He who would climb the ladder must begin at the bottom.

To begin with, I have no money.

100 most used English Nouns

2011-10-20T12:05:00.001+08:00

Actually, it is 99.

Area
authority
body
book
business
car
case
centre
change
child
city
community
company
council
country
court
day
development
door
effect
end
eye
face
fact
family
figure
form
friend
government
group
hand
head
home
hour
house
idea
information
interest
job
law
level
life
line
man
market
member
million
minister
money
month
mother
mister
name
need
night
number
office
other
part
party
people
percent
period
person
place
point
police
policy
power
problem
question
rate
reason
report
result
right
road
room
school
service
side
society
state
study
system
term
thing
time
use
view
war
water
way
week
woman
word
work
world
year

The top ten nouns are:

time
person
year
way
day
thing
man
world
life
hand

Top 100 English Verbs

2011-10-20T12:04:00.001+08:00

accept
allow
am
are
ask
be
begin
believe
borrow
break
bring
buy
can
cancel
change
clean
close
comb
complain
cough
count
cut
dance
do
draw
drink
drive
eat
explain
fall
fill
find
finish
fit
fix
fly
forget
give
go
has
have
hear
hurt
is
know
learn
leave
listen
live
look
lose
make
need
open
organise
pay
play
put
rain
read
reply
run
say
see
sell
send
shut
sign
sing
sit
sleep
smoke
speak
spell
spend
stand
start
study
succeed
swim
take
talk
teach
tell
think
translate
travel
try
turn off
turn on
type
understand
use
wait
wake up
want
watch
work
worry
write

ESL Discussion Questions: The World in 2050

2011-10-14T15:59:00.001+08:00

The world in 2050

Are you interested in the future?

What do you think the world would be like in 2050?

How will we watch television or movies?

How will we travel? Will everyone have his own plane?

Will we still be using oil and petrol and coal for energy?

What kind of clothes will we wear?

How many hours will we work in a day?

Will Robots do our work?

Will there still be books and newspapers?

Who will be the most powerful country in the world?

How long will we expect to live?

How far will we have traveled in space?

How many people will live in the world?

Will people be religious?

What will 2050 people think of 2011 people?

Will 2050 be a dark age or a golden age?

Will you be alive in 2050?

What will your children be doing in 2050?

What will Wuxi be like in 2050?

Will man live on the Moon? Will man have traveled to Mars?

Will China have won a World Cup by 2050?

What predictions do you think you can make for 2050?

Do you think things will always get better? That is, do you believe in progress?

Do you think things will get worse?

Will people be happier in 2050? less happy? The same?

Will people be richer? More free?

ESL Discussion Questions about Weapons

2011-10-14T10:37:00.001+08:00

Weapons

What are they?

Noun

any instrument or device for use in attack or defense in combat, fighting, or war as a sword, rifle, or cannon.
Anything used against an opponent, adversary or victim: the deadly weapon of satire
Zoology. Any part of organ serving for attack or defense as claws, horns, teeth, or stings.

Do you have any weapons? Why? Why not?

Explain: Are you armed?

Do you think weapons are interesting?

Can anything be a weapon? Can words be a weapon? Can looks be a weapon?

Elicit examples of weapons from the students. Ask the students if they have had any experiences with these weapons.

Are there a lot of weapons in China?

Do you have the right to carry a weapon?

Is it a good idea to stop people from having guns?

Is you body a weapon? Are parts of your body weapons?

What was the earliest weapon?

If everyone has a weapon, we are more polite to each other. Agree? Disagree? Why?

Guns don't kill people. People kill people? Agree? Disagree? Why?

Ideas are mightier than guns. Agree? Disagree?

What is the most dangerous weapon in the world?

Have you ever used a weapon?

Have you ever fired a gun? What was it like?

Have you ever hit anyone with a weapon? When? Why? Who? How?

Is it okay for children to play with toy weapons? Why? Why not?

Are there times when you should carry a weapon?

Can words be weapons?

Do you think that one day, there will be no weapons in the world?

Weapon Expressions

Under the gun

beat the gun

going great guns

jump the gun

pull a gun (on someone)

stick to one's gun

a smoking gun

son of a gun

hold a gun to someone's head

with guns blazing

He is armed to the teeth

small arms fire

ESL Discussion Questions about Admiration

2011-10-13T11:18:00.001+08:00

Admiration

Use the words admire, admiration, admiringly, and to admire in sentences.

Is admiration love?

Is admiration respect?

Is admiration envy?

Is admiration only love? Is admiration only respect?

Can you admire a person and not love them?

Can you admire and envy a person? Can you admire a person and by jealous?

Can you admire bad people?

Can we admire all successful people? Are some successful people scoundrels?

Can you admire an ability someone has?

Can you admire a quality a person has?

If you admire a girl's beauty does that mean you want to have a
romance with them?

Can a married man admire the beauty of a woman who is not his wife?

Can a married woman admire the handsomeness of a man who is not her husband?

What things do you think we can admire people for?

Can you admire your children?

Who do you admire in your life?

Who is a famous person you admire?

If we don't admire people, we __________ them. (*despise, pity, feel
contempt for*)

Are there people you don't admire why?

Discussion questions about heroes

2011-10-08T13:40:00.001+08:00

What are they? Who are they?

What do heroes do?

Can anyone be a hero? Do you have to go to school or train to be a hero?

Who is your hero? Why?

Are heroes extraordinary or ordinary?

Do heroes do spectacular things or mundane things?

Can common people be heroes?

Can these people be heroes: teachers, bankers, businessman, farmers?

What occupations do we commonly think of as being heroic?

Do you think that we make heroes of the wrong people?

Who are your movie heroes?

Do you have a favorite super-hero?

Who are some famous Chinese heroes? Why are they thought of heroes?

Who are some famous heroes of the world?

Is one man's or country's hero the villain of another man or country? Can you think of some examples of these kind of people?

Are these people heroes: George Bush, Barack Obama, David Beckham, Jay Chou, Lady Gaga, Mother Teresa, Bin Laden, Saddam Hussein, Napoleon, Bruce Lee.

Do you want to be a hero? Why? Why not?

How can a person become a hero?

To whom are you a hero? Why?

ESL Discussion Question about Gifts

2011-10-07T12:03:00.001+08:00

Gifts

What are they?

What other names do we have for them?

What was the best gift you ever received?

What do you wish you were given as a gift?

Is it better to give gifts or receive them?

What is the best gift you ever gave to someone?

Have you ever received gifts you didn't like?

What was the worst gift you ever received?

What do you do when you received an inappropriate gift? Can you get angry at the gift-giver?

Is it okay to pass on your gift to someone else?

Is giving gifts an easy thing to do? How can we go wrong when we give gifts?

Is gift-giving an art or science?

Do you sometimes wish people didn't give you gifts?

Can gifts be traps? That is, can gifts put you in a situation where you are obliged to do something?

In what situations do we give gifts?

At what times of the year do we give gifts?

When do you like to give gifts?

Do the Chinese love to give gifts?

What gifts would you like to get from a foreigner?

Is bribery a form of gift-giving?

Have you ever received a gift from an anonymous person? Have you ever given a gift anonymously? Why give anonymous gifts?

Do you like to surprise people with gifts?

Have you ever given a gift to a stranger?

Santa Claus is a famous gift-giver in the West? Are there famous or legendary Chinese gift-givers?

What gifts are given to: teachers, beautiful woman, old people, mothers, fathers, children, graduates, newly-weds, new parents, and foreigners?

Video or photos? English Corner Question

2011-09-29T16:13:00.000+08:00

Wuxi Andis does another commercial for his school: 东来西往加拿大篇2

2011-09-26T11:24:00.000+08:00

Photos of some HyLite students

2011-09-19T10:32:00.001+08:00

A HyLite Commercial

2011-09-12T11:52:00.000+08:00

9/11 ESL Discussion Questions

2011-09-10T10:28:00.002+08:00

Do you remember where you were when you first heard the news about the September 11, 2011 attacks?

What happened that day? How many planes were hijacked? How were the planes hijacked? What was done with the hijacked planes? What happened to each hijacked plane?

What image will you never forget about the attacks?

Why were the planes hijacked? What were the motives of the hijackers? Who was ultimately responsible? How did the hijackers get into America? What were the hijackers doing in America before the attacks happened?

Did America deserve to be attacked in this manner? Is America a good country or a bad country? Why?

Is America good for the world? Why? Why not?

Do most people love, like, or hate America? Why is this?

What did America do in response to the attacks? Was America right to respond to the attacks?

Was 9/11 caused by religion?

Were the 9/11 attackers brave or courageous?

How has the world changed since the 9/11 attacks?

Did the terrorists win?

Has 9/11 affected China in any way?

Will air travel ever be convenient again?

Will terrorism ever be stopped?

Press Conference SPC

2011-09-08T14:54:00.001+08:00

Press Conference SPC

In this English Corner, individual students, pretending to be a celebrity or a news maker, will field questions from the class in the manner of a press conference.

First explain the concept of a press conference to the students.

Pick "volunteers" to field questions from the class for the following situations where they are a news maker or a celebrity:

1. Bruce Lee is going to make a new movie.

2. President Obama.

3. Jackie Chen.

4. A farmer who claims he was abducted by a Flying Saucer.

5. Michael Jackson

6. Yao Ming

7. JK Rowling

8. God

9. Liu Xiang

10. The Head Coach of the Chinese Football Team

11. Tiger Woods

12. Steve Jobs and Bill Gates.

13. Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper

14. Da Shan

15. A cowboy.

16. A taxi driver.

17. Warren Buffet, billionaire.

18. A panda

19. Lake Taihu

20. Ronald McDonald the Clown.

On the road to Siempelkamp: The Wuxi China New District

2011-09-08T13:37:00.000+08:00

On the road to Siempelkamp: Wuxi, China Freeway

2011-09-08T13:36:00.000+08:00

English Names the students have given themselves: August 2011

2011-08-26T12:09:00.001+08:00

Amelia

Alien

Android

April

Arrow

Aurora

Axel

Blue (*A sad girl was Blue.*)

Bonnie

Caesar

Celeste

Cheney

Chirly

Coral

Crystal

Dancey

Gosick (* The student, if I recall correctly, told me that Gosick was a cartoon character*)

Gundam

Gustav

Jade

Journey

July (*We could have had a class with April, May, June, and July.*)

June

Killer (*Killer was a girl.*)

King

Kitty (*Hello Kitty! I say, and I get a laugh from the students.*)

Levine (*She preferred the pronunciation "Leaven"; not "le vin"*)

Lion

Loner (*How did you get such a name? I asked. The student misunderstood and said he had lots of friends.*)

Luffy

Lydia (*I ask her if she has heard of Lydia the tatooed lady.*)

Maple

McGread

Nena

Rock

Rocky (*He told me he had never heard of Bullwinkle. However, he had heard of Sylvester Stallone.*)

Sand (*It's the Sandman!*)

Spinach

Stark

Steel

Stella (*Hadn't heard of a Streecar Named Desire.*)

Stone

Vanilla

Visa (*Do you have a friend named Mastercard? I asked.*)

Wade

YiLine

Yoh

Zoe

Zorro (*The student asked if Zorro was a cowboy. Not exactly I said.*)

ESL Discussion Questions: Traffic accidents

2011-08-20T11:13:00.001+08:00

Are they are a problem in Wuxi, China?

Are there too many traffic accidents?

Do you watch traffic accident videos? Do they fascinate you? What is the most interesting one you have seen?

What is the worst traffic accident you have heard of?

What is the most recent traffic accident you have heard of?

Did you pass the scene of a traffic accident recently? What did you see?

Have you seen a traffic accident?

Have you seen near traffic accidents? Close calls?

Have you ever gotten angry at someone who almost hit you?

Have you been in a traffic accident?

Have your friends or family been in a traffic accident?

What are the causes of traffic accidents? Do people need to educated?

Do you think some drivers in Wuxi are foolish?

What can be done to prevent traffic accidents?

Is drunk driving a problem in Wuxi?

Are some Wuxi drivers selfish and inconsiderate?

Do some Wuxi drivers have bad eye sight?

Where are the most dangerous places to drive in Wuxi?

Do you worry about being in a traffic accident?

Who always loses in a traffic accident? Who wins? (e.g. truck versus bicycle)

How are traffic accidents resolved? Who has to pay for the accident?

If you are hit from behind, who is responsible?

If a car hits a pedestrian who ignores the traffic signal? Who pays?

Expressions

He is an accident waiting to happen.

Our son was an accident.

It was an happy accident that we met.

Has Living in Wuxi Changed Me? An Investigation.

2011-08-13T12:25:00.001+08:00

(*I had planned to submit this article to a local Expat magazine that is now defunct. So with no place to take to it, I will publish it here.*)

Circumstance governs destiny.

Cause and effect are an infinite cycle.

Zhang Jiuling, Tang Dynast Poet

Does Living in Wuxi change an Expat in ways that say living in Shanghai, Shanxi, or Shaanxi wouldn't? Writing in a Wuxi Expat blog, I would like to think so. And I have lived in Wuxi for seven years so I think I am entitled to have a say of sorts, though I fully acknowledge that I haven't spent all that much time in Shanghai, Shanxi, or Shaanxi to know what those places can do to an Expat. Still, six years in a place and it will grow on you; and you even start to think to you have a feel for its people and have become like them in some way. But then again, six years being a long time in a person's life, it is natural that one does change and one has the hope or presumption that one has picked up some wisdom in that stretch of time. And when one does contemplate life's changes and tries to ascertain where and how the changes came about, one has to separate the changes that can be attributed to time and the changes that can be attributed to the place or circumstances one is in (as well as to one's own personal idiosyncrasies). Also, once one has identified the changes that can be attributable to a place, one must separate them into physical and metaphysical changes.

So, this essay will be a search for changes, that can occur to a person, brought about by unique Wuxi factors. Unfortunately or fortunately, depending on how you look at it, the only test-animal this essay's author can use is this essay's author — I have managed to successfully (or unsuccessfully) separate myself from other Wuxi Expats so I can say that I haven't been" tainted" by their changes and mindsets, and I don't have time to do surveys which seem so unpoetic anyway... I will try to list as all the possible sources of change and my personal changes that can be attributed to the time during which I have been in Wuxi. While doing so, I will then determine if these changes could only have occurred in Wuxi. However, Wuxi is a small city in a Chinese sea of humanity, however, so try as I might it will be hard to separate Wuxi-only effects from the more massive Chinese effects.

Immediate Changes on arriving in Wuxi

Did my first few days in Wuxi culture-shock me hard like a sucker punch from an irate co-worker? I would have to say it didn't. I lived in British Columbia (or British California as one witty Canadian has referred to it) after living in Manitoba which was the equivalent of moving from North Dakota to Seattle, or Siberia to Paris. But that is not to say that I was a jaded mover, a gypsy , or an anthropologist, if you will, before I got here.

The first thing that struck me as a Canadian coming to Wuxi in 2004 was the sheer numbers of people it had. Never ending crowds of people, even in the boonies. The masses of people immediately changed my concept of space. Go within ten feet of a Canadian and he will look at you sternly. In Wuxi, I had to learn to not be offended by close proximity. However, this concept of space is something I could have picked up anywhere in China — not just Wuxi. Wuxi, I later learned, was not considered to be all big or crowded by the locals but instead it was quiet and sedate

Another thing that moving to Wuxi immediately showed me was that people were capable of anything - things I couldn't have imagined became possible in Wuxi. My perception of the strangeness of people moved up a level. For instance, I never thought I would see motorcycles and pedestrians and cyclists blatantly ignore traffic rules as they do here. There is a sort of pragmatism in their attitude to traffic rules that I find admirable and repellant at the same time; and of course following the maxim about being in Rome, I have adopted their habits — even the ones I thought repellent, when it suited me. Whether this has expanded my worldview or outlook is something I wonder about. People, everywhere, cheat and ignore rules when possible.. Everywhere in the world people are trying to put food on the table and get ahead.

I also quickly discovered that it may well be me that is strange and comes from a strange place. My first day in Wuxi, I was taken to Nanchang Market, and I thought I was being stared at hard. I now wonder why is it, for instance, that we don't cook lettuce in hot water, and why it is that I was so preoccupied with sex.

I remember that I was quickly able to establish that you can't escape oneself, as Chesterton said in an essay in which he said it was more of a journey to talk to your neighbor than it was to go to the other side of the world. Traveling to find oneself is the stupidest cliché ever invented. Truth is, one is trying to find a new self or escape from one's weaknesses which is impossible. I have seen that however my relations were in Canada, they haven't changed one iota here in Wuxi. People have their faults and there isn't a higher grade of person to be found here. I have the same faults that have made or broken relationships whether they be in Wuxi or Canada. Although in Wuxi, I was quickly made to hear of them from many a plain-speaking Brit, Aussie, or American — Wuxi did make me temporarily more out-going. Conversely, I meet many a person, whether Chinese or Expatriate, with a fault so glaringly obvious as to make one shake one's head.

So, moving to Wuxi has paralleled the other moves I have made in my life. I have always thought of my move to Wuxi as just another move in my life so similar to the many moves I made from the frozen plains of Central Canada to the Mountains and Forests of British Columbia. The effects of all these moves on me being subject to the laws of diminishing returns, I will have to say that Wuxi had no immediate change on me. I was just another boring fellow who had come to British Columbia to China.

Radical Changes brought about by marriage

But over the six years I have been in Wuxi, the changes in my life have been radical. When I first came to Wuxi, I was single and could have competed with Dick Clark for the title of World's oldest teenager. I came to Wuxi to change my career, to have worldly experiences, to be able to say I had been somewhere, and because Chinese women were beautiful. I fashioned myself a well-read person, erudite, and all-around wonderful and of the conservative persuasion.

Now, I am married, turned middle-aged, and I have a child. Anyone, even those who are just a little serious about marriage and parenthood, cannot helped but be changed by the experience. Certainly, my Jiangsu wife has me disbelieving all I had previously thought of myself.

But marriage and wives have always changed men everywhere. What I have noticed is an entirely modernist attitude to marriage among the many Expats who come here. Shacking up is a good way to test ride potential wives, I have heard many a foreigner say. Wuxi people don't take this attitude as far as I can determine. As soon as I meet, my wife, I was married. I assume Chinese women are like this all over China. Chalk up a change to China, but not necessarily Wuxi.

Wuxi changes a bachelor?

I believe the changes brought on by marriage are so radical that they can drown out any other possible changes, making it hard to find changes that can be attributed to other factors, like being in Wuxi. As soon as I got married, I could say that I almost ceased to be a conventional Wuxi Expat -- I became a conventional husband trying to keep his wife and child happy — a universal circumstance for a man to find himself in, even if he is from the jaded secular West.

So, I will have to study my bachelor days recollections very closely, since the Canada Andis and the Wuxi Bachelor Andis are the same except for changes brought about by time and living in Wuxi. In my Wuxi Expat bachelor days, I did meet a lot of strange people , seemingly thrown out of the asylums in their countries and offered as sacrifices to the Chinese Dragon. But having lived in British Columbia, Canada, I had seen enough odd types already and seeing the international differences was not something I couldn't have extrapolated from having lived in other parts of Canada beforehand.

Still, Wuxi can get to an expatriate bachelor's head. Many bachelors acquire a status with women that could never have achieved in their home country. But exoticedness can work on women all over the world, I have learned. Oswald, the waif who shot JFK, had to go to Russia to find a wife.

Changes brought about by other Wuxi Expats

I can't plead complete exile from the rest of Wuxi Expatdom. Try as I might, I haven't not meet other Expats.

I have meet Canadians, Americans, Brazilians, Germans, Ontarians, Brits, French, Australians, Danes, Italians, Japanese, Koreans, and Kiwis in Wuxi. I can't say that any of these people did anything to change my worldview that those who I did meet in Universities or Hostels in Canada have They have maybe changed my view of myself. As I mentioned previously, I have been made aware of my shortcomings from the more frank of the expatriates I have meet. And seeing their shortcomings, I realize how the status one can get here is nothing, nothing at all.

In fact, isolating other Expats from my search for Wuxi uniqueness is a must. I really have to think of the Wuxi people I have met.

Not being the only Expat to have live in Wuxi for six years, I will have to say that Wuxi Expats have changed me but then so have the fly-by-nighters that it has been my misfortune to meet.

Changes brought about by Wuxiren?

Plenty of Wuxiren I have meet in my time in Wuxi. What can I say about them? They can be kind to the point of embarrassing me. Frequently, they yield their seats to me on the bus — that is older Wuxiren. One time, a Wuxi policeman shook my hand after I was pulled over for a traffic violation — showing to me that situations don't have to have a gravity to them unless we want them to. Again, I have been told that this is not unique to Wuxi.

The more time one spends in Wuxi, the more one should expect take on Wuxiren habits.

However, I don't add "a's" or "ehs" to everything I say more than I have already done. Though I have been told that I have become louder in the years — I don't know if this can be attributed to getting old or hanging out near Wuxi Ren.

I have been told that Wuxiren's matter of speaking is such that people speaking Suzhou dialect, sound like lyric poets when cursing compared to Wuxiren muttering sweet-nothings in their lover's ears. Six years of Wuxi can give one a tolerance for squawking.

Wuxiren are also generally richer than the average Chinese person. The economic development one has seen in Wuxi does make one more optimistic about the World economy than if one lived in Jiangxi province.

The economic development has also attracted Chinese from other parts of China to Wuxi. Having frequent contact with them, my pure Wuxiren experience is diluted. So try as I might, the Chinese have changed me more than say Wuxiren.

Wuxi makes one provincial?

Shanghai and Beijing are most certainly world-class cities. Suzhou, says every Expat, is a great city too. And so Wuxi seems to pale in comparison. But is this a fair assessment? I would think not. Six years has made me older and wiser and I can't help but look at the snatches of what as I see as being the current culture, and be amused. Lady Gaga!?! Come on! If anything, one can say Wuxi shelters one from the current idiocies (fashions).

If there is one thing, I have become a snob about, it is the fact that I have lived in Wuxi.

Changes in Personal Habits

I take two showers a day instead of one. I take a shower in the evening because my wife insists, and I take a morning shower because I insist. Other than that, I don't spit, roll my my trousers or shirts in hot weather, squat, or make noises when I chew. I do sometime urinate in public — damn lack of public urinals.

Part of these changes can be attributed to Wuxi's climate which features, to me anyway, a very humid Summer.

Changes brought about by Wuxi Women?

The difference between Wuxi men and Wuxi women is like night and day. Wuxi women are full of spunk, common sense, and femininity. They have a left a strong impression on me. The men, on the other hand, are nice guys, as long as they aren't driving or boarding a bus at the same time you do

Married to a Wuxi girl, I will admit that I am prejudiced somewhat when I tell you I think Wuxi women are great. But then I had to marry one, I decided, when I first saw them. If I had never married a Wuxi girl, I would have always admired them for their slimness and their being traditional.

I have been very fortunate to go to work and admire the bearing and character of all the wonderful women who work there. They have restored this man's respect for the female sex, damaged so much by Feminism in the West.

When I took my Wuxi wife to Canada, she treated my parents in a manner that was exemplary and put me to shame. She showed me how to treat family. I had gone to her home with the Western impatience of being with the unhip. The sight of her dancing with my father to his native Latvian music was something I would never forget because it taught me something. My father was impressed by her common sense. But this was not a display of what I believe to be a Wuxi trait — though it was a fine trait — but of a Chinese trait.

Changes for a Conservative?

Being a stick-in-the-mud conservative, I have to keep very select company in Wuxi which means I keep to myself often and that I have had me to stear clear of many a person. It raises the question of whether Wuxi has changed me a metaphysical or philosophically way. I would immediately answer that it hasn't. More than ever, I believe in my conservative ethos because of what I have seen in China. I have seen that the family is important and that markets are how to improve the lot in life of everybody. But that is not something Wuxi has been hailed as proving. Wuxi re-enforced personal beliefs I already had without enhancement.

For example, going to the Ling Shan Big Buddha, one sees religion being practiced which is cool in my books. But the imagery and rituals have no deep meaning for me unlike the Christian forms I was exposed to growing up.

The Chinese that changed my view of the world are long dead. I haven't meet any Tang Dynasty poets or Confucians in my time in Wuxi.

Countervailing Influences

I haven't meet an Wuxi Expat yet that doesn't miss something from his home country and culture. In fact, Expats like to trade tales of where they have found rare reminders of home in Wuxi. Many of us do come to Wuxi to present our cultures to Wuxiren.

Has Living in Wuxi made me forget about what's happening back in the home country? In my case, I would say it has somewhat. It was five years before I was able to make a return trip to Canada, and to look at a place I spent forty years at after a long absence, was eerie. But it didn't take me long before I felt at home, and yet there was so much I had to catch up on.

In Wuxi, I haven't been able to access sports. I was a NFL. MLB, and NHL fan when I came to Wuxi — sports the locals don't care for. I could have followed them if I had chosen to buy an Satellite dish but I didn't; and if I had a satellite dish now, I wouldn't be able to watch it anyway as my wife and son's preferences would rule. I have tried to follow European soccer but I can't throw away old North American attitude to the sport — the game can be dull as dish water if you have no emotional attachment or disattachments to the teams playing. I follow the standings on the Internet for my leagues but the teams and games have become abstractions to me — I don't know who the star players are anymore. Having recently seen video highlights on the Internet, I am surprised how the look of today's players turn me off. I prefer to watch my DVD of ice hockey played in 1972 — they looked like men in those days.

I find I follow U.S. politics with a passion at the expense of local Canadian politics. While the U.S. will always make a splash, Canadian politics, I have found, barely ripple outside its borders. I didn't know what the opposition leader, a significant figure in Canadian politics, looked like till I saw him on TV in Canada. I didn't know who were the premiers of the provinces I used to live in.

And it is my view of my home and native land Canada that being in Wuxi has changed in me. I an always asking my students what they know about Canada and I find it isn't much, even among Wuxi Ren who are going to Canada — I get satisfaction from this because I love to see how all the Canadian government attempts to make a splash haven't been very effective at all, and that the things Canadian that are well-known often are because they merit it. Canada, I see, is a pleasant but unexciting place to live. It can never stir one's imagination as the USA and China can.

I have also become aware of the traits of many a European country that I of course knew of but rarely had contact with.

Conclusion

So most of what I have said about my experience in Wuxi certainly isn't unique to Wuxi. I am sure that I would have discovered the same things about myself and travel whether I had lived in Suzhou or Xian or Kunming for six years. So I have to ask is there anything unique about Wuxi that has changed me so that this article isn't boiler plate enough to be stuck in a general China expat narrative? Will I take a bit of Wuxi with me, that is recognizable to other Wuxiren and Wuxi Expats if by chance I run into them somewhere else in the world; and they can say "Hey, have you been in Wuxi?" (perhaps they can smell the Wuxi sweet)

Other than my Jiangsu wife, I don't think so. As far as I can tell China, more than Wuxi; the travel experience more than China that has put a stamp on psyche. It may well be that there isn't in Wuxi anything that makes it stand out from other Chinese places — unless you count the Tom, Dick, and Harrys that are here. People have said that some Wuxiren are barbaric. But people are all barbaric and in their own way. People have said that the food in Wuxi is sweeter than all other places in China. Taste is taste, but that doesn't affect one's soul in a meaningful way? (Did it matter what Jesus and Mohamed or the Buddha ate? Did it affect their souls?)

Still, Wuxi occupies an unique time and place in space, and since one can't be at more than one place at one time, Wuxi can't help but change people. Choose to live in Wuxi and you have chosen to have Wuxi change you. A Wuxi Canadian is different from a Suzhou or Shanghai Canadian of this there can be no doubt. But how they are different is a product of the fact that every person you meet anywhere has a unique destiny brought about by unique circumstances.

Staying at Home: Discussion Questions.

2011-08-13T09:23:00.001+08:00

What does "stay" mean? (It is used in two ways. I stay at a hotel. (be at a place for a short time) I will stay here. (I am not going anywhere).

Many of the students say they like to stay at home? Why?

Are there other places you like to stay for a short time? Would you stay in the city or countryside?

What do you do when you stay at home?

It is okay to stay at home on a Friday or Saturday night?

Staying at home for a vacation? Okay?

When you stay at home, do you invite your friends? Do they "trash" your home?

Do you like to stay home alone?

What should you do when you are staying at home?

What are your best stay-at-home memories?

Can staying at home become boring? What do you?

Do you have a good home to stay in? Or would you rather stay at your friend's home?

Are you a good house guest? What responsibilities do house guests have?

Whose home do you hate to stay at? Why?

What famous people would you like to stay at home with you?

Do you wish you had a gun at home, so you could scare people away?

What people don't you want staying at your home?

People who always stay at home are boring. True or False?

ESL Discussion Questions: Islands

2011-08-12T10:31:00.001+08:00

Islands

What are they?

Can you tell me some famous ones?

Do you live on an island?

Have you lived/stayed on an island? When? Where? How was it?

Does your local area have islands?

What are the advantages/disadvantages of living on an island?

What does an island need for you to live on it?

How big should your island be?

What to you want to surround your island? Deep water?

Who do you want to live with on your island? (A famous you would want to have on your island?) (What occupation would be most useful on a desert island?)

An island no one lives on is ___________. (deserted)

What thing(s) would you bring with you to a desert island?

Famous Island Stories: Robinson Crusoe, Castaway, Lost, Gilligan's Island

Can people be like islands? Are people like islands when they are in public? (they wear ear phones and pay no attention to their surroundings. Is this a good thing for society?)

Island expressions

No man is an island unto himself.

Maroon someone on an island.

ESL Discussion Questions about Plans

2011-08-05T11:33:00.001+08:00

Plan, Planning, Planners

What are plans?

What activities are in involved in planning? (What are verbs that go with planning?)

What do planners do?

Do you have any plans? Why? Why not?

What are your plans for today? Do you plan your day? When do you make daily plans? Do you make detailed plans?

What are you planning for the weekend?

What are your plans for the rest of the summer?

What are you plans for the fall? What are your plans for next year? What are your plans for your life? Do you have a plan or just vague ideas of what you will do?

Do you carry a daily planner with you? Do you make a to-do list?

What does this mean: "Make a plan B."? Do you make plan A's, then B's, then C's....?

What does this mean: "No plan survives first contact with the enemy."? Does everything do according to plan? Can we make a perfect plan? What do we do if plans go wrong?

Is your day, summer, life going according to plan? Do we really want our lives to go according to plan?

What things in life can't we plan for? Do you have plans for emergencies?

Those who don't plan, plan to fail. Agree? Disagree?

Do you think you are a good planner? Yes? No?

What do you need to be if you want your plans to succeed?

Ad Lib. This means to decide what to do at the moment? Can you ad lib? Do you see your teachers ab libbing?

What does this mean? I will plan out my day.

Plan Idioms: Best laid plans of mice and men go astray. Plan for someone. Plan on someone. Plan on something. Upset someone's plans. A game plan.

Discussion Questions about Famous Women

2011-08-05T10:32:00.001+08:00

Are there more famous men than famous women in the world? If you think so, why would this be?

In what fields can women become famous? Is to thought strange for a woman to be ambitious? Can you think of women who are famous in male fields?

Tell me some famous women? (mention ones like Cleopatra, Virgin Mary, Marie Antoinette, Joan of Arc, Hilary Clinton, and Margaret Thatcher) Why are these women famous? Ladies! Do you find famous woman to be an inspiration to you?

Who is the most famous woman of all-time? China? Why? What Chinese women from early Chinese history are famous?

Who is the most infamous woman of all-time? China? Why?

Most famous mother? Most famous beauty? Most famous femme fatale? (Define Femme Fatale) Do you know any femme fatales?

What fictional woman character do you like? (mention Scarlett in Gone with the Wind.) Who is said to be the first woman?

Tell me a woman that you know personally and admire?

Who are the most famous woman in the world now? In China?

Is there a famous woman you don't like? Or you find annoying?

What women have done the most to make women's life better? Who would be a famous advocate for women's rights in China? Will a woman be the leader of China one day? Are there women heading Chinese companies?

Do wives of famous men deserve their fame? Who is the most famous wife in the world? In history? Do you think some wives force their husbands to be ambitious (e.g. Lady McBeth)?

Behind every great man is a woman? Agree? Disagree?

Guys! Would you want to be married to a famous woman? If she was a beauty? If she was a leader? Why? Why not?

Can female movie stars have careers there are as long as male stars?

Can women be famous for being lovers?

If all countries had women leaders, there would be no war? Agree? Disagree?

Summer Discussion Questions

2011-07-28T09:38:00.001+08:00

Summer

What is it?

Do you like summer?

Are you having a good summer?

When you think of Summer what words or images pop into your mind?

What does Summer symbolize?

Finish this sentence: Summer is _________________.

How is Summer in Wuxi? In your hometown? What is Summer like in a cold climate? What would you change about summer in Wuxi?

What do you like about Summer? What do you hate about Summer?

Do you wish everyday was a Summer day?

Is Summer a romantic time?

What are some Summertime activities?

How was Summer when you were young?

Is Summer your favorite season?

What memories do you have of Summer?

Is Summer a time to do some cleaning?

How do we dress for Summer?

What do farmers do in Summer?

What do animals do in Summer?

What do students do in Summer?

What games do we play in Summer?

What food do we eat in Summer?

How does the end of summer feel?

How is the sleeping in Summer?

Is summer a good time to be naked?

The best times of our lives are usually in Summer agree or disagree?

ESL Discussion questions about Behavior

2011-07-22T10:41:00.001+08:00

What is behavior? What does to mean to behave?

How can we behave?

What are some examples of behavior?

What is good behavior?

Are you well-behaved?

What can we call well-behaved people? (Ladies and Gentlemen)

What can we call badly-behaving people? (Barbarians, obnoxious,rude,...)

To be well-behaved, we must_________________________.

It is okay to tell someone that they are behaving badly? What could happen?

How should we behave in the following situations?

The playing of the national anthem

In Church

At a funeral

At a wedding

At a ceremony

At a sporting event

Watching a movie in a cinema

In traffic

As a guest

As a host

In class

At a party

When you think someone has cheated you

You meet a beggar

War

Eating in a restaurant

Smoking

With your boss

With a subordinate

When someone is sad

When someone is mad at you

When you have made a mistake

Who behaves better?

Men or women

Poor or rich

Boys or girls

Adults or children

City people or countryside people

Do foreigners behave well in China? Have you seen foreigners behave madly? Have you seen foreigners behave strangely?

What is strange behavior? Can you give examples of strange behavior you have seen?

Do you like to behave strangely? What are some things strange behaviors we can try?

Tell me about some bad behavior you have seen recently?

HyLite Language School is the best English School in Wuxi, China.

2011-07-21T13:32:00.001+08:00

Read about it here.

ESL Discussion Questions about Childhood

2011-07-21T09:23:00.001+08:00

What is Childhood? The time we are children.

At what age does childhood end?

Do we spot being children when we leave home?

Does childhood stop when we get a job?

What is good about being a child?

What was good about your childhood?

What is bad about being a child?

What was bad about your childhood?

Did you have (are you having) a good childhood? Why?

What do you remember most about your childhood?

Do you want your childhood to end? (Do you want to be a child again?)

What can't we always be children?

Do we ever stop looking at the world through child's eye?

Do you still have contact with your childhood friends?

How have you changed since your childhood ended? (How have you changed during your childhood?)

Are you happy with your behavior during your childhood?

Most embarrassing thing you can remember about your childhood?

What have you kept from childhood? (toy, memento, etc.)

How did you play when you were a child? Did you go outside? Did you have lots of toys? What was your favorite toy? What was your favorite activity?

Did you have to work during your childhood? Do you parents make you do chores around the house?

Would you rather spend your childhood in the city or the countryside?

Were you spanked when you were a child?

Who took care of you during your childhood?

ESL Discussion questions about Bosses

2011-07-14T16:07:00.001+08:00

What are bosses? Are you a boss? Do you want to be a boss? Do you hate being a boss?

What can bosses also be called? Supervisors, leaders, managers, the man, CEO, General, the man in charge et cetera.

Do you like your current boss? Why? Why not?

Tell me about bosses you have had. Were they good or bad bosses?

Finish these sentences:

Good Bosses are_________.

Bad Bosses are___________.

Are you a good boss? Do you think you could be a good boss? Why? Why not?

Are you your own boss?

Are you a bossy personality type? How do you feel when you meet bossy people?

It is good to be thought of as bossy?

Are women more bossy than men?

Do you have bossy co-workers or classmates? Tell me about them.

Do you have bossy customers. Have you seen bossy customers in stores or restaurants?

Finish this sentence bossy people are ____________.

Are bossy people rude or over bearing?

Do you like to boss people around? Who bosses you around?

Do your children boss you around?

Does your spouse boss you around?

Do you boss yourself around?

Do children boss adults around?

Are people born with bossiness? Or can they develop a bossy style?

Who are the most bossy people in the world?

Who is the most bossy person in history?

If you could be the big boss, what would you do?

What does it mean to "show someone who the boss is"?

Crying Discussion Questions and Phrases for ESL

2011-07-02T09:34:00.001+08:00

What is crying?

What do we shed when we cry? Tears.

What emotions accompany crying?

Are we always sad when we cry?

Tears of Joy. When we do feel tears of joy?

When do we feel tears of sadness?

What are some other reasons that our eyes may tear up? (onions)

Do you cry a lot?

When was the last time you cried?

Can you fake tears?

Do you think some people fake tears so they can get sympathy?

Can crying have you get better service? Can crying get your problem dealt with?

Can men cry? How do you feel when you see a man crying? What do you think of men who cry? Foreigners crying?

When is it okay for men to cry?

What a man do when a woman cries?

How do you feel when someone cries on you?

Can you hold back tears?

Would you help a crying stranger?

No tears. When can this expression be used?

Crying idioms

Burst into tears

It is a crying shame.

There is no point crying over spilt milk

For crying out loud!

A lone voice crying in the wilderness.

There is a crying need to have something done about this problem.

He didn't shed a tear.

I was moved to tears.

He sheds crocodile tears.

He was bored to tears.

Canada Day ESL Discussion Questions

2011-06-30T14:54:00.001+08:00

What comes to mind when you hear "Canada"?

What is the weather like in Canada now?

How old is Canada?

What do you want to know about Canada?

What do you think of Canada? Canadians?

Is Canada an important country on the world? What has Canada done for the world?

Do you want to move to Canada? Why?

How are Canadians different from Americans, English, and Australians?

Have you heard of Eskimos and Aboriginals?

Do you want to live in Canada? Why? Why not?

Are Canadians and Americans alike? How do they differ?

What does this mean: "How's it going eh?"

How are Canada and China similar?

Can you name ten famous Canadians?

Can you name ten places in Canada?

Can you name ten Canadian things?

What are symbols of Canada?

Which is Canadian? Which isn't? Jim Carrey, Kangaroos, Penguins, Igloos, Keifer Sutherland, Texas, Prince Edward Island, Minneapolis, North Dakota, Winnipeg, Winnetonka, Medicine Hat, Minnesota, Beavers, Moose, Tigers, Ice Hockey, and Elephants.

Match up these expressions (Two-Four, Double-Double, Hoser, Loonie, Washroom, Pop, Chocolate Bar, Keener, Mickey, eh) with the definitions (W.C., Beer Package, Cream and Sugar, Weak Person, hard worker, One dollar coin, Soda, Sweet Food, and Bottle of hard liquor)

International Picnic Day: ESL Discussion Questions

2011-06-17T12:12:00.001+08:00

International Picnic Day

What do the words mean?

International

What is national? What is international? (Inter means between," "among," "in the midst of," "mutually," "reciprocally,""together," "during" ( intercept; interest, interchange, intercontinental, interact, interactive, intercept, interface, interfere, interlude, internal, interrelated); on this model, used in the formation of compound words ( intercom; interdepartmental ).

Have you been to an international event?

Have you been to an international school?

Do these events foster peace and understanding?

What is the most nationalities you have ever been with at one time?

Have you meet people from many countries and continents?

What foreigners do you think are most interesting?

Can you tell me some famous international organizations or events? Do these events unite nations or divide them?

Do you like to watch international sporting events involving your country?

Picnic

Do you like to picnic? Why? Why not?

Where do you like to picnic? Best place in Wuxi?

What food do you bring? What activities do you engage in (besides eating?)

What do we need to have a good picnic?

What are the pleasures of a picnic?

What are the annoyances?

What can ruin a picnic?

Do you have stories of good picnics? Bad picnics?

An International Picnic

How to celebrate such an event?

How many countries can come? Are there any countries you don't want to come?

What food to bring?

What entertainment to bring?

What should the Chinese bring to the picnic?

What should Americans bring to the picnic?

What should Canadian bring to the picnic?

What should Australians bring to the picnic?

What should the Japanese bring to the picnic?

What should Indians bring to the picnic?

What should Koreans bring to the picnic?

What would you do at the picnic? Would you present your country? What would you want to present?

What would you want other countries to present?

Old Photos: ESL Discussion Questions

2011-06-17T11:07:00.001+08:00

Do you have many old photos? Of What? Have you digitalized the photos?

Oldest photo of you? Your family? Your ancestors?

Thirty years ago, how were photos taken?

Do you like looking at old photos of yourself? Of Wuxi? Where can one find old Wuxi photos?

How often do you look at old photos?

Do you have photo albums in your home?

Do old photos make you think of change?

Do old photos make you think that little has changed?

Do old photos embarrass you? Are there old photos of you that you want destroyed?

Your favorite old photo? Describe it.

Do you have some old photos that would surprise others?

Do you have baby photos of yourself?

What group portraits do you have?

Do you have old family portraits?

Do you have wedding photos of your parents?

At what famous places, have you posed for photos?

Do you have photos of you taken with animals? Which ones? Where?

Are there old photos of you taken with celebrities, important people, or foreigners?

Digital Cameras mean more and more photos. Do you ever look at your old digital photos? Or do you just look at your more recent photos?

Will digital photos be as interesting as old paper photos?

Do you still have your old camera?

Do you prefer to color or black & white photos?

What time in history do you wish that photos could have been taken?

You can keep only one photo from your life? What photo would you keep?

The Power of a Smile: ESL Discussion Questions

2011-06-15T12:10:00.001+08:00

What is a smile?

Synonyms? Grin, smirk, laugh

Antonyms? Frown, scowl,

Why do we smile? (many reasons including showing our emotions and trying to make others feel comfortable)

It is easy to smile?

Are all smiles happy/friendly? (some are ironic, forced, amused, fake, show disbelief, show incredulousness, show frustration,....)

Do all smiles make you feel comfortable?

In what situations is it bad to smile?

Do you like people who are always smiling?

Are there people you know who don't smile or rarely smile?

Do you like people who are always smiling? Are there nasty people who always smile?

How long can you smile before you get tired?

Do you like smiles that show lots of teeth?

Have you never tried to smile at everyone you met to see what happens?

How would you feel if a stranger smiled at you?

How would you feel if a person smiled at you for a long time?

Are there people who you don't like to see smiling?

When you're smiling, the whole world smiles with you. Agree? Disagree?

Famous smiles? Famous smilers?

Smile Expressions

Keep smiling

Crack a smile

Wipe the silly grin off your face.

Put a smile on someone's face.

Grin from ear to ear.

Break into a smile

He was all smiles today.

He has a million dollar smile.

ESL Discussion Questions about Trivia

2011-06-09T09:55:00.001+08:00

What is trivia? Things that are unimportant or of little value.

What is trivial? Adjective made with trivia.

Can you give examples of things that are unimportant.

What are these things unimportant?

What is the most unimportant thing people do these days?

What are some things that you think are important but others think are trivial?

What is a trivial thing you spend time on?

Is all life important or is all life trivial?

What is considered trivial in China?

Trivia games, trivia quizzes, trivia knowledge: are you interested in it? Do you like to watch these sort of games on television?

On what subject, are you a trivia expect?

What are some trivia subjects? e.g. Sports, history, animals, movie stars, numbers, news, music, math, war

Tell me some trivial facts.

e.g German won the World Cup in 1974

Brad Pitt starred in Troy.

The biggest city in Manitoba is Winnipeg.

An animal with a long neck is a giraffe.

The capital of the USA is Washington

Richard Nixon was president of the USA in 1972.

The yo-yo originated in the Philippines, where it was used as a weapon in hunting.

Months that begins with a Sunday will always have a "Friday the 13th."

The average human's heart will beat 3000 million times in their lifetime.

There are more cars in Los Angeles than people

Have the students each write down five pieces of trivia.

Have the students each tell you one of their trivia facts.

Did you know that____________________________________?

Then have the students turn their trivia facts into questions. e.g. What is the capital of the USA?

Find some trivia questions to ask the students.

Cleaning the House ESL Discussion Questions

2011-06-08T13:08:00.001+08:00

Cleaning the House

What is the difference between clean and neat?

Do you clean the house or your room? Why? Why not? How often do you clean? How often should we clean the house?

Who does the cleaning in your house?

Are you good at cleaning?

Do you like cleaning? Rate it on a scale of one to ten.

Is cleaning hard? Why? Why not?

Do you like a clean house?

Does dirt or messiness bother you?

How clean is your house now? Rate it on a scale of one to ten. Could I come to see now? Or should I wait for you to tidy it up?

Are most houses in Wuxi clean?

Is your home neat and clean? Just neat? Just clean? Are the things in your house well-organized? Is there a lot of clutter in your house?

Are you a slob? Do you know any slobs? How dirty and messy are they?

Are you a neat freak? Do you know any neat freaks? How crazy are they about cleanliness?

Who is better at cleaning? Men or Women? Boys or Girls?

Cleaning tools: mop, broom, rag, vacuum cleaner, pail, brush, dust pan, sponge, duster, garbage bag (Do you use?)

Cleaning materials: water, soap, detergents, sprays, vinegar, bleach, stain remover, deodorizer (What do you use to clean your house?)

Cleaning verbs: scrub, mop, sweep, wipe, dust, polish (get the students to use the verbs in sentences. Also ask: What do you _______?)

What do you do about bad odors?

What do you do about dust?

What do you do about clutter?

What do you do about stains?

Do you clean the hidden areas in your house? Why? Why not?

How do you clean the floor?

How do you clean the bathroom?

Do you have any cleaning tips?

Expressions:

Cleanliness is next to godliness.

Clean as a whistle.

You could eat off her floors.

His room is a pig sty.

Sins and Virtues ESL Discussion Questions

2011-06-02T10:27:00.001+08:00

What is sin? The breaking of a moral law.

What is virtue? Behavior showing high moral standards: "paragons of virtue"; and a quality considered morally good or desirable in a person.

Can you give an example of a sinful act?

Can you give an example of a virtuous act?

Are you a sinful or a virtuous person?

Seven Sins and corresponding virtues (try to elicit some from the students. Don't expect exact answers. Something close will do. Then ask students if they have committed the sin or practiced the virtue. Have they seen examples of this in their lives? Are these sins hard to resist? Are the virtues easy to perform?)

The Seven Sins

Lust: Pride of sexual ability

Gluttony: Pride in one's consumption

Sloth: Too proud to consider anything new

Envy: Craving the pride of others

Wrath: Pride in violence

Greed: Pride in possessions

Pride: Too proud to consider others greater

The Seven Virtues

Lust (inappropriate desire)

Gluttony (over-indulgence)

Greed (avarice)

Sloth (laziness)

Wrath (anger)

Envy (jealousy)

Pride (vanity)

Do they teach you a list of dos and don'ts in school or at home?

What is your greatest virtue?

What is the greatest virtue of your best friend?

What is your most sinful behavior?

Are all sins illegal? Are all virtues lawful?

Virtue is its own reward. Agree? Disagree?

Idioms and Expressions (what do they mean?)

He greatest virtue is his modesty.

By virtue of something.

Ugly as sin.

Make a virtue of necessity.

Live in sin.

Patience is a virtue.

The wages of sin is death.

Extoll the virtue of something.

Sin against something.

Poverty is not a sin.

Hate someone or something like sin.

ESL Discussion Questions about Genius

2011-05-27T15:49:00.001+08:00

Genius SPC

Genius and Eccentricities

What is it? (1. Exceptional intellectual or creative power or other natural ability.

2. A person who is exceptionally intelligent or creative, either generally or in some particular respect: "musical genius". )

Are you one? Can everyone be a genius?

Is there a genius in everyone?

Is there a difference between talent and genius?

Do you want to be one?

Do you know any geniuses personally?

Who is the smartest person you know? Is this person a genius?

Who are the famous geniuses of history?

Are these people geniuses? Mozart, Chairman Mao, Michael Jordan, Bill Gates, Obama, Confucius, Einstein, Stephen Hawking, Lady Gaga,

Is a genius a very smart person or he is superbly creative?

Are geniuses born or developed?

Can anyone be a genius if he works hard enough?

Can testing measure genius?

Can eating special food make us smarter?

Geniuses are said to be eccentric? Are you eccentric?

No great genius ever existed without some touch of madness. Agree or Disagree?

He is a regular genius

He has a genius for this. (what do you have a genius for?)

Finish this sentence __________ has a genius for ____________.

He has a genius for failure.

He is a budding genius.

Your idea was a stroke of genius. (Had any strokes of genius lately?)

Genius is an infinite capacity for taking pains. (Are you like this? Do you want to be? Have you spend all your hours trying to solve a problem? Have you ever become so absorbed in your interest, you forgot everything else?)

What do you want to put all your genius into?

What do the Chinese, the Americans, the Europeans, the English, the Japanese have a genius for?

ESL Discussion Questions about Status

2011-05-27T12:10:00.001+08:00

What is it?

Do you have high status?

Where is your status high? Where is your status low?

Do you want high status?

How do you get high status?

Can you get high status via birth?

How do you get low status?

What jobs and positions confer high status?

What jobs and positions confer low status?

What does high status give one? Money, privilege, immunity?

Is status more important than money?

Can high status always confer one more money?

Are the Chinese status seekers? Are the Chinese equal in theory? Are they equal in practice? Do the Chinese respect status?

Is it easy to acquire higher status in China? Is a China a meritocracy?

Is it possible to create a status-free society?

Do animals have status among themselves?

How do people show off their status? Status Symbols.

What are the current status symbols in China?

Do people buy things to show off their status?

Can you have high status merely on the Internet?

Do you like others to think you have high status?

Is high status worth the trouble?

What do you think of people who have many status symbols? Do you feel envy, hatred, admiration, sadness, respect, or sympathy?

How should people with high status treat those with low status? How should those with low status treat those with high status?

HyLite Language School is looking for part-time trainers for July and August 2011.

2011-05-26T15:24:00.001+08:00

We are looking for native speaking English teachers, currently in Wuxi, to teach part-time and full-time from mid-July 2011 to the end of August.

Email me at akaulins@gmail.com for more details.

English Trainers needed at HyLite School in Wuxi starting July 2011, up to 10,000 rmb per month depending on experience.

2011-05-26T15:19:00.001+08:00

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.

* Minimum 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. We can pay more depending on experience.

* 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, many local restaurants and major shopping areas.

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 (with a subway currently under construction), 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

Preference will be given to those who are already in China.

Mail all applications to akaulins@gmail.com attention: Andis Kaulins

ESL Discussion Questions about Odour

2011-05-25T14:34:00.001+08:00

Odour

What is it?

How do we sense it?

Other words for odour? Smell, stink, stench, aroma, fume

What can you smell now?

What is your favorite odour? What is your least favorite odour? List five things you like the smell of? List five things you don't like the smell of? Also: places, food, animals,

What would it be like to have no sense of smell? Why is having a sense of smell useful?

How does a good smell make you feel?

How does a bad smell make you feel?

Can one become used to a smell?

What do you do if you encounter a bad smell?

Do you worry that you smell bad?

What do we do to smell better? Cologne. Perfume. Shower. Mouthwash. Toothpaste.

Do you wear cologne or perfume? Do some people wear too much?

What animals have a keen sense of smell?

Can we smell fear?

What smells remind us of work, youth, old age, sickness, China, Wuxi, restaurants?

Do you like the smell of Wuxi, Tea, Beer, Taihu, a Bakery, a Chicken, Restaurant, school, a teenage boy's bedroom, perfume, flowers, dogs, cats?

Who smells better Men or Women?

Who has a keener sense of smell? Men of Women?

What do the following expressions mean?

Plug your nose

He has got bad b.o.!

My dog has no nose. How does he smell? Awful.

He is smelling like a rose.

I smell a rat.

He smells blood.

He stinks to high heaven.

Wake up and smell the coffee.

The angry customer is raising a stink.

Discussion Questions about Secrets

2011-05-21T13:10:00.002+08:00

What are they?

Why do we keep secrets?

Can you keep secrets?

Do you have many secrets?

Do you write secrets down? Do you keep a secret journal?

Do you have secret thoughts?

What are some secrets that you have learned?

What is the secret of success? Is this really a secret?

How do we tell people secrets?

What are some ways we can keep secrets? Silence, need to know basis, code.

What are some personal things we like to keep secret?

What are some things companies like to keep secret?

What are some things governments like to keep secret?

What secrets do students keep from teachers?

What secrets do teachers keep from students?

Can family members keep secrets from other family members?

What are some of the great secrets in the world? Of history?

Do you notice that secrets are interesting but the revealing of the secret is interesting for a short time?

What are some secrets we will never find out?

If you found a lot of money, would you tell your friends?

In the Internet age, it is harder than ever to keep secrets?

What can you keep secret from the government, your company? What is none of other people's business?

IDIOMS ABOUT SECRETS

Behind closed doors

Bite your tongue

Hold your tongue

Don't let the cat out of the bag.

Cover your tracks.

In the dark.

Turn a blind eye.

Fly on the wall.

Give the game away.

Loose lips sink ships.

Keep it under wraps.

Mum's the word.

Spill the beans

On the sly.

Sweet Talk and Persuasion ESL Discussion Questions

2011-05-20T11:48:00.001+08:00

Sweet Talk

What is sweet? Candy, sugar, nice girls, nice things, nice moments.

What is sweet talk? (*Talking nicely to , using flattery on, someone to persuade them to do something for you*)

What is the goal of sweet talk? (*Seduction, compliance, getting people to do things they normally wouldn't do!*)

What things do sweet talkers say?

Is there a secret to sweet talking? What technique is important?

Are sweet talkers good actors? Do they have a nice voice? The sweet talker's method: what is important? The words or the method?

Can sweet talkers sound poetic? Do you memorize poems or songs to impress or sweet talk people?

Can sweet talkers sing to their victims?

Are you a sweet talker? (to you wife)

Do you like to talk sweet?

Can you sweet talk people who are angry at you?

Can you be sweet talked? (by your husband) (by your boss)

Can you be sweet talked if you are angry? Have people tried to do this?

Why can some people be sweet talked?

Can you be sweet talked by someone you don't know?

Who is the best sweet talker you know?

What professions require sweet talking?

Can you sweet talk your boss? Do Chinese bosses like their workers to flatter them?

Who is the most famous sweet talker of all-time?

Which sex does most of the sweet talking?

Are sweet talkers good people? Can they be trusted? Can they be thought of scam artists?

Do you like people who are blunt with you? Can you take criticism?

Flattery will get you nowhere! What does that mean?

How to sweet talk:

A policeman?

A shop keeper?

A bus driver?

A taxi driver?

A member of the opposite sex?

Your mother or father?

Your child?

A bank clerk?

A beggar?

A rich man?

A teacher?

Your subordinate?

Sweet talking is about persuasion. How do you persuade people to do things you want them to do for you? Can you persuade them without money?

Who have you persuaded to do something recently?

Museum Discussion Questions

2011-05-18T14:50:00.001+08:00

Museums

What are they?

What comes to mind when you hear the word museum?

Do you go to them? Why? Why not?

Do you go to museums by yourself?

What is the first museum you ever went to?

What do you like about museums? What do you hate?

Can museums teach you anything? Are they useful?

What museums have you gone to? What did you see? What was the best museum you went to?

What are the most famous museums in China? Wuxi?

What museums would you like to go?

What famous world museum would you like to see?

Do you prefer history or nature or art museums? Why?

Have you been to a strange museum?

Have you ever been to an interactive museum?

Can you touch things at a museum?

If there was a museum about your life, what would you put in it?

What do you think would be a good museum to start?

What makes a museum good? Bad? Boring?

Discussion Questions about Enjoyment

2011-05-14T13:09:00.001+08:00

What does it mean to enjoy?

–verb (used with object)

to experience with joy; take pleasure in: He enjoys Chinese food.

to have and use with satisfaction; have the benefit of: He enjoys an excellent income from his trust funds.

to find or experience pleasure for (oneself): She seems to enjoy herself at everything she does.

What is "enjoyment"? The state or activity of enjoying.

What is "enjoyable"? An adjective.

What do you enjoy? What do you want to enjoy?

Whose company do you enjoy?

Do you enjoy an excellent income?

Do you enjoy yourself?

When was the last time you really enjoyed yourself?

What is the most enjoyable part of your day?

Is it always easy to enjoy yourself? Why? Why not?

What can stop us from enjoying ourselves?

Do we have to train ourselves to experience and appreciate enjoyment?

Can enjoyment turn to boredom? What do we do when this happens?

Is enjoyment better if it is shared?

Where are some places you enjoy going?

What is some food you enjoy eating?

What are some games you enjoy playing?

Can I enjoy yourself? Why? Why not?

Can enjoyment be an art or a science?

When did you have the most enjoyable time in your life?

Do you enjoy yourself at work.?

What age of life do people enjoy the most?

Can enjoyment be found in work?

Can you enjoy yourself with technology?

Enjoy your meal! What does this mean? When would you say it?

Enjoy the fruits of your labours. What does this mean?

Enjoy yourself. You earned it. What does this mean?

This is hardly enjoyable. What does this mean?

Karaoke, KTV, Singing, and Performing ESL discussion questions

2011-05-14T13:05:00.001+08:00

What is Karaoke?Is it a Japanese invention? Is it popular in China?

How long has KTV been in China?

Do you like to go to KTV? Why? Why not?

How often do you go to the KTV? Who do you go with?

Which KTV do you go to?

Are there cheap and expensive KTVs? How do they differ?

What is the best sized group for KTV?

What songs do you sing? What is the most popular song for KTV in China?

Do you take your KTV seriously? Do you practice? Do you drink special fluids for your throat?

Can you dance at KTV?

Can you change the song lyrics?

Can you enter a KTV competition?

Do you sing English songs in KTV?

Are you a good singer?

Is there a trained singer in the class?

Have you ever performed in public? Have you performed for a big audience?

Do you have pop star dreams?

Do you hum or sing songs as you go through your day?

Do you sing in the shower?

Do you have a song on your mind that you always want to sing?

Are there pop songs that you like but you don't know the lyrics to? Songs you do know the lyrics to? Which one?

Do pop songs lyrics become mistaken by the listener?

Do you like to break into song for no reason?

Do you wish life could be a musical?

What activities could be improved by singing?

Do you like dancing?

Do you like going to clubs to dance?

Do you dance when you listen to music?

Who are some famous dancers?

Did you learn to dance in schools?

Explain air guitar

Do you listen to music and play an "air instrument"?

What "air instrument" do you like to play?

Do you listen to pop songs and play an "air instrument"?

Performing

Have you ever performed for an audience?

Have you ever acted in a play for an audience?

Have you ever made presentations for large audiences?

Do you feel comfortable performing?

Why are so many scared of performing in public?

Discussion Questions about Germany

2011-05-11T12:27:00.001+08:00

What is it?

Where is it?

What comes to mind when you hear the word "Germany"?

Who are some famous Germans?

What do you know about Germany's history?

Do you like Germans or Germany?

Germans are ____________

Germany is ________

Is Germany beautiful?

Do Germany and China have good relations?

Are there many Germans in Wuxi?

What Country is Germany's historical rival?

What does the world feel about Germany?

Do you like German cars?

Do you want to visit or move to Germany? Why? Why not?

How is Germany different from other countries?

Is Germany an important nation?

What does a typical German person look like?

What clothes do they wear?

What would you ask a German about his country?

What Germany given the world?

What is bad about Germany?

Have you been to Germany? Have you meet some Germans?

Do you know any German words?

Travel in Jiangsu discussion questions.

2011-05-06T14:00:00.001+08:00

What is Jiangsu?

What is its capital?

What do you know about its history?

Most important moment in Jiangsu history?

Who are some famous Jiangsuren?

How old is Jiangsu province?

What are the important cities in Jiangsu?

What is Jiangsu famous for?

Tell me about Jiangsu's economy?

Are all places in Jiangsu rich?

Have you travelled lots in Jiangsu?

What Jiangsu places do you recommend one go visit?

What is Jiangsu's top attraction?

How does Wuxi rank in Jiangsu?

What is your favorite place in Jiangsu?

When is the best time to travel in Jiangsu?

Is there a difference between Northern Jiangsu and Southern Jiangsu?

Where to go in Jiangsu? for:

Nature

Amusement Parks

Shopping

Adventure

Sports

Museums

Architecture

Food

Resort

Swimming

Cycling

Temples

History

Fishing

Zoos

Ancient Chinese history

What to see in:

Changzhou

Huai'an

Kunshan

Lianyungang

Nanjing

Nantong

Suqian

Suzhou

Taizhou

Wuxi

Xuzhou

Yancheng

Yangzhou

Zhenjiang

What do you think of:

Yangtze River Bridge

Mausoleum of Doctor Sun Yat Sen

Suzhou's Gardens (which is the best)

Taihu Lake

Three Kingdoms City

Xuzhou

Huai an.

Changzhou Dinsaur Park

Color discussion questions.

2011-05-04T13:33:00.000+08:00

What is color?

Is color important to you?

What would the world be like without color?

Do you prefer color or black&white movies?

What is your favorite color?

What color do you hate? Do you think colors affect your mood?

Red,Green,Blue,Purple,Black,White,Yellow,Brown,Grey,Orange:

How do each of these colors make you feel?

What do these colors symbolize?

Do you like to wear each of these colors? Why?

What colors look good on you?

What colors look good with each of these colors? What colors do not go together?

Which colors are good for shoes, cars, uniforms, mobile phones?

Would you like your home to have each of these colors? Why?

What colors can't be used in certain situations? (*don't wear ________ in/at ________________.*)

What do these colors make you think of? (word association)

What is the color for old age, youth, love, hate, passion, birth, boys, girls, men, women, China, freshness, death, strangeness, sadness,

happiness, cowards, good, evil?

What is the strangest colored thing you have ever seen?

I think white boots, pink cars, and orange hair are silly? What about you?

Men! Do you like to sleep in pink rooms with pink sheets?

Ladies! Do you like to sleep in blue rooms with black sheets?

Do you know any color-blind people?

Do you like light, dark, bright colors?

I wouldn't be caught dead in _________________. Finish this sentence.

Idioms

Someone's true colors

let's give it some color

with flying colors

off color jokes

Work hard or play hard? ESL Discussion Questions.

2011-04-28T10:58:00.001+08:00

What does it mean to work hard? What does it mean to play hard?

Do you work hard? How hard do you work? (*Ask for proof*) Who is the hardest worker you know?

Do you play hard? Why? Why not? Do you know people who play hard?

Westerners live to play. The Chinese live to work. Agree? Disagree?

Do you wish you could play as hard as you work?

Do some people take their leisure as hard as their work? Do they spend all their extra money and time on a side-interest?

Is the "real you" the person who plays or the person who works?

Does you work define you? Does it tells us who you are? Does your work show your interests and beliefs?

Do you think people are born to work or born to play?

Does play stop at the end of childhood? Can adults play?

Does growing older change your feelings about work? About play?

Can playing video games make us better people?

Does playing sports make us better workers?

Does routine work make us better people?

Does learning a language make us a better person?

Do you study things for interest? What do you want to study for interest?

Do you like to talk about your work in your leisure time? Do you hate to talk "shop"?

Volunteering? Do you think it is important to volunteer in your free time? (*Talk about Canadian and American traditions of volunteerism and service clubs.*)

Do you like to talk about your leisure in your work time?

Do you think about what you will do in your free time while you work?

Do you think workers should get together while not working? Do you prefer to have friends who don't work with you?

Is your job your source of friends and acquaintances?

Do you keep work and play separate?

Are there some jobs that require not having a leisure life?

Does the mobile phone make it hard to separate work and play?

Does being a parent mean no free time for yourself?

Should every parent have a hour for himself or herself each day?

Do you have goals that aren't career goals?

Discussion Questions about Fridges and Cupboards

2011-04-27T16:38:00.001+08:00

Cupboards and Fridges

What is a cupboard or pantry?

What is a refrigerator or fridge or freezer?

What would life be like without a fridge? How would we preserve food?

Do all households in China have a fridge?

How long does meat, fruit, vegetables, canned food, frozen food keep?

Do you have enough cupboard space? Do you have a big enough fridge?

Where is your fridge?

Do you have enough food in your cupboard or fridge? How many weeks supply of food do you have? Do you like to stockpile food or buy when you need?

I always run out of ____________.. Do you sometimes come home to an empty fridge? What do you then?

What does this mean: the cupboard is bare?

Where do you keep your : drinks: rice, meat, fish, vegetables, leftover food, plates, pots, cutlery?

When you arrive home, do you come home to an empty fridge?

Do you ever do a late night pantry/fridge raid? Are pests a problem in your cupboard?

What happens if you leave the fridge door open?

Do you unplug your fridge to save electricity?

How often do you clean your freezer?

What happens you lean a fridge on its side? Why should a fridge always be upright?

What happens to old fridges in China?

Do you have a large freezer?

Do you have an ice maker? Do you use ice?

What's in your cupboard?

What's in your fridge?

What is in your freezer?

Book discussion questions and idioms for ESL English Corner

2011-04-22T11:18:00.001+08:00

BOOKS

What are they?

Verbs we use with books: read, skim, consult, refer to, scan,

How much reading do you do in a week?

Where do you read? Internet, newspapers, books, magazines, signs. Of these, what is you favorite way to read.

How many books do you read in a month? Do you read for pleasure or self-improvement? Do you like hard books or brain candy?

What kind of reading do you do? (elicit the genres: action, mystery, suspense, detective, science fiction, children's, war, non-fiction, travel, poetry, self-help, history, biography, autobiography, gothic, classic literature, modern literature)

What kinds of book are brain candy?

Is reading a beneficial activity?

Do you read as many books as you used to? Do you go to the library or book store as much as you used? Do you think everyone in the future will be reading books on e-book devices?

Have you read a book (not an article) on the Internet or on a electronic device?

Do you like to go to second hand book shops?

What is your favorite book? What five books would you take with you to a desert island?

Do you have a book to recommend to others? What book best explains China to a foreigner?

Are there books you can't put down? What is the longest time you have sat reading a book?

What book are you reading now? What's it about?

How do you choose the book you are going to read?

What book is at your bedside? Do you read in bed? Do you read before you do to sleep?

Do you like to carry books with you?

What book have you read many times over?

What is the longest book you have ever read?

What is the most read book in China? In the west?

So many books; so little time. Agree?

How many books have you read in your lifetime?

What do you do with the books you have read? Do you keep them?

Do you read one book after another? Or do you read a few books in a time period?

When you read, do you mark up the books? Do you underline interesting passages?

BOOK IDIOMS

Be in good books

A coffer table book

By the book

Cook the books

Don't judge a book by its cover

That's one for the books

Nose in a book

Crack a book

Throw at book at someone

He reads the good book from dawn to sunset.

ESL Discussion questions about faces.

2011-04-20T14:48:00.001+08:00

FACES

What are they?

What does the verb Face mean?

Are Faces the most important feature or our person? Why? Why not?

FACE VOCABULARY (Ask questions as you list)

Eyes, eyebrows, eyelids, pupils

Nose, nostril, the bridge of one's nose

Mouth, lips

Cheeks,

Forehead, Brow

Ear

Dimples (are visible indentations of the skin, caused by underlying flesh, that form on some people's cheeks, especially when they smile.)

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

Do you like your face? Why? Why not?

What problems can we have with our faces (pimples, moles, scars. Etc.)

What can we do with our faces?

When we look at other people's faces, what are we looking for?

What makes a face beautiful?

What does a intelligent face look like? Dumb? Distinguished?

Men's facial hair. Mustaches. Beards, Goatees. Do you (men) want one? Why? Why not? Woman! What do you think of male facial hair?

Glasses. Do they make faces more attractive?

What are some things we do to our faces? (Shave, apply makeup,et cetra)

Most famous face in history? Most famous facial feature? (e.g. Hitler's mustache)

IDIOMS

Face the facts

Face-to-face

The face that launched a thousand ships.

He fell flat on his face

Hey! Get out of my face!

She has egg on her face.

He has a red face.

Can you keep a straight face.

It is written all over your face.

He has a good poker face.

We are going to have to face this head-on.

Stop making faces at me!

You can talk till you are blue in the face. I won't change my mind!

He did an about face.

You are cutting off your nose to spite your face.

He has a face only a mother could love.

Look me in the face when you say that!

He put on a brave face.

Don't take what he says at face value.

I have lost face.

There he goes! He is stuffing his face again.

He is two-faced.

I can't remember what's his face.

I am going to wipe that smile off your face.

Spring discussion questions and idioms.

2011-04-16T12:40:00.001+08:00

SPRING

What is it? What does "spring" mean as a verb?

When you think of spring what words or images pop into your mind?

What does spring symbolize?

Finish this sentence: Spring is _________________.

How is spring in Wuxi? In your hometown? What is spring like in a cold climate?

What do you like about spring? What do you hate about spring?

Do you wish everyday was a spring day?

Is spring a romantic time?

What are some springtime activities?

How was spring when you were young?

Is spring your favorite season?

What memories do you have of spring?

Is spring a time to do some cleaning?

How do we dress for spring?

What do farmers do in spring?

What do animals do in spring?

What do students do in spring?

SPRING IDIOMS

He is no spring chicken.

Hope springs eternal

Nothing springs to mind

He sprung into action

Now, he springs to life.

Spring to attention everyone!

He sprung out of no where.

The Tiger sprung out to me

ESL Discussion questions about lizards and reptiles

2011-04-15T11:59:00.001+08:00

Lizards (Reptiles)

What are they? Lizards are a kind of reptile. They are four legged, long, and have tails. Reptiles are animals in the (Linnaean) class Reptilia. They are characterized by breathing air, laying shelled eggs(except of some snakes called vipers that give live birth), and having skin covered in scales and/or scutes. Reptiles are classically viewed as having a "cold-blooded" metabolism. They are tetrapods (either having four limbs or being descended from four-limbed ancestors). Modern reptiles inhabit every continent with the exception of Antarctica

Do you want to be a lizard or a reptile? What reptile would you like to be? Women! Do you wish you could lay eggs?

Do you think lizards or reptiles have a good life?

Are these many lizards or reptiles in Wuxi? Will they go into people's homes? What relationship do lizards have with humans? (*harmless*) How are lizards helpful to humans?

What would you do if you saw a lizard in your bed? Would lizards and other reptiles make good pets?

Tell me some kinds of reptiles or lizards. Is the Chinese dragon a lizard? Do you have a favorite reptile? Dinosaurs, Turtles, Snakes, Frogs, Dragons, Chameleons, Crocodiles, Alligators

What experiences have you had with lizards or reptiles? Have you eaten frog or turtle or snake? How was it?

What do lizards or reptiles symbolize? Are lizards high status animals? Dinosaurs, Turtles, Snakes, Frogs, Dragons, Chameleons

Reptile idioms

That man is a snake in the grass.

That man is a snake oil salesman.

I like to snake along to school.

I have a frog in my throat.

He is a big frog in a small pond.

That man is a dinosaur in this office.

The boat turns turtle. (overturns)

He is like a chameleon.

He cries crocodle tears.

See you later alligator. In a while, crocodile.

Should children fear their parents? Discussion points and questions.

2011-04-13T14:34:00.001+08:00

SHOULD CHILDREN FEAR THEIR PARENTS?

Ask the students if have heard of Amy Chua the Tiger Mom.

Here are her rules:

Here are some of the things my daughters, Sophia and Louisa, were never allowed to do:

• attend a sleepover

• have a playdate

• be in a school play

• complain about not being in a school play

• watch TV or play computer games

• choose their own extracurricular activities

• get any grades less than an A

• not be the #1 student in every subject except gym and drama

• play any instrument other than the piano or violin

• not play the piano or violin

What are some rules you have for your children, or some rules your parents have for you?

Maybe mention this:

I just wasn't cut out to be a Chinese Tiger Mom. I'm more of an Irish Setter Dad. Here are some of the things my daughters, Muffin and Poppet, and my son, Buster, were never allowed to do:

• go to church or school naked

• attend a sleepover at Charlie Sheen's house

• mix Daddy a martini using sweet vermouth

• play the violin within earshot of me

Ask the students if they are tiger parents. Ask the students if their parents are Tiger parents (or perhaps Irish Setter Dads). Would you fear such a parent - Tiger Mom? (*What does fear mean in this case?)

Do/did you fear your parents? Why? How do you feel when they get mad at you? Do you get mad at your parents? Are you allowed to complain? Can you say so or do you "bite your tongue"?

How should we fear our parents?

Do your children fear you? Do you want them to fear you?

Do modern children fear their parents as much as previous generations of children feared their parents?

Should parents be strict? Easy-going? Should parents word be the law? Or should parents merely offer suggestions?

Do you respect your parents? (*maybe define respect.*) Why? Why not? Do your children respect you?

Can we love and fear our parents? Why? Can we love and not respect our parents?

(*Moving on to fear in general society...*)

Do you look at your past and now see that you should have heeded what your parents wanted?

Should workers fear their bosses? Should students fear teachers? Do students fear teachers?

What people in life do you fear? Why?

ESL Discussion Questions about Pride

2011-04-08T10:19:00.001+08:00

Pride, to take pride, to have pride, to be proud

What is pride? What does it mean to be proud? (To have a high opinion of one's self or one's things. Also, something that causes someone to be proud — He is the pride of his country.)

Synonyms: conceit, self-esteem, egotism, vanity, vainglory

Is it a good thing to feel pride? Is pride a sin?

What things can we be proud of? What things can we take pride in doing?

Do we have to declare our pride? Or can we privately enjoy it?

What things shouldn't we be proud of? Can we have too much pride? What do we call people with too much pride? (*Egotistical, arrogant*)

Do you know any egotistical or arrogant people? Who is famous for being this way?

What is the opposite of arrogant or egotistical? (*humble, modest*) Do you know people who are good and modest?

Are you too proud to ask others for help or to admit you are wrong?

Can we take pride in our good luck? Country? City? Heritage? Our children? Our work? Our material possessions?

Ten things of which we can all be proud.

Ten things of which you are proud.

What accomplishment are you most proud of? Are you a source of pride to your parents?

What famous person in the world could take the most pride in something?

PRIDE IDIOMS

Burst with pride

Pride and joy

Pride goes before the fall

Pride oneself on something

Swallow one's pride

Take pride in something

Hair Discussion Questions

2011-04-06T14:50:00.001+08:00

What is it? Is it important to you? Why? Why not?

Who worries more about their hair: men or women? Why? How often do you check your hair everyday?

KINDS OF HAIR

Colors: Blonde, Brunette, Redhead: Which do your prefer?

Styles: straight, curly, long, short, medium, perm, wavy, tousled, shaved, short, crewcut, greasy, slick, combed back, spiked, shaggy.

Do you like your hair? Why? Why not? Have you changed your hairstyle over the years? Do you feel embarrassed to look at photos of your old hair styles? Do you ever want your hair to be longer? Do you ever want to shave all your hair off?

How would you like your hair to look? Which style would you prefer to have?

Who has great hair? Friend or Celebrity. Strange hair?

Who does your hair? Barber, hairstylist, yourself, parents? Do you have the same person do your hair?

MEN'S HAIR

Ladies. How do you like men's hair? Long? Short? What turns you off?

WOMEN'S HAIR

Guys. How do you like women's hair? Long? Short? Dyed? What turns you off?

HAIR PROBLEMS

What problems do you have with your hair?

Baldness, Bed Head, cowlick, thinning, grey hair

Do you ever have a bad hair day?

What strange things have you seen people do with their hair? Dye jobs, comb overs, wigs, extensions

HAIR PRODUCTS

Do you put anything in your hair? Gel, hairspray, or dye? Would you dye your hair?

FACIAL HAIR

Do you want to have a beard or a mustache?

Women. Do you like beards or mustaches?

Personality Discussion Questions

2011-03-30T15:28:00.001+08:00

What is it? (the aspects of a person's characters that we can see)

Can you tell me some types of personalities? What types do you like? What do types do you hate? What types scare you? (e.g determined, quiet, outgoing, shy, stubborn, weak-willed, obnoxious, bad-tempered, violent, etc.)

Describe your personality.

What personalities do you want as your friend? Wife? Boss? Workmate?

Can you remember some strange personalities you have meet? Can you think of people who had a strange personality trait?

What is the best personality trait a person can have?

Are we born with our personalities?

Do we get our personality from our culture? Do you watch television or movies, and change your ways? Do the Chinese have different personalities than foreigners?

Do we get our personality from our parents? Are you like your parents? Who are you most like your mother or your father?

Do we get our personality from our life experience? What life events shaped your personality or you view of life?

Do you like people with the same personality as you? Do you like people who compliment you? (that is they have what you don't have?)

Can we change our personality or our ways? Why? Why not? Is it easy?

Have you changed your personality? Have you changed one part of your personality?

Has your personality changed through life? How did the change happen?

What would you like to change about your personality? Do you like your personality? How do you think others see you?

Do you think some people are acting? They are not being real? Is this a good thing or a bad thing?

What 's in your pocket or purse? ESL Discussion Questions.

2011-03-25T15:30:00.001+08:00

What are pockets, wallets, and purses?

Do you have too many things to carry,and/or not enough pockets, purses, or wallets?

Why do women have purses? Why can't men have purses?

What do you keep in your purse?

What do you keep in your wallet?

Is it possible to walk about with nothing in your pockets?

Is it a good habit to walk with your hands in your pockets?

Do you have something, sentimental, you always take with you?

Do you have some thing you carry with you for good luck?

Do you carry a first aid kit with you?

Do you take chopsticks with you?

Do you have something you can't be without.

What would happen if you didn't have your papers?

Do you carry a weapon with you? Why? Why not?

Do you carry a map with you?

Does your mobile phone carry a lot of things for you? What does it carry for you? (e.g. It is my alarm clock, my GPS,.....

Show me your keys? What do you use each key for? Tell me about your key chain or lack of key chain?

Do you have a special hiding place for your keys?

Have you ever lost your keys? What did you do?

Have you ever had your wallet or purse stolen? What can you do to stop pick-pockets and purse thieves?

Have you ever locked yourself out of the house?

Live to eat, or eat to live?

2011-03-23T15:26:00.001+08:00

What is the difference between eat to live, or live to eat?

What about live to work, or work to live?

What do you do: eat to live or live to eat? Why?

Did your grandparents eat to live or live to eat? Why?

Do the children of today live to eat or eat to live? Why?

Do we need to eat three meals a day? Do you eat three meals a day? Do you sometimes skip a meal? Do you snack all day? Do you eat at the same time everyday? Do you wait for your stomach to grumble before you eat? How often does your stomach grumble?

Do you think it would be better if we just snacked all day?

Do you find some meals can be an inconvenience? Do you eat junk food because you are too busy?

Are there times when you are doing something, and you don't want to eat? That is, you want to continue working...? Do you eat in the office? Do you eat in the bus or while you are driving?

Do we sometimes eat because we are bored or we are sad?

Is it important that families have a meal together every day? Do you like to eat alone? Why? Why not? It is unusual for people to eat by themselves in restaurants?

When you are eating, are you doing other things like reading or watching television? Is this a good habit?

If people are living to eat, what kind of lives do they have? What should they do to change their lives?

Some English names I would give my Chinese students, if I could (and if I dared).

2011-03-22T08:48:00.001+08:00

I always thought to make this list. Sometimes, the students would like me to give them English names, but lately, I find myself telling them that I would get back to them about it -- the issue of naming is wrought with possibilities. I would venture to say that it is overwrought. And so after making a mental note about making a list of names and putting it in my wallet, I never do...

However, one evening, a few weeks ago, I jotted these possible names into a notebook -- finally getting around to it, as it were. I told myself to jot down ten. The first one on the list was easy because I giggled so much when I thought of it that I became inspired to make a list of ten. However, the longer I made the list, the less resolute and amused I became. I shelved, as the expression goes, till now.

Here goes nothing:

Oklahoma: Something about the Grunge scene -- you, know, Nirvana and the band that did the song about Jeremy speaking in class -- just turned me off. Maybe, I was getting old. Maybe, I didn't like the fact that these bands, seemed to have descended from the alternative bands I liked (the Smiths, New Order, Husker Du), and had sinned by becoming too popular. Anyway, it was the Grunge scene that made me decide to go back, way back, in my musical exploration. I decided that I would become a Sinatra fan. From there, it was only a matter of time before I discovered the joys of Bing Crosby, Fred Astaire, Cole Porter, and Rodgers and Hammerstein. One day, I was flipping through racks of DVDs in Wuxi, and I found a copy of Oklahoma! -- the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical. Putting that in the DVD player was the cultural equivalent of bringing a Husker Du tape back to Brandon, Manitoba. It was awesome full of real catchy tunes including the one about Oklahoma being okay. I would name a student Oklahoma as an excuse to sing songs from that musical. "You're Okay Oklahoma, Oklahoma you're doing okay!"
Mahovlich. I saw Frank Mahovlich in Brandon, Manitoba -- I bring this up because it was a fond reminiscence. The Big "M" and his brother Pete, the little "M" were awesome hockey players, that I watched on television in my impressionable years. To see one of them live, even in an old-timers game, was a thrill. The Big "M" had a way of skating, with a big strong wide gait, that was distinctive, and he still had it in his fifties. Now, I would name a Chinese student Mahovlich because I love to pronounce that name. One has to press one's lower lips against the teeth, and then push the word to the top of one's throat. It would be my way of getting back at the Chinese for having such a tonal language.
Autumn. I have had students named Summer, Spring, and Winter; but never Autumn or Fall. I know, and then, I could say, I don't know why this should be. I would give the name Autumn to students who strike me as being mature.
Smoggy. Same rationale as choice number three. I have had students named Rainy and Sunny. Why not Smoggy? I would give the name Smoggy to students who were avid smokers. (I actually had a student tell me smoking was his hobby -- God Bless 'em! I said. True rebellion always wins my admiration.)
Cheryl. I haven't had a Chinese student called Cheryl -- that is my rationale for this name.
Mulligan. Same rationale as name number five.
Anatole. Same rationale as name number five and six, except one little proviso: the way I see it, Anatole is not a name you can give to someone right away. They have show you they have a personality of an Anatole. The personality of an Anatole? you say. They have to have a personality to match the scowl.
Esposito. I named my son Tony after Tony Esposito (Actually I named my son Anthony so he could shorten his name to Tony, but you get the idea.). Esposito was the coolest hockey goalie of all-time -- even cooler than Ken Dryden, circa 1971 - 1973. As well, Esposito like Mahovlich, is just a cool name to say. And there are lots of students named Tony who don't want to be reminded that they have the same name as my son. "Hey Esposito! Make a sentence with "perchance."
Jefferson. Many of the younger male students like to name themselves after NBA players - Kobe and Lebron. One thing I wish the Chinese would do -- actually they are many but I won't talk about all that -- is follow NFL football. There are many cool and graceful wide receivers named Jefferson that I can recall.
Bonita. It is like the name of my sister, and there are no Bonita's that I know of in China.
Hector. You got name a student after something Greek and Homerish.
Abraham. The students say they admire Abraham Lincoln, and yet not one of them has named themselves after him.
Aina. My mom's name.

And so I have a list bigger than ten. It turns out, the list is long on names but short on long-winded rationales.

Discussion Questions about Test or Examinations.

2011-03-19T11:20:00.001+08:00

Tests (or exams)

What are they? Do you like tests? What is your favorite kind of test? What kind of tests do you wish you could take? What is the best kind of test?

The teacher says "we are having test today!" How do you feel?

Test verbs: write, pass, fail, take, cheat, ace, cram (Have you done these?)

Do the tests stop with school? Is every day a test? Is every moment of your life a test?

What was you worst test moment? What was your best? What was the hardest test you ever took?

What is the hardest test in life?

Does being good at school tests mean you are good at life, love, and business? How important are tests in China?

Do tests help you learn? Do tests help you improve? Do teachers teach to the test?

How do you feel when someone says "this is a test"?

Could we live without tests?

Are most tests: fill in the blank, essay, or multiple choice?

What do you want to do when you make a test for others to take?

Do you like tests of strength? What is a good test of strength?

What is a good test of character?

What is a good test of intelligence? (I.Q. Test)

What is a good test of endurance?

What is a good test of honesty?

What is a good test of your love for another person?

What is a good test of your love for your country?

Give examples of how we test things (not people)? e.g. Test a battery.

To the adults in the class: Could you now pass the tests your wrote in school?

To the students in the class: Could you pass the test you wrote three months ago?

TEST IDIOMS

Put someone to the test.

It stands the test of time.

Let's test this thing out!

Tried, tested .and true.

Litmus Test something that shows clearly what someone's opinions or intentions are

Acid Test a test which will really prove the value, quality, or truth of something

He will test the waters.

You need your head examined.

You passed with flying colors.

Toy Discussion Questions

2011-03-18T12:31:00.001+08:00

What are they? Are toys good or bad?

What do we do with toys?

Why do we play with toys? Are we practicing for adulthood?

What is the difference between a toy and a tool?

What kind of toys are there?

What are the famous toy brandnames in China? In the world?

What is your favorite toy? What is a toy you wish you had? Greatest toy ever?

What toys are for girls? What toys are for boys? What toys are unisex?

Can you give a girl a toy truck? Can you give a boy a toy doll?

Tell me about the toys you had growing up? What happened to them? Do you still have any of your childhood toys? Did you sleep with a toy? Do your children play with toys?

At what age do we stop playing with toys? Do we ever stop playing with toys?

Do parents like buying toys for children? Do parents buy toys that their children don't like?

Are some adult things really toys?

Are war toys or toy guns bad? Do they make us violent?

What other toys are dangerous?

Are the simplest toys the best toys?

What did we play with before we had toys? What toys can you find in the woods?

Do children today have too many toys? Do your children have many toys? (Ask about boys and girls toys) Did you have many toys growing up? Is it better to have many expensive toys or to have a few basic toys?

What toys are best for children? What is best for a child: a toy, a book, a computer?

Where do you buy toys? The best place in the city to buy toys?

What kind of toy do you wish they made? (e.g. Toy fission reactor)

Toy idioms

He is like a kid with a new toy!

You are toying with him.

He is your toyboy.

Discussion Questions about Soldiers and Military Life

2011-03-12T09:45:00.001+08:00

Soldiers

What are they? What do they do? What are their jobs and duties?

Does anyone have military experience? Tell me about it? Do you relatives have military experience? Are any of your relatives veterans of war? Do they tell you some "war" stories?

Do you want to be a soldier? Why? Why not? What would be fun about being a soldier? What would you hate about it? Can being in the military be a good job? Are soldiers well-paid? Do you know people who want to be in the Army? (have you known?) Do you think those people are crazy? What kind of people make the best soldiers?

Soldiers have to be disciplined. Why?

Soldiers have to march. Why? Have you marched in formation? Do you like watching soldiers parade?

Soldiers have to have rank. Why? Anybody has a rank? What are some examples of ranks?

Soldiers fire guns. Have you? What kind do you want to try?

Soldiers do group exercises. Have you?

Soldiers ride or drive in vehicles. Have you? What military vehicles can you name? Which ones do you think are cool? Which ones would you like to ride or drive in? Do you think fighter pilots are cool?

Soldiers have to wear uniforms. Why? Do you think uniforms are cool? Do you admire people who wear military uniforms? Have you worn any uniforms? Why do soldiers wear green or brown uniforms?

What kind of military personnel are there? (Army, Air Force, Navy, Marines) Which "branch" would you like to be in?

Do you think everyone should spend a year in the Army? Why? Why not? Do you want your children to be in the military? Should women be in the military? Can women be in the same units as men? How old should soldiers be?

Are veterans treated well? Is there a day to honour veterans in China?

Who is the greatest Chinese soldier of all-time?

Do you think there will be a time when we don't need soldiers? Is there anything worth being killed for? Is war ever justified?

ESL Discussion Questions about Materialism

2011-03-11T13:31:00.001+08:00

Materialism (* Two aspects to this word: the possessions question and the material-spirit question. These discussion questions will mostly focus on the first question.*)

What is it? The idea that people are overly-attached or overly-desirous to have material possessions. They want too much stuff. It is also the idea that there is no spirit or no soul — here and now is all there is. There is nothing transcendent.*)

Is materialism a good or a bad thing? Is this an important question?

Are we spirits in a material world? Is there a supernatural? What do most Chinese believe? Are there questions science cannot answer?

Do you have enough material possessions? Do you need more? Do you need less? Do you feel bad because you don't have the latest gadget or a car or a big house? Should you feel bad because of this?

Are you materialistic? Do you like to collect things? Is collecting a good hobby?

Could you up and leave your material possessions? Women: Could you stop wearing jewelery? Is shopping a good way to use your time? Does buying things satisfy you permanently or for a short time? Do you immediately need to buy the next thing? Can a thing provide constant satisfaction or does it soon bore us? Do we shop because we are bored? Do we shop because we don't know what to do?

China has become a consumer society. Good thing?

What is your most valued material possession? Have you bought something and then wished you had not?

Do some people value their stuff more than people?

Do you like to travel light in life?

How do you feel when you lose a thing? Is it really bad to lose a computer or mobile phone? Why?

Are people happy because they are rich? Or are people happier because they are richer than people they know? Would winning a lot of money or having a lot of money given to you make you happy?

Is there a nobility in poverty? Can poor people be happy?

Who would you listen to first: a teacher, a rich businessman, a scientist, a monk, your parents?

What is Life about? What are we supposed to do with our lives?

What does this mean "You can't take it with you when you die."?

"He who has the most stuff wins." Agree?

Discussion Questions about Silence

2011-03-10T11:27:00.001+08:00

What is it?

Other words for Silence? (quiet, reticence, taciturn, tranquility, serenity, muteness) Opposites? (Noise, Din)

What comes to mind when you think of silence?

Pros and Cons of silence? Do you like silence?

Is it better to be thought of reticent or talkative? Do you like reticent people? Do people think you are quiet or reticent? Who is the most reticent person you know?

How long can you be silent? Can you remember the longest you went without talking?

Do you feel comfortable when you are with others and everyone is silent? Have you experienced an awkward silence?

Do you sometimes find yourself talking just to "break the silence"?

Should Lovers, Friends, Family, Spouses always be talking?

"Silence is golden" Agree? "Silence is boring" Agree?

"The sounds of silence" What can that possibly mean? What about "the silence was deafening"? What would it be like to be deaf? Do deaf people miss music? What would you miss most if you were deaf?

How can you use silence as a weapon?

What does it mean to have "a moment of silence"? When are the times we should be silent?

Do you like watching silent films?

What can we do to communicate if we must be silent?

Where do you go if you want silence? Is this easy to do in China? Or do you have to plug your ears?

What places should we be silent? What occasions should we be silent?

Do you need to get the last word in? Can you reduce people to silence?

"Silence means agreement." Agree? Disagree?

Ratios Discussion Questions

2011-03-05T12:42:00.001+08:00

Ratios

What are they? (Two numbers together) e.g km.p.h. one number over another.

The ratio of water to tea is 1:4, the ratio of women to men in this class is ______

What are some examples of ratio? fraction, percentage,rates,odds,

What ratios do you use or see everyday? What is your favorite ratios?

What is a good ratio of men to women? Work time to leisure time? sleep to awake time?

Fractions

How do you say these fractions 1/2 1/3 1/4 1/5....

Make a sentence: one fifth of my company are woman. I spend 1/2 of my time sleeping.

if concentrated orange is to be diluted with water in the ratio 1:4, then one part of orange is mixed with four parts of water, giving five parts total, so the fraction of orange is 1/5 and the fraction of water is 4/5.

Percentage

What percentages are these? 2/3 1/2 1/4 5/4

What does it mean to give 110 percent?

What percentage of your time is spent sleeping? thinking? worrying? being happy? playing computer games?

if a mixture contains substances A, B, C & D in the ratio 5:9:4:2 then there are 5 parts of A for every 9 parts of B, 4 parts of C and 2 parts of D. This means that the total mixture contains 5/20 of

A, 9/20 of B, 4/20 of C, and 2/20 of D. In terms of percentages, this is 25% A, 45% B, 20% C, and 10% D. (The ratio could have been written as 25:45:20:10 but this can be cancelled to the simplest form given above.)

increase decrease 100 to 120 % increase? 120 to 100? decrease?

Odds (Chances)

What are the odds you will have chicken tonight? What are the chances you will have chicken tonight? Good or bad? What are the chances it will rain tomorrow?

There is a fifty percent chance, I will have beef.

What are the chances China will one day win the Football World Cup?

What are the chances the Lakers will win the NBA Championship?

What are the chances or odds you will get eaten by a tiger?

What does "one in a million" mean? You chances are one in million? good or bad?

Proportionality same ratios different quantities.

China has the second biggest economy but per capita is poor.

Ratios or numbers used in driving, basketball, football, eating, school, finance, economics, your job.

Make sentences with this ratios. 1/2 1/3 3:2, 60/hour, 110 percent, 2 percent, 3/4, 4/5, one in a million, 25 percent chance.

Discussion Questions about Canada

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What comes to mind when you hear "Canada"?

What is the weather like in Canada now?

How old is Canada?

What do you want to know about Canada?

What do you think of Canada? Canadians?

Is Canada an important country on the world? What has Canada done for the world?

Do you want to move to Canada? Why?

How are Canadians different from Americans, English, and Australians?

Have you heard of Eskimos and Aboriginals?

Do you want to live in Canada? Why? Why not?

Are Canadians and Americans alike? How do they differ?

What does this mean: "How's it going eh?"

How are Canada and China similar?

Can you name ten famous Canadians?

Can you name ten places in Canada?

Can you name ten Canadian things?

What are symbols of Canada?

Match up these expressions (Two-Four, Double-Double, Hoser, Loonie, Washroom, Pop, Chocolate Bar, Keener, Mickey, eh, Eskimos) with the definitions (W.C., Beer Package, Northern people, interjection, Cream and Sugar, Weak Person, hard worker, One dollar coin, Soda, Sweet Food, and Bottle of hard liquor)

Photos Discussion Questions

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Photos

Do you have a camera? What kinds of cameras have you had? Can you remember the days of film? Do you still have paper photos? Do you have photo albums? Where do you store your digital photos? Do you upload your photos to the Internet? Do you have many photos of your grandparents?

Do you like taking photos? What do you like to take photos of? What is the best ever photo you have taken? Are there times, you wish you had a camera with you? Are there photos you just miss taking?

Do you like posing for photos? Why? Why not? What is your favorite photo of you? Do you like looking at photos of you from the past? Are these photos you wish were thrown away? Do you have many photos of your childhood? Are you in many group photos? What famous person would you pose with?

Do you prefer color photos or black and white photos? Why?

Is photography an art? What kinds of photos do you like to look at? Do you have a favorite photo?

What makes a good photo? What can ruin a photo?

Do you like to collect photos? Of what? What is the best photo you have ever seen? Why? What makes a good photo? The subject or the way it was taken?

Video

Do you think videos are better than photos? Do you take a lot of videos? Do you upload them to the Internet? What your favorite personal video?

Should videos be short or long in duration?