Culture Corner: November 11th in Canada and Korea

Today is November 11th.  November 11th is a special day in both Canada and Korea, but for different reasons.

In Canada, November 11th is Remembrance Day.  People wear red poppies on their lapels and gather together at 11:00am on November 11th to remember all the Canadian soldiers who have died in various wars.

In Korea, November 11th is Pepero Day.  I heard once that it is called Pepero Day because another way to write "November 11th" is "11.11", which looks like a bunch of Pepero sticks.  Stores make big fancy displays out of boxes of Pepero, and people give many boxes of Pepero to their loved ones and to their teachers,

Tuesday, 09 November, 2010: L3 Class

In this lesson, we looked at Lesson 4, and we did the Unit 1 Checkpoint and the Topic Preview for Unit 2.


We talked about how cultures can change over time, and we did this by talking about how Mongolia is different today from how it was 100 years ago.

Mongolia 100 years ago:

-Most people lived in the country.

-Everyone lived in gers.

-Everyone rode horses.

-People rarely ate sweets.

-People ate even more meat and fewer vegetables.

-Everyone wore dels.

-There were a lot more temples.

-There were fewer schools.

Mongolia today:

-Most people live in cities.

-Most people live in apartments or houses.

-Many people drive cars.

-People eat more sweets and vegetables.

-People eat more Western style food.

-Fewer people wear dels.

-There are fewer temples.

-There are more schools.

A few pronunciation problems that came up in this lesson were:

Wolfgang --> sounds like "woaf-gang"

symphony --> sounds like "sim-faw-nee" (make sure you bite your bottom lip when you say the /f/ or /ph/ sound)

tournament --> sounds like "turn-uh-munt"

punctuality --> sounds like "punk-choo-ya-li-dee"

Ecuador --> sounds like "ek-wuh-door"

vaccinations --> sounds like "vak-si-nay-shunz"

immunization --> sounds like "im-myoo-n-eye-zay-shunz"

illness --> sounds like "il-nuhs"

prescription --> sounds like "pree-skrip-shun"

participation --> sounds like "par-ti-si-pay-shun"

social --> sounds like "so-shuhl"

supply --> sounds like "suh-pl-eye"

frightening --> sounds like "fr-eye-t-ning"

A few phrases that came up in this lesson were:

"on the fence"  --> undecided, not sure one way or the other about a decision

"Get right out of town!" --> Are you serious?  Are you kidding?  Are you joking?  I can't believe it!

"the beaten path" --> the place or thing that absolutely everyone does.  To get off the beaten path, you have to do something different or go someplace different.

A few vocabulary words from this lesson were:

formal behaviour --> the things you say and do in very formal, serious situations

Machu Picchu --> a pre-Colombian 15th century Inca site.  It is a very popular tourist destination in Peru.  Click here for more information about Machu Picchu.

vaccinations --> the administration of a vaccine to provide immunity from certain diseases

immunizations --> the process in which one's immune system is fortified against an agent

Chrysanthemums

Don't forget your homework:

Please do pp. 8-11 in your workbooks (page 12 is optional).

Tuesday, 09 November, 2010 and Wednesday, November 10, 2010: L1 Class

In these lessons, we looked at Lessons 2, 3, and 4, and we did the Unit 1 Checkpoint and the Topic Preview for Unit 2.  

We talked about some question words:

Who --> to ask about a person  (eg., Who is your teacher at Santis?)
What --> to ask about a thing (eg., What is your teacher's name?)
Where --> to ask about a place (eg., Where does your teacher come from?)
How old --> to ask about somebody's age (eg., How old is your teacher?)


We also talked about some possessive adjectives:

I = my  (I am Marie. --> My name is Marie)
you = your (You are Eegii. --> Your name is Eegii.)
he = his (He is Nambaa. --> His name is Nambaa.)
she = her (She is Togii.  -->  Her name is Togii.)
it = its (It is Cujo.  -->  Its name is Cujo.)
we = our (We live in this house.  -->  This is our house.)
they = their (They go to this school.  -->  This is their school.)


Some grammar issues frome these lessons:


We can say "I'm a student", and we can say, "Yes, I am", but we can not say "Yes, I'm.":
I'm a student. (GOOD)
I am a student. (GOOD)
Yes, I am. (GOOD)
Yes, I'm. (BAD)


The article 'a' or 'an' is very important.  You must use it:
He is a businessman. (GOOD)
He is businessman. (BAD)
I'm a student. (GOOD)
I'm student. (BAD)

The verb 'be' is very important.  You must use it:
Her name is Zoljargal. (GOOD)
Her name Zoljargal. (BAD)

Some pronunciation issues from these lessons were:

introduce --> sounds like "in-tro-doos"
Spain --> rhymes with "rain"
I'll --> sounds like "I-uhl"
g --> sounds like "jee"
j --> sounds like "jay"
musician --> sounds like "m-yoo-zi-shun"
photographer --> sounds like "faw-taw-gruh-fer" (make sure you bite your bottom lip when you make the /f/ or /ph/ sounds, and make sure that the second syllable-- the one that looks like "to" gets stressed)
cute --> sounds like "kyoot"
daughter --> sounds like "daw-der"
violin --> sounds like "v-eye-yuh-lin" (make sure that you bite your bottom lip when you say the /v/ sound)
violinist --> sounds like "v-eye-yuh-lin-ist" (again, make sure you bit your bottom lip to say the /v/ sound)
piano --> sounds like "pee-ya-no"
prices --> sounds like "pr-eye-suhz"
symphony --> sounds like "sim-faw-nee"
park --> sounds like "par-k"
guitar --> sounds like "g-i-tar"


Some phrases that came up in these lessons:


That's past my bedtime.  -->  That's too late for me.
What do you do? --> What is your job?
How do you do?  -->  How are you?
What's up?  -->  How are you? (except, this is extremely informal and you can only use this with your friends)

Some symbols that came up in reading:


June 21 --> read it out loud as "June twenty-first"
June 22 --> read it out loud as "June twenty-second"
June 23 --> read it out loud as "June twenty-third"
June 24 --> read it our loud as "June twenty-fourth"
$ --> read it out loud as "dollars"
$35  --> say the word "dollars" after the number, so this would be read out loud as "thirty-five dollars"
$35-$75 --> read the "-" out loud as "to", so this would sound like "thirty-five dollars to seventy-five dollars"
St. --> read it out loud as "street"
Ave. --> read it out loud as "avenue"


Some vocabulary that came up in these lessons was:

linguistics --> the scientific study of language
take pictures --> to capture a moment with your camera
graphic --> has to do with pictures
opera singer --> someone who sings very strong, fancy, difficult music

Photographer

Musician

Manager

Chef

Flight Attendant

Pilot

Computer Programmer

Salesperson

Graphic Designer

Don't forget your homework!
Please do pages 6-10 in your workbooks.

Monday, 08 November, 2010: D3 Class

In our introductory lesson, we talked about some places we would like to visit. 
 
An expression we learned is:
"When in Rome, do as the Romans do." --> When you are in another country, you should behave the way the local people behave.


We talked about tag questions in this lesson.  A tag question is basically a normal sentence with a short, two-word question "tagged" on to the end of it.  Some rules to remember for tag questions are:
-Make sure that you start with a sentence.
-Look at the verb in the sentence.  If the verb is a form of BE, you have to use the same form of BE in your tag question.  If the verb is a form of WILL, you have to use the same form of WILL in your tag question.  If the verb is a form of CAN, you have to use the same form of CAN in your tag question.  And, finally, if the verb is anything else (eat, sleep, go, like, etc), you must use DO in your tag question.
-Look at the tense of the verb in your sentence.  If your sentence is in the present tense, then your tag question will be in the present tense.  If your sentence is in the past tense, then your tag question will be in the past tense.
-Remember that, in the tag question, we can only use pronouns, not names or nouns.  Look at the subject of your sentence, and decide which pronoun to use.
-Remember that if your sentence is positive, you have to make your tag question negative (with the word "not").  If you sentence is negative, you have to make your tag question positive.

Examples:
It's cold today, isn't it?
Marie is a funny teacher, isn't she?
Tsenba will go to London, won't he?
Your daughter can ride a bike, can't she?
You ate dinner, didn't you?



A few pronunciation problems we had were:
Polynesian --> sounds like "paw-li-nee-juhn"
medieval --> sounds like "muh-dee-vel"
ocean --> sounds like "oh-shun"
wai --> sounds like "why"
though --> sounds like "tho" (be sure to bite your tongue when you say the /th/)
title --> sounds like "t-eye-tel"
science --> sounds like "sigh-yuns"

A few vocabulary words we learned are:
melting pot --> a country, locality, or situation in which a blending of races, peoples, or cultures is taking place.

crown --> what a king or queen wears on his or her head
renowned --> celebrated, famous
per capita --> A Latin phrase literally meaning “by heads,” and translated as “for each person.” It is a common unit for expressing data in statistics. A country's per capita personal income, for example, is the average personal income per person.
beautiful --> usually used only for women
handsome --> usually used only for men
good-looking --> can be used to describe both men and women
cute --> can be used to describe animals, babies, children, and some grown-ups
kiss (or "bises") --> to kiss your friend on both cheeks when saying "hello" or "goodbye".  Europeans like to do this.
wai --> the Thai greeting in which one places one's hands together and bows:

The Thai Wai

Don't Forget Your Homework!
Please do pages 1-3 in your workbook!

Friday, 05 November, 2010: Fundamentals

In this lesson, we talked about some different responses to the question, "How are you?"  Acceptable answers to this question are always positive things, such as:

Not bad.
So-so.
Okay.
Good.
Great.

We also practiced the shortened form of the verb BE and how to make negative statements with BE:

I am a teacher. --> I'm a teacher.  --> I'm not a teacher.
You are a doctor. --> You're a doctor. --> You're not a doctor.
She is a lawyer.  --> She's a lawyer. --> She's not a lawyer.
He is an architect.  --> He's an architect. --> He's not an architect.
We are students. --> We're students. --> We're not students.
They are chefs.  --> They're chefs. --> They're not chefs.


We also practiced making questions with the verb BE:

Marie is a teacher.  --> Is Marie a teacher?
You are pilots.  -->  Are you pilots?
They are Jack and Erdine.  -->  Are they Jack and Erdine?

We also practiced the article "a/an".  If the next word starts with a vowel (AEIOU), then we say "an".  If the next word starts with a consonant (BCDFGHJKL...), then we say "a":

a doctor
a dentist
a lawyer
an architect
an athlete
an engineer

A few words that were difficult to pronounce:

athlete --> remember to bite your tongue when you say the "th" in athlete
flight attendant --> We have to make this sound almost like one word, so we kind of attache the final /t/ on "flight" to the initial /a/ on "attendant", so it sounds like this "fligh tattendant".
architect --> The combination /ch/ does not behave the way it normally does.  In this word, /ch/ sounds like a /k/, so "architect, sounds like "arkitekt".
university --> sounds like "yoo-ni-ver-si-dee"
scientist --> sounds like "sigh-yun-tist"
an artist --> sounds like "a nartist"

A few vocabulary words from this lesson:

Actor

Architect

Artist

Athlete

Banker

Chef

Doctor

Engineer

Flight Attendant

Lawyer

Manager

Musician

Nurse

Photographer

Pilot

Scientist

Singer

Student

Teacher

Writer

Thursday, 04 November, 2010: What had you been doing at the time of the murder?

In this lesson, we reviewed our homework from the workbook (I wanted to make sure everyone had arrived at the correct answers), and then we moved on to Lesson 2.  In this lesson, we practiced the past perfect, which takes this form:

had + past participle
I had learned to speak French before I moved to France.
Blake hadn't learned to speak French before he moved to Montreal.
John had asked for years to play hockey before Mom and Dad relented and allowed him to.

We also talked about the past perfect with the words "already" and "yet".  If the sentence is positive, we can say "already".  If the sentence is negative, we can say "yet".  You can put "already/yet" between 'had' and the past participle, or you can put it after the object after the past participle.  It does not change the meaning, so it's your choice.  You can choose a classic and stick with it, or you can mix it up a bit:

I had already gone bungy jumping five times when I decided I wanted to go skydiving.
I had gone bungy jumping five times already when I decided I wanted to go skydiving.

Blake hadn't yet learned any French when he moved to Montreal for university.
Blake hadn't learned any French yet when he moved to Montreal for university.

We often see the past perfect in a sentence, paired with the simple past.  When we see sentences like this, the tense is a clue as to which event happened first and which event happened second.  The event that appears in the past perfect happened first, and the event that appears in the simple past happens second.  There will never be any surprises:

Marie had lived in Korea, Kuwait, and France before she moved to Mongolia.
had lived = past perfect
moved = simple past
So, first Marie lived in Korea, Kuwait, and France, and then (second) she moved to Mongolia.

Things to think about (pronunciation):

excursions --> sounds like "eks-kuhr-geuhns", or, if you can read the IPA, /ɪkˈskɜrʒənz/
register --> sounds like "re-ji-stuhr", or, if you can read the IPA, /ˈrɛdʒəstər/
field --> sounds like "feeld", or, if you can read the IPA, /fild/
title --> sounds like "t-eye-duhl", or, if you can read the IPA,  /ˈtaɪtl/
pronunciation --> sounds like "prah-nun-see-ay-shuhn", or, if you can read the IPA, /prəˌnʌnsiˈeɪʃən/
Vancouver --> you guys all say this one mostly right, but just remember to bite your bottom lip when you pronounce the /v/ part.  Don't be shy-- I promise you will not look like an idiot, and the result will be a perfect /v/ sound, so you win all around! 

Things to think about (weird English shorthand):

Monday-Friday --> the dash (-) between 'Monday' and 'Friday' should be pronounced as the word "to" when we have to read this out lout, so 'Monday-Friday' is read out loud as "Monday to Friday".
 1 1/2 --> this should be read out loud as "one and a half".

Things to think about (new vocabulary):

alibi --> the defense by an accused person of having been elsewhere at the time an alleged offense was committed
suspect --> a person who is believed to be guilty of a crime or offense
remind --> to cause a person to think of or remember something
serve --> act as a waiter; offer or have refreshments available
Dos --> Something you definitely should do
Don'ts --> Something you definitely should not do.

Some Weird Dos and Don'ts Marie found on the Internet:

Don't forget your homework!
Please do pages 5-7 (all), and page 8 (#19)

  /fild/ /fild/

Wednesday, 03 November, 2010: What's this called in English?

In our first lesson, we practiced asking and answering a few question and simple dialogues.  We also learned how to ask how to say something in English:

What's this called in English?
It's a ....

We also practiced some questions with who, what, where, and how:

Who's that?  That's Mark.
What's your email address?  It's marieinmongolia@gmail.com.
Where do you come from?  I come from Canada.
How old are you?  I'm 28 years old.

We practiced some yes/no questions:

Are you a teacher?  Yes, I am.
Is she from America?  No, she isn't.  (or 'No, she's not.')

Remember that when you ask a question, your voice goes up at the end of the last word of the question:

Are you a teacher?
Is she from America?

Some vocabulary from this lesson:

double check --> in Mongolian: "Dahiad Shalgay"
first name --> given name; proper name; Christian name (so, my first name is 'Marie', since my full name is 'Marie Eaton')
last name --> family name, surname (so, my last name is 'Eaton', since my full name is 'Marie Eaton'.)
sharpener --> a tool to make something sharp:
sharp (Adj.) + en --> sharpen (V.)
sharpen (V.) + er --> sharpener (N.)
Mr --> the title we give to a man
Mrs --> the title we give to a married woman
Miss --> the title we give to a single woman
Ms --> the title we give to a woman when we are uncertain whether she is married or not

Remember!:  In English, use always use someone's last name after their title, not their first name:
Tom Cruise:
Mr. Cruise (correct)
Mr Tom (wrong)

Katie Holmes
Ms Holmes (corrent)
Ms Katie (wrong)

Euphegenia Doubtfire
Mrs Doubtfire (correct)
Mrs Euphegenia (wrong)

Marie Eaton
Miss Eaton (correct)
Miss Marie (wrong)

Map

Scarf

We also talked about the pronunciation of the words 'daughter' and 'carbohydrate':
daughter --> sounds like /dahder/
carbohydrate --> sounds like 'car-buh-hi-drit/  (but you can just say 'carb', like what most English-speakers do)

Don't forget your homework!
Please do pages 1-3 in your workbooks.