Thursday, May 31, 2007

Here is an exercise (what is your opinion?)

1. How is your project going? Tell me about the web site (if you are
making a site) and the questions to a local organization.

2. Write 5 questions that you want to ask a stranger. Imagine a
situation and write the conversation.

3. EXERCISE:  Please underline words that you don't understand.
Some of these words need capital letters.  Some of the words are
spelled incorrectly (not correctly).  Make changes.
>>> Then (if you want to) write a reply to Shari mmariposa@gmail.com

im sending this out to my entire list of friends and family, without
any editing, and not even too much forethought.  but it's something
that's been on my mind lately and i've been repressing this feeling for
way too long, mostly to spare anyone (myself included) an uncomfortable
moment...

cindy sheehan stepped down today, as the foremost and practically LONE
public peace activist in this county.  perhaps you don't know who cindy
sheehan is, or maybe you don't care, or maybe you are put-off by her for
your own reasons.  it really doesn't matter who she is, though. 
unfortunatlely she is all we have right now, trying thanklessly and
sometimes even shamelessly, to remind the american public that we are
currently fighting a bloody, horrible war. it's pretty significant that
she, well, gave up.  she realizes that though there are a "few" people
listening, most of us, me included, have found much comfort in my
complacency.  im not really making any suggestions for what actions we
should take, if any, because clearly i have no ideas.  i do feel
compelled to be the thorn in everyone's side by reminding them to think
twice when they see a seemingly insignificant story about a leader of an
anti-war movement stepping down. 

we are currently in a war.  try to refrain from hating her for her
delivery or for her personal qualities, and just be grateful that a
public figure is speaking up for those of us who are against this war,
for your children, grandchildren, etc. when virtually no one else is
saying anything... 

that's it.  im sorry (sort of) to send this to those of you
who proclaim to be apolitical.  it's not really even about politics
anymore, if you ask me. 

i'll end this with a quote from sheehan's "resignation" letter.  It
captured what i've been thinking but have only articulated to myself,
about myself...  "(My son) died for a country which cares more about
who will be the next American Idol than how many people will be killed
in the next few months while Democrats and Republicans play politics
with human lives." 
with love always                   shari
|\/|/\|\/|/\|\/|/\|\/|/\|
My suggestions about the Course:  Guided Independent Learning
++++++++++++++++++++++
1. Time: There was enough time each week for the course   11 am to
12:50 pm
AGREE              Disagree   Comments _____ 

2. Amount of work: There was too much work.  We didn't have enough
time to complete the work.
AGREE      DISAGREE     Comments: _________

3. Emails: The teacher sent three or four emails to me each week.  This
was too much to read.  He should send only ___ email each week.
AGREE      DISAGREE    Comments: _________

4. Field Trips: The visit to the Little Pink School was a waste of
time. 
AGREE     DISAGREE      Comments: ________

5. CDs and DVDs.   It was really interesting to see my video on the
CDs and DVDs.    I looked at the DVDs and I will keep the DVD to look
at it when I return to my country.  The DVD is useful for reviewing the
work in the classroom.   AGREE     DISAGREE      Comments:
____________

6. Emails to other students. I wrote to _______ (number) students in
other countries.  It is a useful exercise to find a penpal. 
AGREE     DISAGREE      Comments: ______________

7. Web sites: I looked at the blog

www.FreeEnglishLessonsinFlorida.blogspot.com and the web site
www.TellMeMoreTV.com.  AGREE     DISAGREE      Comments:
_______________

8. Youtube.com YouTube is a waste of time.  I didn't look at any
videos that Steve put on YOUTUBE. AGREE     DISAGREE     
Comments: ________
9. We practice taking notes, listening, speaking to a video camera,
reading and writing. What are other skills that you want to learn or
improve?
Write more comments and send to steveenglishteacher@hotmail.com on the
back of this page.  How can this course be improved? 
What did you like best in the course?  What was boring?   Do you want
to continue to be a penpal?
Can future students write to you?  Send a description about a
restaurant (Cathy!) to SteveEnglishteacher@hotmail.com
--s2314@tmail.com

Wednesday, May 30, 2007

The plaque for the bear from Berlin

The plaque gives us an opportunity to look at the "K" sound. It is
nice that my city received this statue from the capital of Germany.
--s2314@tmail.com

This photo was taken near a sewer

In Fort Lauderdale, the river is near the main boulevard. Scientists
discovered that there was more pollution coming from the streets than
from boats, so they placed these markers to tell citizens, "Don't put
dirty water down this hole."
DRAIN and DUMP are good vocabulary words for students of English.
--s2314@tmail.com

Tuesday, May 29, 2007

The city of Fort Lauderdale received a statue from Berlin

Here is an example of the generosity of some citizens in Berlin. The
statue is located outside City Hall. It is about 1 meter 70 cm tall.
--s2314@tmail.com

I gave away 120 CDs today

This school improved from an "F" to an "A" in one year and the principal
won an award. The school is in this church and it receives public (tax)
money but operates like a private school (it is easy to fire a teacher
and students can be asked to leave). It is called a "charter" school
because it operates with an "agreement" with the state government.
Charter = written agreement. Here is Steve showing the empty CD
container. If you have a school that needs to "get ahead", ask for
Steve's educational CDs.
--s2314@tmail.com
www.TheEbookMan.com
www.CDsForParents.com
Www.RoadLovers.com write about your town

Monday, May 28, 2007

Aha .. These letters are easier to read

I invite students to send a story about each photo. If you take a photo
of a statue, explain in an email a story about the statue. What is the
name of a famous street in your city? EXAMPLE: "Fort Lauderdale has
Broward Boulevard. There was a governor named Napoleon Broward who
showed his neighbors how to remove water (drain) from the land. The
people were so grateful, they named a major street after him." See?
It's fun. Send you emails and photos to ...
--steveenglishteacher@hotmail.com

Here is an example of my "photo with a sentence."

I am asking my students to stand with a piece of paper and a SENTENCE
about the photo. Send me the photo for my book.
--s2314@tmail.com

Tuesday, May 22, 2007

Vocabulary can be funny

******************************
In a Podiatrist's office:
"Time wounds all heels."
*************
On a Septic Tank Truck in Oregon :
"A royal flush beats a full house."
**************************
At a Proctologist's door:
"To expedite your visit please back in."
**************************
On a Plumber's truck:
"Don't sleep with a drip. Call your plumber."
**************************
At a Tire Shop in Milwaukee :
"Invite us to your next blowout."
**************************
At a Towing company:
"We don't charge an arm and a leg. We want tows."
**************************
On an Electrician's truck:
"Let us remove your shorts."
**************************
On a Maternity Room door:
"Push. Push. Push."
**************************
At an Optometrist's Office
"If you don't see what you're looking for, you've come to the right
place."
**************************
On a Taxidermist's window:
"We really know our stuff."
*************
Outside a Muffler Shop:
"No appointment necessary. We hear you coming."
**************************
In a Veterinarian's waiting room:
"Be back in 5 minutes. Sit! Stay!"
**************************
At the Electric Company:
"We would be delighted if you send in your payment.
However, if you don't, you will be."
**************************
In a Restaurant window:
"Don't stand there and be hungry, Come in and get fed up."
**************************
In the front yard of a Funeral Home:
"Drive carefully. We'll wait."
**************************
At a Propane Filling Station,
"Thank heaven for little grills."
**************************
at a Chicago Radiator Shop:
"Best place in town to take a leak."
send me your jokes steveenglishteacher@hotmail.com

Saturday, May 12, 2007

Sundial 4

There's light above me by the shade below.

Sundial 3

Yet through the dear god's love I also show

From a sundial

With warning hand I mark time's rapid flight

Friday, May 11, 2007

Here's an example of creative writing

I love to read the ads by Southwest. You can find more at

www.southwest.com

What is your passion? What do you like to discuss?

We did an exercise called "What's your favorite web site?" and Rick
suggested www.cyworld.co.kr.

So, let's begin.
When we travel, sometimes we focus only on the travel web sites. It's
interesting to find out what the locals are looking at. You can visit
these sites and find out some of the topics that you might find yourself
discussing when you visit these countries.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pZTZyTA-DOc

Kinky Designs is Miguel's favorite web site. (He's from Portugal)
Sezer's web site uefa.com (He's from Turkey)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0_pd_oEcvl8
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6HqBecothII
Fernando likes cars (he's from Colombia)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jka-7nZPylU
What is the http://www.icg.org?

http://www.unhcr.org?

Daniela
recommends these sites...
What is the "Corner"?

http://www.rincondelvago.com

Lorena is from
Colombia
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4tt7X4p4ei0
Rick from South Korea suggests http://www.cyworld.com


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CM1Hg0MHQOw
Do you know about Babelfish? La_Flander gives us a tour.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8SdYk4EUNrA
Neighbor... naver.com - wow, that's an interesting "similar sound." Lee
suggests that you visit this site to see the best Korean restaurants in
major cities around the world.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2-nPgBznlcA
Are you interested in Thailand? Here are some interesting photos,
suggested by a customer service representative from Bangkok
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dcsLgl_W0lA
Well, what does Steve like ... a lot? Hmmm, he doesn't like too much
global warming, so what could we do to turn our cars into "global
cooling
vehicles"?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sobw8neZly4
Write to us with your opinions and suggestions:
steveenglishteacher@hotmail.com

Wednesday, May 9, 2007

What is your passion?

What do you support?
What do you fight?
What do you want to change?
=========
You have digital power
You are an agent of change, improvement or stagnation.
Here are three ways to distribute ebooks and podcasts (and help people
focus on something important)
A) Create a web site and let people know about podcasts on www.npr.org

and elsewhere, about useful videos on www.youtube.com and elsewhere, and
about ebooks on www.gutenberg.org
B) Find a cool podcast and email the link to yourself... Then you can
post it on your MYSPACE web page
C) Download your favorites, compile them on your hard drive, and burn
them to a CD. Take some of these ebooks with you. Put some of these
ebooks on your CD.
Steps A and B cost only your time and the cost of connecting to the
internet.
Step C costs $0.15 (15 cents) if you buy a cd in bulk during a sale.
Half of the people in a typical classroom know how to do these steps for
dealing with outrage (if you're not angry, then you're not paying
attention).
We have digital power
We are agents of change.

Fernando showed us two of his favorite videos on youtube.com.... What
are your favorites? Send me the links and write two sentences about the
video.
=============
ALSO: we can each do something about global warming: tree planting.
We can pay a user's fee to clean up the carbon dioxide that we produce
-- tree planting at 20 cents per tree, 20 trees a year, $4 each for
reduced carbon emissions
Steve McCrea
Www.TheEbookMan.com
TheEbookMan@gmail.com

Tuesday, May 8, 2007

Adriana the singer

I met a teenager who plays guitar and trumpet.
She welcomes emails from students who want to practice English. You can
practice listening to her songs.
-----Original Message-----
From: adrianna zak <nanasworld341@yahoo.com>
Myspace - www.myspace.com/AdriannaZak
Acid planet - http://www.acidplanet.com/artist.asp?songs=522274&T=7434
hey, how are you? I'm going to be going into the studio tomorrow, so I
will have some better quality songs up soon. If you want me to help you
out, just tell me what I can do.
e-mail anytime!
~peace&love~ -A.Zak

Monday, May 7, 2007

Here is a short video about how to write an essay

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SaCxigjUJ7Q
hello, Sezer (and other students who want to improve their writing)
You can learn a quick way to write an essay by watching this video.
--s2314@tmail.com

Sunday, May 6, 2007

Protect your brain: Keep learning English.

http://www.positscience.com/programs/tour.php
The New York Times has identified a company that seeks to delay the
arrival of "old age" by giving you tasks to complete on a
computer.  Many of the tasks are related to distinguishing sounds,
which are part of staying young. 
Learning how to hear the difference between "live" and "leave"
is important for language learners.  People in their older years lose
the ability to hear those differences – partly by not practicing the
small differences.  This is why teachers who continue to teach English
as a Second Language remain robust.  Look at Steve:  he's actually
77 years old and he hopes to continue teaching another 20 years.  
Listening to differences in pronunciation keeps his mind young.
If you don't want to practice English but you want to stay young in
your mind, you can go to the web site (above) and listen to the 4-minute
presentation.  Most US people prefer practicing English in
conversation.  Paying $395 for a computer program is nuts, but if you
don't have time to talk with students from Europe, Asia, South America
and Africa, well, it's better than watching TV.

--s2314@tmail.com
Steve McCrea 954-OH-MUCHO 954.646.8246

Saturday, May 5, 2007

Watch this video about Dubai...

This is a photo of a Convalescent Home.  People come here to
"convalesce."  (it means "improve or heal")…We have the email
addresses of more students of English who want to practice their English
– use these contacts to practice your English.  Tell the other
students about your country and explain some problems that your country
has.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MLIrlwCWtlE
This is an interesting movie about Dubai.
The person's email is senio0orita@hotmail.com <<< write to this
person!
=======================
Here is a message from the Dubai filmmaker:  Salaam,, =)  i'm glad
that you and your students liked my videos. Yeah they can write to me if
they want.  --------------------------- Get more addresses by scrolling
down the FreeEnglishLessonsInFlorida blog.
OKAY, build a bridge and practice English with this filmmaker.
You can see some interviews at

www.geocities.com/talkinternational1/mentorsonvideo
Here are some videos from mentors who are in the US Navy.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LodkMGvUD1g
and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DM6rA3smdaU (a chaplain)
and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hTMzwhy5PSI (an introduction) 
and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JgbqvW-Rkxo (an Engineer)
--s2314@tmail.com
Steve McCrea 954-OH-MUCHO 954.646.8246

Thursday, May 3, 2007

Air Show in Fort Lauderdale

This is a picture of a really fast jet ... Fort Lauderdale is host to an
Air Show this weekend. Wow! Okay, I missed the airplane, but one
second ago, the airplane was right in front of that cloud.
Subject: Here is a recommendation from our Internet Content Consultant
Are you looking for something interesting to look at?   Our Consultant
for Internet Content suggests that you click here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c9wyRlsLa2g&mode=related&search=
The video is showing us a good point of view of the 5-time world
champion Michael Schumacher. The video doesn't just show his racing
life,.  The video also shows him in his social life, cocktails,
parties, night shows, etc., whatever is good, because they show a
friendly part of Schumacher. I think it is a good video, because the
video takes a lot of good moments of Schumacher's career and his life
and it's available to the public.  He has become a legend in the
automobile world.   I believe it's important to know current events
and this video helped me learn more about this famous person. (Fernando
ICC)

--s2314@tmail.com
954-OH-MUCHO 954.646.8246 call me to practice 5 questions