Week 12-13 What a great week!

Hey there!

 I am so impressed with you all! You have rallied, worked really hard this week and the majority or you are really sounding like you are going to be ready to sing in public!

This next week, we'll see how you do with the dancing part of it... Only a few of you are having difficulty with participation and it's certainly your choice how much effort you put into this final oral (and physical) activity! :-)

On Monday your portfolios are due, please remember that they are worth 5 grades so YES! Participation counts, right up until the last day of class. Do not forget to dress professionally on Tuesday for the group photos with your portfolios!

There will be no class on Thursday but your last WRITING EXAM (only if you need to do it because you have failed or missed one) is due in my email, written in Word before midnight on Thursday if you want it to count. So here's the topic...

You have lived a good long life you are 85 years old, literally at the end of your life. Your assignment is to write your obituary (a brief biography or your life's accomplishments (logros)). It needs to be 350 words.

Here I would like to hear your final comments about the class, what you have learned and what you plan to do now that you have finished with your English language learning experience. I hope to be able to help many of you to study abroad or to do you practicums in other countries. Please keep in touch with me.

Week 11 The final leg...

Good evening sports fans! We are headed into the final leg of class and for you all the last days of ENGLISH CLASSES before you have graduated from this program. I am very excited for you all. 

As a whole you are doing well and all the play practice we will begin on Monday will kick things up another notch!

This weekend you should be getting your portfolios ready to print and put together, a number of you still have not received your final Expository essay grade. I am still working on them every night when I go home, but email me if you have doubts or haven't received it yet. Remember, you must type up all of your writing exams to go into the portfolio as well.

I announced this week that I am going to return to the US because I have to take some family time for my sis who has cancer, but keep in touch. I'll be available to help you with things you may need including letters of recommendation. I would ask that those of you who wouldn't mind write me a letter of recommendation as your teacher.

Here I want you to write about the play!!! Thoughts, complaints, suggestions...

Week 10, Writing Exam III Persuasive Essay #2, The Harbinger

I have spent all of the past four days grading Expository Essays, I am almost blind but I should finish in the next couple days and move on to the next writing exams... 

This week is very short, we will try to finish the second half of the chapter in the Harbinger we started on Wednesday. We'll have to make some real pushes if we hope to finish it in class, otherwise it will become weekend reading for you all.

Tuesday we'll have conversation for 45 minutes with the interns Ana and Leane. Wednesday we will read and prep for the exam on Thursday. You'll want to have a basic outline with the thesis statement and conclusion completed and few of the subtopics listed. 350 words in one hour. 

"In case of unplanned pregnancy which of the two options function best for you; abortion or adoption and why, defending your position and persuading the audience that it is the best choice."

Next week you'll receive the table of contents for your portfolios which are due on November 4th and your scripts for the Plays. I would like to know your thoughts on these topics especially the Plays-we have always done comedies and dramas, but this time I am considering a musical depending on how you all feel about singing and dancing.

Week 9 Less S-T-R-E-S-S, Adoption vs Abortion, Grades, Conversation Fun

This week things should feel a bit calmer, we'll be having conversation groups on Tuesday, getting back into the Harbinger, continuing listening activities and prepping for the next Writing Exam (next Thursday).

Here I would like to see discussion about the next exam topic. 

This is only my opinion, hopefully it will help you to begin the discussion here:

Premartial sex seems to be something considered almost "normal" in this day and age, but along with it comes consequences, personally I believe abortion is murder and there is no "real" reason for this practice. 

In cases of rape when a woman gets pregnant (less than 1% of rape victims get pregnant) or incest where a family member fathers a child with a young woman in their family the child should be "allowed" life while the guilty male should be convicted as the pervert that he is and the young woman needs to be offered all help available within the society--if she cannot raise or love a child she has borne then that child should be offered within the adoption system.

In cases of "accidental" pregnancy the young woman must take responsability for her actions. We, as women are powerful creatures and we have the ability to bear and raise children all by ourselves when necessary. Abortion is simply an easy escape from taking responsability for our actions.

Week 8 Course Evaluations, PowerPoint Presentations, and Mid-Terms

This week will bring all stress levels up just one more notch! Remember to breathe and do not come to class hyped up on chemicals! Have yourself a nice cup of Chai Tea with milk before class and blink a couple of times—it’ll be all over and you can move on to something else.

On Monday we’ll begin with the presentations, I hope you all remember that this is NOT the week to have any absences because they will bring your participation grade down one point for each day missed—check the syllabus—this whole week is in the grey box!

All pending work is due this week; that means everything we have done up to now is due by Thursday if you hope to receive any credit for it. On Monday October 6^th, I will deliver a piece of paper to each student with your current grade for the entire course. I have found this to cause fewer disillusions at the end of the course when your final grade is NOT such a surprise.

This week, on the blog I would like to see you write about each other’s presentations; (for example, things which you found surprising about another person’s topic, new information which you did not even imagine to be true). In reading some of your essays I have learned many facts about these topics which I did not know, some have compelled me to go to the sources and learn more. Also discuss your feelings about getting up and sharing in front of the group (Was it difficult? How did you feel? What would you do next time? What wouldn’t you do again?)

 If any of you are planning to do a Master’s Degree outside of Mexico in an English speaking country you should know that MD programs are known for students teaching other students much like what we are doing this week!

English 800: Week 4: Exploring the World Around Us, Exams etc.

English 800: Week 4: Exploring the World Around Us, Exams etc.: Last week you spoke of travel, where you've been or where you'd like to go. This week I would like you to visit this web site:  htt..



Even when government figures believe it is very disturbing that the matter of corupsion is so common and constant Personally I had no idea about countries like Denmark who will head the list in a positive direction.
There are countries that I would like to visit but Presis this information makes me doubt, must be terrible being at the mercy of a corrupt system rightly or not in a country like this.
Sorry corrupsion senciblemente indices in Latin America are so high. It's a shame.

Week VII: Preparing for Presentations and Thoughts

For the past six weeks we have been busily growing your English skills. The book we have been reading works specifically on 4 crucial areas of your language skills: pronunciation, fluency, vocabulary and listening. You have all shown significant growth! I would encourage you to find a book in a genre that you like and be reading in English in your free time and whenever you can be reading aloud. There is scientific proof that reading improves ALL language skills EVEN SPELLING and GRAMMAR.

This week you should be putting together your PowerPoint Presentations which are due on Monday September 30^th, but if they are ready you can bring them into class this week and load them into my computer.

This week on the BLOG I would like you to share about your perceived weakness in English (if you believe you have any) I would also like to hear what things surprised you MOST about your Expository Essay Topic. Next week is your Mid-Term Exam: is there anything special you feel like you want to work on during the last six weeks of class?

Week 6: Writing Exam II, Exploring Other Countries a Little More...

This is going to be a very short week. Tuesday we'll have guests. Wednesday we'll prepare for the Exam on Thursday and talk about the Abstracts for your Expository Essays which are due next Monday September 23rd by 10:00AM.

So for your Blogger topic this week, I would like you to visit 2 web pages : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_percentage_of_population_living_in_poverty  and  http://earthsendangered.com/search-regions3.asp  

The first web page is a list by country of the poverty index; Please find two countries that interest you without duplicating another student and post on its' poverty level. I have gone and investigated this and it is pretty scary stuff.

The second web page is the endangered species list by country: Please find the standing of the countries which you  investigated above and list 3 animals which are endangered that you find interesting.

Week 5: Progress Reports, A Movie, Expository Essays

This week I will take time either Monday or Tuesday to speak with each of you individually about your progress (or lack of progress) in English 800. This level is harder than any other as it should be, but not all of you are keeping up. If you aren't blogging every week, it is really going to hurt your grade in the end.

We'll see a film this week, called "The Interpreter" it is one more effort on my part to keep you thinking of international job opportunities where your English is an asset. The United Nations has ambassadors from all over the world and always has positions for bi or multi-lingual people. Also there are international news correspondents world-wide how must be bi or multi-lingual people.

Finally, I would like you to share with your classmates a little bit about your Expository Essay topic and two things which intrigue you about your topic. Do not forget to be correcting each other's errors.

Week 4: Exploring the World Around Us, Exams etc.

Last week you spoke of travel, where you've been or where you'd like to go. This week I would like you to visit this web site: http://cpi.transparency.org/cpi2012/results/  And look up the countries you talked about visiting, below the big map on this web site there is a list of every country in the world and its' corruption index. The corruption index is based and 9 categories of corruption and each country's corruption level is decided by its' citizens not the government! So check it out and report back here.

I was disappointed by the Writing Exams, many of you did not do well, some of you did an excellent job with scores of 10.5, but that being said the class average was an 8.0 which means there were more low grades than high ones. If you did poorly based on writing conventions, please make time to see me or at least go to the CAADI and get some help before the next exam.

Also I would like to see your feedback about the book, the class, the game, and the topics for the Expository Essays which will be posted for you to choose from starting today. I would like everyone to choose a topic before Thursday, Remember the topics are not central to Mexico they are WORLDWIDE to get you to think outside what is known to you. Please if you plan to study, practice or work abroad I would also like you to talk about that here, Please do not forget to be correcting each other.

Week III-- Writing Exam I, Translating, The Harbinger Quiz 1

Well sports fans, here we are already in Week 3! This week will be short but tough. I have corrected your first essays at least once (for some of you up to three times!) but you are all getting there! 

Tuesday, we'll do our last listening activity from Schoolhouse Rock, then we'll read a chapter of "The Harbinger", and finally you'll work in groups translating recipes from Spanish to English. There will be homework, but it should not take too long.

Wednesday, we'll have our first listening activity from the Copy Packet, then read a chapter of "the Harbinger"(you'll have a quiz via email due Monday September 2nd), then we'll talk quickly about outlines for the Exam on Thursday and finally we'll play Scattergories...

Thursday, you may present in whichever hour works best for you. 3pm, 4:15pm, 5:45pm or 7pm.  Do not be late! I lock the door and do not open it until people begin to finish.

This week on the blog I want you to share travel experiences or wishes OUTSIDE of Mexico. Tell us where you've been, what you liked best and least, whether you would go back... If you haven't left yet, tell us where you would like to go and why, what you'll do when you are there. 

Week 2- World Trade Center, The Harbinger and Poetry

During week 2 we will finish WTC-the movie, begin reading The Harbinger and take a brief look at writing poetry. If you were in my 700 groups then you have already written some poetry in English, you need to review the poetry in the copy packet, we will listen to some poems as read by the poets on Wednesday you will write a couple of poems and on Thursday you will share one of them with your class.

For your posting here: Please write a short reflection, answering the following questions: 

1.) Have you ever done anything heroic? 

2.) Have you ever felt driven to help others after a natural disaster? e.g. hurricane, tornado, earthquake, tidal wave

3.) In the movie, when officer Jimeno learned that it would be hours before they could dig out his sergeant, because they had to dig his leg out from under the rubble-Jimeno told the rescuers to cut off his leg. Could you do such a selfless act to save the life of a coworker?

4.) Many people around the world dislike the politics of the United States; this semester you'll have the opportunity to learn a lot about American history and maybe gain a better understanding of how we think. Do believe that terrorism is a world problem or that it only affects the places which are attacked?

Please do not forget to be correcting each other's errors.

Welcome to English 800, Fall 2013

This is the forum where all of the 800 students from my two groups will participate in discussions. The things to be discussed will be posted each week on Monday evening and all students will have one week or until Sunday night at midnight to post without losing grade points. Participation here is for 10% of your final grade and late comments will not be counted.

The purpose here is to help each of you learn through self and peer correction. Do not use language that is inappropriate and please avoid the use of slang. This class is to improve your level of academic language and prepare you for your professional use of English. I will be reading your posts, but I want you to correct the errors of your peers and in the process you will be improving your level of English.

Things for discussion: what you are learning or struggling with in class, the book we are reading, the activities we do,  the LOST series we are watching, movies we see; basicly anything that goes on in class!

Please begin by introducing yourselves, what you are studying and what you plan to do with your English skills.

Week 13 Portfolios, Finishing the Harbinger...

This week my 800 students will be finishing everything: Portfolios, The Harbinger and doing some more listening activities... 

I don't think you all will be able to begin practicing for your plays this week. We must finish the book and the last quiz, before moving into Oral preparation.

I would ask that you all share your 7 Days Essays here this week... they were really awesome, well considered and written. I'm so impressed!

Week 11, final presentations, plays, portfolios, etc

This week will be busy; Monday you'll be finishing presentations, and you'll receive your scripts with your roles for the plays you'll be performing. Tuesday we'll go over the Table of Contents for your Portfolios and how they'll be scored (Portfolio Presentations will be on the 6th & 7th of May) . Your final writing assignments will be given and we'll have some fun!

So this week I would like you to assess the blog... At least those of you who have actively particpated. This has been my first semester to use blogging, it came highly recommended by other teachers and in the U.S. all universities use it as a form of assessing student growth. 

I believe that in the end, this semester I will be giving Extra Credit points to each of you who have done the work here and for those of you who have blogged every week it will count as your final writing exam.

So please blog about blogging: was it helpful? Do you feel like you got to know your classmates better? Has it helped you to grow in your English skills?

Week 10 Presentations!!! AND Writing Exam III

I'm very excited to see and hear your Powerpoint presentations about your expository essays. Most of you fared very well on your essays. I'm quite proud that you have risen to the task and proven your overall abilities in mastering the English language.

Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday you will be presenting your expositions. Thursday will be the third (and for some of you-your final) writing exam. This will be a persuasive essay on the topic of "Abortion: for or against" you will use facts and statistics with citations to convince me why your point of view is correct.

In this week's forum here I would like to see your arguments for and against abortion. The idea is to help you clarify your own opinions and be able to state your case, before entering the exam and FREAKING OUT forgetting what your arguments are. If you can hold your own in this type of situation, then going into another culture to live, work or simply study you'll find yourself much more equiped to survive in any English speaking culture.

Week 9! Eeks! Busy, Busy, Busy!

I hope you all enjoyed your Spring vacation, but now we must get down to business! This week we must finish "The Harbinger" in class, we have NO CLASS on Monday April 8th, Tuesday and Wednesday we will be reading and Thursday we'll be playing games.

This week your homework will be a persuasive essay... Persuasive means that you are going to convince me why your opinion is correct. The topic of the essay will be Abortion (for or against?) you choose your side, to convince me you will use facts and statistics, law (earthly or heavenly), but you must use more than a simple opinion to convince me and you must do it in 350-500 words in Word. Due via email on or before Friday morning at 10am.

Here, I request that you discuss thoroughly the Harbinger. Answering the following questions:

1. Several of you have mentioned that you reject the idea of prophecy even being remotely possible. Do you reject the idea of God and the Bible or do you believe in a divine Supreme Being?

2. When I first read this book I read it as a novel and had no idea where it was going, BUT as I continued to read and began checking its claims I felt compelled to examine my beliefs about my nation and "the freedoms" (things which reject God's laws) which many liberals in my country have demanded and realize that all citizens are ultimately going to be judged on what we go along with. The US outlawed school prayer in 1962, legalized the murder of our unborn children also in 1973, and many many more things which our founders would not approve of... In Mexico these trends are about 30 years behind the US. Here's the question: Do you think its possible that Mexico will fall into judgment? 

3. Do you see a moral decay in Mexico?

4. Do you believe that the things discussed in the Harbinger are really God's judgments?

5. I have lived here for several years now there are so many wonderful things culturally and traditionally here in Mexico and I love that each little town, region, and state has its own culture, but the violence and crime in Mexico are extreme and getting worse. I see them as a symptom of a spiritual bankruptcy which is evident throughout Mexico. Corrupt politicians, government officials, police, let alone the people everyone refers to as criminals; none of whom exhibit even the slightest fear or respect of God. If the US is being judged for having fallen from God's laws and statutes; what do you foresee for Mexico?

6. Many of you are aware that I have spent a great deal of my life studying and that I believe in that science is a necessary part of everything in our world, but I have studied the Bible and believe it to be true and the inspired Word of God, not solely based on my studies, but also on 52 years of life-experience. The Harbinger frightened me, in part because I found much of it to be too true to ignore and in part because I think my country is too far gone to be redeemed. Did you feel anything when reading the book?

7. Has the Harbinger made you think of things differently, or have you remained untouched by it?

Week 8 Writing Exam II

This week is soooo short! Tuesday we will read The Harbinger and Tuesday night I'll send out a 20 question quiz due on April 8th.
Wednesday we will have the second writing exam, please stay focused and do your best. The topic is "My Most Embarrassing Moment" have fun with it but be organized. You'll be providing your own paper and everything this time so please come prepared.
I have decided to postpone your Powerpoint Presentations until the week of the 15th of April. Don't forget to send me your abstracts and enjoy your break!
Talk about your vacation plans here... Please correct each other's mistakes...

Week 7 Mid-Term Week!!!

How scarey is that? We are half-way through the semester and we are not half-way through the material of the class! And the fun of vacation dates is just beginning...

We're kind of good news/bad news at this point! I have graded everything in my possession and this week I'll speak with each of you or email you about where you stand as far as your grade in the class. I'll also be looking at and counting your posts to the blog since week 1 to see if you have posted the way you should be.

The mid-term is a listening exam ONLY, what this means logisticly is that your Writing Exams and Reading comprehension quizzes weigh heavier in your overall grade than they have at any other level, SO DON'T SKIP QUIZZES!

Please do not be late sending your Expository Essays they are due BEFORE FRIDAY EVENING.

So this week I would like you to post on "The Harbinger" we are about half-way through we are just beginning the parts of the book that started to shake me up when I read it the first time. When the author begins to carefully knit the prophesy to the historical past of the United States and then we begin to see how many other things begin to fall together "by chance"... Well, I'm a person of faith who believes in God's Word and when I see proof of His hand moving, I pay attention. But I like this book because even the doubter and die-hard skeptics can't explain away the facts. So lets hear it...

Week 6: Amping things up a bit!

This week I'm going to ask that you stretch yourselves a bit... We'll look at the exercises that you did over the weekend, but we do not have time to slow down. Your mid-term is coming FAST and we need to do listening activities ever day for the next two weeks!

I would also like to advance at least 6 chapters in the Harbinger over the next two weeks... Apart from those two things you all have a lot of work to do so, we'll do as much as possible IN the classroom so you have time to work on your research and your essay at home.

This week here I would like you to tell your classmates two interesting things about your topic and please say how your research is going. Do not forget to be correcting each other! Have a great week! See you in class...

Week 5 Expository Essays and Modal Verbs

We are already in week 5! Yikes! and so far off of the homework calendar...

I fear that I have over planned your semester, but this week we'll try to get back on track. 803 is slightly ahead of 804, but this week we'll try to catch up...

On Monday, you'll sign up for your expository essay topic: the master list came from things which are pertinent to the world we live in. Consequently, there are not a lot of happy or cheerful topics;however, there are some which are extremely positive and uplifting. 

The purpose of the expository essay is to inform your readers and this essay is different in so many ways than others. First of all, in length it is 1,000 words BEFORE you add your bibliography; it will consist of your 5 point Outline (with 3 links to websites where you have found information) this Friday (3/1), the expository essay (in two weeks 3/15), the bibliography (3/15), the abstract (3/22), and the apendices (3/15). Each piece will be graded separately. 

The Mid-Term is rocketing towards us, so you'll be having more listening activities in these next three weeks!

Please discuss the book. We still haven't begun the historical things about the United States which creeped me out the first time I read it, but they are coming. Are you going back and rereading at night for greater understanding? What do you think of it? Does it make you want to go to New York and visit the places the book has talked about? What do you think of biblical prophesy? Have you read any of the prophetic books of the Bible? Some of them are pretty harsh!

Week 4 Writing Exam on Thursday!

            This week we’ll read, do some listening activities, review grammar and play a game, before the writing exam. 

             Not many of you have written the essays or the poetry for this class and a number of you have not sent any of the quizzes. It will be very hard to pass the class without doing the work. 

             This week is the first Writing Exam, do you feel prepared? Is there anything that you need to work on before Thursday? The essay will be a persuasive essay and the topic will be “In the case of capital murder which do you believe is more just the death penalty or life in prison?” As always you’ll write 350 words in one hour. 

Week 3 Prepositions and Writing...

This week you are going to take a break from writing new essays. After two weeks of grading essays around the clock, I have concluded that we need to focus on getting you all focused. This week we'll look at English grammar and some of its nuances that seem to be giving you trouble. 

The purpose of the "Vacation" essay was to get you all thinking in past tense... but for the most part you didn't. The "Death Penalty" essay was to put you into subjunctive and conditional verbs and many of you struggled with that too. So this week we'll step back and take another look at the various verb tenses and how and when to use them.

In 800 English, to pass your grammar has to be nearly perfect, some of you are almost there, but VERY FEW OF YOU.

On Thursday we'll listen to an amazing orator Martin Luther King Jr. He had a real gift for speaking, we'll hear a speech he gave the night before his assasination. This will be a L-O-N-G listening activity, but excellent practice at listening and reading along.

• By now I am assuming most of you have experienced some literature in English, be it novels, poetry, biographies, or even songs. Please share about your favorite English author. Feel free to share links and excerpts. 
• Remember the poetry prompts we used last semester? Pages 9-12 Copy Packet... I would like you to revisit those prompts and share your poems here.

Remember to post your comment and then return to help your classmates with grammar errors and comments on the poetry.

See you in class!

Cindy;-)

Week 2 History

It appeared during our introduction to this semester that you do not know much history outside of Mexican history, or maybe you were simply reluctant to share. This week I want to know what you know of World history... 

• What European groups came to settle in Mexico, Central and Latin America? Are there bilingual English/ Spanish, English/ Porteguese, Porteguese/Spanish, etc speaking countries in Central of Latin America? Do these countries declare any official language/s?
• Where are the English speaking countries located? Are there countries which declare themselves to be English speakers? (Hint there are 88 countries where English is a main language and in 3 of these English is the de facto or only language spoken) Where are they?
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_where_English_is_an_official_language (Check this site out! List something which surprises you.)

Do not forget that you need to post and reply to two classmates before Sunday night. Blogging is 10% of your participation grade in my class...

Welcome to English 800

This is the forum where all of the 800 students from my two groups will participate in discussions. The things to be discussed will be posted each week on Monday evening and all students will have one week or until Sunday night at midnight to post without losing grade points. Participation here is for 10% of your final grade and late comments will not be counted.

The purpose here is to help each of you learn through self and peer correction. Do not use language that is inappropriate and please avoid the use of slang. This class is to improve your level of academic language and prepare you for your professional use of English. I will be reading your posts, but I want you to correct the errors of your peers and in the process you will be improving your level of English.

Things for discussion: what you are learning or struggling with in class, the book we are reading, the activities we do,  the LOST series we are watching, movies we see; basicly anything that goes on in class!

Please begin by introducing yourselves, what you are studying and what you plan to do with your English skills.