The 2010 Census

Every 10 years in the U.S., the government tries to count everyone who lives here.  This is called a census.   Here are links to some information about the 2010 Census.,

Listen to an article about the census here from VOA Special English.  Just click on MP3 in the upper right corner.

Here's a short video about the Census and the questions on the form.

Here's the US Government's Census 2010 website. There's a video at the bottom that you can watch (and read along, if you click on the CC button for the captions).

Writing Homework for Week 6

This week's writing assignment is to introduce your country. 

In class, we listened to 6 people tell something interesting about their country.  You can listen to it here  Then write about YOUR country.  You can use some ideas from the listening exercise, or use the things you talked about with your classmates. 

You can send me your writing by email or you can bring it to me next week. 

Have a great weekend!
Liz
 

Reading a News Article - Choose one!

Disabled Parking Permits      Read and listen to the news story here .  Click on "Full Story" at the top of the page and read & listen again.  Then try the activities.  For the writing activity, write your answer and give it to me to check.

Driving Laws for Teens       Read and listen to the news story here. Click on "full Story" at the top of the page and read & listen again.  Then try the activities.  For the writing activity, write your answer and give it to me to check.

Red Light Runners      Read and listen to the news story here.  Click on Full Story.  Then try the activities. 

Change to Class Schedule

This week and next week (Weeks 5 & 6) we will not be studying the topic that I wrote on your yellow class schedule.  Instead, we will study:

What to do if a Police Officer Stops You 
       & Reading Traffic Signs                          - Week 5

How to Read and Understand a Traffic Citation - Week 6

If you're a very safe (and lucky) driver, you will never need to use this information, but it's good to know what to do and say if the police stop you!   So that's what we'll study for the next two weeks.

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Dictionaries

Here are links to the two dictionaries that we have in class.   You can look at both of them in class to decide which one you prefer, but they are both very good dictionaries for learners.  They also include a CD-ROM that you can use in your computer.

The links here will take you to Amazon.com   You can also probably buy these at a good bookstore.  Just write down the title and the ISBN number. 

Longman Dictionary of American English    ISBN-13: 978-0132449779

Newbury House Dictionary of American English   ISBN-13: 978-0838426579

Winter Olympics

The Winter Olympics will begin in Vancouver, Canada, on February 14th. How many sports will people compete in? Find out here and if you click on the name of a sport, you can watch a short slide show to explain that sport.
Which one is your favorite?

Listening to Conversations

Do you want to practice your listening skills? This great website, Elllo, has thousands of conversations between English speakers. To listen, click on the topic of the conversation that looks interesting to you, then click the PLAY button.

Each conversation has a quiz, and you can also read the conversation while you're listening to it. Some of the conversations also have definitions for new words.

www.elllo.org

Spring Semester Will Begin Wednesday, Jan 27th

Hi Everyone!

The new semester will begin on Wednesday, January 27th. I hope we'll see you in class!

Please note we'll have a new schedule : Mon Tues Wed Thurs - 8:30 am to 12:15 pm. My class won't meet on Fridays.


There won't be any classes on Monday and Tuesday (Jan 25 & Jan 26) because we'll have teacher meetings. But the school will be open if you need to register for a class, talk to a counselor, or ask some questions about a class or program.

If you're looking for something new this semester, take a look at the class schedule here You can select a campus location (our location is "West City") or you can choose the type of class (English, computers, physical education, art, etc.) As always, if you have any questions, let me know!

Liz

Last week of the semester...

It's the last week of our semester. Many of you have decided to continue in this class next semester, but some are moving on to the advanced class, to study for the GED, to take a job training class, or to a new job. We'll miss you!

Here's the link to the spring class schedule if you are looking for something to do on Fridays or Saturdays, or if you have friends who are looking for classes. http://sdce.edu/class-schedule/class-schedule.php?term=101

You can choose the location (West City campus), the subject (the name of the class you want), or the day you want to study. If you need help with it, let me know!

Liz

Happy New Year!

This page has lots of interesting information about New Year's celebrations all around the world. http://www.topics-mag.com/internatl/holidays/new-year/page.htm Click on the first link to learn about different customs, then take the quiz later.

Happy New Year! How did YOU celebrate?