Tuesday, September 24, 2024

English Collocation

 I have cut and pasted the notes below for last week's class:

Grade Breakdown:

Final Exam (Test) is 30%.

This is the vocabulary (words) and grammar from the textbook.

Placement Test: 15%. You did that last week.

Midterm Exam (test) 15%: I will tell you what words to study before.

Homework / classwork: 20%

Attendance: 10%, come to class. For every hour of class you miss, I deduct (minus) 1%. If you miss nine hours, you just fail

Writing: 10%

Rules: Try to talk English.

Please don’t translate something and try to make me read your phone. Don’t talk with your hands or point. No sleeping in this class. This is a classroom, not a bedroom.

Please speak up. If people can’t hear you, you are wasting their time.

The food I detest is an apple.

The celebrity I have met is

Please answer your partner with a sentence in English. Write down your partner’s answer. If I see lots of writing, I will give you 10/10.

Random: no reason / not on purpose

If we answer with a sentence, we can practice grammar.

Detest: hate

Toss: throw

2/8

Make happy: cheer up

Collocation: the natural order of how we talk; there is no reason, just habit, salt and pepper, black and white

Preposition: in, on, at

Write under You. Don’t write under Classmate. Do NOT

write Chinese. Do not write “no” or “I don’t know.”

8. lightsaber

3. My nationality is Taiwanese.

Taiwan is a country. Taiwanese is a nationality.

Detest: hate

Country: America or U.S.A. (noun)

Nationality: American (adj.)

Rules: If your classmate agrees, write down his/her name.

If your classmate disagrees, do NOT write a name.

Use a sentence to practice grammar.

Community service project: Volunteer

1.    RULES: Write down your partner’s (new friend’s) answers in English. I will give you 10/10 if I see lots of writing.

Cheer up: make happy

 

 

 

 

Listening Practice:

Write down what I say. If you do NOT understand, ask:

Could you please repeat that?

How do you spell _________?   Weather   Harry’s

Lightsaber      What happens…     Steve’s

Genre

1.    Where are they?

They are at lumberyard / warehouse.

2.    How is the weather?

It is sunny.

3.    How much time do they have?

They have three minutes.

4.    What color is Harry’s lightsaber?

His lightsaber is green.

5.    What happens to Steve’s head?

His head is cut off.

He was decapitated.

6.    What genre is this movie?

It is science fiction because they have lightsabers.

7.    Harry lost because it took 3 minutes and 18 seconds, but he only had 3 minutes.

I will give 10/10 for homework too.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


Thursday, September 19, 2024

Core English Weeks One and Two

 

WEEK ONE AND TWO.

This is Core English class. My name is Patrick Cowsill.

Here are some rules for our class.

Grades:

10% Attendance. Come to class. For every hour you don’t come to class, I deduct 1%. If you miss 9 hours, you fail this class.

Midterm Exam: 20%

Final Exam: 30%

Classwork and homework: 40%

Please don’t show me your phone so I can read it. I have presbyopia.

Don’t use your hands to talk to me. I don’t understand most hand gestures.

I was born in Berkely, California. I grew up in Prince George, Canada. I went to university in Vancouver. Then I went to university in Taipei. I have worked for 12 years.

I own a restaurant and bar in Yonghe. My wife is Taiwanese. I have one daughter.

BTW: and, furthermore

Tour: trip, travel

Pleasure to: nice to

Ecuador: equator (at 0 degrees)

Random: not on purpose

Please speak up.

What’s your nationality?

I’m a dual citizen. I am both American and Canadian.

Taiwanese.

I am Chinese. I am Malaysian.

 

Write down the first thing you think about under You.

Do not write under Classmate.

Answer with a sentence to practice grammar. If your classmate has the same answer, write down their name.

If they have a different answer, do not write down their name.

Designer    An office worker   Chambermaid

My nationality is Taiwanese. Where were you born?

I enjoy pasta.

Taro

He has bad hand writing.

Write down your partner’s answers in English. If I

see lots of English writing, I will give you 10/10.

Please answer with a sentence. We can practice grammar. 95 percent English.

If they agree, write down their name.

Let’s take a break first. Then we will check the answers after the break.

Occupation: job

Greet: say hello

I will talk. You must write down what I say. Listening practice.

If you don’t understand, ask:
Could you please repeat that?

How do you spell _______?    Weather   lightsaber

What happens to…   Steve’s

 

Wednesday, September 11, 2024

Core English Notes

 

This is Core English class. My name is Patrick Cowsill.

Here are some rules for our class.

Grades:

10% Attendance. Come to class. For every hour you don’t come to class, I deduct 1%. If you miss 9 hours, you fail this class.

Midterm Exam: 20%

Final Exam: 30%

Classwork and homework: 40%

 

Write down the first thing you think about under You.

Do not write under Classmate.

Answer with a sentence to practice grammar. If your classmate has the same answer, write down their name.

If they have a different answer, do not write down their name.

Designer    An office worker   Chambermaid

My nationality is Taiwanese. Where were you born?

I enjoy pasta.

Taro

He has bad hand writing.

Write down your partner’s answers in English. If I

see lots of English writing, I will give you 10/10.

 

 

Wednesday, June 12, 2024

For the Final Exam English

 For the final exam, we need to review technology, art, painting, sculpture, moral (personal), ethics (society), food.

What should we study for the final exam?

Dairy food: anything from a cow: milk, yogurt, ice cream, cheese, butter, etc.

Honesty: true

Employment: job

If you want to practice grammar – if you are worried about grammar. Do NOT just study any grammar. Study these pages only. Everything on the test for grammar comes from the following pages. Let us look at the important pages to study in Unit 6, NOT 7, 8, 9, 10

Page 69. I want to lose weight. I want to go on a diet.

Character traits: personality

Appealing: why do you like it

What is appealing about money?

I can go to many countries if I have money.

Unit 6, just study words. There is nothing about ordering food or buying food. Do you like chicken? Why? What does chicken taste like? What does a lemon taste like? A lemon tastes sour.

Technology

Downside: bad, terrible, etc.

Upside: great, good, wonderful, benefit

Article: story

Criminal: thief

In detail: information

Cyber predator: thief on the Internet

Take advantage of: hurt other people to help yourself

Bully: big or popular person who hurts weak or small people

Determine: decide

Internet troll: someone online who tells lies because they want to make others angry (they think it is funny)

Friday, May 17, 2024

Video Presentation 10 Percent of Your Grade (NOTES)

 We have 

to make a video. So you need to talk for one minute. Please film / record your partner. Remember last time. We talked about technology. This time we will talk about art. If you write complete sentences, it is better. If you speak ten complete sentences into the phone camera, you will have one minute. I will give you 10%/10% on your final grade. 100%

Today, we will film / record. Read these answers. Talk for one minute. Film it. Next week, bring me the USB next week and I will give you 10% / 10%. It is worth 10% of your final grade.

Interview: ask somebody questions

Figures: dolls

Leather: from a cow

Stone: rock

Typically: normally, usually, commonly

Individual: just one, not more

Object: thing, stuff, etc.

1.            Cloth: use cloth to make clothes

2.            Clothes

I like abstract art because it inspires me.

Deviled egg sandwich.

Past tense:

Did you wear a bracelet?

Yes, I wore a bracelet.

Wear   wore      worn

What is the difference between exhibit and exhibition? Exhibit is smaller.

 

 

 

 

 

 

1. Clothes

2. Cloth: we use cloth to make clothes

For example, cotton, denim (jeans), etc.

 

 

1. What is your classmate’s name?

2. What is your classmate’s hometown?

3. When did your partner go to a museum?

4. What exhibition did your friend see at the museum?

5. Who is your classmate’s favorite painter? Why?

6. What style of art does your classmate’s favorite painter paint?

7. What is that painter’s masterpiece?

8. Describe this masterpiece.

9. What kind of handicrafts has classmate bought? For example, art from Aborigines.

10.      What kind of jewelry does he/she like to wear? Necklace, ring, bracelet, jade, copper,

Silver, gold, plastic, platinum, leather, beads,

Nose ring, woven, string, agate, marble, diamond, ruby, emerald, etc.
Agate is a smooth kind of stone.

Rules or instructions: Repeat what your partner says and finish the sentence with your own thinking.

Patrick: The person I am inspired by . . .

Mia: The person I am inspired by is my parents because I am filial.

Patrick: For dinner I ate…

Dylan: For dinner, I ate nuts. I ate walnuts and pistachios.

Patrick: When I go to a museum…

Sara: When I go to a museum I look at the exhibits

The difference between a landscape and portrait is the former has nature while the latter is of a face.

Draw   Drew   Drawn

The pig can sniff out truffles, but they also will eat them.

Dogs don’t eat truffles.

Material: what we use to make something

Object: thing

1. Bowl

2. Ball

3. Bull

I will say something. Say what I say and finish.

Patrick: For dinner, I ate…

Ken: For dinner, I ate spaghetti.

Patrick: The person I am inspired by…

Sandy: The person I am inspired by in Alan, my friend.

 

We need to do a video each semester. This is a new project. But I do understand why the university wants you to do this. This is a media university and they want you to start to think about recording in English.

If you do the video, you get 10/10, 100% or

10%/10% of your final grade.

 

 

 

New Words from Page 99

Notice: look at; see

Featured: show

Conference: big meeting with many people

Couple: two

Extra: more, increase

Fascinated by: interested in

Exhibition: what we can see in the museum, exhibit

Attraction: what we go to see, usually famous

Possession: what we own; it belongs to me

Handicraft: art from aboriginal

Selecting: choosing, picking, etc.

Hanru has a sore throat.

I say half the sentence. You repeat and finish.

Patrick: For dinner, I ate…

Gigi: For dinner, I ate eight beef dumplings.

Did you have some soy sauce?

Patrick: The person I am inspired by…

Sally: The person I am inspired by is da Vinci because he is a genius.

 

Listening practice:

Could you please repeat that?

How do you spell     ?

 

This is a lamp. The screen is a lamp.

Screen

I grew up in Denmark and I spent a lot of time with my father in Iceland.

Pitcher: drink

Vase: flowers

Educate: learning

Inspire: make you want to do something, to move us

Museum: place with exhibits

Encourage: make someone do something

Weird: strange

Approximately: about

Art critic: person who writes about art

Article: story

Donate: give for free

Institution: big building, like a school or library

Enormous: big, huge, large, gigantic

Ordinary: usual, common

Understand from context: don’t use the dictionary or google, just learn the word from the words around it and reading

 

Grades: Marks

Writing or story: 10%

Attendance: 10% Every hour of class you do not come to, I deduct 1%. For example, if student 4 does not come, so she is down 8%

Presentation on USB: 10%

Mid-term test: 15%

Final: 30%

Homework: 25%

What can I say

We will think about technology.

Recommend: suggest; ought to

 

Could you please repeat that?

How do you spell _____?

Video game: computer game

Glitchy    location: place

Earn money: make money

Percent: %   satellite

1,000,000,000

Launch: to start or send

1.        Today, GPS is guiding or following pretty much anything that moves.

 

All the students that gave me the USB will get 10%. Now we have finished writing and presentation. We only need to prepare for the final exam. Everything is easy now. No more hard work.  

100,000,000

Suggest: recommend

Tuesday, March 12, 2024

Last Week's Writing Class

 

We have to do one writing assignment

every semester. It is worth 10% of your final grade.

Writing Class

Instructions: Answer each question with a sentence in English. Write the sentence now. Write down your partner’s answer. We have to do one writing

each semester. Let’s do the writing now.

Please do not use pencil. Use pen. This is not math class. We have ten answers.

We write 10 sentences. Then we write two paragraphs.  

1.                      What is your English first and last name?

2.                      Where do you come from? What is your hometown?

3.                      How often do you look at your phone?

4.                      How often do you go online?

5.                      Do you think you are wasting time online or is it useful? Explain?

6.                      What is your favorite app?

7.                      Why do you enjoy this app?

8.                      Do you ever play video games? If you do, what games do you like?

Explain.

9.                      What is an app you liked before but do not like now?

10.             How do you think the Internet will change in the future?

Social media

 

 

Awesome: great, fantastic, very good, wonderful, I like it, etc.

A bit: a little

Stew: soup, usually with meat

Shame: bad, disappointing

Random: without reason, not “on purpose”

Allergic: itchy skin

 

For example:

 

I talked to Judge Yi. He comes

 

from Hualien. Judge uses the Internet

 

every day. He looks at his phone

 

constantly because he worries about

 

what people think about him or what

 

they are doing. His favorite app is 13

 

Thread.

 

We will write two paragraphs. Each paragraph is five sentences. Remember to indent and double space.

For example:

 

 

I talked to Jay Chang today. He comes

from Hsinchu. I looks at his phone every

hour. He goes online constantly. He

thinks it is a big waste of time because

he never studies or does housework. He

really loves Facebook because that app

more popular with young people.

 

 

Five sentences in every paragraph. Do not use pencil.

 

T.G.I.F.    Thank God It’s Friday

Class & Period: 10:10, Friday

Major

Room No.: 201

Teacher: Patrick Cowsill

Topic: Writing Class

Could you please repeat that?

How do you spell            ?

Males: boys

Random

Stew: soup, with meat

Spicy hot pot

Awesome is great.

We have to do

Bland: not a lot of flavor or strong taste

Rice, water, bread, chowder

 

 

 

Tuesday, March 5, 2024

Last Week's Notes: English Class

 


Big Mac and French Fries (above)



1. I can’t believe how packed this place is:

A lot of customers, a lot of people, crowded, etc.

2. Grand opening: first day for a business, the

company just opened, you can get some free stuff

3. Extreme: serious, hard work, too much, etc.

4. Sweets: dessert, candy, etc.

5. Random: not “on purpose”

Decreasing: less and less

Consumption: means to eat or drink

I consumed some coffee this morning.

In order to: because

Mighty: very, great, strong, excellent, etc.

 

Featured: emphasized, shown, etc.

I feel a little guilty.

 

This class is NOT an elective. This is a req. You must take English.

 

 

It’s 11 sharp. Exactly

 

Refrigerator: Fridge

Beverage: drink

Vampires do NOT like garlic.

 

Declining: refuse or say you do not want it

Hindus (in India) don’t eat beef.

Muslims and Jews don’t eat pork or

shellfish.

Clams, oysters, shrimp . . .

 

If you are allergic to food, usually it

makes your skin itchy.

 

“I don’t care for” is a polite, friendly

gentle way

to refuse food, say you don’t want food,

or decline food and beverages.

 

When it is exactly 2:00, we say

2:00 sharp.

 

 

1. Diagonal

2. Vertical

3. Horizontal

4. Backward(s)

The elephant in Chinese Chess moves diagonally.

Top, left corner.

If he/she says “yes” with a sentence, write down

his/her name. If he/she says “no” with a sentence,

do NOT write down his/her name.

Can’t stand: hate, don’t like…

The waiter or waitress will ask you in a restaurant:

 

How do you like your steak (cooked)?

1 minute for cooking a steak: blue

3 minutes: rare     bloody

4 minutes: medium rare     red

5 minutes: medium         pink

7 minutes: medium well       Tastes like eating a shoe

10 minutes: well done           Tastes like eating burnt wood

 

Wax apple

 

Fast food

 

Listening Practice:

Could you please repeat that?

How do you spell      ?

 

eat   ate   eaten     cost     coast

 

Popular     Ronald McDonald

Arrive: first come

 

 

 

 

 

 

popular Fast food restaurant

 

 

 

 

 

Who had eggs for breakfast?

 

Who wants onions on their burger?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ronald McDonald

Big Macs   Cost    Coast