Sunday, December 15, 2024

CORE CLASS: Zombies


We have to do technology today. That includes social media, machines, etc. Small machines: devices. 

Later, let’s review food. 

Skim: read quickly

Dependent: need; must have

Addicted to: bad way of needing

Are common: normal, usually, regularly

Entertainment: have fun

Psychologist: brain doctor

Interact: do something together with other people 

Helpful method: good way

Decrease: use less, limit

Avoiding: stay away

Successful: good 

Interpret: understand 


What are you addicted to?

Maybe, I am addicted to playing games. 

Immediately: first thing 

1. I want to turn off the alarm clock. 

Hacker: person who want to get into your computer or phone to steal information or money, etc. 

I want to listening today first. Then, we can review food. The listening today is worth 10/10. 

1. Could you please repeat that? 

2. How do you spell    ? 

Bicycles 

Upset: sad or angry

Are     Were     addiction 


Tuesday, December 10, 2024

CORE CLASS: Onions on My Burger + Street Food Page 58

 



Pumpkin Pie: Traditional Thanksgiving Dessert


Street Food on Page 58

Words:

Article: story in a newspaper or magazine

Skim: read quickly for new words 

Vendor: person who sells food on the street or in the night market stall.

Menu: list of food in a restaurant

Traditional: from a long time ago

Cart: you can push it

Trendy: fashionable

Based on: from 

Location: place

Questionnaire: survey

A: How may I help you?

B: I need a (measure word) of (food)?

A: Here is your (m.w.) of (food).     Or

We are sold out of (m.w.) of (food).


Measure word + food

A cup of coffee

A bunch of bananas

A pound (lb.) of pork 

2.2 lbs: 1 kg

A can/tin of soup

A pack/packet of ketchup

I need a head of lettuce. 

Device: machine 

Could you please repeat that?

How do you spell     ?



 Ingredients      Waffle

Slice

Syrup    Genre    Mild cheddar cheese


1. Some: Yes

I want some onions on my burger.

2. Any: No = negative

I don’t want any onions on my burger.

3. Some/any: Question

Do you have some onions? 

Do you have any onions? 

Listening Practice:

a. Could you please repeat that?

b. How do you spell ______? 

Big Mac

Eat: ate: eaten    fast food

Invented      technology

genre

 25,000

1/4: quarter

1,000,000: million 

A quarter of a million….

White Castle 

Microwave Oven






Categories of food: kinds of food:

Fruit, meat, dairy products (from the cow plus eggs), vegetables, grain (bread or noodles), etc. 

Lamb: b is silent

Broccoli: green

Cauliflower: white


Ice Cream always has a flavor. 












Immediate family: mother, father, brothers, sisters (siblings), wife and husband

Extended family: aunt, uncle, cousin, grandpa, niece, nephew, etc.


Page 51: Food

Notice: see or pay attention to 

I’m starving: very hungry

What are you in the mood for?: what do you want? 

Main course: entrée, chicken, pasta, steak




We are talking about family members today: brother, aunt, uncle, cousin, grandpa, etc. Let’s check it and I will give you 10/10 if you did it. 

I will preview the vocabulary first. It is on page 39. 

Tons of: a lot of, many, bunch of

Cousin: is your aunt or uncle’s children

Keep in touch: contact; talk a lot

Get together: visit, drop by

Great grandmother: grandmother’s mother

Outgoing: not shy; talks a lot

She has a Japanese accent. 

Phrases: many words together 

Statement: sentence

Siblings: brothers and sisters

Very: super


Marital status: Are you married? Do you have a husband or wife? 

What is your marital status?

1. I am single.

2. I am married. 

3. I am divorced. 

4. I am separated from my wife / husband. 

5. I am a widow (my husband died).

6. I am a widower (my wife died). 

Application

7. Engaged: will get married later

Fiance: boy who is engaged

Fiancee: is girl who is engaged

Talking about relatives. 

I say: My aunt’s daughter is my __________. She lives in ___________. 

Mary says: My aunt’s daughter is my cousin. She lives in Xinzhuang. 

I say: My dad’s brother is my ______. He works ____________. 

Sharon says: My dad’s brother is my uncle. He works in Taipei. He is a cook. 


Let’s take a break. It’s late. We can check the answers after the break. 

I say: My pet’s favorite food is __carrot________. He / She enjoys eating _______carrot___.

Dora says: 

I say: On Thanksgiving, I want to eat _________ and some ___________.

Kevin says: 

Mashed potatoes

Brussels sprouts 

Yams

Turkey

Cranberries

Pumpkin pie


My (me)’s (you) is my (relative). 

My father’s cousin is my first cousin once removed. 


Step father. If my mom marries a different man than my father. 

My father’s uncle is my great uncle. 

My great uncle’s father. Great grandfather or great great uncle

















This was last class: November 5.

Today, we are doing body and health, sickness, illness, etc. 

But, let’s look at the exam. 

It is out of 100, but I divide by 5.

So, if you got 75/5=15% out of 20% 


Different parts of their bodies are in pain. 

Pain: ailment, hurt

Pharmacy: drugstore, place to buy medicine

Take a break until a quarter past four.

1/4

Advice: recommend

Should / shouldn’t   (ought to)

When we are sick, others like to give advice. 





Student A:

1. I have a runny nose (tissue)

(Tissue is the advice.)

You should / shouldn’t ….

You should use tissue to blow your nose. 

2. I have a terrible cold (oranges and kiwis)

You should eat oranges and kiwis because they have Vitamin C. 

We eat soup in English. We do NOT drink soup.

Greasy food is good for a hangover. That is why we go to McDonald’s.

Ear drops are good for an earache. 

Lozenges are good for a sore throat. 

If you cut your thumb, put a bandage on it. 



Saturday, December 7, 2024

Thanksgiving Came and Went



Talking Heads



 We will check the homework on page 27 after we take a break. We will check at 11:20. I will give you 10/10 if you did the homework. 

Now, we need to correct the writing. The writing is 10%. 

I want you to write again. Then I will give you a higher grade. 

1. No pencil.

2. Double space. 

3. Two paragraphs. Every paragraph is five or more sentences.

4. Do NOT use a contraction:

I'm    I am

They're     They are

He'll      He will

5. Spacing on punctuation. There is no space before. 

.    ,     ?     !    :      ;    ""


Hank likes a Big Mac, French fries, and vanilla ice cream.

No space before. Space after. 

Hina said to Tina: "Our names are similar. What a coincidence! "







Class & Period: 10:10/Friday

Name:

Student ID

Major

Room No. 304

Seat No. 

Teacher: Patrick Cowsill

Topic: Please write a Topic or Title


If you join the Spelling Bee and prove it to me, will give you +2% on your final grade or score.  If your final grade in this class is 69% and you prove you joined the Spelling Bee, I will give you 71% in this class. 


I wonder: I think, why?

Go ahead: start or do

A bit: a little

I'm beat: I'm tired

I can't stand: I hate, I don't like

What the heck: OK

"Can I get the bill?" I want to pay

We insist: we must

Our treat: we will pay for you 




Could you please repeat that?

How do you spell     ? 






Crab    Dumplings 












They are talking about the difference between since and for. PP grammar.

1. Since starts in an exact point of time. 

Quebec City has been a city since 1608. 


She has been talking English since she started high school.

2. For is an amount of time.

I have been running for thirty minutes.

Bong is a Korean director. He made the movie called Parasite. 

Horror: movie that is scary

Few: three or four 


For years: for ages, a long time 

Stop spacing out. 

He directed Parasite.












Yesterday was Thanksgiving. Let’s talk about Thanksgiving for five minutes. Take notes. Please write down 1 to 7. I will give you 10/10:








1. Thanksgiving is the ________ Thursday of November.

2. Traditional Thanksgiving dishes (food) include __________, _________, _________, _________. 

3. The pilgrims were ________.

4. The girl says they came to America to escape persecution due to (because) their __________.

5. Their ship was called the Mayflower. It arrived in America in _________.

6. The native people were called the __________. 

7. 










What time is it on that clock?

It's 9 oh 4. 



This is your GEPT test.

1. You need 65+ on listening.

2. You need 65+ on reading.

3. You need 140+ total.






Mashed potatoes, gravy, turkey, 

Pumpkin pie, cranberry sauce, Brussels sprouts, spinach and apple salad, yams, etc. 

English Christians    Religion

How much money did you spend for your haircut? 

I spent NT$10,000 for my haircut. 

What color did you dye your hair?

I dyed my hair blue because I wanted to be a smurf. 

Did you wear deodorant today? 

What kind of tattoo do you want?

Do you want a dragon tattoo or flames' tattoo? 


Appearance: what we look like on the outside

Personality: inner


Comb: b is silent

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3URXjHMQsUA

Lipstick

Dye

Hairstylist 

Barber 


Cosmetic: face

Procedure: surgery/change how you look 

I don’t wear contacts.

Unusual: strange or weird. 

They can’t stand. They hate it. 

Matt 

Listening practice:

A. Could you please repeat that?

B. How do you spell      ? 

Genre     Tattoo artist






They slandered me. 

I didn’t get a manicure so it cost zero.

Pedicure



That changing process is called evolution. 


I will send the notes tonight for the past few weeks. We need to study the grammar in the textbook because it is on the final exam. We will do 15 minutes of textbook grammar every week. 

1. We also need to think about the difference between appearance (outer beauty) and personality (inner beauty), creativity, etc. 

First, page 51

Skim: fast reading to tell you the new words

Vocabulary

Dye the hair: change hair color

Distinguished: smart and well educated, go to university for a long time

Gorgeous: beautiful or handsome, etc. 

Bald: no hair

Bold: brave 

Take the plunge: try something new or change something 

Risk: dangerous

I got a haircut (someone cut it for me, like a barber or hairstylist).

I cut my hair (I did it myself looking in a mirror). 

Ann is playing hooky today. 

Permanent: forever, always 

1. Can you hear the woman’s accent? 

Americans curl. England’s accent is flat.  Horror 

Corporate: big, famous company

Executive: boss or manager

Victor is playing hooky. 

I don’t mind: it’s OK

Perspective: idea, thinking, opinion 

Enthusiastically: energy, you really like it, etc. 

Announce: tell everybody

To act: do something 

Appearance: what we look like 


Grammar Lesson

1. Some: yes, positive, affirmative

I have some deodorant 

2. Any: no, negative

I do NOT have any sunscreen. 


3. Both are okay for a question:

Do you have some hair dye?

Do you have any hair dye? 


4. Plural: more than one, for example, apples 


Take a break until a quarter past two.  1/4


Stress: emphasis

Vowel: a, e, i, o, u, and sometimes y

Dye

Syllable   Syl   la   ble 


Define: meaning 




Listening Practice based on creativity (imagination or inner beauty).




1. Could you please repeat that? 

2. How do you spell     ? 

Sculpture    40,000    Species 

David Byrne     Tusk    Pick up

Video    page       Homework

Record or vinyl     Bye   Creativity

Weekend   Tell us?   Alien: UFO





 


Thursday, November 21, 2024

Hatchet Wielding Hitchhiker




Skim: read fast

Article: story in the newspaper or magazine

Aspect: part

Screenplay: story or plot of a movie

Particular: special

Type: kind

Audience: people watching a movie or concert

Cinematography: photography in a movie; how beautifully or special the movie is filmed

Special effects: dinosaur, bomb, car race; something that makes the audience say “wow!” = exciting part of the movie

Affect: influence

Bored to tears: you want to emphasize bored

Confused: don’t really understand

Character: not a real person

Create: make

Cinema: movie

Er: person

Thought provoking: interesting

Christy is playing hooky.

Feel: felt 

How come?  = Why

Elaborate: explain

Flick: movie

Genre: kind or type of movie

Horror: scary movie

 Accent 

Documentary: sounds “tree”    doc

Science fiction: sci-fi

14. Why have special effects gotten better in movies? The main reason is computer animation, which started in the 1990s. 





How to pass the GEPT:

1. 65 or over on the listening (first column). PINK

2. 65 or over on the reading (second column). PINK

140 or over total score (third column). 

GREEN






Could you please repeat that? 

How do you spell    ? 



Hitchhiker    optimistic       pessimistic 











Midterm Exam is out of 90.    /90

It is 15% of your final grade. So I can divide by 6. For example, 75/6=12.5 or 13%

When you write a sentence in English, you cannot start with a number.

With 100, I cannot divide by 5. 

At the top of the Midterm Exam page: 

Class/Day: 3:10; Thursday      

Teacher: Patrick Cowsill

Could you also write your seat number at the top of the page? Thanks. 






In my opinion, a paragraph cannot be shorter than five sentences. You cannot develop an idea in less than five sentences. 

1. Explain: why/because

2. Quote: My friend said: “I am from Tokyo, but I do not speak Japanese.”

3. Chronological: First, then, after, finally

4. W5: Who, what, when, where, why?

6. Transition word: therefore, however, furthermore, in conclusion, nonetheless, nevertheless, moreover

S.V.O;TW,S.V.O.

I like to eat pizza; moreover, I enjoy having pasta.






Sunday, October 27, 2024

Core Class: Do NOT Forget About the Midterm Exam on Wednesday

First, remember this vocabulary:

psychology, genre, heavy metal music, preference, museum, account, nationality, acquainted to, paragraph, sentence, directions, nurse, hometown, pharmacy, hospital, German, avenue, historical, medicine, exercising, keep records, huge, stadium, healthy, musical band, tour guide, across from, heard, Italian


*****************************

Here are the class notes from last week: 

We have the midterm test / exam on October 30. I will tell you all the words and grammar to study next week, on October 23.

Benefit: good things

Scientific research: study deeply in a university or lab

Influence

Produce: make

Chemical:

Transliteration

Chow mien: Chinese noodles

Kowtow: Do not do this to Patrick because it does not work

Especially: moreover

Exercise: sports, running, etc.

Which composer do you like?

Genre: heavy metal, classical music, jazz, pop, elevator music, etc., J Pop, K Pop

I listen to music when I am drawing.

 

How do I go to the convenience store? X

How do I get to the convenience store? Correct.

Location: place

What is our location now?

We are in a classroom.

Probably your number one chance to talk English to a stranger is for directions.

 

 

 

 

 

 



Midterm Exam


 





Let’s preview the vocabulary.

Notice: look at or pay attention to

Featured: shown; emphasized

Hit: push the button

Ecuador is a country in South America. It means equator in English.

Zero degrees

My pleasure: you’re welcome; don’t mention it

Synonym: two words with the same meaning

Very fast: very quick

Spacing out

As a matter of fact is a synonym for actually.

Synonym is two words with the same meaning.

Fast/quick     strong/powerful   smart/intelligent

Faux pas: mistake for cultural misunderstanding

Custom: habit for a culture

Habit: just for you

I checked with the university. They said we do NOT have to do presentations (speech) any more. Next week is the midterm exam.

I will tell you the words to study for next week first.

Part I: know that vocabulary

Part II: Prepositions and gerunds

We hate to eat taro: infinitive

We detest eating taro. gerund

 

Adjective and preposition collocation

Listening Practice

 

 

Could you please repeat that?

How do you spell ______?

 

Addicted   Feliks  

 

 

Rubik’s cube 

Apostrophe

Algarithms

 

 

world record

Genre Autistic

 

 

 

Thursday, October 17, 2024

Random


 Rhubarb Pie




Long time, no see.

We have the midterm test/exam in two weeks. I will tell you the words and grammar to study next week.

We must do a writing assignment each semester.

It is worth 10% of your grade. We have to do two stories. Let us do that today so we don’t have to worry about it later. The reason we need to write five or more sentences per paragraph is to develop the idea. Not hygienic. In English, we eat soup, not drink it. In America, you cannot pick up the bowl. It is considered rude.

 

I have written my name.

Let’s check the homework now. We will write the paragraphs after the break. We will write them at 4.10

 

 

Grammar: Infinitive

To + Verb

I like to eat vanilla ice cream.

Gerund

Verb + ing

I enjoy eating vanilla ice cream.

I will choose the students randomly.

Today’s lesson: This is the meaning of life.

Life is random events.

Preposition: in, on, up, down, across, between…

Extrovert: a person who likes to talk

I am starting to believe Betty is an extrovert.

Introvert: a person with a shy personality

Rarely: seldom   Stop spacing out.

Apologize: say sorry. I want to apologize.

Idiom:

I have too much on my plate. I have too much work or responsibilities.

Object: refuse or say “no”

Details: information

Indent

        I talked to Mia Chen this afternoon. Mia used to

 

work at Friday’s restaurant. Her favorite foreign

 

restaurant is The Tokyo Harbor. She usually orders

 

sushi for dinner. She drinks whisky highballs there.

 

She will have four or five every time.

        I talked to Sunny Tsai this afternoon. She used

 

to work in an Italian restaurant called Mario and

 

Luigi’s. Her favorite restaurant is Hera because the

 

pepperoni pizza is tasty. She also ordered pasta.

The first five sentences. The

 

For a beverage, Sunny prefers black tea.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Listening Practice:

Could you please repeat that?

How do you spell ++++++++?

Kazakhstan    occupation: job    Andy’s

Adrenaline tacky

 

 

 

Kazakhstan    kowtow   drop  dropped

Kiss butt   Occupation: job   Andy’s   Tacky