Hatchet Wielding Hitchhiker

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E2r4vg3vdkM

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.

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

 

 

 

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

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Short Notice

 Chilliwack, British Columbia. View of a pond from the window. 

Let’s check the homework. BTW, Patrick Cowsill

Notice: look at; pay attention to

Featured: emphasized; shown

It’s pretty short notice: why didn’t you tell me before? I need more time

Whether: if

Up for that: Do you want to do that?

You sound a little down: sad, depressed, a little blue

I thank my lucky stars: I am lucky

I just can’t stand the guy: I don’t like that man; I hate that guy

Alternative: another way; a different way to do it

Awful: bad, terrible, sucks, no good

Brainstorm: think of ideas

Figure it out: understand; know, etc.

1. I just can’t stand the guy: I hate him; I dislike him, etc.

I will choose the students randomly.

Do NOT use sign language to talk to your teacher.

 

It’s up to you:

You can go vertically. You go horizontally. You can go diagonally. You can go backward(s).

Toward / towards

The elephant in Chinese chess goes diagonally.

Do you like Korean food?

What kind of Korean food do you like?

Please use a sentence when you talk in this class to practice grammar. If they say YES with a sentence, write down his/her name. If NO, do NOT write.

Have you ever been to Seoul?

Yes, I have been to Seoul.

Ever is only in the question, not answer.

Why did you go there?

I went there to look at pretty women.

State it: talk, say

Spouse: husband or wife: married

Superficial: shallow

Top

Bottom

Corner

Kimchi is not bad.

Do you want a chicken burrito or a beef burrito?

 

Spouse: husband or wife

Siblings: brothers and sisters

How many brothers and sisters do you have? = How many siblings do you have?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Please write down your partner’s answers in English, NOT Chinese.

 

 

1. Yang Ming Mountain is a dormant (sleeping) volcano.

If a volcano erupts within 10,000 years, it is a dormant and not extinct volcano.

2. The police use German shepherds because these dogs are easy to train. They are smart.

3. Vampires don’t like garlic.

4. The smartphone distracts

 

 me because it has messages and gossip.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Listening Practice:

I will talk. Write down what I say. If you don’t understand, ask:

Could you please repeat that?

How do you spell ______?

Difficult    Distractions

What happened…?   Trampoline

Gorilla

 

 

 

 

 

Difficult    Distractions

 

What happened…?   Trampoline

Gorilla

 

 

 

 

1.          Perhaps the most difficult thing the human being is called upon to face is long, concentrated thinking.

Is called upon: must

 

3.          A hundred years later and the problem has only gotten worse.

 

Get/got/gotten

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Wood (n)    Wooden (adj)

What happened…?  20%

Trampoline        Gorilla   Genre

 

 

 

 

 

 

Distractions   Wood (n)   Wooden (adj)    Helmet    What happened…?   Trampoline

Genre: kind of movie or book: science fiction, comedy, cartoon, romance, etc.   Gorilla

 

Gotten worse

Multi-tasking: do many jobs at the same time

 

 

 

 

 

Rules: Write down your partner’s answer in English.

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.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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