SSP Rio de Janeiro, The Haunted House

 By Nate Feldman

Josh and his friend Aaron approached the haunted house at the end of the street.  When they arrived, they saw a big sign on the door, "NO ENTERING!"  

"We're not supposed to be here," Aaron said to Josh.

"Don't be afraid," Josh told him.  There is nothing scary inside.  

They opened the big, black wooden door in front of them.  It made a loud creaking sound.  Inside there was darkness.

"This place is scary," Aaron said to Josh.  "I want to go back."

Josh ignored him.  He walked further into the house.  

All of a sudden, there were loud sounds.  There were sounds of people laughing and screaming at the same time.  But there were no people.

"YOU'RE NOT ALLOWED TO ENTER THIS HOUSE!" a deep voice yelled at Josh and Aaron.

Aaron grabbed Josh's arm.  "I told you!  We are not permitted to be here!  Please, let's go!"

Josh ignored Aaron and the voice.  

"I won't listen to you!" Josh said to both of them.  

There was a locking sound behind Josh and Aaron.

"THEN, YOU WILL BE HERE FOREVER WITH US!" the voice shouted at them.  

Inside Speaking and Listening, Story: The Haunted Shipping Container

 By Nate Feldman

Josh assembled his friends at his new apartment one evening.  When they arrived, they were stunned to see that it had been constructed with shipping containers.  They were even more stunned to see that the place on the inside looked like a modern apartment.  Perched by the side of the city's river, it had a breathtaking view of the area. 

Late that night, however, everyone began hearing strange noises.  It sounded like crazy people laughing and screaming at the same time.  Then, all of a sudden, the lights turned off in the apartment, and everyone was in darkness.  The laughing and screaming sounds only got louder and louder.  

"There are ghosts in your apartment Josh!" screamed one of his friends.  

It turned out that Josh's shipping container apartment was haunted! 

Reading and Writing Petra, Final Essay

 By Nate Feldman

This session, we have talked about "Cause and Effect" essays where we discuss why different things happen, and what their effects on things are.  

Choose one of the topics below and write an essay answering the questions:

1. Why do people like to travel to your country?

2. Why do people focus on bad news only?

3. Why do humans damage the world?

Inside Speaking and Listening, Uses of Assemble

 By Nate Feldman

When you assemble parts of something, you gather them together.  When you reassemble something, you gather it again, or for a second time.  When you disassemble something, you take it apart.  You can do this with objects, but also with a group or business.  For example, I hope to reassemble my group of friends when I return to my country.

If you were building a house, what parts would you assemble for this?

Is there something you would like to reassemble?

Is there a building or place you would like to disassemble?

Reading and Writing Petra, Vocabulary Review

 By Nate Feldman

Complete the sentences with the words listed below.

atmosphere   concept    consequences   criteria    devoted to   dramatic   

eliminate   fertilizers   perspective   profound   satisfies   transform 

1. Good students are ______________________their studies.  They are fully committed to them.

2. The students played a joke on the teacher by putting wet paint on his seat to make his pants messy.  When the teacher sat down in the paint and heard the students laughing, he looked at them and said, "There will be ___________________________."

3. Farmers use _____________________to help plants grow better.  

4. When trees are felled, they release carbon dioxide into the ________________________.

5. Graduation is a ___________________moment in a person's life.  

6. Ideally, we will ____________________homelessness from the streets.  Let's get rid of it. 

7. At ELS, you will hopefully ________________________yourselves into great English speakers.  

8. When the students didn't do the homework, the teacher yelled, "I WILL NEVER TEACH YOU AGAINNNNN!"  The students thought the teacher was being a bit __________________.

9. What is your _____________________about what is happening in the world these days?  What do you think about things?  

10. I hope this lesson ________________________you, or makes you pleased.  

11. The teacher said he would do the lesson while lying on his back.  The students thought this was a very strange _____________________.

12. Your grades in writing class can vary depending on the teacher's ____________________, or way of evaluating.  

SSP Rio de Janeiro, Passive Voice

 By Nate Feldman

Situation: John is talking to his wife Mary about his missing dinner.

John: Mary, you said you cooked dinner for me.  Where is it?

Mary: I put it on the kitchen table.

John: Well, I looked there, and I couldn't find anything.

Mary: Really!!??  I bet it was eaten by one of the kids.

John: Great!  Now, I'll have to make my own dinner!

Mary: I'm so sorry!

Question: What happened to John's dinner?  

Grammar Note: Passive Voice means when an action happens to an object.  For example, I eat oatmeal everyday is the active way of describing something.  However, you can also say Oatmeal is eaten everyday.  

In the passive voice, use the object + the verb "to be" + the past participle of a verb (or verb 3)

Examples: 

English is spoken in the United States

Cheesesteaks are made and eaten in Philadelphia

English as a Second Language is taught at the ELS languauge center 

Football is played in the United States.  

For discussion:

*What popular food is eaten in your country?

*What sports are played in your country?  

*What things are made in your country?

SSP Rio De Janeiro, Simple Past vs. Present Perfect Review

 By Nate Feldman

Complete the sentences using the simple past or present perfect form of the verbs in parentheses.  

For example, I (be) have been in your country many times.  In fact, I (be) was just there last summer.

I (begin) __________________my job at ELS in September 2012, 11 years ago.  When I (come) ___________________here, it (be) ____________________quite different than it is now.  First of all, ELS (be) ______________________at a different building, on Hawk Hill.  We also (have) ___________________a lot more students and teachers than now.  Some sessions, we (have) ___________________around 200-300 students.  Sometimes, the bulding (not have) ______________________enough classrooms, so teachers (have to) ____________________teach in other buildings.

Times (change) ______________________, however.  We (move) ___________________________to a new building in University City.  We (move) _________________________in July of this year.  The student population (change) ___________________________as well.  We have students from different countries than before.  In the past, we (had) _____________________a lot of students from Saudi Arabia because of a scholarship program, but that program (stop) ____________________.

Inside Speaking and Listening, Shipping Container Homes

 By Nate Feldman

Yesterday, we watched a video about how some constructon companies are making homes out of recycled shipping containers.  We also saw the story of Ian, someone who lives in a home made of these materials.  

With your partners, discuss how you feel about shipping containers for homes.  Think of the following things in your discussion:

*How are the shipping container homes moneywise or costwise?  How was the home we saw yesterday locationwise?  How are they materialwise?  How do you think they are safetywise?  

Reading and Writing Petra, How Humans Help the World

By Nate Feldman

Quite often, when people talk about the effects of humans on planet Earth, they focus on negative things, such as global warming, deforestation, pollution, and general destruction.  We cannot ignore such things, but focusing on that too much can lead to cynicism and defeatism.  It’s as if we cannot control ourselves and are doomed to destroy the planet.  The reality is that humans have also had many wonderful effects on the planet which we should celebrate.

While it is true that humans have caused the extinction of animal life in some cases, we also protect animal life.  Things like nature preserves enable many animals to thrive and do well in ways they wouldn’t if they were out in the wild.  There are animal shelters and other organizations that dedicate a lot of their time for the betterment of animal life.  Furthermore,  many people provide loving homes to domesticated animals, such as dogs and cats.  If you compare the health and lifespan of domesticated house cats to feral cats, you will undoubtedly see that cats around humans do much better than those without them.

Human knowledge of the sciences has the potential to save the world from future catastrophes.  It is believed by many scientists that Dinosaurs went extinct due to an asteroid collision 65 million years ago.  Today, with the invention of advanced telescopes, we are able to detect things from outer space that have the potential to wreak havoc on our planet the way that asteroid did.  Also, if a large asteroid is heading to our planet, we are developing technology to knock it off its course.  Other animal species have never had such capabilities. 

These things are not written to ignore the many negative consequences that humans are having on the planet.  This is to also give us credit where credit is due.  Many of us do good things for the planet every day and it is important we celebrate that as much as we focus on the bad things as well. 

Inside Speaking and Listening, Using -wise as a suffix

 By Nate Feldman

Complete the sentences with the words listed below.

moneywise    relationship-wise    scenery-wise    weather-wise    workwise    

Hi!  How are you?  It's great to hear from you.  You asked me how I was doing.  Well, ___________________my job is going fine.  It's interesting, and I am doing well at it.  ____________________, I am doing fine as well.  I have a good salary, and I am saving up these days.  Now, ________________________things could be going better.  I went out with someone last weekend, but we didn't really hit it off so well, so I'll probably have to keep looking for another person to do something with.  Other than that, ______________________things are nice.  It's now autumn, and the leaves are changing colors, so that's nice.  As you know, _______________________I live in a beautiful area with great views.

Anyway, so that's my life now.  How are things on your end?

Inside Speaking and Listening, Using Utilize

 By Nate Feldman

How can you utilize the following things.

1. Money you just won in the lottery 

2. a pot that someone made for you 

3. cooking utensils that a person gave for you as a holiday gift 

4. your time at a language center for international students

5. the LTC class here 

SSP Rio de Janeiro, Using Must

 By Nate Feldman

Use must to describe what these people must do.

1. Bill and Sandra are in the forest.  They are camping with their children.  It begins raining very hard.

2. Frank is heading to the airport.  He suddenly realizes he forgot to bring his phone with him.

3. Mousumi is a university student in a pre-med program.  She wakes up and realizes there is a big exam today, and she forgot to study for it the night before.  

4. Alan has to leave his house in five minutes to catch the next train, but he still hasn't taken a shower.  

5. Marie opens her refrigerator and sees that it is almost empty.  

Reading and Writing Petra, the Effects of Studying Abroad

 By Nate Feldman

Reading and Writing Petra, The Effects of Studying Abroad

 

1.       Every year, young people from around the world take advantage of the opportunity to study for a semester or year in another country.  Universities all over the world offer their students the chance to get credits while taking classes at another institution.  Although there are students that don’t do this, many get the positive effects of learning in another country.

 

      One positive effect of studying abroad is that students can see how life is really like in another country rather than just reading about it in a textbook.  They get on the ground experience.  For example, perhaps a student is studying about Latin American culture in classes they take in the United States.  They gain a lot of important knowledge through this.  However, nothing compares to being actually in Latin America and seeing what the day-to-day life is really like.  As a result, students who study abroad come back from their experience with a deeper understanding of the culture they spent time in.

 

3.       One possible benefit of studying abroad is improving your second language skills.  If you are studying a second language, the best place to practice it is a country where it is the native language.  For instance, if I want to become fluent in French, it’s best to be in a French speaking country where I can interact with local speakers on a daily basis.  Although you can practice with people who speak that language while you are in your own country, the knowledge you get while overseas is more.

 

4.       Studying abroad also gives young people a chance to form some level of independence for themselves.  For some young adults, this is the first time they have ever really lived away from their family for an extended period of time.  For the first time in their lives, they have to take care of themselves.  For instance, they need to learn to shop and cook their meals.  They need to clean up their rooms without being forced to.  They have to get to their classes without someone waking them up.  They learn to be able to depend on themselves more.

 

5.       For a long time, studying abroad has been a unique and beneficial experience for young people from around the world.  Whether they learn about a culture in more details, improve their skills at a language, or learn to take care of themselves better, it is a worthwhile experience for those who do it.

 

Vocabulary:

1.       When you take advantage of an opportunity, you A) waste your time   B) do something useful with the chance you have

 

2.       On the ground experience refers to A) experience you get being in a place   B) experience you get while lying down

 

3.       Day-to-day life refers to what people do A) sometimes   B) every day

 

4.       Something you do on a daily basis happens A) sometimes   B) every day

 

5.       When you form something, you A) create it   B) destroy it

 

6.       An extended period of time refers to A) a short period   B) a long period

 

7.       Something worthwhile is A) useful   B) a waste

 

Main ideas: Match the sentences with the paragraph they best fit into.

A.     Studying abroad helps you to take care of yourself more ___________________

 

B.      Students get better at a language when overseas ___________________

 

C.      Students who get the chance to study abroad benefit from it for many reasons __________________

 

D.     Students living in other countries see what it’s really like there ______________________

 

Describing tone.  What is the writer’s attitude towards studying abroad?  Is it in general negative or positive?  What tells you this?

 

For discussion:

*What are positive effects of studying abroad in your perspective?

*What are some negative effects of studying abroad?

Inside Speaking and Listening, P.3 Vocabulary Discussion

 By Nate Feldman

1. What kind of assumptions do people make about you?  Do you like these assumptions?

2. What is a constructive way to help someone improve at something?

3. What kind of transformation have you experienced?  

4. Have you experienced tough times before?  When did you experience them?

A short story:

I once knew a person.  They made an assumption about me.  They thought that I wanted to have a certain type of job.  But, they didn’t ask if I really wanted that type of job, so I was kind of bothered by that.  I think before you make an assumption about someone, you should ask them first.  Right?  If you do that, you can know the real person, not what your assumption about them is. 

Reading and Writing Petra, Why do we Lie?

 By Nate Feldman

 

1.         The expression “honesty is the best policy” is something many young children have heard since they began attending school at a young age.  The basic premise being that it is always best if a person tells the truth.  While most societies, traditions, and faiths teach us the value of being an honest person, the reality is the vast majority of people lie, and some people lie as a habit.  So, if we are taught that lying is wrong, why do people do it?  There are different reasons for it.

2.         In many situations, lying is essential for our social well-being.  For example, let’s say you want to maintain a good relationship with other people.  It could be your manager, friends, or even a spouse.  Part of being on good terms with these people requires you to not be 100% honest all of the time.  Your boss may have a new idea that you think is completely terrible.  He or she wants to know how you feel about it.  Should you say directly to them that the idea is awful?  Perhaps if you have a really close relationship with them, you can get away with it, but the reality is most people aren’t that close to their managers, so they need to give an answer that won’t offend him or her so much that they put their position at risk.  The same could be argued for keeping people friends.  They do some things that annoy you, but at the same time you know if you keep telling them this, they might not be your friend anymore.  So, sometimes lying is good to keep relationships strong. 

3.         Now, there are some people who are what we refer to as pathological liars.  These are people who lie for no other reason than they lie about everything.  It’s hard to know exactly what goes into their psychology.  Perhaps their parents are liars, so they learned it from them.  Or, perhaps at a young age, they saw that lying benefited them somehow, so they kept doing it.  Another possibility is that it is something biological, and there is something in their mind that somehow tells them lying is good.  For whatever reason, they lie all of the time, and they are difficult people to trust or be around.

4.         Ideally, we would live in a world where people could be honest all of the time.  If you think my shirt is ugly, well, then just go ahead and say it.  But, that is not the real world always, so people lie for their own benefits even if we are taught from a young age that it is better to be honest.  I’d say it is better to be honest, but if it will hurt you for no reason, then I guess you just have to tell a lie here and there.

Reading for Main Ideas:

Match the main idea with the appropriate paragraph:

A.    Some people lie for no clear reason even if they don’t have to __________________

 

B.     Although lying is bad, it is sometimes necessary to save relationships ______________

 

C.     We are taught that lying is wrong, yet we still do it _________________________

Reading and Writing Petra, Hot Spots

 By Nate Feldman

A significant hot spot in Washington, DC is The National Mall.  This area includes important museums and monuments.  On one side is the Lincoln Memorial, which includes a giant statue of Abraham Lincoln, the 16th President of the United States, sitting on a giant chair, looking out over the nation's capital.  In the middle is the Washington Monument, a giant obelisk pointing up to the sky.  On the far end is the U.S. Capital Building, the place where the U.S. Congress meets to make laws.  In-between these important places are tons of museums that people can enter for free, such as the Air and Space Museum and many others.  So, if you are in the DC area, I highly recommend you visit this hot spot for both tourists and locals alike.  

Inside Speaking and Listening, Use of Contrary

 By Nate Feldman

When something is contrary to something else, it is opposite to that thing.  So, for example, if one teacher tells you it is OK to arrive whenever you want, and another teacher says that you have to be on-time or face the consequences, these ideas seem to be contrary to one another.

What is contrary to the following situations?  

1. A manager tells you cannot leave work early, even if it is to do something important with your family.

2. Your spouse or significant other always brings nice gifts for your anniversary.  

3. You parents tell you that you must keep your room nice and clean.

Further discussion: What are things that have happened to your life that seem contrary to one another?  For example, I have had some people say I am not very friendly. This is contrary to other people who say I am the friendliest person they know.

SSP Rio De Janerio, Verb + Infinitive

 By Nate Feldman

I am an English teacher at ELS.  I like to teach students from different countries.  I need to plan the lesson, and I need to explain things clearly to the students.  I want to teach the students, and I hope to learn things about their countries and languages as well.  I hate to have a confusing lesson.  I hope to have an amazing lesson. 

Questions for Discussion:

*What do you like to do?

*What do you want to do tonight?  

*What do you need to do today?  

*What do you hope to do in the United States? 

*What do you hate to do?

Inside Listening and Speaking, Sustainable vs. Unsustainable Activity

 By Nate Feldman

I will mention some situations.  Discuss with a partner if what these people are doing is sustainable, or can last a long time, or unsustainable, it can't last for a long time.  Explain why you have this opinion.  

Example: Devin is training for a marathon, so he has to run several miles a day, and sometimes he has to run several miles, twice a day.

I think this is sustainable because athletes need to make sure they are in great shape always, and if he is committed, he will be fine.

I think this is unsustainable, because if he runs too much like this all of the time, eventually he will hurt his knees.  

1. John has a new job at a major company in his city.  He is excited about his work, but his manager says that he must work 10 hours a day, from 9-7 Monday through Friday.  

2. Kelly wants to get in shape.  She goes to the gym for 3 hours a day, seven days a week.  

3. Bob wants to lose some weight.  For that reason, every couple of weeks, he decides to do a juice fast, where he only drinks juice for an entire day, sometimes for two days in a row. 

4. Paige likes to travel so much that she tries to travel to a new country at least once every month or two.  She has a very adventurous spirit.  

5. Mark is married to Megan.  They have three children, but they fight a lot.  Mark and Megan argue at least once a day, and sometimes they scream at each other.

Reading and Writing Petra, My Weekend and My Travels

By Nate Feldman

My Weekend:

This weekend, the weather was very nice.  On Friday afternoon, I went to a trail and I ran for a few miles.  It was very nice and refreshing.  On Saturday, I went to visit someone near Baltimore in Maryland.  I visited them at their apartment, and we went out for dinner at a restaurant and then watched a movie together.  That was a lot of fun.  I came back to Pennsylvania yesterday.  It had rained, so I noticed it was a lot cooler here.  I ran again last night, and I found that so relaxing and nice, especially when it started to rain a bit.

My Travels: 

It’s very hard to know where to begin with different adventures I have had in my life.  I took family trips to Canada, the Bahamas, France, and Spain when I was young.  I went to England with my brother and mother in the summer of 2000, the year I graduated from high school.  But, I’d definitely say the first really big adventure I had was going to India in the summer of 2003. 

My original purpose for traveling to India that summer was to study the Arabic language at the Henry Martyn Institute (HMI) in the city of Hyderabad.  I had begun studying Arabic in the fall of 2002.  India, of course, did not seem like a logical choice to study Arabic since of course, it is not an Arab country.  However, the US war with Iraq, which began that March, had made the United States extremely unpopular in the Middle East and North Africa, so I thought it wouldn’t be a good time to travel to one of those countries.  Furthermore, I had had an interest in India and Indian culture for the previous two years.  When I found that Arabic was offered as a summer course at HMI, it seemed like a good option.

Another thing that attracted me to the Henry Martyn Institute was that it’s a center that advances inter-religious dialogue among the various communities of Hyderabad, something essential in a place famous for being home to a variety of religions and sects.  Different parts of the city had had communal riots between members of different faiths.  HMI was working to build bridges of understanding between these people. 

The staff had Muslims, Christians, Hindus, and Sikhs working together.  They initiated a lot of programs in the community to bring people of different religions together to understand one another and learn to live with one another.  For example, I visited a school where people of different religions were studying with one another.  I also saw an embroidery program which gathered women from the different religions to make different items. 

Despite this fascinating experience, I’d say the thing that I remember most about my time in India was the relationship I built with people there.  

Inside Listening and Speaking 3, Vocabulary Practice

 By Nate Feldman

Complete the sentences with the words from P.1 of the book.

assembled   assume   bulk   components   construct   

factor  innovative  minimize  sustain   throughout   transformed  utilize 

1. A lot of people drink coffee in the morning to help __________________themselves __________________the morning. 

2. You hardly come to class, so I ______________________you don't care if you get a poor grade, but perhaps I am wrong.

3. Josh __________________________all of the campers and counselors to announce that they had to suspend the camp's operations because of the recent zombie attack.  

4. Summer camps have many ______________________, such as sports, arts and crafts, and field trips to different places. 

5. I hope as students here, you __________________the SJU facilities in the best way possible.  

6. The Philadelphia 76ers want to ____________________a new stadium in the Chinatown area.

7. Philadelphia's location is a major ______________________why international students choose to study here.  

8. People pick a____________________of apples and pumpkins in the fall.  

9. If you want to invent something new, you have to be ______________________.

10. The society has ______________________itself from agricultural to more urban in the last 100 years.  

11. It's good to voice your opinion, but you should ____________________the amount of arguments you get into.  

Reading and Writing Petra, Cause and Effect Introductions and Body Paragraphs

 By Nate Feldman

How often do you like to leave your house?  Every year, millions of people around the world like to visit a new place.  According to reports, last year 5.7 million people traveled around the globe.  Travel is a part of the human experience, but why is it so important to us?  Why do we like to travel so much?  We travel for leisure, as well as educational and business reasons.

An important factor in people's decision to travel is they need to find time to relax.  People like to go to different places, either in their country or around the world to escape the daily grind of their jobs.  Very popular destinations include beaches, mountains, and other natural places filled with pristinity where people can refresh themselves.  

Another reason people like to travel is because they are studying abroad.  Many university students like the opportunity to take classes in another country for a variety of reasons.  Perhaps they are studying a different language and want to be in the place where it is spoken on a daily basis.  Or, they are studying a subject like history or economics and want to learn more about these subjects in those places.  

Last but not least, people often travel because of their work.  Often their jobs require them to go to different countries for work assignments.  Also, some people travel to other countries because they want to work in those places.  For example, English teachers often go to other countries to work at a school or language center there.  Finally, there are businesspeople who want to build relationships with people from other countries, so they travel there to meet others in their fields.  

To conclude, travel is a part of the human experience.  We do not like to just sit still and see the same place again and again.  Travel will continue to be a favorite activity for people now and well into the future.  

SSP Rio de Janeiro, Unit 1, Work

By Nate Feldman 

Homework (Present Perfect with for/since):

Complete the sentences using the present perfect and for or since.  

Ex. I (study) have studied English for 10 years.

Hi, my name is Nate.  I am a teacher at ELS.  I (teach) ___________________at ELS ____________11 years.  I run and play sports.  I am on a softball team in Philadelphia.  I (play) ____________________softball ______________the summer of 2021.  I run everyday.  I (run) __________________everyday ______________11 years.  Besides sports, I also enjoy music.  I play the piano.  I (play) ______________________piano ____________2017.  I play songs every day and make my own music.  I also like writing stories and drawing pictures.  I (write) __________________stories and _________________(draw) pictures ____________years.  

Josh is the director of a summer camp.  He (be) _____________________the director _____________the last few years.  He (go) _____________________to camps _______________he was a child.  He has experience working with people from many different countries.  He is very personable and has good speaking abilities.  

Inside Listening and Speaking 3, Class 1 and 2, September 12-13, 2023

 By Nate Feldman 

A short story:

Josh assembled both the staff and campers of Camp Doomsday at the dining hall.  There was a lot of tension in the air because of the recent disappearances of the two counselors, with rumors swirling around that a zombie was responsible.  

When everyone had arrived, Josh stood in front of all the tables while everyone went silent.

"I have assembled you all here," Josh began to speak, "because of recent events here at our camp.  As you know, two of our dear staff members have vanished, and there are some suggestions that something terrible has happened to them."

Everyone remained silent as he continued.

"I helped construct this camp years ago to be a place of dialogue, friendship, and healing.  We must sustain these efforts at all costs."  

Josh hesitated a second and looked over the room at both the campers and his staff.

"Unfortunately, one component of our program is not just building relationships, but doing it in a safe environment.  Given the current circumstances, I cannot assure you that our camp is the most secure place to be right now.  For that reason, we must suspend operations for the summer." 

Questions:

1. Why did Josh assemble the people?

2. What did Josh construct?  Why did he construct it?

3. What are components of Josh's program?