Beginner's Conversation and Pronunciation, Weekend Activity

 By Nate Feldman

Today, I woke up at 8 AM.  I took a shower.  Then, I made breakfast.  I made pancakes for breakfast.  I went to the gym.  I took the trolley to the gym.  I worked out at the gym.  I went to a restaurant.   I ate dinner at the restaurant.  I went home.  I watched a movie on Netflix.  It was a good day.

 

This weekend, write about your day.  Write about 50 words.  Give me on Monday.  Write on regular paper.  Don’t write on postcard.  Don’t write on post-it. 

 

I woke up.  I ate breakfast.  I went to the gym.  I ate lunch.  I ate a sandwich.  I drank orange juice.  I went home.  I took the trolley.  I watched a movie.  I talked with my friend.  I played soccer.  I ate chicken and rice for dinner.  I went to Washington.

 

Yesterday, I went home after classes.  Then, I went to a park, and I walked my dog there.  After that, I went home and I made coffee.  I drank coffee and I relaxed.  Later, I went running outside.  I went to the track and ran laps.  Then, I made my dinner.  I made noodles with vegetables and tofu for dinner.  After that, I had a bad phone call.  It was a bad conversation.

MLS Environmental Engineering, Vocabulary + Eiffel Tower Discussion

 By Nate Feldman

Initiative: a planned action with a set goal. 

*There are initiatives to reduce carbon emissions by 50% over the next 25 years.

Landmark: famous location in a country. 

*The Liberty Bell is an iconic landmark in Philadelphia. 

Amenity: added things to a place you stay at (I.e. at a hotel swimming pool, gym, laundry room etc.)

Complement: adding something to make something else better or more perfect

*I am taking classes at ELS, but I do private lessons on weekends to complement this so that I can become more fluent quickly.

Optimize: to make the best possible

*I hope you optimize your time in Philly as much as possible.  Besides taking classes, meeting new friends here is a great way to optimize your experience in the USA. 

Don’t judge a book by its over: don’t assume what another person or place is without knowing them

 

Discussion Questions:

1.   What are buildings/places that you think need to be retrofitted?

Ex. Alumni classes need to be retrofitted with windows so I can see outside.

 

2.   What are iconic landmarks that you would like to visit? 

 

3.   If you are at a hotel, or in an apartment, what kind of amenities do you like the place to have?

 

4.   What are ways you could complement your lessons at ELS?

 

5.   Do you judge books by their covers?  In other words, when you see people or places, do you assume things about them, or do you get to know them before you judge them? 

 

6.   What kind of initiative would you like to come up with/make?

 

 

A.  4, Purpose: Shows how solar panels generate electricity

B.  3, Purpose: To show the Eiffel Tower’s reduction of energy consumption after retrofitting

C.   1, Purpose: He wants to show how popular the Eiffel Tower is; it is more popular with tourists than other iconic places in the world

D. 2, Purpose: Eiffel Tower is symbolic of Paris’ Green Initiative

Beginner's Conversation and Pronunciation

 By Nate Feldman

Yesterday, I was absent because I was sick.  I stayed at my home.  I made breakfast for myself.  I made oatmeal for breakfast.  I watched TV and I took a bath.  I relaxed in my house.  In the evening, I went to a park, and I walked there.  I made dinner for myself, and I watched a show on my computer.  Now, I am back at ELS.

 

*Did you make breakfast this morning?  What did you make?  Did you make dinner last night?  What did you make?

Ex. This morning, I made a bowl of cereal with sliced bananas for breakfast.

*Where do you relax?

Ex. I relax in my house.  I relax in a hot tub.  I relax in a sauna.  I relax in a spa.  I relax in bed.

*Did you watch a movie, show, or game last night?  What did you watch?

Ex. I watched a show on Netflix last night.  I watched the Eagles game on Sunday. 

*When do you stay at home?

Ex. I stay at home on the weekend.  I stay at home after class.

MLS Humanities, Green Buildings

 By Nate Feldman

*Of the projects he visited, which was most intriguing, or interesting, to you?  Why did you feel that way?

*retrofit: you put modern things on an old structure

There are plans to retrofit the colosseum in Rome with wind turbines.

*unobtrusive: doesn’t create a bad view; doesn’t draw bad attention

*iconic: famous or legendary  

Tuesday's Vocabulary:

By Nate Feldman

Forward-thinking: thinking in a way that looks to the future, not the past

Nostalgic: wishing the past were today

Aesthetic: related to the beauty of something

*I love this painting for its aesthetics; the design of this building is aesthetically pleasing. 

Sphere: a three-d circle

Photovoltaic cladding: when a building is covered with solar panels

Wind turbine: gets wind energy; produces energy by moving in a circle

Biomass boiler: Generates energy from waste products

Dispose: to throw away

*When you are done eating, make sure you dispose your trash. 

Hub: the center of something

*In the USA, Washington, DC is the political hub.  New York City is the economic hub.  Los Angeles is the entertainment hub. 

Ingenious: very clever way to do something

*Hopefully, the teacher has an ingenious way to explain the language to the students. 

*Optimum: the best possible

I hope you find an optimum way to improve your English. 

English Through Music, Halloween Night by Nate Feldman

 By Nate Feldman

For discussion:

1.       When are you filled with fright? 

 

2.       What is a place that you think is spooky? 

 

3.       What was a spectacular experience you have had?

 

4.       Do you believe in dark spirits?  Do you believe they are floating around? 

English Through Music, Houdini by Dua Lipa

 By Nate Feldman

*What is something you do night and day?

*Do you practice what you preach to others? 

*What is something that sounds sweet to you?

*Do you think you’ll find the way to become fluent in English?

*Do you think you have let good moments slip in your life?  Or do you take advantage of all opportunities? 

MLS Humanities, Vocabulary Quiz

 Complete the sentences with the words below.

bottom line   empathy   exemplary   fall into place   flaw   flee   

insight    introspection   quest   raw    sorry sight 

1. My friend is very smart, but a little disorganized.  This is his __________________.

2. If a hurricane comes to our area, we must __________________to a safer place.

3. A person who doesn't shower or comb their hair in the morning is a ___________________.

4. It is good to have ______________________for other people.  You need to care about how others feel.

5. If you want to correct your mistakes, you need some time for _______________________to realize what you have done wrong.

6. Living in another country for many years gives you _______________________to how the culture operates.  

7. Remember to cook the meat well.  ________________meat might make you sick.  

8. I'd like to believe my lessons have been ______________________and that you have gained a lot of knowledge.

9. I'm going on a _______________________to find hidden treasure at the bottom of the ocean, like a pirate.

10. The ________________________is you are here to study English.  Other things are secondary.  

11. I don't have plans for this weekend yet, but things will ______________________once I have a chance to think things over.

advocate   aspirations    best friend    confrontation    consequence    

heart had been stolen   hurricane    indignation   transformative 

1. I am an _____________________for four-day workweeks.  I support this idea.

2. The teacher always let the student in the front answer every question, so the rest of the students felt ______________________towards the teacher.  

3. Falling asleep in class is a _______________________of not getting enough rest at night.

4. Living overseas is a _______________________experience for people as they learn so many things they didn't know before.

5. There was a verbal ______________________between the teacher and the student after the teacher said the student was stupid in front of everyone.

6. Frankenstein is a ______________________.  He causes destruction in his path.  

7. When I saw that person, I loved them so much.  I felt like my _____________________.

8.  Reading is my ___________________!  I do it all of the time.

9.  I have many __________________, or goals, in life.  I want to perform my music to live audiences! 

MLS Humanities, Vocabulary and Metaphors and Similes

By Nate Feldman

Vocab. Warm-up:

*What is an aspiration of yours?  Are any of your aspirations lofty?

*Have you received acclaim for anything? If not, what is an acclaimed place you have been to?

*What is something you crave right now?

*Are you involved with any endeavors right now to improve your life?

*Do you have a voracious appetite? 

 

Frankenstein is a hurricane (metaphor)

*He makes a lot of disasters; he damages things; he is aggressive

Mary Shelley felt like a prisoner without a formal education (simile)

*I don’t have freedom; I can’t move; I can’t do anything I want

Reading was her best friend (metaphor)

*Something that she enjoys more than other things

Mary felt like her heart had been stolen (simile)

*She loved him so much

Mary felt like a new tree that had been cut down (simile)

*She felt like she couldn’t develop

 

For discussion:

*Do you know anyone who is a hurricane/like a hurricane?

*Do you feel like a prisoner (hopefully not)?  If not, have you felt like a prisoner before somewhere?

*What activity is your best friend?

*Did you feel like your heart has been stolen ever?

*When did you feel like a new tree that had been just cut down?

MLS Humanities, Mary Shelley Vocabulary

By Nate Feldman

Warm-up Discussion:

*What person or place is exemplary?

Ex. Seika and Hibiki and Takumi are exemplary students!

*What was a sorry sight you saw?

*Did you ever go on a quest for something?  If so, what for?

*Do you have any flaws?  If so, what are some flaws of yours?

Ex. Sometimes I lose focus during the lesson.  This is a flaw of mine.

*Did you ever have to flee something?

Ex. When there was a storm outside, I had to flee and try and find shelter.

*Did someone compel you to do something you didn’t want to do?

Ex. I didn’t want to study medicine, but my family compelled me to do it. 

 

 

1.     Voracious: with food, eating a lot and in large amounts; with other activities doing it eagerly

 

2.     Dense: very thick

 

3.     Aspiration: goal of yours

 

*Running for politics is an aspiration of mine.

 

4.     Endeavor: trying to achieve something, or working towards something

 

*My teacher said that an aspiration of his was to work in politics.  I wish him the best in his endeavors. 

 

5.     Florid: too complicated

 

6.     Lofty: high-goal. 

 

Ex. The teacher said he wanted to run for politics.  This is such a lofty aspiration.

 

7.     Oration: speaking skills or speech

 

Ex. Some people liked Obama for his oration skills.

 

8.     Acclaim: something that is praised; people say good things about it

 

Ex. The movie has received a lot of acclaim.  That is why it is nominated for 10 Oscars. 

 

9.     Crave: strongly desire

 

Ex. I crave knowledge.  I crave my family’s cooking.  I crave reading and writing class. 

MLS Humanities, Metaphors and Similes and Love of the World

 By Nate Feldman

I walked outside this morning, and it was an ice box outside. 

I entered the building, and they had the heater on, and it felt as hot as a sauna. 

I didn’t eat lunch yesterday, so when I went back to my dorm, I was as hungry as a horse and chowed down on some ramen soup. 

After I got the good score on the test, I was as happy as a clam. 

I was so hungry, I chowed down and ate like a pig.

I took a quiz, and it was a real breeze, so I am feeling happy as a clam now.

 

Vocabulary:

1.      Flee = to run away or escape

*In California, many families have had to flee their homes because of the fire.

 

2.      A flaw = a weakness or mistake someone has

*I speak very clearly, but one of my flaws is I speak too much sometimes. 

Flawless = without mistakes or errors

 

3.      Insight = knowledge you have on a subject

*Hopefully, after living in Philly for several months, you have more insight about the life in this city.

 

4.      Introspection: thinking deeply about your life and things you must do

 

5.      Empathy = understanding other people’s situation in life

 

6.      Raw = uncooked

 

7.      Exemplary = very great

 

*Thank you teacher for this exemplary class!  Your lessons are exemplary!  The food at this restaurant is exemplary! 

 

8.       A quest = going on a mission or adventure to accomplish something

 

9.      Compel = to force someone to do something

 

*The students didn’t want to go on a quest in Clark Park, but I compelled them to do it. 

 

10.  The bottom line = the most important thing

 

*The bottom line is if you want to improve your English, you must speak it every day. 

 

11.  Fall into place = how things turn out; how everything eventually happens

 

12.  A sorry sight = a sad thing to look at

 

*How do you think the teacher can develop a love of the world in his/her students?

MLS Humanities, Metaphors and Similes

 By Nate Feldman

            Title: Education in Ancient Greece

 

Attitudes Towards Education:

*Greeks viewed it as the foundation of a virtuous life; considered an essential way to be a part of the society

 

Curriculum:

*Elementary Education: Simple Math and Language

Gymnasium: Physical Education

Secondary: Rhetoric and speech and science

 

 

 

 

 

 

*How education can change a person

1. How do you think you’ve grown and changed since you first started going to school?

2. Do you think going to college or a university changes people even more?

3. What are your attitudes about self-education?  Do you think people are able to teach things themselves without teachers?

 

Metaphor:

*This room is freezing.  This room is a refrigerator.  This room is an ice box.  This room, last session, was an oven. 

*The computers in LTC are sloths. 

 

Simile:

*This room is so cold.  It’s as cold as a refrigerator.  This room is so cold.  It’s as cold as the North Pole.  The room was so hot last session, it was like the desert.  It was like Death Valley.

*The computers in LTC are slow like a turtle. 

*The computers in LTC are as old as the pyramids of Egypt. 

 

For discussion:

*Use similes and metaphors to talk about your life here in Philly.

Example: I use the SEPTA, but I hate it because it’s a garbage can. 

I live with my roommate.  They are so messy!  He/she is a pig!  

MLS Humanities, Goethe and Nietszhe

 By Nate Feldman

Warm-up discussion:

*How do people often depict you?  (If you know)

*What would you like to be a pioneer in?

*For example, I would like to be a pioneer in space travel

*What are some innate skills you have?

*What are some things that are ubiquitous?

*Have you ever seen scandalous behavior at school? 

*What is something you unequivocally support?

>>I unequivocally support everyone having access to quality and affordable education.

 

New Vocabulary:

*a pursuit: a goal or something you are trying to accomplish

>>Being a masterful musician is a pursuit of mine. 

>>I wish you the best in all of your pursuits. 

*sacrifice: to give up something for something else

>>Parents must sacrifice money and time and social life to be with their children

>>Soldiers sometimes sacrifice their lives for the country

>>I have sacrificed a lot to become successful

*a confrontation: a fight with someone else

*indignation: a feeling of anger because of something you don’t like

*consequence: negative result

>>If you do drugs, there will be consequences. 

*to advocate: to say we need to do something about something

>>I am an advocate for a clean environment. 

>>I advocate for people to pick up their trash all of the time

>>I advocate that we have online classes once a week. 

*transformative: something that changes everything

>>Living in another country is a transformative experience for people who do that.

 

Goethe valued the pursuit of knowledge to help move beyond the restrictions of society towards a self-sufficient greatness.  This person can achieve more and do more for humanity.  Nietzsche dared to challenge societal rules. 

 

*Do you think acquiring knowledge makes you more powerful? 

*How do you feel about people that challenge societal rules?   

MLS Humanities, Vocabulary with Faust and Goethe Lecture (Presentation Day)

 By Nate Feldman

To label someone = to say what kind of person they are

To defy (someone or something) = refuse to do something

To defy labels = to be unable to describe the person

Pioneer = the first to do something in an area

*The Wright Brothers were pioneers of aviation. 

Mastermind = the person behind an event or idea

Innate = something that was always a part of you (i.e. talents or skills)

I have a good memory.  It is something innate to me.  Something innate is in Nate. 

Rote memorization = memorizing without thinking what its meaning is

Depict = how someone or something is shown to be

I watched a movie.  It depicts the main character as a greedy person. 

*Once upon a time, there was an English teacher named Nate.  He was so lazy that he got his dog to teach the class for him.  He always fell asleep during the lesson. 

How is Nate depicted in this story?

>>Nate is depicted as a lazy teacher

Ubiquitous= found everywhere

*English language schools are ubiquitous. 

Mystical = not connected to nature or logic; related to spiritual things

Scandalous = bad inappropriate behavior

A scandal = a situation when bad or inappropriate behavior has been happening

Unequivocally = without doubt or hesitation

*I unequivocally support your decision to study abroad. 

MLS Humanities, Emphatic Language

 By Nate Feldman

I strongly/fully believe we should enjoy the snow!

I totally recommend that you all go outside and have fun!

I honestly enjoy having online classes

I sincerely hope you all have a fun time in class today! 

I utterly reject bad behavior! 

I utterly oppose people lying to me!

I undoubtedly believe you should go out and have fun today! 

I was offered a new position at the company, and I readily accepted that.

I positively think you should travel more often when you get the opportunity. 

I freely admit that I need to work on my speaking skills. 

I enthusiastically support people trying to learn another language. 

 

*At our school, we strongly believe that students should have access to the most modern technology because it will enhance their learning experience. 

*My school will be an athletic training school because I sincerely believe that good bodies are essential for our well-being.

 

 

For discussion:

*What are things you strongly believe?

*What is something you deeply regret?

*What is something you enthusiastically encourage people to do?

 

>>>I strongly believe that Alumni Hall is a haunted people.

>>>I strongly believe that Alumni Hall needs to fix its AC/heating system! 

*a double-edged sword = has both benefits and negative things

>>I strongly believe that the internet is a double-edged sword. 

 

*Which one of those schools was the most interesting to you?

>>The boat school was unique because it actually inside looked like a real school, and it is interesting how they thought of turning a boat into a school. 

MLS Humanities, Questions about Education

 By Nate Feldman 

*What do you think about Plato’s ideas on education?  Is education in your point of view, just the amassing of facts, or should we be also trying to make students active in social and political life?

 

*Have you ever been involved with a student organization?  If so, what did you do?  If not, is there an organization you would be interested in?

 

*Do you agree that bad things happen to good people who are incapable of dealing with a situation and that education should help to prevent this?