The Diploma Birthday Party 4th. December 2009

Saying of the Week

In class we have been studying the mind, and we have learnt a lot of new expressions and vocabulary that is connected to it. So although this week's saying is a little long, it is worth thinking about. It was said by Buddha a long time ago, and it remains absolutely true to this day.

"Everything is based on mind, is led by mind, is fashioned by mind. If you speak and act with a polluted mind, suffering will follow you, as the wheels of the oxcart follow the footsteps of the ox. Everything is based on mind, is led by mind, is fashioned by mind. If you speak and act with a pure mind, happiness will follow you, as a shadow clings to a form."

"It's all in the mind".

The good thing is that we can always "change our minds". It's very easy to do. You just go inside and redirect it using the pictures, sounds and feelings, that your mind is constantly creating. Start with the little voices in your head - you must be mindful of these. They can send you in all sorts of silly ways - towards a polluted mind.

Talk to those little voices. First, say thank you for your words, but now I want to move on, forget about all that stuff, and see how I can make the day more enjoyable, by opening my mind to everything that is good and positive. Simple. As Buddha said, in such a clear minded fashion, cleanse the polluted mind and become pure of mind. We would say: open minded.

When you have a clear open mind, you can go anywhere and do anything. Just follow your mind. And as Buddha tells us - that way lies happiness.

End of Course Party, SMV, Lamphun

Yesterday I finished an English course for the employees of SMV, Lamphun, Thailand. On the last day we had a little party and they very kindly presented me with a Christmas Hamper, as you can see in the photo.
I had a lovely time teaching at SMV, and would like to thank all my students for their enthusiastic participation, and also Wat, the H.R. manager, and his two French bosses, who made sure I had plenty of good quality coffee to waken me up in the early mornings.

Saying of the Week

Rome Wasn't Built In A Day

An educated native speaker knows about 50,000 words in their own language. To be able to hold an everyday conversation in English you only need about 2,000 words.

It takes about 1,000 hours of study to become proficient in another language, and about 3,000 hours to become an expert (on the same level as a native speaker).

It's not easy to learn a new language. It takes practice and a lot of perseverance. You need to keep at it every day. One step at a time. One block at a time. First, the foundation. Then, the building. And so on.

"Rome wasn't built in a day."

Level 2A Podcast - The Giant's Causeway

Vocabulary:

Finn Mc.Cool - Irish giant
Oonagh - his wife
Benandonner - Scottish giant
Giant(n) - Very big person from mythology - probably not true
Causeway(n) - A road built across a stretch of water
erupt(v) - to explode upwards like a volcano
coast (n) - land next to the sea
plateau (n) - a high flat piece of land
hug (v) - stay close to
hexagonal (adj) - six sided
fall out (v) - not speak to someone you used to get on with

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Saying of the Week

You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make it drink

With sayings that have a "result", such as this one, you don't have to say the whole proverb. It's only necessary to say: "You can lead a horse to water". People will then know what you mean.

When I was in my early teens, my mother got it into her head, that her children would learn to play the piano. She had never played a musical instrument, and now, she thought her kids should not miss out on this opportunity, or they would regret it when they got older, like she did.

So, she persuaded my father to buy an old stand-up piano at auction. It was installed in the front room, and I was sent off to take piano lessons with a Mrs. O'Neill. I never really took to playing the piano; I don't have a very musical ear. However, I stuck at it for a while, and I remember passing some theory exams, but I still can't play the piano, and neither can the rest of my family.

You can lead a horse to water .............

My Beloved Aunt

Listen to this week's podcast - My Beloved Aunt by Golf - and read the story below.


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Diploma Level 4A Writing - The Long Walk of Life

This term, the writing task was to write about a person, living or dead, who has been an influence on your life. You had to give examples and details to show how that person was important for you. We used the example of Rowan Atkinson's biography from Module 1 of Cutting Edge Upper Intermediate, which we are studying in Level 4.

This is, also, very similar to the personal preference writing task you get in the TOEFL. Here is an excellent essay written by Patipan Jinawong (Golf), who is an English Major at Chiang Mai University. You can also hear it in the podcast above. So, you can listen and read at the same time.

My Beloved Aunt

My aunt was a dependably selfless woman, who gave everything and did anything just for her family to be happy. Everyone around her would recognize her by the size of her body and the look of her cheerful face.

She was born in 1960, exactly five years after my mother was born. Her family was poor, and her native place was originally Lampang. In 1967, when she was 7, her mother decided to move to Mae Hong Son, because her father worked there. At that time, there was no airport in Lampang and even buses were hardly seen. Therefore, her family had to walk to Mae Hong Son, almost 300 kilometres, and it took them 3 months to get there. Tragically, her father passed away two years later.

She was the youngest in the family, so she got a lot of attention from her mother. In 1977, she was sent to Chiang Mai to further her education, but on one condition, she had to live on a low budget. After graduating college, she moved back to Mae Hong Son and became a teacher. Later in 1982, she got married to a man from a far away province. They said it was fate that brought them together.

As a teacher, she fulfilled her duties, but it seemed her income was never enough to support her family, neither was her husband's. So, she took an extra job selling jewelry. It went well for the first two years, but selling jewelry got her into a lot of debt. Therefore, she decided to do something else apart from selling jewelry. She came up with building a shop, but it was cancelled due to her family's financial position. Finally, she decided to sell Moo Yaw, Thai pork sausage.

In 2006, she decided to have a thorough medical check up, because she had had a terrible stomachache for a long time. The results showed she had stomach cancer, which was really rare. The doctor couldn't guarantee she would get better after surgery, but she was willing to take the risk. Therefore, she decided to have the surgery. The doctor successfully removed the cancer, but it had already spread to her whole stomach. So, her whole stomach was also removed. After the surgery she was continuously treated with chemotherapy. It was unimaginably painful for her, but she fought really hard to survive. She was truly a great fighter.

Later in 2007, her condition got even worse. There were no cures or remedies for her. Her body gradually turned black, due to a lack of "something or other" in her blood. Tubes were pushed down her throat, so she couldn't talk. Her hands shook when she tried to write. Her tears shed every time we came to visit her. It was a tremendously horrible moment. After three weeks of horrendous suffering, she passed away.

As I attended my aunt's funeral  tears formed in my eyes and rolled down my cheeks. She was one of the greatest and most interesting people I've known in my entire life.

Saying of the Week

Every Cloud has a Silver Lining

This is a very powerful saying. In English we use weather terms to express emotion. The sun represents happiness and rain represents sadness. So, if there are clear, blue skies you don't have any troubles, but if it's cloudy and raining life is full of sorrow. You'll hear these images sung in many songs. Of course, when the cloud and rain drift away, the sun comes out and everything is fine again.

"Every Cloud has a Silver Lining" tells us that no matter how bad things may get or seem, inside that cloud, in the lining of that cloud, is something good that can help you in the future. Behind every problem lies an opportunity.

And in my experience, it's absolutely true. Sometimes, we need those storm clouds to come along. We need a change in our lives, good or bad, to wake us up and get us moving again. Life would be dull and boring otherwise. For the sun needs the clouds, just as the clouds need the sun.

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Love Listening to English

Today we're starting "Love Listening to English" podcasts. Each podcast will have a story, followed by questions. They are for Diploma students, but anyone can practice listening. If you want to improve your speaking you need to listen a lot. With the technology of the Internet and podcasting we can now listen where and when we want.

This story is for Diploma Level 1B and is called "Peter had a terrible weekend". Use the player below to listen to the story and answer the questions.

Love Listening to English

Diploma Level 1B - "Peter had a terrible weekend"


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Saying of the Week

ACTIONS SPEAK LOUDER THAN WORDS

This is one of my favorite sayings. When people start giving me earache about this or that, I remember that what you do is what matters, not what you say. So many people, today, talk and talk, promise this and that, but they don't follow through. They think if they smile and say sorry that's ok.

For example, my best friend's father never said very much, but his mother talked a lot and no one listened. One evening we came back to my friend's house and started playing music in his living room. His mother kept saying to us to keep the music down, and my friend kept saying ok.

Of course, we didn't and we were quite loud really. After about one hour, the door opened and my friend's father walked in, and without saying a word, he walked over and turned off the electric fire and the music, switched off the light, closed the door and went back to bed. 

We all knew what he meant, by his actions, and went home with our tails between our legs. Actions speak louder than words. Or, as the Chinese say: Talk doesn't cook rice!

Watching Music Videos With Lyrics

If you go to Google or Youtube you can search for music videos "WITH LYRICS". There are a lot now on Youtube and other sites. Find the song you like, watch it with lyrics, and then draw a Mind Map of the song.
I've posted a song below by Timbaland, which also contains the lyrics.

Watching Music Videos With Lyrics

Mind Maps

Both nature and us, including our brains, are not created in straight lines. But, we tend to do a lot of things in straight lines. Language always comes in straight lines. Buildings, rooms, roads, queues, shops, arguments - it all comes in straight lines. Nature doesn't build in straight lines. Look at trees, flowers, rivers, mountains, animals and people - no straight lines.

So, when scientists started examining the design of the human brain and our thought processes, nothing was straight. There were cells in all sorts of curves and circles, connected in many ways, pinging off each other. And then when they looked at the great minds like Leonardo De Vinci, Einstein and Newton they didn't think in straight lines. No, they drew and doodled and added words and thoughts. We should do the same.

This is where Mind Maps come in. Mind maps are a way to create a space like our brain on paper. Mind maps use color and a radial pattern like our brain to mark thoughts and pictures on a sheet of paper. They can be used for decision making, planning, problem solving, self awareness, learning languages, artistically and so on. But, the biggest thing they do, is to get you to use your brain.

As an English language learner you should be using them to remember vocabulary, explore grammar, plan essays and presentations, summarize what you have learnt, and record your progress.

Below Ajaan Jeannette has put together a powerpoint presentation on the benefits of mind mapping, for both teachers and students.

We will start using this tool in future Diploma classes.

How To Use MindMaps by Jeannette Kelly

Using mindmaps

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The Diploma Level 3 Final Test - "To Kill a Mockingbird" Presentations

Yesterday the students did their presentations for the character they had chosen from "To Kill a Mockingbird". I have posted two of the powerpoint presentations below.

I must say that everyone did a fantastic job. I'd like to thank all of my students for their hard work this term. They had to watch a movie and read a novel in English and then prepare their presentations. So, it was a lot to do.

Aw,Fai and Ging got very passionate when talking about the treatment of Tom Robinson in the story. You could feel that they really cared about this character.

Kantong, Earth and Nam introduced us to Scout,the young narrator of the story and even though they hadn't done this sort of thing before they produced a wonderful piece of work.

Ying, Pid and Namcha showed us their powerpoint on Atticus, who was played by Gregory Peck in the movie, and whom they had all fallen in love with. Ying told us a heart-warming story about how she had read the book with her 80 year old neighbor, who had lived in America for 40 years, and remembered it all like yesterday.

And finally, Nu, Jeab and Juice produced a very professional presentation on the character Jem, Atticus's son and Scout's sister.

All in all I was bowled over by how good everybody was and how everybody really took to the book, and found a meaning in it for themselves and for society as we know it. It seems that perhaps we have lost a lot of bad, but we maybe have lost some good as well. Or maybe nothing has changed at all and that's what makes this story a classic for every generation.

The Diploma Level 3 Final Test - Presentation of a character from "To Kill a Mockingbird"

Mockingbird Ying Pid Namcha

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The Diploma Level 3 Final Test - Presentation of a character from "To Kill a Mockingbird"

Mockingbird Nu Jeab Juice

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Success in Learning English

To achieve any sort of fluency in English - to be able to speak smoothly without pauses and with the right tone and inflection - you need to do a lot of listening. You should be listening every day for 30 minutes or more.

However, don't listen to stuff you can't understand. Listen to easy things that are not too long. Movies with English subtitles are good, but don't try to listen to the whole movie. Try one scene or 5 minutes or so. And keep playing it back. Take notes. Look up vocabulary in a dictionary. Write it down. You can also get ebooks with the books read by famous actors. Read the book and listen.

There are lots of videos on the internet you can try, some with English subtitles. I have posted a video below, which has English subtitles. And here is a link to the Voice of America, which also has a weekly video with subtitles for English Learners. 

Enjoy your English and keep practicing every day.

The Learning English Video Project

Mnemonics - The Art of Remembering Vocabulary

 One of the problems for students studying a new language is remembering all the vocabulary. If you don't have enough vocabulary you can't really speak the language. It's pretty essential.

One of my students in the Diploma is trying to also get a good score in the TOEFL. At my suggestion she has started building her vocabulary using flash cards. She cuts out the cards and on one side writes the vocabulary word or phrase in English and on the other side writes the translation in Thai. You can start with about ten words or phrases a day.

On your first morning look at the English language side of each card once. If you know what it means set it down on your right. If you don't know what it means set it down on your left. In the afternoon look at the cards that were in the left hand pile (the ones you didn't know), and if you know them put them on the right again. The cards you know you will look at again after 2 days, 4 days, 2 weeks, 1 month, 3 months and 6 months. The cards you don't know - the left pile - you keep following the same procedure, adding to them every day. Look at them in the morning and then the afternoon. Keep a record and build up the number of cards you use. Never think or worry if you don't know a word. Just move on from pile to pile.

The other way to remember vocabulary is to think of a sound and a picture in your head. The funnier and crazier they are the better. Look at the word and think of words that have similar sounds in your own language and then think of a crazy picture that can link the two. For example I met a Chinese teacher with a strange name. Her name was Machoo. What I did was divide the name into two: ma and choo. I then imagined my mother (ma) eating (chewing) a sandwich. And I placed my mother on Machoo's nose, just above her glasses, swinging her legs like a little girl. Having done that I never forgot Machoo's face or name again. 

Linking Ideas

When writing essays for the Diploma or the TOEFL you should try to link your ideas using connecting words or transitions, in order to develop your essay, and give it order and unity.

These words serve different purposes within a sentence.

"Although, but, yet, on the other hand, despite, still" are words that compare and contrast. 

"Further, moreover, in addition, besides" add information or an opinion.

"Because, for, since, due to, as a result of" gives reasons or proof.

And there are many others that can be used to help your essay flow and take shape. In order for the reader of your essay to follow your argument and your ideas, these words are essential. They are like signposts, because without them your reader is driving blind.

Consequently I would suggest that you start using these words in all your written work, because not only will it improve your writing, but also get you a higher grade.

The Dangers of Mobile Phones

As many of you know I'm not a big fan of mobile phones. I can't really see the point of them. They're incredibly annoying and they're dangerous.

When I was young there weren't any mobile phones and not many ordinary phones. They were a luxury and we tended to ignore them. If you wanted to talk or see your friends you went round to their house, and when you were far away you could write a letter. Letters were great. Who ever gets a letter now? If you didn't see your friends for a while you had all the more to talk about. You saved it up. And what do people use mobile phones for? "Hi. What are you doing?" "I'm answering this phone. What are you doing?"

The other thing I can't stand are the stupid ring tones. Who gives you the right to pollute the environment with this awful noise? Do you never think other people have to listen to this? And the most annoying thing of all: when you're deep in conversation with some one and their phone starts ringing, what do they do? They answer the mobile phone!!! And then they turn their back on you and start whispering to someone else. How rude can you be? Now, the mobile phone is more important than the person standing in front of you, or the people you're in company with. So many times I've sat in restaurants watching people at a table not talking to each other, but taking it in turn to talk on their mobile phones. Why did you go out to eat together? Do you not like the people you're with? Why don't you just go home?

Of course, mobile phones, apart from being stupid and annoying, are also proving, like cigarettes and alchohol, not only to be addictive, but dangerous as well. One danger is that they basically send microwaves through the air, so that when you hold one to your ear for long enough, you're cooking your brain. I once sat on a bus from Lamphun to Chiang Mai for over an hour, while the girl sitting next to me chatted nonsense on her mobile phone. She came on to the bus with it glued to her ear and left with it in the same position. She probably complains of headaches and not sleeping at night. I wonder why. The second danger caused by mobile phones is using them while driving. You see this every day in Chiang Mai. People driving one handed, dialling numbers and texting, weaving all over the road. Motorcycle riders are the most obvious idiots, but if you're sitting at the traffic lights you can see an awful lot of car drivers doing the same thing. And of course they're in the right. They're doing nothing wrong. They can do whatever they want. They don't care about you and me.

Watch the video below made by the Welsh police and never use your mobile phone while driving again. Be warned. It contains some shocking scenes. It's time to wake up to this mobile phone stupidity.

Don't Text and Drive

Reported Speech

When you repeat the stuff that people tell you, it's normal in everyday conversation to keep the tenses the same.

For example: Yesterday I was in the bank. I met an old friend of mine, Alan, who I hadn't seen in ages. Here's part of our conversation:

Me: Hey Alan. I haven't seen you in ages. What have you been doing?

Alan: You wouldn't believe it, man. I lost my job, I broke up with my girlfriend, and my house has been robbed.

The next day I meet a mutual friend of ours, Bill. I want to tell him about Alan. Here's what I say:

Me: Bill, you'll never guess what. I was talking to Alan yesterday and he told me he lost his job, he broke up with his girlfriend, and his house has been robbed.

Bill: You're kidding.

In this example I'm keeping the tenses in the Reported Speech the same. This is done in informal conversation. It gives a sense of immediacy, puts you in the action, dramatizes it. However, I could also say this:

Me: Bill, you've got to hear this. I talked to Alan yesterday and he told me he had lost his job, he had broken up with his girlfriend, and his house had been robbed.

Bill: I don't believe it. That's terrible. Poor Alan.

In this example I have shifted the tenses back. This is more formal and gives the conversation a more serious feeling. When writing you should use the "shift back" approach, but you have an alternative in conversation.

5 Steps to Success in English

1. Write down what motivates you to learn English. Why do you want to learn English? Make a list of all your reasons. Try and be specific. The more specific you are the clearer the picture will be for you.
2. Think about your long term goals - 2 years, 5 years, 10 years - for your English capabilities. See yourself in 10 years time. What will you be able to do? How will English help in your future life; career, friends, communication, understanding, self-fulfillment, travel?
3. Now think of what you can do today to start working towards those long term goals. Be specific. Make a plan for every day of the week. Find time in your schedule - morning, afternoon or evening. Write it down - the exact times you're going to listen, read, speak and write English. It doesn't matter if it's just 10 minutes. Write it down and keep to it. One day at a time.
4. Keep a diary or record of your progress. Set yourself short term goals - I'm going to learn 10 new vocabulary words this week - and give yourself a pat on the back when you achieve your goals. Find a friend and work together. Help each other to stay motivated. Keep it fun and interesting.
5. When you have written out your goals and plans find a quiet time during the day, close your eyes, and see yourself in the future, having achieved your goals. See how happy you feel at doing everything you wanted to do. Keep that picture in your mind and return to it every day. What you see you will follow. 

New Term

Level 3 c having fun

Today is the start of another term and, as you can see, everyone's getting very excited. We have classes at Levels 1A, 1B, 1C, 2A, 2C and 3C.

We welcome all our new students including some English Majors, who have discovered the Diploma, and hope we will all continue to learn and have fun too.

My students in 3C will be doing presentations this term on characters they have chosen from our novel "To Kill A Mockingbird" and I will be giving a prize to the top student.

I hope you all enjoy your time learning English with us this term. 

So and Neither

Students find responses with "So" and "Neither" difficult to understand. I can see why. They are confusing for a non-native speaker.

There are 4 different situations in this type of response.

1. Agree to a positive statement    eg. I love walking in the mountains.  So do I.
2. Disagree with a positive statement   eg.   I didn't like that movie.  Actually, I did.
3. Agree with a negative statement    eg.  I can't stand rude people. Neither can I.
4. Disagree with a negative statement  eg. I've decided I'm not going to India.  Oh, I am.

Notice that whether you agree or disagree we don't use "not".  We also must use the form of the verb used in the first statement. That could be a different tense or using a modal. 

Remember that it's the question form we are using:  "do, did, can and am".

When agreeing we use "so" or "neither", positive or negative, and when disagreeing we can use "oh" or "actually".

So, it's quite easy really.

EXAM DAY

Today is exam day for all our Diploma students. So, good luck to all of you this evening.

I was pretty good at exams when I was young. I don't why. I did all the wrong things. I waited until the last minute and then swatted furiously - staying up late for the week of the tests. Drinking coffee, pacing up and down, not able to concentrate. I hated swatting. It was such a drudge. But, I still managed to do ok in my tests. I had some sort of desire to succeed. 

What advice, if any, can I give you guys studying for your exams?

I think it's all about seeing your goal, your preferred outcome, that is, to achieve your potential. And you're the only one responsible. No one can stop you but yourself. Ask yourself the 3 questions.

Do I want to pass this exam?  Can I pass this exam? Will I pass this exam?

Answer Yes to all 3 truthfully and with conviction and you're nearly there.

Now, you need to see yourself receiving your grade and feel the joy and happiness come over you as you realize you've done it.

Before your exam take some time out. Relax. Don't chatter to all your friends for a while. Get calm. You can listen to some music on your headphones. Close your eyes and see yourself in the future getting your grade and how happy you will feel. Don't look at your books. Breathe deeply and relax. Now, calmly get ready to answer the questions, letting yourself see the answers you already know you've seen before.

The Diploma Level 3b Writing

Thai Family Histories

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Dog Trouble (telling a story using past simple and past perfect) Level 3b

I had seen this cute little dog hanging out near my home at lunch time 2 days ago. Having finished teaching, early in the evening, I came back to find her still there. When I asked my neighbor whose dog it was, I got the full story.

Somebody had dumped her in the morning outside Tesco Lotus, the poor thing, and a lady, who feeds the temple dogs, saw her and felt sorry for her. She brought her up to where I live, thinking somebody might look after her here.

I'm not a big dog lover, but she seemed to take to me, and I shared my pizza and some milk with her. She's only a puppy and it's not nice to be thrown away like a piece of garbage.

Now she stays with me and barks at all the strangers who turn up. I haven't thought of a name for her - some people think Lotus would be a good name - and I don't know what kind of dog she is (maybe you can help me), but she seems happy now. So, we'll start from there.

FREE ENGLISH TEST

Do you want to know your level of English?

Do you have 1 hour free to find out?

Do you want expert advice from a native speaker?

YES?

For the month of August only

Chiang Mai University Language Institute

Will test your English for Free

Yes - FREE!

Written Tests are from 10am. to 12pm.

And Oral Tests from 12pm. to 2pm.

Come to the Diploma Room

And Learn For Free

Or contact Ajaan Paul

at cmudiploma@live.com

TOEFL Integrated Writing Task

Toefl Integrated Writing Task

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Touchstone In Action

This is a funny video from Cambridge University Press, promoting Touchstone, the excellent textbook we use in the Diploma. It highlights the conversation strategies we practice in class.

TOEFL Reading Presentation

Toefl Reading

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Do you like looking at art?

I love looking at paintings. I like to find out about the story behind the painting. At first glance "Bathers at Asnieres" by George Seurat (above) is an idyllic scene of people enjoying a sunny day by the river.

However, if you look closer you start to notice different things. There is a sense of time standing still, of everything in perfect harmony, of serenity, but in the distance behind the bridge is a factory belching out black smoke, staining the sky.

Does this background represent an ugly future, and the foreground our frozen past? Who is the large simple, but dignified figure in the centre, gazing into the river under a thatch of hair? He seems to connect the classical works of Da Vinci to the modernism of Impressionism.

You can now visit these great works of art without leaving home. This painting comes from the National Gallery in London. Here is the link - just click here.

And below, under my picture and profile, you can listen and watch the National Gallery's monthly podcasts.

The Diploma Level 3 Reading Project

Small town America, quiet nothing-to-do Maycomb Alabama in the Deep South, during the Depression years of the early 1930s, is the setting for Harper Lee's Pullitzer Prize winning novel "To Kill A Mockingbird".

A young girl, Scout, is the narrator and the characters and the story all come through her. Her father, the upstanding town lawyer Atticus Finch, teaches both his children and the ignorant about ethics and the art of compromise.

The book is of central importance to American art and culture in the 20th. Century, as is the Oscar winning film, starring Gregory Peck. It's about how hard times can bring out the worst in people, and the best in other people, and through Scout's eyes America woke up to its treatment of African Americans.

It's a sin to kill a mockingbird. All it does is sing and give us pleasure. It doesn't harm anyone.

Watch the introduction below:

The Diploma Level 3 Reading Project

Diploma Level 3 Reading Project

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My Community

This is a great piece of writing from one of my students, 12 year old Kantong, who has yet again come top of the class in the Diploma Level 3a. Congratulations Kantong and everyone else in the class who passed.

My name is Aroonrerm Kittirattanachai. I’m studying in grade six. Today I’m going to talk about My community.

When I was young,my community was very beautiful. It had lots of trees and people were friendly.

But now everything has changed, trees are being cut down to build new houses and buildings. The people who were there moved out and college students moved in. From a quiet community it has turned into a place where the noise never stops. There are sounds of construction, traffic and music till late at night.

The clean air in the past has become dirty with pollution from cars and dust. Since there are less trees, they can’t help the air much. And from a community where almost everyone knew each other and helped each other, it has changed into a community where we don’t even know our neighbours next door.

When I was a little kid, I liked to watch fireflies flying at night but now I can rarely see one. This shows how the pollution, construction and tree cutting has effected the environment.

In my community almost every one used to trust each other but now there are more and more robberies.

But there is not only just bad things happening, good things happen too. For example, there are new opening stores close by so if I want to buy something I don’t have to wait for my father to take me to the store, I can go and buy it by myself. Some of our new neighbors are friendly too. They sometimes share things with us.

Everything keeps changing in real life. You should look for good things in that change, then you will be happy with life. But if you keep thinking that the old things are the best and don’t face the change, you won’t be able to see the good the change brings you.

TOEFL Writing - The Independent Task

Some students like classes where teachers lecture (do all the talking) in class. Other students prefer classes where the students do some of the talking. Which type of class do you prefer? Give specific reasons and details to support your choice.

Every generation is different in important ways. How is your generation different from your parents' generation? Use specific reasons and examples to support your answer.       

These are 2 examples of the Independent Writing Task on the TOEFL. Here's how to answer them:

      1.  What does the task ask me to do?

• It asks you to state a preference or give your point of view (POV) on a topic
• You should then give reasons, make an argument, about why your preference or POV is correct
• These reasons must then be shown to be correct using evidence: facts, examples, details, personal anecdotes etc.

     

     2.  What do I do first?

• Choose a side or a preference that answers the question – your POV - write a sentence stating your POV - this is your thesis statement OR topic sentence
• Draw a plan
• Think of reasons, keywords or sub-topics to support your point of view
• Think of examples, facts, details, or personal anecdotes to support your reasons

      3.   When I finish "The Plan" how do I organize my essay?

• Use 5 paragraphs
• Paragraph 1 is the Introduction
• Paragraphs 2 to 4 are the Body Paragraphs
• Paragraph 5 is the Conclusion

     4.    The Essay - Paragraphs

           Introduction

• Give some background to the topic – why is it important
• Answer the question using a topic sentence or thesis statement
• Give three reasons, 3 sub-topics, why your point of view is correct
  
  
  

           Body Paragraphs

• Starts with a topic sentence, sub-topic 1, 2, or 3, linking it to your introduction
• Supports your topic sentence using facts, examples and details
• Links back to your thesis statement, showing how this evidence supports your point of view

           Conclusion

• Summarizes what you have written
• Shows how your evidence supports your point of view
• Give a final statement supporting your choice

    And that's all. I hope that helps you with your writing. You should learn the template first, before you start experimenting on your own.

Good luck with your test.

                     

New Diploma Courses at the Language Institute

Hi everybody,

I would first like to congratulate all the students who passed their Diploma Courses last term. Well done to everyone.

Now we have students studying in Levels 1a, 1b, 1c, 2a and 3a.

Levels 1 and 2 are mainly to do with conversation and listening practice, and also with building vocabulary and basic grammar skills.

Levels 3 and 4 have more to do with academic skills as well as speaking and listening. So, there will be more emphasis on reading and writing.

Good Luck to you all as you continue to study the Diploma.

Remember:

If you think you can't, then you are probably right.

However if you think you can, You probably can.

Fear Can Hold You Prisoner, Hope Can Set You Free

The Shawshank Redemption is our next film in the "Read the Book, Watch the Movie' series, and it's one of my all time favorite films. It's from the book "Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption" by Stephen King - one of my favorite authors and the "Dickens" of the 20th. Century.

It's a story of friendship, loyalty, patience and belief. Andy Dufresne is sent to prison - Shawshank - for murdering his wife and her lover, a crime he says he didn't commit. There he meets Red Redding, the wise old fixer, who can get anything for anyone, and over time they become great friends. They can both get things done for people, but for each other they get respect. One has a price, one is priceless. Prison is tough and the brutality comes from the warders and prisoners alike. And the film doesn't block that out. However, the real story is of good and evil and how they can be reversed in both our minds and in real life. For there is nothing which is good or evil unless we think it. Is it the evil we see, or evil to see it?

The movie will be shown on Saturday 6th. June at 4.30pm. It will change your life.

Click here to watch the movie trailer.

To get the ebook send me an email at cmudiploma@live.com

FREE HUGS

Tonight in The Diploma class (Level 2c) we're studying newspaper stories.

This is a news item from 10 News Australia. It's about an Australian guy who started giving free hugs at a shopping mall once a week. What a wonderful idea! But the local government decided that he needed insurance in case someone got hurt while hugging. How crazy can they be?

So, he started a petition and got 10,000 people to sign up saying "let the love in". And then a band called the Sick Puppies wrote a song about him and posted it on YouTube. It got to be a big story and now Free Hugs is spreading around the world.

Watch the videos by clicking on the links below and give someone a free hug.

Free Hugs News Report

Sick Puppys Free Hugs Song

TOEFL PREPARATION II

Review and Practice

60 hour Syllabus



TOEFL Preparation II is for those students who have completed Preparation I and would like more opportunity to practice.

There will be a short review of techniques, but most of the time will be taken up with classroom and lab practice.

There will be more time spent on the writing and speaking sections with more feedback time from the teacher. Students will also be expected to do homework and a lot more time will be spent in the classroom correcting and perfecting students’ work.

Students will also be able to complete a full test in the lab and obtain a full score from the teacher.

TOEFL PREPARATION I

Question Answering Techniques

60 hour Syllabus


1. READING – 18 hours

Introduction to the TOEFL – Advice on study and practice – How the different sections are linked - Structure of Academic Reading Passages – Finding the topic and main idea – How to read actively – Following direction markers – The importance of skimming – Breaking down and simplifying sentences – Dealing with difficult vocabulary – Basic principles for answering questions – Process of elimination – Two-pass system – It’s in there – Question Types – Classroom practice and lab practice.

2. WRITING – 15 hours

Scoring on the writing section – Understanding and answering the questions – Essay organization – Planning – Time constraints - Writing a thesis statement – Giving appropriate reasons – Supporting your reasons with examples and details – Introduction, Body and Conclusion – Use of linking words – Keeping it simple - The 2 writing tasks – Using templates – Practice in the classroom and at home.

3. LISTENING – 15 hours

The different listening tasks – The importance of the first 20 seconds - Listening for the main idea or purpose – Following the structure – Sub-topics and examples – Tone and attitude – Transitions or signal words – Question types – Attacking the questions – Using POE – Practice in the classroom and the lab.

4. SPEAKING – 12 hours

Scoring on the Speaking section – The six different tasks - Delivery, intonation, pronunciation, flow and clarity – Developing your answer with reasons and examples – Using appropriate language – Templates for the different tasks – Beyond the templates – Speaking practice in the classroom and recording your voice in the lab – Listening and analyzing your answers.

Pre-TOEFL & IELTS Course - Building Skills

 The TOEFL and IELTS tests all 4 English skills – Reading – Listening – Writing – Speaking in an academic atmosphere.

The Pre-TOEFL/IELTS Course has been designed by the Language Institute to build students’ English skills in the context of the TOEFL and IELTS tests, but at the appropriate level of the students’ ability. This means that when the students progress to the TOEFL or IELTS Preparation Course they will have acquired the skills to tackle the more difficult TOEFL/IELTS questions.

All students will be pre-tested and interviewed before joining the TOEFL or IELTS Courses at the Language Institute, and given advice about how they should proceed and what course would be appropriate for their skill level and needs.

There is no specific course book used in this course. Authentic materials will be supplied by the teacher, that correspond to academic or non-academic sources. Students will be expected to do homework and follow a study plan. 

Some of the skills covered in the course are:

• Planning a self study strategy and setting goals
• Self analysis and keeping a record
• Note taking and using short hand
• Active reading and listening
• Skimming and scanning
• Finding the topic and main idea
• Understanding natural speech
• Pronunciation, intonation and speech patterns
• Simple sentence structures
• Working on grammar
• Being clear, concise and unified in speaking and writing
• Linking ideas in reading and listening
• Organizing essays – from the general to the specific
• Identifying and using signal and transition words
• Summarizing and paraphrasing
• Using examples and details in writing and speaking
• Planning – writing and speaking
• Between the lines – suggestions and listening for tone and attitude
• Predicting in reading and listening
• Personal preference answers
• Choosing and supporting an option in speaking and writing
• Vocabulary in context strategies
• Definitions and finding references

American University Videos

You can visit these American University sites on YouTube. There are lots of lectures, including visiting lectures by famous Americans, but also there are campus tours and other short videos that students have produced. Definitely worth a visit.

Here are the links:

Duke University
Stanford
University of California at Berkeley
UCLA

All the videos can be downloaded and watched later.

In Our Time

You should all be trying to improve your listening skills. The BBC has a radio program called "In Our Time", which discusses various academic issues divided into different themes - Science, History, Culture, Religion and Philosophy. 

The contributors are Professors from Oxford, Cambridge and other top English universities. You can listen or download the programs, subscribe to the podcasts or just use the RSS feed in Firefox, Explorer or Opera to receive the programs on your computer. Each program also supplies you with links so you can do your own research on the topic. Excellent.

Click here for the link to In Our Time.

Or click on the In Our Time feed below to listen to the broadcast:

TOEFL Integrated Writing Task - Best answer

I said I would post the best essay I've received on the integrated writing task. This is the one I've picked and it's written by U.  My comments are included.

Writing essay homework 2
Topic: Tidal power

 According to the lecture, the professor gives some opinions about a tidal power that differ from the reading passage. Most details in the passage focus on advantages of the tidal power on energy generation while the lecture states the opposite. The professor mentions some disadvantages of this kind of power that cast doubts on the reading passage.
 First, the passage shows that the tidal power can provide a renewable energy generation that could be a useful energy supplement in the future. By contrast, the professors says that this amount of energy is small and can supply only a particular region, not for a large area. Therefore, it will not be practical as an important alternative energy source.
 Another point that the professor casts doubts on the tidal power is its environmental drawbacks. Although the passage support the tidal power because of its non-polluting quality, she states that a dam or estuary change the water flow. Fishes cannot migrate across the dam and many animals, including birds, lose their habitats and foods.
 Furthermore, the lecture states that human also receive the bad points of the tidal power’s energy generation not only in the environment aspects, but also the economic problem. This ______because their fishing work cannot navigate across the estuary.
 In conclusion, the professor argues some reasons that show many disadvantages of the tidal power. These reasons cast doubts on the reading passage whether this power really give us a benefit or not. 

Very good essay again U.
You have argued your case very well and would get a top score for this essay. I have underlined where you are making some mistakes – articles, 3rd person verbs and countable/uncountable nouns.
I’ll send you some practice sheets for your grammar.

WATERSHIP DOWN THEME SONG AND TRAILER

Here are links to watch the theme song "Bright Eyes" by Art Garfunkel and the trailer for the original movie. Click here for Bright Eyes and here for the Trailer. 

Enjoy!!!

Our next book and movie - Watership Down

All the World will be your Enemy

In Watership Down, Fiver the rabbit sees the future, in a vision. He sees himself, all his fellow rabbits and their home (the warren) destroyed in a terrible catastrophe.

He tries to tell the older rabbits what is going to happen, but the older rabbits don't believe him. So, he and his brother Hazel leave the warren with a group of young rabbits to find a new home - Watership Down.

The book Watership Down is an exciting adventure as the young rabbits try to escape to their beautiful new home. At the time it was a very popular best seller.

The movie is one of the most stunning animations ever created. It is like watching a great work of art. The actors who play the rabbits are some of the best British actors.

This is a Do Not Miss show full of suspense and drama with a very clear message for us humans.

    "A beautifully realised animation"  Channel 4 Movies

The Rap

We all had a great time on Saturday watching Bridget Jones's Diary. Everyone enjoyed it and some of my students wanted to watch a movie every weekend.

But, sadly our next movie is not till next month on Saturday 2nd. May. I will send everybody the new book this week, so you can start reading it over Songkran.

A big thank you to everybody who came and all the staff who helped make our first Read the Book, Watch the Movie event a success.

Bridget Jones's Diary

"We're not lonely. We have extended families in the form of networks of friends," says Tom, joining Sharon in deploring others' "arrogant hand-wringing about single life." 

Helen Fielding: Bridget Jones's Diary

Are friends the new family like Tom says? You can choose your friends, but you can't choose your family!

We're showing the wonderfully funny Bridget Jones's Diary on Saturday at 5 pm. in the Language Institute Theatre. All our welcome and it's free! So come and improve your English and have a laugh.

Bridget is a 30 something unmarried professional woman, who is caught in a bit of a trap - a sort of modern day Catch 22. She reads Women's magazines and wants to be slim and beautiful, and find that handsome man to marry, but she's smart and wants to be independent.

So she fluctuates between smoking, drinking and having a good time, and denial and diets. We've all been there - that yo yo affect.

It's a poignant story that is becoming very applicable in Asia, where women are not marrying and having babies like they used to, but they want a guy, that knight in shining armour, who turns out to be a cad or a butterfly, who won't commit.

What will Bridget do? Come and find out. Then we can talk about it after.

"Screamingly funny."
—USA Today

"Bridget Jones is channeling something so universal and (horrifyingly) familiar that readers will giggle and sigh with collective delight."
—Elle

"Good-bye Rules Girls, hello Singletons . . . Endearingly engaging."
—The New York Times Book Review

The Diploma Summer II

Hi everyone,

If you would like to study Level 1a or 1b of The Diploma, we will have classes starting next week during Summer II: Monday 30th. March to Friday 10th. April.

The class will be from 9am to 12pm Monday to Friday for 2 weeks. We don't have many places left. So contact the office or send me an email before Friday.

The price is 2000 Baht for adults and 1800 Baht for CMU students and under 18s.

Term 3 of The Diploma will start after Songkran on the 20th. April at 5.30pm. Mon./Wed./Fri. as usual.

Hope to see you all soon,

Bye,

Ajaan Paul

Today's song with phrasal verbs

This is a song by Sasha called "We Can Leave the World Behind". 

It contains some phrasal verbs we have been studying in class.

We Can Leave the World Behind

When you're feelin' times of trouble
when you're feelin' insecure
when you're lost inside and have nowhere to turn
when you look into the future
and your writings on the wall
it's the fear of falling staring at us all
And if your world has not turned out to be
what you planned then come with me
We can leave the world behind
you never know what we can find
together we can take the time and make it right
we can leave the world behind
whatever you got on your mind,
together we can take the time
and make it right
No matter what you're feelin'
no matter what you need
if you believe in love then you' ll succeed
we all have our illusions
we all have our own dreams
but there're times when life's just not what it might seem
And if your world has not worked out today
then look inside yourself and find
if all your thoughts collide don't run away
just come and leave the world behind


Here's the link to the video.

Open Universities

Thailand has its Open University, but the concept started in the UK. My father studied for a Maths Degree at the Open University, about 30 years ago. He would get up early every Sunday morning to watch the programmes on TV, and in those days everything would need to be sent by post. No computers, just snail mail. Nowadays it's instant on the Internet.

You can find the Open University in the UK on the BBC here.

An even better site for all you TOEFL students is this one at Yale University called Open Yale. You can choose which course you're interested in, watch and listen to videos of top class lecturers, and with some you can download the video and the script. Excellent for practicing for the TOEFL.

Books for Kids

The BBC have started a site called Big Toe Books, where you can listen to popular kids' books such as Roald Dahl's The BFG (big friendly giant) , Little House on the Prairie, and Henry's Cat.

The books are for 6 to 12 year olds, but anyone can enjoy the stories.

Choose a book, then an episode, click on it and Real Player will automatically play the program.

The books are read by famous English TV and radio actors.

The stories stay online for a week and new episodes appear at 3pm. in Thailand.

So, sit back, relax and listen to a story.

The link is here at Big Toe Books.

Smoke over Doi Suthep and the elephant who lost its leg

If you go to the EarthObservatory site here, you can see a picture taken by NASA's Acqua satellite, as it passed over Thailand, Burma and Laos last week.

All the red dots are fires around the jungles and forests of the 3 countries. As you can see, most of the fires that are blowing smoke into Thailand, and here in Chiang Mai, come from Burma and Laos. And most of the thick smoke is over the North of Thailand, not Burma, which is why we are having trouble with sore throats and blocked noses. So, it's not just the farmers in Thailand.

Here's a touching story from the BBC news site about an elephant, who lost its leg in a land mine explosion. The elephant is being looked after by Friends of the Asian Elephant in Lampang. They have made a new leg for the young elephant. At first it wouldn't eat, and the other elephants rejected it, but now it's eating and making friends. Such a heart warming story.