Happy New Year and Welcome January and a Two for One.

 Happy New Year, Friends!

I hope you had a great holiday. We wrapped up our year with some deep and interesting topics. The new year promises to be more of the same. Our classes are back on, so we eased into things this past week with conversations about what we did over the holidays. We shared our celebrations and caught up. We spent some time  Ends always come with new beginnings.

Because I misplaced last week's Update in another blog, you have a two-for-one this week.

Baby It's Cold Outside!

Temperatures are dipping into the negatives without wind chill, so be safe.

• Carry food, water, and blankets in your car.
• Carry chargers for technology.
• Dress for the weather. Be sure everyone in your car has a coat, hat, gloves, boots, etc. in case you have to walk to shelter.
• Have enough food on hand. Weather in the Midwest changes quickly, so have enough food for several days.
• Let faucets drip on exterior walls (ones that have windows to the outside) and open cabinet doors so pipes have less chance to freeze.
• If you leave your home for an extended time, leave your furnace running. You can lower your thermostat to save money and energy, but do not turn your furnace off so your pipes don't freeze.

Martin Luther King, Junior

January 15 is a national holiday remembering Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. a civil rights leader. His "I have a dream" speech from 60 years ago is timeless and often quoted. 

The Encyclopedia Britannica has a comprehensive study of Dr. King's life and accomplishments.

Transcript and 17 minute audio of the I Have A Dream Speach from NPR

Reset and Resolutions

Many people start the new year with a clean slate to break the cycle of habits acquired over the past year. What are your resolutions for 2024? Do you have a plan for a successful follow through? 

In America: Caucuses!

Buckle up! The race for president of the United States kicks into high gear January 15 with the Iowa Caucuses. The Iowa Caucuses is the opportunity for the voters to meet face to face with the Republican (GOP or Grand Old Party) candidates in intimate settings (homes, restaurants, libraries, etc.) and ask questions. Then the voters meet face-to-face again and vote. Remembering that this is a race, how each candidate approaches this milestone reflects his or her campaign strategy and is fodder for voters and pundits. Read more details in this unique take on primary elections Reuters article and this NPR article. Go to the Des Moines Register to get the local take.

You can live stream each candidate individually...or generally, here are websites for the current front runners:

• Donald Trump Campaign Schedule
• Ron DeSantis Website
• Nikki Haley's Campaign Website
• Vivek Ramaswamy's Iowa Schedule

And, here is a link to all of the options on the ballot.

Hot Button Words

We had a great conversation about words that carry a good deal of socially emotional weight in America:

• prejudice: This word means that a person has a preconceived judgment about a people group. While this may have a positive spin, more often this word is used as a negative. (a prejudice for or against).
• stereotype: This word implies an overgeneralization about a group of people. Stereotypes that are flexible are useful for cataloging first impressions or creating a general category (college students stay up until 2:00 am studying so Insomnia Cookies make a good gift).
• bias: A prejudice for or against one thing or person in comparison with another; a bias is often perceived to be unfair when applied to people as people groups. People may lean toward or have a preference for something or someone (I am biased when it comes to Sean Connery as 007.)
• discrimination: Treatment that unjust or preferential on the basis of race, religion, or other distinctive features. Discrimination is an outward action that implies any of the above.

While it is easy to think of the above words as attributes of others, managing a personal action and interaction is key. It is easy to assume someone's home or perspective, which may not at all be accurate (and, in turn, become guilty of any or all of the negative aspects of these words). 

Civil Discourse

Political season offers opportunities for civil discourse. Broad assumptions about individuals affiliated with parties are made, when in fact, the individual voter is to be respected. Civil discourse does not necessarily mean a lecture or debate with a winner but respectfully discussing and considering different points of view.

First Impressions

Are we ambassadors or another word that begins with an "a" and includes a double "s"? This Psychology Today article talks about the power of first impressions and managing them.

One wise woman once noted that when we are the victim of a negative social or cultural interaction, we need to take a look at ourselves (individually or as a group) and see if or how we might be acting that is offensive or exclusive or uncomfortable to others around us and would cause them to react negatively. Jumping to conclusions about others based on first impressions 

Football

The Colts dropped out of the race for the Superbowl. Look forward to our next big American holiday on February 11, 2024. Start thinking about your watch party plans. Get conversational and check out the NFL Superbowl site.

Trends: Dry January

After all the parties and events, many people are abstaining from alcohol for the month of January to reset and meet health and weight resolutions. Virgin drinks are on the rise in restaurants as a social substitute. 

Meetings and Classes

American Sign Language: Tuesday, 5:00-6:00 PM EST (UTC-5), Zoom

January 16: Let's talk about our holidays and talk about winter weather. Prepare to be able to tell your deaf friends and acquaintances about winter weather preparedness.

January 23: Continue winter talk with personal stories about cold weather memories.

January 30: Wrap up the darkest month of the

International Bible Study: Tuesday, 8:45-9:45 PM EST (UTC-5), Zoom

We did not get past 1 Peter. This letter a positive message full of advice and conveys love. We recognized that as humans we need empathy and acceptance. A few specific versus that struck a chord:

• 1:3 being adorned with a quiet and gentle spirit.
• 3 living hope through Jesus
• 2:25 straying sheep who are now secure without a reason to wander
• 4:8 love covering a multitude of sins and/or faults
• 5:2 being shepherds of God's flock

January 16: Let's talk about 2 Peter and Jude. Bring your overarching impression of the Epistle as well as specific, meaningful verses. You don't have to read in English.

January 23: Let's talk about 1 John, 2 John, and 3 John.

January 30: Wrap up the New Testament with Revelation. This is often a challenge to people as it is predictive and written in prose that is hard to imagine (since it tells of future events). People generally hate surprises. This book  readers and believers for strange times and uncomfortable times.

American English and Culture: Thursday, 9:00-11:00AM (UTC-5), Zoom

January is a good month for reflection and resolution. Keeping in line with our singing for accent reduction, be thinking about developing a little ditty that addresses American English areas for improvement. Additionally, we are trying some creative exercises to help connect language concepts as many ways as possible in your brain to grow retention, memory, and access.

• Speed rounds with dyads to homework results (practice listening as well as speaking because when we get together you note areas of improvement).
• Creative work beyond worksheets.
• Cultural observations and discussions.

January 11: Part One - Speed rounds with dyads to share holiday happiness (practice listening as well as speaking because when we get together you note areas of improvement). Part Two - singing The Farmer in the Dell. Nursery songs teach uncomfortable mouthing and voicing as well as cadence in a fun manner. They are also important for common cultural understanding.

The farmer in the dell

The farmer in the dell

Hi-ho,the derry-o*

The farmer in the dell

*after considerable linguistic research, this phrase is only a fun, nonsense phrase (not a reflection of my formative years in Wisconsin: the Dairy State) that certainly helps us with many problematic pronunciation transitions

January 18: Create a collage of a saying or statement that strikes your fancy. Cut out the words or pictures and paste them in a pictorial way. My resolution is to work on sketching, so here is the beginning of my words only representation...

And prepare for our next sing-along. What about Three Blind Mice helps you with your pronunciation and cadence? Accent reduction students, check your book and be ready to teach us. (And here’s a viral article and video to take you down a rabbit hole: Mouse Tidying Up Shed).

January 25: Colorful Language is a great way to visualize your vocabulary and spice up your speaking. Small groups meet to brainstorm color terms to transform them into our pronunciation anthem.

Kid's Conversation: Friday, 4:30-5:00 PM (UTC-5), Zoom

January 12: Let's look at the time range of 1600-1800. Once again, what was happening in your corner of the world and in the world at large? Do events coincide?

• American History Timeline
• Japan History: Edo Period
• Brazil: Colonial Era

Words and Phrases

acting: behaving

break the cycle: stop a habit or behavior

civil discourse: respectful conversations about topics

caucus: neighbors getting together in person and discussing 

a clean slate: start fresh

coincide: match up

Des Moines pronounced Dah Moin (rhymes with coin)

dropped out of the race: a team or person that no longer in a competition

dry: without alcohol (dry county: no alcohol sold in that county, not dry martini

ease into [something]: go slow to get started

first impression: initial basis for building opinions or facts 

fodder: people, information, etc. that is good for a specific use

follow through: complete an action to a conclusion

hot button: emotionally charged

in contention: having a good chance of success in a contest or a race

in your corner of the world: where you live vs. a world wide focus

interaction: communication or direct involvement with someone or something

kicks into high gear: in or moving into a state of intense activity

more of the same: things continue as expected

overgeneralization: something that is true only some of the time, to broad, oversimplification

promises to be: likely to happen

pundits: people who speculate about political races

race: generally used for any competition or contest toward a specific goal or prize (politics, any sport, achievement, i.e. race for space)

struck a chord: resonate

take: perspective

the above: in literature, "above" refers to information previously presented

virgin: drinks without alcohol (Virgin Mary vs Bloody Mary)

when in fact: but