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Hello, Friends.
We sprang forward: at least when you read this it is an hour earlier than when I posted it. Freaky, right? Take a nap after this read to make sure you retain everything here!
Wrap up the week with St. Patrick's Day (March 17). Celebrate like and (American) Irishman with corned beef and cabbage. It's easy! Buy the corned beef and a head of cabbage, potatoes, carrots, onions. Here is the classic recipe. Get out and enjoy the music and fun.
Wild Weather
In March, snow makes way for tornadoes. This next week is Severe Weather Preparedness Week. In the Midwest we shift from ice and snow driving to storm safety. Wind and particularly tornados are of concern in the Midwest. Tornados are created by warm air and cold storms. They can be particularly destructive and tend to be specific and may raze a house while not touching the house next door.
In March-October, sirens are tested at 11:00 AM every week. These tests begin this week. If you hear the sirens any other time, be prepared to take shelter. You can register for Hamilton County emergency management texts on RAVE here.
Important words:
- Tornado or storm watch: be alert, there is a potential for bad weather
- Tornado or storm warning: dangerous weather is close, take shelter
Take shelter by moving to the lowest level in your home and a space that doesn't have windows. Make sure you have shoes!
International Women's Day
This is not an official holiday in the U.S., yet women's rights are an important part of American history. Industrialization changed how societies looked at the people available to work. In 1908 women marched in New York for shorter work hours, better pay, and voting rights. Read more about Women's Rights in History. In particular, racial voting rights took precedence over women's voting rights. The women's suffrage movement gained women's right to vote June 4, 1919. Title IX of 1972 prohibits discrimination against women that would exclude them from sports, education and more. This has been in the news a lot lately.
March Dates and Fun and Foolishness:
The Woods Lectures Series Presents Marine Biologist David Gruber: Project CETI and the Journey to Listen to and Translate Whale-Speak: Thursday, March 20, at 7:30 PM at Schrott Center for the Arts as David Gruber leads the discussion on whale-speak. And you thought translating American English was confusing!
American English and Culture
A resume is a catalogue of a person's knowledge, skills, and experience. People do not care to write resumes because they do not see a reason for it if they are in a comfortable job or if they are taking a break from working for money or just because they seem to be a lot of work. On the other hand, your resume is a reflection of you and your accomplishments and goals. Keeping your resume up to date saves you work. An everything but the kitchen sink approach to a master resume is the way to go. Include ALL jobs and positions whether paid or volunteer. Keep track of who it was for and the dates. The same for education whether formal or informal. The same for work you do to maintain your household.
How does this help with your American English and Culture?
- It helps you find the necessary words YOU need (vocabulary).
- It helps you to be able to speak about what you have done or are doing (tense and grammar).
- It gives you a broader perspective of your accomplishments (progress).
- It is not bragging you are just stating the facts.
There are not "justs", like "I was just a homemaker," or "I was just a painter."
Your resume helps your writing and communication. Finding just the right words and phrasing to explain your public career. Use your resume to practice writing in American English. Simple and practical statement are key.
Learning Skills
Flash cards for memorizing discrete information is not always the best way to learn because terms do not become integrated: they are related only to the card (and perhaps the environment where they are studied). Taking notes can also be a crutch. Why? Notes are important because the amount of space in your short-term memory is limited. When you feel the need to write something down, you know you are not pushing new information into your long-term memory. In other words, you don't want to have to remember or learn something right now and you plan learn it later, or since you wrote it down it is saved for future use...(but if it is in a notebook at home or in your car, can you get to it in the store?). Interestingly enough, you can find where the information is saved (in the yellow notebook on page three) but not the actual information.
People who do not take notes are confident that they can remember things later. How can that be? They are focused. They are paying attention. This is not an easy skill, especially in our information age. We can pull out our microcomputers (phone) and find the answer or translate a word. Do they forget? Of course they do, but because they paid attention it did get pushed into their brain. It just is not filed away where it can be easily accessed in a new context. Connections need to be made. Connections can be faulty (i.e. related to a place or situation rather than particular uses). Focus!
International Friends Meeting Notes
International Bible Study: Monday, 8-9:00 PM, Zoom
Genesis 42 Joseph is reunited with his brothers when they come to Egypt to buy food. They do not recognize him and he stays incognito and uses a translator to talk to his brothers. There are stipulations...Jacob/Israel weighs in.
March 10: Genesis 44 The brothers meet en total. Now what happens?
American English and Culture: Thursday, 9-11:00 AM, Zoom
The Zoom meeting included job search as the topic of discussion. Other topics included specific pronunciation and questions about collective nouns.
The iWi luncheon contingent enjoyed performances that highlighted and contrasted the customs of the many cultures and ethnicities living in the greater Indy area. Contrary to popular opinion, there are many different cultures represented here.
March 13: We resume our resume discussion. Try the Professional version of the "I'm From" in our handouts.
American English and Culture: Thursday, 7-8:00 PM, CLC, Carmel, room 102
Business and Organizations 101 was the topic of our discussion. We brainstormed org charts for a business and for a school in the United States (like in Carmel). We talked about the structure of power and control, roles and responsibilities. You can see our chart under Whiteboards in Notes and Handouts.
March 13: Create a brainstorm of your work words and bring them to class. These words and our resumes will give us the basis for our conversations.
American English for Kids: Thursday, 6:00-6:30 PM EST, private Zoom
We gave three facts about our home country for three minutes. Our friends asked three open-ended questions (designed to make the other friend talk more). Yes. Everyone made all the points. Next week the judge will be tougher.
March 7: Prepare to talk three minutes about your country. Be thinking about three open ended questions to find out more from each of your friends. You can only use a question one time.
Words and Phrases
a lot of work: too much trouble to bother with
catalogue: a complete and systemic list
contrary to popular opinion (or belief): the opposite of the statement following
crutch: a temporary support
discrete: separate or unconnected information
freaky: amazing, incredible
incognito: hidden or anonymous or unknown
integrate: bring parts together to make a whole
just the right: correct, fits the best
key: something that provides access and understanding
luncheon contingent: people who went to a social event that included a sit-down lunch
makes way: moves aside
of concern: something worth attention
on the other hand: alternatively
org charts: organization charts
particular: specific to one instance
retain: remember
right: don't you agree?
sprang: past tense of spring
stipulations: conditions or requirements to an agreement
suffrage: right to vote
up to date: current
weighs in: states an opinion
