Friday, January 6, 2023

Welcome Back and Welcome 2023!

Welcome back, Friends,

Classes and meetings began again this week (except for ASL). It was good to get back together after the long break. Catching up with each other after a break is always wonderful. 

New words and ideas from our classes this week:

Worried well: people who are in good health but believe themselves to be ill or likely to get ill because of circumstances (like blood test results).

Off your rocker: crazy or silly, someone acting in a way that does not make sense.

Red letter day: an important or very special day.

Punctuation Review

To get you back in the mood to think about English grammar and punctuation, here is a classic by Victor Borga and Dean Martin



More Conversation

Carmel Library is offering a free conversation group on Sunday afternoons 3:00-3:40 PM. Learn more and sign up. You can attend individual sessions.

Fun and Family

The Great Dine Out: visit Hamilton County restaurants,  collect “punches” to earn a $25 certificate gift.

Twenty-Seventh Amendment to the Constitution of the United States:  Congressional Compensation

No law, varying the compensation for the services of the Senators and Representatives, shall take effect, until an election of Representatives shall have intervened.

Amdt27.1 Overview of Twenty-Seventh Amendment, Congressional Compensation

American Sign Language: Tuesday, 5:00-6:00 PM

January 10: First meeting of the year!

American Accent Training: Thursday, 9:30-11:30 AM

The class covered the long "o" sound.

January 12: No class. It is a red letter day for one of our members who is becoming an American citizen.

American English: Thursday, 9:00-10:00 AM

We had a great discussion about new year resolutions, freezing pipes (and who is liable in a rental situation), and we talked about whether we would want to know the future. We all are in different life stages but we look forward to our next life adventure.

January 12: We have a lot to cover next week. 

Write about a time when you had to make a decision at a crossroads or turning point in your life. You can tell your story in a way that is most comfortable to you. Email your work to indyintlfriends2@gmail.com. 

This exercise helps you grow your personal vocabulary, helps you learn and use several grammar tenses as you tell your story and then reflect. Telling your story is critical for

We will mind our Ps and Qs from the 1000+ Common Words in English. Look over the P and Q words. Bring your questions about the meaning of the words. We will read through the words to ensure that you have the correct pronunciation. Being able to navigate these words helps your confidence as well as understanding.

We will work on listening and saying "r" and "l". Many people have difficulty hearing the difference between these letters and then pronouncing them. This can make a big difference in understanding and being understood. Think raw/law, real/rear. Even American speakers have trouble with these at times...like the word rural!

Kid's Conversation: Friday, 4:30-5:00 PM

We had a lovely conversation about Once upon a Home upon a Home illustrated by Kunio Kato, text by Kenya Hirata, and translated by Arthur Binard. This story is about a man who builds his home on his home as the seas rise. It is a beautiful story about remembering the good times that build your life and how we continue to build.

We talked about how we celebrated both Christmas and the New Year. Food is the most important part of our celebrations with our families and our friends. 

January 13/14: Meet up on this superstitious, bad luck day. 

Mind your Ps and Qs: idiom meaning you should be on your best behavior
superstitious: believed to be supernatural or irrational
Varying: different in size or amount

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