Thank You For a Great Year!

Happy Summer, Friends.

This year we are back to our pre-pandemic scheduling and we are taking a full summer break. Everyone has worked very hard this year and it is good to be getting back out there and enjoying concerts, pools, parks, farmer's markets, and festivals.

It is always bittersweet as some Friends move on to new adventures in new locations or return home. It is always a joy to see Friends complete accomplishments and prepare to move forward in their American lives.

Have a great summer. Look for announcements here for meet ups in the park or on my deck or bump into me and other Friends at events. Keep up with your studies and keep your sights on your goals, but also have fun!

Be sure to keep in touch over the summer!

Memorial Day

Summer break is here. Memorial Day officially kicks off Summer in the United States. Memorial Day weekend in Indiana ends with the Indy 500. If you are in town, don't miss the parade on May 25 in downtown Indy. If you are out of town, you can see the parade on TV. This is one of the very few parades that is broadcast worldwide!

Memorial Day means that the swimming pools are open. Day camps for kids start. Four H projects should be underway for the fairs that begin midsummer. Memorial Day means picnics and parades. We honor the people who have fought and died protecting the United States.

Making Communication Easy

The city of Carmel is looking into a way for citizens (and others) to report problems within the city. A 311 call in is being explored. Click here to read this article in the Current. In terms of communication, is 

Learning Tips

How to Learn More Effectively is a great article from The Very Well Mind and contains tips for 

Close to Home

IndyToday is a great source for what is happening downtown.

In bloom: Seasonal flora and fauna emerging at Fort Harrison State Park

Tweaking English

Learning language tenses can make anyone tense. We can split hairs over the details, but everyday usage is your best guide to understanding people around you. Listen to learn. Hearing the local norm or practice helps you grow.

Past simple or present perfect is a grammar question that tends to come up frequently. What began in the past and continues to the present is key in this tense. 

Conventional wisdom says there are 12 verb tenses in English.

But technically there are only two: present and past. Grammar geeks will enjoy this Language Log that discusses the merits of this viewpoint. The future is not set in the English language, but we can talk about the past and present. 

Comparing English and other languages is a great way to understand how grammar functions within that linguistic community (and also informs communication norms). Take a look at Time Traveler’s Guide: Verb Tenses in 8 Languages From Around the World Some languages have a staggering 10 tenses. 

Meetings and Classes 

International Bible Study: Monday, 8:00-9:00 PM EST (UTC-5), Zoom

May 6: We read and remarked on Psalm 17. This a wonderful song that asks God for help with enemies. The writer presents a beautiful argument that describes the "characters", highlights their relationship, describes the problem (the enemies) and their character, then the psalmist makes his ask as a closing. This structure for negotiation or a contract written into a song is a great example of our work in our classes in the last few months.

We talked about the striking highlights of the story of Noah and the ark in Genesis 6-9. While we were all very familiar with this story, there were details we missed. Animal

May 13: We read Genesis 10-11 which catalogs the people and the nations they became as well as the languages they spoke. Genesis 11 explains how languages developed. In the Bible, God confounds the people so they cannot work together. This This is a very interesting story for us as we strive to learn English and the American culture to work together to have a good life. We wondered about the motives that were driving the people in the story that God would see them as destructive to humankind and would put up a roadblock to their folly.

Psalm 27 which provides strength and comfort and hope. 

When we return in the fall (September 9) we will pick up with Genesis 12 and the story of Abram and Psalm 9.

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

We met for the last time this spring on Zoom. A huge thanks to everyone who attended and gave feedback. You should have received an email to tell me what we can do to make our programming better and to meet your needs. Please give us your review of the year in your own (American English) words.

This year we had many specific goals:

• Refining pronunciation and accent
• Building a relevant vocabulary base including multiple words acting together as one word or idea like phrasal nouns and verbs or compound words or slang and idioms
• Sticky pronunciation problems with unexpected American vowel sounds
• Identifying individual illusive inaccuracies
• Hearing the cadence of American English
• Speaking the cadence of American English

This year we tried many methods that were different that traditional teaching and learning. This was because our master class students came with their own observations as well as variety of needs. Creatively conveying and communicating helps cement comprehension (look at that alliteration!). 

Please be sure to email Carolyn with your reflections on the year. It has been a learning experience for all of us and your remarks help us to know what works, what to improve, and where to go next.

Have a great summer and we look forward to seeing you in person around town!

Kids' Conversation and More: Friday, 5:30-6:00 PM EST (UTC-5), Zoom

May 10 began on the road with us talking about our Mother's Day plans. We found that in some cases the schools make arrangements and celebrations and in others the families are on their own. Regardless, we all appreciate our moms and everything they do for us!

May 17 we talked about how to spend summer breaks. More than that, we had a chance to play a new game called Colorfle. Click and try this fun logic game. It isn't all that easy.

Words and Phrases

all that: very

bittersweet: both happy and sad

cement: make something stick or be permanent

confounds: mixes up; defeat

folly: a costly, ornamental building with no purpose; foolishness

in some cases...and in others: phrases used for making comparison

pick up: start again

technically: according to facts or strict meaning

tense: stressed