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Hello, Friends.
This week brought on a cold snap with surprise. We had freeze warnings on Wednesday and Thursday. Many of us finally kicked on our furnaces. The fall color in Indiana is beautiful! Our weather is changeable here in Indiana and in the Midwest. We should still have some warmer days.
HALLOWEEN HINTS
Don't forget that Halloween is being celebrated on Friday, October 31. Check community Trick or Treat time and be ready for guests (porch lights on and/or yard decorations means people are welcoming kids). If you do not want to give out candy to kids, make sure your house lights are off.
If you are going out to Trick or Treat, stay safe. Carry a flashlight. Watch for traffic. Don't eat unwrapped candy. Be prepared for sudden and unexpected weather changes.
Fall Foliage Field Trips, and Feasting:
November Calendar with International Friends
I have a friend who said that after Halloween, the school year is over.
November 20: International Friends Feasts: bring your favorite feasting dish to share. Learn to prepare a turkey and other traditional mid-western dishes. Then let's feast!
November 22 to December 24: The Carmel Christkindlmkt is open with 50 vendors, music, ice skating and just a great place to meet friends and enjoy a German-style winter/Christmas fest.
November 24-28: No meetings or classes. Happy Thanksgiving
November 27: Thanksgiving Day
November 28: Black Friday kicks off the Christmas shopping season.
Questions in the News
Immigration is in the news locally and in the United States as well as internationally. Legal vs illegal immigrants are at the forefront. Each country defines and enforces their own laws. In the United States the Department of Homeland Security (USDHS), United States Immigration, and Customs Enforcement (ICE), and United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) all have a hand in enforcing immigration laws outlined in Federal law.
USCIS defines and identifies the forms or legal documents that are necessary and offers explanations for filing the forms.
- This page defines the laws and processes for working in the U.S.
- This page defines the laws and processes for visiting (not living in) the U.S.
- This page defines humanitarian protection.
The page regarding the enforcement of immigration violations from ICE defines deportation from a law enforcement perspective. Self-deportation is an option for people who are in the United States illegally. People can download the CBP Home Mobile Application.
It is important to find an immigration lawyer and get official advice to avoid heartache.
Time Travel in American English (or It's Grammar Time)
Scott Metzler
What time is it? As we describe our activities and tell our stories in English, we can become "time travelers" exploring the fine differences between verb tenses to explain exactly when something happens.
Begin to build on the basic tenses you already know:
Present--I watch TV.
Past--I watched TV yesterday.
Future--I will watch TV tomorrow.
Then try the progressive tenses:
Present Progressive--I am watching TV right now.
Past Progressive--I was watching TV when the phone rang.
Future Progressive--I will be watching TV tomorrow at 8:00 PM to see the new nature program.
Then explore the perfect tenses:
Present Perfect--I have watched TV every day this week.
Past Perfect--I had watched TV for an hour before I went to bed last night.
Future Perfect--I will have watched TV for an hour before I go to bed tomorrow.
Then mix it up with more complex (and unusual) perfect progressive tenses:
Present Perfect Progressive--I have been watching TV for an hour.
Past Perfect Progressive--I had been watching TV for an hour when my husband came home.
Future Perfect Progressive--I will have been watching for an hour before I go to work tomorrow.
Think about your life experience as a timeline—an hour, a day, a week, a month, a year, your whole life. Draw a picture of where events happen on the timeline. Then put yourself on the timeline to help you know which verb to use. We will continue to practice verbs in the coming weeks.
Vocabulary
We encountered the very common American English word "as". This comparison word that can be lost in translation. One strategy for learning how something is used in English vs a preferred non-English language is to reverse the idea: how do I use/translate the word if I am trying to learn your preferred language? The How to Say Guide has some great information.
International Friends Meeting Notes
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International Bible Study: Monday, 8-9:00 PM, Zoom
We are moving slowly through the 10 Commandments in Exodus 20. We reprised our discussions in the context of Luther's Small Catechism, which gives a simple and effective definition supporting each commandment and provides supporting Bible verses (Luther's philosophy of "let Scripture interpret Scripture"). We noticed that the commandments provide more than surface rules, but a context for understanding our relationship with God and with other people (Mark 12:28-34).
In remembering the Sabbath Day or setting aside a day for God and for rest is not something we think of in our 24 hour day. There is a trend for a four-day work week and talk of work-life balance, then there are people working two or more jobs to make ends meet. We talked about taking time to rest and making time for corporate worship-meaning time to read the Bible and pray together. In Mark 2:27 Jesus explains that this commandment is intended for personal care not as a burden. As one study friend observed, "It is about protection. Protecting self and all one's own. It is the one day not to worry but to take time and rest. You can put God first. You can be the best of yourself."
The fourth commandment is about honoring your parents. While this commandment looks like it is about children respecting their parents, there is a responsibility as a parent to be the best of yourself to be worthy of the honor of being a parent.
October 27: We will begin with the fifth commandment: you shall not murder.
American English and Culture: Thursday, 9-11:00 AM, Zoom
We got deep into grammar and explored more on how we can be better storytellers to get our point across. Don't get tense over tenses. In American English time is all in the verb.
Homework:
- Look and Listen: Notice how you hear verbs used in the world and media (news, movies, podcasts) around you. Try using subtitles to note differences in what you hear and read. Report on our observations next week.
- Send Carolyn a copy of your sentences about your activities last week describing where you came and went.
- Draw a timeline of your experiences. You choose the time frame (day, week, month, year).
Examples:
<———————————————————————————————————————>
M T W Th F Sat Sun
Doctor Lesson Meeting English Brunch Party Dinner
< ———————————————————————————————————————>
1980 1990 2000 2010 2020 2025 2026
Marriage Moving Parenting Parenting College Empty Nest Retire
October 28: Get ready to share your sentences and stories. Tell us what you discovered. Thinking in the past and telling about it in the present (in English) connects your life experience, languages, and vocabularies.
American English and Culture: Thursday, 7-8:30 PM, CLC, Carmel, room 100
Check out our boards in our Class Notes! Look through all of them. We reprised much of our previous lessons to build on our impromptu sentences. Look at the summary from our Zoom class. We need to build confidence. We are looking through a list of the 1000 Most Frequent Words in English. There is another list our Class Notes. We drilled our word and sentence practice as we read through the words. We knew almost all of the words. For the next week, make sentences using the words from the first page. Concentrate on the words that are mot familiar. Are there any words that do not have a similar word in your home language?
October 28: Bring your sentences. We will read them and work with them.
American English for Kids: Thursday, 6:00-6:30 PM, private Zoom
We met and talked about tennis and tennis practice and how we train for that sport. We also talked about electricity. In Japan, our Friend built an electrical system using a battery and copper to light a light bulb. That reminded me of science projects here in the States where we use coins to make a battery. Science Buddies has a great experiment to try using coin. This experiment explains the terms used in the project.
Words and Phrases and Resources
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