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Hello, Friends.
October in the United States is a transition time for the weather and for our activities. School is underway and kids are getting Fall Breaks or a vacation. Depending on the school and the district, the break may be anywhere from a few days to a whole week.
October is time to clean up yards and winterize garden beds. Be prepared to bring in any outdoor plants and prepare to cover other plants against the first frost. Here in Indiana it can happen any time now. This does not mean that warm weather is over for the year. Take advantage of the last of the hot and sunny days.
October ends with Halloween. People have begun decorating for this fun for kids of all ages holiday. Take a drive and see the spooky and silly Halloween fun! People let their hair down. Halloween decorations
Fun and Field-trips:
Santa Claus is really a city in Indiana. Where else can you go to enjoy the holidays. Put this on on your list because Santa Claus is not just for Christmas!
Indiana Department of Natural Resources has fall fun for families. Pumpkin carving and Halloween fun, sleepover deals, or just hiking in the autumn woods.
American English and Culture
Be is an irregular verb that means none of the words look or sound the same in all their different forms (or place in time: past, present, future). Forms of be are common little words we rarely notice since they are our most used verbs and because they are all different.
- be (base or infinitive-often used with "to") She wants to be a fairy for Halloween. You be quiet.
- am, is, are (occurring in this moment or the present) I am a bat for Halloween.
- was, were (occurring in the past) We were going to the pumpkin patch.
- being (ongoing actions) I am being a witch at the haunted house.
- been (ongoing actions) I wish I had been a ghost for Halloween.
Grammar Geek out: Grammarly
Questions in the News
The government shutdown is a lingering issue in the news. Essential services continue, but many government employees are on furlough or are working without pay. Back pay is guaranteed by the Government Employee Fair Treatment Act of 2019.
A clean continuing resolution or clean CR is the approval of a short term bill that keeps the government open and functioning. This is the stopgap that congress is in conflict.
Learning Skills
We often talk about activities and strategies for learning (acquiring new knowledge) in our classes. Here are some of the strategies we hit in our discussions this week.
Take the verbs begin, start, continue, love, prefer, hate, and can't stand can be followed either by an infinitive (to study) or a gerund (studying). And apply the rule to cultural expectations about time.
Use "being" to talk about jobs, roles, or personalities. (Example: I like being a teacher. She loves being a nurse. He hates being a teenager. We enjoy being the hosts for the party. You should continue being a good listener.)
Relate new ideas to existing memories. Build paths through your brain forest.
Compare two things that seem different and look to find commonalities to broaden understanding: Tai Chi and learning a language are alike: slow and steady movement that is fluid and continuous.
Some other types of connections or rhetorical patterns you can try include:
- Narration--tell a story
- Description--give details
- Explanation--explain or describe
- Definition--give the meaning
- Persuasion--change another person's opinion
- Comparison/contrast--explore similarities and differences
- Classification/division--group or sort ideas
- Cause/effect--consider reason and results
- Problem/solution--list possible steps to a positive outcome
International Friends Meeting Notes
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International Bible Study: Monday, 8-9:00 PM, Zoom
Exodus 18 and 19 are two straight-forward chapters in the saga of Moses and the Israelites. Key observations included:
- Leaders need support of the people they are called to lead
- Israelites were appointed to solve disputes on a local level leaving Moses free to handle the more complex issues.
- Moses' father-in-law suggested Moses enlist the assistance of the others suggesting that people outside of the problem can have elegant solutions.
March 3: Exodus 20 tells the story of the Ten Commandments: God's gift to humanity for living to have a good life (not just laws or rules that condemn us).
American English and Culture: Thursday, 9-11:00 AM, Zoom
We were all over the map--the brain map! As we learn American English together, we also learn about learning and the importance of making connections to build memory. Neuroplasticity is the ability of the brain to form and reorganize connections. We considered the Chinese proverb: "If you live until you are old, you learn until you are old." We generated a great vocabulary list. Find select words in the Class Notes or go to Zoom (from the app or from a browser). Click on Chat to see all of our class chat notes from the beginning of the year to our latest class.
October 16: Homework for the week: Bring one or two (or a basket of) proverbs to share. The proverbs may be in your home language, but be able to explain them in English. Let's compare stories and advice. Check out this site that has Polish Proverbs.
Be on the lookout for the forms of "be" and be aware of how they are used. Be verbs are singular or plural. Be careful when using these with pronouns and naming nouns.
American English and Culture: Thursday, 7-8:30 PM, CLC, Carmel, room 100
Clarifying the use of in, or at, or to in sentences is key to understanding what is being said and where we are going or are. See the boards for a refresher.
October 16: Keep listening and writing sentences. Notice how the word order in English differs from word order in your home language. Expand basic sentences to include more detail and better explain what we mean and tell or story.
American English for Kids: Thursday, 6:00-6:30 PM, private Zoom
Happy Fall Break!
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