Good evening! Here's Monday's class in a nutshell (short summary). We began class with to spill the beans. A similar idiom is to let the cat out of the bag. Every once in a while (occasionally) was also new for some of you.
After our introduction, we returned to adverb phrases. I used the dictation for you to concentrate on spelling/sounds and introduce the grammar. We reviewed the phrases for the meaning of time, and introduced the 2 possibilities for while (when while means "at the same time") and the rules for cause/effect. When using while, remember that "while" is optional (when the phrase is at the beginning of the sentence.) EX. While I was driving/While driving/Driving by the park on the corner of Ft. Vancouver Way and Mcloughlin Blvd,I saw my friend and her son. As for cause/effect, the rules are basically the same, but you also have to take out the connecting word (because/since/now that). You can completely take out "be" if it is followed by an adjective + another phrase. You also show the meaning of before when you use having + participle. EX. Wanting to become a pharmacist, the student decided to volunteer at the hospital. Having moved just two weeks ago, I still have a lot of things to organize.
After the grammar, we talked about the presentation rubric and how you'll be checked. Keep in mind that even though the presentations are more informal this quarter, they might even give you a better speaking opportunity because you do all of the speaking by yourself and you are in complete control of the topic. I think we have some interesting topics and I'm lookin forward to them.
You voted again for guest speakers-- the student (U.S. & former ESL) speakers were the winners, so I have begun setting them up. One day, I'm sure I'll be asking some of you to return to our program and tell about your success after ESL!
We got to brainstorm some topics (to be used in the next class) for essays. I think this is important to give you the chance to find a topic that you really want to write on. Also, we finished up the questions on the reading.
Monday was a busy and good class. Everyone seemed to be able to follow along quite well.
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