Blog Post #15 - Farewell and Final Thoughts

This is your last blog post for the class.  Say goodbye to the class.  Post any of your final thoughts and feelings.  Write about whatever you deem to be appropriate for this occasion.  Try not to cry.

Blog Post #14 - Sleep and Dreams

 Why do people dream?  Do you think dreaming has a purpose or it is just something humans do?  Do you think dreams have special meaning and can be interpreted to reveal something about a person's life or mind?  Have you ever had a strange or interesting dream?  How would you interpret that dream?  Do you think the dream had a special meaning or was meaningless?  Why?

Blog Post #13 - Gestures

 

Watch this video about hand gestures.  Can you think of any gestures that may be unique or different in Korea?  Do you think there would be any cultural misunderstandings between Koreans and people from other countries because of different interpretations of these gestures?  Why or why not?

Blog Post #12 - A Short Story

In The Necklace, Marie changed by the end of the story; she became more down-to-earth.  She realized what was more important to lead a happier and richer life.  Do you have a similar attitude toward your life?  What do you think are the most important things needed to have a happy life?  What do you think are the not-so-important things that people commonly worry about in life?  How can people truly achieve happiness in their lives?  Knowledge?  Money and Power?  Love?  Tell us your opinions.

Blog Post #11 - Superstitions

Sometimes even the most logical and rational people may be a bit superstitious.  Even though some people may not fully believe in superstitions, they may still do or not do things to hopefully bring them luck and fortune.  This may especially be true when they are gambling!  Are you superstitious about anything?   Do you believe in any specific superstitions?  Why or why not?

Blog Post #10 - FREE WRITING 2

Write one or two paragraphs on another topic of your choice.  Perhaps you could give us your thoughts and opinions on a current topic of debate, controversy, or news story that is important in South Korea or the world these days.  Don't forget to explain your thoughts and opinions with supporting details and reasons.

Blog Post #9 - Eyeless Sight

Watch this videos and think about what we read about "eyeless sight" on pages 82-84 in the book.  How would you explain this phenomenon  to someone who did not know about it beforehand?  Why do you think these individuals are able to do these things without vision?  How does this happen???  Since scientists do not currently fully understand all of these types of phenomena, tell us about your THEORY.  Do you know of any other examples in which someone was able to do amazing or seemingly impossible things despite a lack of one of the "senses" or some other shortcoming?

Blog #8 - Mastering a New Language

Read page 65 in your book.  In paragraph 3, the author writes about how there are many different ways people can learn a language.  People can be visual learners, auditory learners, or kinesthetic (physical activity) learners.  These different kinds of learners often use different methods to learn a language.  Which type of learner do you think you are?  What methods do you use to learn English? Have you used any methods that didn't work very well in the past?  Have you have tried any new methods recently that have really helped you to improve your English language learning?  Please give specific examples.

Blog #7 - Personal Space

The chart to the left shows the average American's desired amount of personal space for different social situations (1 foot = 0.3048 meters).  Americans sometimes have trouble traveling in Europe, Asia, and the Middle-East, because in those countries, the idea of personal space is different.  For example, Koreans may not need as much personal space as Americans do.  Why would there be a different notion of personal space across cultures?  Can you think of anything that explains these differences between cultures?  Why do Americans require more personal space than Koreans?  Why do Koreans require less personal space than Americans?  What are your own personal space needs?

Blog Post #6 - A Tale of the Unexpected

In a paragraph, describe a place you have visited.  This place can be in Korea or abroad.  This place could be an entire city, a famous landmark, a small unknown street, someone's apartment, or any other place you would like to write about.  When describing this place, try to give as many details as you can to help us imagine what it would be like if we were at the place with you.  Use many DESCRIPTIVE WORDS (pg 36).  Think about your senses while you write.  Write about what you saw, smelled, heard, tasted, felt, and/or thought while you were at this place.  What did the scenery look like?  How was the weather?  What kind of people were at this place with you?  How did this place make you feel?  Write like you are painting a picture with words. Also, tell us about anything you did or anything that happened to you at this place.  You can also include a picture of this place if you have one.

Blog Post #5 - FREE WRITING

Write one or two paragraphs on a topic of your choice.  Write about something that you want to inform your classmates about or something you find interesting and worth writing about.  Be creative.

Blog Post #4 - School Days

What is your opinion on the Korean eduction system?  Do you think it is almost perfect, or do you think that it has many problems?  You can describe both positive and negative features of the education system to explain and support your opinion.  You can also describe your personal experience in the education system to support your opinion.  How can the Korean education system be improved?  What changes can me made?  What can people do to help make the education system in Korea better?

Blog Post #3 - A Person you Admire or Respect

Write one or two paragraphs about a person you admire or respect.  This person could be a celebrity, a historical figure, or just a friend or family member.  Introduce and describe the person, and then explain why you admire or respect this person.  As we discussed in class, write a TOPIC SENTENCE, and then try to write two or more sentences with MORE INFORMATION or DETAILS about each TOPIC SENTENCE.  You can also include a photograph of this person in your blog if you wish.

Blog Post #2 - Advertising

For this blog post, I want you to advertise a product as if it is your job to sell the product.  This product can be an object, a service, a vacation, or anything else you can SELL.  You can choose to advertise a good product or a bad product, but you must advertise either in the same way.  First, choose a product and think of a short SLOGAN for your product.  Write the SLOGAN in the TITLE of your blog post.  Next, advertise your product and persuade us to buy the product.  Why should we buy your product?  Give us reasons why the product is AMAZING and better than other products.  Use tone and word-choice that are similar to those used in the brochure on page 2 and 3 in your book.  Feel free to include a picture of the product you are advertising.

Blog Post #1 - Introduction

Write your first blog post.  Introduce yourself to the class.  What is your major?  What are your interests and hobbies?  What are your future plans and goals?  Why are you studying English during the winter break?  Tell us some interesting facts about yourself.  Feel free to post images and be creative.