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Tags: ESL Quick Lessons, Listening, Punctuation, Speaking in General, Summer Activities, Vocabulary, verb tenses by Debra
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4th of July Fireworks in Richmond, VA

The activities are family/child oriented, and there is usually a wide variety of things to do and see. You can show up early for the party, or you can just attend the fireworks display (which is what I usually do).

This is a good list of fireworks locations in Richmond to find a display near you. In case the link breaks:

DOGWOOD DELL: July 4th at 5 p.m. - Byrd Park Carillon area – free.
FIREWORKS AT THE DIAMOND: Fireworks: July 1st, 3rd, and July 4th. Game at 7 p.m., fireworks after. You can watch the fireworks without going to the game.
BRANDERMILL FIREWORKS: July 3rd - Fireworks – Sunday Park at the Swift Creek Mill Reservoir: 9:15 p.m. Free.
THEME PARK FIREWORKS: Kings Dominion – July 3 and July 4. Busch Gardens – July 2 through July 4.
POWHATAN FIREWORKS: Hugenot Fire Department – July 3rd. Gates open at 5 p.m.
CHESTERFIELD FIREWORKS: July 4th – Gates open at 5 p.m., fireworks after dark.
FORT LEE FIREWORKS: July 4 - Gates open at 2 p.m. Fireworks: around 9:35 p.m.
COLONIAL HEIGHTS FIREWORKS: July 4 at 9:15 p.m.
RACETRACK FIREWORKS: July 4th.

For fireworks information near Midlothian, try this link.

Richmond.com also has a detailed list which tells more of what to expect.

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Read this website for more ideas!

Tags: Summer Activities, Useful Information by Debra
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Happy Earth Day!

April 22 is Earth Day! If you’re concerned about your carbon footprint in Central Virginia, and you’d like to start recycling, it’s easy! Click here for a list of all the drop-off recycling locations in the area.

Here’s a list of other things you can do to help protect our planet:

plant a tree
use less water
walk or use your bike
throw trash in appropriate receptacles
recycle glass, aluminum, and cardboard
reuse plastic bags and bottles
use a computer to take notes
carpool
buy used furniture and other goods

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Tags: Critical Thinking, Just Plain Helpful, Reading, Summer Activities by Debra
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7 Ways to Improve Your Listening Skills

Here are some tips to follow as you work on your listening skills.

Listen: 7 Ways Listening 1&2

Download news or stories from the internet. Keep them on your MP3 player and listen to them until you can summarize what you have heard. Take it on a walk or listen while doing household chores. Surround yourself with the language.
Listen to music. Ballads are great for catching the sounds of English. You’ll become familiar with stress patterns, how sounds are linked together, and how vowels are pronounced. Singing along won’t hurt either. You can also build your vocabulary by searching for the lyrics to any particular song.

Listen: 7 Ways Listening 3&4

Join a group. Don’t just join a language group. Join a hobby group (like cooking, dancing, or painting). This way, you can practice English in a context that is unfamiliar. Unlike joining a speaking group for ESL students, the instructor or group leader is not trained in ESL, and will, therefore, not accommodate your language needs. Instead, you will be forced to pay attention (YIKES!). You can still ask people to repeat if you are truly lost.
Find a sitcom and turn off those subtitles! Sitcoms are great because the characters are more active and animated. Also, this will give you a chace to connect words and phrases to images and situations. If you read subtitles, your eyes are doing the work. To train your ears, turn the words off!

Listen: 7 Ways 5, 6, 7

Go shopping! I know you love to shop online, but eventually, you will actually need to go to the grocery store or Walmart. The next time you go, practice your listening skills by choosing something to search for in the store. Then ask an attendant where you can find that item. “Where can I find lipstick?” or “Can you tell me where the pimento stuffed olives are?” Listen carefully to the response. Test yourself by seeing how fast you can actually find your way to that item.
Listen to lectures. Local colleges often have lectures that are free and open to the public. Visit one sometime and listen to the organizational patterns of speech (transitions, main ideas, support details, introductions and conclusions).
Join an exercise class. At least three days per week, you will hear the same words over and over again. This will also give you a hands-on opportunity to connect words to gestures or actions. Repition is key.

After a month, you’ll look and hear better!

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Tags: Critical Thinking, How To, Listening, Summer Activities by Debra
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The Objects of Prepositions

Click here to listen.

Whether you’re learning English as a second language in a class, self-studying, reviewing grammar concepts, or studying in middle school, you need to know these little facts about prepositions…

Prepositions are a part of speech (examples include in, at, on, to, around, above, with, etc).
In sentences, they appear in phrases (aptly called prepositional phrases).
Prepositional phrases also contain a noun or noun phrase.
The noun that follows a preposition is called the object of the preposition.

You should know these facts for many reasons:

Objects can’t be subjects;
Objects of prepositions can’t be subjects;
Prepositional phrases might appear at the beginning of a sentence; and
No part of the prepositional phrase can be considered the subject of that sentence

Now, test your knowledge. Decide which two of these sentences are correct:

In the summer rains a lot.
In the summer, it rains a lot.
On the stove simmers my noodles.
On the stove, my noodles simmer.

Answers:

In the summer rains a lot. (Incorrect)
In the summer, it rains a lot. (Correct)
On the stove simmers my noodles. (Incorrect)
On the stove, my noodles simmer. (Correct)

How did you do? Just remember: your verb will never agree with the object of a preposition because objects can’t be subjects, and verbs only agree with subjects.

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Tags: Critical Thinking, Grammar, How To, Summer Activities, Writing, parts of speech by Debra
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Happy 4th of July

Click on this link for a fun site where teachers and parents can find so many crafts, projects, history lessons, and quizzes that help children develop and understanding of the 4th of July while celebrating it in a meaningful way.

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Tags: Critical Thinking, Summer Activities, Teaching Tips by Debra
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Things to do in Richmond, Virginia this summer

There are many activity options for Richmonders, native and newcomers alike, this summer. Try this list for some ideas…

Have fun, and if you see me there, stop and say Hi!

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Tags: Summer Activities by Debra
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11 Ways to Beat Spring Fever

It’s finally here whether you like it or not…spring, nice weather, and plenty of excuses to procrastinate. Whether you just want to get through the rest of the semester, have a test coming up, or want to start something you’ve been putting off, now is not the time to get Spring Fever!

springintoaction

Make a 5-minute Plan. Make a plan to do something simple for only 5 minutes. If you still feel like doing it, continue until you don’t feel like it anymore. You’ll be surprised at how often you spend more than 5 minutes.
Go paperless! Go through all the scraps of paper laying around and make a quick decision to keep it or get rid of it. If you have to think about it for more than 5 seconds, keep it.
De-clutter. Whatever papers are still laying around after that, stack them up in a neat pile and put them in a place away from your workspace.
Bring and Take: Take your notes or your textbook with you. It’s good to have them with you in case you find yourself with a few minutes to spare (like waiting for an appointment or at the Laundromat).
Carry a notepad. If you get inspired to do something later, jot it down.
Go outside. Take your computer outside and do your work in the shade of an oak tree at the park.
Twitter later. As much fun as it is, you don’t need to twitter about everything that comes to mind at the moment it enters your mind. You can still write the same things, but wait until after you have done something more productive.
All Work and No Play? No Way! Alternate work and fun. The fun rewards the work, and keeps you motivated. Examples: study for 15 minutes, get a snack, write 2 chapter summaries, call a friend.
Carry a heavy load. Download lectures or professional development podcasts to your MP3 player. Listen to them as you take a stroll under the warm sun.
Do something new. The winter was long, cold, and slow, and maybe you got used to doing the bare minimum. Those days are over. Think of something new you want to do and do it! Don’t over think it.
Ride your bike. The scenery will inspire you, the fresh air will invigorate you, and the exercise will get your blood flowing. A body in motion stays in motion (Newton’s law roughly paraphrased).

Use them in any combination to fight Spring Fever. Happy Spring!

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Tags: Critical Thinking, How To, Reflective Teaching, Summer Activities, Test Taking by Debra
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Background Noise and Listening Skills

This is an excerpt from Cereb Cortex. 2007 May;17(5):1147-53. Epub 2006 Jun 19.

Viewing a speaker’s articulatory movements substantially improves a listener’s ability to understand spoken words, especially under noisy environmental conditions.

In the real world, this research could help teachers develop lessons that not only promote students’ reliance on visual cues for comprehension, but also encourage a much needed (and research-based) change of scenery. Perhaps playing music while doing a group mingling session in an intermediate speaking class would be a good application of this research. Spring is around the corner, so why not meet the students in the courtyard for an hour? Holding class sessions in places with background noise is key, and who couldn’t use some fresh ambiance?

What are some other places to meet for class? What were your students’ reactions?

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