Wed, Nov 22 Blog Post

Please read this article and watch the two short videos that are there also. This should make you think about where you live and cultural changes. Enjoy! 

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/well-you-gotta-have-a-home-inside-the-private-lives-of-van-dwellers-1.3613398

Here are some of the questions we will be talking about in class. Please make sure to understand the meaning of each questions before Wednesday.

Thanks!

Matthew

Nov 15/17 Blog Topic

I hope you are all having a great weekend!

Here is the topic for today.

Please click on this link...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hgWie9dnssU

...and watch the video as many times as you must until you understand. I think that watching the first four minutes or so will be enough for discussion.

I will not be posting the discussion questions here, so it is really important that you understand the main points of the video.

Good luck and see you on Monday!

Matthew

Wed, Nov 8 2017 Blog Discussion!

Time for the battle of the sexes! Get your opinions ready.

Please read the article below and then read the questions too. Remember to read the article more than one time. The first time, do not use a dictionary or worry about unknown words. The second time, it is a good idea to look up the unknown words.
When you read the questions, please make sure you understand their meaning and are ready to discuss them on Wednesday.

Thank you!

Matthew

His and Her Diary from the Same Day

Her Diary:

Tonight, I thought my husband was acting weird. We had made plans to meet at a nice restaurant for dinner. I was shopping with my friends all day long, so I thought he was upset at the fact that I was a bit late, but he made no comment on it. Conversation wasn't flowing, so I suggested that we go somewhere quiet so we could talk. He agreed, but he didn't say much. I asked him what was wrong; He said, 'Nothing.' I asked him if it was my fault that he was upset. He said he wasn't upset, that it had nothing to do with me, and not to worry about it. On the way home, I told him that I loved him. He smiled slightly, and kept driving. I can't explain his behavior I don't know why he didn't say, 'I love you, too.' When we got home, I felt as if I had lost him completely, as if he wanted nothing to do with me anymore. He just sat there quietly, and watched TV. He continued to seem distant and absent. Finally, with silence all around us, I decided to go to bed. About 15 minutes later, he came to bed. But I still felt that he was distracted, and his thoughts were somewhere else. He fell asleep - I cried. I don't know what to do. I'm almost sure that his thoughts are with someone else. My life is a disaster.

His Diary:

Motorcycle won’t start…can't figure out why.

http://imgur.com/6icZ3

Discussion questions

1.    Do you think this was posted by a man or a woman? Why? What point do you think that he or she was trying to make?

2.    Who do you sympathize with most, him or her?

3.    Have you had similar misunderstandings with your significant other?

4.    Why are men and women so different?

5.    Is it possible for a men and women to really understand how the other thinks?

6.    Would you like to be able to think like a member of the opposite sex? Might there be any advantages in being able to do so?

7.    What does/did your significant other do that really infuriates you? What are the most frustrating habits that men/women have?

8.    Do you have any advice on how to understand and get along with the opposite sex better?

9.    Imagine you could switch gender for one day? Would you like to try it? What would you do? What would you like to find out?

Nov 1 2017 Blog Topic

Winter is coming! It's already November! Oh no;)

Here is the topic for this week. It's about exercise. Exercise is something that is hard to get in the winter and many people feel less motivated. Canada has a problem with too many obese children. What can we do about it?

http://www.thestar.com/yourtoronto/education/2016/04/11/phys-ed-experts-alarmed-by-program-cuts.html

1) Is it important to students/children to be physically active?

2) Do you think physical education class is more important or equally as important as some other subjects? Which ones? No? Why?

3) Does exercising or just taking a walk help you to study better?

4) How much TV or internet do you watch each day?

5) Which is more important, physical health or high academic achievement (good grades)?

6) How many hours of physical activity each day do students in your country get? Is it enough? How many hours do you think they should get?

7) Do you exercise? Are you more motivated to exercise in the warm or cold weather? Why?

8) Should governments require people to exercise in order to qualify (get) health insurance?

Oct 25, 2017 Blog Topic

Hello everybody!

I have returned from Japan and I'll tell you stories and answer questions when I'm back in class on Tuesday (tomorrow). I hope you've had a good two weeks!

This weeks topic is a light (not serious one), but I think you might find this article and video interesting, odd, or maybe super awesome! Please make sure you understand the vocabulary and the main idea of the article.

Article link:
http://www.boredpanda.com/heart-beat-ring-hb-thetouch/

Product link:
http://www.thetouchx.com/index.html

Questions:
1) What was your first reaction to this product?
2) What do you think of the price? (Go to the product link.)
3) Would you use this product? (I'm really curious about Yoko's opinion.)
4) Do you think this product will be popular? Is it better than SNS?
5) What do you think of how the rings look?
6) Giving rings before marriage seems to be more common in Korean and Japanese culture than here. Do you think these will be really popular in Japan and Korea?
7) Do you think these rings could be used for medical purposes?

Wed, Oct 18/17 Blog Topic

PLEASE NOTE THAT THIS IS THE TOPIC FOR WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 18/2017

Please watch the video below:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b5KxPwFQV8o

Here are the questions for you to consider. Please read them and make sure you can understand the questions:

What would you do if you found a wallet on the ground? Would you return it? 

What if it had the owner's identification in it? 

What if the wallet had $5,000 in it? Now, what if you'd just lost your job and you needed it to pay rent and buy food? Now, what if you had a child?

What do you think is the right thing to do? Would you even be tempted to take the wallet?

What do people usually do in your home country when they find something that does not belong to them? How is that different from other countries you have visited? 

Do people in your home country respect others' belongings? 

What kind of social experiment would you like to try? (This video is an example of a social experiment.)

Wed, October 11th/2017 Blog

PLEASE NOTE THAT THIS IS THE WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 11TH BLOG TOPIC

Hello Everybody!

It is the end of the long weekend. Oh well. Welcome back. It's time to learn some English again. Wheee!

Please click the link below to go to a video. This time, the questions will be provided in the class, so your job is just to watch the video and try to understand it the best you can. Please watch it more than one time.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7gXq1ml6B1E

See you in class.

Matthew