Four Attractions in Seattle

It's been a while since I posted something here. The trouble with a blog is that you have to feed it. "The beast must feast!" So I'm happy when students such as Jennifer agree to post some of their journal writing. And she even sent in some photos! Thank you Jennifer!

You'll notice that Jennifer's writing is well organized and easy to read. Good paragraphs, and a topic sentence to start each paragraph.

by Jennifer, adult ESL learner at Gladwin Language Centre. 23 April 08

I went to Seattle last weekend with my children. I wanted to go on a trip across the Canada- U.S. border. A famous movie, Sleepless In Seattle, was made there, and I wanted to look at some of the places where the movie was shot.

First, I visited a public market, Pike Place Market, which is the oldest public market in the U.S. It is located on a pier. Merchants were selling fresh fruit, vegetables, and many kinds of fish. You can also buy beautiful flowers and unique crafts. Clerks at a fish stall put on an interesting performance, yelling a song and throwing fish over a customer’s head. The marketplace was active and crowded with many people.

Below: The street at the Pike Place Market. This scene appears in the movie "Sleepless in Seattle."

The first Starbucks Coffee is across from the market. It was started in 1978. Originally, espresso coffee was not American style. Italians enjoy espresso standing on the street in the morning. Starbucks let Americans enjoy espresso coffee sitting comfortably in their cafe instead of on the street. The Starbucks café was crowded with many visitors, and the line of people to buy coffee was really long. I was not able to try their coffee.

Below: The first Starbucks in the world! But too crowded to get a cup of coffee! :-(

Another attraction is a restaurant in the Pike Place market. In Sleepless In Seattle, Tom Hanks had lunch with his coworker at the restaurant. It was an old style casual restaurant. A Tom Hanks’ picture and the old article about the movie were posted on the front window, and several people pointed to them and looked into the restaurant. I took some pictures of it and we went in. I ate a seafood dish for lunch looking at the sea through the window.

Below: The restaurant where Tom Hanks ate in "Sleepless in Seattle." You can see the photos of him posted on the window at the bottom, right.)

After lunch, we visited the Seattle Art Museum (SAM). In front of the building the large sculpture, Hammer Man, was standing. Among SAM’s exhibitions, northwest American indian arts are famous. However, my son said that First Nations’ arts at the UBC museum are better than SAM, so we didn’t look at them. I enjoyed the modern art and traditional African exhibitions. They were fantastic. I also looked at the special exhibition, ‘The Roman Art from the Louvre.’

Seattle is a large American city located about 200 km south of Abbotsford. I have walked the street of the famous movie, and I have had lunch at the restaurant just as they did in the movie. Although the weather was bad, it was an interesting trip.

A Beautiful Beach at Stanley Park

Our class is for speaking and listening, but some of the students like to write journals, which I correct. Jennifer wrote this piece about her recent visit to Stanley Park and gave me permission to post it here. Hooray for Jennifer!

I hope that many students, both present and past, will send in writing samples that can be posted. It is a nice way for everyone to participate in this blog.

By Jennifer, adult ESL student at Gladwin Language Centre

Last Saturday I went to Stanley Park with my children. I wanted to feel the spring in Canada. We found a wonderful beach there.

When we drove to the west side of the park, we stopped to have ice cream at a snack house. It was at Third Beach in English Bay. There is a great view and lots to see at the beach. You can see Siwash Rock, Ferguson Point, West Vancouver, and UBC. You can walk, rollerblade, or ride a bike on the seawall.

While we stayed there, the tide went out. There were many starfish in the water and on the beach. They were purple, grey, and orange. My daughter caught them, but I was scared to.

The sand on the beach was very fine and clear. Someone made a small sandcastle, and that was pretty. My children played with sand and tried to make something. They wanted to stay there for a long time.

There are three beaches at Stanley Park. Third Beach is the most beautiful one. It makes me relax.

**********

A group of highschool ESL students at the famous "hollow tree" in Stanley Park, near Third Beach. This tree is a landmark and people have taken photos here for more than one hundred years. But sadly it has gotten old and dangerous and so the Park Board has decided to cut it down. Goodbye old friend! We will miss you!

The Face of Canada is Changing

In our class we often discuss different aspects of Canadian culture. Understanding culture is important, because it is impossible to separate language from culture. So if we understand the culture in which a language is spoken, it gives us more insight into how the language is used.

“Diversity” is a word that we use a lot when we talk about Canadian culture and society. Generally speaking, diversity means “variety.” Lots of differences. Canadian society is quite “diverse,” with people from more than 200 ethnic, cultural, and racial backgrounds. As a culture, we celebrate diversity. We think it’s cool – it makes us our lives more rewarding.

Recently the government released some statistics that help us understand how diverse Canada and the Vancouver area is becoming. The report uses the term “visible minorities.” (In Canada, a visible minority is someone who is not white in colour or who is non-Caucasian in race. This includes Blacks, Latin Americans, Filipinos, Koreans, Arabs, people from India and Pakistan, Chinese, etc. In China, white people are a visible minority.)

About one out of six people, or 16 per cent of the population of Canada, is a member of a visible minority. That figure is growing rapidly, much faster than the general population. Almost all visible minorities live in metropolitan areas (large cities) such as Toronto, Montreal, and Vancouver. In Toronto, over 40 per cent of the people are part of a visible minority.

Canada’s visible minorities are ethnoculturally (ethnically and culturally) diverse. About 25 per cent, or 1.3 million people, are South Asian (India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka). Another 24 per cent are of Chinese origin, and about 15 per cent are black. Then we have Filipinos (8 per cent), Latin Americans (6 per cent), Arabs (5 per cent), Southeast Asians (4.7 per cent), Koreans (2.8 per cent), and Japanese (1.6 per cent).

Most members of visible minorities are young. The median age – half younger and half older – is 33. And about one third were born in Canada.

Now lets look at the greater Vancouver area. Sometimes we call it the Lower Mainland, and sometimes “Metro Vancouver.” It usually means Vancouver and the surrounding cities such as Richmond, Burnaby, Coquitlam, and Surrey – but not Abbotsford.

Visible minorities make up 55 per cent of Burnaby’s population, 65 per cent in Richmond, and 51 per cent in Vancouver. Wow! Overall, Metro Vancouver’s population is about 40 per cent visible minorities.

About 70 per cent of visible minorities were born outside of Canada and most of those came to Canada in the last 15 years.

The Chinese are the biggest visible minority in Vancouver with 381,000, or 18 per cent of the population. The South Asians are second, with a population of about 207,000. Koreans, Filipinos, Latin Americans, and Japanese are other groups that number more than 20,000 each.

So we Canadians are a diverse bunch of people, and we’re getting more diverse every day. What do you think about our diverse society? Do you like it, or is it just too difficult – too many problems?

******

This is a class from 2006. In these people you see the changing face of Canada. Five nationalities. They are the future of Canada and they make our society a better place.

Some funny ESL on Youtube

I haven't visited YouTube much, but a week or so ago I spent some time there searching for anything related to ESL. The best sites were funny, so I'm posting some of them here so you can have a good laugh.

This first clip is from the 2006 movie "The Pink Panther" French police inspector Clouseau has to go to the U.S. to catch a bad guy, but first he must learn to pronounce English properly.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hHQrXOYil5w&feature=related

The second clip was made by some young Americans or Canadians who teach ESL at English Village in a small town in South Korea. They are called the "EV Boyz." Really good and really funny.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QjBfy_HVoSM

Here are the lyrics to "Kickin it in Geumchon", in case you want to sing along! Try and guess what a "waygook" is!

This song goes out to all the waygooks lookin’ for the place to be

Chorus:
Kickin’ it in Geumchon, Oh, Oh
Komsomnida, Annyong Haseyo
Kickin’ it in Geumchon, Oh, Oh,
Komsomnida, Annyong Haseyo
Kickin’ It, Where? In Geumchon Where?
In Geumchon. Where? In Geumchon Where?
Kickin’ it in Geumchon, Oh, Oh

Verse 1:
South Korea’s got Jeju, South Korea’s got Seoul
Busan and Ilsan if that’s how you roll
But when you work at EV, and live in Paju
Then the town to get down is 15 minutes from you,
How do I get there?

Hop on the 900 bus
I use my T-money card so there’s never no fuss
Jump off at the station, or shall I say “yuk”
Are you fluent in Korean?
No I got a phrasebook
Pang Pang, now we’re off to the races
To the backstreet market checkin’ out pig faces
Octupus on sale, squid 2 for 1
Let’s hit the waterpark for fun in the sun,
I got my swimcap!
Baskin Robbins and Pizza Hut
Knock Domino’s down then slam Dunkin’ Donuts
Geumchon rocks, then it rocks some more
The street meat is sweet and corndogs galore

Chorus:
Kickin’ it in Gumcheon, Oh, Oh
Komsomnida, Annyong Haseyo
Kickin’ it in Gumcheon, Oh, Oh,
Komsomnida, Annyong Haseyo
Kickin’ It, Where? In Gumcheon Where?
In Gumcheon. Where? In Gumcheon Where?
Kickin’ it in Gumcheon, Oh, Oh

Verse 2:
Sometimes it’s spelled with a G, I’ve seen it spelled with a K
Sometimes it’s spelled with an E, I’ve seen the E go away
But regardless of spelling, pronunciation’s the same
The town’s so explosive, Boomchon could be it’s name
The movie theater keeps it real with no subtitles
But we never go cuz there’s no subtitles
But birthday party time it’s so simple to rally
We alls grab our balls at the bowling alley
Then to the Sky Golf hittin’ nothin’ but net
The locals wanna wager but it’s illegal to bet
If your mouth is dry, or if your throat’s got a tickle
Part for the Family Mart, to lick a popsicle
Hungry for bibim bop?
The choices never stop
The spice is so nice could make a tear drop
We dedicate the bridge, but not in haste
To the cabbage that we ravage with the chili paste taste

Bridge:
Kimchi, Kimchi, it is good for you and me
Kimchi, Kimchi, it is good for you and me
Kimchi, Kimchi, it is good for you and me
Kimchi, Kimchi, it is good for you and me

Pre-Verse 3:
Kickin’ it In Boomchon
Kickin’ it in Boomchon

Verse 3:
When I go to Geumchon, I look at all the hotties
Those ahgashis, they got the hottest bodies
The padded bras, the high heeled shoes
Hey ladies? Can I buy you some brews?
Drinkin’ Cass-uh, drinkin’ Hite-uh
Feelin’ alright-uh, drinkin’ all night-uh
La festa’s no longer the best
Ride your scooter to Guemchon and head over to Zest
The barman’s got flair, flippin’ bottles in the air
Tom Cruise in Cocktail can’t even compare
Upstairs at Posse yogurt soju’s flowin’
Plus Froot Loop balls and the roofdeck’s blowin’
Nature videos while I’m singin’ my song
Number six one three seven at the local Noraebong
Want a night on the town?
Wanna spend some won?
Come kick it with us, come kick it in Gumcheon

Chorus:
Kickin’ it in Gumcheon, Oh, Oh
Komsomnida, Annyong Haseyo
Kickin’ it in Gumcheon, Oh, Oh,
Komsomnida, Annyong Haseyo
Kickin’ It, Where? In Gumcheon Where?
In Gumcheon. Where? In Gumcheon Where?
Kickin’ it in Gumcheon, Oh, Oh

(Written by Christian Zonts. The EV Boyz are Christian Zonts, Mike Nance, and Brian Peterson)
End of lyrics

This third clip is from Derek, an ESL teacher in South Korea who claims to have a miraculous method of teaching English! Send your children to Derek's class and in a few short weeks they will be speaking English fluently!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QQBkqwgv_pQ

This fourth clip is also from Korea. Some students practice the English vocabulary that they will need if they meet a thief or a robber. Koreans really know how to have fun learning English!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RZjP2NTxOyY

This fifth clip is all about students using a cell phone in class. Always a problem! Is this a good solution?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KbdWVO8D8uQ

I hope you enjoyed all these and had a good laugh. If you find any good ESL videos on Youtube, send me the address (url) and I'll post them.

Cheers!

This is a photo I took on the weekend while I was in Vancouver. I'm facing Northwest, looking over Burrard Inlet to the port on the North Shore. Behind the port are The Lions -- two peaks close together that are a Vancouver landmark. This scene illustrates to me the contrasts of beauty and ugliness that are everywhere in Vancouver.

Mixed-race marriages in Canada: Taboos drop away

In our class we talk and read a lot about Canadian culture. Language and culture are joined together in so many ways.

One of the "themes" we discuss is Love and Marriage, and we usually have a reading about interracial marriage, something that is becoming more common in Canada. For some visitors to Canada, this is a "big deal," so we often have some interesting discussions.

The federal government has recently published some new facts and figures about mixed marriages in Canada. Every five years Canada has a national census. Every resident has to complete the form. The information is very helpful in planning policies.

The 2006 census has lots of information that you may find interesting. I'm including some parts of an article written by Lauren La Rose for the Canadian Press on April 2. I've put some important words and expressions in italics -- If you don't understand them, guess at their meaning first and then use your dictionary. Or ask me!

So here are some parts of the article.

Forty years after an interracial kiss in the movie "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner?" shocked mainstream America, Canada's multicultural society is increasingly showing signs that love is colour blind. The latest census figures show that mixed unions are forming at unprecedented rates. There were 289,420 married and common-law mixed-race couples in 2006 — a third more than in 2001.

But not long ago, if two people of different races married, they might end up behind bars. In 1967, 16 states in the U.S. still had laws banning interracial marriage. Now it is much more common. Our Governor General Michaëlle Jean and her husband Jean-Daniel Lafond are a mixed race couple -- another indication of Canada's diversity and the way in which different ethnic groups are integrating.

Researchers say that mixed race marriages are interesting as they show that the social barriers between different ethnic groups are falling down.

About 85 per cent of interracial couples involve a white person and a visible minority. (In Canada, a visable minority is someone who is not white in colour or who is non-Caucasian in race. This includes Blacks, Latin Americans, Filipinos, Koreans, Arabs, people from India and Pakistan, Chinese, etc. In China, white people would be a visible minority.) But many marriages are between two minority groups, for example a Latin American and a black person.

Japanese are most likely to enter a mixed union, and people from South Asia (India and Pakistan) and Chinese are among the least likely to form a union outside their group.

While mixed marriages are generally more accepted in Canada today, they sometimes still suffer from scrutiny and stigma. Wilson Fong, a 32-year-old Toronto police officer, was born in Hong Kong and is now married to a woman of Korean descent. Their families accept the interracial marriage. But Fong said that before he got married he lived in Oshawa — a largely white community east of Toronto, where he had a white girlfriend.

"People looked at me and I always felt they didn't approve of our relationship" Fong said. His wife Gina's parents immigrated to Canada from Korea in the 1960s. They, still hold onto their traditions, but have become more Westernized. Over time, they've become increasingly accepting in their attitudes. Gina's sister is now engaged to a white man. "My sister never dated a Korean guy," she said. "It was difficult for my parents at the beginning but it got easier. Now, they're totally fine with it."

Tina Dawes is 31. As a teenager, she watched the disapproving looks cast upon her parents — an interracial, interfaith couple who married in the late 1960s. Her mother is a Filipino Catholic, her father a white Protestant. The family moved to the U.S. for about three years for work, where people dissaproved of the marriage. "People were saying, 'She's from a different culture from you, and you each have a different religion. This marriage is never going to work,'" said Dawes.
Tina's paternal grandparents didn't attend her parents' wedding. But the births of Tina and her older brother seemed to help bring the family together. "At the time my parents married, they definitely didn't have the blessing of everyone close around them, which was too bad," she said.

Tina herself is now involved in a mixed union. The parents of her partner, Alistair Forster, come from England. Forster said his wife's cultural background was simply not a factor in determining if he had met the love of his life. Tina is eight months pregnant with her and Forster's second child. Forster believes it's extremely important to ensure their children are educated about both sides of their heritage. "We're definitely going to be going to the Philippines and England in the next few years," he said.

However, in Canada, same-race marriages still greatly outnumber mixed-race unions. Low levels of interracial marriage often have to do with tradition and culture, but can also relate to where the visible minority groups settle.

Visible minorities who live in neighbourhoods where there are a lot of other people from their own group around them more often marry within their own group.

Tina Fong, 27, is a teacher originally from Abbotsford, B.C. She said that more of her friends are tying the knot with people outside her Korean culture. "A lot more of my friends' parents are much more open to mixed marriages and it's being more accepted now, whereas before it was taboo," she said. "At the same time, many still do marry other Koreans depending on where their duties lie in the family, like if they're the oldest or the only daughter."

Language can also play a role, she said. "Some of my friends' parents don't speak English very well … so if you can't communicate with your in-laws, it becomes that much more difficult to understand the traditions that Koreans have," she said. (End of article)

So what are your feelings about mixed-race marriages? As we say in English, "food for thought." If you'd like to comment on this, just click on the comment tab below and write something.

See you later!

So you want to learn more vocabulary?

Students often say that they want to learn more vocabulary. What are some effective ways to do this?

I don’t like handing out long lists of words. When I was learning French, long lists of words were not very helpful. BORING! We say in English, “They went in one ear and out the other.” But how to learn?

A recent article by Sean Smith in the Korea Herald has an answer. He says that language learners should read more. In particular, you should practice extensive reading.

According to Smith, there are two kinds of reading material: intensive and extensive.

Intensive reading is the highly focused reading of difficult material. The reader usually needs a dictionary and a grammar reference book.

Extensive reading material is easier. Ideally the text should be challenging, but not require a grammar book or dictionary to understand it. The reader should already understand at least 95 percent of the vocabulary on the page. So it’s clear that learners such as yourself should practice extensive reading material and maybe avoid intensive reading material.

There are lots of benefits to extensive reading. If you read a novel, you will discover that the author often uses the same set of vocabulary. Grammar and vocabulary will continually be used in natural contexts, or situations. This helps you learn new forms and words. The repetition is important. And you’ll discover that reading without a dictionary can be fun.

Extensive reading will also help your speaking, listening, and writing skills. In fact, Sean says, and this is very important,

“Extensive reading of easy, interesting, and engaging material may be the best thing that language learners can do on their own, outside of the classroom, to improve their language skills.” Wow! Double wow!

Ok, so now we know that the key to success is to read a lot of language that you already mostly understand. The more you read, the more language you will be exposed to. A good goal is to try and read for about 20 – 30 minutes each day.

Another really smart guy, Akio Furukawa, has three simple rules to remember for extensive reading.

1) No dictionaries while reading
2) Skip over difficult words
3) Stop reading when it is boring or too difficult.

It’s gotta be fun! Read easy books that you can understand without dictionaries, don’t try to understand the content completely, and if the book is boring, find another one.

Great – all good advice, but where can you find books that are the right level for you? Well, at Gladwin we are fortunate to have a small library of graded readers that you can borrow. For free!

Graded readers take popular novels in all genres and re-write them using only words from the high frequency lists. Lower level readers will use the most frequent words, and higher level readers will gradually move up to less frequent words. In the same manner, grammar is also introduced from simple progressing up towards more difficult forms.

So, why don’t you look at the books in the library and choose one that looks interesting? You may want to start off with an easy one to gain some confidence. In English we say we get a “quick win.” Then you can try a more difficult one.

But whatever you do, find something to read! It’s a wonderful, natural, painless way to learn new vocabulary and improve your English skills. Already one student has read a graded reader, and she said it was a great experience.

*****

The photo below is of one of my first classes -- a long time ago!