We did the following in class today:
* Reviewed Vocabulary Words that will be on the final exam.
* Practiced making and countering objections
* Practiced a sample listening section for the final exam (don’t worry, you will have subtitles!)
* Talked about the complex nature of English by reading a poem.
Practice sentences are coming to you shortly!
http://www.suicidepreventionlifeline.org/
We wrapped up Unit 6 by going over a lecture about engineering and tunnels and listened for the main ideas. Then, we moved on to reviewing vocabulary from Unit 6 and talked about how the words are used in context. We applied the word “parameter” to everyday situations, such as blind dating and we saw a very interesting episode of an old show called “Blind Date”.
Then, we covered a current event that shocked Chicago about a young restaurant owner who hanged himself in a restaurant he was scheduled to open and I opened up the discussion to talk about signs of suicidal behavior as well as why people might die of suicide or try to commit suicide. I brought it up because it is an issue among college students and our age group (18-35) is quite vulnerable. It is an “elephant” in the room.
At the close of class, I provided a link for a 24 hour, confidential hotline.
1 (800) 273-8255
When I first came to the US, I was surprised by……
Homeless people – I never imagined homeless people being in the US because I heard US was developed
Sales Tax – I am fooled by the price because it isn’t added before buying it. (9.25%) (Extra taxes: gas, cigarettes, alcohol) (Minnesota)
Recycling is optional (Recycling collection truck) (Garbage truck)
My parents: Many Americans were tall.
Nicole: Not as tall as imagined
When I visited other countries, I was surprised by…..
Montreal, Quebec, Canada- Local people spoke mostly French and a cashier didn’t understand my mom and I. / Kilometers
Italy – People thought I was from Japan, even though I spoke English and was with an American school group
Taiwan – The garbage trucks sound like ice cream trucks
Stages of Culture Shock
Honeymoon Stage – Everything is awesome
Frustrated/Disappointed/Homesick – Bored, Lonely, Tired, Withdrawn, Critical (Example: Me in Taiwan – Humid, too many people)
Acceptance Stage – Deal with the culture and you are emotionally okay again.
Roosevelt is mostly a commuter university. Many people live off campus and come to class and then leave.
In a lot of wealthy neighborhoods, people might behave superficially and insincerely to get people to lilke them, but they might not really like you.
Subcultures
*Black vs. white -> Black people show emotions more and white people don’t show as much emotion with the way they treat people.
*What is your socioeconomic background? – Wealthy/Working Class/Middle Class
American Culture – You ask everyone how they are doing/…..
American Culture: How are you?
American Answer: Good/Fine
*In other countries – reserve “how are you?” for people you know
Lithuanian Culture: How are you?
Lithuanian Answer: (Tell the truth)
What stage of culture shock is Dita in?
Frustrated – Dislikes food, No friends, Homework load, Homesick
Sandra and Dita
Sandra isn’t interested in a close friendship and doesn’t really want to be responsible for Dita’s struggles and problems. Sandra isn’t interested in adding an extra friend in her full social life.
Dita started staying in her room all the time and started thinking about going back to Indonesia
Dita’s Personality
Narrowminded, Shy, Socially anxious (ex: always concerned about what others think), Pessimistic (negative), Highly sensitive (higher than average), Hardworker/Intelligent (earned permission to study in the US)
Very “book smart” , but has poor social skills.
Dita is between a rock and a hard place. She wants to stay in the US to study, but she is so unhappy because she is not making friends.
How can Dita make friends:
Find associations – Indonesian Association/ International Student Club/Asian Student Association/Anything she likes.
Library – Talk to people in the same section
Meetup.com – Social connection
When you shop at ethnic grocery stores, make sure what you buy is fresh.
Thursday – First Draft of Final paper due
Next Thursday – Final draft of final paper due
Final Exam – Questions will focused on peer pressure, race relations and culture shock
Grades will be sent to you by May 1st.
Gentlemen’s Club (US) – Strippers / Other Countries Gentlemen’s Clubs (Anything ranging from a “date” to strippers)
Binge Drinking
Family problems
Job loss
Health problems
Domestic violence
Problem with corruption/government workers
Major problem in American culture ->
Underage drinking (drinking age is 21)
(high school) (college)
Drunk Driving (Erin Olmsted) — Driving Under the Influence DUI (breathalyzer)
Alcohol poisoning – Let’s look at this on Thursday.
Homework: Complete first draft of paper for Thursday.
Notes – IPM/IFY 033 4/14/15
Housekeeping:
Final Exam – Thursday, April 23rd
2 Listening Components with specific questions and summary
Vocabulary words from p. 147 & 180 (We will review the words over this week) (Vocabulary in context/Sentence writing section)
Extra Credit section (surprise!)
Review homework from Four Point on overcoming objections (p. 169-170)
Objection to protecting natural resources:
Scenario: #2 Making an objection as a real estate developer/investor who wants to build a resort and fancy vacation homes in a forest where there are many animals, including the spotted owls. A person who is the president of the environmental protection association for that forest is begging the developer to leave the forest alone to protect the animals.
Real Estate Developer Objections:
Financial: That seems expensive because a few hundred owls costs a lot.
Materials: Building a resort can help the preservations because we can make more resources.
Financial: We can use the money we make to protect animals.
President of the environmental protection group says:
Activity Title: “I really like it, but it’s too expensive.”
Students try to overcome an objection in English by using persuasive vocabulary words and the right kind of gestures and intonation.
Sales Person/ Difficult Customer
Goal Sales Person: Convince the customer to buy your product
Difficult Customer: Make as many objections as possible to not allow the sales person to convince you.
Overcoming objections
Structure: (Acknowledge the objection)/(Use your information and their information to make your information more convincing)
I know that ___________, but our product is _______________________________.
I understand that it takes a lot of time, but________________________________________________.
The Clapper
Objections: Not necessary, Too expensive, Clapping is too hard,
Overcoming Objection: You don’t need to clap, Necessary (can be life or death), Saves energy
Flowbee
Objections: Doesn’t work with long hair, It is crazy, Expensive,
Overcoming objections: It is inexpensive if you compare to going to the salon, It has adjustments for your hair length
Students and teacher listen to and compare summary notes of Academic Lecture: Tunnels (Four Point pp. 180-181)
Bored and Mined Tunnel – Coal Mines of West Virginia, USA
Cut and Covered Tunnel Project – Swiss Alps (0-2 min) (43:10)
Immersion Tunnel – Chunnel/Euro Tunnel (50 seconds) Couple riding the Chunnel (30 seconds/3 minutes through water to surface)
*Who has ridden The Chunnel or wants to ride it?
Comprehension Questions
a) Transportation (example: Holland Tunnel) b) Moving water and sewage (liquid waste) c) Transmit bodies of water
People can be isolated, as well as resources (Imagine if the sewage tunnel in Chicago broke as a result of an earthquake)
The design components are different from surface structures. (Enclosures are made of soil and other material) (Digging for space)
1) Bored/Mined Tunnel
2) Cut and cover tunnel
3) Immersion Tube Tunnel
Current Events Corner: Students and teacher watch and summarize what happened in the following events: 1) Community College Lockdown *Update: Police Arrest Suspect (Key vocabulary: At Large/On the loose) 2) What the bug? – a video on the trend of another source of protein.
Brainstorm activity: What kind of features and behavior profile a person who is likely to inflict bodily harm?
Students identify possible solutions for identifying unusual and suspicious behavior for personal and public safety and solutions for enhancing the safety of Roosevelt University.
Sources of protein:
*Chicken, fish/ seafood, beef, eggs, pork, Lamb, duck, bugs
Vegetable
tofu
We saw a video about a fancy restaurant in NYC that serves bugs as a main feature.
Homework: p. 180/ Write sentences for each word on p. 147
Why do young people fall into certain habits due to peer pressure?
Binge Drinking
*Different from alcoholism
Why? *Fit in * Change your life *avoid embarrassment
Eating Disorder
Chew and spit
Anorexia Nervosa
Bullimia
Eating Disorder None Other Specified (EDNOS) (Example: Unhealthy dieting)
Why? * They want to be skinny to be considered beautiful. * They see other celebrities and want to be like them. * Friends complain about their own bodies and have eating disorders (Misery loves company)
Peer Pressure among people with eating disorders
“Pro- Ana” = “Pro-Anorexia” – Group that encourages anorexia
“Pro-Mia” = “Pro-Bullimia”- Group that encourages bulllimia
Huffing chemical (example: computer duster)
Example: High School Students – want to feel cool
Abusing prescription and over the counter drugs
“We are having a “skittles” party.
skittles = pills —> “Pharm Parties”
Homework: pp. 204, read p. 206-207/answer questions on p. 209
Student Loan Crisis, Part II
Activity #2: What We Leave Behind……
Video #2 – same family
Key Vocabulary
Predatory Lending
Clue: Alligators are predators. They could chew your arm off if you are caught by them.
Sallie Mae is a lending agency that is accused of predatory lending because they loan students lots of money and after the students graduate, the interest is very high. (Example: Original loan: 45,000 / Outstanding balance (after graduation) – 60,000)
Predatory lending is very common in Asia because there are issues with gambling and lenders take advantage of people who lose money.
Private Loan vs. Federal Aid Loan (FAFSA)
FAFSA = Government; Income based; If you die, the loan is forgiven/discharged.
Example: Jack Nicholson film of a guy with a terminal illness who takes advantage of loans.
Private Loans = Easier to borrow lots of money. If you die, the people who co-sign the loan will have to pay it back.
Co-sign – Officially assuming responsibility for repaying a loan
A young lady’s father cosigned a $50,000 loan for her college education, but he passed away when he was serving our country in Afghanistan. Now she is stuck paying everything by herself and is in big trouble.
Deceased = dead
Liver Failure = liver has shut down
(body part) failure = body part has shut down.
balance = amount of money you have or owe
When Timothy first took out $30,000 loan, his balance was $30,000. But now that he has graduated and has not been able to make regular payments because he is unemployed, his outstanding balance is now $45,000
because of high interest.
outstanding balance
Discharge (a loan)
Forgive (a loan)
Interest (noun)
garnish wages
David is a graduate teaching assistant and a PhD candidate at a major university in the US. He was paid $4,000 for teaching two classes for one semester. However, the payroll office called him and said that they paid him $1,000 too much. He really should have gotten $3,000. They told him that he has to pay $1,000 back, but he can’t. So, they said that they will garnish his wages until they get that $1,000 back.
If you owe a lot of money and you haven’t paid back the money in a satisfactory amount of time for the lender, then they might garnish your wages.
bankruptcy = You have nothing and most loans are forgiven
With some private lending companies, you can’t file for bankruptcy if you still owe them money. They will still call and ask you to pay.
How old was the woman when she passed away and what did she die from?
After the daughter’s death, what kind of problem has her parents had with the loan companies?
How many children did the woman who died leave behind?
Why do the parents of the deceased woman now owe $200,000?
Discussion Question:
Why do you think some of those private lending companies have been harrassing the young woman’s parents, even though their daughter was dead?
2. What kind of requirements do you think co-signers should have in order to co-sign a loan with someone?
3. What other kinds of “predatory lending” situations have you heard of?
Life Insurance
If a college student’s parents want to co-sign a loan, the parents can take out their life insurance policy for extra money.
Default: Student Loan Documentary
Other Predatory Lending Situations
Example: Ukraine – home owners and different types of currency with loans (dollars) and pay (another form of currency)
A young lady took out a loan in dollars, but she is paid in another form of currency and now she owes the same amount in dollars, but the exchange rate between the dollar and her currency have changed, so she owes a lot of money.
Payday loan/Title loan/Reverse Mortgage
Pawn Shop
Collections Agency – If you owe an outstanding balance, they will buy your loan from the company you loan from and then will call you and ask you to pay. Sometimes, they will yell at you.
Homework: p. 169. Next week, we will talk about how to overcome objections – this is a wonderful life skill to possess because we are ALWAYS selling ourselves.
Final Paper
Introductory Paragraph:
Describe how a teacher and underage student relationship in Mongolia compares to the United States. I chose this topic because of ………….Student and teacher relationships are different in these ways: 1) Legal 2) Consequences of the relationship 3) How it impacts the family system and other relationships
Body #1
(Write about the law and teacher and underage student relationships for both countries)
Body #2
(Consequences…)
Body #3
(Write about their relationships)
Conclusion
*summarizing & solution to the issue
Links to resources I like
New York Times
CNN
ABC News
Possibly unreliable sources (?)
FOX News (?) (Very conservative) (Pro- George W. Bush – Republican)
Problems as a result of peer pressure:
*Drinking
*Academic dishonesty
*Laziness
*Unhealthy lifestyle habits (example: Eating with friends at 3 a.m.)
* Eating Disorders (Compulsive overeating, Anorexia Nervosa, Bullimia, Chew and Spit)
Student Loan Crisis: Corinthian Colleges and Other Issues
Activity #1: The Corinthian 100
Directions: Discuss these questions with a partner with information related to the article about “Debt Strikers”.
Who are The Corinthian 100?
Why is The Corinthian 100 meeting with the Department of Education and what are they going to ask the DOE to do for them?
What happened to Corinthian College in July 2014?
Supplementary Vocabulary
Cancel debt / Forgive a loan
For-Profit
Not-for-profit / non-profit
Defraud (verb) *The students felt defrauded by Corinthian colleges because they were promised a great education, but they graduated without a job.
(deceive, lie to someone, rip off)
Fraud
*She was arrested for fraud because she pretended to be an officer to get the man’s license number.*
The Corinthian 100 believe that their school is a huge fraud because they pretend to care and provide a great education.
(falsehood, a lie)
Allege (verb) / alleged (adj)/ allegedly (adverb)
The man is in court because a neighbor alleged that he stole her lawnmower.
The students allege that Corinthian Colleges has defrauded them.
(an accusation made without final proof)
Default
When you graduate from college and you have student loans to pay back, you must pay them back in a timely manner. If you default on your loan payments, you could have very bad credit and you might not be able to purchase a house or get a cell phone.
Tony graduated from law school with $150,000 in debt. However, he could only find a job that paid $50,000 a year and he could barely pay his bills. He received an angry letter from the lending agency because he has defaulted the two last payments.
Kinds of student loans
Government Sponsored
FAFSA (Borrow from the US Department of Education) (Lower interest rate)
Private Lending Companies/Private loans
*You can borrow more money, BUT the rules are stricter with paying back money* (higher interest)
Usually people borrow from private and government sponsored lending groups.
If you default a lot, a collections agency might call you and possibly threaten to sue you.
Critical Thinking
What should be the solution for the problem that The Corinthian 100 are facing and why?
Why do you think college in the US is so expensive? How wisely do you think the money is being spent?
What are your thoughts about allowing people the opportunity to attend a junior/community college for free?
Recruiting Videos – Watch these videos. What demographic was Everest
College, one of The Corinthian Colleges, trying to recruit?
Video #1
Video #2 Video #3
Demographic: 1) Low income (appearance/past experience/minimum wage) 2) Someone who feels like they are below their potential (example: they feel lazy, working a McJob) 3) African American
If someone dies and they still owe student loans, do you think the family has to pay it back?
If someone co-signs a private loan and you die before paying it back, that person will have to pay it back.
News Video from a former student. What was the difference between the video’s promises and this lady’s experience?
Activity #2: What We Leave Behind……
How old was the woman when she passed away and what did she die from?
After the daughter’s death, what kind of problem has her parents had with the loan companies?
Here are the notes:
Notes 4/2/15
History of Racism in the United States of America and the world
Parts of the United States
The West Coast, The Southwest, The Midwest, The South, The East Coast
Brief History of how slaves were captured and brought to the US
(Movie about slavery: Roots)
Review segregation (Slavery (1800’s) to 1950’s) and apartheid
Martin Luther King Jr – “I Have a Dream”
Martin Luther King Jr Assassination
Desegregation of Schools (September 1957 – Little Rock, Arkansas)
Positive Changes
One example: Historically Black Colleges such as Howard University have become popular for prospective students who are not black.
Racism Problems in 2015
Sigma Alpha Epsilon Fraternity Racist Chant
Brainstorm Racist Terminology
Cheating on Job
Stealing someone’s idea (Od’s example her friend with two levels of bosses, mid level boss took the friend’s work and showed it to the top boss)
Steal Money → 1) Moving money from company’s account to your personal account and lie about the cash flow.
2) Money Laundering – When money made from corrupt means (example: drug dealing) is reported as being made from a legal business (example: garbage business).
Thomas and Patty are underground black market drug dealers and they make $10 million a year from selling drugs. But, on their taxes, they own two restaurants and tell their accountant that the money is made from the restaurants. Their restaurants haven’t made any money
because there hasn’t been enough business. Their “restaurant business” is a front for their income.
Prejudice
Kinds of prejudice
*Economic prejudice (looking at people)
*Language prejudice
*Ethnic Prejudice
*Racial prejudice*
*Health prejudice —> Discrimination against disabled people.
*Age prejudice → Discrimination against older people who are looking for job.
Racist Terminology – These are terrible words that are used to insult certain groups of people. For example, when I was in high school, students called me a “chink”. We talked about these because it is important to be able to understand and identify inappropriate and offensive terminology in American English.
pickaninny (bad word for a black person)
negro (bad)
nigger/niggah
boy (Example: A white college student got in trouble for calling his black classmate “boy”)
coon
Asian
Chinese person = Chink
Korean person = Gook
Middle Eastern person = Camel/Sandnigger
Caucasian
Cracker
White Trash
Other prejudice terms:
thug (tough person)
Bill is a very big and bald Latino man and he has an earring in his ear. People think he is a thug and that he commits crimes, but he is actually a very nice man who is a school teacher.
Homework: Research paper topic (subjective/objective)
(Pick a topic and explain why you choose it) –(Introduction & conclusion
Be prepared to discuss the students who refuse to pay back their student loans because they feel as if the school lied to them about education quality and job placement Article Link: Grads refusing to pay their student loans have a meeting with the DOE Optional video about the problem with student debt in the US.
emilykiangeslclass 