On Language & Lingusitics

Dear Students:

The extinction of languages is more common than you might know.  Below are some reading and listening opportunities for your consideration on this subject.  Your task is simple.  You should write a reaction paper after checking out at least two of the following sources.  You don't have to listen to all of them, but you do have to incorporate some of what these sources discuss into your answer.  Bonus points awarded to those papers that demonstrate creativity, thought, and (of course!) vocabulary from Chapter 14 in Essential Academic Vocabulary!  All responses should be typed.  Be sure to underline or embolden the words you use!

The overall question:  Is it tragic when a language becomes extinct?  Why or why not?

The best answer will get a special prize.

http://www.npr.org/blogs/codeswitch/2014/01/07/260555554/what-happens-when-a-languages-last-monolingual-speaker-dies

http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2013/12/30/258376009/how-language-seems-to-shape-ones-view-of-the-world

http://www.npr.org/blogs/13.7/2013/01/10/168878237/jared-diamond-a-new-guinea-campfire-and-why-we-should-want-to-speak-five-languag

http://www.ted.com/talks/keith_chen_could_your_language_affect_your_ability_to_save_money.html

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1TJD97x84vM

The 50th Anniversary of the March on Washington

Students,

Fifty years ago this Wednesday, 250,000 Americans marched on Washington in an effort to promote racial equality and to put an end to racial discrimination.  Martin Luther King delivered his most famous speech, "I Have a Dream" on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial.  Here are some reading, listening and video links that will help you better understand this important moment in America's past and hopefully how this event relates to things that happen today.

Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have a Dream Speech:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=smEqnnklfYs

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/10264375/Martin-Luther-Kings-march-on-Washington-commemorated.html

http://www.nbcnews.com/id/45755884/vp/52831723

http://news.cincinnati.com/article/20130827/EDIT01/308250023/King-s-words-live-on?nclick_check=1

http://www.democracynow.org/2013/8/21/50_years_later_the_untold_history

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

http://www.npr.org/2013/08/27/214224111/clarence-b-jones-a-guiding-hand-behind-i-have-a-dream

Reading Short Stories

Students, did you know that there are fictional stories that you can read that are not as long as books? Check out the link below for a collection of some of the most famous short stories ever written for the English language.  As you read, be sure to focus specifically on reading comprehension questions and any new vocabulary that you find.  

http://www.americanliterature.com/short-story-collections

Let / Make / Help / Have / Get ?

Students--

In writing, I often notice that some students have trouble using the verbs let, make, have and help correctly.  Below are some websites for additional information and exercises you can do to study how to use the verbs, and there are also exercises that will help you practice.  Feel free to write some sentences to show your LTC teacher that you can use this grammar point effectively!

For Instruction:

VIDEO:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5x-Sw46Nt1w
http://www.englishpage.com/minitutorials/let.html
http://www.englishlessonsbrighton.co.uk/let-get-have-make-verbs/
http://www.elc.byu.edu/classes/aoyama/grammar4/aoyg4f05/charts/causative_verbs.pdf

For Practice:

http://www.perfect-english-grammar.com/let-or-make-exercise-1.html
http://www.englishexercises.org/makeagame/viewgame.asp?id=7056
http://www.englishpage.com/minitutorials/letexercise.htm

Masters: Reading - Biology

Keystone Species: How Predators Create Abundance and Stability

LS Documentaries List

Dear Students, here are some links to some documentaries that are acceptable for our first speaking evaluation / project.  Some of them are links to actual videos, while others are merely links to information about the video.  You may need to go out and get the documentary yourself if you can't find it online.  If you have any questions, direct them to briantheteacher@gmail.com.

Waste Land
http://www.hulu.com/watch/397079

The Least of These:
http://www.hulu.com/watch/178293

30 Years From Here
http://www.hulu.com/watch/369234

Super-Size Me
http://www.hulu.com/watch/63283

Lost Angels:  Skid Row is My Home
http://www.hulu.com/watch/460340

Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead
http://www.hulu.com/watch/289122

Park Avenue:  Money, Power, and the American Dream
http://www.hulu.com/watch/417228

The Flaw:  What Happens When the Rich Get Richer?
http://www.hulu.com/watch/424545

Listening: Critical Thinking Questions.

Dear Master's / LS Students:  See how well you can do answering ONE of the following questions below!  If you answer two or more questions well, there may even be a bonus point waiting for you tomorrow!

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=6933763

1. Describe what Gaman art is. What does it look like? Why was it made? What does it teach us about culture(s) in the past? What does Gaman mean to Japanese culture today?

http://www.npr.org/2013/01/31/170781602/graffitied-gnomes-allowed-to-roam-on-oakland-utility-poles 2.

2.  What are being painted on utilty poles all voer Oakland?  Why are they being painted and what do they represent?  Why do you think the painter prefers to be anonymous?  Why does this anonymous painter do what he does?

http://www.npr.org/2011/08/08/139086119/in-india-snake-charmers-are-losing-their-sway

3.  Briefly describe what snake charming is and explain why the practice is controversial.  Do Snake Charmers have a future in India?  Do you agree with the practice of snake-charming as a traditional folk art?  Should the practice be discontinued?  Why or why not?

LS - Module 1 - Quiz 1: Redux

Dear 110 Students, please take a look at this test and re-do it using better, more detailed paragraphs.  Please do not forget to use "For example" or "such as" in each paragraph as we discussed in class today!  Please all remember that bonus points depend on how well you re-write this assignment!

Here's the link to your download:
LS - Module 1 - Quiz 1: Redux

Family Dinner: Treasured Tradition Or Bygone Ideal?

Dear LS Students,

Please listen to the linked article below and develop your three questions for tomorrow's class!  I look forward to our discussion!

Family Dinner: Treasured Tradition Or Bygone Ideal?

Explore Cincinnati: The Freedom Center

Watch National Underground Railroad Freedom Center on PBS. See more from CET Presents.

Questions:

1. What was the "Underground Railroad?" (You may need to do additional research.)

2. How many slaves used the Underground Railroad?

3. When did the Freedom Center open? (year)

Advanced Listening & Note-Taking Activity

Jane Goodall:  What separates us from the chimpanzees?
Jane Goodall is perhaps the world's most famous primatologist. Watch her as she describes the differences between humans and chimpanzees. Take careful notes!

QUIZ REVIEW: SSP 107 Study Guide

Click here to check out the SSP 107 Study Guide

Sound Ideas Listening: In the U.S., consumers are the food wasters

Click here for a link to the full story with transcript.

SSP 107 Listening: These Days, Family Trees Look More Like A Forest :

These Days, Family Trees Look More Like A Forest : NPR

Visit the link below, listen and read along.

http://www.npr.org/2011/07/05/137627840/these-days-family-trees-look-more-like-a-forest

The traditional family tree has grown much more complicated in recent years. With increases in unmarried and same-sex couples, surrogates, and sperm donors, many families now organize two family trees — genetic and emotional. And some schools now skip the traditional classroom project altogether.

GILMAN: QUIZ 1 STUDY GUIDE

Download Brian's SSP 107 Study Guide here: https://docs.google.com/open?id=0By3oRznojLJXT1dDb2FtLU9STUE You may need OpenOffice Writer to open it!

Corporate "Greenwashing"

Write and answer three good questions about this video:

Short Listening: A Controversial Nike Ad

1.  What is the title of the advertisement?

2.  Who is in the ad?  What is he doing?

3.  What is the message of the ad?

4.  Was the boy's experience negative or positive?  How do you know?

5.  What are "haters?"

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Vocabulary / Phrases from this Listening
-------------
campaign
inspired / inspirational / motivational
support
message
audience
experience
emotional
embarrassment
overweight
critical / critics / criticize
exploitation
discriminatory
"sculpted bodies"
"brilliant advertising"
"all of the above"
to "sweep [something] under the rug"
to lose weight

The Diane Rehm Show's Friday News Roundup

Students, listen to the Friday News Round Up on the Diane Rehm show and write a reaction paper (about one page written) to one specific story that is discussed during the one-hour program.  Listen to the entire program!  Take notes!  See how much you can understand!

Yale Lecture 3: Households: Structures, Priorities, Strategies, Roles

Watch the video of Yale Professor Wrightson below and take notes to build up your note-taking skills! This video is about households and how they were structured in Early Modern England.

Watch it on FreeVideoLectures.Com

Wade Davis: Dreams from endangered cultures