We are focusing our conversation this week on politics. This week, Trump's impeachment trial which kicks off this week.  Who are the players, the evidence, the charges.  What do we predict will happen?  

Next week we will be discussing the other side, the upcoming Democratic primary elections in New Hampshire.

Listening:
Learners should try an audio from VOA English called Historic Impeachment Trial begins or US Supreme Court Justice will Impact Impeachment.

For original version listening, I recommend the podcast Trump, Inc.

Reading:
Check out an article adapted for learners from Breaking News English about impeachment.

For original version, try some articles from the BBC: Impeachment explained, A Very Simple Guide, Who is Who in the Trump Impeachment Trial.
 
Writing:
Please write an article this week outlining what is happening with impeachment.  Do you have an opinion or a prediction about what will happen?
Best,
Kelly

This week we discussed restaurants, ordering out, and how to decipher the complicated descriptions on modern restaurant menus.

Listening:
Learners can first try their hand at some adapted listening exercises such as Eating out or Ordering food in a café.

For original version listening, check out some episodes from Anthony Bourdain's show No Reservations: Spain, Mexico
 Paris.

Reading:
Learners should try an activity from British Council about ordering while eating out.  Then you can try, What a British Person Should Know when Eating Out in America.

Read some original version menus from Portland, Oregon: Le Pigeon, Cheryl's on 12th, 

Writing:
This week, write a menu of your own restaurant, thinking of evocative descriptions of the types of meals you tend to cook at home.
Best,
Kelly

Welcome back to class in 2020! I hope you enjoyed the holiday break, and had some time to relax and celebrate with your friends and family. Now it's time to get back to our English practice!

In honor of the new year, and in a spirit of optimism that we will stick to those new year's resolutions, we talked about how to form good habits and how to break the bad.

Listening:
Learners can try something from the listening lab --Smoking: Kicking the Habit

For original version, try a recent podcast episode from Hidden Brain called Creatures of Habit: How Habits Show Who We Are -- And Who We Become.

Reading:
Learners can try the reading comprehension article Make Health a Habit.

For original version, check out the article How Culture Molds Habits of Thought. Or try an article from the Guardian, Is It Weird to Eat the Same Sandwich Every Day?

Writing:

1. What do you consider your worst habit to be? Describe it in detail, including how and under what circumstances you engage in it.
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2. Perform a word association exercise with the name of your habit. Then, freewrite for ten minutes about all of the concepts and images associated with it.
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3. Why do you consider this habit “bad” or “worst”? What negative consequences come with it, for you and for those around you?
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4. When you do whatever this “worst” habit is, in what ways do you punish yourself? Or do you? How does having this habit affect your self-image and esteem?
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5. What essential inner need does your habit fulfill? In other words, in what ways does indulging in this habit work for you; what are its positive aspects? Think about when you first began this habit. What were it’s positive aspects then? What did you achieve for yourself by doing it?
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6. What is the opposite of your habit? For example, whether your habit is to procrastinate, to drink, or to bite your nails, what do you consider its opposite to be? Freewrite for ten minutes about this opposite quality or habit and what you think your life might be like. Do you feel resistance to your habit’s opposite? Write about the resistance. Who and/or what events does it remind you of?
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7. Write about what your life would be like without your habit. Would you prefer a life without it? If so, make a list of five things you’d need to do to change it. If not make a list of five things you’d need to do to find more acceptance from yourself and/or others.

Best,
Kelly

This week was our last week before the Christmas holidays and we took the time to discuss the last decade in review and our plans for the year ahead.

I am taking advantage of this opportunity to thank you for another wonderful year at Meetinghouse. Enjoy your holidays of your friends and family and we will see you again in 2020!
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Don't forget that we follow the school calendar, which means that our first day back will be Wednesday January 8th.