October Week Four:

This week's conversation was based on a great NYT series called 24 Hours in America, highlighting some of those aspects of life in my country that are not often represented in the media.  Check out the full article here.

Listening:
Learners can try a listening activity from Voice of America Learning English called American's Favorite Thing to Do. For more practice, try Voice of America's People in America.

For original version, check out the This American Life episode 24 Hours at the Golden Apple, In fact, many of This American Life's many episodes can be interesting snippets of life in the U.S.

Reading:
Learners can try one of many reading comprehension activities on the website ESLAmerica. Or check out an activity about the cost of college education in the U.S.

For original version try Fear in America, or Growing up in America.

Writing:
Most people have a lot of conceptions about the U.S. due to its widespread representation in pop culture such as film, movies, and music videos.  Please write an essay about what images are often represented and wether you think these are accurate or not.
Best,
Kelly

 This week we continued some of our work from last week about housing, but focusing more on problems with housing (mortage crisis, gentrification) and different styles of houses in other countries.

Listening:
Learners can try an activity about Living in a Tiny Space. For something a little more challenging, try a listening activity about Refinancing Mortgage Loans.

For original version, try a short video about Why is Hong Kong's Housing so Expensive? Or for something longer, House Rules from This American Life.

Reading:
Learners can try a reading comprehension activity about buying and renting houses or a downloadable PDF to read about different priorities in housing: Reading house student worksheet

For original version try one of several articles from the Huffington Post about the Tiny House Movement.

Writing:
Please write an article about how housing as changed over the last decades in Spain: buying, renting, living with family, unconventional living situations.  What is the future of housing in your country?
Best,
Kelly

Last week, we got off to a great start with our English routines!  This week, we got down to business with our usual class dynamic.  We talked about houses, real estate, buying and renting.

Listening:
Learners can try one of the following listening activities:

1. Apartments for Rent
2. Suyeon's New Apartment
3. Renting an Apartment

For original version, try one of the talks from TED.com having to do with real estate.

Reading:
Learners can read an article about how people in New Zealand have taken measures to aid their housing crisis.

For something a bit more challenging, you could try any of the articles from Longreads about housing.
 
Writing:
For writing this week, try writing a detailed description of your house.  You could check some of the descriptions on Airbnb.com to get some ideas about some of the vocabulary and structures commonly used for this task.
Best,
Kelly

 Welcome to the 2018-2019 school year at Meetinghouse!  It was great to see old students again and to welcome new participants into our conversation groups.

At the beginning of the year is a great time to check out my big MASTER LIST OF RESOURCES, ideas of where to practice your English online.

This week we talked about routines and habits, and will try to apply some of these ideas into forming a good routine for our English study this year.

Listening:
Learners can try a short listening activity about past habits.  Or try any of these listening activities where people talk about their daily routines.

For original version, try a podcast episode about the Power of Habit, or watch a Tim Ferris video about creating a better morning routine.

Speaking:
Learners can try some articles that might motivate you establishing your own practice: 5 Habits of effective English Language Learners from the British Council, or Habits for Successful English.

For original version try any of the following articles from the Guardian:

'Anyone can change any habit':

How to change your habits
 
The five habits that can add more than a decade to your life
Writing:
At the beginning of the new school year is a great time to make a written study plan about the new habits and routines you want to incorporate in your English practice this year.

Please write a composition outlining your plan.
Best,
Kelly