Something I like to do occasionally is have my students brainstorm some of the games they used to play as children, and by games I’m referring to outdoor and/or playground type games. What I’ve found is that my Taiwanese students used to play games that are in many ways very similar to, and in some [...]
Posts from ‘April, 2009’
CAPL: Culturally Authentic Pictorial Lexicon
Here’s a useful site if you’re looking for culturally authentic pictures: CAPL: Culturally Authentic Pictoral Lexicon Welcome to the Culturally Authentic Pictorial Lexicon, CAPL, the source for authentic images for language learning.
But only one person called to complain…
For some reason, this strikes me as funny: Cable glitch switches religious program to racy ad PHILADELPHIA – A Philadelphia cable network’s early morning broadcast of a Good Friday service at the Vatican abruptly changed to something wildly different — a 30-second “Girls Gone Wild” ad. Comcast spokesman Jeff Alexander says the 2 a.m. Friday [...]
Announced DUI checkpoints
The policy of announcing such checkpoints before the fact is worthy of discussion. I’m in favor of it for a variety of reasons, but what do you think? The Columbus Dispatch : DUI checkpoint in Gahanna tonight DUI checkpoint in Gahanna tonightFriday, April 10, 2009 9:47 AM THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH A sobriety checkpoint will be [...]
There’s a story here…
The Columbus Dispatch : Caskets found along Alum Creek Reservoir weren’t empty Caskets found along Alum Creek Reservoir weren’t emptyFriday, April 10, 2009 3:28 PM The Columbus DispatchDELAWARE, Ohio — It turns out the caskets uncovered along Alum Creek Reservoir yesterday weren’t empty after all. Army Corps of Engineers officials said at a news conference [...]
Obscene license plates
When I saw the headline for this story, my first thought was that the state would not let her use ILVTOFU because of the Chinese idiom 吃豆腐, or eat tofu. In that idiom, tofu refers to the soft, smooth body of a woman. Of course after reading the story, the license plate was banned for [...]
Wacky excuses for being late to work
This is clearly a corny article with an even cornier list of excuses, but it could serve to stimulate a fun activity. Working in small groups, I would first have students either choose one of the excuses or, better yet, make up a new one, perhaps one more relevant to local culture and living. Next, [...]
Abandoning the term ‘enemy combatant’ entails no significant policy change
This article might serve as a starting point for a discussion about euphemisms and persuasive language. Sacramento Statehouse Examiner: Abandoning the term ‘enemy combatant’ entails no significant policy change The Justice Department Friday announced it would no longer use the term 「enemy combatant」 to justify holding prisoners at the Guantánamo Bay detention facility. While on [...]
Surviving College Break
I was struck by how culturally significant this story is. It is of course written for an American audience, but I plan to use it with my Taiwanese students, asking them what elements of the list below and the story seem odd. The Columbus Dispatch : Not home alone: Perils of the college break Surviving [...]