welcoming visitors

read the following text and then practice with a partner

Welcoming
Welcome to Cando Enterprises.
Welcome to London. I'm John Taylor.
Meeting someone you don't know
1. Patricia Murphy?
Yes. Hi, I'm Kevin Chen of Myotex Industries.Welcome to Taiwan.

2. Are you Mr. Blanks?
Yes, I am.
I'm Jane Placid. (We talked by telephone.)Welcome to Sydney.It's nice to meet you in person.
Nice meeting you too. How was your flight?
Okay, but very long.

3. You must be Ms. Terius.
That's right.
It's a pleasure to meet you. I'm Brad Wilson.Welcome to Suntech.
Thank you Did you have any problem finding this place?
No, your directions were very clear.

source:http://www.eslgold.com/business/useful_expressions/welcoming_visitors.html

reflection: it was an interesting activity.

listening

go to http://www.eslgold.com/business/useful_expressions/describing_business_activities.htmland click to listen the audio and answer the questions

What do you do at ABC Company?
I am in charge of marketing.
I'm responsible for sales.
I program computers.
I recruit and train employees.


What does your company do?
We design software.
We build storage units.
We produce small appliances.
We're in the insurance busines

source: http://www.eslgold.com/business/useful_expressions/describing_business_activities.html

reflection: it was an interesting activity because we study that in FCA

practicing speaking

Conflict resolution role cards


Canadian:
You are a Canadian man. You are having your first date with a Korean exchange student. You took her to a diner. Your hamburger and coke come to about 10 dollars so you take out 13 dollars. Your date ordered spaghetti and meatballs, garlic bread, and a coke. That comes to 14.00 so you ask your date for 17.00. She should actually put in 17.50, but you want to seem like a nice guy, not a cheap guy. This should improve your chances of getting to kiss your date good night.When you ask her for the money, it seems to upset her. Use the 4 steps to solve this problem.

1. Both people explain what they find unusual about the other's behavior.2. Each person realizes the other's cultural perceptions.3. Each person learns how the problem would be handled in the other's culture.4. Together, the two people develop conflict solutions.


Korean:
You are a Korean exchange student. You are on your first date in Canada. You've just enjoyed a great dinner, but the meals in Canadian diners are too big and you couldn't finish. Your date helped you by eating one of your two large meatballs and one of your 3 pieces of garlic bread. Now he's asking you for 17.00 but you don't understand why he asked you out on a date and is unwilling to pay for your meal, especially on the first date. He should pay for the meal and you should buy coffee afterwards. Plus he wants you to pay for everything you ordered, even though he had one of your meatballs and one piece of garlic bread. Is he cheap or is there some cultural conflict at work here? Use the 4 steps to solve the problem.
1. Both people explain what they find unusual about the other's behavior.2. Each person realizes the other's cultural perceptions.3. Each person learns how the problem would be handled in the other's culture.4. Together, the two people develop conflict solutions.

listen to the song I miss you(blink 182) and complete the lyricsc

Hello there, the angel from my nightmare
the shadow in the background of the morgue
the unsuspecting victim of darkness in the valley
we can live like Jack and Sally if we want
where you can always find me
we'll have Halloween on Christmas
and in the night we'll wish this never ends
we'll wish this never ends
(I miss you, miss you)
(I miss you, miss you)
Where are you and I'm so sorry
I cannot sleep, I cannot dream tonight
I need somebody and always
this sick strange darkness
comes creeping on so haunting every time
and as I stared I counted
webs from all the spiders
catching things and eating their insides
like indecision to call you
and hear your voice of treason
will you come home and stop this pain tonight
stop this pain tonight
Don't waste your time on me you're already
the voice inside my head (I miss you, miss you)
don't waste your time on me you're already
the voice inside my head (I miss you, miss you)
Don't waste your time on me you're already
the voice inside my head (I miss you, miss you)
don't waste your time on me you're already
the voice inside my head (I miss you, miss you)
Don't waste your time on me you're already
the voice inside my head (I miss you, miss you)
don't waste your time on me you're already
the voice inside my head
(I miss you, miss you)
(I miss you, miss you)
(I miss you, miss you)
(I miss you, miss you)
(I miss you, miss you)

call my cousin

one month ago I called my cousin, who is living in L.A. I was talking with him for 30 minutes, and he told me that he was happy there, and how was the school, and his new life. He told me that he missed all the family. And because he is studing english, he want to practice and me too. so it was fun

reflection: in this activity a practice my english with a person who is living in US and a tried to explain my cousin and speak in the best way I can do. jijiji

read and answer the questions

The hardest language

People often ask which is the most difficult language to learn, and it is not easy to answer because there are many factors to take into consideration. Firstly, in a first language the differences are unimportant as people learn their mother tongue naturally, so the question of how hard a language is to learn is only relevant when learning a second language.
A native speaker of Spanish, for example, will find Portuguese much easier to learn than a native speaker of Chinese, for example, because Portuguese is very similar to Spanish, while Chinese is very different, so first language can affect learning a second language. The greater the differences between the second language and our first, the harder it will be for most people to learn. Many people answer that Chinese is the hardest language to learn, possibly influenced by the thought of learning the Chinese writing system, and the pronunciation of Chinese does appear to be very difficult for many foreign learners. However, for Japanese speakers, who already use Chinese characters in their own language, learning writing will be less difficult than for speakers of languages using the Roman alphabet.
Some people seem to learn languages readily, while others find it very difficult. Teachers and the circumstances in which the language is learned also play an important role, as well as each learner's motivation for learning. If people learn a language because they need to use it professionally, they often learn it faster than people studying a language that has no direct use in their day to day life.
Apparently, British diplomats and other embassy staff have found that the second hardest language is Japanese, which will probably come as no surprise to many, but the language that they have found to be the most problematic is Hungarian, which has 35 cases (forms of a nouns according to whether it is subject, object, genitive, etc). This does not mean that Hungarian is the hardest language to learn for everyone, but it causes British diplomatic personnel, who are generally used to learning languages, the most difficulty. However, Tabassaran, a Caucasian language has 48 cases, so it might cause more difficulty if British diplomats had to learn it.
Different cultures and individuals from those cultures will find different languages more difficult. In the case of Hungarian for British learners, it is not a question of the writing system, which uses a similar alphabet, but the grammatical complexity, though native speakers of related languages may find it easier, while struggling with languages that the British find relatively easy.
No language is easy to learn well, though languages which are related to our first language are easier. Learning a completely different writing system is a huge challenge, but that does not necessarily make a language more difficult than another. In the end, it is impossible to say that there is one language that is the most difficult language in the world.


Questions

Q1 - The question of how hard a language is to learn is relevant to both first and second language acquisition.
True False

Q2 - Portuguese is definitely easier than Chinese.
True False

Q3 - A Japanese speaker may well find the Chinese writing system easier than a speaker of a European language. True False

Q4 - The Hungarian alphabet causes problems for British speakers.
True False

Q5 - Hungarian is the hardest language in the world.
True False

Q6 - Hungarian has as many cases as Tabassaran.
True False

Q7 - Many British diplomats learn Tabassaran.
True False

Q8 - The writer thinks that learning new writing systems is easy.
True False

source:
http://www.usingenglish.com/comprehension/5.html

reflection:
in this activity I practice my reading and comprehension. It was easy, becuase the topic was interesting, and is linked to the study of another language.

write a controversial essay about the altenative medicine.

well, the alternative medicine is a kind of nature medicine, like plants and things like that. Is it a good way to cure our diseases???This topic have two sides, the people who are for amd the people who are against.
Some people think that if the traditional doesn´t work they will try with the alternative medicine.
somo of the advantages of the alternative medicines are the cost of the medicine, because is cheaper than the traditional.
In the other hand, the traditional medicine is prescribed by a doctor, and is more secure than the alternative. Some people think that if they need to choose some of this kind of medicine, they prefer the traditional.
In clonclusion, Im not against or for the alternative medicine, I use tre traditional, but I think that if some day the traditional medicine doesnt work. I dont have any problem to take the alternative.

reflection:
This kind of exercise, help me to practice my writing, and the way I do my essays. Last week in the class we did a presentation about a controversial topic, and it was something like this...