To Kill a Mockingbird

To Kill a Mockingbird
“Until I feared I would lose it, I never loved to read. One does not love breathing.”

Wednesday, November 9, 2016

A surprising result

Recently I heard Donald Duck was elected President of the United States, but that was not the only surprising result I found out about recently...

Dr. Strange, a comic book figure, was made into a pretty good movie, or so I thought. I was expecting another disappointing superhero movie, but this was a visually stunning and interesting movie to me. Perhaps "Donald" will be surprisingly good hero as well, and much better than I expect. It was the first time I got an election wrong since 1984, but now that I have been out of the USA since 1993 perhaps I have to ask about how people feel back there.

And thank you for answering some questions I asked you in a recent survey. They helped me to think of some questions I want to ask for this blog assignment. I have given you some sample answers.

Please write between 2 sentences and one paragraph for each question from A to E, and then leave one comment on another student's blog before the second exam.

A Write about a recent movie you have seen that you enjoyed, and why you liked it. For example, I saw Dr. Strange with Benedict Cumberbatch, and thought he did a great job showing the change of attitude of a doctor and scientist to someone who is disabled and learning to overcome his limitations. However, I know some people were disappointed that there were not more Chinese people cast as actors in the movie, but since I had no background with the comics, I had no feeling about this. I will be interested to read the comics in the future because I saw the movie, and am considering seeing it in 3D.

B Write about a learning goal you have for yourself over the next year. For me, I would like to improve my own reading speed and comprehension in English. So I have some books to help me and a friend who is better at reading who can help me. One web site he recommended is called Spreeder, and that helps you read faster.

C What effect do you think playing sports has on learning? How much do you think the mind and body work together? The Western idea is that the mind and body work together, so if you have a strong body it can really help your mind perform better. In sports like chess or martial arts you can see mind and body working together, I believe, but what is your opinion?

D What effect do you think playing a musical instrument has on learning a foreign language? What are some things you have noticed about good language learners? My personal opinion is that learning to play a musical instrument is not only fun, but has a positive influence on both language learning and math. It also can develop patience and persistence, not to mention creativity. Playing piano was one of the best things I did when I was younger, and I really want to get back into it again when I find a little more time every day. I have noticed that about half of our class members are musicians, so don’t you agree? Oh, another thing is that people who already know a second language have an easier time learning a third. So if you already know Mandarin and Taiwanese, for example, learning English is a bit easier than if you only had known one language before. Do you agree?

E Would you be willing to use an audio book plus a PDF file to read any of the following books next semester?
Lord of the Flies
Lord of the Rings

   It would be easier if we did not have to order the physical books, or could buy them ourselves in Taiwan at a book shop if we wanted them, or print out key pages if we needed them. We could probably have just one or two copies and it would be enough along with the classroom computer where there would be a PDF and a recording. Some classes do more reading or listening independently, or just read key pages instead of the whole book together. I would like to consider it. Or we could possibly read different books, meaning two or three people would read the same book and not the whole class one book. Do you have any opinions?





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