April 28-May 4

I found it very interesting that many of you have known what you wanted to major in since you were a child. I didn't find this career (that I love!) as an ESL instructor until I was almost 30. Our topic this week is cause and effect. With the end of the semester quickly approaching, the SWEET test, final exams, plans to go back to your country or travel and lots to do, you may be feeling stress. What are the effects of stress on you?

April 21-27

You all had very interesting personal experiences that support the saying "never judge a book by its cover". Thanks for sharing them! This week we are writing a process essay. For this week's blog, can you tell us the steps you took when choosing your major or profession.

April 14-20

"Never judge a book by its cover," the old saying goes. It's not always so easy to be as open-minded in judging people. The clothes someone wears, the color of their skin, their sex, their age—all of these aspects of a person are like the cover of a book. If for some reason we don't like what we see when we first meet someone, it can be hard for us to see the real material inside. Write about a time when your first opinion about someone changed.

April 7-13

It was very interesting to read about your inherited personality traits. This week, I want you to comment on the quotation "know thyself". This quote was stated by the Greek philosopher Socrates (470-399 B.C.). What does it mean to you?

Question for April 2nd-5th

After a little break from blogging, we are ready to go again. Our next chapter is about "nature versus nurture". Can you give me one or two examples of personality traits that you got from your parents? Also, do you think these are good traits or not? For example, one of my sons is a serious thinker like his dad. He never accepts an easy answer. He wants to know who, what, why, when and how for everything we are doing. I think this is a good trait although it does drive me crazy sometimes!

Week 8

Thank you for all your great advice for our new students. I will have them read it next week. We read about astrology last week for our adverb clause worksheets. Astrology is one way to predict the future. Describe another way to predict the future or to predict good or bad luck in your culture. Do you believe in this?

Week 7 Question

Our writing this week is about adapting to a new environment. New students will be joining our classes in two weeks. What one piece of advice would you have for them to help them quickly adapt to life at SAL and in San Jose?

Week 6 question

This question is not related to our upcoming writing assignment. In March, we will have Spring Break. We have a week and a day off of classes. This is a long break and a great chance for you to travel or do something special. My kids are off of school the same week, so we will all go to Florida to visit friends. Have you thought about what you will do? Have you made any plans?

Week 5 question

I truly enjoyed reading about the special people in your lives that encouraged you to study English in the United States. For many of you, it was your parents assistance and insistence. I hope to be so supportive of my 2 sons when they want to venture abroad. Our next chapter is about "Passages of Life". How does your culture welcome new babies? In the United States, people send gifts and cards and come and visit the baby. Many people bring food for the family and offer to run errands or help take care of other siblings. The mom and dad can have some rest and some special time with the new baby.

Week 4 Question

Reading about your best holiday experiences was very interesting for me! For this week's question, remember to use the correct paragraph format that we have just learned- topic sentence, supporting sentences and concluding sentence. Were you encouraged to come to the United States to study? Who encouraged you and why?

Week 3

This week we will begin our new chapter. Our topic is holidays. In one paragraph, tell me about a memorable holiday that you have had. My memorable holiday experience was 16 years ago on Valentines' Day when my husband asked me to marry him. I said yes!