English Language Center Insights - Summer 2013

Students and faculty rode the La Crosse Queen Cruise on July 17th

A Newsletter for and about our students and faculty

English Language Center Insights Summer 2013

The Dog Days of Summer in the ELC Written by Katie Subra

It has been a hot and hectic summer in the ELC, but that hasn’t slowed us down!

The ELC students (and staff) have been writing, revising, practicing, presenting, focusing, climbing, swimming, shopping, Ghana sliding, singing, cruising, memorizing, conversing, and working up a storm this summer. Despite record high temps and record high expectations, the ELC students are performing well both academically and aerobically! Read more about their perspectives on the following pages.

Idioms to learn ‘dog days of summer’: the hottest time in the summer when people usually slow down ‘working up a storm’: doing something with great intensity

Science Acad emy What is the Ghana Science Academy?

This summer, high school students from Accra, Ghana came to WSU for three actionpacked weeks. While here, they studied Science and College Prep. They also learned about the many ways that Winonans like to stay active and enjoy nature in the summer!

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More inside ‘In their own words’!

Student Perspectives…

Major reasons that people stop being friends Written by Alisa Zhukova There is one Russian proverb: ‘You don’t need to have 100 rubles, but You need to have 100 friends’. That’s why I have a lot of friends. But sometimes life is very cruel and people are not always whom they seem to be. And I would like to show you the most popular reasons that cause us to stop being friends.

To my mind, the most popular reason is jealousy. For example, when I was at school to get good grades was very easy but very hard for my friend.

That’s why she starts feeling jealousy. When people get older, they can become jealous if someone has a better job, a car, a house, etc. No matter how good friendship is between you two, if someone starts feeling jealous, your friendship will be ruined very quickly.

Tips for academic studies Written by Sunday Zhang

1. Learn about your professors and remember their names at beginning.

This is basic respect.

2. Let your instructor know who you are.

3. Check your email at least 3 times a There is also another very popular cause: distance. It’s hard to keep friendships going when your friends move to another place. That happened day. to me very often. Of course, not everyone agrees with me on this. Because 4. If you don't understand something, they think at the beginning due to the Internet and technology, we can just ask. Don't be shy. continue to contact each other by email, letters, and phone calls, sending 5. Learn how to use all university cards on the holidays. But I still think eventually, we’ll find new friends resources. Such as the library, tutors, and forget about each other. and the writing center.

6. Maybe an instructor's lecture has And the last, the worst reason I think is lies. Friends will not be friends nothing to do with your textbooks, but anymore after we have lied to each other. The base of friendship is trust and even a small lie can destroy your relationship. So only mutual trust can it doesn't means his/her tests are away from your textbooks. hold your friendship .That’s the reason you need to think a lot before you start to lie. Trust is very easy to lose and almost impossible to return.

7. You should look for every opportunity to make up your In conclusion, I think there are a lot of major reasons to stop being friends: assignments and tests if you didn't get jealousy, when people change relationship status, distance, and lies. But I a perfect score. still think that friendship is one of the best things that can ever happen to a 8. Don't think extra points are useless. human being. Take care of your friends.

Sometimes people stop being friends when they change relationship status.

When one of my friends got married, we stopped being friends. Before that we spent a lot of time together and then she changed her priorities in life.

Of course, from that moment her family was always first. That’s why we can often hear: ‘I have lost my friend, because she\he got married’.

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Ghana Science Academy in Their Own Words‌ On High Written by Kwabena

On the 16th of July, 2013 I went rock climbing, my very first time. It was an impacting adventure I learnt a lot from this mere outdoor event. It was very challenging, I was one of the first people to begin the course, with no fears I climbed the first the second and the third. On the fourth and final side of the rock It took me seven tries, almost giving up on the fourth try, with enough encouragement I pressed on.

After putting a lot of effort and energy into moving my body up the rock it was time to come down. As I left myself to the wind I knew it had all come to an end but having the prior knowledge that there was a rope and a harness around my waist I felt safe. After I touched down I understood something no one I believe could have explained better. The road to success isn’t easy, it demands a lot of effort and sacrifice and along the line you may need people to help encourage you. My falling experience also thought me another lesson; when you succeed after sacrificing and putting lots of effort into your work whenever you fall you are always held back , just like the harness did in my case.

Aside the educative part of my climb it was fun climbing up and finding it hard to swallow the view wholly.

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Birds chirping, crickets crying, the leaves of the beautiful trees blow softly; the smiling morning sun is risen. Neighbors are awake doing their early morning chores. Garbage can car comes to take neighborhood’s trash. Katie and Kellie are

Ghana Science Academy in Their Own Words…

ON SATURDAYS….

Written by Amanda

outside playing in the playground. Mrs. Duncan’s early morning praise is heard by all and not to forget, Mr. Brooke having a cup of coffee outside and watching Lindsay play.

Beautiful morning, happy moments going on outside; Mom comes in and draws my curtains to allow light in my room; just to wake me up. I am always woken up on Saturdays by mum. “everybody is up doing morning chores” she always says. I wake up to go wash my face and brush my teeth. After, I come back to read my bible together with my devotional guide.

I then take my bath and make breakfast for my siblings I since I am the eldest girl. We do not like to eat breakfast early on Saturdays.

Benedicta, my best friend will come home every Saturday at 1:00pm so we would go window shopping at the mall.

In the evening, I watch my favourite show with my siblings. Right after the show, I go to my room to pick up a church cloth for Sunday’s service.

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Living on campus

Written by Beatrice Choge When deciding on a college to attend, many students consider a number of factors, if they will have to stay on the hostel college or will commute to college. Staying in the hostel is the better decision because of the following reasons.

Most colleges and universities will actually require student to live on campus at least their freshman year if they do not live within a certain radius of the campus. This is a good idea as most students do not actually realize the benefits that living on campus may have for them.

Why we should have general education requirements?

Written by Yolanda Wang

In recent years, the requirement of taking general education has prevailing among schools.

Therefore, students have to learn more subjects that are not related to their majors. It’s no wonder that some people hold the idea that students may waste a lot of time to struggle on these demanding courses. But from my own perspective, taking various fields’ courses can help you become a well-rounded person and more adaptable to society.

Admittedly, each individual has an innate set of talents. Some of us may be good at languages; others may be good at mathematics, still others at music. We get these gifts from our parents, a genetic legacy which we cannot avoid. And there is no doubt that our talents may help us do a good job in these fields. However, despite our genetic ability, I believe that for each individual, it is necessary to understand a broad range of knowledge in addition to our majors. Thus, an individual educated in this way will have a wellrounded personality, and will be able to live comfortably in a diverse society.

Furthermore, to exemplify what I mean, look at the tendency of the development of society, an individual simply cannot rely on one professional skill to ensure a bright future. In this way, the more you learn, the easier you live. As an English major in my school, I have to learn math, politics and computer programing. Sometimes I think it takes me a lot of time to concentrate on them for a good score thus reducing my energy on my major.

But on the other hand, I indeed learn more knowledge than those who only specialized in their major. If we both apply for a job, I will have an advantage over him. From this point, I believe that a good university is not simply teaching students the knowledge of their majors, but also cultivating their comprehensive abilities to make a better living in the society after they graduate. So, the requirement of offering general education courses is an effective way to reach this goal. In conclusion, school’s general education requirement courses are crucial in order to better educate modern students.

Firstly, the benefit of living on campus at a college is the transportation factor. You do not have to worry about the time it will take you to drive to college and then find a spot and then walk all the way to your classes. Instead by living on campus, you are always within walking distance of your classes and you know exactly how long it will take you to get to your classes. No fighting for a spot for your car in the campus parking lot or worrying about being late for classes because of traffic. This also saves you money on gasoline as you don't have to worry about driving your car to classes’ every day and can save on the wear and tear on your car.

Secondly, another great benefit of living on campus at your college is that you have the opportunity to meet a lot of new people because you are constantly at college. If you commute to college or live off campus, you are not around other students that much and don't have as much interaction with them. When living on campus, you can meet new friends in your dorm room, the campus eateries, and any other social gatherings that the college may have. Also, by living on campus and being around more people you are more likely to get invited to gatherings and parties at college since you will be around during the weekends. Not that college is all about making new friends, but it is an important aspect and will help you to adapt to college life a little easier.

Thirdly, convenience is another huge benefit of living on campus at college. If you need to use the library for a research paper, all you have to do is walk a couple minutes down the college campus. You don't have to worry about getting back in the car to drive to the library. When living on campus at college you have the convenience of so many student resources. You have the college library, the recreation center, the student center, any open labs or classrooms that you may need for a class, the college health center, dining halls and even student information resources.

In conclusion, I think living on campus has huge benefits, so when one is planning to go to a college or a University he or she should plan to live on campus,

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Tips for staying active all year Written by Maggie Teper During the summer, it’s a lot easier to stay fit and active. When the fall semester begins, many students find themselves struggling to balance classes, clubs, homework, AND creating time for recreation. Fortunately, WSU as well as the community of Winona have a lot to offer when it comes to motivating ourselves to get up off the couch or out of the dorms, and engage ourselves in our surroundings.

Winona State University has recently added a program located in the Integrated Wellness Center called the Outdoor Education and Recreation Center. You can rent all sorts of outdoor equipment with small fees ranging from $1 a day to $15 a day. This is a great way to plan your own weekend camping trip, or perhaps just a fun day outside. If you’re looking for a more structured activity, they also offer outings and trips that are planned each semester for places all around the country. These are updated and posted on the trips and outings board in IWC 138. Weekly workshops are also offered at the OERC, giving students hands on learning experiences at a minimal cost. To learn more visit their website www.winona.edu/outdoor/.

WSU also has many different clubs and organizations that students are free to join.

Following are WSU clubs geared specifically towards keeping active: -Common Adventures (wsucommonadventures@gmail.com) -Cycling Club (dborden10@winona.edu) -Dance Society (KKujak09@winona.edu) -E-Sports Club (MPrintup09@winona.edu) -Habitat for Humanity (RRicci09@winona.edu) -Project Get Outdoors (Project GO) (projectgowsu@gmail.com) -Warrior Weightlifting (JReinardy@winona.edu) -Winona State Disc Golf Club (Jborgos09@winona.edu) -WSU Airsoft Coalition (BYoung10@winona.edu) -WSU Ballroom Dance Club (EThiss10@winona.edu) -WSU Mountain Bike Club (mbenson10@winona.edu) There are also 28 different sports-related clubs. To see the full list go to www.winona.edu/sal/clubs.asp The town of Winona itself also has many things to offer. To see everything going on in town, visit their website www.visitwinona.com. A few highlights from their website are as follows: Canoeing and kayaking at Lake Lodge, Hiking and biking Winona’s trails, Fishing, Cross-country skiing, snowshoeing, and ice skating (winter only), Golfing, Disc Golfing, Camping, Swimming at the Aquatic Center The community is also home to various different festivals. Some of which include: -Boats and Bluegrass Festival (September 26-28 2013) -Frozen River Film Festival (January 2014) -Mid West Music Fest (April 2014)