The ESL TIMES - november 2015

NOVEMBER 2015

VOLUME XIII ISSUE I

HAGGERTY ENGLISH LANGUAGE PROGRAM

9/11 MEMORIAL PAGE 3

FAMILY HISTORY PAGE 4

BRUDERHOF TRIP PAGE 6

THE ESL TIMES

Halloween Traditions

Right: Juno Oba

by Manami Fujie

H

ow much do you know about Halloween? Halloween is one of the biggest events in the USA.

Everyone enjoys wearing costumes and making jack-o-lanterns. I have learned three things about !1

NOVEMBER 2015

VOLUME XIII ISSUE I

Halloween.

First, I learned that Halloween began as a religious holiday, there were festivals of two religions. Samhain is a pagan festival.

People believed that dead people would come back to life and they celebrated the changing seasons by wearing costumes to scare the ghosts. Another festival is All Saint’s Day, this is a Catholic celebration. People offered sacrifices, prayers, and food to honor the dead people. This was the festival in which people could communicate with their ancestors.

Next, I learned about the history of trick-or-treating. Many years ago, the Celtic people were scared of the winter because there was little food in the winter. So, they put bowls of food outside their homes to scare away ghosts. “Trick or treat” was like a deal, treat was good food and candies.

Finally I lear ned about the history of the jack-olantern. This habit came from Ireland, where the Celtic people celebrated the harvest festival and honored the dead. At first, people used turnips to make jack-o-lanterns to scare the ghosts.

They carved it like a demon, which is a demonic devil.

Then they did a bonfire ritual with it. After many years, the tradition came to America where people use 15-20 pound pumpkins, that they use a scoop and saw to make the jack-o-lantern.

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VOLUME XIII ISSUE I

9/11 Memorial

by Yin San Yen

o

n September 11th, Levels 1, 2, and

3 Reading & Writing classes went to a memorial ceremony at the New Paltz Fire Station. We saw firemen and policemen in their uniforms and lit candles on a ladder. We heard the fire siren at 9:57 am to remember the moment that one of the towers was hit by an airplane. Everyone closed their eyes and prayed at that time. I think no matter how long it has been, September 11th is still very important to everyone who lives in America. I really respect all firefighters and police officers because they all have dangerous jobs. It needs a lot of bravery to do their jobs. I think the memorial day not only makes you sad, it also brings the warmth to everyone. Even I am not an American but on this day I still felt sad. When I saw the firefighters stand together and close their eyes to pray, I felt that they are very strong. It seems no matter what happened, they won’t be afraid and nothing can harm them. I think this was a memorable experience for us to participate in this ceremony.

Student of the Month: Qing Wang Interview by: Glenda Gregorio

Q

ing Wang is a current participant of the Haggerty English

Language Program (HELP) at SUNY New Paltz. During the Spring 2015 semester, Qing won the Professor Norbert Hellman Public Speaking award for her speech presented at the HELP speech contest and the New York State TESOL essay contest.

Glenda: Qing, what was your speech for the HELP Contest about?

Qing: My speech was about how I overcame shyness. I was a shy girl and I wanted my speech to encourage ESL students to not be shy and to be confident. Especially for the Asian students, because most Asian students are always shy in class and are afraid to speak loudly and clearly in front of foreigners. In my speech I explained that communication is very important to people, so by overcoming shyness you can become more confident.

G: Qing, please tell me about your TESOL essay.

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Q: My essay is about my father, it is titled “Dad, I love you.” For Chinese people we do not usually say “I love you” to our parents, we are not very close and do not give kisses to each other. When I was a little girl I thought that my father did not care about me because my mom did everything to take care of me and my father focused on his business. This essay focuses on how technology can change your life and make your relationships with others stronger. When I got a phone, I was able to express my feelings to my father about how much I love him and that I wanted to have a deeper relationship with him.

Family History

by June Oba

D

irector Connie visited our Level 2 Reading & Writing

class a few weeks ago. She is a descendant of Africans, Native Americans, and Europeans.

First Connie talked about her cousin, who is as member of NASA. He is a retired astronaut and is the top of NASA now. Connie is proud of him, what a great thing!

Also, Connie’s grandmother was “Cherokee.” I learned this new word “Cherokee,” it is a famous tribe of America.

They were a very big group who tried to live with white people, however the white people oppressed them.

Connie also told us about the triangular trade between Brazil, Angola, and the United States. Many slaves came from Angola to Brazil because Angola is at the same latitude as Brazil. Further, in the 19th century there was a North-South problem in America. The Northern part of America had few slaves and wanted to abolish slavery. On the other had, the Southern part of America depended on plantations worked by the slaves.

South Carolina Senator Moses Martin, grandson of Trasie, Director Connie Perdreau’s first ancestor to arrive in America from Angola via Brazil in 1799. Senator Martin was Connie’s great great grandfather who served as a Radical Republican Member of South Carolina’s First Legislature after the Civil War in 1868.

Connie also told us about indentured servants, they were like slaves. The indentured servants worked for their employer for a particular period of time. Their employer sometimes abused them and she mentioned that it was a serious problem. Finally, learning about American history brought me some new words and interest. I hope we can all learn about the past and be proud of our ancestors. !4

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Tips and Advice for Current ESL Students

by Yaping Chen

H

ello everybody, my name is Yaping and I am a former ESL student. Here are some tips to help you

succeed in the ESL program. I hope they are helpful!

1.

Never be too shy to participate 2.

Remember your reason to learn English 3.

Have fun with English 4.

Set a goal for yourself, it will keep you motivated 5.

Create a plan and set up a specific time for study each day 6.

Tell your professor what you want to learn 7.

The key to learning a foreign language is practice 8.

You can write a daily entry in your journal and go to the tutoring center or a professor to edit your writing 9.

Watching English speaking TV or listening to English radio can improve your English.

10.

Have a topic to talk with your American friends 11.

Label things around you in English 12.

Be patient! Learning English is a long process

Illustration by: Huanya Zhang !5

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Bruderhof Community Trip

by Hantao Yang

W

oodcrest is the oldest Bruderhof community in the United States. When we arrived to the

historical community, the host was already there waiting for us with the traditional clothes. The youth in the community play the role as the guide, they introduced the history and daily life of this community.

With the acrawl group, we walked into the magnificent lobby. The dinner table was filled with people dressed in traditional costumes, the youth were shuffling in the crowd with dishes. With the host’s order, all the dishes are on the table. W have the dinner with local persons and some high school students. We talked about sports, life and dreams. One of them is good at Korean which surprised me a lot and he told me he wants to go to Korea for study. After this, there is a memorial ceremony with the bagpipes music.

This is also my first time hearing this kind of music which is sustenance of the missing person who is in the picture posted on the screen. After that, we saw the video about the program about helping children

in Lesvos Island which is close to Turkey but belongs to Greece. The children’s smiles and the dirt surrounding them made me feel like this is a hell which is lived by angels. Their toys are the stones and sand while we play with out toy train, toy bear, and so on. This left me a deep impression which connects to my heart. After this, the end of the trip came. The American traditional manner of having a meal is really of a new knowledge to me. The atmosphere in the Woodcrest Community gave me the feeling of home. It was a really enjoyable trip!

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Faculty Member of the Month: James Phillips Interview by Rei Matsuda

C

urrent ESL student, Rei Matsuda recently conducted an

interview with James Phillips, lecturer at the Haggerty English Language Program and this month’s Faculty Member of the Month.

Rei. When did you start your job as a professor?

James. In 2011 as a full-time. Before that, I was teaching part-time for few years.

R. Where had you been before you came here to NP? J. Most of those years, I was teaching history at a private high school nearby. I also taught for a couple years in the Dominican Republic.

R. Why/how did you decide to be a professor?

J. Since I was kid, I was thinking about being a teacher in the future because I used to have really good teachers. And when I was a graduate student, my director suggested that I teach a class in the summer, so I tried and I found it really enjoyable. After that, she asked me to teach some classes when I was finishing my graduate degree. In 2011, I talked about being a professor with my wife and some friends, and I decided to go full-time.

R. Tell me about your life when you were a college student, please.

J. Actually I was studying too much. My major was history and minors were education and psychology. Also I sometimes played basketball, volleyball, and soccer with friends.

R. What do you like to do with your free time?

J. I like to spend free time with my family. We play soccer, ride bikes, watch movies and so on.

Sometimes I still go on dates with my wife.

R. What do you want to do after you retire from your job?

J. I'm too young and busy to think about that. Maybe I'll teach in high school or another international school again.

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The ESL Times Edited by Glenda Gregorio

The Hag gerty English Language Program delivers high quality English language instruction to speakers of other languages. Our student-centered curriculum is designed to educate international students both linguistically and culturally to be successful in an American university. By promoting cross-cultural encounters, outreach, and participation, we contribute to the diverse multicultural character of the campus and community.

Write for the Times The ESL Times is almost exclusively comprised of articles written by students of the Haggerty English Language program.

We welcome submissions of any kind be it academic, creative, or artistic.

If you would like to contribute to a future issue, please send an email to: delolmop@newpaltz.edu

Upcoming Dates November 16-20 International Education Week November 20 Thanksgiving Dinner November 25-27 Thanksgiving Break December 4 End of Semester Ceremony

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