Joel Swagman (Reviews / TESOL): 08/01/2018

Thursday, August 30, 2018

Vlog Playlist HERE

Wednesday, August 29, 2018

Finished--The Land of Stories: The Wishing Spell by Chris Colfer....(Review coming soon, hopefully).

Episode 80: Language Policy, Frederic G. Cassidy, and Duoethnographic Projects

(TEFLology Podcast)

English World 6 Unit 8 Class Composition p.90

(Supplementary Materials for Specific Textbooks--English World 6)

Hiawatha's Journey Worksheet: docs, pub

Tuesday, August 28, 2018

"Going to" versus "Will" Doraemon PowerPoint Game

(TESOL Worksheets--Future Forms, Will, Going to)
Google: drive, slides, pub
[The PowerPoint template is not mine, but was designed by Kyle Ludeke. The questions are not mine either. They come from English Grammar in Use by Raymond Murphy (A). I only claim a transcriber's credit on this one.]

Monday, August 27, 2018

Today, in: Hey! I know that Guy!

Ground Up 017 - A Comedian Abroad w/ Nathan Jaiyeola

Nathan is someone I've been friends with in both Vietnam and Cambodia. We both started out in Phnom Penh, and then we both moved to Saigon.
(I'm fairly sure I've linked to some of Nathan's stuff in the past off of this blog, but I can't find the link now.)

In the video, Nathan starts talking about his experiences in Cambodia and Vietnam at about the 32 minute mark. He mentions that he got involved in doing comedy in Cambodia because one of his co-workers was involved in the comedy scene in Phnom Penh.

That co-worker is another mutual friend, and someone else I've linked to off of this blog. Back in October of 2013. I'll repost those links below:

My friend and co-worker has been been doing some stand-up comedy here at the Phnom Penh comedy club. In my humble opinion, he's not half bad either.
A lot of his comedy is based around the expatriate life in Cambodia, so if anyone is interested it might give a bit of insight into life out here.
See his comedy at youtube here , here , here , here and here.

Sunday, August 26, 2018

BREAKING NEWS: John McCain Has Died. Here’s His Great and Terrible Record

This is actually a pretty good summary of all the good and bad.

John McCain was cool back in 2000.
See, for example, this Washington Post article from 2000 about McCain's role in the Shadow Convention.
McCain and the Unconventional Convention

Would Sen. John McCain be the keynote speaker of an alternative political convention with a distinct far-left aroma that intends to ridicule his Republican Party and is partially financed by the archenemy of the war on drugs, billionaire global financier George Soros? That is McCain's intent, even as other Republicans fall off the list of speakers.
McCain is the star attraction of the July 30 opening of the "shadow" convention to be held in Philadelphia while the Republicans meet there beginning July 31. That makes him the only speaker who will address both a major party convention and one of the two alternative gatherings arranged by political gadfly Arianna Huffington in Philadelphia and (shadowing the Democrats) in Los Angeles. McCain will find himself sharing the podium with such left-wing GOP-bashers as ice cream (Ben & Jerry's) maker Ben Cohen and comedian Al Franken.

I remember this. I was in Philadelphia that week for the protests, and I remember people talking about McCain's speech at the Shadow Convention.

In 2005, McCain was also cool when he stood against torture. Back in 2005 I quoted Mr Guam on the subject on this blog.

Mr. Guam does an excellent job of framing the debate over Bush's threatened Veto of the McCain sponsored bill to end forbid torture by the U.S. military:
Sen. McCain is a highly respected Vietnam War veteran who served almost five years in a North Vietnamese prison camp. President Bush is a veteran of the Texas Air National Guard for which he did no fighting whatsoever. The irony of a war hero fighting against the use of torture for information and a president with no war experience fighting for the use of torture as executive privilege becomes fairly evident.

But in 2008, when McCain was running against Obama, I hated him.
All throughout 2008 I frequently linked to anti-McCain articles and Youtube videos on my "Link of the Day" feature.
For posts from that year in which I talk about McCain in the main body, see: Thoughts on the Presidential Election, and Obligatory Post-Election Post.

See also my review of the movie Game Change.

Thursday, August 23, 2018

Infinitives | Johnny Grammar | Learn English | British Council

This is a video from the British Council. I used this in my class to review infinitives. I showed the video, and then we did a board race based on the sentences in the video. (Students had to run to the board to write the correct sentence--either the same as the video, or any other grammatical sentence that makes sense in context.)
My board race is here: slides, pub

Wednesday, August 22, 2018

English World 6 Unit 8 Vocabulary

(Supplementary Materials for Specific Textbooks--English World 6)

Google Drive Folder HERE
Unit 8 Vocabulary Slideshow: slides, pub
Quizlet Handout: docs, pub

English World 6 Unit 8 Vocabulary
https://quizlet.com/_52s1ff

English World 6 Unit 8 Vocabulary
https://quizlet.com/_52s1ff

English World 6 Unit 8 Vocabulary
https://quizlet.com/_52s1ff

Saturday, August 18, 2018

Today in Hey! I Know that Guy!

Calvin College friend Phil Christman guest stars on The Meaning of Life TV. (via Phil's blog)

I'm a couple days late on this, but Rest in Peace Aretha Franklin.

I've used her songs in my ESL listening classes. Respect and Think

Wednesday, August 15, 2018

Vlog: The Japanese Student Protests in the 1960s and 1970s (Part 1)

Vlog: The Japanese Student Protests in the 1960s and 1970s (Part 2)

Related Links:
http://papersiwrote.blogspot.com/2006/09/japanese-student-left-in-1960s.html

http://joelswagman.blogspot.com/2008/08/fire-across-sea-vietnam-war-and-japan.html

http://joelswagman.blogspot.com/2008/01/tombo-times-japanese-student-movement.html

http://joelswagman.blogspot.com/2008/02/tombo-times-japanese-student-movement.html

http://joelswagman.blogspot.com/2007/03/choice-of-hercules.html

Vlog Playlist HERE

Tuesday, August 14, 2018

TEFL Interviews 44: Simon Borg on Teacher Cognition & Research

(TEFLology Podcast)

Finished: English Phonetics and Phonology by Peter Roach--Review coming soon... hopefully...

Friday, August 10, 2018

The Frog Prince: The Grimm Brothers' Fairy Tales Story Time ESL Listening

(TESOL Worksheets--The Brothers Grimm Fairy Tales, Story Time ESL Listening)
Worksheet: drive, docs, pub
Slow Speed Video: HERE, Normal Speed Video: HERE, Quizlet: HERE

Notes:
I did this video two times. The first time there weren't any big disasters, but I thought my voice was a bit tired, so I did it again. The first video is HERE.

The Frog Prince: Grimm Brothers Fairy Tale #1

(Original Title: The Frog-King or Iron Henry)

Video (slow speed): https://youtu.be/rlVmMEF2O8s

Video (normal speed): https://youtu.be/RqR9Zjr6TcU

Quizlet: https://quizlet.com/_529b67

Suggested Use:

Step 1: Look at the vocabulary. Check any words that you don’t know in your dictionary.

Step 2: Listen to the video. (Listen only. Don’t look at the reading yet).

Step 3: Practice the vocabulary on Quizlet

Step 4: Watch the video again. This time look at the reading. Read and listen at the same time.

Step 5: Practice the vocabulary on Quizlet again.

Step 6: Listen one last time. The last time, don’t look at the reading.

Vocabulary

able, accidentally, afraid, afterwards, already, amazing, ball, band, beautiful, behind, bottom, carriage, castle, chair, climb, clothes, cool, corner, crackle, crown, cup, daughter, dear, deep, dinner, disgusting, door, drink, drop, during, easy, faithful, fall, fast, floor, follow, forest, frightened, frog, full, get married, giant, golden, grass, ground, grow, happily, hear, heart, hit, hole, hop, horrible, horse, human, instantly, iron, jewellery, keep a promise, king, kingdom, knock, lie, lie down, lift, lose, loud, loudly, magic, marry, matter, meal, mealtimes, near, nearby, nickname, once, once upon a time, outside, pick, pick up, plate, pretty, prince, princess, promise, protect, push, quickly, quiet, ready, reply, ride, sad, seat, servant, short, shut, sink, splash, staircase, stay, still stupid, surprised, swim, thankful, throw, tired, toy, terribly, tree, trouble, troubled, unhappy, upon, upstairs, wheel, wicked, witch, worried, wrong, young

Proper names:

Names of people: Henry

The Frog Prince: Grimm Brothers Fairy Tale #1

Once upon a time, there lived a king who had many daughters. All of his daughters were beautiful, but the youngest daughter was the most beautiful of them all.

Nearby the king’s castle there was a dark forest, and next to an old tree in this forest there was a well. (A “well” is a deep hole in the ground from which people can get water.) On hot days, the youngest princess used to sit by the well, because it was very cool.

The princess had a golden ball that she liked to play with. She loved this golden ball very much--it was her favorite toy. The princess liked to throw the ball up into the air, and catch it again.

But one day, as the princess was throwing the ball up, and catching it, she accidentally dropped the ball, and it fell into the well, and sank into the water. And the well was so deep that the princess couldn’t see the bottom.

Because this ball was the princess’s favorite toy, she was very sad. She started crying. She cried louder and louder.

“Why are you crying Princess?” someone said. The princess looked around to see who was talking, but she couldn’t see anybody. Then she heard the voice again. “What’s wrong Princess? Why are you crying?”

The princess looked down, and saw that the voice was coming from a frog. “Oh, it’s you frog,” she said. “I am crying because I have lost my favorite toy, a golden ball, which fell into the well.”

“Stop your crying,” said the frog. “I can help you. But what will you give me if I bring your ball back to you?”

“You can have anything you want,” said the princess. “My clothes, my jewellery, even my golden crown which I am wearing now.”

But the frog said, “I’m a frog. I can’t use clothes, or jewellery, or a golden crown. What I want is for you to love me. I want to be your best friend, and to be with you all the time. I want to sit with you at the table during mealtimes, and eat food off of your golden plate, and drink out of your little cup, and sleep in your bed with you. If you promise me all of these things, I will swim down and get your golden ball.”

“Oh yes, I promise,” said the princess. “You can have all of that if you will bring me my ball back again.” But in her head, the princess was thinking, “What a stupid frog! He lives in the water here with other frogs. He can’t be best friends with a human, and he can’t possibly come to the castle with me.”

As soon as the frog heard the princess’s promise, he put his head into the water and swam down. After a short time, he came swimming back with the golden ball in his mouth, and threw the ball on the grass.

The princess was so happy to see her golden ball again that she forgot all about the frog and her promise. She picked up her golden ball and ran back to the castle. “Wait! Wait!” called the frog, as loudly as he could. “Princess, pick me up and take me with you! I cannot run as fast as you can.” But it did him no good. The princess ran back to the castle, and the frog had to go back to his well again.

The next evening, the princess was eating dinner with the king and with all her sisters. While they were eating, they heard a splashing sound coming up the staircase, and then, when the sound got to the top of the staircase, there was a knock on the door. And a voice cried out, “Princess! Youngest Princess! Open the door for me.” The princess ran to see who it was, but when she opened the door, she didn’t see anyone. Then she looked down at the ground, and there was the frog, sitting there.

The princess quickly shut the door, and went back to her seat at the table. She was very frightened, and the king saw that she was troubled. So the king asked, “My child, what are you afraid of? Is there a giant outside who wants to carry you away?”

“No,” the princess replied. “It’s not a giant. It’s a disgusting frog.”

“A frog?” said the king. “What does a frog want with you?”

“Ah, dear father,” the princess said, “Yesterday, I was in the forest sitting by the well and playing with my golden ball, when my ball fell into the water. Because I cried so much, the frog swam into the well and got my golden ball for me. But the frog made me promise that we would be best friends, and that he would always be with me. I promised him this, but I never thought that he would be able to come out of the water. And now he is here, outside, and he wants to come in and be with me.”

While the princess was talking, there was a second knock at the door, and the frog cried out, “Princess! Youngest princess! Open the door for me! Don’t you remember what you said to me yesterday by the well? Princess! Youngest princess! Open the door for me!"

Then the King said, “You must keep your promises. If you promised to let the frog stay with you, then you have to do it. Go to the door and let him in."

So the princess went and opened the door, and the frog hopped in and followed her to her chair. The princess sat down in her chair, but the frog was still down on the ground. So the frog cried out, "Lift me up and put me on the chair next to you." The princess just sat there and didn’t do anything, until at last the king ordered her to do what the frog had said.

Once the frog was on the chair, he asked to be on the table. So the princess put him on the table. And when the frog was on the table, he said, "Now, push the little golden plate nearer to me, so that we can eat together." The princess did this, but it was easy to see that she was not happy. The frog ate happily, but the princess was very unhappy while she ate.

After some time, the frog said, "I have eaten and I am full. Now I am tired. Carry me into your room and make your bed ready, and we will both lie down and go to sleep."

The princess began to cry, for she was afraid of the cold frog which she did not like to touch, and she did not want the frog to sleep in her pretty, clean little bed. But the king got angry and said to the princess, "If someone helps you when you are in trouble, you must be thankful to them afterwards." So the princess picked up the frog with two fingers, and carried him upstairs, and put him in a corner of her room. Then she went into the bed by herself. But the frog hopped over to the bed and said, “I am tired. I want to sleep in the nice bed just like you. Lift me up and put me in the bed or I will tell your father."

Then the princess became terribly angry. She picked up the frog, and threw him against the wall as hard as she could. “Be quiet, you horrible frog,” she said.

But then, an amazing thing happened. The frog hit the wall, and fell down to the floor. But when he hit the floor, he was no longer a frog, but a prince, a human prince, with beautiful kind eyes.

The princess was very surprised, but the prince told her his story. A wicked witch had turned him into a frog. The witch had left him in the well, and no one but a princess could break the witch’s magic, and turn him back into a prince.

When the princess saw how kind and nice the young prince was, she fell in love with him instantly. And, it was easy to get married, because she had already promised him that they would always be together. And her father, the king, had already told her that she must keep her promise.

So, they went to sleep, and in the morning, they got married, and they said goodbye to everyone in the castle, and they left together to go live in the prince’s kingdom.

They got into a beautiful carriage. (A “carriage” is something that people rode in long ago before there were cars. It has wheels, and is pulled by horses.)

Someone got out of the carriage to help the prince and the princess. It was the prince’s servant, named Henry. (A “servant” is someone whose job it is to help the prince.) Henry was so faithful that his nickname was Faithful Henry. (If someone is “faithful”, it means that they will never forget you, and always help you, no matter what.)

When the prince had been changed into a frog, Faithful Henry had been very sad. In fact, Faithful Henry had been so sad that he had been worried his heart would break. So he had three iron bands put around his heart to protect it from breaking. (A “band” is something you put around something.)

Faithful Henry helped the prince and the princess climb into the carriage. Then, Faithful Henry got in the carriage himself, and rode behind them.

As they were riding away, the prince heard a crackling sound, that sounded like something was breaking. So the prince turned around and cried out, “Henry, the carriage is breaking!”

“No, my prince,” said Faithful Henry. “It is not the carriage. It is the iron band around my heart. When you were turned into a frog and put into the well, I was so sad that I had to put iron bands around my heart to protect it from breaking. But now that I can see you again, I am so happy that my heart is growing bigger and bigger. And the iron bands around my heart are beginning to break.”

Three times the prince heard a crackling sound, and each time the prince thought the carriage was breaking. But each time, it was just another band on Henry’s heart. The happier Henry became, the bigger his heart grew.

And so, the prince, the princess, and Faithful Henry rode away to live in the prince’s kingdom. And they all lived happily ever after.

Vocabulary

able - to have the ability to do something:

He'll be able to help you.

accidentally - not intended (adverb):

She accidentally knocked over a glass of red wine.

afraid - frightened:

She's afraid of water.

afterwards - at a later time, after something else has happened:

I did my homework and went swimming afterwards.

already - before now:

I've already told him.

amazing - very surprising:

John has an amazing memory for historical facts.

ball - a round object that you throw, kick, or hit in a game:

She kicked the ball as hard as she could.

band - a piece of material put around something

beautiful - very attractive:

She's the most beautiful girl I've ever seen

behind - at or to the back of someone or something:

The warehouse is behind the store.

bottom - the lowest part of something:

Click on the icon at the bottom of the page.

carriage - a vehicle with wheels that is pulled by a horse

castle - a large, strong building with towers and high walls, that was built in the past to protect the people inside from being attacked:

There was a flag flying above the castle.

chair - a seat for one person, with a back, usually four legs, and sometimes two arms:

Why don't you pull up a chair and join us?

climb - to move somewhere using your hands and legs:

The child climbed into the back of the car.

clothes - items such as shirts and trousers that you wear on your body:

She was wearing her sister's clothes.

cool - slightly cold, but not too cold:

A cool drink should refresh you.

corner - the point or area where two lines, walls, or roads meet:

There was a television in the corner of the room.

crackle - to make a lot of short, dry noises:

A fire crackled in the hearth.

crown - a round object made of gold and jewels that a king or queen wears on their head

cup - a small, round container with a handle on the side, used to drink from:

"Would you like a cup of coffee?" "No, thanks."

daughter - your female child:

Janice is our youngest daughter.

dear - someone who you know and like very much

deep - having a long distance from the top to the bottom:

The water is a lot deeper than it seems.

dinner - the main meal of the day that people usually eat in the evening:

What's for dinner tonight?

disgusting - extremely unpleasant:

What's that disgusting smell?

door - the part of a building, room, vehicle, or piece of furniture that you open or close to get inside it or out of it:

Please shut the door behind you.

drink - to put liquid into your mouth and swallow it:

Would you like something to drink?

drop - to let something you are carrying fall to the ground:

She tripped and dropped the vase.

during - for the whole of a period of time:

Emma's usually at home during the day.

easy - not difficult:

He thought the exam was very easy.

faithful - always loyal

fall - to move down towards the ground:

Huge drops of rain were falling from the sky.

fast - moving, happening, or doing something quickly:

Computers are getting faster all the time.

follow - to move behind someone or something and go where they go:

She followed me into the kitchen.

forest - a large area of trees growing closely together:

There are some lovely walks in the forest.

frightened - afraid or nervous:

I've always been frightened of going to the dentist.

frog - a small, green animal with long back legs for jumping that lives in or near water

full - having eaten enough food:

No more for me, thanks, I'm full.

get married - to begin a legal relationship with someone as their husband or wife:

We will get married next year.

giant - an imaginary man who is much bigger and stronger than ordinary men

golden - made of gold or like gold

grass - a common plant with narrow green leaves that grows close to the ground in gardens and fields:

We lay on the grass in the sunshine.

ground - the surface of the Earth:

I sat down on the ground.

floor - a surface that you walk on inside a building:

I must sweep the kitchen floor.

grow - to develop and become bigger or taller as time passes:

Children grow very quickly.

happily - in a happy way

hear - to be aware of a sound through your ears:

I could hear his voice in the distance.

heart - the organ inside your chest that sends blood around your body:

Isabel's heart was beating fast.

hit - to touch someone or something quickly and with force, usually causing injury or damage:

The car skidded and hit a wall.

hole - a hollow space in something, or an opening in a surface:

We dug a hole to plant the tree.

hop - If a small animal, bird, or insect hops, it moves by jumping on all of its feet at the same time:

Rabbits were hopping across the field.

horrible - very unpleasant or bad:

That was a horrible thing to say to your sister.

horse - a large animal with four legs, which people ride or use to pull heavy things:

The horse jumped the last fence.

human - a man, woman, or child:

The disease affects both humans and animals.

instantly - immediately:

A car hit them, killing them both instantly.

iron - a dark grey metal used to make steel (= very strong metal) and found in small amounts in blood and food (formula Fe)

jewellery - objects made from gold, silver, and valuable stones that you wear for decoration

king - a male ruler in some countries:

The king accused his advisers of conspiring against him.

kingdom - a country with a king or queen

knock - a sudden short noise made when something or someone hits a surface

lie - to be in a horizontal or flat position on a surface

lie down - to move into a position in which your body is flat, usually in order to sleep or rest:

I'm not feeling well - I'm going to lie down.

lift - to put something or someone in a higher position:

Could you help me lift this table, please?

lose - to stop having someone or something that you had before:

I hope he doesn't lose his job.

loud - making a lot of noise:

He was woken by a loud shout.

loudly - loud--adverb:

She was speaking very loudly.

magic - special powers that can make things happen that seem impossible:

Do you believe in magic?

marry - to begin a legal relationship with someone as their husband or wife:

Will you marry me?

matter - a subject or situation that you need to think about, discuss, or deal with:

I've been thinking about this matter for a long time.

meal - the time when you eat, or the food that you eat at that time:

You should come round for a meal sometime.

mealtimes - the time when you eat:

These days I only see him at mealtimes.

near - not far away in distance:

Could you come a bit nearer, please?

nearby - not far away:

An old friend of mine has just moved nearby.

nickname - a name used informally instead of your real name:

His behaviour has earned him the nickname 'Mad Dog'.

once - in the past, but not now:

This house once belonged to my grandfather.

once upon a time - used at the beginning of a children's story to mean that something happened a long time ago

outside - not in a particular building or room, but near it:

She waited outside his room for nearly two hours.

pick - to choose something or someone:

Do you want to help me pick some numbers for my lottery ticket?

pick up - to lift something or someone by using your hands:

Just pick up the phone and call him.

plate - a flat, round object that is used for putting food on:

I had a plate of sandwiches, washed down with a glass of cool beer.

pretty - If a woman or girl is pretty, she is attractive:

Your daughter is very pretty.

prince - the son of a king or queen

princess - the daughter of a king or queen

promise - to say that you will certainly do something:

She promised to write to me every week.

keep a promise - to do what you said that you would do

protect - to keep someone or something safe from something dangerous or bad:

It's important to protect your skin from the harmful effects of the sun.

push - to move someone or something by pressing them with your hands or body:

She pushed the books aside and sat down on my desk.

quickly - fast or in a short time:

I quickly shut the door.

quiet - making little or no noise:

Can you be quiet, please?

ready - prepared and available to be eaten, drunk, used, etc:

Is dinner ready?

reply - to answer:

"I don't understand," she replied.

ride - to travel in a vehicle as a passenger:

I've told her not to ride the subway at night.

sad - unhappy or making you feel unhappy:

I was very sad when our cat died.

seat - something that you sit on:

If you push this button, your seat goes back.

servant - someone who works and lives in someone else's house doing their cooking and cleaning, especially in the past

short - continuing for a small amount of time:

There's a short break for coffee between classes.

shut - to close something:

Shut the door.

sink - to go down or make something go down below the surface of water and not come back up:

The Titanic sunk after hitting an iceberg.

splash - the sound of something falling into or moving in water:

They sat listening to the splash of raindrops on the lake.

staircase - a set of stairs and the structure around them

stay - to continue to be in a place, job, etc and not leave:

The weather was bad so we stayed at home.

still - used to say that something is continuing to happen now or that someone is continuing to do something now:

He's still here if you want to speak to him.

stupid - silly or not intelligent:

That was a really stupid thing to do.

surprised - feeling surprise because something has happened that you did not expect:

I'm surprised to see you here.

swim - to move through water by moving your body:

I learnt to swim when I was about 5 years old.

thankful - pleased or grateful about something:

We were thankful that none of the children saw the accident.

throw - to make something move through the air by pushing it out of your hand:

Amy will throw the ball to the dog.

tired - feeling that you want to rest or sleep:

I'm too tired to go out tonight.

toy - an object for children to play with:

He was happily playing with his toys.

terribly - very:

She seemed terribly upset.

tree - a tall plant with a thick stem that has branches coming from it and leaves:

They went under a tree to shelter from the rain.

trouble - problems, difficulties, or worries:

We had trouble finding somewhere to park.

troubled - worried or having a lot of problems:

You look troubled.

unhappy - sad:

The newspapers dredged up details about the singer's unhappy childhood.

upon - on:

Her story was seized upon by the press.

upstairs - on or to a higher level of a building:

He ran upstairs to answer the phone.

wheel - a circular object fixed under a vehicle so that it moves smoothly over the ground:

My bike needs a new front wheel.

wicked - extremely bad and morally wrong

witch - in stories, a woman who has magical powers that she uses to do bad or strange things

worried - anxious because you are thinking about problems or unpleasant things that might happen:

She's really worried about her son.

wrong - If something is wrong, there is a problem:

There's something wrong with my computer.

young - having lived or existed for only a short time and not old:

We were very young when we met.