Happy New Year

Sydney, Australia 2011

Agar or Vietnamese Jello... yum!

I'm afraid that I didn't exactly create clouds but am still very happy with the results. Thanks, Phuong for sharing your recipe and being a part of our holiday celebrations.

Trying something new...

I just returned from the Asian Market and am ready to try Phuong's recipe for Agar Agar. Will post it soon. Thanks so much!

Friday Tutoring

What an absolutely gorgeous sunny day! And, what a lot of hard work going on during our tutoring today!!

First, thank you so much for the Christmas card. It's sitting above our fireplace for everyone to enjoy. Your recipes for Coconut Cake and Agar are wonderful and I plan on making Agar for my son. The Coconut Cake sounds rather complicated for me but I might just give it a try as well. Your sentences about the Voice of America program on Parkinson's Disease were very well constructed. I could tell that you worked very hard on them and found the program to be interesting. Congratulations. I am so happy that your presentation about Tet Holiday went well at the school. I knew it would as you were very well prepared. I enjoyed seeing the colorful Lion Dance. What fun!

We won't be meeting next Friday but I have homework for you and encourage you to send emails to me if you have any questions.
Homework:
1. Review for written Driver's Manual test. I gave you several packets of sample questions. These will be good review for the exam. Also, take the online practice test. We went over this today. When you finish with the practice test, the website will give you a score and give you the correct answers.
2. Choose another Voice of America radio program and write 5 sentences. This is really good practice for listening, reading, and writing.
3. I added some more YouTube videos to the Minimal Pairs links on the blog. I definitely noticed a difference with your "green" today. Good for you!!
4. Enjoy the holidays with your family and friends :-)

We will continue to focus on your written driver's test as I know you would like to take the test in February. We will also continue to work in Step by Step, Book 2. I will rewrite the recipes and have fun in my kitchen trying out Agar and Coconut Cake.

Happy Holidays!

Christmas Peanut Butter Blossoms

When my son was in Kindergarten he gave me a cookbook filled with recipes that he had printed. I take it out every year and use this recipe which is his favorite.

Ingredients:

½ cup margarine

½ cup peanut butter

½ cup sugar

½ cup brown sugar

1 egg

1 ¾ cup flour

1 teaspoon salt

2 Tablespoon milk

1 teaspoon baking soda

Chocolate Stars

Steps:

Preheat oven at 350 degrees.

1. Cream butter, peanut butter, sugar, and brown sugar.

2. Add egg, milk, and dry ingredients.

3. Roll into balls.

4. Bake for 8 minutes.

5. Press star on top.

6. Bake for 2 more minutes.

7. Cool and enjoy!

Christmas Cut-out Cookies

I use this recipe to make my cut-out cookies for Christmas. I don’t usually frost them but use a glaze and decorate them before baking.

Ingredients for dough:

¾ cup butter

1 cup sugar

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 ½ cup all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

Ingredients for glaze:

2 egg yolks

2 tablespoons of water

Variety of food color

Little bowls and paint brushes

Ingredients for decorating:

Colored sprinkles

Raisins

M&M’s

Jimmies

Steps:

1. Mix butter and sugar. I use a blender but can be mixed by hand.

2. Add eggs and vanilla.

3. Add flour, baking powder, and salt.

4. Chill dough for at least an hour. I usually make the dough and let it sit in the refrigerator overnight.

5. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

6. Roll out the dough with a rolling pin and cut out shapes.

7. Mix the glaze.

8. Paint the shapes.

9. Add decorations.

10. Bake for about 8 minutes or until done.

11. Cool before eating!

Ice Fishing

Today we talked about ice fishing. The ice shacks have started to appear on Monona Bay and the fishermen create their own community on the ice. Here are some photos of ice fishing.

Doesn't this look like fun!

Friday Tutoring

The roads were cleared and the sun was shining... all prepared this this weekend's new snowstorm.

You have made great progress with Minimal Pairs and I'll be adding more YouTube videos now that my cold is over. The "Sounds of American English" was very helpful and we found some more troublesome words. Thank you so much for sharing your presentation about Tet Holiday. I know that the students at Orchard Ridge will find it very interesting. I know I did. Step by Step's lesson about "a little" and "a few" was very helpful. I'm so glad that you brought up your question about "let's." Please continue to ask your questions.

Thank you so much for the Ong THo suggestion. Will try it with the Agar-Agar when my son comes for the Holidays.

Also, great job on your resume!

Homework for Friday, December 17.

1. Listen to Voice of America's program, "Scientists Search for New clues about Parkinson's Disease" and write 5 sentences about the program.
2. Watch the video about Coconut Cake and write your recipe for the cake. I've added a link to a website that will convert metric measurements to English measurements.
3. Read and study pages 7 to 12 in the Driver's Manual. We'll have a sample test next week.
4. Practice Minimal Pairs and Troublesome Words.

Enjoy your week!

I've added a new link to the blog. It's called "Phonetics: The Sounds of American English." I think it will help with some of those troublesome consonants. You might want to use headphones while listening and watching the videos. We'll practice together tomorrow.

Friday Tutoring

Well, we're expecting 4-6 inches of snow tonight. Perfect for December!

Congratulations on your COMPASS exams! Our session today involved a lot of speaking and listening about Thanksgiving and our family gatherings. With some minor tweaking, the resume will be ready to go. Now, it's time to find those jobs. This will be difficult because jobs are hard to find for everyone. We also worked on pronunciation. This will get easier with practice. Don't worry about hurrying through Side by Side, Book 2. Comprehension is great but we need practice with speaking and reading. We'll return to Driver's License review next week.

Homework for next week:
1. Review Minimal Pairs (see YouTube videos).
2. Preview Chapter 2 in Side by Side.
3. Have fun with Coconut Cake on America's Test Kitchen. See link.
4. Send your final copy of your resume (SUPER JOB) to me.

December 2010 Calendar:
- December 3
- December 10
- December 17
- No meeting on December 24 (check email for changes)
- No meeting on December 31 (check email for changes)

Thanksgiving Break

Thanksgiving was a very busy time for our families. I know that you were having a family reunion and that you were also taking tests at MATC. My husband and I flew to Washington D.C. and had Thanksgiving dinner with our family. We also went sightseeing and saw the National Gallery of Art, the National Museum of the American Indian, and the National Archives (the Constitution of the United States and the Declaration of Independence). Looking forward to seeing you on Friday, December 3rd.

Midway Asian Food Market

After a trip to the market, think I have everything I need to make Pho.

Hmmm... my house smells so good!

Friday Frenzy

The two hours today seemed to go by very quickly. We talked about Pho, coffee, resumes, the COMPASS exams, Side by Side, and Minimal Pairs. My homework includes making more YouTube Minimal Pair videos and making Pho. Thank you so much for the Pho spice bag, coffee, and Nescafe. Can't wait to try them out.

Homework for next week includes:
1. Practice the COMPASS sample tests. Email any questions you may have.
2. Continue to work on your resume. Remember we are working on a general resume. When you are applying for a job, we will make a special resume for that particular job.
3. We will be starting Chapter 2 in Side by Side, Book 2 next week.
4. Review Minimal Pairs. (You did an awesome job this week. Your hardwork and practice have improved your pronunciation of these words.)

If you have time...
See Voice of America episodes: "Scientists Search for New Clues about Parkinson's Disease" and "Prison Program Aims to Get Teens to Avoid a Life of Crime."

Next week we will talk about Thanksgiving!

Phuong's Recipe for Beef Pho

Here is Phuong's very own recipe for Pho... Thank you soooooooo much!

Beef Pho
Noodle soup with well-done flank and beef meatballs

Ingredients:
- 4 pounds pork bones
- 2 pounds beef sirloin
- 1 roasted onion
- 1 roasted branch of fresh ginger root
- 1 spice bag (or 1 bag of spicy Pho)
- 1 bag of beef meatballs (or beef tendon meatballs)
- 1 1/2 bag of fresh rice stick noodle
- salt, sugar, fish sauce (if desired)

Topping:
- hot chili sauce (or hot pepper sauce)
- hoisin sauce
- chili garlic sauce
- thinly sliced onion and green onion
- bean sprouts (mung beans)
- sweet basil
- chopped fresh cilantro
- black pepper
- quartered limes

Directions:
1. Put the pork bones and beef sirloin in a very large pot. Season with salt, and fill pot with water. Bring to a boil, and cook for about 2 hours.
2. Skim from the surface of the soup ot, and add 1 spice bag (Pho), add 1 roasted onion and 1 ginger root, add to the soup. Stir with sugar, salt. Simmer over medium-low heat until meats soften. After that, place meatballs into the soup that were cut in half. At the end of cooking, taste, and add salt, sugar as needed. At last, place the soup pot to keep at a simmer until using.
3. Soak the fresh rice stick noodle into boiling water until soft.
4. Place some noodles into each bowl and top with a few beef sirloin slices, some thinly sliced onion and green onion, a few beef meatballs; sprinkle some black pepper. An then, pour the soup into the bowls.
5. Serve the hoisin sauce, hot chili sauce, bean sprouts, sweet basil, etc, fresh cilantro. Squeeze quartered lime out at the table, some slices of the hot pepper, and fish sauce if desired.

Note: Can use a few raw beef slices on top the bowl. If it is steak.

Frosty Friday

Mitten weather has arrived!
We have accomplished so much today. Think we both need to take a deep breath and let our brains rest. I'm so glad you brought up the COMPASS program at MATC. We will definitely bump this goal up to #1. Two and a half weeks is not much time to prepare for these important exams. Good for you for setting such high goals for yourself!

Here's the homework for next week.
1. Here is a pretest for Math/PreAlgebra. http://www.businessbookmall.com/Test-Prep%20Mathematics%20Pretest.htm More links are available on the blog.
2. Start collecting information for your resume. Use the following headings: (1) Contact information, (2) Objectives, (3) Career Highlights/Qualifications, (4) Experience, (5) Education, (6) Skills, and (7) References. See the link on the blog for more details.
3. Side by Side, Book 2, read page 8 and answer questions 1-9 on page 9. Also, read and answer questions on page 10c (handout).
4. Pronunciation Practice (Minimal Pairs). See YouTube video links on the blog.

If you have time…
1. Voice of America, “Scientists Search for New Clues About Parkinson’s Disease”
http://www.voanews.com/learningenglish/home/Parkinsons-Disease-106473468.html

This program is about Parkinson’s Disease. Describe the disease and its symptoms. What are some of theories about the cause of Parkinson’s Disease? What are some of the treatments? Is there a cure for Parkinson’s Disease?

After Thanksgiving
1. America’s Test Kitchen, Coconut Layer Cake
http://www.americastestkitchen.com/video/?docid=25465
I know that you have taught cake decorating. Here’s a demonstration video about baking a layered cake that you might find interesting.

Enjoy your week! Maybe we'll have snow next week!!!

November Calendar

Our meeting times:
Friday, November 5th
Friday, November 12th
Friday, November 19
No meeting on Friday, November 26th (Thanksgiving Trip)

Friday's Session

WoooHoooo! Happy Halloween! What a great time tutoring! Added some links to the blog. Check out Phuong's Links which includes a video on making Pho (Vietnamese Soup), practice tests for the Driver's Manual, and Minimal Pairs practice videos.

Homework for next week, November 5th!

1. Voice of America, "Obama Democrats Aim Voting Appeals at Young People," October 27, 2010. The Midterm Election is on Tuesday, November 2nd.
http://www.voanews.com/learningenglish/home/Obama-Democrats-Aim-Voting-Appeals-at-Young-People-105911418.html
2. Review pages 1-4 in the Driver's Manual and complete the quiz.
3. I'll be emailing the quiz for Side by Side, Book 2, Chapter 1.
4. I'll upload some sound files which you can use to practice Minimal Pairs.

Next week we'll add writing a resume that you can use when applying for jobs.
Have a great week!

New Homework

The leaves are falling and the wind is cold. Fall has arrived in Madison! We worked very hard today and accomplished so much in just two hours. We started Side by Side, Book 2 (Chapter 1, pages 1 and 2). We toured the Department of Transportation website. We also practiced some of the Minimal Pairs for pronunciation practice. We reviewed homework activities and talked about colds and my ER visit. Here are some follow up activities and some new activities. Enjoy!

1. Voice of America broadcast about Chilean miners
http://www.voanews.com/learningenglish/home/The-World-Cheers-33-Miners-Rescued-in-Chile--105074694.html

First listen to the radio broadcast and then listen while reading the transcript. Write 5 sentences describing the story about rescued miners.

2. Chicken Noodle Soup and Pho
http://www.americastestkitchen.com/recipes/detail.php?docid=18098

Describe how to make Chicken Noodle Soup and how it is different from Pho.

3. Review for test on Driver’s Manual (pages 1-12).

4. Review Chapter 1 in Side by Side, Book 2.

5. Practice: Sheep, leave, seat, green - Ship, live, sit, grin

6. Watching PBS Newshour (TV news show)
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/

New Listening Activities

I have 3 listening activities for you. I will also put them on the website.

#1. http://www.elllo.org/english/NewsCenter/N19-Fire.html
News Gal #19 News Quiz
listening activity
newscaster has a British accent

#2. Todd's Favorite Movies
http://www.elllo.org/english/Points/PT04-Movies.html
Listening and comprehension

#3. Jimmy Carter Earns Praise for Activism After the White House
Voice of America
http://www.voanews.com/learningenglish/home/President-Carter-Still-Building-Houses-and-Hope-at-86-104974289.html
First listen to the radio broadcast and then listen while reading the transcript. Write 5 sentences describing the story about Jimmy Carter.

Friday's Lesson

We were unable to meet on Friday because I had a terrible cold and I also was injured. Because my left arm was immobilized, I could not drive.

My cold is now much better and the nerve in my arm is now "untrapped." I will be able to drive to our lesson next Friday.

Looking forward to meeting on Friday, October 22nd.

New Goals

1. Prepare for written driver's test.
2. Prepare for job application and interview.
3. Continue to work on pronunciation.
4. Continue to work on listening and speaking.

Extra Practice for Friday, October 15

1. Write the recipe for Shrimp Tempura after watching and listening to America's Test Kitchen.
2. Listen to Voice of America for 10 minutes and write 5 sentences. Tell me about the program.

The following two activities may be very, very hard. Be very patient. If they are too frustrating, we'll try them again in another month or two.

3. Using the recorded message, find out when the Central Library in Madison is open and when it closes.
4. Using the recorded message, find out when the Meadowridge Branch Library is open and when it closes.

Sharing links

I'm going to list some interesting links that I think you will enjoy.