High Schoolers’ Happy Day in America

When I heard an excited voice of this American mom over the phone, I was like ‘Hmmm….what is with all this jollification? Why is this mom so overly excited?’ The one-sided lecture of this mother about the upcoming prom over the phone just sounded like a trivial fuss to me in the midst of joggling with busy thoughts about my son’s college prep and future. Contrary to most high school kids’ excited moms and dads with the junior or senior prom coming near at hand, my husband and I were very apathetic to this whole hustle and bustle…..which seemed more like unnecessary kerfuffle. This mom on the other side of the phone asked “Where would you like to get a beautiful corsage for my daughter and boutonniere for your son?”, and I was thinking ‘When are you gonna get serious about your daughter’s GPA or SAT scores?’ I bet she must have felt that I was very uninterested in this prom preparation and considered my nonchalant attitude even a perfidious manner in dealing with American high schoolers’ favorite and fun-filled event!

Prom is one of the biggest events of high school students – normally for juniors and seniors - in the States. They sell prom tickets and students are asked to turn in a completed permission slip when they purchase their tickets. The one who goes to the prom is supposed to work up the courage to ask his or her own crush to be their date on the prom night. (However, it doesn’t matter if you go solo to the prom.) Some girls and boys hoard money to buy a dress and a tuxedo to wear for their prom date night, and some others ask their parents to buy the most unique and fancy attire that would stand out in the crowd.

When I was invited to a photo session of the group of boys and girls – where my son was included – before the prom night, I was a bit shocked to see some of the girls’ revealing dresses that would be better on the red carpet for the Oscar night. That moment, I was thinking of Shakespeare’s synesthesia used in King Lear. LOL…

“Thou art a lady: if only to go warm were gorgeous,

Why nature needs not what thou gorgeous wear’st,

Which scarcely keeps thee warm.”

Although I’m still not quite sold on the festive mood and the big idea of “prom” as a dull, nerdy Asian mother, I must admit that American high school kids have always been and will be in love with their romantic prom date and dance. Yes, it marks as one of the happiest days in their high school life, and I have no right to be a wet blanket in the middle of their traditional event. Alright, young ones, just enjoy the day and make a beautiful memory……as long as you guys are responsible for your own behavior! I feel as if my son were saying to me somewhere “Oh, c’mon! Give them a break, mom!” ;)

Expressions

jollification: (noun) lively celebration with others; merrymaking

prom: (noun) short for promenade; a formal dance, especially one held by a class in high school or college at the end of a year.

apathetic to…: (adjective) not at all interested in or enthusiastic about anything, and not willing to make any effort to change things

hustle and bustle: (noun) a lot of noisy activity/ commotion

kerfuffle: (noun) a fuss/ commotion

corsage: (noun) a small bouquet worn at the waist, on the shoulder, on the wrist, etc., by a woman

*For the prom dance night, normally boys’ moms prepare/ buy the corsage for their sons’ dates.

boutonniere: (noun) a flower or small bouquet worn, usually by a man, in the buttonhole of a lapel

nonchalant: (adjective) coolly unconcerned, indifferent, or unexcited; casual

perfidious: (adjective) deliberately faithless; treacherous; deceitful

to work up the courage: (verb) to gather/ accumulate courage steadily

crush: (noun) a brief but intense infatuation for someone, especially someone unattainable or inappropriate

to go solo: (verb) to do something alone

to hoard money: (verb) to get and keep a large amount of something because it might be valuable or useful later

synesthesia: (noun) a condition in which two or more of the five senses that most people experience separately are mixed so that, for example, a person may see colour when they hear a particular sound or read a particular word

Stars Could Have Been Saved If they Had Been in Good Hands.

Where were you or what were you guys doing when you heard the news of global stars’ untimely demise? There seems to have always been unexpected and sad news of celebrities’ sudden death.  Each time the tragic news hit the world, I wonder WHAT took the lives of these well-known figures without batting an eye?!!!  The worldly famous mega stars in the Tinseltown or music industries seem to have everything that normal people dream of: Money, fame, beautiful spouse or friends, steadfast love from fans from all over the world. Yes, they belong to the so-called favored class in our society that could obtain EVERYTHING they put their mind to. Sadly, one of the most dangerous things easily available in their lives is drugs. The drugs could either be legal or illegal. Recently, the super recording artists such as Michael Jackson and Prince passed away due to the overdose of drugs prescribed by their own doctors.

According to the American psychiatrist and bioethicist named Robert Klitzman, these musical icons could have been saved if they had not been suffering from what we call “V.I.P. Syndrome”.  He says the concept of VIP syndrome was first introduced in 1964, by a psychiatrist, Walter Weintraub. It is happening when medical doctors treat an "important" patient as "special," making exceptions to standard procedures. In other words, these doctors wish to be deeply and closely involved in the lives of these well-heeled and well-known patients. Thus, they oftentimes forego appropriate tests and safety measures because the VIP patients might find these necessary procedures very inconvenient. Since quite a few celebrities put their privacy on top of their priority list and never wish to be treated as ordinary people, their doctors tend to cater to their VIP patients’ dangerous demand.

As pointed out by Dr. Robert Klitzman in his column, celebrities are not the only group of special people that are afflicted by V.I.P. syndrome. He says “professional colleagues -- such as physicians getting treatment where they work, and wealthy people who, hospitals believe, may donate money -- can end up with it, too.” To these medical doctors, their patient's best interests are not the only motivation factor. They already have other concerns going on in their mind: “money, glamor, friendship, social hierarchy, prestige.”

If Michael Jackson’s doctor Conrad Murray had not been all ears to his super rich-and-famous patient’s constant asking for “MORE MILK” (meaning the powerful anesthetic Propofol) every hour throughout the night, we could have still been hoping for MJ’s next concert tour around the world. Things were pretty much the same with Prince’s death.  If his doctor had eschewed the VIP syndrome with this rock star patient by informing him how critical and deadly the prescribed pain killer (called Fentanyl) can get, the Purple Rain singer’s Piano and a Microphone concert would have still been going on.

As an ardent fan of MJ and Prince(still reeling from the shock of their deaths), I do hope and pray there will be a lot more genuinely doughty medical doctors out there for patients who can say “NO” to drug abuse no matter how influential or wealthy their V.I.P. patients might be.

Expressions

demise: (noun) a person’s death or an end of institute/ enterprise

without batting an eye: (adverbial phrase) showing no emotion, acting as though nothing were unusual

Tinseltown: (noun) nickname of Hollywood

V.I.P.  syndrome:  (noun) a “condition” caused when a very important person–V.I.P. by virtue of fame, position or claim on public interest–disrupts the normal course of Pt care in a hospital

to forego something: (verb) to choose to give up something

Propofol: (noun) proper name for a very strong anesthetic solution that is supposed to be administered under a strict supervision in hospitals

to reel from (some kind of shock/ tragic incidents) : (verb) to feel extremely devastated, shocked, and confused because of …..

doughty: (adjective)  valiant/ brave

How to Become a Good ESL (English as a Second Language) Teacher for the Adult Immigrants

English as a Second Language (ESL) classes face various problems or dilemmas with the increasing number of adult immigrants, which operate as influential factors on their second language learning in the U.S. and Canada. Those challenges range from cultural misconceptions about the adult immigrants’ quality of mental health and characteristics, the change of personal and social identity to misunderstanding about their learning habits to all the misconceptions about literacy and language diversity in the new world to aging as an immigrant. As Weinstein-Shr (1993) argued, there is little or no ground for the belief that elderly immigrants are incapable of becoming literate unless there have negative attitudes towards educators, or the elders do not make the efforts. Therefore, the ESL instructors must conduct the needs-analysis before teaching the learners and help the elderly immigrant learners to manage their problems related to misconceptions about literacy as well as their social adjustments. That is, the ESL instructors are expected to consider the needs and resources (i.e., dealing with day-to-day life and issues about their changing roles in family and society) brought to the class by the elderly immigrants. Furthermore, these attempts by the instructors should be accelerated by the efforts of the ESL program itself such as providing the optimum physical setting for learning.

There can be an effective cure in the ESL classroom for the adult immigrants’ undesirable learning habits that are misunderstood as learning disability as well as the real case of learning disabilities. It should be the first step for the ESL teachers to obtain and examine sufficient amount of information on the adult immigrant students’ prior learning experiences. And once the students are categorized as the case of learning disability, the ESL teachers should consider following guidelines proposed by Schwarz and Terrill (2000): In order to guide and help the adult learners with learning disabilities, the instructions should be highly structured and predictable. Furthermore, the instructions need to use several senses or multiple intelligences (i.e., visual, special, kinesthetic, musical, logical-mathematical intelligences) and make concepts or content comprehensible through using various graphic organizers. One of the critical roles of the instructor is to know that the learners with learning disabilities may have difficulty sorting out or retrieving the information provided to them. In this sense, especially when it comes to test the adult immigrants with learning abilities in the class, accommodations such as reading and writing, extended time or large print should be taken into consideration (Burns, 1998, as cited in Kunnan, 2001).

The myriad needs that the adult immigrants bring to the ESL classroom can be the critical foundation on which the instructors build up a safe and promoting learning setting for them, and this would eventually promise the improved face of the societies in the U.S. and Canada consisting of millions of immigrants. Yes, we the ESL educators are supposed to be like latitudinarians when it comes to dealing with various cultures in class! In this respect, before judging the adult immigrants’ language learning ability based on the smattering of their hidden factors, I hope the ESL educators always make sure to realize “individual self-worth, dignity, and respect for the limited English proficient students” (Woolley, Gill, McDonald, Van Camp, & Sisco, 1999, p.5). That way, adult immigrants would be able to find their time in the ESL classrooms jammy and happy!

Expressions

multiple intelligences: (noun) The theory of multiple intelligences was developed in 1983 by Dr. Howard Gardner, professor of education at Harvard University. It suggests that the traditional notion of intelligence, based on I.Q. testing, is far too limited. Instead, Dr. Gardner proposes eight different intelligences to account for a broader range of human potential in children and adults. These intelligences are as follows:

Linguistic intelligence (“word smart”)

Logical-mathematical intelligence (“number/reasoning smart”)

Spatial intelligence (“picture smart”)

Bodily-Kinesthetic intelligence (“body smart”)

Musical intelligence (“music smart”)

Interpersonal intelligence (“people smart”)

Intrapersonal intelligence (“self smart”)

Naturalist intelligence (“nature smart”)

kinesthetic: (adjective) Also called “tactile learning”. This is a learning style in which learning takes place by the students carrying out physical activities, rather than listening to a lecture or watching demonstrations

latitudinarian: (noun = adjective) This expression originates from allowing latitude in religion; showing no preference among varying creeds and forms of worship

smattering: (noun = adjective): slight superficial knowledge of a language or subject

jammy: (adjective) pleasant, comfortable, easy

References

Kunnan, A. J. (2001). Test accommodation for test taker with      disabilities.               Report submitted to the University of Cambridge Local Examinations Syndicate, Cambridge, U.K.

Schwarz, R., & Terrill, L. (2000). ESL instruction and adults with learning    disabilities (Research Report No. EDO-LE-00-01). Washington, DC: National Clearinghouse for ESL Literacy Education. (ERIC Document Reproductio Service No. ED 443298)

Weinstein-Shr, G. (1993). Growing old in America: Learning English literacy in  the later years (Research Report No. EDO-LE-93-08). Washington, DC: National Clearinghouse for ESL Literacy Education. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED 367197)

Woolley, W. M., Gill, R., McDonald, P., Van Camp, B., & Sisco. (1999).  Immigration stress: Families in crisis (research Report No. EDO-UD-028-602)

Let’s Practice English Idioms VII

What’s the biggest obstacle in your journey of exploring English? It could be grammar, pronunciation, or huge amount of vocabulary that seems to be endless. Above all, idiomatic expressions that have hidden, figurative meanings. Without understanding the cultural background or conventional usage of idioms, one can hardly imagine what those words are supposed to mean.

Using the given list of idioms and your imagination, try to choose a proper expression to fill in the blank of each sentence below.

a.   cut to the quick

b.   beside oneself (with emotion)

c.    bare your heart (or soul) to someone

d.   clinch a deal

e.   bind one’s time

f.     hold all the aces  

g.   have a ball

h.   rigged

i.     mugwump

j.     cough up (some information/ money)

1. Brian was 

_________________________________ with rage when his boss gave a ton of extra work for the upcoming three-day weekends.

2. The man turned out to be just an old________________________, as he couldn’t make up his mind between the two Republican candidates.

3. You’ve seen her for a decade and not popped the question yet? I think it is just about right time for you to __________________________________ to Mindy!

4. Dan refused to say who attacked him until his father made him ________________________ the names.

5. Donald Trump keeps asserting that mass media is totally _______________________ against him throughout the presidential campaign, which makes people believe that he is an impossible villain and racist.

6. Ryan’s cheating on his wife deeply _________________ her _____________________________.

7. It was hard for the patient to win this case since the hospital ______________________________________________.

8. I decided to ______________________________ until my child went to college before I started my own study at graduate school.

9. Keisha ________________________________ at her birthday party yesterday.

10. I heard that he finally ______________________________________to buy the land he’d wanted so long.

Clues

cut someone to the quick: (verb) hurt someone’s  feelings or offend them deeply.

beside oneself: (adjective) If you are beside yourself (with an emotion), you lose your self-control because of the intensity of the emotion you are feeling

bare one’s heart (or soul) to someone: (verb) reveal one’s innermost thoughts and feelings to them.

clinch a deal: (verb) reach agreement on a proposal or offer/ or finally win or get something

bide one’s time: (verb) wait for a good opportunity to do something

hold all the aces: (verb) to be in a very strong/winning/favorable/controlling position because they have more advantages than anyone else

have a ball: (verb) to enjoy immensely (synonymous expression: to have a blast)

rigged: (adjective) used to describe a situation where unfair advantages are given to one side of a conflict

mugwump: (noun) a political fence-sitter who takes neutral position and remains aloof or independent from party politics

cough up: (verb) If you have to cough up something, such as money or information,  you give it reluctantly or unwillingly

Answer Keys

1. b. beside himself

2. i. mugwump

3. c. bare your heart

4. j. cough up

5. h. rigged

6. a. cut to the bone

7. f. held all the aces

8. e. bind my time

9. g. had a ball

10. d. clinched a deal

Phobia Report

I don’t remember exactly when, but my fear of birds must have crept into my mind since I happened to watch the Alfred Hitchcock’s film The Birds as a child. As well aware, the movie is about birds’ sudden attack on humans in a Californian bay area. I find myself sitting on the edge of my seat, white-knuckling the entire movie.  Through my fingers covering my frightened eyes, I saw a huge flock of sparrows and seagulls flying into houses and finally engulfing the entire town. I felt the goose bumps and creeps all over me. Since that day, I have unintentionally developed some kind of ornithophobia. However, as a dweller in a mid-west town closely surrounded by nature in the States, I have come to savor the joyful chirping of the birds early in the morning, and my fear of birds has gradually disappeared. Well, how about you out there? Is there anything specific that petrifies and terrorizes you by just the thought of being around it? Do you think they can be overcome with gumption at some points in life? Today, we would like to talk about a variety of “phobias” that people suffer from.

Expressions

to sit on the edge of one’s seat: (verb) to wait eagerly or anxiously for some resolution, feeling nervous

to white-knuckle something: (verb) to survive something threatening through strained endurance, that is to say, holding on tight

flock: (noun) a flock is a group of birds conducting flocking behavior in flight

goosebumps: (noun)  momentary roughness of the skin caused in response to cold or to a strong emotion, such as fear or awe. Synonyms include goose flesh and goose pimples.

ornithophobia: fear of birds

gumption: courage, confidence

List of Phobia
xenophobia: the fear of foreigners

agoraphobia: the fear of open spaces such a huge park with large crowds

ó claustrophobia: the fear of enclosed or tight spaces. Severe level of claustrophobia can be especially disabling if it prevents you from riding in cars or elevators.

acrophobia: the fear of heights, which makes you stay away from mountains, bridges, or the higher floors of buildings, roller-coaster rides, and traveling by air. Symptoms include vertigo, dizziness, sweating, and feeling as if you’ll faint.

** aerophobia: the fear of flying which is usually associated with agoraphobia, claustrophobia, or acrophobia

coulrophobia: the fear of clowns. (Quite a lot of people are afraid of clowns –beginning from their childhood-  that show exaggerated makeup and acting)

hemophobia: the fear of blood or injury

homophobia: irrational fear of, aversion to, or discrimination against homosexuality or homosexuals

social phobia: social anxiety disorder which makes you extremely worry about social situations that can lead to self-isolation. A social phobia can be so severe that the simplest interactions, such as ordering at a restaurant or answering the telephone, can cause panic. Those with social phobia will often go out of their way to avoid public situations.

autophobia: the fear of abandonment phobia which is characterized by extreme dependency on others. People with this phobia are generally diagnosed with Borderline Personality disorders

glossophobia: the fear of public speaking (*We normally express this feeling as some kind of “stage fright”)

aichmophobia: the morbid fear of sharp things, such as pencils, needles, knives, a pointing finger

trypophobia: the fear of holes. The mere sight or thought of holes can set off a panic attack in the trypophobe (e.g., fear of beehives)

ortholinaphobia: the fear of straight lines

mysophobia: the excessive fear of germs which is often closely related to obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD)

phobophobia: the fear of phobias or fear of developing a phobia. It is closely connected to anxiety disorders and panic attacks

<zoophobia> : specific phobias to particular animals

cynophobia: the fear of dogs is known to be quite common owing to the historic association between dogs and wolves. As a result, most cynophobics generally fear large and vicious looking dogs, though, in extreme cases, one might even fear small or aggressive puppies

ophidiophobia: the fear of snakes affecting nearly 1/3rd of the adult human population.

ornithophobia: the fear of birds

ranidaphobia: the fear of frogs

arachnophobia: the fear of spiders

kastaridaphobia: the fear of cockroaches

musophobia: the fear of mice

vermiphobia: the fear of worms

moths: the fear of moths

Say It Right: from Konglish to English

Language is a medium of communication. The ones normally used by multitude of people in Korea can be useful in the respect that they are common expressions among them. However, that does not mean reciprocal communicability in the countries where English is used as a mother tongue.

Let’s change the underlined expressions (=Konglish) in the following examples into correct words.

1. Mrs. Jackson placed the tamales and tacos on a huge plate and covered it  with vinyl wrap.  è _________________________

2. Kids went to Knott’s Berry Farm and had a lot of fun on the flume ride è _________________________         

3. Josh needs some colorful clips and a hotchkis to hold different sorts of documents together. è _________________________and a _____________________________

4. Coach Tim provided the school track and field team with the best-selling pain relief pass è pain relief ____________________.

5. The highlight of the auto show was the open cars. è ___________________________

6. My son was into all different kinds of construction vehicles as a child, and remi-con was his favorite. è ______________________ truck

7. I love this check print jacket. è _______________________ jacket

8. Do you prefer cream pasta to pesto sauce? è pasta with ________________________

9. Jessica set me up with a handsome boy coming weekend. I just can’t wait for the meeting! è ___________________________

10. You need coating for this document so that it won’t dog-eared or ripped apart.  à _____________________

11. Mickey got caught by the proctor while cunning in the exam. è ______________________

12. The screws on the table have gotten loose. Will you get me a cross-shaped driver from the tool box? è _______________________

13. We are supposed to get a flu shot when we are in good condition.

è ___________________________

14. I will make some ome-rice for dinner tonight. è __________________________________

15. Use this magic on the white board. è __________________________

16. The diva started to date one of her back dancers. è ________________________  dancers.

17. Today in the field of fashion industry, glamor or muscular models are more popular than rail-thin women. è ______________________

18. As it gets warmer outside, many people enjoy outdoor leports these days. è _____________________________________

19. Surprisingly, a lot of youngsters drive autobi without license. è _______________________

20. You need a couple more panties. è __________________________

Answer Keys

1.   vinyl wrap è plastic wrap

2.   flume ride è water chute

3.   clips and hotchkis è paper clips and stapler

4.   pain relief pass è pain relief patches

5.   open cars è convirtibles

6.   remicon è cement mixing truck

7.   check print è plaid or checkered pattern

8.   cream pasta è pasta with creamy sauce or Alfredo sauce

9.   meeting è blind date

10.        coating è lamination

11.        cunning è  cheating

12.        driver è screw driver 

13.        condition è physical state/ condition

14.        ome-rice è omelette with rice filling

15.        magic è marker

16.        back è backup

17.        glamor è voluptuous

18.        leportsè leisure sports

19.        autobi è motorbike or motorcycle

20.        panties è underwear   or  briefs