Thursday, February 24, 2005

grammar talk

announcing a new weblog...this one is for the purpose of discussing grammar and TOEFL-ish grammar questions.

Now I should say that even today ETS, maker of TOEFL, is getting away from what the mainstream leaders of this field feel is an over-obsession with the picayune, tiny matters of grammar. You know, like the difference between on time and in time, for only one classic example. It has been said, and often repeated, that knowing the rules that determine which one to use is not the same as fluency.

Nevertheless knowing why we do what we do, and when, is still important. Why? One reason is that second language learners always ask. Well, just because they ask, doesn't make it right, does it? It may not make them more fluent to know the answer, but if it helps them understand how the grammatical system works, it's helping them. At least, that's my stand.

I have an article on the subject, if you're really interested. It's here (pdf)...It's called "A question of time." It will be coming out in Global Study Magazine, soon.

Visit and join the new weblog!

Friday, February 18, 2005

LOGO Contest

CESL is having a LOGO CONTEST (details here) and it's having it very quickly, because, as you may know, special students from Chung Buk National University are leaving soon. At the same time, special students from Tokashima University are just arriving! It's good to have everyone here...make a logo, please! We need good ones...for the web...for the brochures...for the T-SHIRTS!

Monday, February 14, 2005

Big Fish

Assignments are pouring in from our Big Fish movie class; take a look at the EAP1 class page and the AE2 class page to see what's being done. The other classes are doing well, too...going to make a really nice issue of CESL Today, if you don't mind my saying.

My own reactions to Big Fish are mixed. Both the movie and the book use flashback style, so it's kind of like going down a country road with one foot on one old truckbed, and another on another...hard to stay on top of it, so to speak...

More on this later.