Cultures in Harmony

“Is music the international language?” That is a question I often ask my students. Some say yes because they understand that you can hear the emotion in melody. Of course, when I play Indian or micro-tonal music I get a different response. Some say yes until they hear songs sung in different languages. It is a fun question to ask and makes for an enjoyable conversation class.

Cultures in Harmony truly illustrates how music is the international language. This organization uses music to bring people together.

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Using Soap to Clean Up Land Mines

Social entrepreneurship uses business principles to solve social issues. I discussed Kivaand ModestNeeds in my article,Spend the Teacher’s Money and using pennies to make the world better in my article Pennies for peace. 
CleanUp Soap is a company that makes soap and donates 25% of the purchase price to non-profit organizations that help remove land mines and provide assistance to land mine survivors.

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YouTube Writing

Music examples are a great way to teach students how to write a compare and contrast composition. Sometimes my students are nervous about writing and sometimes they are not sure about what exactly a compare and contrast composition is. Facts and figures? Bar or pie charts?

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Pennies For Peace

In a previous article I talked about usingKiva and ModestNeeds as the basis for a conversation class. The idea was to allow the students to practice conversation while learning about micro-credit. I use a similar class to introduce students to Pennies For Peace.

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Three Cups of Tea

In a previous article, I spoke about the value of an education . I just completed reading the young adult’s version of Three Cups of Tea and am now reading the original version. This book tells an amazing story. I also believe that it can provide a useful perspective for teachers.

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Got-Pecha-Kucha

Pecha Kucha, the sound of conversation or chit-chat, is a fun way to present information and hone your presentation skills.You make a 20 slide presentation where each slide is displayed for 20 seconds; your complete presentation maxes at 6 mins. and 40 seconds.

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The Value of an Education

The value of an education is priceless. You realize this when you read about countries where students struggle to get an education. A recent article titled, Underground University Provides Education in Hiding An underground university from Utne Magazine discusses how Belarusian students are taking courses that their government prohibits.

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Spend the Teacher’s Money

Spend the Teacher’s Money. That is the title of one of my favorite ESL conversation classes. I introduce the students to Kiva andModestNeeds. Kiva is a microcredit site where you can make small loans ($25.00) to help entrepreneurs (from around the world) to become self-sufficient. ModestNeeds is a site where you can donate money to an American that needs a helping hand. With Kiva, you make a loan; with ModestNeeds, you make a donation.

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Using Movies to Teach ESL

Movies are an excellent way to teach ESL. They provide your students the opportunity to listen to different voices and accents, idioms, and language that is current in today’s society. It also makes for a fun class.

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How to get the best ESL learning experience

There are many excellent ESL schools in the Boston/Cambridge area. How do you determine which school or program best meets your needs?

Determine what you want to achieve. Do you want to study grammar? Are you planning to attend college in the U.S.? Do you want to improve your conversational skills for business and career advancement?

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