Last Day

Here is my hard working class on our last day of classes. You can see in the bottom-right corner a box of doughnuts and some napkins. They were for Koichi's farewell party. Koichi is the student in the bottom-left corner of the picture. He is leaving UW-La Crosse for Sacramento, California.

Behind Koichi is Kazuki, who looks ready to take some notes on his desk. Hiding behind Kazuki and reaching for a Pepsi is Angus. Straight in front of me in the blue is Badr who also is ready to take notes. Looking very relaxed with a big pile on his desk is Ibrahim. To our right and Ibrahim's left is Satomi, looking very nice. To the right of Satomi is Ji Su, looking quite calm. And to the far right is Alia with her books out ready to study. But instead we partied on Koichi's behalf.

Final Comments

What did you like the most about this class?

• Jeremy is a fun teacher.
• I like everything.
• My classmates are always funny.
• This class is sometimes serious and sometimes funny.
• The room is cold.
• The room has strong air conditioning.
• The room is bright.
• The clock is located in the best spot on the wall.
• Some desks are noisy.
• I like having class outside.
• Jeremy's "ping-pong" device is entertaining.

What will you remember the most?

• Koichi always eats M&Ms.
• Kazuki usually eats bananas.
• Jeremy loves cats a lot.
• Ibrahim sometimes comes to class 1 minute late.
• The chain drill activity with A-B-C-D-E-F students.
• Pictures on the blog.
• Jeremy's blog.
• Other languages--Russian, Arabic, Korean, Japanese, and Chinese.

What should change?

• the air conditioner or the room
• That's about all. Nothing more.

What improved the most concerning your English skills?

• The word "sarcasm"
• "Really?" and "Really."
• Word stress
• Grammar in questions and answers
• Stress on "can't"
• "wanna, gonna, hafta, luvta"

Thank you.

Next Semester

Everyone has passed the first level

Some students will go to the second level

• ESL 100 Speaking with Jeremy about role-plays and journalism at 8:50 everyday
• ESL 101 Reading with Kay at 1:10 everyday
• ESL 102 Writing with Liz at 2:15 everyday
• ESL 103 Listening with Patrick at 9:55 everyday

Some students will go to the third level

• ESL 110 Speaking with Kay at 2:15 Mondays and Wednesdays
• ESL 111 Reading with Jeremy about the 2008 US Presidential Elections at 11:00 Mondays and Wednesdays
• ESL 112 Writing with Patrick at 12:40 Tuesdays and Thursdays
• ESL 113 Listening with Beth at 11:00 Tuesdays and Thursdays

One student will go to Sacramento, CA

Homework for This Week

Study for the Final Pronunciation Test on Tuesday
Study for the Final Vocabulary Test on Wednesday
Study for the Final Grammar Test on Thursday

American Cities

Today students gave presentations on northern cities of the United States. They had to answer questions about the weather, certain activities, sights to see, and the hotel. Here are some examples by two students.

Badr gave a speech about Portland, Oregon and the Doubletree Hotel there. There's a famous rose garden and Japanese garden there, plus an interesting zoo. You can see a lot of nature in Portland--the Willamette River and many mountains. Portland is not as cold as La Crosse, but you can go snowboarding in the nearby Cascade Mountains. Rooms at the Doubletree Hotel start around $150 per night. It has an outdoor pool and WiFi.

Angus gave a speech about Buffalo, New York. The weather is similar to the weather in La Crosse. Buffalo gets very cold in winter and sometimes gets more snow than La Crosse. It's about 13 hours from La Crosse by car. There are many things to do there like taking part in the National Buffalo Wing Festival where many people eat chicken wings. There's also a lot of sports teams to watch, like the Buffalo Bills and Buffalo Sabres.

Homework for Monday

Research your American city and one hotel there.

• Satomi - Anchorage, AK
  
• Badr - Portland, OR
• Ji Su - Rapid City, SD
• Ibrahim - Detroit, MI
  
• Koichi - Cleveland, OH
• Angus - Buffalo, NY
• Alia - Burlington, VT
  
• Kazuki - Boston, MA

Be prepared to answer many questions about the city and the hotel.
Also be prepared to ask your classmates similar questions about their cities and hotels.

Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Here are my examples of answers from possible questions about Milwaukee.

When is the best time of the year to visit? - Summer is the best time of year to visit.
Is it nice in summer? - Yes, Milwaukee is very nice in summer.
Is it nice in winter? - Yes, Milwaukee looks nice especially around Christmas time. But Milwaukee feels very cold.
Is it nice in the spring? - Milwaukee is not really nice in the spring.
Is it nice in the fall? - Yes, the parks in Milwaukee are beautiful in the fall.

Questions about the weather

• What's the weather like? - The weather is similar to the weather in La Crosse.
• How often does it snow in Milwaukee? - It snows a lot in winter and sometimes in spring.
• How often does it rain in the summer? - It rains about once or twice a week in summer.
• How hot does it get in summer? - It can reach 100 degrees Fahrenheit sometimes.
• How cold does it get in winter? - It can get very, very cold in winter.

Questions about activities

• What can you do there? You can watch the Milwaukee Brewers play baseball and the Milwaukee Bucks play basketball. You can visit some breweries. You can visit many museums like the famous art museum. You can enjoy lots of music at Summerfest. You can go sailing, water skiing, or swimming in Lake Michigan. You can visit the zoo.
• Can you go shopping? Of course. There are many malls and other places to go shopping.
• Can you go skiing? Yes, but you can't go downhill skiing in the city.
  
• Can you stay in an ice hotel? I don't think so. Not yet.
• Can you watch American football there? Only on TV. You have to go to Green Bay or Chicago to see it in the stadium.
• Can you study English there? Yes, but it's better to study in La Crosse.
  

Questions about the sights to see

• What can you see there? You can see Lake Michigan, sports games, tall buildings, lots of beer, a big clock, and many other things.
• Can you see Harley-Davidson motorcycles? Yes, they are from Milwaukee.
• Can you see Chicago? No, it's too far.
• Can you see strange buildings? Yes, you can see domes.
• Can you see famous people? Yes, you can Bob Uecker and maybe Fonzi. Unfortunately most ESL students won't know famous Milwaukee people.
• Can you see UFOs? Yes, but only if you believe in them.

Questions about the hotel I chose (Pfister Hotel)

• How much does it cost for one night? It costs about $250.
• Does it have a swimming pool? No, but it has a spa.
• Does it have WiFi? Yes, it does.
• Does it have an art collection? Yes, it does.
• Does it have a casino? No, it doesn't
• How far is it from Miller Park? It's about 5 miles away from Miller Park.
• How far is it from downtown? It is downtown.
• How far is it from your home? It's about 3.5 hours away from my home.