Shakespeare in Busan

Much Ado about Nothing"will be staged on June 2, 3, 9 and 10 at 3 p.m. at Dalmaji Amphitheater. The venue is east of Haeundae Beach in Dalmaji Park, opposite Alexander restaurant."


The Facebook group for the production is here.

May 26 Presentation slides.

The presentation isn't until tomorrow, but my faithful reader can see the slides today!

Draw Muhammad Day

This is my most controversial drawing of Muhammad. Previously, I had him playing soccer and arguing with Harold Camping (2/3 of the way down – the third ‘Brian’).  My previous drawings were relatively innocent but this one picks the low-hanging fruit of his marriage to a nine-year-old when he was in his 50′s.

I have also discussed burning the Koran(do).

The goal here is not necessarily to be blasphemous but to point out the absurdity of demanding people in other religious groups follow your teachings in all cases.

Blasphemy: its a victimless crime

Icebreakers

Groups can be most creative if they are comfortable with each other.  Creativity requires reduction of inhibitions and the willingness to make mistakes: In short, fearlessness.

To that end, some kind of ice-breaker would be useful.  Here are some examples and I think the original lists are available from these links:
Giants, wizards and elves. This is probably better for children and quite active.
Unique and Shared. More sedate.
Alphabet Soup. More ESL-related
Draw Your Name. Pictures and ESL

discussing 'writer's block'

I have written almost nothing on my blogs in the last month.  Maybe I need to listen to this podcast.

Writer's block can be a serious problem considering that authors are expected to produce more and more books.  One a year is now considered slacking.

Writers working under tight restrictions

XKCD explains twitter.

in praise of textbook errors

Somewhere I have a folder of image of strange errors I have found in ESL textbooks.  I am not complaining...much, anyway.  I like having a variety of errors.  As wide a variety as possible, in fact.

Purely as an ESL teacher, I like to have the occasional error regarding spelling or grammar, but I also like those involving math or common sense.
Take this one (click to embiggen):

I think that there is an error jumps out at you, but it took some effort on my part to describe the error.  I eventually made a matrix:

The error below is more subtle.  Perhaps in fact, there is no error, but one part seems strange to me.  To save you some time, I have underlined half of the problem.

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If you had trouble finding the problem, go to the image below.

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A quick online search confirms what I had previously thought; 'Cafe'' is in the name, but I would describe the place as more of a restaurant.  What restaurant lets its employees take a lunch break at lunch time?  What employee would want to skip out on the tips (well, tips wouldn't matter in Korea but the custom doesn't exist)?

Errors that are not about spelling, grammar or the like provide a chance for weaker ESL students to shine.  If a student has a restaurant job, perhaps this example will be one she can relate to and remark upon before a student with stronger English skills.

I don't think I have the self-confidence to deliberately add errors to the materials I give students, there are likely a few already included.  I grumble about the errors in the books I use at my university, but I do enjoy the opportunity they provide.