My Comprehensive English Enhancement Plan(Revised Edition)

From the assessment of the Common European Framework(CEF), I think I stand on level B2 in both listening and reading.

1. Listening:
I think basically I’ll keep with my original plan, except that the time for news websites might needed to be cut down. Below are my goals:
(1) Listen to Advanced Studioclassroom every day.
(2) Visit Youtube(www.youtube.com) whenever I have spare time.
(3) Visit news broadcasting sites such as CNN(www.cnn.com), BBC (http://www.bbc.co.uk/?ok) on weekends. About half an hour per day.

2. Reading:
(1) Read TIME magazine everyday whenever I have the opportunity to. Such as during breaks between classes or spare time.
(2) Read Advanced magazine everyday.

3. Class:
(1) Update my blog regularly, about 2 times a week.
(2) Do my best to talk in English when discussing with my team members or classmates.
(3) Review the textbook before class.

English Corner

I attended the English corner after my sociology class today with much anticipation. But at the same time, I'm also quite nervous since I haven't spoken English for a long time. One reason that motivates me to go is that my classmate said she had lots of fun and the people there are really nice, another one is that I want to improve my English speaking ability and make new friends.

I found myself wordless at times when trying to grasp for words , which is a little bit embarrassing. Speaking of "embarrassing", one of the class leaders asks us to share about our experiences.(Though it had nothing to do with the topic "food") We had a lot of fun listening to other member's stories. Mine was about experiences on Halloween making fun of children for not giving them candies(I want to see what will they do to me, you see).
However, the words I said made both of us froze on the spot facing each other speechless, which made both of us very embarrassed...Then, I quickly gave him the candy and he quickly went away.

Speaking of Halloween...

Trick "o" Treat, everyone

Happy Halloween!!

Personalities

In our last week's class, we discussed the personalities concerning two people. One is Gilbert, who is a bit conventional. He likes to remain what he is and the way he normally does things. On the other hand, Anna is quite a adventurous person, willing to give everything a try as long as she has the opportunity. I think Anna is also more open-minded, compared with Gilbert's frequent complaints.

From my understanding of myself, I think I'm a bit more like Anna. I really like to explore new things out by experiencing them. Of course, I also certainly have the fearness like Gilbert, cause trying a new thing requires risking some "risks". However, as far as I'm concerned, I tend to give it a try since we never know what will happen once we've plunged into it.

Maybe the results are full of surprises that we can never imagined of!!

Until The Day Is Done - CNN/REM

The new trailer from CNN's "Planet In Peril" featuring the new REM song
"Until The Day Is Done"

First, I would like to say that I haven't heard of the group REM before then, is there anyone that can tell me about it? Cause this song is really touching, I enjoyed it a lot. Haven't heard of songs that has nothing to do with romances for a long time...

Back to the main point...this video clip reminds me of the issue concerning the enviroment. Recently, I've seen a comment on a website made by someone regarding that Greenland's ice melt has nothing to do with him/her, and he/she thinks that showing concern for it is a completely waste of time. He/she even claims that more ice melts , the better!

I really can't believe why anyone would say such a thing. I think that person just simply takes everything for granted and cares nothing as long as it doesn't affect his benefits. It's not that I want to be harsh, I really think that person is way too selfish.

Forget the unhappy things...

Let's listen to the beautiful melody and, at the same time, think about something that we can help protect our enviroment. I always believe, by doing something to help, despite small ones(ex. don't litter), the effects accumulated can be gigantic.

My Comprehensive English Enhancement Plan for 2007-2008 School Year

I’ve long dreamed of going abroad to study in places such as England or America. To achieve the goal, I know I will need to acquire at least one certain qualification, that is-the English proficiency test designed for overseas students (such as IELTS and TOFEL). To me, of course, this will be a very big challenge. However, I have the willingness to give it a try. It may really be a tough job, but I think I can master it through hard work.
Who knows, maybe eventually, it will result in a “dream come true”.

Below are some of my plans to achieve my goal:

1. Listening:
Recently I’ve discovered that renowned news broadcasting organizations like BBC, CNN offer audio and visual clips from their news programmes on their website. I think I will take advantage of it and make it a habit to listen to it for about 30 minutes every day. Besides that, I will continue with my daily listening programs with Advanced Studioclassroom. YouTube would be a great choice to practice listening, too. I’ve found the website so interesting and entertaining.

2. Reading & Writing:
I’ve made my mind to submit TIME magazine recently as a bridge to improve my reading and writing. From what I’ve heard, TIME magazine is very famous for its beautifully-written articles and unbiased content. By reading it, I believe my understanding of the language will definitely be more accurate. And since we’re required to update our blogs regularly, I think it’s a great chance for us to practice writing.

3. Speaking:
To be honest, this is a pretty tricky question. I’ve seen information about our school’s English Corner from posters lately. Maybe I’ll join that since it’s a rare opportunity. Or I might consider talking to myself in English at times.