補交作業(Reflection2+Revised Position Paper+Revised Annotation Bibliography4+Pictures for Leading Class Presentation+Final Group Discussion+Outline)

1.Reflection2:
In the second teacher and student meeting, we focused our discussion on the midterm exam essay. I learned many things from this exam essay discussion. Besides, because I was with Joyce in this second teacher and student meeting, I could get a chance to listen to another classmate’s opinions, what difficulties she encounters while writing and the advices given to her. This is great for me because by listening to others’ thoughts or problems, I can also think whether I have the same problem. Sometimes, we would not be aware of our some problems until somebody brings those problems up. Therefore, this chance is really precious for me to correct my own obvious problems, but at the same time I can also listen to Joyce’s questions and think about them. The following are the things I learned from this meeting:

First of all, I learned that I need to separate the whole essay into different paragraphs. By doing so, I can make my readers understand what I am writing about more easily. They would also understand my main point more easily. In addition, the whole essay would look organized and clear for them to read. By doing so, I can think more clearly about how to present my main point and how to insert my thesis into different paragraphs.

Second, I need to avoid run-on sentences in my essay. At first, I have this misconception that the longer your sentences are, the better a writer you will be. However, run-on sentences could sometimes make your essays really hard to read. Your readers would feel like they are reading some kind of textbook or others because it takes great effort to read the sentences. The way to improve this problem is to write more clear and short sentences while it is fine for you to write a long sentence once in a while. The key is to be moderate while you are writing. You should also avoid too many short sentences in case your essays would appear too bored or plain. You need to add some variety to your essays. Thus, the main point is to be careful with your choices of your sentences’ lengths.

The last but not the least is the problem of how to work efficiently. When we were in the meeting, Joyce mentioned that sometimes it is hard for her to sit and write an essay in a long period of time. And one of the advices you gave us is that when we feel impatient or bored to do the work, all we have to do is toss the work aside and go out having fun. It is really true because it does help you to calm if you go out and relax. By doing so, you can not only get a better outcome of your work but also view writing as a much more pleasant experience. Thus, we would remember to relax a little while we are not in the mood of working.

In conclusion, I find this meeting very helpful. I would remember every advice and put them into practice. By doing these, I am sure my writing would improve in the end.

2.Revised Position Paper:
In these recent couple of years, it seems that the world’s young generation has begun to form a new way of traveling in the United States. It is currently the latest trend for people around the world to explore the American culture at the lowest expense ever in history, especially for students. What’s this new big splash that calls all travel lovers’ full attention?

The answer is the project that the U.S. government came up with a couple of years ago, which aims to give foreign students an opportunity to experience the typical American life with exuberant styles. This is how it works: if you want to apply for this program, you need to be a student at the age from 18 to 28 years old, and you need to be able to stay there at least for 2 months. The U.S. government will offer you a pat-time job at places such as Disney Land, Universal Studios, or some national parks. And, of course, you need to command some language skills, at least to communicate in some basic terms in English.

In my opinion, this is indeed a lifetime opportunity for all of us, who live in a world which English is the most dominating language; therefore, we should seize this opportunity to practice our English through our part-time jobs as well as everyday life experience there. What’s more, we can go see some major sites and earn our own money for the trip at the same time. Sometimes it is said that you can even make more money than the total fees you pay for this project.

This information actually provokes a question in my head: Is it necessary to immerse yourself (e.g., traveling, working, studying) in the American culture in order to learn English well? My own opinion right now is that though the par-time job chance is a really great opportunity, but you may actually learn English better in your own country. When you are abroad, you may learn English very quickly, but you can also get a lot of resources in Taiwan, such as English magazines, ICRT radio or English-speaking English TV program. Sometimes you may even learn English better in Taiwan. However, I do not have the certain and sure answer to this question. Thus, I am going to interview some people who have been to the United States and surf the Internet to find the answer. I have decided my title, which is “Is it necessary to immerse yourself (e.g., traveling, working, studying) in the American culture in order to learn English well? Why or why not?” And the thesis would be the different opinions or information from my interviews and from The Internet.

3.Revised Annotation Bibliography4:
(http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail?vid=4&hid=107&sid=ac4f178b-27e9-4844-b49f-2dc66911d0f1%40sessionmgr8&bdata=JmFtcDtsYW5nPXpoLXR3JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#db=ulh&AN=34912845)I think how the dictionary can help its users best depends on a lot of things mentioned in the academic journal. One of the things is that you can look up a word in a dictionary and understand how to use it in a sentence by looking the examples provided in the dictionary. This reminded me that it is better to be in an English-speaking country to fully understand how to use a word than just to learn the word by its Chinese translation in your own country. Of course you can still learn English well in your own country, but we can not deny the fact that you will have more chances to be exposed to the correct ways of using the right word by everyday conversations with native speakers and the whole English environment. Though it depends on people’s attitude, the fact is that we are more likely to misunderstand an English word by learning its Chinese translation in your own country.

However, since we have been aware of this problem, I think that it is very important for us to avoid these problems. In my opinion, if we can avoid these problems, my answer to my research paper’s topic would be no. the topic is “Is it necessary to immerse yourself (e.g., traveling, working, studying) in the American culture in order to learn English well? Why or why not?” Why? I think so because if we know the correct ways to learn English, we do not really need to spend a great fortune to go to the United States to learn English. We can learn English well enough in our own country by using the right methods and resources and with a right attitude and heart.





4.Pictures for Leading Class Presentation:

5.Final Group Discussion:
Dimitrivsky 說:
and it's very easy to find friends who have same kinds of interests like ours~~ Dimitrivsky 說:
hi every one
Lumi-Joyce 說:
hello
Beverly 說:
where is ko
Dimitrivsky 說:
dunno
Beverly 說:
i call him
Dimitrivsky 說:
we can wait for him like 5 mins
Lumi-Joyce 說:
ok
Beverly 說:
let us discuss
Dimitrivsky 說:
he is not here?
Lumi-Joyce 說:
ok
Lumi-Joyce 說:
do you call him
Beverly 說:
yes
twice
Dimitrivsky 說:
let's begin
Lumi-Joyce 說:
ok
Beverly 說:
OK
who go first
Dimitrivsky 說:
whoever will do
Lumi-Joyce 說:
....
Beverly 說:
what?
Lumi-Joyce 說:
haha
so...
Dimitrivsky 說:
ok
Beverly 說:
Joyce
?
Lumi-Joyce 說:
no
ha
Dimitrivsky 說:
irepresent first
Beverly 說:
OK
i go first!!!!!!!
Lumi-Joyce 說:
ok
Beverly 說:
my topic is community of practice
it is something like a group
Dimitrivsky 說:
so you'll discuss it
Beverly 說:
yes

Ocean柯米3543 加入對話。

Lumi-Joyce 說:
hello
Ocean柯米3543 說:
hello
Dimitrivsky 說:
what intrigued you to do this topic
Beverly 說:
it is a group that we can discuss what we like
Dimitrivsky 說:
great
Beverly 說:
and what we want to participate
Ocean柯米3543 說:
what?
Beverly 說:
and this group can be everywhere
even in the website
Dimitrivsky 說:
this community is like twitter!
Ocean柯米3543 說:
we are talking about BEVERLY"S?
Dimitrivsky 說:
yes
Ocean柯米3543 說:
OK
Beverly 說:
people can use it to discuss what they want to discuss
and they can also post
what they want to ask
Ocean柯米3543 說:
i think this is really a good way
Dimitrivsky 說:
they can learn together in the website too
Beverly 說:
and some people in the website who know about this question
Lumi-Joyce 說:
do they discuss only on the Internet?
Ocean柯米3543 說:
and like some web forum
Beverly 說:
can help them
yes
Ocean柯米3543 說:
yes
exactly
but at the same time you have to be careful
Dimitrivsky 說:
today even some cram shools in taiwan have this kind of service too
Beverly 說:
i think it is a little like the知識家 in Yahoo
Ocean柯米3543 說:
becasue the aswers on the Internet may not always be correct
Dimitrivsky 說:
you know, provide some courses on the net
Ocean柯米3543 說:
yes
Lumi-Joyce 說:
It is really useful for learning
It is quite convenient
Beverly 說:
yes
Ocean柯米3543 說:
or students can stream the teaching videos on the Internet
Beverly 說:
but we can not only rely on the Internet
Dimitrivsky 說:
because the system is beyond time-space limitation
Lumi-Joyce 說:
sure
Ocean柯米3543 說:
from the cram school website
Beverly 說:
we have friends with the same goals
Ocean柯米3543 說:
yes
therefore, at the same time
Beverly 說:
we freinds also can be a Communit of Practice
Ocean柯米3543 說:
we can motivate each other
since we have the common purposes
Lumi-Joyce 說:
I think it may make student lazy to search infromation from library
Beverly 說:

Ocean柯米3543 說:
i agree with Joyce
Beverly 說:
because sometimes we can understand
what book said
so people can help me to explain it
Ocean柯米3543 說:
we may become too dependent on the web site that we become too lazy to search information in the library
Lumi-Joyce 說:
OH I know! you mean we need to read something and then discuss on the internet
Beverly 說:
yes
Lumi-Joyce 說:
good
Beverly 說:
we can not only discuss on the Internet
Ocean柯米3543 說:
that's another way to look at it
good
Beverly 說:
we can also discuss face to face
Dimitrivsky 說:
a reading book group on the internet!
Lumi-Joyce 說:
oh!yes
Ocean柯米3543 說:
sounds great to me
Lumi-Joyce 說:
It is really convenient for us to discuss on the Internet
but
sometimes we need to talk face to face
Dimitrivsky 說:
with webcam and microphone
we can even mimic that
Beverly 說:
yes
Lumi-Joyce 說:
so we can say that the way can offer a more convenient and immediately way to change our ideas
Beverly 說:
wow everybody has so many opinions
Ocean柯米3543 說:
yes we have
haha
Beverly 說:
ok
next one
Ocean柯米3543 說:
see how hard working we are
OK
Lumi-Joyce 說:
haha
Beverly 說:
ko is the next one
Ocean柯米3543 說:
next one is ?
sure
Beverly 說:
come on
Lumi-Joyce 說:
ok
Ocean柯米3543 說:
go!
so do u have any special thoughts?
go ahead and speak up
Dimitrivsky 說:
my key words
Dimitrivsky 說:
are
Ocean柯米3543 說:
yes~
Dimitrivsky 說:
gay marriage
Ocean柯米3543 說:
i am all ears
Dimitrivsky 說:
child adoption, and homosexual
gay rights
Ocean柯米3543 說:
yes they are definitely the very key words
Dimitrivsky 說:
and i researched without not so many problems when i was trying to find some revelant infos in the data base
Ocean柯米3543 說:
i think your paper presents us a lot of modern insights
Beverly 說:
i remembered that i have mentioned
Lumi-Joyce 說:
because many people had discussed the issue before
Beverly 說:
not everyone can go abroad
haha
Dimitrivsky 說:
but later i changed some key words, for i did change my title
Lumi-Joyce 說:
you find a question which can get information to write
Ocean柯米3543 說:
it is inevitable
haha
Dimitrivsky 說:
ur opinions helped me alot
Beverly 說:
i think in taiwan
Ocean柯米3543 說:
yes in taiwan
Beverly 說:
we can practice with our classmates
Ocean柯米3543 說:
the issue is very contraversial?
Dimitrivsky 說:
so not much as we have imagined
Ocean柯米3543 說:
but i think today
Dimitrivsky 說:
but i think it's because we are still students
Ocean柯米3543 說:
many and many people are willing to come out of the closet
Dimitrivsky 說:
and we live in a very liberal campus
you know
Lumi-Joyce 說:
yeah
Beverly 說:
so?
Dimitrivsky 說:
english department of ncu
is very strong in this domains
Ocean柯米3543 說:
and more and more people have liberal attitude towards the issue
Dimitrivsky 說:
so i do see this issue very controvercial
Beverly 說:
wow
Ocean柯米3543 說:
yes it is
Beverly 說:
i never sense it
Ocean柯米3543 說:
sense what?
ㄎㄎ
Dimitrivsky 說:
sense the controversity of the issue "same-sex marriage"
well i think the environment really encouraged me to write sth. like this
even though it's kind of cliche
Beverly 說:
what
so we discuss Dimi's now?
Ocean柯米3543 說:
yes
Lumi-Joyce 說:
yes
Beverly 說:
ok
i got it
hahahah
Ocean柯米3543 說:
or what else do u think we are talking
haha
Beverly 說:
because i think KO is the next
Lumi-Joyce 說:
haha
Ocean柯米3543 說:
so let's continue
Beverly 說:
OK
DIMI
Ocean柯米3543 說:
I think Dimitri does a very good job
Dimitrivsky 說:
do u guys wanna ask some qs about my r essays?
Ocean柯米3543 說:
because your ANNOTATIONs ar very supportive and give a lot of insights
Dimitrivsky 說:
wow ko u did read my annotations
thx
Lumi-Joyce 說:
i want to ask you do you join any movement to support gay's right
Dimitrivsky 說:
not yet XDD
Lumi-Joyce 說:
haha
I had read your paper
Beverly 說:
i have!
Dimitrivsky 說:
well because i am not really familiar with related subject, i wrote this article
really
tell us about it
Beverly 說:
your annotation are very interesting
Lumi-Joyce 說:
and I suggest that you can join it and then you will have more object ideas
Beverly 說:
and give me some suggestion
Lumi-Joyce 說:
Dimi maybe you can take Hans's class
Dimitrivsky 說:
i definitely will join one
Lumi-Joyce 說:
you will know more
Beverly 說:
haha
Dimitrivsky 說:
haha maybe next semester
he is so cute
Lumi-Joyce 說:
yeah
Beverly 說:
because he supported the topics
Lumi-Joyce 說:
I give you a web
Dimitrivsky 說:
i should have researched more in the sex center
Lumi-Joyce 說:
http://intermargins.net/
this is helpful for you
Beverly 說:
JO!!
Lumi-Joyce 說:
yes
http://intermargins.net/repression/
and this one
Beverly 說:
this website is very interesting
Lumi-Joyce 說:
there are many cool article
Ocean柯米3543 說:
yes!!!
Dimitrivsky 說:
thx alot
Ocean柯米3543 說:
u ar welcome
Dimitrivsky 說:
hans gave you this in the class of cultural studies
Lumi-Joyce 說:
yes
Dimitrivsky 說:
great
Beverly 說:
wow
i love this website
Lumi-Joyce 說:
we discuss many issue on it
Dimitrivsky 說:
in fact i am really into cultural studies
great
Ocean柯米3543 說:
that is really helpful
good job!!Joyce!!
Lumi-Joyce 說:
oh you have to appreciate Hans
not me
haha
Beverly 說:
this website is made by him?
Lumi-Joyce 說:
no
he introduces this on the class
and we need to discuss the articles on class
Beverly 說:
what class?
Lumi-Joyce 說:
Introduction to Cultral Studies
Dimitrivsky 說:
great course but i had e literature
Beverly 說:
oh
Ocean柯米3543 說:
so u recommend it to us?
good
maybe in the future i will try
Beverly 說:
yes
me too
Ocean柯米3543 說:
really?
ㄎㄎ
Dimitrivsky 說:
me too
Ocean柯米3543 說:
YA!!
Beverly 說:
ok
Lumi-Joyce 說:
Dimi I think those link can provides more ideas for you, If you want to take this topic to do studying in the future
Beverly 說:
i think we can discuss next ine
Lumi-Joyce 說:
ok
Beverly 說:
who is the next one
Dimitrivsky 說:
thx aloooooooooooot
Beverly 說:
Joyce?
Lumi-Joyce 說:
ok
Beverly 說:
let's gO!!!!!!
Lumi-Joyce 說:
actually I change my topic
my issue paper's topic is:
Ocean柯米3543 說:
OK!!
Lumi-Joyce 說:
Is it an effective way to help improving reading ability by writing the learning sheet after reading?
Ocean柯米3543 說:
yes
and ur final opinion?
Lumi-Joyce 說:
Is doing the work sheet an effective way
to help improving reading, writing, and learning skill?

Dimitrivsky 說:
yes
of course XD

Beverly 說:
ok
i got it
Lumi-Joyce 說:
the reason why I want to change
→I think that both reading and reading are tool for learning
Beverly 說:
what
Lumi-Joyce 說:
so I change my topic to make my issue widely
Beverly 說:
both reading and reading?
Lumi-Joyce 說:
writing
sorry
Beverly 說:
oh
Dimitrivsky 說:
hmmmm
Lumi-Joyce 說:
In fact, I have some problems to search informtaion in the begining
Dimitrivsky 說:
i like this topic a lt
Beverly 說:
this topic is very connected
Dimitrivsky 說:
reading--writing
wow
yes
Lumi-Joyce 說:
and then I use "scaffold" as my key words
Beverly 說:
to what we have experience in our senior high and junior high
Dimitrivsky 說:
i think you might write sth about watching and writing too
you know
Lumi-Joyce 說:
good idea!
Dimitrivsky 說:
a lot of people write their own film critic on their BLOGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGS
Beverly 說:
hahah
Dimitrivsky 說:
hahahaha
Beverly 說:
BLOG!!!
Lumi-Joyce 說:
watching becomes a important way for us to learn
Dimitrivsky 說:
blog how i ADORE it
Lumi-Joyce 說:
haha
Dimitrivsky 說:
yes and we do Read films
seriously
Lumi-Joyce 說:
you guys give me many great ideas
thank you
Beverly 說:
in David's class?
Lumi-Joyce 說:
so I think a great and effective way to learn should include in/out practive
practice
Dimitrivsky 說:
yes in fact
Ocean柯米3543 說:
COOL!
Dimitrivsky 說:
Prof. David Barton
uses watching films to teach
Beverly 說:
you mean
Dimitrivsky 說:
composition
Lumi-Joyce 說:
I like his course
Dimitrivsky 說:
ha ha basically this is related to your subject
Beverly 說:
we can develop some ways to make our leaning effective
i will take his course next semester
Lumi-Joyce 說:
writing down what we gain from watching can help us check out whether we really know the main idea from the film or not
Ocean柯米3543 說:
which one?
Beverly 說:
can you check what we have said
BY　YUORSELF
Lumi-Joyce 說:
so, do you have any question about my paper
Dimitrivsky 說:
nope
Lumi-Joyce 說:
Ocean
let's talk about your paper!
Beverly 說:
OK
Lumi-Joyce 說:
hello
Ocean>
?
where are you
Dimitrivsky 說:
OOOcean
Ocean柯米3543 說:
hi?
let's go
Beverly 說:
your turn!!!!!!!!!!!!
Ocean柯米3543 說:
so
Lumi-Joyce 說:
haha
Ocean柯米3543 說:
whats your opinions?

Dimitrivsky 說:
tell us about ur key words~~
Beverly 說:
it is your turn
to present your opinions
Ocean柯米3543 說:
my paper is about learning English
and i think it is not so difficult tofind relevent information
to find
Dimitrivsky 說:
lte's learn in english
Ocean柯米3543 說:
yes
Dimitrivsky 說:
how did u resolve ur problems
Beverly 說:
i want to know, too
Ocean柯米3543 說:
do we need to go abroad to learn?
my final conclusion is that
u do not really need to go abroad to learn
because
Dimitrivsky 說:
because we have great teacher in taiwan
Beverly 說:
hahah
Dimitrivsky 說:
like ours orifs
Dimitrivsky 說:
profs
ok
Beverly 說:
you can not type English?
Dimitrivsky 說:
continons-nous
Ocean柯米3543 說:
hi
the problem resolved
we have so many resorces now in Taiwan
Beverly 說:
yes
Dimitrivsky 說:
yes
Ocean柯米3543 說:
we need to take good advantage of them
for instance
Beverly 說:
and there are many foreigners in taiwan now
Dimitrivsky 說:
like we can learn by BLOGGER
Ocean柯米3543 說:
the English magazines
Beverly 說:
yes!
Ocean柯米3543 說:
ICRT
CNN
Dimitrivsky 說:
and DISCUSS by MSN
Beverly 說:
Advanced!
Ocean柯米3543 說:
ETC.
yes
Lumi-Joyce 說:
BBs
haha
Dimitrivsky 說:
rfi
Ocean柯米3543 說:
u read advanced??
i read it too!!!
Dimitrivsky 說:
no that is kinda boring
Ocean柯米3543 說:
it is really interesting
Dimitrivsky 說:
hahahaha
Ocean柯米3543 說:
haha

Beverly 說:
i think it is interesting
Lumi-Joyce 說:
there are many great magazines in Taiwain now
Ocean柯米3543 說:
hahaah
Beverly 說:
yes
Ocean柯米3543 說:
yes
Beverly 說:
like EZenglish
Ocean柯米3543 說:
i love advanced
Dimitrivsky 說:
hmm i like blogger more
Ocean柯米3543 說:
haha
yes
me 2
haha
so
Lumi-Joyce 說:
and the magazines are published by foreinger
Ocean柯米3543 說:
back to the point
Dimitrivsky 說:
there are so many great articles in bloggerrs
Ocean柯米3543 說:
yes they are
Dimitrivsky 說:
yes
Lumi-Joyce 說:
so we can use them to learn
Beverly 說:
so many reverent magazines in Taiwan now
Ocean柯米3543 說:
yes
this is my final conclusion
how do u think
do u agree or not
Dimitrivsky 說:
hmmm
Lumi-Joyce 說:
we also can take TV programs on Internet
Dimitrivsky 說:
agree
Beverly 說:
agree
Dimitrivsky 說:
but these magazines are kinda of expensive
Beverly 說:
we can copy them
haha
i am just kidding
Dimitrivsky 說:
we can read them in English Corner
Ocean柯米3543 說:
yes
Lumi-Joyce 說:
we also can watch the film for example : Friends
Ocean柯米3543 說:
it is illegal!!!!!
haah
Dimitrivsky 說:
or in the liberary
Ocean柯米3543 說:
yes we can!!
Dimitrivsky 說:
I watch it like 5 times

Beverly 說:
sex and the city
Ocean柯米3543 說:
yes in it!!
Dimitrivsky 說:
whole seasons
wait
Ocean柯米3543 說:
yes the show!!
Beverly 說:
where is JOYCE
Ocean柯米3543 說:
where is JOYCE??
Beverly 說:
hahah
Ocean柯米3543 說:
JOYCE???
Dimitrivsky 說:
great
she's back
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6.Outline of Research Paper:

is it necessary to learn English abroad?
↓
introduction
↓
the advantages and disadvantages of learning English abroad
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the advantages and disadvantages of learning English in Taiwan
↓
the issue of accent practice
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example from immigrants
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the correct ways of learning English
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final conclusion

Original Draft

At first, I would have the introduction to the differences between learning English abroad and learning English in your own nation. Then I will begin to provide examples from the annotations in the following paragraphs. First, we can see a commercial video for a language school. In the commercial, we would find out that the accent is one of the major issues when speaking of learning English. Therefore, we would look at another material which is about accent, too. We can see that the issue of accent is quite important for immigrants. Next, we would compare another material which is regarding to hoe German immigrants adjust to new American life. We can get a general idea about it is really necessary to immerse yourself in American culture in order to learn English well. Finally, we would examine ways of learning English and some personal experiences of my Aunt who immigrate to the United States to conclude my paper.

Final Draft

Is It Necessary to Immerse Yourself in Order to Learn English Well?
Is it really necessary to immerse yourself in the American culture or environment to improve your English? To answer this question, we need to know what are the differences between learning English in the United States and leaning English in tour own country. First of all, if you are learning English in your own country, you will not be exposed to English all the time while you can have this advantage learning English in the United States. You may just have few chances to be connected to English. On the contrary, when you are in the United States, you are literally exposing yourself to English twenty four-seven. You will hear people speaking English wherever you go. Also, you will see English words everywhere, such as the advertisements on the roads, the names of the shops, the newspapers, etc. This kind of environment would actually help your English gradually, as opposed to learning English in your own nation. Second, when you are learning English in your own country, you would not have many chances to know what a certain word is pronounced. Why? It may be so because you would not have many chances to hear how exactly the local people pronounce the English words. Take Taiwan for example. In Taiwan, when children learn English, teachers would not pay particular attention to their pronunciation. Part of the reasons may result from the educational system in Taiwan. What is the educational system in Taiwan? In general, in the period of elementary school, junior high school and senior high school, the major point of learning English is actually preparing students for the entrance exams to the university. Therefore, the focus of learning English in these periods tends to concentrate more on our reading and writing skills, whereas the pars of speaking and listening English skills may not be practiced as much by the students. Third, the understanding of different uses of different words and phrases could be misunderstood if you learn English in your own country. Why? It may be so because when you learn English in your own country, you depend on translation too much. As a matter of fact, it is not a good thing because when an English word is translated into a different language, there would be distortions of the word’s true meanings less or more. In addition, you may know the meaning of the word, but you do not know in what occasions or situations to use this word properly. Sometimes, you may even offend people because you use a word in a wrong occasion. The same situation happens to the use of phrases and slangs. On the contrary, if you lean English in the United States, you would avoid these problems much more easily because you would hear how native speakers use different words and phrases so that you can gain a general understanding of the accurate use of them. Therefore, we can know from what has been mentioned above that the ways of learning English really matter to you. When you are in your own country learning English, you may consider using an English version of dictionary to look up words which you do not understand. By doing this, you can avoid some errors and misunderstandings of a translation version of dictionary. In fact, there are really a lot of ways that can help you not step into the traps of the barriers of different languages.
There is a commercial video which is about a language school. In the commercial, there are a lot of different students who come from different nations to the United States to learn English. In this video, the major point which the students mention is the accent of the native teachers. The students think that the best benefit of the language school is the teachers’ accent. They think that when they are learning English in their own country, they do not have too many opportunities to be able to get exposed to the real accent of the real native speakers. This is one of the major differences between learning English in your own country and learning English in the United States. After all, the main reason why we learn English is to be able to connect ourselves to the world. We learn English in order to communicate with foreigners well. If we can not understand the accent of an English native speaker, we can not understand what on earth he or she is talking about. The same thing happens to us when we can not speak like an English native speaker, people in the United States may not understand what we are talking about at all. Thus, many people would think that it is necessary to immerse themselves in the United Sates in order to learn English well. However, is it really necessary to do so? Actually, with all the advancement and development of cutting-edge technology, people can make their own environment like an American environment. You can watch American television shows so that you can hear all the characters’ accent and learn from them. As a matter of fact, learning English from American television show is a very popular way for people all over the world now. Why? It may be so because when you are watching an American television show, you will indulge yourself in the story of the television show so much that you will not feel like you are learning English. When we are not feeling like we are learning English, we can keep watching the shows because we would not feel bored. Therefore, we would learn English unconsciously when watching the television shows. In addition, the parts of English we are learning English by the television shows would mostly be the parts of listening abilities. On the other hand, there are also many organizations nowadays for people who are not English native speakers to improve their speaking English abilities. Therefore, In fact, we do not really need to immerse ourselves in the United States in order to improve our English speaking and listening abilities, as long as you know how to use the resources well in your own country.
With all this talk about accent, we also need to consider the situation if you were really in the United States, would you really improve your accent? In the article, “Speaking without an Accent”, written by Elizabeth Baier, its examples of speaking English without an accent can give us some ideas. In this article, it is mentioned that many professionals see an accent as a weakness in a competitive workforce. Therefore, it is actually very important for us to improve our speaking ability to the next level in which we would sound much more like a native speaker. One of the examples mentioned in this article is Sourav Bhunia, who is a native Indian who started studying English in grade school. Although he leads quite a successful life in Massachusetts, Bhunia is still one of the many non-native English speakers who strive to be better understood. He decided to take a course at the University of Minnesota to improve his accent. His goal is to sound more like a native American, and less Indian, when he speaks English. From this example, we can know that your accent is not guaranteed to be better even if you immerse yourself in the American culture. As a matter of fact, you need to take courses, just as what Bhunia does, to improve your accent. Otherwise, it may not be so easy just to immerse yourself in the Amrican culture to improve your accent. Although you hear native American people speaking English wherever you go in the United States, you may still not be able to get the point to speak English like them. From the article, we could know that if you are in the United States for a period of time, you are supposed to be able to express yourself in English, but not necessary mean you would be understood by others completely. It requires personal training, like the course Bhunia takes. In conclusion, the point here is that is it easier to find this kind of courses in the United States? The answer may be yes or may be not. But if you really want to improve your accent and try hard to find help, you can still find this kind of courses and learn the pronunciation well in your own country.
What we have discussed so far seems to tell us that it is better to immerse yourself in the United Sates in order to learn English well. However, the article, “Study Debunks Myth That Early Immigrants Quickly Learned English”, may assert the opposite. The article presents a whole new point of view about how German immigrants immigrating to Wisconsin in the mid-1800s adapted themselves to the English-speaking country. Contrary to what we have discussed above, evidence shows that some of them are actually slow and passive in learning English because they did not really need to change their language in order to survive in that English-dominating country. What is more surprising is the fact that, as it is mentioned in the article, Some second- and even third-generation German immigrants who were born in Wisconsin were still monolingual in German as adults. The reason why all this is happening is partly because the multitude of the German immigrants gather together as in many communities. Therefore, they need not learn a second language to communicate with each other in their communities simply because everybody speaks German there. This discovery is completely opposite to our general idea about learning English in the United States. We often think that we would improve our English very quickly if we learn English in the United States. However, these German immigrants prove the theory false. If people behave like these German immigrants, it is really no use and meaning to go to the United States to learn English. It is just like when a Chinese student goes to the United States, we can not expect that his English would be improved by his hanging around in China towns every single day. You need to find chances to practice English by yourself and try as many opportunities as possible to polish your English skills in the United States. Otherwise, perhaps it would be better to stay in your own native country to study it.
The last difference between learning English in the United States and learning English in your own country is the different levels of understanding in words and phrases. In the academic article, “Language Learning”, it mentioned different ways to learn English. In the article, it mentions how the dictionary can help its users best depends on a lot of things mentioned in the journal. One of the things is that you can look up a word in a dictionary and understand how to use it in a sentence by looking the examples provided in the dictionary. This tells us that it is better to be in an English-speaking country to fully understand how to use a word than just to learn the word by its Chinese translation in your own country. Of course you can still learn English well in your own country, but we can not deny the fact that you will have more chances to be exposed to the correct ways of using the right word by everyday conversations with native speakers and the whole English environment. Though it depends on different people’s ways of learning English, the fact is that we are more likely to misunderstand an English word by learning its Chinese translation in your own country.
In conclusion, according to all the arguments above, we can know that it is not really necessary to immerse yourself in the American culture in order to learn English well. Though it is true that we can get more chances to expose ourselves to English in the United States, the key is actually in your own attitude. If you really want to learn English well, you can still find a lot of opportunities to do so with the technology and all the available resources. Therefore, it really depends on your own.





Works Cited
Joseph, Salmons. “Study Debunks Myth that Early Immigrants Quickly Learned English.” 17 October 2008. <http://www.physorg.com/news143471567.html>
Elizabeth, Baier. “Speaking without an Accent” Minnesota Public Radio 28 October 2008
Nomeglobal. “Nomen Global: Learn English Fast!” Youtube 3 April 2008 <http://tw.youtube.com/watch?v=Ak-cjqFJGhY>
“Learn Language”

Final Presentation

Paper outline: At first, I would have the introduction to the differences between learning English abroad and learning English in your own nation. Then I will begin to provide examples from the annotations in the following paragraphs. First, we can see a commercial video for a language school. In the commercial, we would find out that the accent is one of the major issues when speaking of learning English. Therefore, we would look at another material which is about accent, too. We can see that the issue of accent is quite important for immigrants. Next, we would compare another material which is regarding to hoe German immigrants adjust to new American life. We can get a general idea about it is really necessary to immerse yourself in American culture in order to learn English well. Finally, we would examine ways of learning English and some personal experiences of my Aunt who immigrate to the United States to conclude my paper.
Title: Is it really necessary to immerse yourself in American culture in order to learn English well?
Key words: learning English, immigrants, accent
Change of perspective: At fist, I think it is quite necessary to immerse yourself in American culture to learn English well. However, after all the research I have done on the Internet, my views have changed. I do not think it is necessary now, and my annotations can actually support me. As a matter of fact, it is really depends on yourself. With all the cutting-edge technology in our everyday life, why do we need to go out to learn English while we can learn it well enough right at home? Actually, you can use all the resources available here to achieve the same goal.

Book Review

This book provides students a very systematic procedure which they could follow along while writing without further confusing questions. And it is a good book for students who learn about composition writing. When they have any questions about writing, it seems that they can use this book very conveniently. Teachers who teach composition could profit by this book, too. Instructors can even learn something from this book. They could instruct their students along with the book so that they can both gain something valuable. And it is actually quite different from other writing books because it contains many details that students may have in writing. And since it illustrate its contents clearly, teachers may skip some simple parts that student read by themselves and explain more difficult chapters. And it fuses many aspects of writing, too. For instance, it contains the forms of writing of movies, paintings, etc. This book contains all sorts of genres of writing and different materials we may write about, from literature, visual arts and film.

We can follow the tips which have been given to us in the book. And the professional writers’ articles (as examples harmonizing with each chapter’s theme) enlarge readers and students’ scope of horizons, which inspire them to work harder by maybe imitating them in the first place. After being familiar with professional articles, students may use them to begin their own original work since they are really masterpieces. It provides students essays, which encourage students to write as good as them and sympathize them since they make similar mistakes. We also think there is another key point the book teach us from the basic theory. For example, it mentions how to summarize an article. As a matter of fact, this is the first step to learn how to write a good composition.

From these student essays, we can know how to revise our problems, just like our discussion in class before, we compare two articles and then we can notice which one is better. And when this book talks about paintings, it would give us many paintings for students to practice. It provides students with essays, which encourage students to write as good as them and sympathize with them since they make similar mistakes. What’s more, this book is endowed with vivid illustrations helping readers understand its words. Its wording and typesetting are impeccable with different colors and sizes of words. We think in the book, it provides many question to think after reading the article. And it is very important because we can realize some points which we ignore before. We find that the questions the book provides after the article are the key point.
Questions make/force us to think, and to reflect. They would also sharpen our interpretative skills. There is also another good point. In the book, it has a "remember column.” It can remind us of some writing tips. Also, sharing is quite important in the writing pedagogy. Students' own thoughts and teachers' are interacting if they share thoughts with each other. In conclusion, we think that this book is very good in general.

Annotated Bibliography 4

(http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail?vid=4&hid=107&sid=ac4f178b-27e9-4844-b49f-2dc66911d0f1%40sessionmgr8&bdata=JmFtcDtsYW5nPXpoLXR3JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#db=ulh&AN=34912845)
I think how the dictionary can help its users best depends on a lot of things mentioned in the journal. One of the things is that you can look up a word in a dictionary and understand how to use it in a sentence by looking the examples provided in the dictionary. This reminded me that it is better to be in an English-speaking country to fully understand how to use a word than just to learn the word by its Chinese translation in your own country. Of course you can still learn English well in your own country, but we can not deny the fact that you will have more chances to be exposed to the correct ways of using the right word by everyday conversations with native speakers and the whole English environment. Though it depends on people’s attitude, the fact is that we are more likely to misunderstand an English word by learning its Chinese translation in your own country.

Revised Annotated Bibliography 3

The difference between learning English in an English-speaking country and not an English-speaking one is mentioned in this video: that is, the pronunciation of the native teacher and the way students learn English are more helpful to them than the way they were taught in their native countries. Still, there are other opinions may be against these thoughts.

As far as I am concerned, I am pretty identified with what these students say in this video. My identification with them actually bases on my own experiences. In effect, I have been in the United States twice before. I think one of the greatest advantages of learning English in an English-speaking country is exactly the one mentioned by the students that we can learn the accent of the native speakers. However, it still depends on what your attitude is when you are abroad. You need to be active in improving yourself rather than passive in learning the foreign language when you are abroad. Otherwise, you will still not improve your language skills in a foreign country.