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June 5th, 2009LESSON OF THE MONTH: MARCH 2010
March 7th, 2010PART ONE: GRAMMAR
You probably remember that a gerund is a verb+ING. It’s usually used in the continuous tenses, such as:
She is living in Detroit now.
They were hiking when the storm hit.
I’ve been working since 8:00 this morning.
But there are other uses for gerunds:
- They can act like nouns, which means they can be the subject or the object of a sentence. Read the following examples:
Swimming in the river was a lot of fun. (Subject)
Becoming a doctor takes many years of study. (Subject)
My sister loves watching old movies. (Object)
He’s responsible for answering those letters. (Preposition+Object)
EXERCISE A: Using an appropriate gerund, please complete the following sentences.
- I used to be afraid of ____________________.
- _________________in the mountains is wonderful exercise but it’s also tiring.
- Who’s responsible for ______________________the dog?
- One of the best ways you can spend your time is ___________________.
- ______________________in the ocean during a thunderstorm is not recommended.
-
- They can be used as adjectives, instead of a clause:
Falling leaves make quite a mess on your lawn. (Leaves that fall make quite a mess…)
Barking dogs are a nuisance. (Dogs that bark are a nuisance.)
The running man dropped his keys. (The man who was running dropped his keys.)
Crying children are a problem on airplanes. (Children who cry are a problem…)
EXERCISE B: Replace the clauses in these sentences with gerunds:
- The faucet that dripped kept me awake all night.
- The holiday that’s coming should be a lot of fun.
- The crowd that was screaming tried to get into the stadium.
- He jumped out of the way of the car that was speeding.
- I saw the house that was burning on TV news.
*********
PART TWO: There are 10 errors in the following paragraph. Find them and correct them.
When we thinking about our familiarest domestic animals, it’s easy to see differences in its social behavior. Dogs are pack animals, and they are conditioned to recognize emotions in other dogs and in his owners as well. For example, a dog who sees that its owner is angry will change its own expression to one of sorrow or guilty.
On the other hand, cats (except for lions) are not pack animals. They tend to be emotional independent and not particular interested in the feelings of the group. Like dogs, cats often shows affection to their owners, but they are much lesser affected by their owners’ emotions. Dogs seem to want to please us also. Cats please themselves.
(By the way, you can see from this paragraph that the word for a group of dogs (or wolves) is a pack. There are many special words for different groups of animals. A group of horses, cows or other plant-eating animals is a herd; a lot of birds is a flock and a group of lions is called a pride. )
*******
ANSWERS:
EXERCISE A: There are many different correct answers. Some examples are: 1. driving
2. walking 3. feeding 4. volunteering for the Red Cross 5. Swimming
EXERCISE B: 1. The dripping faucet 2. The coming holiday 3. The screaming crowd 4. the speeding car 5. the burning house
FIND THE ERRORS:
Line 1: When we think, most familiar and differences in their…
Line 3: in their owners
Line 4: guilt
Line 6: emotionally, particularly
Line 7: show, less
Line 8: Dogs also seem…or Also, dogs seem…
CISL LESSON OF THE MONTH: February 2010
February 14th, 2010
PART ONE: VOCABULARY
MOVIE REVIEW: AVATAR
Read this movie review – without using your dictionary – and see if you can match the underlined words with their synonyms that follow the review:
Synopsis: Avatar is the story of an ex-Marine who finds himself thrust into hostilities on an alien planet filled with exotic life forms. As an Avatar, a human mind in an alien body, he finds himself torn… “Avatar is the story of an ex-Marine who finds himself thrust into hostilities on an alien planet filled with exotic life forms. As an Avatar, a human mind in an alien body, he finds himself torn between two worlds, in a desperate fight for his own survival and that of the indigenous people. More than ten years in the making, Avatar marks Cameron’s return to feature directing since helming 1997’s Titanic, the highest grossing film of all time and winner of eleven Oscars® including Best Picture. WETA Digital, renowned for its work in The Lord of the Rings Trilogy and King Kong, will incorporate new intuitive CGI technologies to transform the environments and characters into photorealistic 3D imagery that will transport the audience into the alien world rich with imaginative vistas, creatures and characters. –© 20th Century Fox.”
- leading or directing____________
- famous________________
- making money______________
- view or landscape_______________
- native___________________
- unusual__________________
- summary_________________
- war or fight _______________
- unable to decide_____________
10. pushed or forced_______________
Director: James Cameron
Screenwriter: James Cameron
Producer: James Cameron, Jon Landau
Studio: 20th Century Fox
PART TWO: GRAMMAR
Some, any, no and ever are special in that they happily pair up with other words. Remember that words using some are affirmative, no- words are negative and words using any are negative and/or interrogative.
somewhere/anywhere/nowhere
He lives somewhere in San Diego; I don’t know exactly where.
Did you go anywhere on your vacation?
No, we went nowhere.
something/anything/nothing
I want to get something to eat; is there a good restaurant near here?
He didn’t want anything to drink.
She got nothing for her birthday. She’d said she didn’t want anything.
someone/ anyone/ no one (or none)
Maria said she’d met someone interesting at the party last night.
I didn’t see anybody interesting there myself.
No one I know liked that movie.
somebody/anybody/ nobody
Somebody telephoned for you.
Did you see anybody in the kitchen?
Nobody from the office went to the Superbowl; it was too expensive.
-Ever words have the same meaning as any- but they attach to the ends of their companion words:
whatever = anything
Please order whatever you like.
however = in any way
You can finish the story however you prefer.
whoever (or whomever) = any person
I’m giving the ticket to whomever arrives first.
whenever = any time
You can leave whenever you like.
wherever = any place
Wherever she goes, she enjoys herself.
no+ever = never = at no time
My brother has never gone to Florida.
EXERCISE A: Please use a some-,any- or no- word in these sentences
- I left a sandwich on the counter and now it’s gone. I guess ________________ ate it.
- Last weekend we didn’t go ________________; I’m tired of staying home all the time.
- Is there ________________interesting on TV tonight?
- Our trip was very boring; _______________happened.
EXERCISE B: Please use an –ever word to complete these sentences:
- I’ll get you ____________you want for your birthday.
- Of course they’ll be mad if you’re always late! You can’t just arrive ______________you like.
- _________________wins American Idol immediately becomes famous.
- _____________you go, you should always carry your passport.
ANSWERS:
Vocabulary: 1. helming 2. hostilities 3. renowned 4.torn between two worlds 5. grossing 6. vistas 7. indigenous 8. exotic 9. synopsis 10. thrust
Grammar, Exercise A: 1. someone/somebody 2. anywhere 3. anything 4. nothing
Grammar, Exercise B: 1., whatever 2. whenever 3. whoever 4. Wherever
Amazing Mission Beach
November 3rd, 2009![giant_dipper2[1]](http://cisl.edu/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/giant_dipper213-150x150.jpg "giant_dipper2[1]")
When I first got off from the bus in Mission Boulevard my attention was captured by the huge Roller Coaster located few steps from the coast. What I didn’t know was that the Giant Dipper Roller Coaster is just one of the several rides you can find in Belmont Park. Belmont Park is San Diego’s beachfront amusement park & entertainment center located on the surf and sand in Mission Beach. Visitors can enjoy traditional and contemporary park rides, ride the waves in the Wave House, play mini golf and much more. The “Giant Dipper” is one of two original oceanfront roller coasters still operating on the west coast. It was built in the 1925 and has been restored for all to experience the excitement of its quick drops, steep hills, sharp curves and high speeds. Instead the “Beach Bluster” is the newest ride which swings passengers 60 feet in the air to 120 degrees in both directions. “Chaos” takes passengers on a spinning, upside down, three-dimensional adventure and there are a lot of supplementary rides that you have to try personally.
If you don’t like rides but you are a surf lover or simply you love water and you are ready to live a different experience the Wave House is your place. Here you can find wave 
machines, wave pools and surf machines whose purpose is to recreate the thrills and challenge of the ocean. Contrariwise if for you it’s not the right day to experience something new and you simply want to relax you can swim in the swimming pool present in the park. Apart from the Wave House one of my favourite attractions is the Laser Maze. Inside this maze you have to navigate through a web of lasers going over and down them as quickly as possible to arrive to the end of the maze without being hit. It’s a perfect game to challenge friends. The convenient thing about Belmont Park is that you can decide to buy a ticket for all the attractions ( if you want to try all) or to buy just the tickets for the attractions you are interested in, it’s your choice. Outside the park you can lie down in the sun, drink or eat something in the numerous places situated near the beach or decide to practise some activities.
If it’s a beautiful day you can rent a bicycle or rollerblades for 8 dollars per hour. Ride along the coast is a good idea to admire 
the wonderful sightseeing, the beautiful houses and reach Pacific Beach in a easy way just doing a little bit of activity which is good also for the body. Mission Beach is in conclusion the right place to spend a day having fun or relaxing yourself not so far from downtown.
CISL San Francisco – Blog Entry #2
September 1st, 2009Wanda’s class submitted essays for the essay contest and I am proud to announce that the winner from her class is Yasunobu (Mikey). Please see below for Mikey’s blog entry:
How Would You Describe Your Study Abroad Experience?
Hello, I’m a businessman who came from Hiroshima, Japan. I have been studying business English, TOEIC preparation, and the other all English skill which I need at CISL in San Francisco, USA from this April. During this time, even though studying English is quite tough for me because the linguistic system is completely different from Japanese, I’m pleased to say that I have rapidly and constantly been able to improve my English proficiency. For example, my TOEIC score was improved by over 100 points for the short terms despite of the fact that it was about 700 points before beginning the lessons. It was an unexpected delightful miscalculation, and I sincerely appreciate the hospitality CISL showed me during my English study. Mere words could never express my gratitude, yet I will try to explain how grateful I am for everything that CISL has done.
In addition, I enjoyed an extremely wonderful life in San Francisco because CISL could always offer fantastic and dedicated entertainment after school. For instance, when I asked that I wanted to see the baseball game between Oakland vs. Seattle, CISL immediately planned that excursion. As a result, I was able to see the single to left which Ichiro made in Oakland. Honestly speaking, never did I see such a positive and excellent language school which showed fancy footwork. Moreover, I think that these exciting activities were very good chances to talk with not only other country’s students but also native speakers outside of the class. I could really use these interesting opportunities I preferred. Thank you very much!
Essay Contest at CISL San Francisco
August 20th, 2009We invited students to participate in an Essay Contest for our CISL blog. We were on the lookout for creative and interesting short essays about their experiences studying at CISL, or living in San Francisco, any cultural differences they have noticed, or a CISL activity they participated in. This presented an excellent opportunity for students to show off their writing skills no matter what their English level is.
Five students from Wendy’s Level 9 class wrote about their cultural experiences and we are proud to announce that the winner from her class is Eva.
Below is Eva’s blog entry:
What did I know about San Francisco before coming here? First of all, I knew that it was a big city with a lot of streets going up and down – like those pictures you see in films – and that on these streets there were driving the famous cable cars. Of course I had also seen pictures of the famous Golden Gate Bridge furthermore friends had told me that America was the best place to go shopping and that you could meet a lot of friendly and multicultural people. I think that was more or less my background information when I got on the plane to San Francisco.
One of the most important things you learn very quickly is not to think about European scales. Also distances may seem very small on a map. You will soon realize that in reality they are much bigger than expected.
Actually when you look at a map of San Francisco the distance is not the only thing to worry about. As I mentioned before, the city is not flat at all. When you take one of the cable cars or the buses, better listen and “HOLD ON”. You will also soon notice that the Americans are very friendly people for instance a complete stranger starts talking to you on the bus to tell you that he likes your shoes… however could arise some subject comprehension problems considering the differences between American slang and our European school English. I was quite surprised when the receptionist at the hotel told me that he couldn’t “break” my dollars after having asked him if he could change my money. So here my hot tip: listen to what your teacher tells you and do the pronunciation exercises (even though they bore you silly…). After a few days you will discover how easy it is to sound like an American: just use “like” at least twice in a sentence and pronounce the whole sequence as if it was one word.
Once you get more confident about the language you are ready to discover the many beautiful and interesting sites of San Francisco, one of the most liberal and gay friendly cities of the Unites States, go to the Ghirardelli Square and enjoy of the of world’s best chocolate or go watching the sea lions at the famous Pier 39. If you get too stressed with all the sightseeing, you can relax in the Japanese Tea Garden and refresh your energy drinking a cup of Jasmine or Green tea in the tea house or you can take some sun at Ocean Beach.
San Francisco has so many sites that you will need at least a week to get a full impression of its variety of people of cultures, of sexes, of shapes, of fast food restaurants and of so much more.
Have fun and don’t hurry around. If you take it easy you can make the best out of your vacation in S.F.
Alexandra: Sailing on the San Francisco Bay
August 20th, 2009I didn’t want to see the Golden Gate Bridge like everyone else and I got the chance to take a trip on a catamaran. It is really fun and I’ve seen some places I wouldn’t have seen from the San Francisco Piers. We passed Alcatraz, Angel Island, Sausalito and, of course, we got close to the Golden Gate Bridge. The views were incredible and sailing under the Bridge was amazing. I saw a sea dog swimming next to us and it was really incredible! It was my first time on a catamaran and I won’t forget it, because on that trip we had some little snacks, drunk some beer, wine or some coke and of course we got wet but it didn’t matter because we had so much fun. For me the important thing was that I got to see many places that not many people would have been able to see in such a short period of time. Sailing on the San Francisco Bay was unique, fun and of course adventurous! I would never regret my decision to sail on the catamaran and I would do it once again.
Alexandra: Our Intern at CISL San Francisco
August 14th, 2009
Our Intern Alexandra, started her internship at CISL San Francisco yesterday. Please see her blog entry below.
Greetings,
My name is Alexandra. I’m 21 years old and I’m from Vienna, Austria. Right now I’m studying Journalism and Communication at the University of Vienna.
I came to San Francisco about one and a half months ago and all in all I’m staying three months. In Europe it is very important to know many languages and the first thing a company would ask you in an interview: “Can you speak English?”. So English is very significant for me and that is the reason why I have choosen to go to school and have an internship in San Francisco.
Why San Francisco? The city is known for its hills, the Golden Gate Bridge or the fascinating Jail Alcatraz. I’ve seen so many movies playing in San Francisco that I just wanted to be a part of it.
I attended Converse International Language School which was a really good choice because it manages to combine a high disciplinary study level, with a bright and friendly environment including making new friends from all over the world. The teachers are so friendly and you can really feel that they want to help you improving your English knowledge.The school also helped me find an internship to reach my goal, which is able to speak fluent English.
I hope you are getting interested in this beautiful city and want to come here.
All the best,
Alexandra
Creative Writing Exercise: What our Dreams Tell Us About our Personalities
August 14th, 2009Denise’s Level 9 Class recently took a fun “test” to interpret what their dreams say about their personalities. This fun and interesting exercise gave them an opportunity to do some creative writing, AND it allowed them to find out a little about their classmate’s views on life and love. Here is the writing prompt:
- You are walking through a forest; describe it.
- Through this forest is a path; describe it.
- Along the path you come upon a key; what does it look like; what condition is it in? Do you pick it up?
- Farther along the path you find a cup; what does it look like; what is it made of; what condition is it in? Do you pick it up?
- As you continue walking, you come to an obstacle; describe it.
- What do you do? If you go around it or past it, then how?
- Next you happen upon a body of water; describe it. Do you get in it? How fast is it flowing?
- As you walk along, you come to a shelter of some sort; what does it look like? Do you spend the night?
- Finally, you’re walking along when you reach a fence; what does this fence look like; what is it made of; what condition is it in?
- Beyond the fence is a field; describe that. Do you go over the fence into the field?
Here are some of their answers. What do you think that their interpretations say about their personalities?
“It’s dark and the moon is lighting up the forest. There are tall trees everywhere, on which I can see a lot of different animals, from birds to monkeys. The forest is pretty silent, and I can hear the sound of a snake coming towards me!
In front of me I can see a small lake. I would like to wash my toes in it. I’m entering the lake when I suddenly see a big crocodil swimming in my direction ready to eat me!
I’m running as far as I can from the lake when I accidentally see something shining on a stone: it is a key! On it can read: ‘Follow the path and you will reach a cavern.’ I’m running fast and silently as I’m entering the cavern. In front of me there is a locked box: should I open it?
I’m too scared to open it, so I decide to look for the way out of the forest. However, a huge wall prevents me from escaping! I’m trying to climb it, and when I reach the top, I’m able to see the sea. Where am I?
I’m jumping off the wall when I finally wake up: it was just a dream.”
“I’m walking through a forest. I see many trees. They’re everywhere. It’s very humid and cold. I see a river. There’s a bear trying to catch a fish for his lunch. It’s near midday. I have walked all morning, and I have no food. I have no water. I was with my friends, but I got lots when I tried to take a picture of a beautiful lanscape. I’m thirsty. I need water. The bear is gone, so I go the river to drink. It seems clean… I don’t know… but I need it. What is that near the water? It’s bright. Let me check it out… a key? Here? Hey wait! Maybe there is a house near here and I can find clean water. How am I going to find it? I have been walking since morning and I haven’t seen anything. What is that near that giant tree? It looks like a good that does to somwhere underground. The key! It works! SHall I go in? I have no food, no water. What can be worse than this? I’m going in.
It looks like a long and dark corridor. I just see one light at the end of it. I’m walking for 5 minutes, and here I am. A barrier? Maybe if I cross it then I can find someone to help me. It’s difficult to cross and it’s so high. Wait! There’s a hole here. Maybe I can pass through it. Yes! Wow! It looks like paradise. It’s a resort! I see my friends now. Everything is ok.”
“It’s a warm summer day. The bright sun flahsed through the tops of the trees. I’m walking on a path of pebbles. The birds are singing and a soft breeze blows on my face. I hear the soft sounds of a little stream. I pass over a little bridge: the stream is surrounded by thousands of beautiful little white flowers.
Suddenly, I come to a shrine that holds a golden key. An old fashioned one with teeth, about 4 inches long. I was wondering to which door this key might belong. I took it in my hand and it felt very light, though it looked rather heavy.
As I walked on I came to a huge white gate. It was built out of white bricks and had a wide arrow on it. The bars of the gate were golden and the lock looked like my key would fit in it. I tried the key in the lock and as I turned it, the gate opened itself. I looked at this quiet, peaceful place and realized that this must be paradise… I must be dead. Deep in the back of my mind I found that memory, two headlights of a train rushing toward me…”
What do these stories tell about the student’s personalities? Here are the interpretations of the different parts of the story, and what these parts represent:
- The forest represents your outlook on life; how you feel (overall) about life.
- The path represents your plan in life, and is generally more current; i.e. how your life is being lived, or how you see it going.
- The key represents knowledge. If you pick it up, then education is important to you.
- The cup represents your view of love. Was it broken or fragile? Was it solid and complete, pretty, clean or covered with dirt?
- The obstacle represents the challenges in your life; how you normally handle them or deal with them.
- The water represents your sensual side. If you get in it, this means that you basically feel good about it. If not, perhaps you avoid it, or it’s not particularly important to you, or enjoyable.
- The shelter is your view of home life. Again, if you spend the night, it’s likely you feel comfortable about your present home situation.
- The fence represents religion. Does it have hard lines, or broken ones? Is it imposing, or easy to jump over?
- The field represents your view of heaven. Is it pleasant, or threatening? Do you go over the fence and into the field? If so, you’re probably not afraid of death.
This is a great activity to do with friends or with your classmates. Thanks to Denise and her students for sharing!
Visiting the “UrbanTrees” Art Exhibit at the San Diego Harbor
August 12th, 2009Shin’s Level 9 class recently visited an exhibit called “The Art of Trees” at the San Diego Harbor. After the trip, his students took some time to write about their experiences. Here are some of their opinions about the exhibit:
“I was surprised after visiting ‘The Art of Trees’ at the Harbor, because beforehand, I didn’t expect that much. I was wrong!
I really think it is a good idea to do and show this public art and it also shows a creative, cultural side of the city of San Diego. The art trees were very interesting because you can contrast your opinion of them to the many perspectives that other people have towards them. You realize how different your interpretation is than the artist’s interpretation or the intepretations of others.
These art trees make the city look pretty interesting and different from others, as art is seen by everyone. That means that people who like art, or not, are able to see it, to interpret it and to give their own opinion of it. In this was, the trees make art accessible to everyone.
I personally liked one art tree called “Lean on Me” by Robert Verhees because it could have a lot of interpretations and point of views apart from being very creative and beautiful. In conclusion, I strongly recommend to everyone, tourists or not, to spend a little bit of their time enjoying the ‘Art Trees’ exhibit in the San Diego Harbor. I think that everyone is ogiint o havea good time looking at them and also taking lots of photographs!”
“I really enjoyed the field trip on the 22nd of July. We went to see the Harbor and the Art Trees. I really liked the sculptures like the swordfish. But I had a favorite one: it was the art tree caled “Stariway to Heaven” just like the Led Zeppelin song. The stairs of the art piece give the impression that the stairway to heaven in a long one: the stairs were also shiny and had some glitter on them, so they looked like the stars in heaven.
We also saw the ‘Star of India’. It is a large ship with extremely big sails. It was the first sailboat made from iron. I learned that the steering wheel in front of the boat is called a ‘helm’.
Outside the Museum of Contemporary Art, we saw a large LED tower. There was a little poem written on it in LED lights. IT was very strange and I think that art sometimes is a bit too abstract for me. Overall, I enjoyed the trip and I think that I will go to the museum in La Jolla soon.”
Looking back: a class’ favorite CISL memories
August 11th, 2009When all the students from Natalie’s Level 8 class graduated, they decided to do something interesting: make a book about the experiences at Converse! Here are some of their entries in their “yearbook.”
“I have to recognize that these classes have been fun.
What I liked the most were my classmates because all of them are very nice, and always say something funny, and can’t stop laughing. I have also liked the teacher because she is nice, she does different activities from the grammar and book exercises and she also laughed with us.
The best moments have been while playing Taboo, and when we did conversation. I will always remember Chris’
bananas, when I laughed with Juan about something stupid, Christina’s commentaries and laughs, and Rosali’s songs.”
-Edgar, Spain
“My favorite time was playing Taboo with the class. That was so fun! We always laughed together. We had fun together. I liked my class and now it is over and we must go home. I will miss everyone!”
-Roberta, Switzerland
“I enjoyed staying in this class. I like studying with everyone, and with Natalie. I liked all the Taboo matches and the conversations and the day that we didn’t stop laughing. I also liked the field trip to Balboa Park, and I will never forget about the bubble.”
“I will always remember when I laughed with Edgar about stupid things, such as the question ‘what is your favorite color? And why?’ I will also never forget the day that Edgar explained how he could swim when he was a little kid by using a bubble. The days that we played Taboo and when we discussed different questions were very fun.
I will also never forget the day that Cris explained how she prefers Spanish bananas to American ones.” J
- Juan, Spain
“I had a lot of fun teaching this class. Everyday you made me laugh with your stories about taking the wrong bus, or meeting people on the bus, and the crazy stories they would tell you.
I also enjoyed watching you play Taboo and mixing English, Spanish, German, Catalan, and Portuguese.
The funniest thing was the Spanish bananas: much better than the bananas in the US. I will have to eat a banana the next time I am in Spain!”
-Natalie, Teacher