CAE Students Reminder

Hi, my dear students! This is just to remind you that, as a follow-up activity, you must hand in two written tasks on the Skype Project we all participated in.

Task 1: Choose any one entry in the blog, copy and paste it on a Word doc and edit it. Then, hand it in.

Task 2: Write a Report on the whole experience. Give it the following title:
"A Successful Cross-cultural Experience"

Even though the project is over, you are also reminded that this blog goes on being a place to share anything you find worth discussing, finding out, or just telling the group... It's so enjoyable to read a new posting with news !!

A good question I have at this point to ask you, now that enrolment is open, is whether you have enrolled for the CAE final exam or not, and why. This has to do with your plans for the near future, and maybe we can share reasons and queries beyond our classroom discussions.

Hope to see you back!

Rita

Hi everybody !!

Our common project being over, it seems we have all relaxed...;-)

Anyway, It's been so good to share views and experiences that I myself miss getting your news, friends from Kuwait and Bahrain ! I even miss my own students' contributions, even when I see them 3 times a week! It's as if this corner is really more personal..., freer..., more fun.
This is why I've felt like greeting you all and wishing you a very good weekend, in the hope that somebody will say hi again and will post a few words...

Love to all,
Rita

PodCast of our Skype Rehearsal Session

Hello all,

For those of you who couldn’t attend the skype rehearsal session, held on Wednesday, Aug 17, here is the link to the podcast of our skype conversation:
< http://worldbridges.com/webheads/audio/globalskype1.mp3 >

The recording was done by me, (Buthaina), using HotRecorder.com. Then, I posted the 2 ELP files to Jeff, founder and owner of WorldBridges LiveWire, who has converted the 2 files into one MP3 file and made it a podcast that is easy and simple for all of us to download.

Rita and I are so grateful to Jeff and his team member, Dave for their time and effort, supporting us during the Skype Project.

Enjoy listening to the recording, and stay tune to hear the recording of our final session to be webcasted through WorldBridges, soon.

Hi, dear friends from Kuwait and Bahrain!

This is some Argentinian music, by a well-known artist from Rosario. He's a national rock player called Fito Paez.

• http://es.geocities.com/ritazeinstejer/fitopaez.mp3

Hope you enjoy it!

About the Listening & Writing Activities

Hi all,

I’m sorry that the sound files of the listening activities couldn’t be opened for some of you, like Laura. I’m not sure why this happened, but it’s all right if you understand the topic and have already gotten ideas to write about to present orally on Monday.

Actually, the purpose of the listening activity is to give you an idea about the life experience and dreams of some famous and ordinary people, like Vanessa Redgrave, the famous British actress, and Tiffany the ordinary university student, to help you see if you could relate to any of them.  

Rita and I agreed on that listening to one or both interviews should help you find ideas to talk about for your oral presentations on Monday.

The purpose of the writing activity, on the other hand, is to help you organize these ideas in order to be able to remember them while you’re talking. This should help you speak fluently on Monday.

In order to make it easier for you to brainstorm ideas, here is a handout I created for my students that should be helpful:
< http://alothman-b.tripod.com/handout_brainstorm.htm >

If you prefer to directly outline your ideas, try to use this handout on the academic paragraph outline form at: < http://alothman-b.tripod.com/handout_parag.htm >

Please note that the two handouts, above were designed for students required to write a 8-sentence paragraph, but you don’t have to do that for this “Skype project”. You only need to provide 3 to 5-sentence paragraph, including:

1. General statement on the topic.


2. Your main idea (your hope or dream in life).


3. Reason(s) (notice that you could give 1-3 reasons on why you chose that hope).

Please don’t hesitate to post any inquiry on the listening and writing activities should you need further explanation.

I look forward to reading your paragraphs.

Good luck!


     

Blogger for Word

Hello Rita and everyone,

I’d like to let you know that I wrote this and the other few previous messages from Word. I’m using Blogger for Word, which you can download from Blogger.com. If you use Microsoft Word and have a blogger account, go to Blogger for Word , at: < http://buzz.blogger.com/bloggerforword.html >  to download the new add-in. Blogging has never been so easy.

The only problem is that you cannot post an image from Word, but I’m sure the developer team at Blogger will soon figure out the how to and let us all know.

Enjoy!

Sharq Market / "Soug Sharg"

Sharq Market
Originally uploaded by Buthaina al-Othman.

Sharq Market or as we say in Kuwaiti-Arabic, "Soug Sharg" is a famous mall in Kuwait where teenagers like to hangout in weekends at Starbucks and McDonalds. It is located on the old side of the costal area, known as “Al-Nigaa, currently called the fishing harbor, called”. It has 2 movie theaters that were hit by Iraqi missiles, during the war in 2003.

A Church in Kuwait City

church_kuwaitcity
Originally uploaded by Buthaina al-Othman.

This is a famous church in Kuwait City. As I mentioned, during our last Skype session there are five or six Christian Kuwaiti families. However, we have thousands of expatriates who are mainly Christians from Asian countries. Usually it’s very crowded in front of this church on Sundays that it’s almost impossible to find a parking spot for your car.

Map of the State of Kuwait

Map of the State of Kuwait
Originally uploaded by Buthaina al-Othman.

Al khiran, which is located in the southern part of Kuwait on the map, is a popular Resort where people rent beach houses to spend the weekends. The area between Al Khiran and Mina Abdallah is where private beach houses are located.

A "SpanRabic" Song!

While I was searching the Net for a Kuwaiti song to post here, I came across a cool Kuwaiti song with lots of switching in Spanish, by the popular Kuwaiti group, “Miami”. Ali and I have agreed on introducing this group to you since it’s a creative group comprising four (4) Kuwaiti male singers who started very young and have made their dreams come true. They are now almost recognized internationally. Their songs including some Kuwaiti Raps are heard in the U.S.A and in some European countries. Here is the “Spanrabic” song that Ali and I would like to dedicate to all of you; please go to

“Miami”, at this URL:

<http://mailafriend.guide.real.com/index.html?link=http%3a%2f%2fsong.6arab.com%2fmiami..senyooretta.rm >

If the link, above doesn’t work, please try this tiny url:  < http://tinyurl.com/dmg4j >


Enjoy!

My EfS Class of Spring 2003 - (Ali's there)

stud_pic1
Originally uploaded by Buthaina al-Othman.

Hello all,

This is a photo showing a group of students from my English for Science, (EfS)class of Spring 2003. Ali is the one on the right hand. Ali is joining us for our next Skype session,on Monday, Aug 22.

Hi everybody...
sorry I couldn't attend skype project yestreday, acutally i forgot. Ms.Buth told me that you had a great time. I hope to attend the next skype project.

A Website about Kuwaiti Culture!

Hello again, everyone,

Here is a link to a website about Kuwait. It has pages on Kuwaiti Culture and traditions:

<http://demo.sakhr.com/diwan/emain/Story_Of_Kuwait/Kuwait_before_Oil/Social_Life/media/sk-kbo-life->

If the above link doesn’t work, try this tiny url: < http://tinyurl.com/cb4a5 >

The site can be read in English, Spanish, and French; of course, you’re going to choose the English version, right? :-)

Enjoy!

Recording of our First Skype Session

Hello all,

I listened to the three sound files of the recording. I’ve already sent one of them to Rita and trying to figure out how to post the other two files to the blog here. It’s an ELP file that is not supported by the programs I use.

Anyway, I’ll try to find a way and if I don’t succeed I’ll email them to Rita, so that you could hear them at your c-lab. You need to download and install HardRecorder.com on your computers to be able to listen to those sound files.

Laura and the other students, who couldn’t make it to our first skype session, can also enjoy listening to our skyped conversation.

Best wishes and warm regards from Kuwait, (

THANK YOU!

Hello, Students,

This message is to thank you all for meeting me live online at Skype. I’m so grateful to you and to your EFL instructor, Rita for your time, and effort participating in this skype project.

I had a wonderful time with you. I liked and enjoyed all your questions, which were focused on the topic of our project, “Freedom & Future Dreams in Different Cultures”. I was also impressed that you were the first international students who asked me about Kuwaiti music. This was so flattering for me. I will try to find a short Kuwaiti song to post to the blog, here, so that you could hear it.

BTW, I’m sorry if I talked too much but I was so happy and excited like I was talking to old friends, ( the interesting part was that we all managed to communicate very well in English. You were so clear and I understood everything you said. I really wish that we all meet face-to-face either here in Kuwait or in Rosario, Argentina.

Thank you for your time and effort to join in our first voice-session at http://skype.com/ , and I look forward to meeting you all again there on Monday.

Cheers,

Skype Project

Week 2

It's so nice to see you all here, sharing views and interesting information !
Week 1 is over now, so the Instructions for Week 2 are ready. Go to

• http://alothman-b.tripod.com/skypeproject_activities.htm

to find the Activities for this second week. We hope that you will all participate, even those who might not be available for all the sessions ...

Remember we are counting on YOU for this project...., so we'll be happy to read what you post and to listen to what you think !

Thank you all!

Buth and Rita

Hi, this is a view on Kuwait city (the capital). As you can see Kuwait towers are appearing clearly and am going to talk about them briefly.


Kuwait Towers at the Arabian Gulf Road. Designed by a swedish architectural firm and opened in 1979 they have become the Kuwait's main landmark. The largest of the three towers rises to a height to 187 metres. The lower globe on the largest tower is used to store water in lower half and have a restaurant in upper half, and the smaller globe is rotating to view all Kuwait city. The single globe on the middle tower is used to store water only. The small tower with no globes is used to light up the other two.

Can you see Rosario in this map...?

Many people in the world know us by our football players, or by the "tango"...

What do you know about our country...?

Hi, friends from Kuwait and Bahrain!

This is a view of Rosario, the 2nd biggest city in Argentina, by the river Parana. It has 1.000.000 inhabitants and we all speak Spanish.

I'm delighted to meet you, Buth and Ali !

My students are also delighted, they all look forward to learning more about you and your country, and they have lots of questions to ask you...

Our weekend starts right now, Friday evening, and this particular weekend is longer than the others because next Monday is a holiday. But on Tuesday we are coming back to school.

What are your weekends like...? What do you enjoy doing ? Do you go out with friends? Can young people come back home late at night ? Is that dangerous?

Look forward to your news !

Rita

Hi!!! I´m Poly, one of Rita´s students. I´m 21 years old and I´m studing Business Administration in the States University. I live in Rosario with all my family. I´ve been studying English for many years. I find this experience an exellent opportunity not only to learn more English, but also to get in touch with people from other places.
I would like to know how teenagers live in different countries, which things they enjoy doing and which ones they hate. Also, I´m interested in knowing the difference between their culture and our own.
I hope we all enjoy this experience!!!

Hi everybody. My name is Ali, am 20 years old. Iam one of Ms.Buth students. Iam studying biological science in Kuwait university. I've just creat my account here and I hope to learn more english and more about you and your country. Thank you

Skype Project
Week 1

Welcome to this project, Buthaina and Ali !!
We are looking forward to meeting you in this cybercorner, where we communicate and share beyond our clasroom door .

We are very interested in knowing about you, about the Kuwait people, about your customs and your culture. And we are ready to share our own, to learn and interact together.

So feel free to introduce yourselves so that we start getting to know each other ....