Travelgoddess.net

^^^ Cirque de Soleil is back in San Francisco. And although I am not generally a huge fan, I appreciate the creative promo that they have colored the city with, including taxis such as this. ^^^

Thanks to Nancy for sending me a heads up on this one.

I am just starting to research this lawsuit now and it looks like MC and Visa are being asked to return 1% + 2% of foreign transaction fees to Americans who traveled abroad over the past TEN YEARS. From what I am reading online there was a letter sent to suspected credit card holders. But due I am jumping around addresswise in the US, I havent seen this myself.

Here is an interesting bit on NPR regarding this lawsuit:

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=17265338

And here are more articles on the matter:

http://blogs.consumerreports.org/money/2007/12/foreignexch_ref.html

http://www.creditcards.com/Foreign-Transaction-Fees.php

WANT TO FILE A CLAIM? Go here:

http://www.ccfsettlement.com/

I SOOOO hope this isnt a tease. Although I wasnt able to use my credit card as much in Vietnam, I have used it often enough over the past few years, overseas, that any refund would be FANTASTIC!!!! Especially since I will most likely be in South America earning crap money over the next year or so. Crossing me fingers and looking for a permanent address I can provide for the claim. hhmmmm.

November 13, 2007

^^^ My new fav ESL teaching book; Ideas, teaching analysis and more!!! ^^^

“Teaching English as a Foreign or Second Language” by Jerry G. Gebhard

I love, love, love this book.

Doing the CELTA was great, but there isnt much chance in the hectic, underpaid/overworked world of ESL, at least not in the places have taught, to really get down and dirty with career development. Thank goodness for books like this.

I originally got this book because I was looking for some new activities, and it has that. Everything from the video activity I did last week (1/2 the class watches and listens while the other 1/2 listens only. Then you create discussion groups about the video with a mix of the listen and listen/look folks.) Brilliant.

But then there is SO much more. There are Teacher Self Development Tasks, tons of book recs on the topics in each chapter, real life examples of the author and his fellow teachers. The one thing I will never, ever forget from this book (and that it was nice to see in print).

1. teaching is HARD work
2. EVERYTHING you do in English in the classroom is teaching English. Everything.

Its a nice mix of thinking and doing in the same book. Below are some of my favorite bits from the book.
———————————————————————————–
* p. 53-What makes an interactive classroom interactive?
- Reduction in the centrality of the teacher
-An appreciation for the uniqueness of individuals
- Chances for the students to negotiate meaning with each other and the teacher
- Choices, both in relation to what students say and how they say it
———————————————————————————-

* p. 78-Some ways to give instructions include
-writing down instructions and giving them verbally
-giving instructions verbally and role-playing them; showing the ss what they are to do
-having a ss read the inst., then having a student or two paraphrase the inst. to the class
-giving them inst. as a dictation, then having the students check each others dictation
-miming the inst. as ss guess and tell u what they are supposed to do
-whispering the inst. as ss lean forward in their seats, having them repeat the inst. to the person next to them in a whisper

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