Lesson Plan: Using Obama's Speeches to Teach Word Stress to ESL/EFL Students

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/1941338/free_efl_lesson_plan_using_obamas_speeches.html?cat=4

In this lesson plan, ESL/EFL students will learn word stress by reading one or two paragraphs of Obama's speeches then they will listen to what they have read. Students are expected to notice the stressed words and they will try practice and the teacher will support and encourage them if they do it correctly.

They will be given one or two paragraphs and they should underline the words that they think it should be stressed within ten minutes. Each student should read his part to his/her classmates with stressing the words that they think it should be stressed. After that, teacher will play mp3 or video of Obama's speeches and students are encouraged to note if they think the stress should be different than what Obama did. Teacher may explain how to stress words and what word should be stressed then teacher gives them a homework to practice stressing.This lesson plan could be for lower and advance level of learners.

loneliness

Loneliness

            There are a lot of benefits of loneliness. Loneliness is a situation that you just want to be with yourself. Many people think loneliness in negative way because they do think it is kind of sadness also they think all lonely people are sad but it is not true. Loneliness is needed for a lot of things that you cannot do it socially. In addition, almost of greatest scientists lived their life a lone and they made miracle inventions. Loneliness is necessary for meditation and thinking of positive things. For example, a lot of exercises that interest in self- improvement mentioned to loneliness in positives ways. When you are a lone you can do a lot of great things such as making plan for your future life, reading books, writing poems. Any poet has to be alone to write his/her poems because he/she must live his/her poetic moment and he/she cannot live it socially. I am always lonely because I enjoy this great advantage. When I am alone, I spend all my time to memorize ancient Arabic poems as I remember my name because it will make me very strong in my language and it is a good exercise for my mind. The mind as a rubber that expand when you try to expand it, so when you try to memorize a lot of information or whatever you want, you just expand your mind skills and abilities and the loneliness the first important thing that let you memorize. Also, when you greet people all the time, the will not like and respect you as you wish and want according to ancient Arabic adage that said,” visit people little bit then they respect and like you more”. This proverb is true because when you face someone all your time, you will feel bored. This is a second question that stimulates my mind to keep writing and writing because it is a great question because it touches every body psychology and it related to it mentally. I feel longing to write a lot and a lot maybe because I feel lonely now because my family is gone to my back country and I think it is not so bad because I hope it help all of us to yearn to each other. This is the second question that I promise to back to it and write more about it as soon as having enough time and I think this article needs loneliness to write it. 

My Dreams

Dreams are the best chance to reduce stress when you live your dream moment. If you tell me what is your dream, I will tell you who you are. Dreams always reflects someone’s thinking, personality, and belief. All great people were very imaginary before they achieve theirs greatest works. For example, when someone stood up on Dezny Land, he said,” I hoped that Walt Dezny saw what he achieve before his died” someone else answered him,” but he saw all of what are you seeing now in his mind when he decided to create this”. Also, Enshtine said ,” when the people were living conscious I was living unconscious”. Dreams are the similarity thing in all greatest people that introduced great things to the world. You have to have imaginary mind to succeed in your life. Just let your mind starts to travel to entire worlds and that what will make you more creative. I have a lot of dreams in my mind but I cannot say it because when I try to say it I think all ordinary people will think me crazy, so I keep all my dreams to myself and when I will be able to achieve it, all the world can see it clearly. Nothing is impossible in this life for anyone who has strong spiritual life and strong believes then they will lead him to create the miracles.  Also, strong willing makes anyone  can do what he wants if he imagined what he wishes  to do in the future. This is an interesting question and it needs more and more time to answer it as enough as I want, so I will be back for this article.       

Our Celebration

We do not have a holiday like Halloween. We just have two celebration days that called Eid Alfter and Eid Aldhha . We call the celebration day “Eid”. It likes my name because I was born in this day, Eid Alfter,. Eid Alfter comes annually after Ramadan that is the first day of the tenth month in our calendar. This does not mean we do not remember our dead people but when we celebrate these days, we remember them and we call their friends. In addition, we visit their graves and make pray for them that give them the mercy of god. Yearly, we make food for their spirits and give it to poor people. Also, we give our children their names that show how we respect our dead people. Every nation has its way to celebrate and show esteems its dead people.

Wedding Poem - Yesterday, Today And Tomorrow

By: Kit McCallum

Cherished are the memories that

Brought us to this day,

For yesterday, was just a dream ...

A wish to contemplate.


A fantasy where in my mind,

A fleeting glimpse I'd see ...

A vision of the true desires

I longed for endlessly.

And when I dreamed, I did not know

The love I'd feel today;

The height of my true feelings,

And the depths they would portray.

And if I had one wish today,

A simple wish t'would be ...

Is that the love we feel this moment,

Lasts eternally.

Reality has merged now

As you stand here by my side;

And as I join your hand in mine,

My heart does fill with pride.

For as I pledge my love to you,

I see in many ways,

Reflections of my love for you

Are mirrored in your gaze.

And by our presence here today,

And for the love we share,

I thank you for our yesterdays

That brought us to be here.

But more than this, I vow to you,

My wishes yet to come ...

Tomorrow's dreams and fantasies,

This day that we are one.

Tomorrow's an adventure

That we'll share together now;

Our future's intertwined forever,

Through this holy vow.

I promise to remember

In the future years and days,

The love I feel for you this moment ...

... Dreams fulfilled today.

For in the coming years as we

Move on, and reminisce,

Back to the day I stood with you

And promised with a kiss ...

That blessed are the days that

I have looked into your eyes,

And felt the warmth and love reflect,

The essence of our lives.

*****

Yesterday we dreamed of what might be;

Today we validate our love;

And tomorrow we will cherish the life we have shared as one.

Quiet Emotions

by Judy Burnette

I always wanted more from you

than you were willing to give;

So now we've gone our separate ways

each with different lives to live.

The bond will always be there

the friendship always intact;

But the time for us has come and gone

and the pages of time, you can't turn back.

I will always be a friend to you

and wonder how you are;

The smiles and laughter I will remember

and our fights have become painless scars.


Sometimes on those busy days

when you've a thousand things to do;

Please let me glide slowly through your mind

and spend some time with you.


In that quiet moment

when you're surprised to find me there;

Just remember even with the distance between us

I am still someone who cares.

My Story with Knowledge

My passion for learning, eagerness to get more knowledge and my interest to discover the unknown since I was in elementary school, pushed my inquiry that used to daydream me, and takes most of my time, without getting a reasonable answer. I found nothing more than boredom among those whom I used to seek an answer from, demanding me to calm down.
Early in my life I came to know that reading is the only method that could answer my questions. I tried to face such inquiries and doubts with more reading, and knocking doors of knowledge seeking for an answer without waiting for those who used to ridicule me at times where my mind gets puzzled when facing those physical and global phenomena, seeking an interpretation from the mind for those metaphysic subjects without touching my faith.
This formed a kind of worry that pushes me to study more subjects, and to look into the secrets of subjects till I found in this knowledge worry some kind of pleasure that I adore.
This had been enough, at that time, to form an outcome that enables me to participate in all kinds of scientific gatherings in schools, and to be selected to represent my school in a number of contests in the field of culture, and to be selected as a chairman for its local broadcasting station. Therefore, I was be able to look into the value of learning since childhood. When I entered the secondary school, I became even more aware for it.
I studied electric engineering in the secondary school for a while then I left it to join Arabic Language division for my love of syntax, and adore of language, to find myself top rank (first) among my colleagues, till I graduated with a distinction honor with a GPA of 4.87/5.
I was worried that my teachers would not welcome the type of questions I used to ask about everything. To be honest, they were not used to such questions, they were used to give their lessons and then leave the class without being asked about anything. This makes the lecture kind of a dialogue between me and my teachers, who used to send me out of class and sometimes ask me not to attend their lessons.
During my third year I lectured within a cultural event in the college about (Poetic Adherence and Artistic Value), where I got more resentment of my colleagues and teachers. Their claim was that it was a secular look into arts, because they are not used to this, they are used to kind of adherence to narrow ideologies that nobody is allowed to confront, but rather one should let alone, accept and support. They are doing this from the religious view, and I used to prove them wrong.
During this time I read to the early writers in the field of Arabic language such as Al-Afghani, Mohammad Abduo, Taha Husain , Al-Tahtawi and Al-Qusaimi.
I read great cultural projects in the Arab world that had been read from another point of view, through direful opinions, as the books of Mohammad Abid Al-Jabri, Mohammad Arkon, Hasan Hifni, Nasr Hamid Abu Zaid, Ali Harb, Mohammad Miftah and others whose writings are still facing dispute and discussion among Arab intelligentsia.
I appreciate the value of true criticism so I have been reading some of old Arab books in the field, in addition to modern theories, their philosophical pillars, and their dependence on linguistic thinking. This includes, but not limited to, De Sassier, Chomsky and Pinker, although they are all translations from their original languages which neglects the beauty of the work.
I also read to Hosrl, Roland Bart, Drida, Basilar, Ampertweko, Michelle Foco, Edward Said, and this led me to read for some philosophers such as Max Fiber, Nietzsche, Hedger, and those who preceded them.
I liked the philosophy of Drida, which occupied my mind, and convinced me that learning has no specific time.
According to my understanding, these philosophies depend basically on language and linguistic knowledge, so I decided to enter this domain (linguistics), for it is a fertile and shifting science.
I work as a teaching assistant at King Saud University, Arabic Language division, and hope to get a chance to complete my graduate studies in the field of Linguistics at your distinguished university. I am very hopeful to be able to develop my research skills and improve my academic methodologies. I am also very keen to communicate with cultural elite in the university, and other institutions, as I am very interested to participate in the knowledge activity all over the USA.
I will spare no effort, devote time and energy, and will do my best to excel in the path of learning and knowledge.