Hands across the Oceans

You can see my photos of the event if you click here.

1  Why did you call it English for Lifelong Learning Day?

It started as “English Day”. We decided that that name was too narrow, so we broadened it and called it “English for Lifelong Learning”. We are never too old to learn how to draw, paint, take photos, or learn to ride and care for a horse.

2  Why is English so important?

The Internet is an endless source of information and a lot of the most up to date knowledge is in English. It takes time for articles etc to be translated.

3  What is the situation with English in the university?

Students need English all their lives to communicate with the many nationalities in Kuwait. The lingua franca in KU is English – we have Filipinos, Americans, Arabs, British, Indians, Bangladeshis, Indians, or Swiss, and many other nationalities within the university, and the common language is often English. The Faculty of Science is also an English medium college.

4  Why did you ask the students to bring in their photos, art and writing?

Students will forget their grades in quizzes and exams by the next week, but they will remember for a long time how they feel when they paint a picture, take a great photo, or read something that touches them. Some students might not be great students, yet they have other talents. They can draw, design posters, paint pictures, take great photos, make juice or jewelry, make designs with henna on people’s hands, make gift bags with chocolates, or produce interesting T-shirts or mugs.

5  In what ways do you think the exhibition will motivate the students?

It is never easy to climb Mount Everest, yet Mr. Zed Al Refai, our guest speaker and a Kuwaiti national, persevered in the face of difficulties to achieve what he set out to do. He nearly died the first time he attempted to reach the summit. Any person can do anything he or she sets his or her mind to do.

6  In what way is Marie Helene a good role model for the students?

Marie Helene is severely disabled, yet she has almost completed a PH. D. and has learnt how to paint with her mouth. The only reason she could not complete her PH. D. is because she can’t travel to Germany to defend her thesis. She is a shining example of what can be achieved if a person has the will.

7  What were your criteria for inviting the guests from organizations outside the university?

Often the students do not know about the cultural organizations that exist within Kuwait, such as Dar Al Athar Al Islamiyaa or Dickson House. There are many museums and art galleries in Kuwait, and the students should know about them. We also invited Toastmasters, so that they can join the club and become more confident. Nuzha Touristic Enterprises received an invitation because the company has sea and desert trips and has produced an interesting magazine called “Kuwait Zoom” that writes about places of interest in Kuwait.

8  Why did you invite LoYAC and the Red Crescent Society?

We are also trying to get the students interested in volunteering and invited LoYAC and the Red Crescent to come to the exhibition. Kuwaitis are very privileged, and it is their duty to help those people who are worse off than they are.

9  Why did you invite so many organizations that are connected with science?

It is important for the students to know about these organizations, and what they do. They may not know what goes on in the Science Club or that there is a Science Museum. Everyone knows about the Scientific Center, but some of the other places are not so well known. These organizations were invited because they actively promote science within the country.

10  You have focused on the environment too, by inviting Kuwait Dive Team. Why did you invite it?

Kuwaitis in the past depended on the sea for survival, but people today tend to abuse the sea by polluting it and killing the fish. The Kuwait Dive Team protects the Gulf by cleaning the reefs and by making people aware of the beauty that lies beneath the surface by photographing the fish and coral reefs. The team also reminds the students about their Kuwaiti heritage, its links to pearl diving in the past, and their sea-faring ancestors. The club helps to protect the environment, both at sea and on land.

11  Which departments are you highlighting that belong to Kuwait University?

We have invited people from Continuing Education, Arabic as a Foreign Language and Community Services to make students aware of the courses that are offered within the university.

12  Have you invited organizations like AMIDEAST or the British Council, which teach English?

We invited both of them, as well as CANAM and IDP, which help send students to America, Canada and Australia. People know about the British Council and AMIDEAST, but the other two are less well known. The American Embassy also agreed to send representatives. They work closely with AMIDEAST.

13  Have you invited the students to participate?  What will these students do?

Some students will be presenting their clubs, like the Hunting and Equestrian Club and archery. Others will be showing the students juice making, chocolate making and henna. Others will be given prizes for the best poems, short stories, posters and presentations. Some will be helping the English teachers throughout the day, and one group, the Y-Not group, which has set up its own business, will have the opportunity to display their work, and some of it will be used for prizes. Two groups of students will also present short plays.

14  How will you organize the day?

We will have an art gallery upstairs for the students and some of our staff, as well as for outside guests like Marie Helene’s friend, Suzanne, and Noelle, an illustrator or artist who produces drawings for the faculty, e.g. fish and insects. We will also have light snacks there. Downstairs we will have nearly 30 tables set up for the student and external presenters. Every presenter will have a table or booth where he/she can display information about her organization. Our guest of honor, Mr. Zed Al Refai, a Kuwaiti mountaineer, will talk for 40 minutes at 11.10 am.

15  Who would you like to thank for helping to organize the day?

All our students, especially those who took part in the competitions or volunteered to help run the day. All the staff in the unit, including the secretaries, graduate assistants and educational technology people, the Dean, Dr. Hamad, the acting director of the Language Center, all the other people in the Faculty of Science who helped and supported us in many different ways, Marks and Spencer for providing us with a mannequin, and Dar Al Athar Al Islamiyaah and Virgin for providing such nice prizes.

We should also like to thank all the representatives from the different organizations for agreeing to come to the exhibition.

We hope that everyone will enjoy it and that our English Day next year will have even more booths and organizations.

Plagiarism is theft or stealing someone else’s work. Plagiarists can lose their jobs, fail their courses, or be kicked out of universities. The person who is being plagiarized may sue the plagiarist in a civil court. If you answer “yes” to some or all of the questions, then you are guilty of academic dishonesty, cheating, theft, plagiarism, and copying without the other person’s permission.

1  Do you submit a piece of writing and pretend that it is your own work?

2  Do you submit photos and pretend they are yours?

3  Do you cut and paste articles from another website into your website?

4  Do you present someone else’s ideas and pretend that they are yours?

5  Do you write ”copyright” at the end of your work when it is someone else’s work?

6  Does your work follow the arrangement or organization of someone else’s work?

7  Do you fail to add sources at the end of your work when you have taken the ideas from someone else?

8  Do you make a PowerPoint presentation by cutting and pasting work from someone else’s website?

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plagiarism

English for Lifelong Learning – 7th May 2009

11am—11:10 am

Welcome and introduction to ELU (Science faculty) and staff

11:10—11:55am

Mr. Zed Al-Refai—the first Kuwaiti and Arab to summit Mt. Everest

11:55—12:00pm

Poster winner announced

12:00—12:10pm

Skit

12:10—12:20pm

PowerPoint winner and 2008 CALL competition winners

announced

12:20—12:30pm

Nour’s Fun Science Facts

Her students will tell a few jokes in English

12:30—12:40pm

Advising and Counseling Office’s awards

12:40—12:50pm

Ghada’s Tongue Twisters

12:45—12:55pm

Students who ran booths will have an opportunity to speak to audience

12:55—1:00pm

Short story, acrostic poem and Haiku winners announced

1:00 —1:15pm

Nadia S’s Trivia Contest

1:15pm

Closing ceremony

Mr. Zed Al Refai is our guest speaker on the 7th May 2009 at 11am.  We are very pleased that he is coming to the English for Lifelong Learning Exhibition.

Marie Helene

With special thanks to Marks and Spencer for the mannequins.

With special thanks to Virgin for the goody bags.

1  Go to a local museum or art gallery.
2  Introduce yourself.
3  Ask if you can take photos or make a video.  You must get permission
from the curator.
4  Take photos and/or make a video.
5  Collect brochures from the place.  Try to get one big poster size one.
for Lifelong Learning Day.
6  Make your PowerPoint, flowgram or video clip.
7  Include:
-Name, student number, section and teacher’s name
-Introduction
-Map
-Photos with description/name in English
8  Copy presentation to CD-Rom.
9  Put CD-Rom, brochures and poster in box in secretaries’ office.
10 Please send me a copy too.
11 I am not allowed to correct them but I will correct them and send them back after the exhibition is over, and display them in the hands’
blog.

12 You will probably be able to use it for your 162 presentation,
although it is much more detailed and needs more English in it.

13  http://kuc02.kuniv.edu.kw/~dotmack/what_on.htm
List of art galleries, museums, and other places of interest.  Choose
one place only for each presentation.

14 161 students – you can make up a table comparing two places, and then write a paragraph or essay comparing them.

MakeBeliefsComix offers Earth Day printables for students to write and draw about the environment.  If you´re looking for a good activity today to help students think, write and draw about Earth Day and the environment, you will find a useful graphic printable at MakeBeliefsComix.com that asks the question:

Imagine you were an environmental hero. What brave deeds would you do to save the Earth, and what would you call yourself?

For a copy of this Earth Day printable and more go to
Makebeli Comix and click on the PRINTABLES button at the bottom right. The feature also offers comix templates featuring characters from the web site, along with blank talk and thought balloons that students can fill with text to create their own comic strips.

This new MakeBeliefs PRINTABLES feature is the latest addition to the two year-old comic-generator site where educators and students from 180 countries come to build their own comic strips online and practice language, writing and reading skills. These new printable pages are taken from the popular “Make Beliefs and Pocket Doodles for Kids” books by Bill Zimmerman, and drawn by cartoonist Tom Bloom.

Acrostic Poems

Instructions:

Write an acrostic poem about recycling and water. You may choose any other scientific word, e.g. oxygen, nitrogen fixation, organic compounds, electricity, physics. If it is a poem, it should rhyme (die/lie, life/wife).

http://www.readwritethink.org/MATERIALS/ACROSTIC/

http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/C42

http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/A43701086

E.g Guide

Go ahead, I’ll follow you

Until the end of time.

I hope my dreams will once come true:

Dreams, that you will be mine,

Eventually here to stay,

Showing me the way.

1 Recycling

R

E

C

Y

C

L

I

N

G

2 Water

W

A

T

E

R

B Haiku

A Haiku is a 3 line poem

http://www.toyomasu.com/haiku/

http://www.haiku.insouthsea.co.uk/teachbasho_self1.htm

1 The Avenues

Sitting in the Avenues

Watching the world go by

I thought about my life

2

Whitecaps on the Bay

A broken signboard banging

In the April wind.

Richard Wright (collected in Haiku: This Other World, Arcade Publishing)

If you are going to enter a PowerPoint presentation for the Lifelong Learning Day, you must follow these guidelines.

1 You must hand it in by the 29^th April on a cd rom, with your name on the cd rom and on the first slide.

2 You must not copy any other person’s work.

3 You must list your sources for photos and charts.

4 It must be on a scientific topic.

5 15 to 20 slides.

First Slide:

Name:

Section:

Teacher:

Title:

Date:

Second Slide:

1 Introduction:

2 Definition:

Body Slides:

1 Include some English text and pictures and/or charts.

2 Talk must last for about 8 minutes.

Third Last Slide:

1 Conclusion:

Second Last Slide:

1 Thank you for listening.

2 Do you have any questions?

Last Slide:

Sources:

http://www………………………….. (April 2009).

1 In alphabetical order.

2 Date you accessed the website in brackets.