In the Atlas

Lesson from the Shenzhen Daily:
http://szdaily.sznews.com/html/2012-09/04/content_2189188.htm

Practice the conversation; study the vocabulary; then discuss the questions with a friend in English.

Questions:
1. What's an atlas? What's a gazetteer?
2. In an atlas, look up each of the cities and countries named in the conversation.
3. What are the countries in the Southern Hemisphere called in your language?

Astronomy Terms

Lesson from the Shenzhen Daily:
http://szdaily.sznews.com/html/2012-09/03/content_2186801.htm

Practice the conversation; study the vocabulary; then discuss the questions with a friend in English.

Questions:
1. What do you know about the astronomers Copernicus and Galileo and their discoveries?
2. Name the planets in order from the sun.
3. What is the Milky Way? Is there a different name for it in your language? If so, translate it into English.

New Computing Terms II

Lesson from the Shenzhen Daily:
http://szdaily.sznews.com/html/2012-08/30/content_2182528.htm

Practice the conversation; study the vocabulary; then discuss the questions with a friend in English.

Questions:
1. Use the words emoticon, netiquette, newbie, phishing, unfollow, and wi-fi in sentences.
2. What are some of the basic rules of "netiquette"?
3. In what situations do you (or would you) use "emoticons"? If you wouldn't use them, why not?

New Computing Terms I

Lesson from the Shenzhen Daily:
http://szdaily.sznews.com/html/2012-08/28/content_2178503.htm

Practice the conversation; study the vocabulary; then discuss the questions with a friend in English.

Questions:
1. Use the words bloggable, bulletize, cyberbullying, cybersquatting, and digerati in sentences.
2. Has anything happened to you recently that's "bloggable"?
3. Have you ever been bullied, by a cyberbully or a regular one? If so, talk about it. If not, what do you think it would be like?

Gone with the Wind

Lesson from the Shenzhen Daily:
http://szdaily.sznews.com/html/2012-08/27/content_2177947.htm

Practice the conversation; study the vocabulary; then discuss the questions with a friend in English.

Questions:
1. Have you seen "Gone With the Wind"? If yes, talk about it. If no, what do you know about it?
2. Do you know any famous quotations from other movies?
3. "Gone With the Wind" is set against the American Civil War. "Titanic" is set against that ship's sinking. Do you know of other personal stories set against major historical events?

World Religions II

Lesson from the Shenzhen Daily:
http://szdaily.sznews.com/html/2012-08/23/content_2173706.htm

Practice the conversation; study the vocabulary; then discuss the questions with a friend in English.

Questions:
1. Why do some people think that Taoism and Confucianism aren't really religions?
2. What do you know about the Indigenous traditions?
3. What other traditions are named, both religious and not religious? Talk about each.

World Religions I

Lesson from the Shenzhen Daily:
http://szdaily.sznews.com/html/2012-08/21/content_2170079.htm

Practice the conversation; study the vocabulary; then discuss the questions with a friend in English.

Questions:
1. What do you know about each of the four categories of religions: the Abrahamic, the Indian, the Chinese, and the Indigenous traditions?
2. What are the similarities among the Abrahamic traditions? What are the differences? Compare and contrast them.
3. What are the two major Indian traditions? How are they the same? How are they different?

King Arthur

Lesson from the Shenzhen Daily:
http://szdaily.sznews.com/html/2012-08/20/content_2169143.htm

Practice the conversation; study the vocabulary; then discuss the questions with a friend in English.

Questions:
1. What do you know about King Arthur? Talk about his story.
2. What is the difference between "history" and a "legend"?
3. What is "chivalry"? The "Round Table"? "Camelot"? The "Holy Grail"?

English as She is Spoke 3

Lesson from the Shenzhen Daily:
http://szdaily.sznews.com/html/2012-08/16/content_2165421.htm

Practice the conversation; study the vocabulary; then discuss the questions with a friend in English.

Questions:
1. Number 1 puts the adverb in the wrong place. Why is it wrong?
2. Number 1 also confuses "it" and "her." Have you made pronoun mistakes like this? Give an example.
3. Some of these sentences are about a play. What are some good questions you can ask a friend about a movie he or she has seen?

English as She is Spoke 2

Lesson from the Shenzhen Daily:
http://szdaily.sznews.com/html/2012-08/14/content_2161060.htm

Practice the conversation; study the vocabulary; then discuss the questions with a friend in English.

Questions:
1. Do you know what "context" is? Explain it.
2. In Number 1, "How" and "what" are confused. Have you made that mistake? Give an example.
3. Number 5 uses "be" and "do" together, a common (and very bad) mistake. Can you think of some bad examples?

English as She is Spoke 1

Lesson from the Shenzhen Daily:
http://szdaily.sznews.com/html/2012-08/13/content_2159918.htm

Practice the conversation; study the vocabulary; then discuss the questions with a friend in English.

Questions:
1. Before you read the explanations, read the "wrong" sentences and try to figure out what is wrong with them.
2. How could "having a bad looks" be different from "looking bad"? (Think of "ugly" and "badly behaved").
3. What do YOU think "still some o’clock" means?

The Olympics

Lesson from the Shenzhen Daily:
http://szdaily.sznews.com/html/2012-08/09/content_2156167.htm

Practice the conversation; study the vocabulary; then discuss the questions with a friend in English.

Questions:
1. Do you enjoy watching the Olympic games? Why or why not?
2. What was the purpose of the ancient Olympics?
3. How are the modern Olympics different from the ancient games? How are they the same?

Alfred Hitchcock

Lesson from the Shenzhen Daily:
http://szdaily.sznews.com/html/2012-08/07/content_2152890.htm

Practice the conversation; study the vocabulary; then discuss the questions with a friend in English.

Questions:
1. Have you ever seen a film by Alfred Hitchcock? What do you know about him and his work?
2. Do you like suspense movies? Why or why not?
3. Have you heard of Quentin Tarantino, Martin Scorsese, or Peter Jackson? What do you know about their films?

Photography

Lesson from the Shenzhen Daily:
http://szdaily.sznews.com/html/2012-08/06/content_2151521.htm

Practice the conversation; study the vocabulary; then discuss the questions with a friend in English.

Questions:
1. Are you interested in photography? What sorts of things do you shoot?
2. Do you prefer to see bright color pictures, or black and white? Why?
3. What are the advantages and disadvantages of shooting digital pictures versus using film?

The Middle Ages

Lesson from the Shenzhen Daily:
http://szdaily.sznews.com/html/2012-08/02/content_2148190.htm

Practice the conversation; study the vocabulary; then discuss the questions with a friend in English.

Questions:
1. What are "the Middle Ages" in the middle between? (What comes before and after them?)
2. What are the three stages of the Middle Ages? What was each stage like?
3. What brought about the Renaissance?

The Great Books

Lesson from the Shenzhen Daily:
http://szdaily.sznews.com/html/2012-07/31/content_2145097.htm

Practice the conversation; study the vocabulary; then discuss the questions with a friend in English.

Questions:
1. What's the difference between "a great book" and "The Great Books"?
2. Have you read any of the Great Books mentioned in the article? What do you know about them?
3. What is the purpose of making "Great Books" lists?

The Avengers

Lesson from the Shenzhen Daily:
http://szdaily.sznews.com/html/2012-07/30/content_2143102.htm

Practice the conversation; study the vocabulary; then discuss the questions with a friend in English.

Questions:
1. Who are the four main characters in "The Avengers"? Talk about each one.
2. Have you seen any of the movies mentioned, or any other movies made from a comic book (Spiderman, Superman, etc.)? Talk about them.
3. Do you know any of the other films that had actors from this one, like "Sherlock Holmes" with Robert Downey Jr., or "Girl with the Pearl Earring" with Scarlett Johansson?

The Land Down Under

Lesson from the Shenzhen Daily:
http://szdaily.sznews.com/html/2012-07/26/content_2138824.htm

Practice the conversation; study the vocabulary; then discuss the questions with a friend in English.

Questions:
1. What's a marsupial? Have you ever seen one?
2. What is the capital of Australia? What are its two largest cities? What do you know about them?
3. Discuss some aspects of Australian culture mentioned in the article, and tell why it's called "Down Under."

Visiting China

Lesson from the Shenzhen Daily:
http://szdaily.sznews.com/html/2012-07/24/content_2135333.htm

Practice the conversation; study the vocabulary; then discuss the questions with a friend in English.

Questions:
1. What would YOU like to see in Beijing, Shanghai, and Xi’an?
2. Have you seen any of the attractions mentioned in the article? What do you know about them?
3. What sights would you recommend for a foreign friend visiting China?

The Roman Empire

Lesson from the Shenzhen Daily:
http://szdaily.sznews.com/html/2012-07/23/content_2134693.htm

Practice the conversation; study the vocabulary; then discuss the questions with a friend in English.

Questions:
1. What are the "Latin languages"? Why are they called that? Do you know any words in any of those languages?
2. What are some of the influences that Rome still has on the nations of modern Europe? Explain at least three.
3. Discuss the end of the Roman Empire.

Fun with Grammar VI

Lesson from the Shenzhen Daily:
http://szdaily.sznews.com/html/2012-07/19/content_2129238.htm

Practice the conversation; study the vocabulary; then discuss the questions with a friend in English.

Questions: For each rule in this lesson:
1. Be sure you know what the problem is.
2. Make a sentence using the grammar point the WRONG way.
3. Now fix your "wrong" sentence.

Fun with Grammar V

Lesson from the Shenzhen Daily:
http://szdaily.sznews.com/html/2012-07/17/content_2126024.htm

Practice the conversation; study the vocabulary; then discuss the questions with a friend in English.

Questions: For each rule in this lesson:
1. Be sure you know what the problem is.
2. Make a sentence using the grammar point the WRONG way.
3. Now fix your "wrong" sentence.

Fun with Grammar IV

Lesson from the Shenzhen Daily:
http://szdaily.sznews.com/html/2012-07/16/content_2124734.htm

Practice the conversation; study the vocabulary; then discuss the questions with a friend in English.

Questions: For each rule in this lesson:
1. Be sure you know what the problem is.
2. Make a sentence using the grammar point the WRONG way.
3. Now fix your "wrong" sentence.

Fun with Grammar III

Lesson from the Shenzhen Daily:
http://szdaily.sznews.com/html/2012-07/12/content_2121049.htm

Practice the conversation; study the vocabulary; then discuss the questions with a friend in English.

Questions: For each rule in this lesson:
1. Be sure you know what the problem is.
2. Make a sentence using the grammar point the WRONG way.
3. Now fix your "wrong" sentence.

Fun with Grammar II

Lesson from the Shenzhen Daily:
http://szdaily.sznews.com/html/2012-07/10/content_2117413.htm

Practice the conversation; study the vocabulary; then discuss the questions with a friend in English.

Questions: For each rule in this lesson:
1. Be sure you know what the problem is.
2. Make a sentence using the grammar point the WRONG way.
3. Now fix your "wrong" sentence.

Fun with Grammar I

Lesson from the Shenzhen Daily:
http://szdaily.sznews.com/html/2012-07/09/content_2116032.htm

Practice the conversation; study the vocabulary; then discuss the questions with a friend in English.

Questions: For each rule in this lesson:
1. Be sure you know what the problem is.
2. Make a sentence using the grammar point the WRONG way.
3. Now fix your "wrong" sentence.

Elvis Presley

Lesson from the Shenzhen Daily:
http://szdaily.sznews.com/html/2012-07/05/content_2111989.htm

Practice the conversation; study the vocabulary; then discuss the questions with a friend in English.

Questions:
1. Tell Elvis Presley's "life story" as found in the lesson.
2. Why was Elvis so popular?
3. Do you know any of his songs? If yes, sing one. If not, learn one!

Modern Art

Lesson from the Shenzhen Daily:
http://szdaily.sznews.com/html/2012-07/03/content_2109002.htm

Practice the conversation; study the vocabulary; then discuss the questions with a friend in English.

Questions: Discuss the life and work of each of these artists. Use books or the internet if necessary:
1. Pablo Picasso
2. Salvador Dali
3. Marc Chagall

Incredible India

Lesson from the Shenzhen Daily:
http://szdaily.sznews.com/html/2012-07/02/content_2107551.htm

Practice the conversation; study the vocabulary; then discuss the questions with a friend in English.

Questions:
1. Describe the geography of India.
2. What religions started in India? What do you know about each one?
3. Who was Mahatma Gandhi? What did he do?

Evolution

Lesson from the Shenzhen Daily:
http://szdaily.sznews.com/html/2012-06/28/content_2103911.htm

Practice the conversation; study the vocabulary; then discuss the questions with a friend in English.

Questions:
1. What's the difference between evolution and creationism? Who believes in creationism?
2. Who is Charles Darwin? What is Darwinism?
3. Define and discuss these terms: adaptation, natural selection, survival of the fittest, On the Origin of Species, The Descent of Man, The Voyage of the Beagle