Here’s a great video from a Literacy Review reading last spring. One of our former Students of the Month, Ally Li, is in it.
The Literacy Review is published by the NYU Gallatin School of Individualized Study. NYU Gallatin Professor June Foley teaches an advanced writing class here at University Settlement.
The Student of the Month for October 2013 is Yue Hong Lin. She’s in class 3A. She was nominated by her teacher this year, Elsie, and her teacher from last year, Regina. She has been in the United States for four years – and this past summer she got her U.S. citizenship! Congratulations, Yue Hong!
You can watch her being interviewed by Class OP in the above video, and you can read some of her writing below. When you finish, take the quiz to test your understanding!
My Hometown
My hometown is located in Taishan, China. I like my hometown. It’s a nice place to live. You can visit a lot of famous places like the Silver Beach, temple, and see different views. It faces the sea. In the summer, we go to the beach and spend time there.
People in my hometown are very nice and kind. They help each other. Mid-Autumn Festival is a special day for family to reunite. People will come back home and celebrate it. People eat mooncakes and fruits and enjoy the moon.
I love my hometown. I enjoy the time there because the seafood and vegetables are very fresh. People in my hometown work hard and they are lovely!
Here’s a classic song by Frank Sinatra that uses last week’s Idiom of the Week, “Get a Kick Out of Something.” You can watch, listen, and read the lyrics below:
“I Get a Kick Out of You”
Performed by Frank Sinatra
Written by Cole Porter
My story is much too sad to be told,But practically everything leaves me totally cold.The only exception I know is the caseWhen I’m out on a quiet spree,Fighting vainly the old ennui,And I suddenly turn and see your fabulous face.I get no kick from champagne.Mere alcohol doesn’t thrill me at all.So tell me why should it be trueThat I get a kick out of you?Some like the perfume from Spain;I’m sure that if I took even one sniffIt would bore me terrifically, too.Yet I get a kick out of you.I get a kick every time I seeYou standing there before me.I get a kick though it’s clear to seeYou obviously do not adore me.I get no kick in a plane.Flying too high with some chick in the skyIs my idea of nothing to do.Yet I get a kick – you give me a boot – I get a kick out of you.practically = almostspree = going out and having funvainly = uselesslyennui = boredomthrill = exciteadore = love, worshipchick = girl, womangive me a boot = kick me
Our first University Settlement Adult Literacy Program Student of the Month for the 2013-2014 school year is Zhang Qiao Zhuang, also known as Grace Zhang. This is Grace’s third year in our program, and she has been selected as Student of the Month because she has achieved the following things:
1. Improved her English.
2. Gotten more involved in her children’s education.
3. Earned the National Work Readiness Credential.
4. Had her writing published in NYU Gallatin’s Literacy Review.
5. Earned her GED (General Equivalency Diploma).
Watch a video interview with her above, read a piece of her writing below, then take a quiz to test your comprehension.
Congratulations, Grace!
MoMA Mia
Grace Zhang
Last Friday, our writing class went on a trip to MoMA. I am not too excited about the arts, but since everything was arranged by our teacher, June, and her students, we took the time to relax and “smell the flowers.”
We met in the big and bright lobby. I observed two of my classmates were not there yet. I noticed I had one of their phone numbers, so I called immediately. Ally told me on the phone that she was seriously sick. I was too busy thinking about what to do next to ask about her sickness, and then I asked her for Liang’s phone number. I called Liang right after I got the number from Ally. Liang told me she was on the wrong train and would be late. I have recently
got to know Liang is quite a carefree person, but anyway, she is cute. I reported these situations to June. I don’t remember when I started to be this type of person; I never used to be so active.
We had a photo taken before the tour started. I couldn’t find my spot. I was scared about whether I was blocking someone. I was considering whether I would bend my knees or not. My knees naturally reflected what I was thinking, and they bent. As soon as the shot finished, I heard Ling Ling’s voice. With her hand lying on my shoulder, she said, like an older sister, “Why do you always hide somewhere; you should stand next to me!”
“Okay, I’ll do that next time,” I replied with a smile. I myself had considered this a second ago. I don’t quite know myself now. I choose to be a follower of my heart, wherever it goes.
The tour was wonderful. We were introduced to a few paintings of famous artists. I believe that my classmates who love art will write more about this, so I am going to move on to write about something else.
What I enjoyed most was the lunch in the museum. We were generously treated by NYU Gallatin. After learning so much about art in the exhibition rooms, everything became art in the dining room. June inspired us to talk about what we just saw. I asked myself, Is writing art? I was starting to compose pieces of writing in my brain already. I burst out, “Art is in my heart, art is expressing yourself.” I would like to keep this feeling in my heart forever.
June told us she had to leave before us. I was going to shout, “You made my day!” However, I held it in because I wasn’t sure that this art of expressing from heart was grammatically correct.
99 years ago this Saturday, Francis Scott Key wrote the lyrics to the national anthem of the United States, “The Star-Spangled Banner.” It describes a battle during the War of 1812.
The national anthem is usually played or sung before sporting events like football or basketball games, and on other important national holidays.
You can listen to “The Star-Spangled Banner” and read the lyrics at the same time:
O say can you see
By the dawn’s early light,
What so proudly we hailed
At the twilight’s last gleaming,
Whose broad stripes and bright stars
Through the perilous fight,
O’er the ramparts we watched,
Were so gallantly streaming?
And the rockets’ red glare,
The bombs bursting in air,
Gave proof through the night
That our flag was still there;
O say does that star-spangled banner yet wave,
O’er the land of the free
And the home of the brave?dawn = early morning
hailed = saluted
twilight = early evening
gleaming = glowing
broad = wide
perilous = dangerous
o’er = over
ramparts = walls
gallantly = bravely, impressively
glare = brightness
bursting = exploding
star-spangled = decorated with stars
Here is a song from the Hip-Hop group, Blackalicious. The song goes through words that begin with the letters A, B, C, D, E, F and G. You can listen to the song and read the lyrics below. How many of the words do you know? What new words did learn or have questions about. The man who sings the song is named Gift of Gab. Do you know what it means to have the gift of gab? Do you know someone who has the gift of gab? Let us know in the comments section.
You can read the lyrics below...