Celebrity New Year’s Resolutions 2013

What are the Stars doing in 2013?

2013 is off and running!   

Happy New Year to everybody around the World! 

To start the year off right, let’s take a look at someCelebrity New Year’s Resolutions. 

(1)

 “To be more sympathetic and generous.”

Ashton Kutcher – Actor and model

(2)

 “Not to work so much” in 2013.”

J.J. Abrams - Filmmaker and TV show producer

(3)

 "Not to sweat the small stuff.”

Kelly Ripa – Actress and TV host

Sweet! “What are your New Year’s Resolutions?”

Language Learning Section

At this time of year, everyone is saying “Happy New Year!” or “What did you do at New Years?” or “What are your New Year’s Resolutions?”

From the Celebrity New Year’s Resolutions we can get some pretty cool and natural English for talking with friends and colleagues. 

Let’s take a look at the Question:

“What are your New Year’s Resolutions?”

The question is usually in the plural form but your answer can be singular (1 idea) or plural (2 or more ideas).  Also, you probably noticed that the 'Celebrity Answers' all used short answers and omitted part of the grammar in their answers.  This is quite common when answering the New Year’s Resolution Question.

Long style of speaking

(1)My New Year’s resolutions are “To be more sympathetic and generous.”

(2)My New Year’s resolution is “Not to work so much in 2013.”

(3)My New Year’s resolution is "Not to sweat the small stuff.” (expression: ‘not to sweat the small stuff’ = not to worry about the trivial, small, or unimportant things in your life)  

Natural English Speaking Practice

“What are your New Year’s Resolutions?”

(1)”To be more sympathetic and generous.”

(2)“Not to work so much in 2013.”

(3)"Not to sweat the small stuff.”

Some Ideas to get you started:

(1)”To be more helpful and caring.”

(2)“Not to eat so much in 2013.”

(3)"Not to worry about the small things in life.”

Find a friend to practice this New Year’s Speaking Style this week. Also, ask everyone you meet and chat with online: “What are your New Year’s Resolutions?”

Write down or record their answers.  I am sure you will get lots of new and interesting phrases and ideas.  And of course, understand your friends better and find new ones. 

So enjoy your week!  And my New Year’s resolution is to make more friends on face book!

Alex Graham Facebook

https://www.facebook.com/alex.graham.5454

Celebrity English Facebook

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Celebrity-English/341804042518553

  Connect with Alex here or at

Celebrity English Face book

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Celebrity-English/341804042518553

Celebrity English Twitter

https://twitter.com/CelebEnglish

Celebrity English You Tube

http://www.youtube.com/user/blogalexg

You have read this article 2013 / Actor / actress / Alex Graham / Ashton Kutcher / Celebrity English / CELTA / ESL / how to / JJAbrams / Kelly Ripa / LanguageLearning / New Year’s resolutions / producer / TEFL / TESL / What are the Stars doing in 2013? with the title LanguageLearning. You can bookmark this page URL https://celebrityunitedking.blogspot.com/2013/01/celebrity-new-years-resolutions-2013.html. Thanks!

Get Your Shop On! Black Friday & Cyber Monday

Paris Hilton

Black Friday is coming this week on Friday Nov. 23!

What is it?

-Prices will be slashed and bargain shoppers will be lining up early at their favorite stores.  Even celebrities like to shop for a deal!

When is it?

 -This American shopping tradition occurs the Day After Thanksgiving (4^th Thursday of November).  Not an official holiday but treated like one unless you work in retail.

-Generally 5am start time is pretty standard but some stores will open earlier or even be open all night from Thanks Giving Eve. Check the company's website for times. 

Where is it?

-Everywhere in America and catching on in other countries.

-At your favorite shopping store and at their website.

Who will be there?

-Friends, Family, Everyone!  One of the busiest shopping days of the year in the United States. Expect long line-ups and chaos as people rush to get the best deals!

Why is it called Black Friday?

Black Friday – 2 ideas:

(1)Originally a slang idea/expression coming out of Philadelphia, USA:  Black Friday was used to describe the idea of huge numbers of people and vehicles jammed packed on the streets the day after Thanks Giving. Everything seems black, not moving, and people’s tempers rise bringing out the worst in them. There doesn’t seem to be any light or space.  The term had negative connotations.

(2)Currently, Black Friday, simply invokes an idea of bargain shopping.  It is considered the first day of the Christmas shopping season.  Retailers also claim that this is the first day of the year that their companies make a profit or are ‘in the black’.   So, for retail companies from January 1 to Nov. 22 the stores are considered ‘in the red’ or not making a profit.  These two expressions stem from older accounting practices where black pen ink was used for profit and red pen ink was used to show financial losses.  Thus we have the term Black Friday or the day of the year when retail stores feel they are profitable.

How to get ready for Black Friday!

-Check out your favorite Retail Store for Black Friday Advertisements online and in the local newspapers and flyers.  Moreover, social media like Face book, Twitter, Pinterest, You Tube, etc. is filled with Black Friday fun!  There are also tons of apps out there!  Just select a site you trust!

New to the United States? Here are some common 'Big Store Names' that everyone knows.

Walmart

Target

Macy’s

Best Buy

Also online you will find some Dedicated Black Friday Websites like:

http://blackfriday.com/

http://www.theblackfriday.com/

Language Learning Section

Some Common Casual Language for talking about what you are buying or looking for on Black Friday.

For the Shopper that knows what she or he wants on Black Friday.

I am going to buy an Ipod.

I am gonna buy a flat Screen TV.

I want to get a new laptop.

I wanna buy a pair of sneakers.

I’m buying a new set of sunglasses.

I’m looking for a bargain on watches.

I’m looking for a deal on coffee makers.

For the shopper with an idea of what he or she wants on Black Friday.

I’m gonna look for a Christmas present for my husband.

I am looking for something new in the way of winter coats.

I am going to take a look at the appliances.

I am going to take a look at what they have in the way of golf clubs.

I might pick up an espresso machine if they have any good deals on.

I think I might buy some new blouses if I see any at a good price.

Didn’t find what you where looking for on Black Friday? No problem!  There is also Cyber Monday!

 

‘Back in the day’ a lot of people weren’t very keen to shop online or use company websites.  So to fix this problem and capture email addresses, the retail community invented Cyber Monday in 2005.  Cyber Monday occurs every year on the Monday following Thanks Giving Day.  If you don’t believe me check out Amazon’s Cyber Monday Deals.

Well that is all for this week!  Enjoy the shopping experience of Black Friday and Cyber Monday! Oh yeah and of course Thanks Giving with family and Friends!

Happy Turkey Day to you! Gobble Gobble!

 Connect with Alex at Celebrity English or

facebook

twitter

youtube

 linkedin

You have read this article bargain / Black Friday / Celebrity English / Cyber Monday / deals / elearning / English / ESL / ESOL / Holidays / LanguageLearning / online / retail / shopping / stores / TEFL / TESL / ThanksGiving / USA with the title LanguageLearning. You can bookmark this page URL https://celebrityunitedking.blogspot.com/2012/11/get-your-shop-on-black-friday-cyber.html. Thanks!

The Art of Rap mixed with The Craft of Education!

Fluency MC (a.k.a. Jason R. Levine)

With a unique, dynamic, educational platform known as ColloTunes, Jason R. Levine is rapping his way into Language Learning Infamy! This considerably knowledgeable educational specialist and writer for Oxford, has created a high impact learner experience with ColloTunes.  As you sit back and enjoy this positive, engaging interview at Celebrity English, you will feel a SPARK as the 3Rs come to life!

Interview

Alex Graham - Question: Where are you from?  Can you give us a bit about your background?

Jason R. Levine - Answer: I was born in Boston. Most of my relatives are originally from there or from in or around New York City. When was eight years-old, we moved to St. Louis, Missouri, which I consider my hometown. Growing up, I was really into music, especially hip hop, and became a DJ in college.

After graduating with a BA in psychology, I earned an MA in TESOL from Hunter College and taught at several schools before co-founding a TOEFL prep and English conversation school for international students in Manhattan. In 2004, I began developing an approach to ELT based on songs that I write and perform as Fluency MC. These songs, called ColloTunes, promote the acquisition and use of collocations to improve proficiency in English. They focus on areas of grammar and vocabulary learning that teachers typically find difficult or boring to teach. I make videos of my songs and various supplementary materials. I post the videos on YouTube and promote them on Facebook, where I am an active administrator of a number of ELT/ELL groups and pages.

I am currently academic director of CAMPUS Education, a group of privately-owned English language schools based in New York City. This year, I wrote the chants for the upcoming edition of the Oxford English Picture Dictionary for Kids. I am currently writing the chants for a new Oxford series for adults as well as chants for elementary school students for a publisher in Turkey. I am chair-elect of the TESOL interest group Video and Digital Media and work periodically as an English Specialist for the U.S. Department of State.


Alex: What is Collo?

Jason: Collo is short for collocation. Collocations are pairs or small groups of words that occur together frequently in spoken and written language. A Collo “just sounds right” because we hear and see it over and over again. Examples of verb-noun Collos are do laundry, make a mistake, and get a cold. In English, have a party sounds right, but make a party sounds wrong. Have a party is considered correct because it is “what we say.” However, in many languages, such as Spanish, make a party is the natural Collo.

ColloTunes are songs I create and perform as Fluency MC (a.k.a. Jason R. Levine) to teach English to children and adults. Students listen, speak, and rap while following along with lyric sheets. ColloTunes are rich in the high-frequency vocabulary and grammar structures we need to use English naturally.


Alex: Please highlight some of the ‘Collo’ methodology, philosophy, and design.

Jason: ColloTunes songs and videos

·    provide practice for students in and out the classroom.
·    are available for multiple levels, ages, and learning

     styles.
·    include conversation and writing activities, students  

     worksheets and lesson plans.
·    complement any syllabus or curriculum.
·    are used by teachers in the U.S. and dozens of 

     countries worldwide.
·    Have been viewed over 1,350,000 times on YouTube.

Teachers can preview and purchase my PDF Book + MP3 Tunes Package through my website: colloandspark.com

Adult learners are generally made to feel that learning through songs is only for children; but as adults, we typically enjoy and appreciate music even more than we did as kids. Also, we need to overcome the barriers raised by our higher cognitive abilities, namely our tendency to analyze grammar and vocabulary too much and to be overly concerned with making mistakes, not being good enough in the language, etc. Music makes this possible! But it has to be music people of ALL ages can relate to.


Alex: Why does Collo work?

Jason: It’s all about the 3Rs: Relax, Repeat, Remember

When we’re relaxed, having fun, and exposed to multiple repetitions of meaningful material, we naturally chunk the material into Collos, which we can easily store and retrieve. ColloTunes use Collos to build SPARK!: Super Powered Automatic Recall of Knowledge.

To develop critical thinking skills we need SPARK as our knowledge base. Otherwise, we struggle to understand and apply what we learn.

The most natural way to build knowledge is through repetitive exposure to collocations; without this exposure, superficial understanding leads to poor performance at higher levels. We become frustrated and overwhelmed. This destroys our confidence. We lose steam before we even get going.

The more easily we can recall information, the more confident and curious we are. When repetitive practice is relaxing and enjoyable, we want to do it. We are motivated to learn and ready to take it to the next level.


Alex: What are some of the results that students can expect?

Jason: Through ColloTunes songs and videos, students can expect to

·    Build skills in speaking, listening, reading, and writing.
·    Accelerate vocabulary acquisition.
·    Find it easier to learn difficult grammar structures.
·    Feel more confident and motivated as speakers of 

     English.
·    Have more fun while their learning!


Alex: If an educator isn’t musically inclined, are they able to recreate 'Collo' lessons like you do in the videos?

Jason: Absolutely! Indeed, this was one my chief motivators for creating this material in the first place. ColloTunes are designed so that teachers don’t have to chant or rap in class. Their primary role is to follow and monitor student progress. But if they are musically inclined (or even if they’re not) they are of course encouraged to join in!

Alex: Who are some of your musical influences?

Jason: This is always a tough question for me because there are so many. My short list would include Run DMC, Eric B and Rakim, the Clash, The Rolling Stones, Lupe Fiasco, Immortal Technique, Curtis Mayfield, Brian Eno, DJ Premier, and Mos Def and Talib Kweli.

Alex: Thank you for sharing your time, knowledge, and exceptional educational resources with Celebrity English!  Jason R. Levine - you are a true, genuine educational poet.  

www.colloandspark.com

           Wanting more?  Feeling the SPARK?
           Connect with Fluency MC (a.k.a. Jason R. Levine) 

www.colloandspark.com
www.YouTube.com/ColloLearn
www.facebook.com/FluencyMC
www.twitter.com/fluencymc
www.linkedin.com/in/jaselevine 

LUCKY,NEW OFFER for AUGUST 18th!

TRY OUT A FREE online class with Jason!  Click on the Link below to find out more!
ELT through Rhythm and Rhyme: Collocation, Critical Thinking and 3 Rs

         Check Out this video to see Fluency MC in Action!

       

 See you next week and remember!

                        “Fluency is all about the 3Rs: 

                            Relax, Repeat,Remember” 

 ALEX
http://celebrityenglish-alex.blogspot.com/
http://www.facebook.com/#!/profile.php?id=100002654569713
http://www.myspace.com/browse/people#!/573390781

https://twitter.com/CelebEnglish

http://www.youtube.com/user/blogalexg
http://www.linkedin.com/profile/edit?trk=hb_tab_pro_top

You have read this article art of Rap / CelebrityEnglish / CELTA / colloandspark / Collocations / ColloTunes / ebook / ELL TESL / ELT / ESL / FluencyMC / JasonLevine / Jazz Chants / LanguageLearning / Music / TEFL / video with the title LanguageLearning. You can bookmark this page URL https://celebrityunitedking.blogspot.com/2012/07/the-art-of-rap-mixed-with-craft-of.html. Thanks!