The Academy News Check out The Academy News online at www.usc.edu/ langacad.Go to “Student Information” and then click on “The Academy News.” Ixchell Reyes is a popular teacher at Language Academy. Read her profile on p. 4. Get some decorating ideas for the holidays on p. 5. Final Exams are coming. See the Final Exam schedule on page 6.
INSIDE THIS ISSUE: Spelling Bee
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Competition Program
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Announcements Teacher Profile
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Ixchell Reyes Student Profile
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Miaoyun Zhang Film Director
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Ang Lee Decorating for
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the holidays Christmas in Los Angeles
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S-P-E-L-L-I-N-G B-E-E! By IXCHELL REYES _____________________________
This fall we had the first official Spelling Bee, a contest where students compete to win first place by spelling difficult words. Every year, across America, students compete in local competitions, and over 200 spellers make it to Washington, DC for the National Competition. One of the challenges many students learning English face is spelling correctly. Correct spelling is important because people judge the way you write, and incorrect spelling can
Top spellers compete in Language Academy Spelling Bee.
make your writing difficult to understand. Students in Spelling class trained for their own Spelling Bee by doing activities similar to those that students in American schools use. They
learned the pronunciation, origin, forms, and the meaning of the words, and wrote sentences using the spelling words. They also took several practice tests every day! See Spelling Bee on p. 2
UPCOMING ACTIVITIES Holiday Shopping at the Americana (FREE!) Friday, December 6th (4pm-9pm) Get in the holiday spirit at the Americana at Brand! Enjoy the holiday music, beautiful fountains, snowfall and the 100ft Christmas tree! This shopping center in Glendale has many stores, restaurants and a movie theater to spend a memorable evening with your peers. Due to Thanksgiving Break, we are doing sign ups for this activity early. Please see Silvia to sign-up -- there are only a couple spaces left!
Language Academy Group Picture Friday, December 6th (12pm) Be part of Language Academy history! Join us for our Fall 2013 group picture at 12pm in front of Doheny Library. Closing Ceremony Friday, December 1 3th (9am-12pm) Relive the memories and celebrate accomplishments of spring semester with your peers and teachers! The Closing Ceremony is a chance for you to be recognized for all of your hard work this semester. Students will receive grade reports and certificates of completion. Breakfast will be served!
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ANNOUNCEMENTS Language Academy Group Picture Friday, December 6th (12pm) Be part of Language Academy history! Join us for the Fall 2013 group picture at 12pm in front of Doheny Library.
Be a PAL—Peer Academy Leader Former and current students are welcome to join us during Orientation to help out Silvia and the USC Language Academy as PALs. You’ll get to help the new students get to testing, answer questions, eat lunch with them, and help them with email, USCard and many other things. Email Silvia if you are interested in helping out during Orientation from Wednesday, January 22nd to Friday, January 24th.
International Language Exchange If you participated in the International Language Exchange this semester, it’s time to turn in your blue participation sheet to the Language Academy front desk in JEF. The student workers will take your blue participation sheet and put it in Katie’s mailbox. Remember, this is the only way for you to get credit and to earn an A for Effort in Oral Skills class. Please turn in your blue sheet by Friday, December 6th at 5:00pm. Thank you! Thanks! Katherine Guevara (formerly FitzSimons)
Spelling Bee continued from p. 1 According to Ahmed Alshammari, Abdullah (Yami) Alyami, and Jinyang (Jason) Xhang, "Spelling pre-tests were useful because there is less pressure." They agreed that on the final test it was easier to remember the spelling because they had practiced. In addition, many students practiced by playing word study games that helped them learn new vocabulary and learn while having fun with other classmates. Over two days, the spelling competition was held. C " -A-P-T-A-I-N," spelled Rayan Malki, who along with
Abdulrahman Alharbi discovered he could memorize words very quickly. Everyone cheered on the top eight remaining spellers on the second day. This was not easy! Some spelling words were challenging: kaleidoscope, financial, peaceable, defying, and woeful. "A-D-V-A-N-T-A-G-E-O-U-S," Yami, spelled the winning word correctly, winning 1st place in the competition. How did these students learn to prepare for the Spelling Bee? We watched spelling documentaries, movies, and game shows. Zoe agrees that seeing words on
the screen helped her remember words that might be asked on competition day. Yami revealed that his strategy was to write the words he didn't know many times. His advice is to practice many times even if it means getting up before sunrise! Editor’s Note: Spelling Bees are held throughout the United States every year. One of the documentaries that the students watched was Spellbound, which follows a group of students who went to the national competition in Washington D.C. Aquila and the Bee, a major film featuring the national spelling bee, was released a few years ago.
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Ixchell Reyes: Loves Snakes, Afraid of Butterflies Editor’s Note: A popular program on television Inside the Actor’s Studio is famous for a series of questions which the host asks his guests. Irina also asked Ixchell these same questions. See the following link for more about how celebrities responded to the same questions. http://www.youtube.com/ and search ‘Inside the Actor’s Studio questionnaire.’
By IRINA BOLKOVITINA _________________________
Can you imagine a person who has snakes on her arms but runs from butterflies? It is our teacher Ixchell Reyes. Ixchell Reyes is one of the amazing teachers at Language Academy, a teacher who likes her job and has always dreamt about being a teacher. Ixchell grew up in a family of teachers,and could not even think about being anyone but a teacher. Having moved to the U.S in the middle of her high school education, Ixchell has overcome many obstacles on the way to becoming an English teacher. Apart from being a nonnative speaker, she was a very shy person, who was afraid of asking her teachers even how to pronounce an English word. However, being a hard worker and a person who was keen on learning and reading made her who she is today—a wonderful teacher who gives everything to her students. One of Ixchell’s characteristics is that she has nev-
Ixchell Reyes at home with her cat.
er given up while pursuing her goals even when nobody believed in her. Once, she had to work with Native Americans to help them keep their language from dying. Nobody believed that she could do it, but she did! After two years of working on it, she created all necessary materials for learning this language. Now her curriculum is used in teaching this language to college students. Having done a lot, Ixchell still has a lot of goals, and one of them is to create her own educational application. I can say without any hesitation that she will accomplish it!
Irina What is your favorite word? What is your least favorite word? What turns you on creatively, spiritually or emotionally?
Ixchell Passion Homework
What turns you off?
Rude people; rudeness Pop-music
What sound or noise do you love? What sound or noise do you hate? What profession other than your own would you like to attempt? What profession would you not like to do? If Heaven exists, what would you like to hear God say when you arrive at the Pearly Gates?
English here?" I thought I knew a lot about her, inMeaning of Life is cluding her major and her plan for To Experience future. However, it turns out that I am totally wrong after I asked her By HANNAH (ZEHAN) SHANG what the craziest thing she had ever ___________________________ done. Her story showed me a totally Zhang Miaoyun is one of my friends who also comes from China. different Miao from what kind of person I thought she was. Before I interviewed her, I Miao looks like a girl who likes prepared a lot of boring questions such as "Why do you want to study listening to classic musical but she told me that she was a drummer in a
My cats
When people chew with their open mouth Videogame designer
Office person Thank you for taking care of all homeless animals.
rock band when she was in a college. I was so surprised but she told me another thing which made me out of words. Miao made a film with her friends, and the film won an international prize! The film's name is "A Way Out.” It is about a young boy who gave up his stuies and followed his dream with his girlfriend. See Miaoyun on p. 4
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The Films of Ang Lee By MIAO ZHANG ______________
The Taipei Golden Horse Film Festival and Award is the most important award for Chinese film. This time Ang Lee is coming back to Taipei as the chairman for judges. Ang Lee has won the Academy Award for Best Director twice, first for “Brokeback Mountain” (2005) and recently for “Life of Pi” (2012). “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon” helped him to get the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language. Apart from these, he has made other famous films. Pushing Hands This film tells about an old Chinese man who comes to America to live with his son. As the culture difference, he had some contradictions with his American daughter -in-Law. He decides to run away from home until he appears on TV to demonstrate Tai Chi The Wedding Banquet It is a film about a man and a woman who have a fake wedding for comforting the man’s parents. There were many problems before the wedding until the woman became pregnant.
Lust Caution This film was adapted from a famous Chinese authoress’ novel. It is an espionage thriller set in WWII-era Shanghai, in which a young woman, Jiazhi Wang, gets involved in a dangerous game of emotional intrigue with a power political figure, Mr. Ye.
explained that she had tried filming, and it was a cool experience, but she Continued from p. 3 did not want to choose it as her whole life's career. Miao said that the biggest chalShe likes experiencing a lot of lenge was that they lacked money different things, and she finally found and they were from different majors, out what she really wanted to do. but no one was majoring in directing Miao actually had a good job in films. They had to learn by themChina, but she quit it and came to selves first and then put the the US. Many people around her knowledge into practice. don't understand, but this is her She said that period was tiring choice about life and she wants but meaningful, and she would l nevto have the experience. er forget that experience. I asked Miao if she wanted to continue making films, but she said no. I asked her why and she
Miaoyun
The Academy News Editor: Irina Bolkhovitina Assistant Editors: Andrew Suh and Hannah Sheng Reporters: Fotoon Algarni, Faisal Almutairi, Yazeed Mohammed Alnuwaysir, Rico Gong, Chihiro Hata, Askhat Mussin, Ha Na Shin, Syasya You, Miaoyun Zhang.
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Decorating Ideas for Christmas By HA NA SHIN ______________________
Christmas is coming soon! Everybody really wants to enjoy the holiday in the U.S. Even if you do not have any plans or events at Christmas, you are able to have a fun with Christmas decoration at home. There are some good and interesting decorating tips for enjoying this holiday. Making creative socks. If you have old or colorful socks, use them by stitching each piece’s edges with twine. The vintage socks will create atmosphere of Christmas. Dressing chairs or tables. Wrapping chairs or tables with red
or green colored fabrics brings Christmas mood to your house. Using a band, ribbon or oversize laundry pin is a perfect way to decorate. Creating your own tree for Christmas. It does not matter if there is not a Christmas tree. You can use any green trees and just coordinate with decorating theme by using some ornaments. Making a Christmas tree topper is one of the greatest decorating ideas. The star tree topper is covered with tartan
check fabric and adds up jingle bells, clothing buttons, and ribbons. Setting the theme with colorfully and beautifully packaged presents under the tree. Also, it is important to try to have a traditional, natural, vintage mood. Using your glasses or old baskets. These can be decoration items or gift packages for guests. It is a useful idea to put some candies, chocolates or candles in the glasses or baskets with tartan checked fabric, natural jute, or ribbons.
Christmas in L. A. By CHIHIRO HATA __________________
I will introduce how to spend a special Christmas in LA. Especially, I recommend these three spots: 1.Christmas Decoration at Upper Hastings Ranch, 2.The Grove, 3. Disney Resort. 1.Christmas Decoration at Upper Hastings Ranch: Upper Hastings Ranch is one of the upper-class residential areas in LA, and these houses are decoratd gaudily at the Christmas season. A decoration contest is held in this area every year. You can enjoy the different decorations at each house. One of the most famous decorated houses is The Ballan House in Pasadena. The owner is president of an ice cream compa-
ny's, and it is decorated more than 10,000 light bulbs.
We should see the tree, enjoy shopping and having dinner there.
3. Disney Resort. There are many limited events in Christmas, such as fire works, parades, decorations. One of the most popular attractions ''It's a Small World" changing the name for "It's a World Holiday," and we can enjoy that Christmas in the 2.The Grove. The Grove is world. a shopping mall that is near At the same time, all of Beverly Hills , and there is park was decorated, and we the biggest Christmas tree in can feel Christmas atmosLA, which is 30 meters and phere. taller than the Christmas tree of Rockefeller in New York.
This is my first and maybe last Christmas in LA, so I'd like to go everywhere I introduced today. Enjoy your wonderful Christmas 2013!
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USC Language
Final Exam Schedule
Academy Rossier School of
Friday, December 6 Reading/Writing Exit Essay (Your grammar teacher also reviews your writing test) 9-9:50 Reading/Writing class
Education Phone: 213-740-0080 Fax: 213-740-0088
Oral Skills Exit Interview 10-11:50 Oral Skills class (Your grammar teacher also listens)
Web: www.usc.edu/ langacad Check out The Academy News online at www.usc.edu/langacad.Go to “Student Information” and then click on “The Academy News.”
The Academy News is a weekly newsletter produced by students in the Journalism Elective of the USC Language Academy. All students in the Language Academy Program are encouraged to send news stories and photos to Sonja Lovelace at slovelac@usc.edu.
Wednesday, December 11 *Chapter Test in Grammar 10-10:50 Grammar class No electives are scheduled for Wednesday, December 10 or Thursday, December 11.
Friday, December 13 Closing Ceremony Monday, December 9 9-12 noon *Chapter Test in Reading/Writing Radisson Ballroom 8-10:50 Reading/Writing class *Chapter Test in Oral Skills 10-10:50 Oral Skills class
* Please ask your teacher if you have a chapter test on that day.
Tuesday, December 10 *Chapter Test in Grammar 8-9:30 Grammar Class
Artwork by Dalal Shaqiqi
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