ECW: Monday, Oct. 30th

Writing a Restaurant Review

In order to write a good restaurant review, you must include information from each of the four following points:

Food:
Name the dishes you tried. Comment on the flavour, the presentation, freshness, spicing. Did the food arrive hot? Were the portions big enough?

Service:
Was the waiter helpful and well-informed? Was the table cleared quickly? Did your water, tea, wine arrive when needed? Was your waiter easy to attract to your table? Did you get your bill quickly when you were ready to leave?

Ambiance:
Was the restaurant clean? Was it well decorated and comfortable? How were the other customers? Was there music? Was it too loud? Were the bathrooms clean?

Other:

Was the restaurant better or worse than others like it? Was it a good deal? Is it a good place for a birthday or other celebration? Should you make a reservation? Is it a good place for a large group?

Comprehension Questions:
1. What word best describes the food at “Buddha’s Belly”?
2. Which are the writer’s favourite dishes?
3. Which Thai dish is uses as the measure of quality in a Thai restaurant?
4. What are most dishes served with?
5. How’s the service overall?
6. Why is the service sometimes slow?
7. How is the restaurant decorated?
8. What is the author most impressed with?
9. Who are the majority of patrons in this restaurant?
10. What is the best aspect of this restaurant for the author?
11. Based on this review, would you like to try it out?

(this is not a true description!!!)
“Buddha’s Belly Button,” - A Thai Restaurant
The Buddha’s Belly Thai Restaurant in Itaewon (Line 6, exit 4), around the corner from KFC, is one of my favourite Thai-style restaurants in Seoul. The food there is simply out of this world. The appetizers, soups, curries, and noodle dishes are always prepared fresh and from high-quality ingredients. My friends and I love to eat most of the dishes, especially Thom Ka Gai, spicy sweet and sour coconut cream soup with chicken, green curry with beef, and Pad Thai, Thai-style noodles with vegetables and fish sauce. First, I have to praise the pad thai because the quality of a Thai restaurants is usually judged by their pad thai. At Buddha’s Belly Button the quality is excellent. The noodles are imported from Thailand, the vegetables are fresh, the amount of fish sauce is just about right. The second dish I want to praise is the green curry with beef. It simply tastes divine, spiced to perfection with lemon grass, lime leaves, and chilies. The meat is tender and cut bite-sized. Finally, the soup, tom ka ghai, as an appetizer is excellent. The chicken in this dishes melts in your mouth! The dishes are served steaming hot. Most are served with a big bowl of freshly cooked jasmine rice. Be careful: all the portions are huge, so don’t order too much food.
The service is quite good overall. The wait staff is trained to be attentive and polite. They also speak excellent English and know the dishes very well. They can explain exactly what each meal is. Unfortunately, they can sometimes be quite busy, which means that getting a dirty dish cleared or getting some more water or another order of drinks takes a bit too long. Also, getting the bill at the end of the meal often requires some patience. However, the waiters are apologetic about the wait, so the customers easily forgive them.
As far as the ambiance is concerned, the restaurant is very clean and very nicely decorated. I am especially impressed by the spotless restrooms. The inside of the restaurant is decorated in dark gray and red. The walls, floor and tables are dark, while the plush seats are scarlet red. There are many beautiful pictures and other art objects imported from Thailand on the walls and window sills. Also, huge pots of beautiful orchids in the windows and corners break out the severe dark and red tones. Each table has a center piece that consists of a small vase with a single flower and a tea-light in a small glass. It’s a bit dark for my taste, but it’s perfect for a romantic or quiet dinner. Most of the guests who come here are either couples on a date or good friends who want to chat and catch up in a quiet environment. The music is quiet and ethnic ranging from traditional Thai to bossa nova.
The best thing for me, however, is that it is relatively inexpensive to eat there. I love Thai food and I find that most Thai restaurants in Kang-nam or Apgujong are too expensive. Usually, a dinner for four or five with a bottle of wine costs about 100,000 won. A nice evening with friends, a great dinner with a solid-quality wine – and all this for 20-25,000 won is not a bad deal in a city as expensive as Seoul. Buddha’s Belly is also suitable for business dinners or smaller (up to 12 people) birthday/anniversary parties. Groups usually get a 10% discount, which is also nice. I highly recommend this restaurant to anyone who likes Thai food or good food in general.

IEC. Oct. 24/5th

Picture: 1. to put out: to take a pet [dog,cat] out in the backyard to play or go to the toilet; 2. to put out: to extinguish (fire). E.g. a) Put out that cigarette. You can't smoke in here. b) The campers put out the camp fire before going to sleep in their tents.
What is a gerund?
Every gerund, without exception, ends in -ing.

Gerunds are not, however, all that easy to pick out. The problem is that all present participles also end in -ing. What is the difference?

Gerunds function as nouns. Thus, gerunds will be subjects, subject complements, direct objects, indirect objects, and objects of prepositions. Present participles complete progressive verbs or act as modifiers. Read these examples:

Since Francisco was five years old, swimming has been his passion.
Swimming = subject of the verb has been
Francisco's first love is swimming.
Swimming = subject complement of the verb is
Francisco enjoys swimming more than spending time with his girlfriend Diana.
Swimming = direct object of the verb enjoys
Francisco gives swimming all of his energy and time.
Swimming = indirect object of the verb gives
When Franciso wore dive fins to class, everyone knew that he was devoted to swimming.
Swimming = object of the preposition to
One day last summer, Francisco and his coach were swimming at Daytona Beach.
Swimming = present participle completing the past progressive verb were swimming
A great white shark ate Franciso's swimming coach.
Swimming = present participle modifying coach
Now Francisco practices his sport in safe swimming pools.
Swimming = present participle modifying pools

Infinitives
An infinitive is a verbal consisting of the word to plus a verb (in its simplest "stem" form).
Be sure not to confuse an infinitive--a verbal consisting of to plus a verb--with a prepositional phrase beginning with to, which consists of to plus a noun or pronoun and any modifiers.
Infinitives: to fly, to draw, to become, to enter, to stand, to catch, to belong
Prepositional Phrases: to him, to the committee, to my house, to the mountains, to us, to this address.
A very detailed explanation of gerunds, participles and infinitives is found on the following link:
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/grammar/g_verbals.html

Phrasal Verbs
You need to learn only the phrasal verbs mentioned in the class. The verbs listed in the links I provide below are for your information and self-study only.

Phrasal verbs are one of the most difficult vocabulary to learn. They just need to be learned - there's no rule that can help you figure out the meaning. If you're interested, check out the following link that gives you a long list of phrasal verbs and their meanings:
http://www.eslcafe.com/pv/pv-mng.html
Also:
http://www.englishpage.com/prepositions/phrasaldictionary.html

IEC: Oct.24/25 - Quiz Reminder

Please, be reminded that this week you have a quiz during the first class. Vocabulary and listening: Units 13, 15, 16. (night class: listening part will not include Unit 16).

ECW: Unit 7. Monday, Oct. 23

The focus of today's classes:
1. Classification paragraph
2. Concluding paragraph
3. Punctuation: the use of comma

A classification paragraph divides people, places, things, ideas, etc. into groups. These groups must have something in common. A single subject can be divided in various ways; these ways are called “classes”." For example, students may be divided according to their year of study, their religion, their major study, or even their favorite style of music.
Rules for Classification
1. Arrange classes by a logical method
2. Make sure classes are relatively complete
3. Make sure classes do not overlap
4. Make sure classes follow a rule: “according to”

Examples:

Rock Music

There are three different types of rock music: alternative rock, classic rock, and hard rock, also known as metal. 1.Alternative rock features a steady bass drum laying down the beat, with easy flowing guitar riffs over the top. Depending on the song, the guitars can either be acoustic guitars or electric guitars. 2.Classic rock combines a steady driving bass drum sound, with high open overtones, steady and often repeating guitar riffs, and an intensive bass line. The guitars are more often than not all electric guitars, and distortion is rarely used. The lyrics are sung with style and enthusiasm. 3. Hard rock, or metal, features a hard rolling bass drum with an abundant amount of cymbal work. This style of rock uses several electric guitars with heavy distortion to bring a very intense sound. A hard, intense, driving bass line rounds out the style. The lyrics aren’t really sung so much as screamed. It doesn’t matter what your preference is, each different style of rock music is unique.

Shoppers

According to their shopping techniques, shoppers can be classified as necessity shoppers, over-spenders, and impulsive shoppers. 1.Necessity shoppers have an uncomplicated and normal shopping technique. They purchase only the items that are necessary, such as food and toiletries, and they only get these items when they need them. 2.The over-spenders purchase too many items and they spend too much money on them. They buy unnecessary products, such as clothes and accessories. They can turn a simple trip to the store into a wallet draining extravaganza. 3.Finally, there are impulsive shoppers. They are a combination between necessity shoppers and over spenders. They intend to be necessity shoppers by buying items that they need, but they turn into over spenders by buying unnecessary clothes and useless items. Even though there are millions of shoppers worldwide, they can easily be classified by their techniques as necessity shoppers, over spenders, or impulsive shoppers.


COMMA MARKS PAUSES
1. Use commas to separate independent clauses when they are joined by: AND, BUT, FOR, OR, NOR.
The game was over, but the crowd refused to leave.
2. Use commas to separate words, phrases, and clauses written in a series of THREE or more coordinate elements.
A trio of Marie, Ellen, and Frances sang at the entertainment. Jack walked into my office, took off his hat, and sat down.
3. Use commas to separate two or more coordinate adjectives that describe or modify the same noun. (Coordinate adjectives can be interchanged.)
The noisy, enthusiastic group applauded the speech. (the group is noisy and enthusiastic or enthusiastic and noisy.) BUT: The new tennis court will soon be open. (The court is not new and tennis.)
4. Use commas in the BEGINNING of the sentence after an introductory clause or phrase which has a verb or verb form.
Hearing his owner call him, the dog ran forward. While I was reading, the cat scratched at the door. If you want a seat, you ought to arrive by 7:30 p.m. My schedule having been arranged, I went home for the week-end.
5. Use commas at the BEGINNING of the sentence to set off exclamations or comments such as "yes," "no," "well," "oh," etc.
Yes, I'll think about it.
6. Use commas in the MIDDLE of the sentence to set off phrases and clauses which are not essential to the meaning of the sentence. Use these commas in pairs, one before the phrase or clause to indicate the beginning of the pause and one at the end to indicate the end of the pause.
Sara Clark, who lives in my dorm, is in my chemistry class. (comma #1 at the beginning) (comma #2 at the end) BUT, commas are NOT used in this "who" clause because it is a necessary part of the sentence. The girl who is sitting at the table next to you is in my chemistry class. “Tom, the captain of the team, was injured in the game.” The person injured in the game was Tom, the captain of the team. -To set off words or names used in direct address. It is up to you, Jane, to finish the assignment. -To set off nonessential comments which interrupt the sentence. “I was, however, too tired to make the trip.”
7. Use commas near the END of the sentence to separate sharply contrasted coordinate elements in the sentence.
He was merely ignorant, not stupid.
8. Use commas to set off all geographical names, items in dates (except the month and day), addresses (except the street name and number), and titles in names.
Birmingham, Alabama, gets its name from Birmingham, England. July 22, 1967, was a momentous day in his life. Who lives at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, Washington, D.C.? Donald B. Lake, M.D., will be the principal speaker.
9. Use commas after "he said," etc. to set off direct quotations.
John said, "I'll see you tomorrow." "I was able," she answered, "to complete the assignment this morning."
10. Use commas to prevent possible confusion or misreading.To John, Harrison had been a sort of idol. Above, the mountains rose like purple shadows.
More on the use of comma:
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/grammar/g_comma.html
http://www.correctpunctuation.co.uk/punctuation-comma.htm
An overview of the three-part essay (intro, body, conclusion) you can find by clicking on the link:
http://www.edb.utexas.edu/pbl/ESOL/index.htm

ECW: Oct. 16th

A reminder:
Your first assignment is due next week, October 23rd. Please, submit in class.
What's the assignment?
A short composition, one page, double-spaced, typed.
Choice of topics (choose only ONE!):

1. A dramatic/important event in my life
2. An article about a one day tour in the city of your choice

IEC: Mid-term Oral Exam Questions

Hello All,
here's a complete list of questions you may be asked during your partner oral exam.
1. What is your dream job?
2. In personality, are you more like your father or like your mother?
3. Is anyone in your family very talented?
4. What is your hobby? /interest?
5. Do you believe in “love at first sight”, like in Romeo and Juliette?
6. When was the last time you went to the doctor?
7. How do you take care of your health?
8. What are your favourite sports to watch and/or play?
9. Would you prefer a high-paying difficult job, or low-paying easy job?
10. What is your favourite English language movie?
11. How often do you watch movies?
12. How often do you eat out?
13. How often do you cook? / Can you cook?
14. Are you a picky eater?
15. What kind of shopping do you like?
16. Who do like going shopping with?
17. Would you ever consider emigrating (moving to live) in another country?
18. Would you consider marrying a foreigner?
19. What is your favourite TV drama or show?
20. How often do you watch TV?
21. Which is your favourite TV ad?
22. Have you ever bought anything because you fell for the ad?
23. Do you have strong willpower?
24. Which country would you like to visit and why?
25. If you have only one day to live how and with whom would you spend it?
25. If you won $1,000,000.00, how would you spend it?
26. If your girlfriend/boyfriend cheated on you, would you forgive her/him?
27. How do you celebrate your birthday?
28. What is the best birthday that you have ever had?
29. What did you do on your last vacation?
30. What is your perfect vacation?
31.Who is your idol (someone you really respect and appreciate)?
32. What are the characteristics of a good teacher?
33. If you could choose to study at any university in the world, which one would you choose?