Beckie Loewenstein

Although I generally avoid the topic of religion for English lessons , my advanced student A. specifically asked about the differences between the branches of Christianity.  Reading about the rise of evangelicalism in Latin America and the USA in Time Magazine sparked my curiosity.  How does evangelicalism differ from other branches of Christianity ?    The wide variety of differences started to overwhelm me.  Would n't it be great to visualize these differences in charts ?  The Pew Research Religion and Public Life Project compares the religions. Ask the student to compare the frequency of prayer, the frequency of attendance of religious services, and the frequency of receiving answers to prayers of the respondents of the different religions.  What's the general impr ession about how the E v angelical Churches differ from the others? After discovering the general distinction, wouldn't it be fun to listen to the personal story of an individual?  This American Life t

The Guardian's interactive report decodes Snowden's leak of the NSA files with video, audio, and graphics.  What do the revelations mean for us...an American teacher and a Turkish student? Who is Snowden? He is a whistleblower !  He blows the whistle on the government.  He leaks government secrets. Here are the activities: Listen to each speaker debate the priority of national security vs. digital freedom.  Who defends surveillance for national security?  Who criticizes the damage of surveillance on digital communication? Go to the "Three degrees of separation" section.  How many Facebook friends do you have?  How many people are three "hops" or degrees from you?  Describe the resulting graphic. Go to the "Legal case" section.  What laws allow the NSA to spy on an American outside the U.S.? What does FISA stand for?  Are the FISA court proceedings open to the public or secret?  Who petitions the FISA court -- the U.S. government or cit

Turkish business professionals often seek English lessons to advance their careers.  Many would like to speak in English at meetings with international clients.  Some would like to work for a multinational company.  Recently, many of my lessons focus on how to interview for a job.  I recommend my students bring their resume for real life practice. As a teacher, I usually play the role of interviewer.  However, I like to encourage my students to interview me, too!  Be the interviewer to think about the questions you would ask a candidate.  Then, prepare for these questions.  Most importantly, enjoy the questions and have fun! Interviews mostly focus on the why and how of the job change: How did you perform in previous experience? Why would you like the new job? How would you contribute to the new position? My student E. would like to work as a manager in a multinational company.  In preparation for the interview we practice responding to questions: What are your strengt

My student A. asked about the meaning of Bob Dylan's "Blowin' in the wind" song.  Honestly, I could not give a good answer so I decided to listen more carefully to Bob Dylan.  I learned the song captures the 1960s civil rights movement. I planned this lesson as part of my own thinking about folk singer-songwriter Bob Dylan's role in civil rights for African Americans.   Listen to Bob Dylan's song "The Death of Emmett Till", available on NPR .  Compare and contrast the song to Margalit Fox's NYTimes article about Willie Louis, a witness of the court case.  How does the song capture the chagrin of the trial's acquittal of the murders? Listen to the song and fill in the blanks with the proper tense of the following verbs: --> bear beat commit confess drag fill find give kill live live remember remind repeat roll speak step stop throw torture The Death Of Emmett

Robots of the future may leave many jobs behind, including teaching.  Would you like to learn a language from a robot?  This lesson focuses on reading and listening about how technology rapidly changes work and personal life.  The target level is upper intermediate to advanced. Read the article The Robot Economy by David Von Drehle, Time Magazine, to answer the question: What jobs will robots and technology leave behind? Here are some of the answers: accountants travel agents X-ray technicians truck drivers (maybe) welders teachers journalists My students say they have already witnessed the disappearance of many jobs in their neighborhoods.  In Istanbul many tailors, butchers, and textile makers have gone out of business due to changes making them obsolete in the global economy.  Technology would just continue this trend. Find out the meaning of these idiomatic expressions from the context of the article: canary in the coal mine chip away at something Draw a pict

My seven-year-old student M. and I listen to Nellie McKay's "The Dog Song" to practice the present continuous.  What is she doing now?  She is walking the dog!  What sounds do dogs make?  Pant.  Woof!  Then we act out walking an imaginary dog.  Fun! Listen to more Nellie McKay songs here

Today I asked my student Z. to write down two activities he would like to do for a month: Read a book in English for 15 minutes a day. Lift weights for 15 minutes a day. Then we listened to the TED talk Matt Cutts: Try something new for 30 days about how small, sustainable changes for 30 days makes habits stick. I make a goal to learn one Turkish word or phrase a day. "That sounds too easy!" says Z. Well, I can always learn more words. I blog about learning Turkish to hold myself accountable. I already wrote about how -den mahrum bırakmak means to deprive and how to schedule a meeting in Turkish . Here is my new Turkish phrase of the day: Sıfır means zero. -den başlamak means to start from something. I started from scratch. Sıfırdan başladım. Next weekend Z. and I plan to lift weights and bench press as we practice English. Standing up and lifting weights will relieve my lower back from too much sitting in all of these lessons. Exercise will also be a g

Censorship deprives people of knowledge of what is happening. New mothers and fathers are often sleep-deprived . People drink coffee to overcome sleep deprivation . Chopping down the forest will deprive the people of fresh air and clean water. Destruction of natural habitat will deprive the animals of their homes. Prisons deprive people of their liberty. -den almak means to take something away. -den mahrum kalmak means to lack something. -den mahrum b ırakmak means to be deprived of something. They took away my freedom. Özgürlüğümü elimden aldılar. I was deprived of liberty. Özgürlükten mahrum kaldım. I was deprived of meat. Etten mahrum bırakıldım. I was deprived of sleep. Uyku dan mahrum kaldı m.

My student brings out a bowl of purple grapes as we start our early morning lesson at his terrace.  Birds fly between the vines draping the stone wall. These juicy, plump grapes look like bull's eyes, or öküzgözü in Turkish.  These grapes grow in central Anatolia and produce the red wine öküzgözü şarap . The taste hits the target: " bulls-eye !" My student teaches me the Turkish equivalent " onikiden vursun! " or "you hit 12!" In Istanbul I often learn about the local political news through my students. The grapes inspire me to teach the idiom hear on the grapevine . Did a friend, neighbor, or colleague tell you what is happening? Most of my Turkish students tell me they do not depend on the local media to report the facts. Instead they turn to gossip, rumors, and conspiracy theories to guess how and why political decisions happen. Gossip fires up almost any conversation. As a teacher I realize that it rarely matters if my students report the facts

FEAR OF FLYING trailer from conorfinnegan on Vimeo . Narrate the film with dialogue for each animal. What do the animals say each other?  Use the background music to inform the choice of words and tone of voice. Discuss the bird's fear of flying and plan for the winter.  What happens next? Secondly, watch the full film here: Fear of flying - conorfinnegan .  How do the seasons change from autumn to winter? What do the animals say to each other? How does the bird survive? What are the animals' names? What does the squirrel do? How does the bird overcome the fear?

Istanbul Monsters - Teaser from Baris Gursel on Vimeo . Narrate the film in a monster voice. Describe what the monsters are doing using the present continuous.

On The Water from yi zhao on Vimeo . Tell a story using the present continuous. What are people doing in the animation?

Going To Cappadocia (Turkey) from Kyoto Studio on Vimeo . Describe the journey to Cappadocia and travels in Turkey. Compare and contrast Izmir, Cappadocia, Istanbul. How is the landscape? What are the camera angles? What are the close-up details? What lights up? What animals are there? How many people go on the trip? How do they travel? What do you like and dislike about the film? How well does the film represent these places? How could the film be better?

--> ·        case 2x ·        contingency ·        counter ·        damage ·        defend ·        defendant ·        defense ·        disclosure 2x ·        dysfunctional ·        infringe 3x ·        infringement 3x ·        inventor ·        lawsuit 3x ·        negotiate ·        non-disclosure agreement (NDA) ·        obscure ·        offer ·        overturn ·        own ·        patent ·        producer ·        proof ·        prove ·        settle 5x ·        settlement 3x ·        strike ·        sue ·        tactic ·        terms ·        violation Fill in the blanks of the transcript: Drew Curtis: How I beat a patent troll Last January, my company, Fark.com, was sued along with Yahoo, MSN, Reddit, AOL, TechCrunch and others by a company called Gooseberry Natural Resources. Gooseberry __________ a patent for the creation and distribution of news releases via email. (Laughter) Now it may seem kind

This weekend I taught a lesson at Kuzguncuk, a quaint neighborhood north of conservative Üsküdar's port on Istanbul's Asian side. The sunny day with clouds and boats sailing by begs me to take our lesson outdoors. I invite my new student out for a 'walk and talk' lesson. He hesitates. Don't we need to sit down and write on a solid surface? After an awkward moment on the front porch, he goes along with the idea as he needs to run out to the pharmacy anyway. Walking in the fresh air and early morning sunlight jogs both of our minds. I feel free from the distractions of his family life. Eventually, we need to write down new grammar structures so we sit at a bench facing the Bosphorus. Watching the fishermen anchor inspires our first speaking task. Give today's news report of what's happening on the Bosphorus, I request. Aklıma hiç bir şey gelmiyor.  Nothing comes to mind, he says. I ask questions and smile a lot to encourage him. Here's our report:

They Might Be Giants - Istanbul (Not Constantinople) from They Might Be Giants on Vimeo . This song uses 'nobody,' an indefinite pronoun: That's nobody's business but the Turks. Practice the indefinite pronouns with this British Council quiz: http://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/en/english-grammar/pronouns/indefinite-pronouns

This is Not Real from Gergely Wootsch on Vimeo . Tell the story of the boy's dream.

I teach the TED talk "Jane McGonigal: Gaming can make a better world" to consider the potential of gamers to solve problems. New vocabulary includes on the verge , virtuoso , and epic . What are some positive and negative effects of video games? My student A. completely disagrees with Jane's argument and gives personal stories of the negative effects of games on personal development. For example, his children and their friends go outside for fresh air not to kick a football or run around for hide and seek, but to sit on the green grass while playing video games. Growing up in Turkey, A. did not have any games or toys. He made his own ball out of fabric and read Milliyet children's books. Today he does not play online games as he considers these a complete waste of time. Although he likes the ease of communication with the iphone, he also feels this convenience opens him up to constant interruptions and loss of productivity. At the end of the day, all of this techn

Listening to comedy in a second language challenges upper intermediate students to practice idioms, slang, and swear words. Practice expressing frustration, sarcasm, and anger in English. Just remember to emphasize the importance of the time and place, only use these on social occasions with close friends. Today I taught uncensored English in Dan Soder's stand-up comedy "Hipster Spotting."  Before listening, give the student a clear listening task.  Ask the main two questions on the first listen, and the the more specific questions on the second listen: 1. What does a hipster do? Do they like music? Do they wear skinny leg jeans? Do they wear scarves in the summer? Do they eat BBQ meat? Do they eat gluten? Do they eat kale? Do they like cats? 2. How do hipsters change neighborhoods? How would Dan's favorite barbecue restaurant change? What would be the food? Who would be the waiters? Comedy Central Dan Soder says he respects hipsters becaus

The first chapter "The Hague - The War Crimes Trial" of Joe Saco's book Journalism includes criminal law court vocabulary.  I read the chapter with my student A. to find new vocabulary to practice. atrocity atrocious gavel dock prosecutor indict try deter accused Heavy fines and daily coast guard boats __________ ships from dumping in the Bosphorus. The courts publicly __________ ship captains for illegal dumping. The court __________ a captain for dumping. During the trial the captain sits in the __________. The captain is the __________. His lawyer is the __________. The lawyer who argues the captain is gulity is the __________. The judge bangs a __________. Environmental crimes are __________because they pollute the water, harming life and human health.

I make flyers advertising my private English lessons with my contact information and a cartoon self-portrait. Turkish students like to see what their teacher looks like, but I do not feel comfortable with a photo. A cartoon feels like a compromise. Mostly, I search for bulletin boards and display spaces inside cafes around Beyoglu and Nisantasi. Unlike most other cafes, Starbucks usually has a display space -- either a bulletin board with push pins or a metallic board requiring tape -- above the counter with the sugar, cinnamon, and napkins. Sometimes I return to the same Starbucks weeks later only to discover my old flyer's still up with missing tabs. I feel encouraged knowing that cafe employees do not remove the flyer immediately and that people are interested in my lessons. My students recommend that I post my flyers at the Macrocenter in Nisantasi. I find out through trial and error that the grocery store located in City's mall lacks any displace space. It turns out ther

Along the walk to Kabatas, I notice rainbow colors painted on the Findikli stairs. Colorful bursts brighten up the neighborhood and put a bounce in my step. I continue on to the Kabatas bus station, where tanned street sellers in striped shirts grill frozen Norwegian mackerel on carts. The bus stop benches smell a bit like traffic exhaust and fish. When a bus to Sariyer arrives, I grab a window seat, and start listening to the Turkish Tea Time podcast. Soon I doze off, occasionally opening my eyes to traffic moving at a snail's pace. Rush hour traffic chokes up the narrow road through Besiktas, Ortakoy, and Bebek along the Bosphorus coast; it takes ninety minutes to travel 14.8 kilometers to Yenikoy. I send the SMS "şimdi şimdi geldim!" to my Turkish friend, and wait at the Yenikoy Shell Station.  She guides me to the house and introduces me to her family. İyi seneler! Lshana tova! I feel happy to be invited to the family's celebration. I resolv

Write a story about the two women in the video, Lana Del Rey - Summertime Sadness: Why do the two women feel sad? What choices do they make? What could someone do when they get the summer blues? Write about the boy's summer in the video, Eddie Cochran - Summertime Blues: What does the boy do during the summer? Drive a car? Go on vacation? Vote? What is the summertime blues? Is there a cure? What's another name for summertime blues or sadness? What are the causes of Seasonal Affective Disorder? Psychology Today article Seasonal Affective Disorder gives symptoms, causes, and treatments. In the Lana Del Rey song, two women both jump off high places.  The reasons may be extremely complex.  But could it be at all related to the summer? What explains the trend of increased suicide rates in the spring and summer? NYTimes article Clues in the cycle of suicide gives a wide variety of explanations.

Crossing the Tophane tram station, I must look both ways four times.  Look to the left and walk around a bus blocking the cross walk at the red light. A motorcyclist swerves around pedestrians. Look left at the tram station. A car speeds past on the rails. Stand in the island between the rails. Look to the right. A train arrives. Cross the rails. Look to the right. Stop for the cars and motorcyclists with the green light. Look both ways. Cross the street to the island. Stop again for taxis taking the side road. Phew, finally across. My parents taught me to look both ways before crossing the street.  Istanbul takes the rule to a new level of difficulty. I feel like I am in a video game. If I can walk through all of the moving and stopping traffic pieces, then I win.  Look four, not two, ways before crossing the street, tracks, or crosswalk.  Public buses stop in the middle of the crosswalks. Motorcyclists ride across crosswalks and sidewalks around pedestrians. Drivers drive

Write the lyrics of Tegan and Sara - Now I'm All Messed U p.   What emotions describe 'messed up'?   messed up   Why is the singer 'si ck inside'?   What is the singer 'sick and tired of'? be sick and tired of   What does ' where you're leaving your makeup ' mean?

Sokak Savaşa Karşı | Streets Against The War from sokak savasakarsi on Vimeo . Where do the artists put the paper cutouts in Istanbul? How are the streets against war? Describe the paper cutout soldiers: They run. They march. They embrace. They turn into birds.

This song descri bes regret and heart break . The lyrics use the past conditional to talk about something that did not happen. Maybe I would have been Something you'd be good at Maybe you would have been Something I'd be good at This British Council quiz to practice the difference between will have and would have . Also, this song includes these phrasal verbs to describe relationship s: break off call off wrap around keep mouth shut      

More Turkish men than women attend my English courses, İngilizce kurslari, in Istanbul. Mastering the English language may allow business professionals to achieve a promotion, earn a raise, and participate more in English meetings, İngilizce toplantı . How do I attract more Turkish business women to attend private English lessons, İngilizce özel ders ? As a private English teacher, İstanbul özel  İngilizce öğretmeni , I assign my students TED Talks to practice English presentation skills, İngilizce sunum becerileri . This TED video "Why We have too few women leaders" with Facebook's Sheryl Sandberg asks these important questions: What messages do we send the women in our lives? What are the messages we tell the women who work with and for us? What are the messages we tell our mothers, sisters, and daughters? What are the messages for women who want to stay in the workforce? Here are the three main m

English speaking practice with "On The Water" from yi zhao on Vimeo . As a private English teacher, özel İngilizce öğretmeni , I seek to provide as much English speaking practice, İngilizce k onuşma , as possible to my Turkish students in our short private English lessons, İngilizce özel ders .  Silent animation film clips provide an excellent opportunity for student narration. The visuals elicit new vocabulary. Students can record each other narrate the animation. Describe what happens on the water with present continuous. Use water sport vocabulary. Give details about the textures and sensations. Students who can narrate the entire 8 minutes with a wide variety of vocabulary earn bonus points :) For more practice the present continous, please visit previous English lessons Putin action hero for present continuous and English speaking practice with animation

Comedy Central I really enjoy laughing out loud with the students in the English course, İngilizce kurslari .  I like to find entertaining content to keep up student motivation. For example, my student E. usually listens to BBC Learning English podcasts because he would like to understand British accents. As a change of pace, this lesson focuses on the African American accent. Secondly, this lesson achieves the student's second goal to practice listening for emotion. What's better than listening to punch lines? I introduce my Turkish student to American stand-up comedy on Comedy Central. I encourage my students to listen to authentic recordings during our private English lessons, İngilizce özel ders. Hopefully, my student will continue to listen to stand-up comedy to practice English, İngilizce pratik. Listen and fill the gaps. Write the answers in the comments below! CC:Stand-Up: Maronzio Vance - Extreme Home Makeover What show does the comedi