Banned Phrases / Course Hour 1

Classes:
Please do not use the following phrases any longer:

"delicious food": Usually in English you use "delicious" as a subject complement--e.g. "The food is delicious." "Delicious food" sounds unusual to a native speaker; it isn't necessarily bad, but I want you to stop saying it because I want you to practice describing how food tastes. Stop saying that food tastes "good" and start being more specific. Practice thinking of ways to describe the taste of foods that a friend has never eaten. Example: "Lamb tastes like beef, but the texture is tougher."

"the society": It's almost always "society." Drop the "the" and I'll show you when to use it if it is missing.

"take a rest": There is nothing wrong with this term, but try some new synonyms like "relax," etc.

"suicide" (verb): Suicide is not a verb in English. It is a noun with the verb "commit" attached. If someone kills himself, you say, "He committed suicide"; you don't say "He suicided." I taught this to an oral exam group last week, but on their papers they still wrote "suicided" and "decided to suicide".

--The first course hour is the only hour all week that your English speaking will be observed. Please complete the assignments during that first hour, then if you finish early continue to speak in English. This can be boring, I know, but practice is essential even if it is not fun. Please respect your T.A. when she tells you to continue to work.

--I am fairly tolerant of students doing other work or talking quietly during the lecture (hour 2) or during the vocabulary/vernacular discussion (second half of hour three). But please work only on spoken English during hour 1 and please pay attention to the Simpsons episode in the first half of hour three.

--If you have a situation that might affect your class performance, simply let me know beforehand and I will give you some leeway in the class. If you are tired, come to me and warn me that you are worried that you might fall asleep. If you and some classmates have a major exam, lab, etc., let me know that you might be tempted to talk about another class. If I know what is going on, there will be no problem. On Friday several students were late because of a particularly difficult lab; if I was told about this right away, it would be easier to run class. You tend to do a good job asking me permission to miss class for competitions, doctor's appointments, etc., but don't be afraid to also tell me if there is something I should know during class.

S.