International Summer School 2017 Academic Reading & Writing
2017.08.08 & 09
On Tuesday we talked about the Michael Breen essay on the Sewol Ferry tragedy, looking at how Breen used different techniques to bring the story to life. Wednesday we met at a cafe in a workshop session to talk about our final papers and what to do for the ISS Closing Ceremony.
I had a lot of fun this ISS session and learned a thing or two as well. I hope you can say the same. Please feel free to get in touch with me again. I enjoy getting postcards from international students after they return home (hint, hint).
Have fun tomorrow, the rest of your time in Korea, and have a safe trip back home.
Let me know if I can help with anything in the future.
Regards,
JBH
Cafe Photos
2017.08.07
In class Monday, we read together and discussed Krys Lee's short story, "At the Edge of the World." We took some time to talk about the characters and how they interacted after going through the reading.
Please be sure you have posted your first draft of your third writing assignment to the class blog and given some feedback that might help to at least one classmate about their writing. Also, use your own ideas for improving your draft with help from the course text.
In addition, here are some general questions about the readings, particularly focusing on the Korean stories in the last half of class. Please address one or two of the questions in the class blog with a post under the subject "Wrapping up Questions." You should reply to two responses from classmates in an online conversation. Please wrap up your online conversations by class time Wednesday. There are no length requirements for your posts or replies, but something more than "Yeah," or "That's so true!" will be appreciated.
- Choose one of the Korean stories we read and discussed. What kind of emotions were in it? If you had to describe the story to a friend in a few sentences, what would you say?
- In “At the Edge of the World,” the scars of deprivation and suffering mark the older characters in the story. Find two examples of this and discuss what they mean.
- How have the stories we looked at in class changed your perceptions of Korean culture and immigrants? Was there one particular character whose experience affected you strongly?
- Thinking of your own racial, religious, or cultural history, what similarities can you find with the characters in the stories? What have you overcome and what do you value? What has been troubling to you and what makes you proud?
Tuesday we will talk about the Michael Breen readings I gave you on Friday. Please be sure to bring them. I am also available to talk about your writing. Let me know if you want to talk and I can meet you in my office (Main Building #404).
See you in class,
JBH
2017.08.03
On Thursday, we continued reading and discussing This Burns My Heart. Please try to fit your writing in with your weekend activities so you will have a well-done first draft of your third writing project (see entry below for 7.31/8.1) posted to the blog by midnight Saturday. On Sunday, please take some time to give feedback to a classmate or two on the blog to help them make their writing better. Make sure you have given some helpful feedback before we meet as a class on Monday.
Starting Monday we will talk about our drafts, as well as looking at the last short story in our reader, "At the Edge of the World," along with selections from Michael Breen's The New Koreans.
See you in class!
JBH
2017.08.02
Wednesday we took a quick look at Henry Park, the enigmatic main character of Chang-rae Lee's Native Speaker. While the first two sections about Henry and his wife Lelia caught our attention, things got confusing after that. We got a feel for the writing, but the last part of the selection simply had too many disconnected details to follow the story with clarity.
We took a short break and moved on to Samuel Park's This Burns My Heart, in which the sections were much more clear and easy to follow. The story of Soo-ja, Min, Hana, and Yul got interesting quickly in the selection in our reader, and we will continue reading and discussing this story when we meet again Thursday.
For tonight's homework, please write a few hundred word blog post responding to the reading from This Burns My Heart. Ideas about what to write in your post can come from page 11 in the reader, "Guidelines for Writing a Journal Entry on a Reading."
You should also be giving some thought to your third writing project due Saturday night. Feel free to look ahead and use This Burns My Heart or the last short story in the reader, Krys Lee's "At the Edge of the World," as a topic for your third short paper. We probably won't talk about this story until Monday, so if you want to write about it, you will have to read it on your own before the class gets to it.
We will also continue to look at some of the later material from Trimble in the reader as well as (possibly) some more Korean writing in English.
See you in class!
JBH
2017.07.31 & 08.01
On Monday we looked over some of writing expert John R. Trimble's fundamentals from Writing with Style: Conversations on the Art of Writing. A student-led discussion took us through sections on Thinking Well, Getting Launched, Openers, Middles, Closers, and Diction. There is more material in this section that we may take a look at next week, as we work on our final paper. If you have time, please take a look, especially at the brief section on "How to Write a Critical Analysis." You may find it useful for your final project.
We wrapped up the session Monday by beginning a class read of Native Speaker. Please continue reading this section so we can discuss it Wednesday in class.
Tuesday, students had one-on-one sessions with the professor to briefly discuss how things were going in the class and talk about their writing. We also went over the final assignment to wrap up the class.
For your third and final assignment, I'd like you to choose one of the two types of projects we have done already, using the models and guidelines from Chapter 2 (Writing from Experience) and Chapter 5 (Analyzing Fiction). Chapter 9 in the Trimble section (How to Write a Critical Analysis) may also be useful. Whether you choose to write an essay about an experience in your life or a written work, please have your first draft posted on the class blog by midnight Saturday night. Then, please give helpful feedback to one of your classmates about their writing on Sunday. When you come to class Tuesday, please bring a hard copy of your final draft of this third writing project with you to hand in to the professor.
If you have any questions about things that are not clear, feel free to ask this week.
See you in class!
JBH
2017.07.27
Thursday we talked more about Hom Hing and Lae Choo and power relations between the government, missionaries, and immigrant families in this early 20th century story. Next we looked at the fourth story in the chapter, “Tito’s Good-bye,” examining the text, and the main character, closely.
For Monday, please look over your chapters from the Trimble reading carefully and be ready to share highlights with the class about what you learned about writing from your section. Also, be thinking ahead toward writing another first draft on a piece of fiction following the recipe on pages 169-179 in the course book. That first draft will be due Tuesday morning.
Have a great weekend!
JBH
2017.07.25 & 07.26
Our Tuesday session started off with us getting a look at some of our classmates' writing and giving some feedback.
We then moved on to Chapter 5, Analyzing Fiction, in the text. We started with the first short story in the chapter, "The Ingrate." For Tuesday, please continue reading the story, looking for interesting vocabulary or other features. Please look closely for irony or sarcasm in the author's voice toward the main character, Mr. Leckler. Also, notice where the author, the son of slaves, uses irony and sarcasm, and where he portrays the slave owner, Mr.Leckler, hypocritically lying to himself.
Wednesday, we looked at another old-fashioned piece of writing about a Chinese couple emigrating to America with their two year old son in the early 1900s. The bittersweet story of Hom Hing and Lae Choo's struggle to get their son back from the authorities and what happened to the child by the time he returned to his parents was an interesting perspective on the American story.
Your homework for Wednesday night is to email a blog entry addressing Discussion Question 6 on page 156 and any other discussion question you choose from Readings 1 or 2 in Chapter 5.
Please write a thorough post to two discussion questions. There is no length requirement, but please write a thoughtful paragraph or two that invite a response from others. Bring printed copies of these discussion blog posts with you so we can discuss them in class on Thursday.
After our discussions we will move on to the next reading on page 158, "Tito’s Good-bye.” Be thinking ahead about the Chapter 5 writing assignment as we move into the weekend again. The essay assignment is on pages 169-179. We will also get clear on that assignment Thursday, as well as our readings for next week.
Over the next few days, please prepare a brief class session going over the chapters from Writing with Style: Conversations on the Art of Writing in our class reader. We will talk about the Trimble chapters starting on Monday.
Groups for Trimble reading Chapters
Yujong, Kat, Leia 1&2
Sohyun, Noemi, Iulian 3&4
Tatiana, and Yujin 5&6
See you in class!
JBH
Seoul Selection Field Trip Monday after class (2017.07.24)
Monday evening Field Trip (Right after class)
Korean Books and Videos (in English)
When: Monday, July 24th, starting at 5:30 p.m.
Where: Seoul Selection Bookshop
(wander around Kwanghwamun area, get some dinner?)
Jonny Bahk-Halberg and Brooke Carlson’s classes are going.
All are welcome to join us!
Meet: 5:30 p.m. at the turnstiles on top of the stairs at HUFS subway station (straight out the HUFS front gate)
We will take the #1 line to Jongno-3-ga, transfer to the #3 line, and exit at Anguk station.
Come explore the Kwanghwamun area with “local” foreigners.
For more info, contact
Jonny Bahk-Halberg OR Brooke Carlson
[email protected] [email protected]
010-4929-1651
Map at http://www.seoulselection.com/bookstore/default/contact_us.php
Korean Books and Videos (in English)
When: Monday, July 24th, starting at 5:30 p.m.
Where: Seoul Selection Bookshop
(wander around Kwanghwamun area, get some dinner?)
Jonny Bahk-Halberg and Brooke Carlson’s classes are going.
All are welcome to join us!
Meet: 5:30 p.m. at the turnstiles on top of the stairs at HUFS subway station (straight out the HUFS front gate)
We will take the #1 line to Jongno-3-ga, transfer to the #3 line, and exit at Anguk station.
Come explore the Kwanghwamun area with “local” foreigners.
For more info, contact
Jonny Bahk-Halberg OR Brooke Carlson
[email protected] [email protected]
010-4929-1651
Map at http://www.seoulselection.com/bookstore/default/contact_us.php
2017.07.24
This Monday, after students spent the weekend in the mud at Boryeong, we switched gears a bit to go over some material on adding specific details to our writing, or Pinning It Down. We went over the PowerPoint presentation in class and practiced adding examples, quotations, illustrations, and particulars to our writing to make it more interesting, more believable, and more powerful.
For tonight, please make sure to get your first draft of your essay from Chapter 2 on the blog if you haven't yet done so. I also asked you to write the brief essay assigned at the end of the Pinning It Down PowerPoint:
—Here is a paragraph that is boring. Revise it with examples, quotations, illustrations or particular details (EQuIP) to make it more interesting and informative. We meet a lot of teachers in our life. Some are good and some are bad. One teacher I really liked. He taught us well and helped us learn other things too. I am glad he was my teacher.
—(If you can't think of a teacher you really liked, write about one you really disliked.)
—Your final version should be 150+ words…
In class Tuesday, we will look over our letters and our first drafts from Chapter 2, as well as continuing looking at Chapter 5 readings.
Thanks!
JBH
2017.07.20
Thursday we looked over the last two readings in Chapter 2 and discussed them with classmates.
The first, "A Book-Writing Venture," detailed the linguistic and cultural struggles of a mid-20th century Korean in the USA learning to write professionally in English and dealing with rejection, confusion, and the kindness of strangers.
In the second, "Mother Tongue," Chinese-American novelist Amy Tan talks about her several native languages, one she uses professionally at conferences, on she uses as her "voice" when writing a book, and yet another for talking "simple English" with her Chinese mother and other family members.
Have a great weekend playing in the mud. But when you have a few minutes to write, please put together a preliminary first draft of the essay assignment outlined on page 52-63 and post it to the blog. Please plan to have something posted before class time Monday so we can look at a few of them during our class session. After you've had time to get a little feedback, you may want to make some changes or improvements. We will also continue next week moving on to Chapter 5.
See you next week!
JBH
2017.07.19
We got a look at Chapter 2 in class today, examining some slices of life from Native Americans from the late 19th century, and the English language experiences of a child in the Dominican Republic a century later. Topics of discussion included what it feels like to be a foreigner, humiliation, anger, and revenge, and more ideas about learning both language and cultural differences.
Be sure to notice the details and specifics included in all these readings. They are an important element in every type of writing, helping to make things clearer and more memorable for your readers. Think about how you can add specifics and details to your writing.
Thursday, we will discuss readings 4 and 5 in Chapter 2, and talk about our ideas for writing an essay about our life experience. Suggestions about brainstorming and focusing your ideas are on pages 52-63. Take a look and give your essay some thought and do a bit of writing about it. Please bring your ideas about your plans for the essay when you come to class Thursday. Be ready to talk about your essay ideas with your classmates and the instructor in class. A first draft of the essay will be due Tuesday, July 25th.
See you in class!
JBH
2017.07.18
Some quotes from text:
Niella wrote about how learning English was like learning to play tennis.
Insights/images:
"People need to practice until their writing is fluent, and not get frustrated."
"Regardless of whether people know about your level, there will always be difficulties. Keep climbing!"
Five senses and feelings in Reading 1:
--image of neighbor complaining about noise – didn't understand, frustration.
“forget it” leave the court, frustrated and angry.
“As in any sport, if you want to enjoy it, you have to practice until you master it."
Reading 2 (pages 16-19)
“Waiting in Line”
Student summaries:
“Reading a book is an important way to change a person.”
“If you’re going through hard times, just find something that you really enjoy.”
“There is always some happiness hidden somewhere that you don’t expect.”
“Literature can change your life and life changing opportunity can come to you when you least expect it.”
Great quote from essay:
“I found myself, and my niche, in the word.”
(Student interpretation: “He found out who he is.”)
Being different.
“Unconquerable soul”
See hear and feel?
“Eats and sweet drinks” … “freshest smelling, strongest tasting coffee one could ask for.”
Bookcase specific dimensions --You can "see" it.
Homework for 7-19
Read Chapter 2, readings 1-3 (pages 23-41) Be prepared to discuss in class Wednesday.
Write a class blog entry from one of the readings we talked about in Chapter 1. Post your entry to the class blog by email, and comment on a classmate's post.
See you in class!
JBH
2017.07.17
In class 7-17 we:
＊Talked about the weekend trip to Gongju.
＊Gave each other feedback on Friday’s writing/got to know each other in small groups.
＊Learned about posting by email to the class blog and commenting on each other's posts.
＊Talked about the first introductory pages of the book (1-12) on annotating, note-taking, background info, and more.
＊Freewrote for 10 minutes on the first reading, “What True Education Should Do.”
＊Looked at an overview of the course. (see below)
＊Wrote a sentence or two about the main point of “Barriers” and talked about the reading discussion questions on page .
Academic Reading and Writing
Class Overview
Reading
- Guidelines, 1, 2, and 5 (and other selections)
- Trimble (selected tips)
- Korean fiction
Writing
- Journaling,
- Blog posts
- Two paper drafts (at least)
- Final something. (TBD)
＊For tonight, please ...
... post Friday’s writing to the blog (Instructions under Friday's entry).
... read How to Say Nothing in 500 Words.
... be ready to discuss what you have read in class tomorrow (HTSNI500W & "Waiting in Line at the Drugstore") and move on through the chapter, headed toward an essay first draft by week's end (Chapter 2 writing assignment pages 52-64).
Thanks,
JBH
2017.07.13
Hi Everybody!
It’s going to a great summer for all of us.
Meeting the class Thursday was a treat, with students from Russia, France, Korea, and Germany (Alderaan?). We appear to have a wide range of ability levels and different needs, which is something I am used to and enjoy. I hope we can all help each other learn something useful from our few weeks together in Seoul, and have fun too.
We will be writing. So please, make up your mind to write something every day in English about what you’re doing. Or if you prefer, you can have fun every day by writing. Either way, the fun and the writing go together. As long as we have to be here and get some writing done, we may as well enjoy ourselves, right?
I hope your first weekend field trip goes well. I am working during the weekends in Seoul this summer, so I won’t be joining the group, but my family and I have joined ISS field trips in the past and they are a great way to get to know people and see new places. But don't forget to look over your homework this weekend too.
For Monday, I would like you to do two things. First, please get started reading Chapter 1 in the course pack, selections from Guidelines: A Cross-Cultural Reading/Writing Text. Please read through page 19 in the course pack, and be ready to discuss the “Strategies for Reading Critically” in the first several pages as well as the discussion questions from the readings on pages 13-19.
Also, please write a 250+ word autobiography that gives us the most important details about who you are. It might be a childhood story that shows us something of your character, your first reactions to this new and strange place -- Korea -- or anything about yourself that gives us an idea about who you are. Please include a title for your writing.
Bring a copy of your autobiography to class with you on Monday. We will all be sharing our writing a lot in this class and helping each other make things better. We will also be posting our writing regularly on a class blog and making comments to each other.
If you can follow the instructions in the document attached below, go ahead and make a post by email and feel free to comment. It's not tough, but it's not required to figure it out this weekend. We will go over posting and commenting instructions in class Monday too.
Have a great weekend!
See you in class,
JBH
