Classroom notes

The year 2004 brought new adventures for the 1960s class. One memorable spring evening the poet and folk-rock artist and ‘60s icon, Bob Dylan, played an outdoor concert in Wilmington. Students from the class joined teacher Russ Mason for the event, strolling in the cool of the evening on the Riverwalk overlooking the Christina River, mingling with the multi-generational crowd and swaying to the rhythm of classic songs including “Like a Rolling Stone.”

The Listening/Speaking EAP VI class enjoyed a visit in early October by former ELI students who are now UD students. Katsunori Hirano (Japan ’03) is expecting to graduate with a master’s degree in environmental policy in May 2005. Elliot Lee (Korea ’01) hopes to graduate with a B.A. in biological sciences in May 2005. German Mancera (Colombia ’03) is in the Ph.D. program in electrical engineering. Their advice included: Study hard, try to be active and meet people, and don’t worry too much about grammar when you’re talking with people.

"Bad Boys" from the Business Case Studies class check out the latest Harley Davidson gear during a field trip.

Mary Long’s Oral Business Case Studies class undertook the project of learning everything they could about the Harley Davidson Motorcycle Company. They read and discussed a case study of the early history of the company, watched a video about the later development of the corporation and finally got a first-hand look at the mythical Harley Davidson or “HOG” culture during a visit to Mike’s Famous Harley Davidson Dealership in New Castle, Delaware. In no time at all they tossed off their mild mannered ELI identities for the Bad Boy image of the Harley “HOG.” Mike’s Famous provided a memorable site visit!

Mary Beth Worrilow has developed a system in her Oral Business class to help reduce the number of cases of “Monday Morningitis” (M.M.). M.M.,Worrilow explains, is a condition familiar to ELI teachers and typically brought on by students speaking their native language over the weekend, thereby making speaking English in class more difficult. To prevent this from ever happening in her class, Mary Beth makes her business students sign a contract every Friday in which they promise to speak English for more than 50 percent of the weekend. The contract, she reports, has proven to be very successful.

After watching "A Beautiful Mind," the film class listened to Dr. John Brunelle of UD Counseling Services (right) discuss schizophrenia

Again this year, Professor Ruth Jackson invited guest speakers to her classroom to inform students about health issues and careers. Pat Job and Peachie Reese visited several of Jackson’s classes to talk about cancer prevention. Trooper Chuck McCall of the Delaware State Police talked to her Listening/Speaking EAP V class about driving safety on area highways and the work of the State Police. Finally, psychologist Dr. John Brunelle of UD Counseling Services shared his knowledge of schizophrenia and his enthusiasm for “A Beautiful Mind” with Jackson’s Listening/Speaking Film class. In each case, students worked specifically on their listening and note-taking skills and developed their ability to ask pertinent questions.

Students in Walt Babich’s General English Level VI Reading/Writing class experimented with symbolism by writing poems about ordinary objects such as staple removers, plastic bags, guitar slides, harmonica holders and picture frames. Here is a sample:

An Empty Picture Frame
by Seon-Hwa Bahn

Standing by me
You whisper not to forget.
Remind me of a sweet memory
You are sweet.
No way are you able to make me happy, though.
You are not my memories’ home, but just a house.
My stuffed memory is in you.

The Broadway Musical class saw "Phantom of the Opera" in New York.

The Broadway Musicals class continued to be popular with students, with teachers Susan Coakley, Mary Beth Worrilow and Russ Mason taking over while the course’s founder, Grant Wolf, teaches at Kobe Shoin Women’s University. All three instructors accompanied their classes to the Majestic Theatre on Broadway to see the world famous production of “Phantom of the Opera.”

Lisa Grimsley and her 3rd and 4th grade students at Brookside Elementary School were fortunate this year to have Vicky Dowey Abdel- Salam as a student teacher from the UD MA TESL program. Class activities included making Irish pancakes, interviewing Abdel-Salam’s niece from Ireland on her visit to Delaware and becoming pen pals with students in Ireland. The children thoroughly enjoyed having so many exciting experiences while learning English.