A Salsa

Today is the end of our semester. Many of us are continuing study, A few are looking for a job.

I am pleased to study with my classmates and want to say thinks to the teachers. I hope see you again soon and keep in touch.

We have a party in the classroom.

Interview with Djimi

Today, I had an interview with Djimi. She comes from Lebanon and she is studying English at TAFE. Also, she is a very friendly person. I hope you will be interested in the following interview recording.

Click below to listen to the interview

Friend's letter

Dear Rita,

I haven’t seen you for a long time and I miss you a lot. I will be finishing my English course this month and I am going to attend the EFS which is English for Further Study, but I think this course will be very difficult for me to attend. If I can not pass the test, I will repeat this course again which will take me another 6 months.

I was very surprised that I saw your brother, Ken yesterday at the shopping centre. We have taken some photos together and I will be sending them to you later in the week. We all miss you very much and hope to see you in the next holiday.

Keep touch,
Robert
12-May-06

Platypus

The platypus is a native animal to Australia; no other animals are similar to it in the world.

Platypus is an egg-laying aquatic mammal. The mother reduces milk to feed the young and it lays two eggs per ones. Always it breeds from August to October.

The platypus lives in forests and rainforests on the east coast of Australia. It digs a burrow in river banks and lakesides, just above the water level. It is solitary and probably territorial and always travels up to 2km to looking for food. Also it hibernates from may to September in cooler climates. It has a streamlined body without external ears, flattened paddle-like tail, and rubbey, sensitive, duck-shaped bill. Its webbed feet and the feet have long, sharp claws. Also its fur is dark brown on the back, pale cream to reddish below.

The platypus average length from head to tail is 48 centimetres. The male have a sharp poison spur on the ankles of their hind legs.

Palawat

Palawat was born in Thailand in 1962. He was a good student at school and he was interested in mathematics when he studied at high school. In 1981, he went to university to study and finished it in 1984.

His first job was a teacher. He also taught chemistry. He felt respected the police, so he started working as a policeman in 1986 until 2004. During that time he met his wife and now has two daughters.

In 2005, he migrated to Australia because his wife has been in Australia for a few years. Now he is studying in TAFE College. He loves his wife and he wants to stay here for a long time.

Sydney

Sydney is the biggest and oldest city in Australia. It is located on the east coast of Australia and it is the capital of N.S.W. There are 4.000.000 people living in Sydney.

Sydney has a great mixture of cultures. There are people from more than 100 countries and they are very friendly.It is the best multicultural society in the world. There are many kinds of food from different countries, so you can eat excellent food in the restaurants.

There are many beautiful buildings in Sydney. The Opera house is the most famous building in the world. Centre Point Tower is the highest building in Sydney and you can see around the city on the top of Centre Point. The Queen Victoria Building is an old and beautiful building in Sydney. Around The Rocks Area, you can see many shops and you can buy many kind things from there.

There are lots to do in Sydney; you can go to the beaches, the mountains and Cinemas. Also you can see aboriginal people in some special places.

Sydney is a good place to live in because the people are friendly, the city is neat and tidy, and also the places are so beautiful.

My First Day in Australia

My first day In Australia was both a tiring and a happy experience. I was excited to see my brother because I had not seen my brother for a few years.
My brother took me to his house in Bankstown which took half an hour to drive. By the time we reached there I was tired, but I was very excited again because it was the first time I had seen my brother’s daughter, and she was already two years old.
Although, I was delighted to see my brother and his family, but I was a little worried about my new life in Australia because my English was so poor, but I thought I would be happy here.

Guang Zhou

Population: 4,000,000

Guang Zhou, the old and big Chinese city, is a place of great historical interest and also a modern state capital of Guang Dong state.

Guang Zhou is located in the south part of China and near Hong Kong. The city is at the mouth of the Pearl River which is navigable to the South China Sea. It is the economic centre of the Pearl River watershed because it has a main airport, express trains, harbour…

Guang Zhou has another name that it called “Flower City”. There are many flower markets in the city. Every three days before Chinese New Year, there is a special flower market which is huge in area. Flowers came around the world, also it opens until midnight, and you can’t imagine how big it is.

Guang Zhou has a wonderful tradition of cultures. People are very friendly and the city is very clean, people like eating and shopping. Often the restaurant food is the best in China, you can eat excellent fish, chicken or vegetable and usually very cheaply.

There are lots to do in Guang Zhou. It has many important museums, temples and modern gymnasiums. The Bai Yun Mountain is a good place for visit and to go bushwalking. The “boat of night time Pear River travel”, should not be missed.

Guang Zhou has many different things to enjoy and it is a good place to live in.

Express Train

You'll never guess what happed to me last Saturday. I was shopping in a supermarket at Hurstville and my friend called me to his house for dinner, so I went to the train station and bought a ticket to Carlton station. I was talking to my friend on the phone when a train came, so, I got on the train very quickly.

The train passed Carlton station but it didn't stop, why? I asked someone else and he told me that it is the express train to city. I felt so stupid and I wanted to call my friend to say I would be late, but my mobile phone's battery was finished when my friend picked the phone up.

Two hours later, I arrived at my friend's house and told him what had happened to me. They laughed at me. It made a funny thing for us to talk about and we had a happy time the whole day.

Chicken Fried Rice

3 tablespoons oil
3 chicken fillets
3 cups rice
6 spring onions
Salt and soy sauce
200g mixed vegetables

.Cook rice and put rice into a refrigerator two hours
.Cut chicken into cubes, chop spring onions
.Heat oil, cook chickens 6 minutes, add a little salt
.Remove chickens from pan
.Heat oil, cook spring onions 2 minutes
.Add rice and stir them until hot
.Add mixed vegetable, cook 2 minutes
.Return chicken to pan
.Add a little soy sauce and stir again
.Serve

Cats are smarter than dogs

Although many people have dogs at home and some people treat theirs dogs like children, I think cats are smarter than dogs.
Sometimes I see accidents on the road with dogs but I've never seen accidents with cats. It means if there is danger cats will be very careful, but dogs never are.At night time, dogs always bark, so they make people get angry. Sometimes I want to give some pills to them because they won't be quiet. Cats may bring good luck.
In China, people believe if cats go to their house and stay there, they will get rich in the future, but with dogs it is the opposite. If a dog you do know comes to your house and stays, you will be poor. So, people give food to their cats before their dinner, but to dogs after their dinner and they give dogs the leftovers.
I think I will buy a cat in a few days.

Amazing Experience

My sister's house has got a big and high quality television. The television's colour and speaker are very good. You may be wondering why I am talking about the television today, because every time I see the television I still remember the amazing experience I had about ten years ago.
It was a long time ago. A company had invited me to a big party. There were about three hundred people who attended. Suddenly, the people on the stage were telling everyone to look under their chair when we had dinner because they had hidden paper under the chair. It was very exciting at that time when everyone had a number of their paper. There were about 12 people who had got a lucky number and I was the one of them.
I had played a quiz game with other people on the stage. I had answered most of the questions. At the end, I was the winner of that game and the company gave me a high quality television as a prize.
A few weeks later, my sister bought a new house. So I gave her the television as a prize for her new house and told her the story of that party, but she didn't believe me. I repeated this story about twenty times to her and she finally believed me.
That was the most amazing and lucky thing which I have ever experienced in my life. I can still remember it very clearly and I thing I will never forget it.

Complain Letter

10 Union Avenue
Kogarah N.S.W 2217
15-May-2006

12 Union Avenue
Kogarah N.S.W 2217

Dear Mr. Li

I am seriously concerned about the fact that I have some problems about your dog which require immediate attention. The problems are-

.The dog always comes to our garden and leaves its waste there.
.When I come back home, the dog is always loudly barking at me.
.The dog damaged my flowers yesterday.

I believe that you have not noticed these problems, so I hope you can do something about it. If the problems are still going on after this letter, I will have to contact the Kogarah Council.

Awaiting your reply.
Yours Faithfully,


Robert

Answer Barbarab Dieu

What languages are spoken in your own communities? Is the official language of your country the same as your mother tongue? What are the reasons for this? What language and culture best represents you? Are there any languages you are averse to? Can you explain why? Do you have a public and a private identity?
Do you think foreign language learning should be fostered? Why? What is the foreign language policy and practice in your country? What choice of foreign languages do you have at secondary school? What is the attitude of people towards learning a foreign language in your country? Does speaking a foreign language give you a better status? Are there languages which are more privileged and others that are looked down upon?
What is the perception of foreign languages/cultures in the country you are now visiting as compared to your own? What were the main challenges and discoveries when trying to adapt to a new language and culture? Do you think you that your studies prepared you for it? How would you define intercultural competence and how do you think it can be developed?
What are the implications for your country of English being the dominant language of global communication? Is it possible to create an identity in a foreign language? Can you be yourself in English for instance?

Answers----
I speak Cantonese; also I speak a little English. I come from China，there are many kinds of language in China. Their pronunciations are so difference but the writings are almost the same. I think I have a little averse to English because it takes me a long time to study but still cannot speak and write very well. But I will continue to learn it.
I think English is the most important language in the world as it is the only language that can be used all around the world.
In China, people are starting to learn Basic English in their primary school because the Government thinks that it is better for their future of life to learn English.
The biggest difference between China and Australia is that their language is totally different. The hardest thing of English is that their pronunciations are very difficult for me. Different culture has different good things to study from. English is the most important language to the whole as it is used in Internet, economics, finance and I think not any other language can replace English at the moment.

Emile told us about his trip around the world

I think Emile is a professional photographer. You could see all of the photos are very beautiful and he could use the point of view so well, also he has got an excellent experience and memory in his life.

I like travelling, too. My dream is to travel around the world with my family, also I'd like to taste many kinds of food and go to the famous restaurants in their cities.

From now on, I need to study hard, then my dream may come true.