Edutainment – Bouteiller’s English Teaching in Hong Kong


20th aniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall today!

The fall of the Berlin Wall signifies the fall of Communism in the East Germany. Once separated, democracy made it united.

You may not care so much about Germany, but Berlin has always been ‘the one’ of my favorite European city. It is a city full of history as well as modern cultures and technology. Despite the cold weather in winter, there are always marvelous art, music, dance, movies and exhibitions to warm our heart up. (I even once thought that I might marry a German guy and live there for some time of my life! :-P but now it turns out to be French guy in HK!!)

Check it out and learn more about the world history of the last century:



‘Plan for change’ Ad

His voice and pronunciation is clear. Can you get all that he said? What is the objective of his speech here? What is his conclusion by the end of his speech? Check it out:



How Not to Be Hated on Facebook: 10 More Rules

By Claire Suddath Tuesday, Apr. 21, 2009

Check out the rules on Time.com. It’s fun!

How Not to be Hated on Facebook



Why your co-worker act like children

Each of you have to find at least a new vocabulary/phrase you’ve learnt from this page and share your learning to us below.

Follow this format:

withhold (verb [T] withheld, withheld)

- to refuse to give something or to keep back something:
to withhold information/support

e.g. During the trial, the prosecution was accused of withholding crucial evidence from the defence.

(Cambridge Advanced Learner’s Dictionary. Retrieved May 6, 2009, from http://dictionary.cambridge.org/define.asp?key=91007&dict=CALD)



Symptoms of swine flu



Obama Wins song (T.I. – Live Your Life SPOOF)

This is funny. Check this out:



Katy Perry

I like her personality on screen. She’s funny to me. Check this out:



Overcoming Monday Syndrome

Who doesn’t suffer from Monday Syndrome? I’ve been suffering from it terribly today already. Therefore, I ‘googled’ the solution earlier. Let me share what I’ve found from you. It is cited from http://psycho-blog.hayatkisa.com/overcoming-monday-syndrome.html

Check this out:

The stickyard to solve and get out of your Monday syndrome is to realize that the problem isn’t Monday. Monday, like every other day of the week, may bring unknown problems of life and it is not Monday to blame.

Every end and every beginning brings stress and anxiety. Probably this is why we celebrate our birthdays, graduation, marriage, circumcision, etc… Those signify milestones of our life that brings us closer to the unknown end.

Realize that Monday is just a word and it can have many  connotations with it. Moreover, you can manipulate these connotations in your mind when you have to confront with your Monday anxiety.

What you will face on every Monday is the same thing you face on every Sunday, or every other workday. Bear with it. Monday is neither king nor a serf. You can treat it anyway you like just realize that it’s not necessarily the beginning of a work week. It is our minds that make Monday a symbol for the beginning of irritating series of events.

Maybe you can evaluate the weekend for preparation if the coming week is a little more busy than usual. Thus you may feel prepared and more powerful against the anxiety of monday.

Having a good sleep would also prevent unnecessary anxiety. Sleep is always good for your body :)

* What do you think? Do you agree?



25 things I hate about facebook

Recently, I finally activated my facebook, officially?! I really do have more than 25 things I hate about facebook. Let’s check Julian Smith’s ones first:

Let me add you on the facebook? :-D



Obama Speech on victory (Part 4)

My professor inspired me with this Obama Speech last night. Being busy marking all your composition exam papers these days, I think this could be a really inspiring material for enriching your English writing skill too. Watching this video with the transcript below can help you improve your English listening, reading, speaking and writing! Obama has won the election already. Are you ready to win your English proficiency? Here you go:

Extract of Obama’s speech on winning the 2008 USA presidential election:

This election had many firsts and many stories that will be told for generations.  But one that’s on my mind tonight is about a woman who cast her ballot in Atlanta.  She’s a lot like the millions of others who stood in line to make their voice heard in this election except for one thing – Ann Nixon Cooper is 106 years old. 
 
She was born just a generation past slavery; a time when there were no cars on the road or planes in the sky; when someone like her couldn’t vote for two reasons – because she was a woman and because of the color of her skin.
 
And tonight, I think about all that she’s seen throughout her century in America – the heartache and the hope; the struggle and the progress; the times we were told that we can’t, and the people who pressed on with that American creed:  Yes we can. 
 
At a time when women’s voices were silenced and their hopes dismissed, she lived to see them stand up and speak out and reach for the ballot.  Yes we can. 
 
When there was despair in the dust bowl and depression across the land, she saw a nation conquer fear itself with a New Deal, new jobs and a new sense of common purpose.  Yes we can. 
 
When the bombs fell on our harbor and tyranny threatened the world, she was there to witness a generation rise to greatness and a democracy was saved.  Yes we can. 
 
She was there for the buses in Montgomery, the hoses in Birmingham, a bridge in Selma, and a preacher from Atlanta who told a people that “We Shall Overcome.”  Yes we can. 
 
A man touched down on the moon, a wall came down in Berlin, a world was connected by our own science and imagination.  And this year, in this election, she touched her finger to a screen, and cast her vote, because after 106 years in America, through the best of times and the darkest of hours, she knows how America can change.  Yes we can. 
 
America, we have come so far.  We have seen so much.  But there is so much more to do.  So tonight, let us ask ourselves – if our children should live to see the next century; if my daughters should be so lucky to live as long as Ann Nixon Cooper, what change will they see?  What progress will we have made? 
 
This is our chance to answer that call.  This is our moment.  This is our time – to put our people back to work and open doors of opportunity for our kids; to restore prosperity and promote the cause of peace; to reclaim the American Dream and reaffirm that fundamental truth – that out of many, we are one; that while we breathe, we hope, and where we are met with cynicism, and doubt, and those who tell us that we can’t, we will respond with that timeless creed that sums up the spirit of a people:
 
Yes We Can.  Thank you, God bless you, and may God Bless the United States of America.

(cited from http://news.yahoo.com/s/ynews/ynews_pl135)