This ESL Pop Culture Class Project Was a ‘Big Hit’

Posted on October 14, 2015October 14, 2015 by willhuff2016

My level 3 Pop Culture class was a lot of fun. I got the opportunity to introduce my students, who were from six different countries, to American pop culture. This gives the students topics to talk about when assimilating into the American university. It helps the students to not be left out of conversations between future classmates. These topics are now familiar to the students. Also, it lets us practice and improve English skills in a fun manner. Continue reading This ESL Pop Culture Class Project Was a ‘Big Hit’

Super Students: Using Super Powers to Teach ESL

Posted on October 14, 2015October 14, 2015 by willhuff2016

Cooperative work and peer assessment is a very large part of my ESL classes. I like the students to work together to build their understanding of English as a team. A group can be more successful than separate individuals trying to find their way. Group work also lets me move about the classroom and see what the students are working on and if there are issues arising.

This past semester at the university, I had level 3 speakers, students who were finally building a confidence with their command of the English language. These students were a little raw, but just needed that time to actually use the language. This is my favorite part of teaching, seeing the students begin to use the skills that that have learned in a way that impresses themselves.

I was teaching a pop culture class. In the class, we covered topics from movies, music, food, Furbies, and so on. One topic that the students seemed to gravitate to was super heroes and comic books. This lead to an idea that ended up paying big dividends. Continue reading Super Students: Using Super Powers to Teach ESL

Building Unity to Promote Learning in an ESL Classroom

Posted on October 3, 2015October 3, 2015 by willhuff2016

One of the keys to a classroom like mine is that there will be a lot of group work. Peer cooperation plays a big role in my style.

My teaching style is communicative. That is that my style is focused on getting students to use the language. I like to have a loud class. Quiet does not mean learning to me. I focus my lessons on getting students to speak to each other. I hear myself speak a lot, so I like to hear the many accents of my classroom. Continue reading Building Unity to Promote Learning in an ESL Classroom

The Un-PC Reasons of Why Europe Does Not Want More Refugees

Posted on September 12, 2015October 3, 2015 by willhuff2016

(Preface: European countries are facing a great dilemma with Syrian refugees. I have been reading posts from friends from all around the world and have been reading reactions to news stories. I have noticed a few common themes. This post is about the patterns I have seen and I have tried to paraphrase the thoughts that have seemed to be the common opinion. These are themes that many Europeans have been alluding to, but seemingly afraid to say, because of political correctness. This is a total opinion piece and is being written to bring about a conversation between people about the refugee crisis facing Europe.)

The refugee crisis in Europe is fodder for press all over the world. Many stories are calling European countries unsympathetic and inhumane for the way that they are dealing with the refugees. Why are the European nations being very selective with the number of refugees from Syria that they are taking in? Leaders and citizens have many reasons, but have their hands tied by political correctness. Many posts and responses to news articles have people painting a picture of why Europe is reacting the way that they are. Continue reading The Un-PC Reasons of Why Europe Does Not Want More Refugees

‘Roomful of Elephants’ by Aaron Joseph Newman

Posted on August 5, 2015August 5, 2015 by willhuff2016

Roomful of Elephants

by Aaron Joseph Newman

Soundcloud link

Aaron Joseph Newman has released his “Roomful of Elephants” album. RFOE is an eclectic collection of tracks that roam through the Indie, Neo-Hop, and Hip-hip genres. Aaron Joseph Newman brings a new take on hip-hop and delivers a final product that is genre bending.

The August 5^th release comes on the 12^th anniversary of the passing of Aaron’s mother to brain cancer. He decided to honor her by releasing the album that he is most proud of.

Follow him on Facebook and Twitter

When Grammy Winner Timothy Bloom Heard About a Family in Danger of Eviction…

Posted on July 28, 2015October 3, 2015 by willhuff2016

When Grammy winner Timothy Bloom heard about Joquann and LaRae Montgomery, along with their children, of Paterson, NJ., being on the verge of being evicted, due their inability to pay rent, he stepped up big.

The Grammy award winner teamed up with Make Room to help them avoid eviction, which they did. Bloom also performed live in their living-room to “give them a voice.”

From the Make Room website.

“Make Room N.J.:
The Montgomery Family

Joquann and LaRae work three jobs to keep a roof over their heads in Paterson, NJ. And like 46% of the renters in their city, more than half of their income goes to rent. Grammy winner Timothy Bloom knows what they are going through and gives a Make Room Concert for the 1st in their living room to help lift them up.

Play the video set to see the Montgomery family story and concert performances of “Wooooooo!!!” and “Stand In The Way (Of My Love)”.”

Millions of families are caught in a rental crisis. Help Timothy Bloom shine a light. #concertsforthefirst http://bit.ly/1dxjGWu

Hear more Timothy Bloom here. http://www.timothybloom.com/

SNL Airs Ripped Off Muhammad Skit

Posted on May 10, 2015May 10, 2015 by willhuff2016

‘Saturday Night Live’ must be running out of material. On their May, 9th airing, they ran a blatant copy of a sketch from the Canadian sketch show ‘This Hour Has 22 Minutes.’

The sketches portrays a gameshow in which the contestants must draw the Muslim Prophet Muhammad.

There has been a lot of recent news involving the drawing of Islam’s most holy prophet, which is highly offensive to the religion’s worshipers.

You can see the original skit and the copy in the links below.

This Hour Has 22 Minutes – Muhammad

SNL – Muhammad

Bella Bizelle – Take Me Back

Posted on February 14, 2015February 14, 2015 by willhuff2016

Bella Bizelle has released a new track today.

In “Take Me Back,” Bella Bizelle is reminiscing of a place where life was easier and times were better. A time when her child like naivety was taken for granted and she didn’t appreciate the world around her. A time when the people who were in her life were there for the right reasons. Now that she realizes how good it was, she yearns for the days of old and begs someone, “Take me back.”

Listen Here On Soundcloud

He Got The Job!

Posted on February 13, 2015 by willhuff2016

The young man, Yasir Moore, who North Carolina Target employees went above and beyond by helping to prepare him for his first job interview, complete with tie tying skills and how to answer interview questions, got the job at Chick-Fil-A.

Laura Overstreet stated that, “There were tons of cameras surrounding him in front of Chickfila at the mall tonight, it was pretty crazy! People literally were chanting, ‘eat more chicken!’ haha! The Target employees were there also.”

What a happy ending to an inspiring story.

Original story here. http://www.theroot.com/articles/news/2015/02/nc_teen_walks_into_target_looking_for_a_tie_and_this_happens.html

Inside a German Concentration Camp

Posted on January 28, 2015January 29, 2015 by willhuff2016

January 27th, 1945. The U.S. soldiers had made their way to a German controlled city in Poland that horror stories had been coming from. Where the unimaginable was happening to human beings.

Auschwitz had a camp. Not just any camp, an extermination camp. A camp to kill other human beings on a mass scale. Continue reading Inside a German Concentration Camp