Learning English at MEI

Back row: Kim Sorensen (Listening/Speaking teacher), Ali Al-Buenain, Lun Liu, Mohammed Al-Hajri, and Abdulla Al-Abdulghani.
Front row:NaRy Kim, Boram Chae, Eman Al-Kindi (hidden), Maira Bissembayeva, Ozgecan Gunoz, Nina Liakos (Reading/Writing/Grammar teacher), Abdulrahman Al-Kaabi.
Missing: Mohammed Al-Buenain.
Click on the picture to see a larger version.

Our class has ended, and we now turn the page to a new chapter in our lives. Many of you will return to MEI to study more English, some in the summer term, and some in the fall. Others will transfer to a different school. Good luck to everyone! You have all made amazing progress since the class began. I have enjoyed being your teacher very much. Please stay in touch!

One Monday afternoon in PHYS 1219, group work in UMEI 003 Reading, Writing, & Grammar:Maira, Mohammed Al-B., and NaRy

Abdulla, Ozgecan, and Lun

Mohammed Al-H., Boram, and Ali

Don't they all look serious and dedicated to improving their English?

Studying at MEI was very nice. MEI is like a family. Our teachers, students, and other people always showed it us. Nina is a wonderful teacher and person. Classes are enjoyable with her. She teaches perfectly. Thank you Nina. Thank you for everything…
After I read Lun’s entry, I wanted to cry. I’m a very emotional person; therefore, in final ceremony, I may cry. Especially if I see a person who cries, I start to cry :) I’m sad because this nice semester end. If I pass MEIPE and study my master degree here, I would like to come to MEI and visit my teachers. (Maybe some of students too)
I will miss everybody, every place, and every moment at MEI. Bye teacher, bye students, bye MEI !

After a long discussion about where we should go, we went to the zoo. We met at the shuttle bus stop at 9.15. The trip took about 1 hour. In the morning, we went to see an elephant bath. After that, I saw a capybara which is from Southern Panama. Then we went to see a little performance of elephants. After that, some people left to go somewhere else. Nary, Maira, Boram, Lun, Nina and I walked together. We saw a Nile Hippopotamus. It came from Africa. It eats vegetation. It spends almost all its time in the water. It moves very slowly. I also saw some gorillas and took pictures. We saw a female tiger. We watched a seal training. That was the most interesting thing for me.
The time was almost noon, so we found a place to eat our lunch. The final thing was looking at the baby panda. I was worried about not seeing it, but we were lucky, and we saw it. We saw also the other 2 pandas. They were really cute. I needed to leave after seeing the pandas, because I had something to do in DC. After I finished everything that I needed to do, I ran into some of my classmates and my teacher at the metro. We went back to the university together.
It was my first time in a zoo. I always see the zoo in my city, because one of my rehearsal places is across from it, but I had never been to a zoo, even in my childhood. Maybe because I was expecting much more things from the zoo, it wasn't that interesting for me even though I wanted to go there very much. I couldn't see many different animals because they were very free to do whatever they want, but I know it is the best thing for them. However, I had a great time with some of my classmates and our teacher Nina.

Your final writing assignment for this semester was to write an essay about an environmental problem, explaining the cause(s) and effect(s) of the problem and offering possible solutions. You learned how to narrow your focus to a specific problem with which you are familiar, and most of you described environmental problems in your home countries or cities. You started by creating a flowchart showing a causal chain (a chain of causes and effects, each cause leading to an effect which becomes the cause of another effect). Then you composed a first draft consisting of the body paragraph(s) of the essay. In your second draft, you added an introduction describing the problem and a conclusion suggesting solutions to the problem.

I would rather go to National Zoo or the National Arboretum than the DC Neighborhoods Exploration. I think the National Zoo is very interesting. So is the National Arboretum. I haven't been there before. I can take some pictures. These places are more interesting for me. Somebody said that the smell is not good in the zoo. Actually, it made me to think about it. The National Arboretum might be better just because of the smell. If we go to DC Neighborhoods, it will not be boring for me because I can shop and see the city. It is also good for me, but we can do it by ourselves. I know we can do the others by ourselves too, but I think shopping, walking arround, or these kind of things are more personal things. I prefer the National Zoo or the National Arboretum.

Before the semester ends, we are going to go on another field trip. The students have three options to consider:

1. The National Zoo: http://nationalzoo.si.edu/default.cfm

2. the National Arboretum: http://www.usna.usda.gov/

3. DC Neighborhood Exploration: Chinatown, Adams Morgan, and U street: http://www.washington.org/index.cfm?blnNavView=True&idContentType=499&idCurrentPage=30

I have asked the students to consider the three options and to write a short (1-2 paragraphs) piece for the blog, recommending one of the options and giving reasons why they think it is the best one.