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*** Welcome to The Virtual School House Vance!
Vance: @64,64 !It's Vance
Ying-Lan: @64,64 !It's Ying-Lan
Ying-Lan: hi
Ying-Lan: I am a pig
Ying-Lan: hi
Ying-Lan: ^Hi, Vance, Have you read the Schedule of classes at EFI?
Vance: Hi Ying Lan. I was looking somewhre else.
Ying-Lan: it is o.k.
Vance: No, I haven't see the schedule. That must be what you just sent me.
Ying-Lan: yes, it is.
Vance: having a look now ...
Ying-Lan: ^ I am doubt the correct time of the schedule.
Vance: my browser is launching now.
Ying-Lan: ^* means that the shown time has been adjusted due to local daylight saving time/summer time
^What does the launch mean?
Ying-Lan: ^I mean I don't know what is the correct time because the daylight saving time.
Vance: Hey, YOU'RE on the schedule!
Vance: cool
Vance: Launch means, like a rocket, to shoot into the air.
Ying-Lan: ^Yes, I am there. But I am not sure I do the job well.
Vance: But it also means to start a program.
Vance: Excuse me a moment, I have to run to another office. I'll be back in a minute.
Ying-Lan: o.k.
Vance: It's just down the hall. Teacher can't save a file.
Vance: I'll be right back ...
Ying-Lan: I wait ...
Vance: OK, I'm back.
Vance: I'll wait (grammar correction)
Ying-Lan: You wait what?
Vance: You will wait for what? << I'm echoing correct English back to you.
Ying-Lan: ^Echo?
Vance: An echo is, like if you stand on a mountain and shout, and you hear yourself shout back.
Ying-Lan: ^You mean you are waiting my sotry?
Ying-Lan: story
Vance: No, you said, "I wait". I echoed back "I'll wait."
Brazil: @64,64 !It's Brazil
Vance: I didn't mean to say it myself. I was just helping your English.
Ying-Lan: ^But you said "you'll wait correction...
Brazil: Good morning, afternoon oe evening whatever it is for you
Ying-Lan: I appreciate your help.
Ying-Lan: hi Brazil.
Brazil: hi ying
Ying-Lan: ^Someone in my house, I have to say "hello" to them
Vance: You said "You wait what" and I said "You will wait for what?" Again, an echo.
Vance: OK, I'll say hi to Brazil. Hi, Brazil.
Ying-Lan: I understood what you said...
Vance: ok, see you in a minute.
Brazil: Hi Brazil
Ying-Lan: No, I have to cut my line for 10 minutes.
Vance: ok, we'll be here when you get back.
Ying-Lan: ^Will you stay here ..
Ying-Lan: o.k.
Brazil: What are you talking aobut ?
Ying-Lan: thanks.
Brazil: about.
Ying-Lan: see you.
Vance: Let's see, we just started actually.
Vance: I had to run off, so Ying Lan said, I wait, and I echoed back, I'll wait.
Vance: Do you understand what an echo is?
Vance: Still there?
Brazil: yes i do understand Vance.
Vance: OK, so there was some confusion over vocabulary, and we were talking about that when you arrived.
Vance: Have you had your coffee yet?
Brazil: oh ok
Brazil: nope
Brazil: i just woke up and took a bath
Brazil: Everyone here is just waking up..
Vance: Me, I have coffee, and THEN I take a bath.
Brazil: Oh my !!! My little daugther woke up too..
Vance: What are you going to do today?
Brazil: thanks for the correction Vance
Brazil: It's raining cats and dogs now. I planned to go to the beach for now I will catch up some school work here.
Vance: It's nice to have a day with nothing to do sometimes.
Brazil: Generally my Sunday is like that
Vance: Every day is sunny here, so there are no excuses. We have to go to the beach or out ot the mountains.
Vance: ... to the mountains.
Ying-Lan: @64,64 !It's Ying-Lan
Ying-Lan: I am back.
Vance: Hi. Who was visiting?
Ying-Lan: ^What are you talking about?
Brazil: LOl Good excuse Vance.. Here is sunny too but LA NINA is changed the weather completely here.
Ying-Lan: ^My uncle and
Brazil: uh????
Vance: Just that it's raining in Brazil right now, so Brazil can't go to the beach.
Ying-Lan: ^He want to intorduce some to know me.
Brazil: uh?????
Vance: Your uncle was by to introduce someone to you?
Ying-Lan: ^You know I am single... he is afraid of I can not get marriage with man.
Ying-Lan: ^Yes.
Ying-Lan: ^A man who I don't know him.
Vance: This is interesting, someone your uncle wants you to meet and maybe get to know.
Vance: What did you think. Did he seem like a nice man?
Ying-Lan: ^I just took a look at him and said hello to him
Brazil: good uncle yours ying
Ying-Lan: ^Then I come back.
Ying-Lan: ^I think it is very stupid.
Vance: So he didn't appeal to you?
Ying-Lan: ^I have no idea about the man.
Ying-Lan: ^What does the applea mean?
Vance: If he "appeals" to you, then you might want to meet him again.
Ying-Lan: appeal
Brazil: Ying do you want a piece of advice ??
Ying-Lan: ^I am not beaufiful... I am a pink pig today.
Ying-Lan: Tell you,
Ying-Lan: ^Tell me, now
Ying-Lan: ^What is the advice?
Brazil: Do not marry.... Just fool around.... It's much better.
Ying-Lan: ^You want me "do not marry"?
Brazil: I am just kidding.... Marriage is good, but........
Ying-Lan: ^I want to be a single lady, but my mother is against this idea.
Vance: Is it possible in Taiwan to enjoy life single? Can you live with someone and not get married?
Brazil: When we are young it's good to be a single but when the gray hair starts to show up we need quickly a partner.
Ying-Lan: ^Someone do,,, under the press...
Brazil: In Brazil it's so common to live with someone without a marriage...
Ying-Lan: ^I think it is nice if I do not meet my soul mate.
Vance: It's very common in America too. I lived with my wife a while before we got married.
Ying-Lan: ^Someone lives with their love withou marriage ... it is popular in big city like Takpei....
Brazil: Stay away off internet Ying.... I bet you will find someone there very nice to you.. haha
Ying-Lan: I hope so.
Vance: Is it easy to meet guys in Taipei?
Brazil: I did too Vance. And I only officialized our marriaged because she insisted a lot and you know when a woman wants something....
Ying-Lan: ^I want to be a vegetarian.
Vance: A vegetarian? Do you mean not eat meat?
Brazil: But "flesh"is good too Ying..
Brazil: lol
Ying-Lan: ^I don't want to eat meat... but my mother is against it.
Brazil: Meat is good of our health if we dont eat too much.
Ying-Lan: ^It is not so easy to find "guy" in Taiwan. Guy=homogenous.
Brazil: for our healt..
Brazil: health.
Vance: No, a guy is a boyfriend.
Brazil: what do you mean by homogenous ying?
Vance: Homosexual?
Ying-Lan: ^It is easy to find "guy"... but I have not desire to know boyfriedn.
Brazil: uh?
Ying-Lan: ^Sometimes, I have no time to make friend...
Ying-Lan: ^Sorry, I have to say "bye-bye"to thi\em.
Vance: So you're not looking for a boyfriend? But aren't you looking for a "soul-mate"?
Brazil: That's the point Ying. SOmetimes we need to spare time for ourselves... The life is so short...
Brazil: Vance how is marriage in the country you live in...
Brazil: ?
Ying-Lan: I am back.
Ying-Lan: ^
Vance: In the country I live in, UAE, people get married young, and they are usually arranged marriages.
Ying-Lan: ^Do you think it is stupid to know my boyfriend by my uncle?
Ying-Lan: ^I think I am a fool.
Brazil: do not think that way ying..
Vance: It depends ... there are many ways to meet "Mr. Right". It depends on your uncle's tastes.
Brazil: So UAE is a macho man country right ?
Ying-Lan: ^My uncle ,,, he is a good man...
Vance: Yeah, although for an Arab country, it is very liberal.
Ying-Lan: but I hate someone involve my life.
Ying-Lan: liberal.
Vance: Do you and your uncle think alike YL?
Vance: Yeah, liberal means the opposite of conservative.
Vance: Liberal means free-thinking; conservative is orderly and business-oriented.
Ying-Lan: ^No, I
Vance: Liberal is new ways and changes ... conservative is old ways and traditions.
Ying-Lan: ^I am a liberal... hate to bound by old thought.
Vance: Is there anyone in your family who is liberal?
Vance: besides yourself, I mean ...
Ying-Lan: ^My brother...
Ying-Lan: ^He is 32 years old and single.
Vance: Maybe HE should introduce you to some of his friends ...
Ying-Lan: ^My parents always worry about us.
Vance: What are they worried about exactly?
Ying-Lan: ^His friend always like my yound brother.
Brazil: Parents are always worried about their kids.. It's so normal..
Ying-Lan: ^I am single and my brother is single too.
Vance: I don't worry about my kids. I have a 20 year old in California.
Brazil: maybe Vance, because everything is running ok with him...
Ying-Lan: ^They always said I will be trouble when I am old. Nobody will live with me.. nobody care me... Vance ,,, Your son is young.
Brazil: I am so scared of drugs... Our teens are getting and getting so much involved in this stuff.
Ying-Lan: ^I am scared of the drug too, But Vance do you worry about your son with the drug?
Ying-Lan: ^May You trust your son...
Vance: That is a problem. I think the best thing is to encourage your kids to be honest with you and make them feel that if they need help you won't be angry with them so much as you will help them.
Vance: My son has a problem with alcohol. I think I have to encourage him to handle it properly. He'll have to solve the problem himself in the end.
Ying-Lan: How old this son?
Vance: He's 20
Ying-Lan: ^it is a problem. but he will get it over.
Brazil: Yeah, it's much better to show them they are the only responsible for their acts and only them are going to pay for the consequences.
Ying-Lan: ^You are a good father.
Vance: Exactly. And that you won't be an additional problem by getting angry if they come to you.
Ying-Lan: ^And he lives with you or lives in USA?
Vance: He's in the USA. He's coming to the UAE in December.
Ying-Lan: ^Are you angry with him?
Brazil: Getting angry only makes things worse.
Ying-Lan: ^That's his problem not you, he has to face his life honestly.
Vance: No, not angry. He just has to see that if he doesn't control the problem, he's going to have other problems.
Vance: Exactly. So if I were your parents, YL, I would want you to lead your life in the way that you choose.
Ying-Lan: ^You are tolerant.
Ying-Lan: ^Parents is great...
Vance: There are many options with life besides being rooted in your country or city. You can travel. You want to go to Canada. Things would be completely different there.
Vance: But your parents are very supportive too. You mentioned that they helped you when you lost money.
Brazil: He is not tolerant Ying. Sometimes we parents are very angry with our kids' actions but we have not to show that... We need to try to show that they are the only responsible for that.
Ying-Lan: ^Yes, you are right. But It is the same "Parents always love their children".
Brazil: The economy is messed all over the world ying.
Ying-Lan: ^You know why I was agree to meet the man who just came into my house.
Vance: Why?
Brazil: why?
Ying-Lan: ^My mother just help me .... not support.. they forgive my mistakes.
Ying-Lan: ^I don't want her to worry about my marriage.
Ying-Lan: ^So I was agree my uncle came to my house with the man.
Ying-Lan: ^I thought it is very stupid.
Ying-Lan: ^I think it is very stupid.
Ying-Lan: ^Do you understand?
Vance: By support, I meant, they help you with kindness. So you repayed them by agreeing to meet a stranger.
Ying-Lan: ^It is right.
Ying-Lan: ^Thanks Vance. I have to remember your words by heart.
Ying-Lan: ^You are precious to say my feeling.
Ying-Lan: ^You are precise to say my feeling.
Vance: I know it's difficult to express yourself in a foreign language.
Ying-Lan: ^But Brazil express himself well. I am too lazy to study.
Vance: You are studying now!
Ying-Lan: ^I spent a lot of time to read news of stock market this year.
Ying-Lan: ^Only got nothing....
Brazil: i don't ying.. I have my problems with English too...
Ying-Lan: ^it is very frustrating.
Ying-Lan: ^Now, I confess I lost.. just LOST.
Brazil: And I am in advance of you in English because we have many words in Portuguese that are so similar to English.
Vance: A step forward, two backward. At least you're still on your feet.
Ying-Lan: ^Yes.
Ying-Lan: ^YOu are lucky...
Ying-Lan: ^Sometimes, I don't know It is better to be a Chinese or not.
Ying-Lan: ^Chinese is a perfect language.
Vance: How so?
Ying-Lan: ^Chinese always has some problem to speak English.
Brazil: I read in a magazine that Brazilians are the most "lucky" people in the world related to learning English, because our Portuguese language assimilated many English words..
Ying-Lan: ^Letters are different.
Ying-Lan: ^Chinese is word by word... English is a spelling word. I mean you can read Engish without phonic.
Ying-Lan: ^Chines letter is different phonic.
Ying-Lan: I am sorry,
Ying-Lan: ^I don't think you understand what I say.
Vance: You mean each letter, or kanji, has its own sound, so if you know the sound, you can say the word?
Ying-Lan: ^Is it right in English?
Brazil: Portuguese is like chinese then.. If you know the sound you can say the word
Ying-Lan: ^There are 24 letters in English.. but over one million letters in Chinese.
Vance: wow!
Ying-Lan: ^No, you can not read Chinese letters by their outlook.
Ying-Lan: ^ONLY English you can read word by their own letters.
Brazil: Portuguese is much easier to read than English.
Vance: I get it. The opposite. In Chinese, you have to memorize a million characters. In English you can figure it out.
Brazil: What is your computer keyboard look like Ying ?
Brazil: what does..
Brazil: ..
Brazil: helloooooo
Ying-Lan: ^Book is English.
Ying-Lan: ^Below the "book" ... the letter is book in Chines.
Brazil: ???
Ying-Lan: ^You can find the small letters " x" is phonic.
Vance: I've traveled in China and I've had to memorize kanji for place I was going so I could catch buses there.
Ying-Lan: ^Phonic is different from Chinese letter.
Vance: So phonic helps with sound?
Brazil: Ying.. How about your computer keyboard ??
Ying-Lan: ^Vance, What is the Kanji?
Ying-Lan: ^What do you mean Brazil?
Ying-Lan: ^I can not type Chinese typing.. but someone do it very well.
Ying-Lan: ^It is very difficult for me.
Vance: uh, oh. I thought it was the name for Chinese characters.
Brazil: ying is your computer keyboard with A B C D... letters or chinese characters ??
Ying-Lan: ^Someone, "Black English" is like Chinese grammar.
Ying-Lan: ^My keyboard is like yours. But there are some additional function to type chinese.
Ying-Lan: ^That is not Chinese letter.
Brazil: oh ok
Ying-Lan: ^We cut the letters to some parts and re-composed it.
Ying-Lan: ^I have to learn how to cut them and re-compouse them.
Brazil: it's so confusing that ..
Ying-Lan: ^Vance, Someone say "How you going?" in U.S.A.? Black English is always without verb.
Vance: Black English has its own grammar. There have been books written about it.
Ying-Lan: ^Really?
Brazil: Black English is a problem for us, foreign students.
Vance: Why is that?
Ying-Lan: ^About Black English.
Vance: Why a problem?
Brazil: Because the grammar is not the same and we learned in books, school. etc.
Ying-Lan: ^You said, "There are some books ..."
Ying-Lan: ^Grammar is important or not?
Vance: A very good book by William Labov, for example.
Ying-Lan: ^Is it good to read?
Ying-Lan: ^Easy or difficult?
Vance: I thought it was very interesting to read. Maybe difficult because it's long. Look for it in the library.
Ying-Lan: ^In Taiwan?
Ying-Lan: ^I can not find it in library of Taiwan.
Vance: Is it hard to find English books in Taiwan?
Ying-Lan: ^It is very easy...
Vance: The alternative is amazon.com, but that will cost money.
Ying-Lan: ^only new books.
Ying-Lan: ^It is hard to find new books in library..
Ying-Lan: ^I can buy new one in book-store.
Brazil: Talking about novels,, Sidney Sheldom has a good English... It's very easy to read his books.
Vance: Actually, this book is about 15 years old.
Ying-Lan: ^I bought some books at Amezon.com.
Brazil: wow
Vance: Me too. It's hard to find books here, so we use Amazon.
Ying-Lan: ^But I only bought them and did not read them.
Vance: Do you like to read Brazil?
Brazil: yes, i love to
Ying-Lan: ^Do you want to laught at me? I always laught at myself.
Vance: laugh at you??
Brazil: uh?
Ying-Lan: Uh?
Ying-Lan: ^I bought books at Amazon.com. and only took a look at them...
Ying-Lan: ^It is very ridiculous.
Ying-Lan: ^I have some problem to read them.
Brazil: Sometimes I act this way Ying...
Ying-Lan: ^I can read book quickly in Chinese.
Vance: Me too. Even when the book is in English ... so many books, so little time ..
Brazil: i see
Ying-Lan: ^It is hard to read it written in English.
Ying-Lan: ^Do you know the book "How can I sell the air"?
Ying-Lan: ^It was said by Seattle Chief.
Vance: An American Indian chief?
Brazil: i like to read Sheldon's and John Grisham's books.
Ying-Lan: ^I want to buy this audio tape. But none.
Ying-Lan: ^Vance, he is a Indian chief.
Ying-Lan: ^You are right.
Vance: I thought this book could be written by someone in the Taiwan stock market?
Ying-Lan: ^You are kidding.
Ying-Lan: ^I understand what you mean.
Brazil: Just a curiosity.. When you buy an audio tape book, do you have the paper book and the tape together ?
Ying-Lan: ^Vance, have you read this book or relation report about the Indian Chief.
Ying-Lan: ^Brazil, that's my problem.
Vance: No, to YL, never heard about this Indian chief.
Ying-Lan: ^Sometimes, they only have audio book withtout paper book.
Ying-Lan: ^I can not understand what they said.
Vance: About audio books, we have a few here at our language center, and usually we have the books, but many people just use the tapes.
Brazil: tha;'ts why it's good to buy the paper book and tape book.. So we can practice listening.
Vance: So it's best to have both.
Ying-Lan: ^I like to buy the audio book with paper book.
Vance: Oh, btw, I'm supposed to give you a message from Michael C
Ying-Lan: ^There is only audio book at amazon.com.
Brazil: what message?
Vance: He said he's too tired to come to class tonight.
Ying-Lan: it is o.k.
Vance: He went to bed.
Brazil: it's ok.
Ying-Lan: ^I was tired to come here yesterday.
Ying-Lan: ^I have not seen David for a long time.
Vance: It looks like you are our only students. In my class there are a couple of others who email, but they never do much more than that.
Brazil: People give up so easly...
Ying-Lan: ^Do you like me being here ?
Ying-Lan: ^Am I bored?
Ying-Lan: ^This is a only way I can learn Enlish with American.
Vance: Do you mean, "Am I boring"? These words are often confused.
Ying-Lan: ^Am I boring?
Vance: That's fine. I come here to teach English.
Vance: And I like to teach because I find students interesting.
Ying-Lan: ^It is very interesting to be here with you.
Brazil: i would like to have more classmates here.. It would be much funnier.
Ying-Lan: ^Not only for English.
Vance: I think so. This seems to me to be a problem. It is unusual to find people who will meet at the Palace.
Vance: You obviously feel you enjoy it and / or benefit from it.
Ying-Lan: ^Sometimes I can told you about my trouble.. It is not so easy to talk with my friend or officemates.
Vance: That's true. It's easy to talk to people on line.
Ying-Lan: It is true.
Brazil: whenever i see someone who is interested in learning English I make a remark about the palace.
Ying-Lan: ^Help my to express myself in English.
Ying-Lan: ^Vance, do you think Students are confused about the time of the class.
Vance: No, ... hang on, phone is ringing ..
Ying-Lan: ^It caused about the "DAYLIGHT SAVING TIME".
Brazil: i think so ying.
Vance: That could be. But we have no DST in Abu Dhabi, so I didn't change.
Vance: Also, I go online an hour early and stay late, so I know the students aren't thre.
Vance: aren't there.
Ying-Lan: ^But their local time changed.
Vance: Still, GMT stayed the same. It's not hard to figure out with worldclock and other means.
Ying-Lan: ^Students are lazy.
Ying-Lan: ^I always missed the Vera's class.
Vance: Do you still go there?
Brazil: I do..
Ying-Lan: ^When I was here, she just cut the line and went to bed.
Ying-Lan: ^Always miss it.
Vance: If it's late people will do that. I'm in my office working at one computer and talking here.
Ying-Lan: ^Are there any students contct you during another time?
Ying-Lan: ^Like Hilda or ....
Vance: If you look at the webheads page you can see that I always write the last time each student contacted me. So some do, but not often these days.
Vance: What do you suggest? How can we keep people like Hilda or Gosia, who come a bit and then fall out.
Ying-Lan: ^Studenst probably have to prepare their middle term test.
Ying-Lan: ^May they are busy.
Brazil: the end of the year is so busy for everyone
Vance: I don't know. It's a mystery to me. I've taught several of these classes, and this is as far as I've got. This class has lasted longest and had the most dedicated students.
Vance: But we're breaking out of time boundaries. People are busy all the time. I'm busy.
Ying-Lan: ^The problem is not being busy.
Brazil: what are bondaries ?/
Brazil: boundaries.
Vance: I mean, in a classroom, you have 4 walls and a time to meet.
Ying-Lan: ^It is not obligation to be here .
Vance: In cyberspace you can meet anywhere you have a computer.
Brazil: Right.
Vance: At any time, you're not obligated. If you come, it's because you want to.
Ying-Lan: ^except the computer is our of order.
Vance: But more people make it better. So how do we get more people.
Vance: And keep them?
Vance: I thought of the web page idea, but no one has really done much with that. Ying Lan mainly. B sent a picture.
Ying-Lan: ^Vance, did you ask another students why they do not be here again?
Vance: No. I send email to students saying if you want to stay in the class then let me hear from you, and in the last batch, only one wrote back.
Ying-Lan: ^Vance, I was always be here on Friday night. Nobody come .. it is very frustraed.
Ying-Lan: ^It's very furstrating.
Ying-Lan: ^Only I wrote back?
Ying-Lan: hi
Vance: sorry, someone is in my office
Ying-Lan: It is o.k.
Ying-Lan: ^VAnce, Is it your time to go home?
Vance: one moment ..
Vance: Sorry, they're doing night classes here.
Vance: Yes, it is time to go home. I've been here 11 hours already.
Ying-Lan: Really.
Vance: Yeah. I don't mind. I like my job. I enjoy it.
Ying-Lan: ^you must be tired now.
Vance: Not really. It's nice work.
Vance: But I should go because the night class people are starting to realize I'm still here.
Ying-Lan: o/
Ying-Lan: see u
Vance: Anyway, if you have any ideas about how we can keep students, you can email me.
Ying-Lan: next week.
Vance: Maybe you can talk about it in your discussion group.
Vance: ok, see you later.
Ying-Lan: I will thought.
Vance: bye.
Ying-Lan: bye
Vance: You will think about it ...
Vance: (another echo)
Vance: bye
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