The ELI Weekly
Out and About: Game Night Is the Best CIP Activity
by Danney Pamplona Cardenas, Othman Aldhafeeri, Lucerito Datzer Pinto, RW30
The ELI students in the CIP activities come to get fun. Some of the students enjoy the CIP activities. There are many options, so you can choose between coffee talk, volleyball, soccer, and game nights. Also, every Thursday and Saturday they have different options. In our opinion the most fun activity is game nights, and you ask for the time? So, let me tell you, the meeting time of 6:30 to 9:00 pm is very convenient. So, you can come back home, take a little rest, eat dinner and get ready for the most fun night. Afterwards, we can play bowling, pool, ping pong, and video games as well. In addition we are able to meet new people, improve our skills in a foreign language like Korean, Arabic, Chinese, Spanish, and of course English! In conclusion, if you want get fun and meet new friends, there are several reasons why this is our favorite CIP activity.CIP Weekday Activities
Weekend Activity
There is no scheduled ELI activity this weekend since many classes will be holding Midterm Exams next week. Use the weekend to study. Good luck on your exams!
Here are some tips to help you do well on the exams and to improve your English overall.
- Do the activities in the book that your instructor did and didn’t assign.
- Find activities online. For example, if you Google “preposition practice”, you’ll get lots of results.
- Practice whatever you’re studying, but do it out loud. You can practice using pronouns in sentences, reading the newspaper and finding them there, listening for them when people talk, and writing texts to friends using them.
- Get plenty of sleep and eat well!
Other CIP Reminders
CIP Passports
Don’t forget to get your CIP Passport hole punched from the activity leaders AT the event (not after). Redeem your completed passport for a small gift and photo for the ELI Instagram! Remember the CIP Pineapple is hidden in a new place every Monday in the CIP office. Stop by and find it for hole punches!
Conversation Partners (CPs)
Want to make a friend and speak English? Sign up for a conversation partner! Wait two weeks to be paired and then meet your new partner for one hour a week to practice conversation and make a friend! If you are a returning student and still want a CP, you should still sign up here, even if you had a partner last semester.
Sign up for a CP here: https://forms.gle/8nDmxEbrzaSP92Cj8
Remember, if you sign up, you must meet your partner at least once a week and respond to their messages. Email conversationpartners@eli.ufl.edu if you have any questions or problems.
Notes from the Office
Check your I-20s: Spring Break is right around the corner. If you plan on leaving the country, you will need to have your I-20 signed. Talk to Daryl if you have any questions.
People Out: Christine is out of the office on Monday, March 6. Please plan around this date if you need to talk to her.
Student Voices: We love to see our students writing. Every semester, we take your writing and publish it in Student Voices. Past submissions have included paragraphs, essays, creative stories, recipes, letters, obituaries, poetry, creative stories, class projects, and other interesting works on a variety of topics. I encourage you to submit anything of your work that you wish to see published. It can be from any class or something you have written on your own but ask your teachers for help editing! You can email it to Olga (omoody@ufl.edu) or to your teacher. Please include your name and class on your submission. The deadline for submissions is Friday, April 14th .
Masks: The University of Florida no longer provides masks and hand sanitizer in classrooms (although some classrooms still have some). You can buy masks and sanitizers at drugstores such as Walgreens or CVS and other stores such as Walmart or Publix.
Spring Break: March 13-17
There are no ELI classes March 13-17 for Spring Break. This is a great time to rest, travel, and prepare yourself for the rest of the semester.
Photo of the Week
Birthdays!
Students:
- Pablo Barrientos Costas 2/27
- Abdul Aziz Abdul Aziz 3/2
- Seunglae Kim 3/2
- Paola Salazar Meza 3/2
Staff:
- none this week
Manners & Culture
Q: Why do some students arrive late for class all the time? Is this polite in their own country?
A: I don’t know for sure; you’d have to ask them that. However, I can certainly tell you that it’s considered extremely rude here! We do understand that sometimes you have a long distance between classes, but if you are late everyday it is an interruption to the class, especially on test days! Students, if you are late for class, don’t knock on the door, don’t say hello to anyone; just come in quietly and try to get on task as quickly as possibly!
Grammar
Q: Why do Americans ignore the grammar rules when speaking?
A: Nearly everyone does, to some extent. This is how we create slang and idioms and how language evolves over time. Language is not a static, unchanging thing. It lives because it’s spoken by a nearly infinite variety of people with a nearly infinite variety of thoughts and ideas. Think about it: when you speak in your native language with your friends, does it sound exactly like the language you are taught in school? Does it sound like the same language that your grandparents or even your parents use when they speak to their friends? Learn the rules and then learn how to break them, so you understand the English around you.
Notes from the Editor
I would love to have ELI students write for the Weekly. Do you have something to say to your ELI friends? Email Maya (mshastri@ufl.edu). Tell us about your experiences in the US or fun places in your country.