Clipper game with Ty!

On Monday November 30, 2015, a group of 15 students and 2 teachers from Language Systems -Orange County made the trip to the Staples Center in Downtown Los Angeles to see the Clippers take on the Portland Trail Blazers.  For most of the students, it was their very first NBA game. The Los Angeles Clippers ended up beating Portland 102 - 87.  

During the game we got to see some amazing slam dunks by the Clippers, including this massive dunk by #32 Blake Griffin.  We had such a great time!  The students were pretty impressed by how nice the Staples Center was and how close we felt to the court, even though we were sitting in the very last row (literally).  

It was close to Christmas too, so the area around the Staples Center had a lot of beautiful Christmas lights and other decorations that helped us all feel America's Christmas spirit.  It was such a great night!

Ty - Language Systems #OC

http://www.languagesystems.com/

Thankgiving 2015

 

In the United States, the modern Thanksgiving holiday tradition traces its origins to a 1621 celebration at Plymouth in present-day Massachusetts. The 1621 Plymouth feast and thanksgiving was prompted by a good harvest. In later years, the tradition was continued by civil leaders such as Governor Bradford who planned a thanksgiving celebration and feast in 1623. While initially, the Plymouth colony did not have enough food to feed half of the 102 colonists, the Wampanoag Native Americans helped the Pilgrims by providing seeds and teaching them to fish. The practice of holding an annual harvest festival like this did not become a regular affair in New England until the late 1660s.

Today, Thanksgiving is an important part of American culture. Families and friends gather together to share a special meal and give thanks for their blessings. The traditional meal usually includes turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, and pumpkin pie. As many Americans move towards a healthier lifestyle, some variations of Thanksgiving dinner can include meatless options such as a "Tofurkey," which is tofu shaped like a roast.  Americans of different backgrounds also incorporate some of the traditional foods from their cultures into their Thanksgiving customs. While no two Thanksgiving meals are alike, one thing is for certain: Thanksgiving is a wonderful time to share with family and friends!

http://www.languagesystems.com/

Thanksgiving event at The Midnight Mission (TMM)

Language Systems students & friends joined Teacher Caroline on Saturday, November 21st & Sunday 22nd, to help The Midnight Mission (TMM) prepare for their Thanksgiving Day event.

The preparation included  slicing hams, peeling & dicing vegetables, making stuffing & prepping the turkeys. Volunteers came each day and assisted chefs & workers in the kitchen. The chefs and volunteer coordinators were incredibly thankful for the effort and enthusiasm of our group.

Everyone had an amazing time and looking forward to volunteering again!

Caroline
#DTLA

Check out all the pictures on our FB page! facebook.com/LSIUSA

Lunch social at a local taqueria with Ty!

On Thursday November 12, 2015 about 15 students from Language Systems - OC had a lunch social activity at the local Taqueria de Anda, which is a local taco shop that serves delicious authentic Mexican food.  

It's hard to live in California and NOT eat Mexican food.  For many of these students it was actually their first time trying a food that almost every California native grew up eating.  

Some students got tacos, some got burritos, and a couple tried the quesadillas.  Students had to choose a meat, with the choices being BBQ pork (Al Pastor), Mexican beef (Asada), and chicken.  They also had to choose between red sauce (spicy) and green sauce (not that spicy).  

When one student from Japan held the burrito in her hands for the first time, she said, "It's so heavy!"  Half of us had food coma when we were done eating lunch.  It was a lot of fun, and our Language Systems students did a great job trying something new, and something unique about life in California.  

Good job everyone!

Ty.

A night of pool/billiards with Anthony!

A night of pool/billiards in the Lakewood/Long Beach area was a great social event for the students from LSI #SBLA. There was a showing of more than 13 students from a myriad of levels and backgrounds. And aside from pool playing, there was American music and pizza from a local eatery.

With the large number of students, we took over three tables at Lakewood Family Billiards and took turns learning and playing cutthroat, a three player version of pool, and standard 8-ball, a 1v1 or team version of pool. Students interacted with one another and with LSI teacher Anthony while practicing realistic English use and everyday American social skills.

Halloween Celebration

Language Systems – Halloween Celebration

Halloween is always a special time for our students to have a lot of fun while learning about American culture.  Every year at our Orange County campus we hold a costume and pumpkin carving contest.  It’s always really cool to see some of the costumes that both teachers and students come up with.  This year the winner of the student costume contest was a Japanese student named Yohsuke.  he dressed up as a big baby.  He had a diaper on and had a big pacifier in his mouth.  His costume was really crazy, and really funny.  I think that’s why he won.  The students also came up with some really great ideas for the pumpkin carving contest.  Of course Language Systems provided the students with plenty of Halloween candy in the good old American tradition!

Rock Climbing with Teacher Shar

The students and teacher Shar went rock climbing at Hangar 18. Around 20 students showed up and everyone had a great time. Prior to that, the students signed a long hangar 18 liability waiver, which was a great way for them to get familiar with the process of writing their information for a waiver.

The students got a chance to interact and practice their English conversation with each other and the staff. Overall a great experience, and a great workout for the students. They all had a blast and were so thankful for the activity.