CMWR’s Friday Forum is Back! February 24, 2012

The CMWR’s Friday Forum is up and running for Winter Quarter, and this conversation-based group reads through a short text on different aspects of American culture and analyzes it together. Last week we read an article from DePaul’s student newspaper called “G8/NATO summits, security could cost up to $65 million,” a topic that is especially relevant for us Chicagoans, and invoked great discussion on the impacts that the summits will have on the city.

A suggested technique for improving English-speaking skills October 27, 2011

During the course of a conversation partner appointment with a student of English at DePaul University’s writing center, my partner and I stumbled onto a suggested technique for improving English speech and recognition. Pick up an audiobook AND its corresponding print text, and follow along viewing the text while the recording pronounces each word for you.

Is reading more the answer to everything?

I believe it was Marge Piercy who said, “If you want to be a writer, be a reader.” I think there is much practical, as well as inspirational wisdom in this statement.  The visual component of language is very important from a number of perspectives. How can you master punctuation, for example, if you don’t spend time seeing it in action? How can you learn to pronounce properly if you don’t have the image of the word in your head? As a writing center tutor at DePaul University, I feel there have been a number of times I have encountered problems from writers that might not have become problems if they had looked at words more rather than primarily hearing them.

What do you do when the conversation partner gets too personal? October 20, 2011

OK, I’m not talking about a conversation partner asking for a date, or your phone number, or do you sleep in the nude, or anything like that. I mean, what do you do when your conversation partner comes in all misty eyed, like the tears are about to fall any second, and she starts telling you that she knows her boyfriend is cheating on her, and her friends tell her she should break up with him, but she really loves him, and what should she do?