the academy news - spring 2013 final issue
DESCRIPTION
In this issue: Another side of Saudi Arabia, Paul Dykman Personality Profile, and class photos!TRANSCRIPT
First Day of Classes Thursday, May 23 Come to the Jefferson Courtyard at 8:30 a.m. to pick up your new schedules and go to your first class. Classes will start at 9:30 a.m. on Thursday.
Be a PAL: Continuing and Returning Students can volunteer to help new stu-dents with Orientation, May 21-22. Please see Pam You can help the new students by answering their questions and guiding them around campus. Email Pam at Email Pam at [email protected] next Friday, April 19th at 12pm in JEF Courtyard.
Trojan Spirit Spring 2013
I N S I D E T H I S
I S S U E :
Announcements 2
Another Side of
Saudi Arabic
3
LAX Shuttle
Service
4
Survey Results:
Superlatives
5
Profile:
Paul Dykman
6
End of Session
Quiz
7
More Photos of
Oral Skills
8
Program Notes
The Academy News M A Y 3 , 2 0 1 3 V O L U M E 5 6 , I S S U E 1 4
Check out The Academy News online: www.usc.edu/langacad.Go to “Student Infor-mation” and then click on “The Academy News.”Check out The Academy News online: www.usc.edu/langacad.Go to “Student Infor-mation” and then click on “The Academy News.”
Language Academy students on the steps of Doheny Library, Friday, April 26.
P A G E 2
Be a PAL—Peer Academy Leader
Former and current students are wel-
come to join us during Orientation to
help out the USC Language Academy
staff as PALs. You’ll get to help the
new students get to testing, answer
questions, eat lunch with them, and
help them with email, USCard and
many other things. Email Pam at
[email protected] if you are inter-
ested in helping out during Orientation
on May 21 and 22.
Housing Information
Sunday, May 5, is the LAST day to move out of Parkside Apartments.
You must move out by 5:00 PM. If you are not continuing to live in USC housing this fall semester, you MUST move out of your
apartment. Remember to have your RA check your room for cleanliness and damages, remove all of your belongings, and return your keys to
the customer service front desk before you leave.
Keep in Touch! Follow us on Twitter AND Facebook!
Go to www.usc.edu/langacad, scroll down
to the bottom, and click “Follow” for Twitter and become a fan of the USC Language Academy group on Facebook. You’ll receive up-to-the-minute updates on what’s happen-ing at the Language Academy, as well as news from around Los Angeles!
For students who will leave the USC Language Academy, make sure to join our Facebook USC Lan-guage Academy Alumni Group for networking, events, and more!!
Summer A 2013 classes begin on
Thursday, May 23 Come to the
JEF courtyard to pick up your
schedules at 8:30am.
Right: Grammar 502 with Todd Kolberg
A small studio, furnished (bed,
desk, chair, closet, stove, refrig-
erator, microwave, air condi-
tioner and internet), laundry
room and gated parking are also
available., almost 5 minutes
walking to USC (gate #6 on
Vermont), DPS always at each
end of the street, move in May
5th. Go to http://
losangeles.craigslist.org/lac/
P A G E 3
Mareen’s friend raised money for the Japanese relief effort by giving haircuts and donating
products at his hair salon.
Another Side of
Saudi Arabia
By AWS ALMUSALLAM
Saudi Arabia is a special
country that has many different
cultures. Those cultures not only
differentiate from region to region
but also might differentiate from
family to family.
There are many different ways
to get married there. One way was
mentioned in The Academy News
last week by Xiaowen Liang in her
article, “Getting Married in Saudi
Arabia.” That way which comes
through families who are supposed
to choose a girl for their son is
common around the world. An-
other kind can come directly from
individuals to choose their own
partners.
Women have taken important
roles that have never been there
before in our community in the
last few years. They have entered
many organizations, have gotten
significant jobs, and have been
paid as much as men who are in
the same positions.
Since male and female are
now able to interact with each
other, the new generation might
meet and deal daily with many
people from the other gender.
Therefore, that gives them the op-
portunity to pick their own part-
ners by themselves.
My friend Abdulrahaman, a
doctor, and his colleague Fatimah,
both live in Saudi Arabia. They
fell in love with each other and
decided to get married. With the
approval of their families, they got
married, and they are very happy
with their two children Sara and
Khalid.
Abdulrahman said, “I am so
happy in my life since I got mar-
ried to the woman I love, and
nothing will prevent us from
spending the rest of our lives to-
gether.”
Upper Left: Oral Skills 102 with Delia Racines; Upper Right: Oral Skills 303 with Barbara Holmes; Lower Left: Oral Skills 502 with Nate
Brown; Lower Right: Oral Skills 404 with James Hutzell.
P A G E 4
Bovard Auditorium is the
venue for many concerts dur-
ing the academic year.
Going to LAX? Airport Shuttles are worth the price.
_____________
BY SUNHO AN
How was the summer session B
for you? Was it hard? Was it busy? The summer session B finished this week. You were able to make many friends from different countries and make precious memories. It is the time to say good bye to each other. Some people are leaving USC Lan-
guage Academy, some people will stay here.
Are you planning to leave here? When you leave LA, if someone gives you a ride, it will be very good and convenient. But if not, you should take a bus or taxi. However, using buses is not good for moving your big suitcases, and it is too ex-pensive to go to the airport by taxi.
Here is the information for alter-native transportation to go to the airport. It is the airport shuttle. Air-port shuttle companies provide shuttle service for a reasonable price, and they will help you to carry all of your stuff to the front of
the airport. If you are interested in this shuttle
bus, you can call or check some internet website. Checking internet websites is easier and more conven-ient to make reservations. Their website will suggest a form to fill out your flight information. After you complete the form, they will show to you the proper time to pick you up. Also, you can choose the shuttle that you want.
The regular shuttle price is less than $20. For example, Prime Time Shuttle provides a regular shuttle for only $15 from USC campus or near to LAX airport.
Upper Left: Oral Skills 503 with Paul
Dykman; Upper Right: Oral Skills
401 with Priscilla Taylor; Above: Oral
Skills 403 with Jeminah Jones; Right:
Oral Skills 301 with Sonja Lovelace
P A G E 5
Language Academy
Superlatives
Many thanks to the Language Academy students who par-ticipated in the end-of-term survey. Here are the results. Are any of your friends men-tioned here?
SURVEY RESULTS
Funniest Teacher Todd and Michael
Most fashionable Student
Victor and Serena
Most beautiful/handsome Student
Sandy, Aws, and Thamer
Funniest Student Dalal Alkhodairi
Moody
If you could bring some-thing from your country?
Arabic coffee My family
My dog My bank Cheese
My horse
If you could take some-thing home from L.A
The weather A beautiful girl
The beach Santa Monica
Language Academy stuff Hospital and doctor
Favorite Activity Disneyland
Basketball game
How many friends did you
make this term?
Fewer than 10 28%
11-20 38%
More than 20 34%
What would you do
differently? Make more friends
Study harder
What did you like best
about The Academy News? Valentine’s Day
Arabic restaurant Dubai
NBA Game Activity News
Top Left: Oral Skills 203 with Ixchell Reyes; Top Right: Oral Skills 302 with Marilyn Gomez; Lower Left: Oral Skills Beginning with Katie
Guevara; Loower Right: Grammar 501 with Heather Robertson.
P A G E 6
Personality Profile: Paul Dykman
By ALIBEK BISSEMBAYEV
Editor’s Note: Alibek interviewed Lan-
guage Academy instructor Paul Dykman
about his background and his work.
Could you please tell us about yourself?
Where were you born and raised?
I was born in the LA area, actually
Lakewood , which is right to next to
Long Beach, so I grew up in Southern
California. I only lived in a couple of
places outside for a short time. I went to
UC Santa Barbara, which is a couple of
hours north, and I also lived in Portland,
Oregon for a couple of years, and Swe-
den for a year.
What made you chose to be teacher?
Well actually that kind reminds me
of the Sweden thing. Actually it is kind
of interesting, I always told myself that I
never wanted to be a teacher because my
mother is a high school English teacher,
and I was never interested in teaching
children just because of the authority
aspect,—you have to discipline every-
body.
Later, another thing is, when I stud-
ied language it was Spanish in a high
school, and I hated studying it because I
always thought that I wasn’t very good
at learning languages. Then I went to
Sweden for a year abroad, and I took
intensive language courses in Swedish
for the entire year, and we just had one
teacher for all the skills. Her name was
Annika.
I think she was an inspiration be-
cause she was just a very good teacher.
She was very patient and understanding,
and this made me realize what a lan-
guage teacher should do. Honestly my
high school Spanish teacher wasn’t very
good. (smiling)
Who is your moral inspirational model,
maybe famous or a relative?(mother or
father) ?
I think, as far as a personal
[inspiration], my parents are inspira-
tional for me. They work very hard, and
they never give up. Actually my father
just retired. He is 79 years old. If he
can work really hard, I can do it.
Could you please tell us about the best
part of your work?
I think interacting with students is
the best. It is almost like traveling all
over the world except you don’t have to
go anywhere. The cultural aspect is
really interesting. You know, when I
became an English teacher, I had the
option, of course, of going to another
country or staying in the U.S. I think
staying in the U.S. is little bit more inter-
esting because then you get mixed with
all different countries. You know some-
thing? If I had gone to Korea or Japan
or Thailand or Kazakhstan, I wouldn’t
have all students from only one place
and I really like the exchange of a cul-
tures between the students.
Where do you see yourself in the next
five years from now?
Here. (laughing) So far, I really like
it. I plan to just become more involved
with administration, but still teaching.
What do you think of today’s students
personalities? Are they smart enough to
study and consume more things than
decades before?
Hard to say for everybody because
everybody is different, but the difference
is technology. One thing I worry about,
I first say that students these days have
many more opportunities. They have
more opportunities to study than never
before, especially internationally.
I am sure in Kazakhstan or any
other country, if you go back for 20 – 30
years a lot of students didn’t have oppor-
tunities to go to the university. Now a
large number go to university, and the
system now is much more open. If you
decide to go to certain university, let us
say you don’t get accepted, you can go
into another university. If you didn’t do
well in a high school, you can go to the
community college, and you can get
good grades and transfer. Things are
much more open.
Sometimes I worry about technol-
ogy. I am guilty of this too because I am
addicted to my phone, and social media
and things like that, but you know it is
hard that the students have a little bit
more difficulties with paying attention in
class, and people are reading less. That’s
just my observation, but on the other
hand, maybe they are reading more be-
cause of access to the technology. So,
overall I am really excited about the
future.
I heard that you like to travel. Where
have you been for the last five years?
In the last five years I’ve been to
one place—I went to Thailand. My wife
is from Thailand. Of course I have been
to Sweden, many countries in Europe,
and I went to Guatemala a few years ago
to study Spanish. I really do lots of trav-
eling. It can be stressful sometimes. As
you know, you are kind of like a fish out
of water, but overall I really do like it.
What are your three favorite places that
you like to go most often locally?
See Paul Dykman on p. 6
Paul Dykman has been teaching at Language Academy since Fall 2012. He was previously
at UCLA’s Intensive English Program.
P A G E 7
THE LANGUAGE ACADEMY QUIZ 1. What was the USC mascot
before Traveler the horse?
a. a cat
b. a parrot
c. a dog
d. a bear
2. How many students are
enrolled at USC?
a. 20,000
b. 25,000
c. 35,000
d. 40,000
3. When was USC first
established?
a. 1870
b. 1880
c. 1890
d. 1898
4. How many libraries are
there at USC?
a. 8
b. 16
c. 20
d. 23
5. Which famous person went
to USC?
a. Barak Obama
b. Neil Armstrong
c. Jennifer Lopez
d. Angelina Jolie
6. How many flags are there at
VKC?
a. 17
b. 77
c. 107
d. 137
7. What can’t we find at the
bookstore?
a. earrings
b. bananas
c. phone cases
d. toothbrushes
8. Who is the president of
USC?
a. C. L. Max Nikias
b. Ernest J. Wilson III
c. Steven Sample
d. Jerome Houphouet-Boigny
Give you answer card to a TAN
staffer and you might win a prize!
Paul Dykman Continued from p. 6
I like to go to Downtown LA, I think it
is a really exciting place, sort of chang-
ing. I like to go there and
see what’s happening. I like to go to
museums, any sort of art museum. I love
bookstores, and they are sort of dying.
As you know, we are switching to
electronic books, and things like that.
It is harder and harder to find a really
good one. If I find a good one, I like to
go and hang around, and look at the
books.
So your hobby is reading. Could you
please recommend your favorite three
books that you like to share with us?
Sure, one is J.D. Salinger “Raise
High The Roof Beam, Carpenters,” and
it’s just kind of a funny story and also
dark. Another book that I like, you
probably don’t know, but one of my
hobbies is reading comic books. So, I do
read a lot of graphic novels, one of my
favorites is “The Watchmen,” and it is a
great graphic novel about politics and
power and things like that. Another
book is short stories by Raymond
Carver “Will You Please Be Quiet,
Please?”
What is your favorite holiday and why
do you like it?
I think is Christmas is always a good
one. Also I am not a very really reli-
gious person. It is really tied to Ameri-
can culture, and it is a time of family.
All my family are from the Southern
California, and it is a time when we all
come together, and give gifts. Of course
I have some vacation at that time.
What advice you could give for LA stu-
dents to improve their English skills?
The one thing that I know, it is a
simple thing, and people will be skepti-
cal, but students that I see succeed are
ones who go outside of the program and
make American friends and do cultural
things, and really put themselves out
there. It is kind of ironic a little bit be-
cause sometimes I get angry, when the
students stay out all night and go to
clubs and parties, but I hate to admit it
that a lot of times those students have
the best the English improvement be-
cause they are spending time with
American friends and really interacting
with the culture. You can stay home
with your grammar book and study all
you want, but your English really won’t
improve until you use it in a real setting
when interact with American culture.
Thank you very much for your interview
and have a fruitful work with LA stu-
dents in the future! We wish you suc-
cess and all the best !
USC Language Academy
Rossier School of Education
950 W. Jefferson Blvd., Suite 200
Los Angeles, CA 90089- 4
The Academy News is a weekly news-letter produced by students in the Journal-ism Elective of the USC Language Acad-emy. All students in the Language Acad-emy Program are encouraged to send
Check out The Academy News online at www.usc.edu/langacad.Go to
“Student Information” and then click
on “The Academy News.”
P A G E 8 M A Y 3 , 2 0 1 3
Phone: 213-740-0080
Fax: 213-740-0088
Web: www.usc.edu/langacad
Oral Skills 202 with Michael Cannon
The Academy News Staff took a field trip on Wednesday afternoon to the Los
Angeles County Fire Department Communications Command Center. Fire
Chief Steve Weston gave the students a tour of the dispatch control center
where all 911 calls come in. Students learned about the protocols of emer-
gency calls and the various communications networks of the LAFD.
The Academy News
Editor: Abdullah Bin Kolaib
Staff Reporters:
Yousef Alwaseifer
Alibek Bissembayev
Xiaowen (Sharon) Liang
Lora Sonbol
Above: Oral Skills 101 with Diana Hiciu; Above: Oral Skills 402 with Marisa Garcia-Crocker.
Have a wonderful summer break!