New American-English accent resources!

December 23, 2013 | Ellen

Now available for check out are three book and CD packages for American-English accent development, thanks to a grant from Canton Rotary Club.   These materials check out for three weeks: 

Speak English like an American = [Amerika-jin no yåoni Eigo o hanasåo] by Amy Gillett

Speak English like an American for native Chinese speakers: you already speak English— now speak it even better!: deluxe book & CD set by Amy Gillett ; [translators, Jiajing Chi and Xu Wei ; illustrator, Manny Jose].

Speak English like an American: learn the idioms & expressions that will help you speak like a native! by Amy Gillett

Thank you Canton Rotary!

Alice Munro wins Nobel prize in Literature

October 10, 2013 | Ellen

Ian Willms for The New York TimesThe New York Times reports that Alice Munro has won the Nobel prize in Literature. Munro has been writing short stories and novels for more than 50 years. Mona Simpson, writing in a 2005 Atlantic article sums up her appeal this way: "Her work is remarkable for its evenness of quality--it's hard to remember a weak story. Of course, it's this very consistency that makes discussion of Munro's work increasingly difficult. 'Bravo again!' one wants to shout, almost helplessly, after reading each new collection." She is not as famous or well-known as many other authors that have been around that long. Her writing is accessible and enjoyable. Which is not always the case with Nobel-winning authors.

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