The Use of Time Markers Part V: The Use of Past Continuous

Before we get into this topic, I would like to introduce you to this clip of a stunning upset of Georgia Tech against Florida State in American football. Have a look at the clip and come up with some sentences using past tense.

 

While you are writing some sentences our topic for the use of time markers is solely American football. The sport was introduced in 1869 through a football game between two Ivy League colleges: Rutgers and Princeton. The game consisted of a round ball, two goal posts with an end zone each and lots of tackling. But most importantly, the rules introduced by William Leggett but later modernized by another Ivy League student, Walter Camp, would eventually be integrated into the rules used in today’s sport.  The first professional league was created in 1892, yet the National Football League came into being in 1920 and counting the merger with the American Football League in 1969, is one of the oldest leagues in the world, with 32 professional teams and one of the most watched sporting events in the world, the Super Bowl. College football in America is just as popular as the NFL due to its income coming from sponsors, promotions and through college football games, including all the bowl games- most notably: The Rose Bowl, Sugar Bowl, Citrus Bowl, etc. It also features the college marching band, which provides their home team with a round of support.

Source: Thomson200 [CC0]

While we will get to football at a later time, have you had a chance to come up with some sentences to this upset?

Some of you may have taken the easy route and written the following down:

The kicker tried to kick the ball

The defender blocked the ball

Another defender picked up the ball

That defender ran it in for the touchdown

Georgia Tech won the game.

 

Some may have been more artistic in their sentence construction and wrote something similar to the following:

As the kicker was kicking the ball, it was blocked by the defender.

While the ball was rolling along, another defender picked it up.  He was running towards the end zone when the players from Florida State tried to tackle him.

At the end of the game, the crowd was celebrating Georgia Tech’s victory.

This is where the grammar aspect comes in. The more artistic a sentence in English is, the more you can find some spots in grammar that warrant explanation. In this case, we have the words: as, while, when and a certain specified time, plus the verb forms of was + verb with –ing.

Source: SteelCityHobbies, taken in 2006 for flickr and wikiCommons

 

And this is our topic today: Time Markers involving Past Continuous Form.

Past continuous functions in a similar way as with present continuous, using the “to be” form plus the verb with the –ing ending on it. The continuous functions in a way that it describes what the person is/was doing in a time frame.  The difference between present continuous and past continuous is the following:

Present continuous:

Verb construction:	Is/are + verb-ing =>  is watching; are doing
Use:	Activities that happen now/ at this moment Future tense in connection with (short-term) planning

 

Past continuous:

Verb construction:	Was/were + verb-ing =>  was driving; were walking
Use:	Activities that happened during a certain time frame before or after a an event in the past tense that was finished.   Examples: 1. I was watching TV when you called. 2. When you called, I was watching TV   3. While I was waiting for the train, my girlfriend called. 4. At this time last night, I was driving home. 5. As I was backing out, the driver hit me from behind.

The third difference between the present and past continuous forms are the time markers. There, when looking at the list below, one can see that there are more time markers in the former than in the latter, whereas the in the latter, the time markers there are used exclusively, while they are rare to use in the former.

Time markers:

Present continuous	Past continuous
(right) now, currently, at the moment, momentarily, these days, nowadays, at present/ at the present time/ presently, today, while, this (week, month, year), in this era/period…	While, when (as a dependent clause), as, during the time…., This time/period, certain specified time: last week, a couple days ago, on 23rd December, at 9:30 last night, etc.

 

One can also say that some of the elements in past continuous can also be used for past tense, yet one needs to pay attention to the context. That means normally, past tense is the primary verb tense used for sentences, whereas the past continuous is a supplement to the main sentence. Therefore it is normal to see a past continuous being used when the time markers of while, when, as and during are used, as seen in examples in the table above. They normally do not stand out alone unless a certain time period is used and serves as a “substitute” to the past simple verb tense.

Examples:

I was walking to the grocery store last night. – Past Continuous

I walked to the grocery store last night. – Past Simple

 

I was walking to the grocery store last night when I heard a strange noise.- Possible

I walked to the grocery store last night when I heard a strange noise.- Not possible

 

When I saw the person breaking into the store, I called the police.- Possible

While I saw the person breaking into the store, I called the police.- Not possible

 

Source: Keith Allison. Photo taken in 2017 (wikiCommons)

Exercise A:  The Choice-  Look at the sentences below and determine which highlighted part of each sentence is past simple or past continuous. Identify the time markers in each sentence.

1. Last night, our football team lost in the playoffs finals, and the crowd was heartbroken.
2. It happened when the quarterback was trying to throw the ball and it was intercepted.
3. The wide receiver was wide open as the quarterback was throwing the ball to him.
4. The linebacker, who was being blocked by an offensive lineman, suddenly reached up to tip the ball.
5. While the ball was bobbling in the air, another linebacker saw it and reached up to grab it.
6. After he caught the ball, he landed on the ground and started running.
7. As he was running towards the end zone, several offensive players of the opposing team tried to stop him.
8. When he saw an opening, he quickly broke free.
9. While he was running towards the end zone, the noise of the crowd got louder, as the fans were cheering for him.
10. He suddenly reached the end zone and scored, as the finals seconds ticked to zero.
11. After he scored, he collapsed and the other players ran towards him.
12. During that time, he was trying to gasp for air because he ran so hard and so fast despite his weight.
13. My team started crying because we were leading by one point with four seconds left on the clock.
14. The fans of the winning team was racing onto the field as time ran out.
15. I still cannot forget the game today, because we were so close to winning but we were facing frontal winds during the whole game.

 

Exercise B: Unscramble- Unscramble the following words and form a complete sentence using the correct verb tense (past continuous/present continuous/past simple). HINT: Identify the subject, verb and time marker first before proceeding with the sentence construction!

Marshall

game

go

between

tonight

football

Jackson

we

to

and

the

homecoming

win

of

November

last

in

Marshall

last

game

the

year

snow

fans

freeze

whole

players

it

the (2x)

game

during

and (2x)

lead

by 3 points

Jackson

when

take over

Marshall

in the last minute

running back

wide opening

end zone

on the first play

find

ball

into

run

the (2x)

into

the (2x)

problems

have

slippery

Jackson

both

football

Marshall

with

during the game

players

slide

field

go on

the (3x)

as

around

even

game

players

look forward

game

fans

the (3x)

to

and

this year

Saturday

the

take place

warm

afternoon

on

in

game

weather

sunny

 

10. (!): Two sentence construction: Bold printed words are for the first half of the sentence. Please unscramble those in the top row first before unscrambling the bottom half that is for the second half!

sloppy	win	last year	Marshall	the	sloppy	after	game
Jackson	to	this	look	game	forward	win

 

Exercise C: Fill-in

Using the verb in parentheses, complete each sentence using either the past simple or past continuous. !: Please pay attention to the time markers in each sentence. HINT: Identify them first before completing the sentence.

1. Theo _______________ the chip dip for the party when his best friend called. (prepare)
2. Clyde’s first day of football practice _____________yesterday at the high school football field. (begin)
3. While I ____________ busy bringing down the quarterback, a lineman suddenly ________ into me and _________ me down. (to be/run/knock)
4. After I _________ to the ground, I sprained my ankle. (fall)
5. Sam ____________the best football game of his career last season, as he ___________ three touchdowns, and his team won the state championship. (play/score)
6. We _______________ to meet friends at a tailgate party outside the football stadium when we ____________ a flat tire on our pick-up. (go/see)
7. Because we wanted to watch the Super Bowl, we _____________ a new TV three days ago. (buy)
8. While you _____________ with that damn chick over there, we _________do all the work to prepare for the party. (flirt/have to)
9. Jesse ____________ with her marching band at the Rose Bowl parade yesterday. We ___________ it live on TV. (march/watch)
10. A: What ________you _________ just now? (do- question form)

B: I _____________ a pizza. Glad you __________ because I need your help. (make/come)

 

11. A: That _______ a foul call! (to be)

B: Hey! Why are you shouting at the TV?

A: Because that quarterback was hit after he _______ the ball! And the referee                            ____________ it!  (throw/ not see)

 

12. A: Hey coach! Why did you cut me?

B: Because you _____________the job I had asked you to do on this football team. (not              do)

 

13. As the quarterback BJ was ________________the field, quarterback Jimmy ____________ the field to replace him. (walk off/ enter)

 

14. As Corey __________ the ball into the end zone to score, the marching band ran onto the field. (run)
15. The football players _________ the coach off the field while he __________ the trophy in his arms. (carry 2x)

 

Exercise D:  

Look at the following football videos. Can you try and construct sentences in past tense, using either past simple, past continuous or both PLUS the correct time marker.  As a bonus, can you find which game winner came from a college football game? 🙂

Example 1: The Minneapolis Miracle 

 

Example 2: The Immaculate Reception

 

Example 3: The Catch of the Year

 

Example 4: The Clutch and the Clincher

 

Example 5: The Big Interception

 

Example 6: The Lateral

 

Example 7: The Botch

 

Now that you had a chance to work with the time markers dealing with past continuous and its comparison with past simple and present continuous, the next order of business will be a quiz on American football, its history, culture and all the things many Europeans probably don’t know about.  The quiz on American football can be found here.  In that quiz, you can also learn more about another grammatical function in English, namely passive versus active voice.  Enjoy! 🙂

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TED Talk: The Disarming Case to Act Now on Climate Change by Greta Thunberg

There have been some talk about the Fridays for the Future Demonstrations and all of the advantages and disadvantages of students walking out of school to demonstrate for climate change. On one side of the spectrum, skipping classes to demonstrate has had a resounding effect on politics and policies of each country, forcing governments to reconsider their laws and heed to the demands of the demonstrators. There are enough examples, big and small, that support this argument, including the top three that I have:

1. The college demonstrations in the US against the Vietnam War- Starting in 1968, these demonstrations, albeit bloody, resulted in President Lyndon Johnson’s decision not to run for a second term in office. He was replaced by Richard Nixon, who wound down the war efforts by withdrawing troops and contributing to brokering a deal between North and South Vietnam. The war ended when the North Vietnamese troops captured Saigon and the rest of South Vietnam in 1975, hours after the last US troops left.
2. The Monday Night Demonstrations in East Germany- Starting in September 1989, the demonstrations that started every Monday evening at St. Nicholas Church ended up becoming a nationwide demonstration demanding change to a communist system that was considered broken. The end result was the downfall of Erich Honecker on 19 October and the fall of the Berlin Wall on 9 November. In the end, the peaceful protest also marked the beginning of talks for a reunified Germany, which happened on 3 October, 1990, and the domino effect that led to the end of Communism in 1991.
3. The Parkland Massacre Demonstrations of 2019- After a shooting spree that resulted in the deaths of 17 people at a high school in Florida, a group of high schoolers started a protest to address the use of guns in the US and the lobby group NRA. The end result is a shift in tide from the right to have guns to the right to protect our children, even if it means voting out every single NRA supporter who rejects stricter gun laws.

But by the same token, many teachers and parents, as well as some politicians feel that skipping school to protest climate change is just a waste of time and that time should be spent discussing this in the classroom.

But as you can see in the TED-Talk speech by 16-year old Greta Thunberg, there has been too much talk and too little action. Many turn a blind eye for the sake of popularity and money. Too much  money has been wasted for conferences and speeches. And when the situation becomes unbearable where even the youngest generation walks out to protest the changes in our environment which are slowly becoming irreversible, then the time for talk is over and the time to act is now. The talk looks at the origins of the Friday for the Future demonstrations and how it has evolved since she started the walk-out process at her high school in Sweden.

Watch or listen to this speech and ask yourself what can be done to stop the destructive changes that are taking place to our planet. There are enough things to be done without talking about it.

 

 

Idiomatic Expressions with Christmas

Right in time for the next Advent celebration to have, we have a really cool set of  idiomatic expressions that deal with Christmas, regardless of if it’s in English or German. Have a look at the Guessing Quiz and its 15 questions and take a stab at it. The answers are at the end of the article.

Good luck and Happy Holidays! 🙂 ❤

 

 

 

 

 

 

Answers: 1. true  2.  false 3. false 4. false  5. false  6. true  7. false   8. true   9. true  10. true  11.  a.  12. b.   13. b.  14.  b.   15. b.

Germany Quiz 8: Part III: The Inventions from Saxony- Answer Key

And now, the answers to Part III of the Guessing Quiz on the Inventions and Inventors from Saxony. Are you ready to find out? 🙂

Part 1: Which of the items in the group were invented from Saxony. Choose the ones you think were invented in Saxony and explain your reasons why. 

gas lantern        tissue paper       wrist watch band             light bulb

mile marker      tea bag               sugar cookies                  steam locomotive

street food        coffee filter       personal computer        daily newspaper

bicycle                laundry detergent          mouthwash       telephone

brandy               beer cap             encyclopedia                   Bible

Gas Lantern- The first gas lantern for streets was erected in 1811 in the Fischergasse in Freiberg. The inventor: Wilhelm August Lampadius, who was a teacher at the Bergakademie (Now TU-Freiberg)

Wrist Watch Band- The watchband was invented for men in 1959 in Glasshütte.

Mile Marker- Adam Friedrich Zürner introduced the mile marker (in historic terms, mile posts) in 1713 to measure the distance between towns in Saxony. According to his geographical surveys he created, two post miles equalled 9.062 kilometers, an equivalent to two-hours walk. Today one can find 200 of these ancient posts, plus 60 distance posts throughout Saxony, including Leipzig, Geithain, Dresden, Großenhain and in the Lausitz region, just to name a few.

Tea Bag- R. Seelig and Hille Tea company in Dresden developed the first tea bag in 1929, which one will see in the boxes of tea in today’s grocery stores and supermarkets. The inventor was Adolf Rambold.

Personal Computer- Konrad Zuse invented the first personal computer, the Z3 in Berlin, in 1943. This was 14 years after he obtained his high school degree in Hoyerswerda, in northeastern Saxony.

Coffee Filter- Melitta Bentz from Dresden, developed the first coffee filter in 1908 with the goal of ensuring the last drop didn’t consist of coffee ground. The filter led to her creating the Melitta Coffee Company, which later moved to Munich. Melitta machte Kaffee wirklich zum Genuss. 🙂

Steam Locomotive- While Great Britain was the birthplace of the steam locomotive thanks to the inventions patented by William Murdoch (1784) and William Reynolds (1787), the first steam locomotive in Germany was the Saxonia, invented by Johann Andreas Schubert in 1838 and used for the country’s first rail line between Leipzig and Dresden.

Daily Newspaper- Two years after the end of the 30-Years War, the first daily newspaper was open to business in Leipzig, in 1850. Tim Ritzsch’s concept at that time was to inform the public of events in the city, six days a week. All done using the Guttenberg press. You can imagine how many people were hired to do the lettering and pressing at that time. 😉

Laundry Detergent- While in Saxony, one will be familiar with FEWA. It was not only an East German product, it was the first laundry detergent used for washing machines. The Chemnitz-based firm patented the first detergent in 1932; the inventor was Heinrich Gottlob Bertsch. It was perfect timing as laundry soap was not doing the (modern-day) washing machine, also invented in Saxony (in Schwarzenberg) 30 years earlier, any favors.

Mouthwash-  When a person had bad-breath during the 1700s, the only solutiion was to wash the mouth out with soap. In 1892, Karl August Lingner  solved that problem and invented the Odol Mouthwash. Today one will associate Odol with this unique invention which can be mixed with water and used for rinsing out the mouth, cleansing it of bad breath. So much for the soap and water unless your child swears a lot. 😉

Brandy- Christian Traugott Hünlich from Wilthen put Germany on the map with his creation of Brandy in 1842. It became so successful that it won a gold medal at the World Expo in Paris, 58 years later.

Beer Cap- Robert Sputh invented the modern-day beer cap in 1892. Yet unlike the screw cap that had been introduced by Pittsburghese Hymann Frank 20 years earlier, Sputh’s invention was tighter and required opening only with the bottle opener; not by twisting. 😉

 

 

Part 2:  Find out whether the following items originated from Saxony or not. Mark each one with a Y (yes) and N (no).  For each one from Saxony, guess at when it was introduced. 

1. Thermos-flask (Thermoskanne)- YES; in 1881 by Adolf Ferdinand Weinhold of Chemnitz
2. Coffee cup (Kaffeetasse)               NO
3. Pottery                                              _NO-The art of making things of clay dates back to the stone age
4. University of Technology              YES- The Technical University in Freiberg was founded in 1765 under the name Bergakademie (Academy for Miners). The TUF still exists today. 
5. Cassette tape (Tonband)                YES- Fritz Pfleumer, an engineer from Dresden, developed and patented this in 1928
6. Wine glass                                        NO
7. Diesel engine                                    NO
8. Toothpaste                                        YES- Ottomar Heinsius von Mayenburg, a chemist in Dresden invented this product in 1907, under the name Chlorodont. It was the forerunner to present-day toothpaste.  Ironically, it was the sucessor to another invention from Saxony, toothsoap, which had been created in 1852 by Adolf Heinrich August Bergmann, another pharmacist from Waldheim. 
9. Cantilever truss bridge                  NO
10. 35 mm Camera                                  YES- The Contax was introduced by the Carl-Zeiss Company in Dresden in 1932 and innovated again in 1949. It was the forerunner to the present-day 35mm camera but with mirror reflex anf now with SD-card. 

 

 

Part 3.  Choose the best answer for the following questions below.

1. Homoeopathy, invented by Samuel Hahnemann in 1796, focuses on the following two aspects:

        a.  Mentality and physical illness                b. Pills and viruses

          c. Ecstasy and psychology                            d. the brain and the body

  2. Aktendulli, known as file fasteners in English, is used to…..

        a. Fasten files in binders                         b. Build log cabins with dowels

        c. Sharpen pencils                                    d. Jack up the car in the event                                                                                                                  of a flat tire.

 3. In what year was the freon (FCKW)-free refridgerator invented and where?

Part a.         1895             1935              1993              2003             2018

Part b.          Schwarzenberg     Scharfenstein    Schlettau      Aue      Zwickau

 

   4. The “Plauener Spitze” is in reference to this type of manufacturing of fabric?

   a. Jeans         b. Embroidery       c. Baseball Caps               d. Dress shirts   

5.  Which city in Saxony was the birth place of the ceramic-ware we still see at the pottery market?

    a. Radebeul          b. Dresden        c. Meissen            d. Riesa         e.Leipzig

 

Bonus Question:  The Göltzschtal Viaduct, as seen in the picture above, is the first brick stone railroad viaduct in the world. True or false? 

False. It holds the title as the longest of its kind, and at one time, it was the tallest. Yet evidence points to another brick stone railroad bridge at Wurzen (east of Leipzig). Built in 1836, it is the oldest operating railroad bridge in Germany and still serves rail traffic today. 

There are plenty of sources that focus on the inventions from Saxony. Apart from this book above, you can also click on the links below, where you can read up on the facts. All the quiz questions come from the two links.

http://www.die-sachsen-kommen.de/shtm/erfindungen.htm#TH

https://mmt.inf.tu-dresden.de/Lehre/Sommersemester_05/Praktikum_MG/ergebnisse/16a/erfindungen.html

 

 

 

 

Germany Quiz 8: Part III: The Inventions from Saxony

Part III of the quiz focuses on the inventions from Saxony. Many of you probably don’t know that one in three household items that we use on a daily basis originated from Saxony. Apart from the coffee filter and the bra, as mentioned in part 2 of the Saxony quiz, what other products were created in Saxony, who was behind the idea and why?  Let’s find out by taking this guessing quiz on the inventions from the easternmost German state. Good luck as you take a stab at the three-part exercise. 🙂

Part 1: Which of the items in the group were invented from Saxony. Choose the ones you think were invented in Saxony and explain your reasons why. 

gas lantern        tissue paper       General Motors             light bulb

mile marker      tea bag               sugar cookies                  steam locomotive

street food        coffee filter       personal computer        daily newspaper

bicycle                laundry detergent          mouthwash       telephone

brandy               beer cap             encyclopedia                   Bible

 

Part 2:  Find out whether the following items originated from Saxony or not. Mark each one with a Y (yes) and N (no).  For each one from Saxony, guess at when it was introduced. 

1. Thermos-flask (Thermoskanne)  ____________
2. Coffee cup (Kaffeetasse)               ____________
3. Pottery                                              ____________
4. University of Technology              ____________
5. Cassette tape (Tonband)                ____________
6. Wine glass                                        ____________
7. Diesel engine                                    ____________
8. Toothpaste                                        ____________
9. Cantilever truss bridge                  ____________
10. 35 mm Camera                                ____________

 

Part 3.  Choose the best answer for the following questions below.

1. Homoeopathy, invented by Samuel Hahnemann in 1796, focuses on the following two aspects:

        a.  Mentality and physical illness                b. Pills and viruses

          c. Ecstasy and psychology                            d. the brain and the body

  2. Aktendulli, known as ________________ in English, is used to…..

        a. Fasten files in binders                         b. Build log cabins with dowels

        c. Sharpen pencils                                    d. Jack up the car in the event                                                                                                                  of a flat tire.

 3. In what year was the freon (FCKW)-free refridgerator invented and where?

Part a.         1895             1935              1993              2003             2018

Part b.          Schwarzenberg     Scharfenstein    Schlettau      Aue      Zwickau

 

   4. The “Plauener Spitze” is in reference to this type of manufacturing of fabric?

   a. Jeans         b. Embroidery       c. Baseball Caps               d. Dress shirts   

5.  Which city in Saxony was the birth place of the ceramic-ware we still see at the pottery market?

    a. Radebeul          b. Dresden        c. Meissen            d. Riesa         e.Leipzig

 

Bonus Question:  The Göltzschtal Viaduct, as seen in the picture above, is the first brick stone railroad viaduct in the world. True or false? 

 

The Answers to the quiz you can find here. 

 

From the Attic: Berlin 1945

Brandenburg Gate- behind the gate stood the Berlin Wall until 9 November 1989

From time to time, the Flensburg Files will introduce you to some video clips of Germany in the past. Some of them have been digitally remastered to resemble its original appearance in color. And there will be some that are in connection with certain current events and/or stories that will come in the Files. The reason behind this is twofold. The first is because we’ve been discovering old film with events that happened between 50 and 90 years ago that until now, had been stuck in the attic. Whenever a grandfather or grandmother passes on, the next of kin happens to find them while sorting through their belongings. Upon watching the hidden films, they find a bit more facts about what had happened in their lives that they (mostly unknowingly) had contributed to history. This is especially true with German history for two world wars plus the infamous Cold War had almost wiped away relicts of history that had been at least a century old, because of air raids and bombings, forced demolitions based on dictator’s orders, and in some cases, the need to erase the past and move forward without even going back to tell it.  By discovering such artefacts, we can piece together how Germany was like in the past to better understand where they came from.  Secondly, thanks to digital technology, one can remaster the found films and photos to have them available online for future use, especially in the classroom.  While reenactments and museums can provide you with some examples of certain times and how they lived, they are not as genuine as the films and photos taken by those who had lived throgh it and told the families about it.

And with that we will look at Berlin after World War II had ended.  Here we have two film clips, comparing the German capital between May, just after the war had ended, and July, where the reconstruction of the city was in full gear. Knowing the the war had virtually halted all aspects of life, these people continued on with life as if nothing happened except their main task was to rebuild and start over. These people had suffered greatly because of the Third Reich. Many women had lost their male partners; their children,  their fathers, for they either had been killed or taken prisoner. The end result was the influx of immigrants from Turkey and all points to the east; many of whom have been living in Germany ever since. Their role, combined with the role of the women as the sole breadwinner and mother would eventually remake Germany into what it is today- a country where people of gender and background can work for a living, live in peaceful co-existence and be open to multi-culture and change.

And so, with that in mind, have a look at the two clips and compare. What was similar and what was different between the two? We know that in less than 4 years time, Berlin would be the capital of East Germany with the West German capital being in Bonn. And furthermore, 10-15 years was needed at least to convert Berlin into what it was before the bombings. But what else is different? Have a look and think about it. 🙂

Berlin- May 14, 1945:

Berlin- July 1945:

 

In School in Germany/ Genre of the Week: Pelmanism- From the Novel: Don’t Try This at Home by Paul Reizin

This Genre of the Week looks at a novel that may look ordinary to some readers who go through the whole book (or even half of it before putting it down for another one) and judge it as textbook style- where the protagonist gets caught in a situation where he has to find his way out.

The novel “Don’t Try This At Home,” by Paul Reizin looks at the protagonist from a first person point-of-view, who ends up being entangled in a mafia, getting in trouble with the law, and in bed with several girls in the process. All of these are by accident; all of these despite his attempts of getting himself out of the situation, only to end up digging himself even deeper in a hole until his wit, quick thinking and a little romance got himself out in the end.  How it all happened and what his personal life was like is worth reading and interpreting yourself. 🙂

Yet Reizin’s novel also features a few unconventional games that are worth trying, if you knew how they were played and done it wisely. Pelmanism is one of those games mentioned and described in the novel.

And while in the book Pelmanism had experiments with different types of alcohol while guessing what they were without looking, the game itself can be a useful one that provides the players of all ages with valuable learning experiences in all subjects of study.

Especially, when learning foreign languages!!!! 😀

I’ve been using this game for all my English classes since 2004- most of the time when we have our last course meeting as a group before the semester ends and we part ways for other commitments in life- and the game features words that are sometimes forgotten by some and unknown by others. It also presents some of the typical things and characteristics of some students. All it takes is some guessing what the objects are and who they belong to.

 

The object of the game is simple. You need:

A sheet of paper and a writing utensil

A timer

And a bag with ten personal items- the items should be small enough to fit in a cloth bag (not a see-through plastic one)

 

How the game is played goes like this:

One student grabs a bag and places the contents on the table in the middle, while other students close their eyes and/or look away as the contents are being taken out. Once all the items are on the table, that student signals the rest of the group to open their eyes and look at the table and the objects.  At this point, students have one minute to identify the ten items on the table in their working language, namely the foreign language they are learning. At the same time, they should guess who these objects belong to.

Once the teacher, who runs the timer, says “Stop!”, the students are called on upon random to name the objects and who they belong to. The student, who gets all the objects right as well as the correct person, will be the next one that chooses another bag, and repeats the same procedure.

This whole process continues until all the bags are used up or the teacher ends the game for time reasons.  There is no clear winner, but the objective of the game is to get the students to “reactivate” their brains to remember the words they learned in the past. At the same time, they also have an opportunity to learn new vocabulary- much of which may need to be listed on a sheet of paper with the native language equivalent, should the foreign language level range from beginner to intermediate (A to B level, according to the Common European Framework). In some cases, small devices that are new to the students will need to be explained by the person who brought it with the other objects.

 

I’ve had some weird but interesting examples that warranted explaining, for instance:

A can of deoderant that is actually a capsule for fitting a small object for hiding in geocaching, a pen that functions as a light, laser pointer and hole puncher, small books full of quotes, USB-sticks with company logos, stuffed animals (also as key chains), pieces of raw material (wood, rock, metal), postcards, pictures and poems. If you can think it, you can present it and be genuine at the same time. 😉

As mentioned earlier, Pelmanism can be played by all ages, regardless of language knowledge, and if you can have at least four participants (the more, the better), you can treat yourself to an evening of fun for either the whole family or friends. If you are a teacher in an English class, you will find this useful and fun for the students; especially if you participate in the game yourself.

Pelmanism is one of those games found in a book, where if modified for use in the classroom and mastered properly, it can be a fun experience for those learning new words, especially in a foreign language. It reactivates your brain and gets you reacquainted with words learned in the past (but seldomly used in the present), while at the same time, encourages active learning and acquisition of new words into an ever-expanding vocabulary. It is a fun game for everyone, and if you are as lucky as the protagonist in the story, you might come out with more than what words you learned in the game. 😉 ❤

Thanks, Paul!

 

The Day When the Temperature Went Under Zero

Prepositions. They can serve as a compliment to an adjective or verb, yet with over three dozen of them in the English language (more in German and other languages), they can be a nuisance as the meaning and usage of them are sometimes confusing, especially when a person learning English as a foreign language wants to know the equivalent in the native tongue. Sometimes there are pairs of prepositions, which mean the same in general but are used for different purposes, such as over and above, through and via, ….

or this one: under and below.

While both prepositions mean anything below average, below the line or even below zero, one deals with moving down towards and beyond the threshold- which is under- while the other stays under the threshold- below.

For example, one can say “I went under water” or “I crawled under the bed”, for movement and “The sunken ship is 300 meters below sea level”, or “The neighbors living below us are noisy”, to describe something stationary and still. Yet, can we make the difference with the thermometer?

As a general rule, a temperature can be below zero or a certain degree because it implies that the mercury is constantly at this mark and cannot move at a fast pace. This is independent of the real air temperature which can be warmer or colder, pending on the humidity and the dew point.  That means the temperature may be -1° Celsius (34° Fahrenheit), but can be warmer because of the high humidity and the sun, or colder because of the dry air, low humidity and the wind. Since the 1990s, the Real Feel Temperature Index has been using several factors to compare the temperature on the thermometer and how it feels on the person in reality, based on light, wind and moisture.

But can a temperature go under zero?

As a general rule, you cannot use under when you describe the temperature because the mercury is so slow that it would take many hours for it to fall. The same applies to over and above when describing the increase in temperature, which is why we use above only. However, as history presents itself, there are some exceptions to the rule.

If a student asks you (as a teacher) why we use below zero, instead of under zero, you can share him/her a pair of stories of how certain regions actually went under zero- in a very short time, during two very tragic events in the United States. Here they are in summary:

1. November 11, 1911:   According to weather historian Jim Lee, a very strong cold front carrying first strong thunderstorms with rain and tornadoes, and afterwards sleet, snow and blizzard conditions struck the Central Plains region, causing temperatures to plummet by double digits within an hour. This included Springfield, Missouri, where temperatures dropped by as much as 40° F in 15 minutes. From 80°F (27° C) before this drammatic drop at 3:45pm, to 40° F (4° C) fifteen minutes later, to its bottoming-out low of 13° F (-11° C) by midnight, the city was one of over two dozen, whose record high and low temperatures were recorded on the same day, which included Oklahoma City and Kansas City. Over a dozen tornadoes followed by blizzards in this Great Blue Norther, caused over $3 million in damages- the heaviest hit areas were in the Ohio River valley, as well as in Indiana, Wisconsin and Michigan. 13 people lost their lives with over 50 people injured.

1. November 11, 1940:  Known as the panhandle hook, this tragic  event reshaped the way forecasts are given. On this day, hundreds of people took the day off from work to go hunting for ducks and pheasants with temperatures in the mid to upper 60s Fahrenheit (18-20° C), many of them were underdressed for the occasion. During the afternoon, the temperatures dropped dramatically to a point where by midnight, they were at or below 0°F (-20° C)!!! Many hunters were taken by surprised and tried to seek shelter from the cold, icy wind, combined with heavy snow and white-out conditions. Fifty degree drops were recorded in a region of over 1000 kilometers long, including states like Minnesota, Nebraska and Wisconsin, where 1-2 foot snowfall combined with 20 f00t (6 meter) drifts were recorded. Collegeville, Minnesota set a record for the most amount of snow in a storm with 27 inches (69 cm). 145 people perished in the snowfall, many of whom froze to death. 49 of the deaths were recorded in Minnesota, of which half of them froze to death. Rescue efforts by pilots Max Conrad and John Bean by locating stranded hunters and providing aid saved many lives. The storm resulted in changes in weather forecasting as 24-hour mandatory coverage and improved technology was later introduced, which is still in use today but with advanced technology.

These two events show that temperatures can go under zero if the mercury moves quicker than it should, even though in a grammatical sense, one should use below as it shows consistency on a longer termed basis. If your students ask why below is best used for temperatures below the mark instead of under, it is best to say that under is used for movement purposes but in quicker form and also on a temporary basis. It is unknown how (long) a mole can live and dig under the ground, but treasure and cellars can be found below the ground (level) because they are permanent. Yet when it comes to temperatures, especially after reading the examples of the storms that occurred on Veterans Day in the States, some exceptions do apply, although they very rarely happen. So use below zero instead of under zero unless you want to be that brave duck hunter wishing to hunt while in the snow. 😉

In School in Germany: Teaching Beowulf and Old English- Introduction

Viking Ship at the Museum in Oslo. Source: Wikipedia (Hifi0006)

Old English: one of the main origins of our language. Consisting of the languages of the Anglo-Saxons, Old English was first spoken by the Germanic tribes and consisted of words most commonly found in today’s German, English and some Scandanavian language. With the Norman Conquest of 1066, Old English transformed itself into Middle English while adopting words and phrases from the Norman language. Eventually all of the historic elements, as seen in the clip below, made up today’s language, which has its common, fixed structure in terms of grammar and sentence construction, but is constantly evolving because of the language’s adaptation to the changing environments, including the development of technology which is influencing the way English is being used.

And this takes us to the story of Beowulf. Written between the 10th and 11th Century, before the Norman Conquest, Beowulf is the oldest known literary work that was conceived in Old English. Although the work has been translated into today’s English, with the most recent work written and edited by Seamus Heaney, it is unknown who wrote the folklore, consisting of a poem with 3182 lines. The work has however been adapted into film, TV series and even children’s stories.

But who is Beowulf and why is it important to teach that in class?

To summarize, Beowulf was a warrior of Scandanavian descent who ruled the Geat kingdom. His strength is equal to 30 men, and he can battle with sword and hand-to-hand combat. He helps the king of Danes, Hrothgar, in defeating a monster named Grendel, who had invaded the dining hall, killing some Danish soldiers. Grendel loses his arm in the battle with Beowulf, runs home to the mother and dies at the end. The mother becomes angry and invades the hall again. Beowulf chases her down and kills her in the end as well. The warrior receives many rewards and eventually expanded his kingdom in the end. Fifty years have passed, and Beowulf, in his 70s, faces another challenge in a form of a dragon. Accompanied by his nephew, he battles the dragon and defeats it, but not before he is mortally wounded. He is honored in his funeral, where as a custom, he is burned on a boat but others give him something as a sacrifice to remember.  Many adaptations exist but a couple shorter animations shows how the story takes place:

Because the poem was written in Old English, Beowulf presents an insight of how English was used during that time, especially as some of the words originated from that period. Furthermore it is important to learn about history after the Fall of the western half of the Roman Empire, especially as far as the creation of the Anglo-Saxon and Scandanavian regions are concerned. Much of that is taught in history classes in schools in Germany, especially in the sixth and seventh grades, but some elements are even being presented in English classes, including the culture of the kingdoms in the regions during that time. While some elements of European history is introduced in American schools, it is important to learn about this, for the Vikings, who explored North America in the 9th Century, the time of the release of Beowulf, came from the regions in Scandanavia, including Denmark, and had been known for invading the Anglo-Saxon kingdom (especially in present-day England) several times before the Conquest of 1066.

The question is how to teach Beowulf to students in school without having to bore them. As mentioned before, over 3200 lines were written and translated, yet the time limit is a factor, as well as determining how it fits in the curriculum for either English or history. One can reduce the content to the most important aspects, but doing so creates a risk of leaving out some elements that may become important later on. Reading it straight out would be as brutally difficult as reading Chaucer, even on the high school level.

But one can create their own adaption of Beowulf. This includes adapting Beowulf to a modern version, such as Beowulf 2.0, Beowulf on Twitter, etc. It also includes activities to fill in the lost years, video games, and the like. It is a matter of presenting a summary of the story, while introducing the details, including Beowulf’s family, childhood, kingdom and even the culture of the Geats, Anglo-Saxon, Danish and Scandanavian regions, which one may need a two sessions for, pending on the time alloted per session. After that, students have a chance to create their own versions of Beowulf.

In July, some examples of how Beowulf can be taught will be presented to give teachers and students some ideas for their own project as well as possibilities to teach it in class. These were done by fellow college students at a university in central Germany. More on that will come then. In the meantime, what are some ideas you would have to teach students the importance of Beowulf? What projects did you try doing? Place your stories in the comment section below.

Stay tuned! More on Beowulf will come in July. 🙂

The Six-Year Rule: Why a Job in German Academia Is Fatal for Your Teaching Career

Wiley Campus of Hochschule Neu-Ulm in Bavaria. Photo taken in 2015

Starting off this article there is a word of advice to anyone wishing to start their career in teaching English as a foreign language, let alone in general as a professor: German Academia is the place where teachers’ careers end- after six years, that is!  If one wishes to continue as a teacher, one has to take the mentality that a person goes where the jobs are, even if it means working as a freelancer until retirement. This mentality goes along the lines of a quote by the late Paul Gruchow: “You go where the good people go. We raise our best so that they can develop a sense of home and eventually come back.”

Teachers in Germany are the highest in demand, especially in the area of foreign languages, yet barriers are standing high and tall in the path to a prosperous career that many of them decide to call it a career and find another profession. This applies not only to German laws for recognizing education degrees for schools from other countries, but this one: The Wissenschaftszeitvertragsgesetz (known in English as the Limited Contract Laws for Academics in Germany or LAG for short). Enacted in 1999, the LAG aims at limiting contracts for those wishing to work at a German university in an attempt to reduce the number of employees, including professors, receiving permanent posts and encourage competition by hiring new people every 2-3 years, pending on which German state you live in and which “Hochschule” (German university or college) you wish to work for. In a nutshell, people wishing to work at a Hochschule are given a limited contract, most of the time two years, and are allowed to work a total of six years without pursuing a doctorate. With a doctorate (PhD), one receives another six years, totaling 12 years of work. For those studying medicine, the rule is nine years before and six years after getting a PhD, thus totaling 15 years.  Once the time runs out, there is the “Berufsverbot,” which means you are not allowed to work at a German university anymore for the rest of your life.

Yet there are some exceptions to the rule which could help manuever around LAG and prolong your stay in academia. Some of which I learned most recently during an interview at a university in the state of Hesse.  The first involves having children while working at a German university. If one has a child, then the limit of the number of years allowed to work full time is extended by two years per child- a major benefit since Germany has one of the lowest birthrates of all industrialized countries in the world.  Another way of extending your life at academia is through Drittmittel- German for funding from the private sector. According to news reports from the newspaper Die Zeit, more and more academics are applying for this type of funding as a way of prolonging their careers at the German university. Basically, the funding applied for and received is what the academics have to live off from. Most of the time, the funding is barely enough to make ends meet, limited to 2-3 years- meaning another limited contract- and it comes with strings attached, which means one has to work on a project in addition to teaching. Project-hopping is another concept that is practiced at German universities, where people hop from one project to another in an attempt to stay at one university.  Then there is the Publish-or-Perish mentality, where people working at academia are expected to contribute to the university by publishing as many works as possible, while getting a meager amount of money in return. A way of staying on, yet at the cost of your teaching career because most of the time is spent on writing instead of interacting and helping students.  Getting a professorship is possible in Germany, but one needs at least 10 years to complete that, and there are several titles one needs to go through, such as PD, Junior Professor, Professor Doctor, Professor Doctor Doctor, Professor Doctor Doctor Doctor……. (You get the hint 😉  ). If one is not quick enough to obtain such a professorship, let alone follow the publish or perish mentality, then one can call it a career well before the retirement age.

All these options are doable, but in comparison with American universities and colleges, where they provide tenure tracks for those wishing to pursue a permanent form of employment (both as a professor as well as an employee), the hurdles are numerous and high- high enough for a person to a point where if one wants to race the 300 meter hurdles in track and field, it is required to practice triple jump and high jump in order to “jump the hurdles” without stumbling and eventually finish the race a winner.  In fact, only 14% of all positions at an American university have limited contracts. In Germany, the rate is 68%, one of the highest in the world! The trend is ongoing and increasing and for a good reason: budget cuts from the state, which is the main source of financing, combined with less funding possibilities from Drittmittel, is forcing institutions to lay off personnel and cut certain programs deemed as “not financially suitable for students.” Protests have taken place in many German states calling for more state and federal involvement in financing for academia but with partial success. Those who stay on have to deal with funding that is barely enough for even a single person to survive. Others, especially those fearing for their career, opt for places outside Germany, including the US, Canada and Great Britain, as working conditions and better, and  more permanent contracts are guaranteed.

But all is not so bad these day. Some universities in Germany are laxing their regulations by either providing permanent employment right away or after a limited contract. In a couple cases in Bavaria, the tenure track has been introduced to allow people to stay on beyond the permanent contract. Yet as it is always the case when dealing with bureaucracy in Germany, it comes with strings attached. Requirements of a degree in the respective field, like a language degree at a university for a job at a language institute is becoming the norm and not the exception. This includes Master’s degrees but also Lehramt (teaching degrees), which includes 7-8 years of studies, student teaching and two state exams (see an article posted here). Even then, the pressure to stay on when hired is enormous and one needs a lot of luck and aggression, let alone some great connections to stay on beyond the contract- preferably permanently.  But even then, when you have established these connections and a great career, chances are likely that you are shown the door when the contract is up.

This was what happened to yours truly in Bayreuth. I worked at the University’s Language Institute teaching English for two years, from 2008 until 2010. Prior to me being hired, I was told that I would be allowed to work there for two years with no further contract, then I would be banned from teaching in Bavaria. This was customary at that time.  In fact, three of my colleagues had left when I arrived; two more left after the first semester alone, and two more were offered two-year contracts under the same conditions during my time there, but they declined as the move from North-Rhine Westphalia to Bayreuth for two years was not worth the move. While the regulations, in place since 2007,  have somewhat laxed because of successful attempts to keep at least some of the teachers on (many of them had worked there for over a decade before I came), they came after I left, leaving a mark in the classroom and many positive stories and experiences to share among my student colleagues, many of whom I’m still in contact with (and are probably following this column). Despite Bayreuth’s attempts, other Bavarian universities are having a hard time copying their successful attempts so that their staff members can stay on with a permanent contract. But realizing the mentality that not everyone is that mobile and would like to settle down, the winds of change will eventually come to them and the rest of Germany as well.  For me, after another two-year contract at another Hochschule, I decided to pursue my teaching degree for the German Gymnasium, for teaching in schools are more guaranteed than in academia, yet the workload is more than in adacemia- the only caveat. 😉

To end this article, I have a word of advice to those wishing to teach in Germany: If teaching is what you want, you have to cross seven bridges to get there. Many of them are old and rickety, but they are worth crossing. Yet make sure a plan B is in place if you decide to leave it behind. After all, we have more than one talent in our lives to share with others and be successful in. 🙂