The Weirdest Picture of Christmas

   
You've seen all the usual pictures: yule logs, boughs of holly, Christmas trees, manger scene, wise men bearing gifts, shepherds in the fields, angels, elves, Santa Claus, reindeer, candles, stockings, happy faces, snowy scenes, the works.

In some countries, all that is banned.

But have you ever seen this other picture?



Check out this most unusual picture of Christmas in the last book of the Bible. You can read the whole story here.

Who are the characters in it? Do they sound familiar? What do you think the meaning is? Discuss with a friend and share your thoughts under Comments, below.

Come Winter, Let's Get Published!

The draft deadline for the next edition of NEWSLINC is November 14, 2014. Be sure to post it to your blog by that date for us to polish it up together. Here are your recommended topics:

Category	Description / Idea Prompts
Activity	Submissions reflecting sports and leisure activities.
Arts	Submissions related to the arts (visual arts, crafts, design, dance, film, literature, music, theatre). ·         Write a short story or poem. ·         Share your artistic talent/hobby. ·         Provide a review of your favourite book / movie / artist / etc.
Bios	Student profiles that exclude information about birth date or age.
Canada	Submissions which highlight Canada. ·         How do you describe Canada to your friends or family living abroad? ·         What do you like about living in Canada? ·         Write about a famous Canadian personality, landmark, historical event, etc. ·         Recommend places to visit or day trips in Ontario / Canada
Celebration	Occasions or events that result in celebration! ·         Share a personal success story (big or small) ·         Write about a special/milestone life event (wedding, birth, anniversary, etc.) ·         Write about a traditional celebration
General	If the submission does not fit with any of the other categories.
Heritage	Student reflections about their homeland or ethnic origins. ·         What do you miss the most about your homeland? ·         Describe a custom from your homeland ·         Write about where you came from
Recipe	Special recipes that have not been reproduced from the web or a book.
Seasonal	Submissions related to seasonal themes. Some ideas for winter ·         Write a poem about winter. ·         Express your feelings about winter in Canada. ·         Compare winter in Canada with your homeland. ·         Describe your favourite winter activity. ·         What advice do you have for those with a cold or flu? ·         Write a note to Jack Frost to request cancellation of winter.
Settlement	Student settlement stories. ·         Share a funny story about settling in Canada ·         What has surprised you the most? ·         What are some of the challenges you have faced? ·         What or who has helped you to adjust?
Skills	Tips, challenges and experiences related to finding work, working or learning in Canada. ·         Workplace culture ·         Looking for work / networking / volunteering ·         Studying / learning new skills

System Downtime

Hey guys,
Sorry if you didn't get Internet service this weekend. I was checking your writing this morning when suddenly the system went dead--confirmed after repeated attempts to raise the dead:

Think of the things you can do during a downtime ... in English, of course!

So, we'll just have to do what we always do--redeem the time!--and learn English through the gathering of idioms, writing and editing on our blogs, accessing More ESL Goodies at the top of this page, reading the news and listening to the radio, and talking to friends and family!

Have a great weekend!

Fall Issue of Our NewsLINC Student Magazine + Conversation Class

The fall edition of NewsLINC (Click here to see) is out. Unfortunately, not too many of your classmates got published this time. But there's the next edition coming up, for winter. So do write up your articles, publish them on your blog, and let's start sharpening them up for submission to the next NewsLINC issue!

Another important announcement concerns the availability of Conversation Class for November through December 2014. In addition to their weekly LINC Home Study class, Conversation Class students get another call to learn and practise speaking with a dedicated conversation teacher. If interested, please email me before October 26.

Congratulations to Four of Our Own!

Congratulations to Atif, Haein, Neil, and Olga for getting their articles published! Please feel free to check out all the student publications in LINC Home Study:

• Summer edition of NewsLINC has been published!
• Articles that were not published have been posted on the forum.

Keep up the good work! It's time to get back on your blogs to draft a new article for the next NewsLINC issue.

Brrr, Bigness, Beaches, and Bitumen

Where can you find North America's strongest current?
Or some 250 billion barrels of oil?
Or 10% of the world's forests?

Make a good guess for each, and then check out this pictorial article. Enjoy the reading exercise!

Enjoy Your Canada Day WEEK Vacation

No calls this week!

See you next week!

But do a bit of homework if you can!

Time to Dust off the Old Keyboard for NewsLINC!

Our class submission deadline for the next edition of NEWSLINC is August 12, 2014. Make sure to update your blogs with summer-fresh stories and articles before that date, and we'll work on polishing them up for publication!



Arts Submissions related to the arts (visual arts, crafts, design, dance, film, literature, music,
theatre).
 Write a short story or poem.
 Share your artistic talent/hobby.
 Provide a review of your favourite book / movie / artist / etc.

Bios Student profiles that exclude information about birth date or age.

Canada Submissions which highlight Canada.
 How do you describe Canada to your friends or family living abroad?
 What do you like about living in Canada?
 Write about a famous Canadian personality, landmark, historical event, etc.
 Recommend places to visit or day trips in Ontario / Canada

Celebration Occasions or events that result in celebration!
 Share a personal success story (big or small)
 Write about a special/milestone life event (wedding, birth, anniversary, etc.)
 Write about a traditional celebration

General If the submission does not fit with any of the other categories.

Heritage Student reflections about their homeland or ethnic origins.
 What do you miss the most about your homeland?
 Describe a custom from your homeland
 Write about where you came from

Recipe Special recipes that have not been reproduced from the web or a book.

Seasonal Submissions related to seasonal themes. Some ideas for fall:
 Write a poem about fall in Canada.
 Describe your first Thanksgiving dinner.
 Compare summer and fall.
 What is your favourite fall activity?
 Share a memory about your child’s first day of school.
 What does fall look, smell, sound, taste and feel like?

Settlement Student settlement stories.
 Share a funny story about settling in Canada
 What has surprised you the most?
 What are some of the challenges you have faced?
 What or who has helped you to adjust?

Skills Tips, challenges and experiences related to finding work, working or learning in Canada.
 Workplace culture
 Looking for work / networking / volunteering
 Studying / learning new skills

Becoming a Canadian Citizen

Have you ever thought of becoming a Canadian citizen? How different would your life be as a citizen? Would anything change at all?

Welcome to the lovely topic of Canadian citizenship!

  

1. Read this passage and, on your blog, make sentences with 3 - 5 of the new vocabulary words.
2. Listen to random parts of this Citizenship audio, and make an audio recording on audioboo.com of 3 - 5 new lessons or terms you learned. Post that audio link on your blog.
3. Listen to this video, and then listen again, following the transcript.

Listening to Easter

Take dictation of this child’s telling of Easter. Check it a few times before referring to the answer below. Publish your original transcript with its video link on your blog.

ANSWER IS HERE:

Let's Welcome the Summer with an Article for NewsLINC!

After a long and, for some, dreary winter, here comes the call for our summer edition of NewsLINC, the LINC Home Study magazine of articles by learners like you.

Let's draft our articles by May 7, make all the necessary edits, and select some appropriate pictures for submission before the publication deadline. You should start thinking of the topic, which you can choose from the table below.

Would you like to write about how you're feeling a little more Canadian when you wake up each morning? Would you like to share a secret talent or skill that no one knows about? Or perhaps your plans for this summer?

Pick out a topic and post your draft onto your blog today!

Category	Description / Idea Prompts
Activity	Submissions reflecting sports and leisure activities.
Arts	Submissions related to the arts (visual arts, crafts, design, dance, film, literature, music, theatre). ·         Write a short story or poem. ·         Share your artistic talent/hobby. ·         Provide a review of your favourite book / movie / artist / etc.
Bios	Student profiles that exclude information about birth date or age.
Canada	Submissions which highlight Canada. ·         How do you describe Canada to your friends or family living abroad? ·         What do you like about living in Canada? ·         Write about a famous Canadian personality, landmark, historical event, etc. ·         Recommend places to visit or day trips in Ontario / Canada
Celebration	Occasions or events that result in celebration! ·         Share a personal success story (big or small) ·         Write about a special/milestone life event (wedding, birth, anniversary, etc.) ·         Write about a traditional celebration
General	If the submission does not fit with any of the other categories.
Heritage	Student reflections about their homeland or ethnic origins. ·         What do you miss the most about your homeland? ·         Describe a custom from your homeland ·         Write about where you came from
Recipe	Special recipes that have not been reproduced from the web or a book.
Seasonal	Submissions related to seasonal themes. Some ideas for summer: ·         Compare Canada Day with the national day from your homeland. ·         What are your summer vacation plans? ·         Describe your favourite summer destination in Canada. ·         What does “Dog Days of Summer” mean? ·         Should swimming lessons be mandatory for children? Why or why not?
Settlement	Student settlement stories. ·         Share a funny story about settling in Canada ·         What has surprised you the most? ·         What are some of the challenges you have faced? ·         What or who has helped you to adjust?
Skills	Tips, challenges and experiences related to finding work, working or learning in Canada. ·         Workplace culture ·         Looking for work / networking / volunteering ·         Studying / learning new skills

When Is the Death Penalty Appropriate, If Ever?

Picture from Daily Mail of one of the convicts

Recently, some rapists have been sentenced to death in India. In Canada, we don't have the death penalty any more. What do you think about the death penalty? Please feel free to comment below.

JobBank Job Alerts: Make the Jobs Come to You via Email

You can try finding a job, or you can try to have the job find you. How would you like to see something like what I got this morning in my email:

There are 17 new jobs since your last job alert:

Date Posted	Job Title	Location	Employer	Source
Mar. 13	College instructor (MS Office- MS Excel & MS Outlook)	Etobicoke	Canadian College of Business, Science and Technology	Job Bank
Mar. 13	Instructor, heavy equipment operators - community college (Job-1216 - Heavy Duty Mechanic Professor / Instruc)	Toronto	Red Seal Recruiting	Job Bank
Mar. 11	Early childhood education instructor - college level (EXPERIENCE TEACHING EARLY CHILDCARE ASSISTANT)	Scarborough	Canadian All Care College	Job Bank
Mar. 10	Music teacher - conservatory of music (PIANO/VOCAL TEACHER)	Brampton	Ontario Conservatory of Music (Head Office)	Job Bank
Mar. 10	Music teacher - conservatory of music (VIOLIN TEACHER)	Brampton	Ontario Conservatory of Music (Head Office)	Job Bank
Mar. 10	Instructor - private training institute (Accounting and Payroll Instructor)	Toronto	Academy of Learning	Job Bank
Mar. 07	Business college teacher (to teach QuickBooks, ACCPAC, SAP FI)	Toronto	1326318 Ontario Inc. o/a Metro College of Technology	Job Bank
Mar. 07	Technological institute instructor (Software Quality Assurance instructor)	Scarborough	PURES COLLEGE OF TECHNOLOGY	Job Bank
Mar. 07	Computer training instructor (Database Testing)	Toronto	Royal College of Canada	Job Bank
Mar. 07	Computer training instructor (ETL Projects and UAT Training)	Toronto	Royal College of Canada	Job Bank
Mar. 06	Teacher, English as a second language (except elementary, high school or university) (Substitute Teacher)	Toronto	Canadian Language Learning College (CLLC)	Job Bank
Mar. 06	College teacher (English, French, Sciences Math)	Mississauga	Scholars Education Centre	Job Bank
Mar. 06	Instructor, college (Legal Administrative Assistant Instructor)	Mississauga	CDI College	Job Bank
Mar. 06	Nursing instructor (RN & RPN needed for PSW Course)	Toronto	Evergreen College	Job Bank
Mar. 05	College instructor (Web Development with PHP & MySQL) (NOC: 4131)	Scarborough	Canadian College of Business, Science and Technology	Job Bank
Mar. 05	Computer training instructor (Computer Skills-EXPERIENCE TEACHING MS OFFICE)	Scarborough	Canadian All Care College	Job Bank
Mar. 05	College instructor (Web Development with PHP & MySQL) (NOC: 4131)	Scarborough	Canadian College of Business, Science and Technology	Job Bank

Neat, eh? Additionally, in their email, they suggest other jobs that you might qualify for:

Click "Subscribe" to add an occupation to your subscription:

Related Occupations		Jobs		Job Market Information
				Median Wage	Outlook	Report
Subscribe Recreation, Sports and Fitness Program Supervisors and Consultants		3		23 $/h	n/a	+ more
Subscribe Education Policy Researchers, Consultants and Program Officers		2		33 $/h	n/a	+ more
Subscribe Other Instructors		47		18 $/h	n/a	+ more
Subscribe Elementary School and Kindergarten Teachers		38		36 $/h	(1 of 3 stars)	+ more
Subscribe Post-Secondary Teaching and Research Assistants		4		19 $/h	n/a	+ more

How to get those emails? All you have to do is to fill out this form and sign up for JobBank's Job Alerts!