Dan R

Thanks for the comments. It seems you have already gone a long way in your English studies. Anything we do here for ESL would be supplementary and more along the line of American usage and native user help with explanations. This is important since class language is often book style which in all countries differs from common usage. Street talk that someone would encounter when here is almost a totally different language. Even natives of different cultural/economic/regional backgrounds have trouble with that. I think it was a sign of good luck that your application was received on my birthday. Best of luck and I hope the process moves quickly for you.

Congratulations on the heat? So did you rwmwmber what the other thing was? Best Wishes to both of you. It is cold in L.A. which is really strange.

The main difference in teaching ESL to people of different languages is in pronunciation. That wont be an issue here as that can only be taught in person by teaching lip and tongue positioning. This was my most frequently taught class and I can help with this if there are questions about making certain sounds. Sentence structure is influenced by the native language habits but is easily over come. I often had in the same classes students speaking Spanish, Japanese, Chinese, Russian and Arabic. The point of ESL that differs from bilingual education the most is that ESL is not dependent on the native language for learning. This quickly teaches the thought system of the new language. Thus there should be little influence from the native language in using English. It is very important to start as quickly as possible using an English only dictionary. Translation dictionaries between any major language groups can not impart accurate meaning leading to much time being spent on unlearning what is being learned. I recommend this Longman Dictionary from Amazon http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/080...6685764-3641434

As J says you are the proud lottery winner of all that and more. Congratulations and best wishes to you both.

Congratulations Jason!! Now I see why the California meetup was postponed. We needed more attendees to be bigger than the Chicago meetup. Of course this means you and I will have other dates this time. But I guess sacrifices must be made.

I agree with Trigg on this one. Email is a great record. I would copy the emails in and out bound onto a disc and have it for interview. I even made a screensaver of 4 years of pics together. She took it to interview and gave it to the VO when asked for photos. That was enough and no more evidence was asked for.

Who was it that decided against post spell checker? If we are going to help our SOs with English could we get a "t" in the title between "c" & "i" in interacive

Wasn't there talk about this earlier today? Boy you guys sure can move when the moof hits you. This is a great idea. As an ESL teacher for several years, I can tell you the less Chinese language help the better. That is the teaching theory of ESL as opposed to Bilingual Education that mixes first and second languages. In my experience with both ESL works at least twice as fast for learning language. The idea is that as children we learn from mimicing not translating. Once a person stops seeing a translation dictionary or black board in their head and can think in the second language they have learned the language. The biggest success sign is when you dream in the new language. Perhaps the Chinese forum is useful as a language class but I would think a neutral zone just for ESL titled in Chinese first/ESL would be less likely to confuse the purpose. Posts can be left asking for help and members can help using quote and a correction or an explanation. More than one would be helpful as different ways to say the same thing are possible. Also some ways may be understood easier by the SO. The reason for explaining words and usage in English rather than Chinese is that it helps implant the usage and language. I used Longman's English Dictionary in classes and strongly recommend it. It uses limited vocabulary in the definitions and is designed for ESL students. I use it myself. If the level of English is minimal Longman has a picture dictionary that teaches basic vocabulary for many types of activities. However this is done I hope it is well used and furthers the value of CFL as a long term support tool.

When I sent in the I-129f, I included 5 spent international phone cards and several months of my cell bill with the local call number circled and the international text messages underlined. When she went to the interview she had a print out of calls from China mobile. It was several yards of receipt like at a cash register - date, number,minutes. When she was there they didn't ask any questions about communication or calls or even look at the phone receipt.

ÄãºÃ Tony the programs I use to type Chinese use the windows soft keyboard. The one I use is MSPinYin98 but there are others that might not require more than the first letter to get the ÖÐ×Ó character list. Can you explain what the different input keyboards are for Chinese (simplified)£¿ My language choices are MSPinYin, NeiMa, QuanPin, ShuangPin, U.S. Keyboard and ZhengMa. Also before I could get a list of characters for the Pin Yin I type but now I only get one. How can I reset to get the list to select from? Is there a setup preferred for our SOs to use? I appreciate any help you can give on this topic. Perhaps Fang Ling would find a different input easier to use. Trigg which do you currently have operating on her computer? ÔÙ¼û

Trigg I don't know is happening but I like the sound of that. An interactive ESL forum. And until I saw "bi-linual" in your post I thought it was without any misspellings.

What's the location?

Welcome Fang Ling. It was good meeting you in Portland. Have a good time in Chicago. Ask any question you like about English but please don't learn from the many other posts. Perhaps you could make a forum for English Help/Chinese Help. Most of us here are far behind our SOs when it comes to learning each other's language. Trigg I doubt she can tarnish your sparkling image but we may gain sympathy for your wife. As far as the messy thing. That's what makes a man a man isn't it? Tony after all this time don't you know they communicate in a little known Tennessee dialect of Trigfanglish. Now that Fang Ling has asked for English help maybe Trigg will too. Zai Jian

Yes there is hope for everyone. The long wait makes us a bit crazy and even think the goal may be a delusion. This is further aggravated by the mind games GUZ perhaps inadvertantly plays with us. Get ready because life will be changing. The fact is that most members pass the interviews and the ones who don't face additional delays until getting the coveted visa that brings us together with our loved ones.

That is strange, Frank. How can they have hundreds of people standing in the heat or rain or cold for hours at a time if they don't schedule every "appointment" at the same time? They also lose out on having to "reschedule" 2/3 of the people for the 1PM "appointment". How strange that the consulate is starting to do things in a sensible fashion!!! 142307[/snapback] Steve maybe they got smart and spent some of our tax dollars on a Disney Corporation Crowd Management Consultant.

WOW!!!!! And you don't even have 10 Blue Thingies yet. It must be the Fushun Power! Congratulations friend. Now have fun in Chicago knowing it is the last time to be in the windy city without your SO. GUZ keep them September interviews coming!

It took that long to learn that?? It is important for both sides to learn what may be the norm among the many odd things we do and say. Of course in every group there are the extremes.

Off topic but not restricted? Trigg I'll agree with you that CFLers are a good bunch of people. Meeting in person has so far only confirmed good impressions gained on the net. We may differ in many ways but our China connection gives us a sense of community that few outsiders understand.

Congratulations Don't worry about the interview you're a shoo in. Oh, What a Beautiful Mornin' Music by Richard Rodgers, lyric by Oscar Hammerstein II Copyright © 1943 by Williamson Music Copyright Renewed. International Copyright Secured ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. There's a bright golden haze on the meadow, There's a bright golden haze on the meadow, The corn is as high as an elephant's eye, An' it looks like its climbin' clear up to the sky. Chorus: Oh what a beautiful morning, Oh what a beautiful day, I've got a wonderful feeling, Everything's going my way. Repeat chorus All the cattle are standing like statues, All the cattel are standing like statues, They don't turn their heads as they see me ride by. But a little brown mav'rick is winking her eye. Repeat chorus All the sounds of the earth are like music, All the sounds of the earth are like music, The breeze is so busy it don't miss a tree, And an ol' Weepin' Willer is laughin' at me. Repeat chorus

Looks like you already got your answers but let me say, Welcome! You have arrived at the Official Waiting Room of the Great GUZ. Pick a comfortable seat because you will be there awhile. Read anything in the forums that interests you. Avoid the ones that are obvious panic attacks during the wait and just hang loose. It will all come about in time. You do like goats don't you?

That is a Chinese thing? All most all my friends go nuts after getting all the medication warnings from the doctor. Half of them think death is approaching because the doctor is required to explain what might show in a test or what complications might result from minor surgery. Every thing is over done here to the max is it any wonder that people from a country where explanations are not sought would go bonkers over overload. It isn't jusat medical.

Not yet! Do they taste better with a nose bleed? Sometimes I get warm and feel flushed when eating the Durians.

You can do this if you want to be familiar with the office there. I wouldn't recommend talking to them to familiarize them with the case or who you are until you need their help. Unless you are in a small district with few immigrants they will not be able to keep track of a case that they are not being asked to help with a problem. Like lawyers they read a file only when it must be worked on.

To all of you in this thread, Best Wishes as you approach the home stretch.

WHOOPEEEEEEEEE