the academy news - welcome to fall 2013
DESCRIPTION
In this issue: FAQs, Who's Who, GRE Tips & more!TRANSCRIPT
live with, study with and have adventures with people from all over the world! You can get to know them very well while you share your cultures and dreams. Vis-it USC Language Acade-my on Facebook. Then, stay connected after you leave Language Academy using our alumni website.
5. Fully understand your op-tions for admission to USC or other colleges and uni-versities: You can meet with our Academic Advi-sor, Pamela Yamamoto Ireland, to help you un-derstand all your admis-sion options, timelines and requirements.
(Continued on p. 4)
Dear Fall 2013 Students:
Welcome to the USC Lan-guage Acade-my Intensive English Pro-gram! We are very excited about your arrival! The faculty and staff of the Acade-my are ready to help you achieve these goals:
1. Increase your English and use it with confidence: For 21 hours each week, your instructors will work hard to help you learn more English. You will speak English with USC students in small conver-sation groups to help you speak English comforta-
bly and confidently.
2. Improve your test scores: You may select iBT TOEFL or IELTS clas-ses to help improve your test scores. Daily writ-ing and listening exercis-es will also help you im-prove your writing and listening scores.
3. Get to know American culture, Los Angeles and USC: Every week you can visit a new place in Los Angeles, talk to Americans and learn about the variety of cul-tures. You can explore USC’s many facilities so conveniently because you are right on campus!
4. Make new friends from other cultures: You will
Welcome Picnic TODAY!!! Friday, September 13th 12:00pm—2:00pm @ JEF Courtyard Come meet the new and continuing Lan-guage Academy students at the Welcome Picnic TODAY! Lunch will be served! Since it is supposed to rain today, we will have the picnic INSIDE! Meet at the Marks Hall Lounge, behind Doheny Library. See maps in the announcements for more in-formation.
L.A. County Fair Friday, September 20, 2013 12:00pm—9:00pm ($10) Come see the rural side of the L.A! See livestock shows and competitions, pig rac-es, circus acts, carnival rides and and enjoy lots of fair food. This is a great American
summer past time! Sign up today at 12:00pm in JEF Courtyard. Bring $10 cash payment.
DIRECTOR’S WELCOME LETTER 2013
I N S I D E
T H I S I S S U E :
Who’s Who at
the Academy
2
FAQs for new
students
3
GRE Tips for
Success
3
Hollywood
Sign Hike
4
Movie
Review
5
Pics of the
Week
6
UP C O M I N G AC T I V I T I E S
The Academy News S E P T E M B E R 1 3 . 2 0 1 3 V O L U M E 5 8 , I S S U E 1 Do you want help
with your state-
ment of purpose?
Who can help you
at Language Acad-
emy? See p.3 for
the answer.
Hiking to the
Hollywood Sign
was an adventure
for Allen. See p. 4
for the story.
Go to www.usc.edu/
langacad/ and click on
“Current Students” for
the online edition of
The Academy News
P A G E 2
Drinking Laws in U.S.
The laws about drinking alcohol in
the United States are strict. You must
be 21 years old to purchase any kind of
alcoholic drink, even beer or wine.
Avoid trouble and obey the law.
American alcohol laws are a
patchwork of rules that vary by
state, county, and towns. In some
places (primarily in the South), en-
tire counties or towns may prohibit
alcohol.
In all states, however, the drink-
ing age is set at 21 for both sexes
and is fairly well enforced with ID
checks by the alcohol seller.
Furthermore, it is illegal in most
states to provide a minor with alco-
hol even in the company of his par-
ents.
New students are often unsure who
to go to for any questions or prob-
lems. What if you want help with
your email account? What if you
want someone to tell you about ap-
plying to a USC program? This direc-
tory can help:
Director Kate O’Connor:
See Kate for
General Information
Assistant Director College
Advisor Pam Yamamoto Ireland.
See Pam for
Advising for college applications
Statement of Purpose
Admission and Immigration
Advisor Gil Cho. See Gil for
Immigration questions
Fees and Billing
Student Services Coordinator Silvia
Green. See Silvia for
Problems with email accounts/
USCard/health/housing
Academy Activities
Signing up for Language Labs
Academic Director Deb Detzel. See
Deb for
Electives
Attendance
See your teachers for
Level changes
Classroom policies
Homework questions
Program Information. See
Jessica Stern for information about
Language Academy.
Who’s Who at Language Academy?
Welcome Letter Continued from p. 1
6. Be involved in your classes, with the facul-ty, staff, and with your classmates to make this term the best it can be: Actively par-ticipate in classes. Ask questions! Fo-cus on your homework and contribute to group projects by doing your best work. Organize study dates with friends. Make every moment of your semester count!
7. Have fun!: All of our students have se-rious goals and plans, but don’t forget to have fun! Silvia Green, the Student Services Coordinator, will plan many fun activities for you. Be friendly and outgoing. Remember a smile is the universal language.
We believe we attract the best students of English in the world (YOU!). That means we have to be the best English program in the world. If we work to-
gether we will accomplish all of our goals.
On behalf of the faculty and staff, let me welcome you again to the USC Language Academy. I look forward to meeting each of you and helping you have a great fall session.
Sincerely,
Kate O’Connor Director, USC Language Academy Rossier School of Education
New students had lunch on Tuesday at EVK. Classes started on Thursday.
P A G E 3
Frequently Asked Questions Q. I want to go to the gym. What do I do? A. The Lyon Center (gym) is located across the street from the USC Language Academy.
In order to go work out at the gym, you need a sticker from the staff at the Lyon Cen-ter. As a Language Academy student, you have free access to the gym (this does not include special classes, which are an additional fee) where you can run, lift weights, and stretch. They might tell you to fill out a form online—BUT—don’t. Only USC stu-dents should fill out the online form. As a Language Academy student, you will need to fill out a paper form and sign it. Then, the front desk staff will give you a nice sticker to go on your USC ID card. You will show it to the front desk staff every time you go to the gym.
Q. I want to put money on my USC ID card. What do I do? A. PLEASE DON’T USE THE MACHINE AT LEAVEY LIBRARY! Unfortunately, the USC system has some
trouble with Language Academy cards, so you need to make sure to follow these instructions carefully. If you would like to put money on your USC ID card (USCard) so that you may use your card like a “debit” card on the USC campus, you will add “discretionary” funds either online or at the USCard office, located in Parking Structure X (PSX). To add money to your card online, go to www.usc.edu/vipcardservices. Click on the button for VIPs. You will need to enter your name, email address and USC ID number (10-digit number located on your USC ID card). Then you can type in the amount of money you would like to add to your USC ID card. You will then receive an email to verify the information and to ask for a credit card number that the money will come from. If you don’t want to use the online sys-tem, stop by the USCard office and have them do it for you. Just bring your USC ID card and a credit card. You can check your balance any time online, at the office, or at any USC cashier. “Discretionary” funds, or “discresh” as USC students call it, can be used at any food place on campus, as well as the USC Bookstore.
Q. I want to sign up for my USC email address. What do I do? A. You can follow the directions on the 10 Easy Steps handout you received during Orientation, or simply
visit www.usc.edu/firstlogin and follow the directions. If you are still having problems signing up for your email address, you can email Jessica at [email protected], and she can set it up for you. Remember to put in your first name as it appears on your USC ID card, and your last name as it appears on your USC ID card. Then enter your birthday. Then you will click on the button at the very bottom that says “Please check here if you are activating an organizational account or a guest/affiliate account with email services.” Remember to write down your username and password!! (You will have a different username and password for the Language Lab sign-up website that you create!)
GRE TIPS
By ASSYL ZHAKUPOV
I know that many Language Academy students (of course except my Annenberg school classmates and those who have already received acceptances) are probably dreading over the GRE—a graduate school entrance exam that is nothing short of ominous. However, it doesn’t
have to be a demon over your shoul-der. There are ways to tackle it, from learning the right content to master-ing the tricks of the test.
A lot of websites out there on the Internet claim to have the best tips and tricks, or shortcuts to helping you ace the exam, but a few pieces of advice I have tried and heard from those around me have been the most helpful in my own preparation and I hope to share those with you.
First, there is a reason that every GRE Verbal Reasoning book has a long list of words in the back of the book. This is because they are IM-PORTANT! Essentially, sleep with your dictionary. (No, not in that way, but you know what I mean). Spend every extra minute you have after studying to memorize the meanings of the GRE hit-list. Don’t just memo-rize. In fact, engrain them in your memory See GRE Tips on p.8
P A G E 4
By ALLEN TIAN ____________________
Finally, I took a real look
at the famous Hollywood sign,
in person!
It was one of the nicest
days in LA. My friends, Virgil,
Changpei, Demitri and I went
hiking in Griffith Park.
Actually our plan was just
to visit the Griffith Observato-
ry. But we ended up hiking
due to a statement by Demitri.
“I once hiked to the Holly-
wood sign,” he said when he
stood in front of the observato-
ry pointing at those big white
woods over the mountains. Of
course, for people like us who
only had seen that famous sign
on TV screens, never would
we be that silly to let this
chance slip away.
So, we went hiking!
The way to the Holly-
wood sign was different from
the one Dimitri took, as we
were at observatory, which is
southeast from where people
usually begin to hike. But we
decided to give it a try.
The route was not steep at
first, but dusty and without
shade. We could see the first
200 meters of it, but the left
was coiling to the back of the
mountain as if it was hiding
from us. Hot, as it was, ex-
posed under ultraviolet ray and
embraced by heating air, we
all sweated badly just after 10
minutes walking. Virgil, who
used to do bicycling in Tai-
wan, said, “I think hiking here
can even compete with moun-
tain bicycling!” Yes, everyone
agreed.
When trees became fewer
and fewer, it meant we were
close to the top of the moun-
tain. Certainly, it was not
where the Hollywood sign was
set. It was still far away from
us, luring us with its bright
body from time to time. But,
we were all shocked by the
scene on top.
It was the city L.A. To the
south, the whole city was
spreading all the way to the
horizon, vast but trim. Down-
town was one of the several
places we could tell immedi-
ately due to the outstanding
height, but right now, those
skyscrapers were just like toy
bricks for kids. We tried to
locate USC, but it was con-
cealed in thousands of
“bricks.” The view was so
fascinating that we rested
there, devouring it for quite a
long time.
Keep walking. The moun-
tain routes were like the body
of a snake, up and down, curv-
ing and long. As we took a
different way, there were times
we got lost, but we managed to
find the right one. After about
two hours walking, we could
see Hollywood right there as if
we could touch it with a giant
jump! But we were on the
wrong way again and it took
too long time to go back. But
we noticed that there was a
shortcut, accurately speaking,
a very steep slope leading to
another mountain road beneath
the road we stood on. A little
bit dangerous. What to do? To
go back, which meant giving
up; or take the challenge?
After a quick discussion,
we decided to try it. I used to
go climbing several times, so I
went first. I told Changpei,
who was a little afraid, “you
will be safe. I am just in front
you and can stop you at any-
time. We can make it!”
Carefully and slowly, we
moved inch by inch to the end
of the slope. We watched and
helped each other. Finally,
four of us successfully and
safely landed on the right way.
Then, after turning three cor-
ners, we saw what we wanted,
the Hollywood sign!
Huge, beautiful, and
amazing! It just sat there, qui-
etly and calmly, looking at the
whole city, at us. It was like
after travelling thousands of
miles that we meet with our
beloved one at the end. It was
exhausting, but how awesome
it was… I could not remember
how many pictures did we take
or how may gestures we made
while taking pictures. We were
just so happy and so thrilled.
We enjoyed the sunset with
Hollywood sign there. It was
the most beautiful scene I had
ever seen in my life.
We were happy that we
did not give up. Though we
took several wrong ways, we
were happy that we helped and
cooperated with each other in
the face of difficulties. It was
the last activity we had as stu-
dents of Language Academy,
but we had practiced real Tro-
jans’ belief of being faithful,
courageous and ambitious all
along the way. As for being
scholarly and skillful, I believe
we will definitely fulfill them
in the new coming term. Fight
on!
Life in L. A.
Hiking to the Hollywood Sign
Allen (far right) and his friends hiked to the Hollywood sign in Griffith Park
By SCARLETT CHEN
__________________________
The City of Los Angels ranked the
first, 65 percent, on the list of recycling
rates for 10 largest cities in the U.S. As a
new resident of Los Angeles, the forerun-
ner in protecting the environment, stu-
dents at USC Language Academy should
also contribute to recycling.
According to the report from Los
Angeles City Bureau of Sanitation, other
major cities such as New York and Chica-
go had rates of 55 and 52.4, ranking the
third and fifth on the list.
Although the law does not require
recycling, it is the duty for each resident
to help save the world. Students who live
on campus or immediately close to cam-
pus could bring their recyclable material,
such as beverage cans, old papers and
bottles, to campus. Every building on
campus has recycling bins standing either
at the entrance doors or in the back of the
classrooms. Students who are not familiar
with what to recycle could follow the in-
struction on recycling bins.
Students who live far away from
campus can find recycling stations near
their apartments. Some of the property has
recycling bins next to trash bins. If not,
students can also bring recyclable materi-
als to recycling centers. Some of the cen-
ters pay people who recycle cans and pa-
pers.
It is important for residents to recycle
because the resources on the earth is lim-
ited. People need to take care of their mu-
tual home – the earth. For more infor-
mation about recycling, please visit http://
dpw.lacounty.gov/epd/rethinkla/recycle/
and http://earth911.com/.
P A G E 5 Movie Review
By XI (SILVIA) KANG
_________________
“The Spectacular Now,” directed by
James Ponsoldt was released on August 2,
2013. This film won the Special Jury
Award for Acting at the Sundance Film
Festival, and its script was co-written by
Scott Neustadter and Michael Weber, the
writers of “500 Days of Summer.”
The film creates a vivid portrait of
adolescence that confronts love and adult-
hood. Based upon the novel “The Spec-
tacular Now” by Tim Tharp, the film fol-
lows protagonist Sutter Keely, who used
to be popular and carefree, but is still not
satisfied with his life. However, after fall-
ing in love with Aimee Finecky, a kind
and genuine girl, he undergoes a series of
unexpected incidents, and realizes that he
should live for the moment and cherish
what he already has. It is a movie filled
with warmth.
On July 31, 2013, an informal premi-
ere was held at the George Lucas Building
in the USC School of Cinematic Arts.
James Ponsoldt, the director of the movie,
was invited to the theatre to introduce his
film as well as answer audience questions.
Critic Todd McCarthy described this film
as “a sincere, refreshingly unaffected look
at teenagers and their attitudes about the
future.”
Ponsoldt commented on the subject
by stating, “I am always interested in writ-
ing something about adolescence which is
very similar to my adolescence. Besides
that, I had a lot of conversations with the
actors about the characters, and the con-
versations were under the foundation of
trust.” Moreover, Ponsoldt added, “I hope
this movie can be natural and organic,
which means I did not want to push any-
thing since I want to show the process [of
becoming an adult].”
When it comes to the characters,
Ponsoldt also mentioned that Shailene
Woodley, who plays Aimee, had a differ-
ent opinion of her character after reading
the script. Woodley thought the original
character of Aimee from the novel is con-
sidered a nerd. However, she believed her
character in the script is not a nerd since
being academic and having little interest
in popular culture does not necessarily
indicate one is a nerd or outcast. As a re-
sult, Ponsoldt added that they “made some
changes, and the character of Aimee in the
movie is quite different from the one in
the book.”
“The Spectacular Now” is a movie
which is worthwhile to watch. It is not
only a coming-of-age story about a young
man, but also includes a valuable life phi-
losophy. One will gain a better under-
standing of the essence of life after watch-
ing the characters’ experiences.
Protagonist Sutter Keely discovers first love in “The Spectacular Now,” released August 2.
Portrait of Adolescence in “The Spectacular Now”
Recycling in Los Angeles
USC Language
Academy
Rossier School of
Education
Phone: 213-740-0080
Fax: 213-740-0088
Web: www.usc.edu/
langacad
Pics of the Week
The Academy News is a weekly newsletter pro-duced by students in the Journalism Elective of the USC Language Academy. All students in the Lan-guage Academy Program are encouraged to send news stories and photos to Sonja Lovelace at [email protected].
Check out The Academy News online at www.usc.edu/langacad.Go to “Student Infor-
mation” and then click on “The Academy
P A G E 6 S E P T E M B E R 1 3 . 2 0 1 3
New students attended orientation this week, and all students picked up their schedules on Thursday. PALs (bottom right) an-swered questions and helped everybody find their way around cam-pus. Thanks, PALs!
GRE TIPS Continued from p. 5
so every time you see the word, you will not only know the meaning, but feel it. This is important because during the test, nerves will kick in and cause some brain freezes, but knowing the words backwards and forwards will make taking the test many times easier.
Second, take as many practice tests and answer as many practice questions as you can. There are only so many ways these questions, num-bers, and answer choices can be phrased, so having seen many of them will be to your advantage on test day.
Third, and finally, get good sleep the night before the ex-am. Eat a solid breakfast. That does not mean munching on a cereal bar or a piece of leftover
pizza while running hastily out the door towards the exam cen-ter. Quality food and good hy-dration( drinking water) will en-able you to think more clearly during the already stressful ex-am.
Great results require smart preparation. Best of luck!
Facts about GRE
According the Educational Testing Service (ETS), about 650,000 people take the GRE each year.
About 48% of all test takers have earned undergraduate degrees in fields, such as engineering, math, and sci-ences.