E-Concussion

Abraham Lincoln was born on February 12, 1809 in a one-room log cabin, located on a farm near Hodgenville, Kentucky (a state that permitted slavery at the time).
When he was only nine years old, his mother, Nancy Hanks Lincoln, died. A year later, his father, Thomas Lincoln, remarried a woman named Sarah Bush, who had a tremendous influence on the young Abraham Lincoln.

To support his family, Abraham had to work at a neighboring farm. Working denied him the opportunity to go to school, so the total amount of formal education he received was less than one year.
Although his formal education ended very quickly, his self-education was just beginning. An avid reader, he read everything he could get his hands on, studying a variety of subjects, such as mathematics, literature and law. Eventually this self-educated man became a lawyer.

Lincoln had a very strong desire to make a difference, so he entered politics. In August, 1832, he finished eighth out of 13 in a race for the Illinois House of Representatives.
Abraham believed that the government should be a positive force, whose goal was to serve the people. He reasoned that in order for him to have significant influence and impact on the government, he must achieve a high position in government -- preferably the position of the President of the United States. This goal eventually became his burning desire.

In 1834, while practicing law in a firm he had established with several partners, Lincoln ran for and won a seat in the Illinois Legislature. He served a four-year term, and he soon developed a reputation as a capable and honest politician.

Unfortunately, over the next decade he experienced numerous business and political setbacks. But unlike most people, Lincoln did not let any of these challenges -- including a business and personal bankruptcy -- discourage him from going after his dreams.

On November 4, 1842, he married Mary Todd Edwards, and they had four children over the next 12 years. In 1836, Lincoln won an election to Congress. It was during this time that he took an unpopular stand against President James K. Polk regarding the Mexican War. Abraham thought the war was unjust.

Because Lincoln's viewpoints were so different from many other government officials, he became unpopular among them.
After his term ended in 1849, Lincoln took the next five years off from politics and focused on his law practice. Again, he encountered more business setbacks. But again, he persisted, and did not let "so-called" failures discourage him.

In 1854, he returned to the political arena. One of the first things he did was to oppose the Kansas-Nebraska Act, which threatened to extend slavery to other states.
In 1855, he ran for the Senate but was defeated. The next year he went after the Vice Presidency position, and was also defeated.

With so many failures, a lot of people, in Lincoln's position, probably would have given up. But because he was determined and committed to make his political dreams come true, he would get up each time he was knocked down. He knew the only way to gain ground, to move forward, to march on, and to turn his goals into reality, was to learn from his setbacks and failures.

7:30-8:00 Reading
8:00-8:30 Vocabulary Game
8:30-8:40 Break Time
8:40-9:00 Vocabulary Game
9:00-9:30

What kind of items would make you consider for a long time then decide to buy? why ?

Dear all,

This week we are going to have a trial of new gathering type.
The host Sharon and me are preparing something about Reading and Writing
Here's the schedule below:

7:30 ~ 8:20 Sharon's Time
An article about Lincoln the ex-president of U.S.A.
Game Time for review what we learn

8:20 ~ 8:30 Break Time

8:30 ~ 9:30 James' Time
Writer's Block
Writing practice [Topic: What make you Angry/Happy the most?]

See you tomorrow!

Sharon & James

Paul's goal:

To improve my English skills, besides finding a better way to memorize vocabulary, a list of frequently-used sentences can be a great help in this two hours. Often time I am able to understand most of the first half of the session; however, I cannot keep up when I start hearing harder key words. I have heard a lot of key words all the time, but I cannot spell them. Therefore, I have a hard time understanding the complete meaning of the whole sentence. I will be very happy if I can improve a little of the basic conversational skill in 3 months. I would like to be able to directly answer questions.
I hope to be able to answer question with deeper meaning or express myself completely in English in 1 year.

My goal is to be a good presenter in front of people.
I have to learn to use English to give my expression to everyone.
I want to practive using alternative vocabularies and phrases even they are rarely used in daily conversation.
That would enlarge my word database so that I am able to speak more frequently.

How to archieve the goal?
I think I will take doing presentation as my method.
And hope that all of you could ask me any kind of questions and discuss with me.

Joseph

Carey’s Personal goal
I would like to sharpen my writing skills and improve my social speaking. The main purpose of joining E-concussion is to improve my English and I did it! Thanks for everyone,
Thanks for your continuous helps and reminders so that I can complete my goal day by day, in the future I will try to write more and capture more information about social English with foreigners, definitely I will share with you all. What kind of help that I need from E-concussion? I need you correct me anytime and chat with me on MSN in English. If you have information related to this field please share with me I will be appreciated that.

If you don’t mind I will post some thoughts in English on our blog where welcoming everyone’s advices and suggestions. I believe we can help each other to achieve our dreams and goals. Cheers!

Good Day
Carey