ESOL Class with Chelsea Cohen: Final Projects about Happiness
KGPC was so lucky to be able to be a part of Laney College's ESOL (English for Speakers of Other Languages) class final projects! Find projects with Anna Cortesio's class here.
During the Fall 2016 semester, the Intermediate Listening and Speaking Students at Laney College conducted a semester-long study of films, videos and documentaries related to positive psychology, the science of happiness. For their final projects, they created these radio clips to share what they have learned with the greater Peralta community. Our students are English Language Learners from all around the world. They come from China, Colombia, Guatemala, Laos, Mexico, Mongolia, Morocco, Taiwan, Sudan, Hong Kong, Burma, Iraq, Eritrea, and Vietnam.
Zhishen “Anson” Zheng, Wenhui Wu, Sandy Tian, and Chen-Yao Hsu talk about their experiences with Thanksgiving in the United States and compare it how people celebrate it in China and Taiwan. They talk about the meals they had this Thanksgiving and and also discuss how both animals and people feel gratitude.
Cyrus Gao, Ban Mun , and Yi Qian “Cindy” Wu talk about why health is so important and offer some tips on how to exercise along with dietary advice. They also introduce us to Chinese Square Dancing (which is nothing like American square dancing).
Zainab Al Rassam, Shimin “Cici” Liang, Wenyuan “Elaine” Zhang, and Yodit Mengstu discuss what “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness” means to them. They also discuss their life stories and how the concept of “freedom” in the States relates to the freedom they experienced in their home countries.
Qiuyan Li, Gihad Elardi, Charlie Li, and Trinh Tran talk about the importance of relationships in their lives. They share some insight into interviews with Laney students and lastly, they offer some tips on how to keep your relationships fresh and exciting.
Xiuting “Vicky” He, Zhi Qian “Christy” Ruan, and Shuang Qin Lan, summarize what they learned from Roko Belik’s documentary “Happy.” Then they share their own definition of happiness and some changes they have been making in their lives to improve their overall happiness.
Ngu Nguyen, Yu Zhao, Jill Chiu, and Jie Xuan share and analyze a poem by Paulo Coehlo on the meaning of life. They also discuss what they have learned about happiness and how to lead a meaningful life.
XiaoQiao Li, Yifen Chen, and Chi Nguyen visited “The Lake Merritt” residence for senior citizens where they discussed important questions related to happiness and well-being. Here, they share the wisdom they gained from the interviews as well as their own perspectives on happiness.
Alex Pun, Yuanjing “Andy” Tang, and Yongyi Li talk about health and its relationship to happiness. They also introduce us to the “Self-Healing Method,” developed by Chinese scholar, Hongchi Xiao and explain how slapping the skin and stretching the body each day can improve your overall health.
Son Le learned this semester that having relationships with people from all over the world was the key to happiness, so he decided to learn the song “Imagine” by John Lennon and perform it for us.